Chapter 1869 — Deliberating on Martial Arts, Part Two
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
Wei Zhao kept working through that single stance for a full half hour before he finally, slowly, drew his hands back.
By then he understood that he had at last gained a practiced mastery of this martial art. As for how he had managed it, he would have to go ask Old Jiao, for Wei Zhao himself was utterly at a loss.
Wei Zhao let out a long breath, and suddenly realized that several people had gathered around him.
It was his own courtyard, and he had been bursting with excitement, so for a time he had paid no heed to anything nearby; only once he withdrew his stance did he abruptly sense the presence of others. Wei Zhao was startled and inwardly chided himself for his carelessness.
True, his name blazed like the noonday sun just now, and it was hardly likely anyone would dare come knocking to provoke him—but there is always a one-in-ten-thousand chance. What if an enemy did come calling?
What if, while he was practicing his martial arts, an enemy came to strike from the shadows? Such a sneak attack was unlikely beneath so domineering a martial art, but it was still best to be careful.
"Yaoyao, Little Shu, Uncle Qing, Chengtian—you're back..." No sooner had the words left Wei Zhao's mouth than he noticed the looks the four of them were giving him, full of shock and disbelief, as though he had just done something extraordinary.
"Brother Arrowbrand, is that the martial art you used that day to wipe out three Earth-rank experts?" Shen Yushu asked.
"Xiaoyi... you've actually already comprehended all three stances of the Frenzied Fire Fist?" Uncle Qing said in astonishment. "That day—was it this move you used against those three Earth-rank experts?"
Earlier they had heard that Wei Zhao had slain three Earth-rank experts in a single move, but how he had done it, Wei Zhao had never said. Curious as Uncle Qing and the others were, they had not pressed him; only now, with the moment upon them, did they finally ask.
"Uncle Qing, you were the one who taught me these three stances. You should know their power well enough—could they kill three Earth-rank experts in a single move and burn them to ashes?" Wei Zhao said with a bitter smile.
"They should not," Uncle Qing said, shaking his head. "But back in my day, the force I could summon was nothing like the scale of yours. Seasoned as I was, compared to you I still fell somewhat short."
"Ah?" Wei Zhao was taken aback at Uncle Qing's words. He had actually... already surpassed Uncle Qing in his prime? How absurd that sounded! After all, before today, Wei Zhao had been no more than half-taught and clumsy.
"I am ashamed—I cultivated for years, yet I am no match for your few months," Uncle Qing said, a little red-faced. "But my master back then could bring out the twentieth stance of the Frenzied Fire Fist. Slaying three Earth-rank experts in a single move was no difficult feat for him..."
"Uh... actually, I only practiced it for an afternoon..." Wei Zhao scratched his scalp and said, somewhat embarrassed.
"Hiss—" Uncle Qing drew a sharp breath. An afternoon? He knew Wei Zhao would not lie to him, so an afternoon it must truly have been. But that Wei Zhao could grasp the first three stances of the Frenzied Fire Fist in a single afternoon left Uncle Qing able to call him only one thing: a genius. "Xiaoyi... the things that happen to you are far too strange. You can repair the meridians of Chengtian and me—comprehending the Frenzied Fire Fist in an afternoon hardly counts as remarkable anymore!"
"Heh..." Wei Zhao himself found it baffling. Could this be what they called a sudden flash of enlightenment? Yet he was filled with anticipation for the later stances of the Frenzied Fire Fist. The twentieth stance could wipe out three Earth-rank experts in a single move—was that not exactly what Wei Zhao longed for?
So Wei Zhao hurriedly asked, "Uncle Qing, do you have the later stances of the Frenzied Fire Fist?"