Chapter 3748 — A Formidable Rival
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
Wei Zhao could not help raising an eyebrow. If his opponent had been the likes of Meng Zhou, then no matter how strong the man was, he wouldn't have needed to take him so seriously—he wouldn't even have needed to play mind games, to scheme at provoking him into showing an opening.
But with this creature before him, he dared not underestimate him in the slightest. Quite apart from the fact that the man's open strength was already greater than his own, the cunning and caution he had displayed earlier made him truly troublesome to deal with. Against an enemy like this, finding an opening would be no easy task!
Don't forget the shallow airs this fellow had put on back at the Hong Merchant Guild. So now—was he genuinely enraged? Or was he simply turning the trick back on him, using the moment to lull him into carelessness?
Wei Zhao had no way to be sure, so all he could do was give it everything he had. Even with all manner of powerful hidden cards in hand, his opponent was, after all, a formidable expert of the mid Foundation Establishment stage. If he grew careless for even a moment, what awaited him next might well be utter and irreversible ruin!
As Yu Jiang closed in swiftly, Wei Zhao did not retreat but advanced, meeting him head-on. With his full power brought to bear, his speed in that instant was even a shade faster than his opponent's!
Yu Jiang was startled at once. Any peak early Foundation Establishment expert in his right mind, facing a mid Foundation Establishment expert like him, would never react this way. Did this fool actually think he could withstand him head-on? The man had no sense of his own limits at all!
He was nothing but a rootless rogue cultivator—where did this idiot get the nerve? Where did he get the audacity?
With a savage grin, Yu Jiang pressed two fingers together to form a sword, and a sharp sword qi, formless yet more potent than any form, extended from the tips of his fingers. It was like a peerless blade first revealing its edge—sand, stone, grass, and tree all around rattled and shook!
Wei Zhao's heart stirred, and only then did he understand that the sword qi his opponent had unleashed earlier had not relied on any divine weapon at all, but purely on the man's own formidable strength. This opponent was truly no small matter.
That earlier sneak-attack sword qi had already been powerful, but this sword the man now held poised at his fingertips, no longer concealing its force as before, would be even more lethal!
Even so, Wei Zhao showed not the slightest intention of retreating. Both unleashed their movement techniques with all their might, and the ten-zhang gap between them shrank to almost nothing in an instant.
A breath later, only a single zhang remained between them. Yu Jiang seemed to have seen through Wei Zhao's intent; the sword qi he had gathered at his fingertips, held in check and unreleased, was now treated as a solid weapon and thrust straight at Wei Zhao's face.
And just as the sword qi was about to pierce his body, with escape seemingly impossible, Wei Zhao twisted his body and, at the very last moment, forcibly changed direction, letting the sword qi graze past his shoulder!
"Hmph, I knew you'd pull that trick. A petty little art—showing off before an expert!"
Yu Jiang sneered, and the sword qi at his fingers shifted in pursuit, ready as ever. Had he not seen through Wei Zhao's intent in advance—a feint to the front, in truth an attempt to slip away—he would have released that sword qi long ago.
In theory, striking head-on from such a short distance, there was almost no chance of missing. But if Wei Zhao had prepared in advance, then given the speed he had displayed, there was still no small chance for him. (To be continued)