Chapter 4806 — Breakthrough! Peak of the Mid Nascent Soul Stage!
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
Since a head-on clash offered no chance of victory, then let it be a contest of endurance. So long as he had a moment's respite, Wei Zhao could replenish himself. The strategy might be a touch shameless, but so long as it won the day, who cared for such niceties?
The harassment tactics unfolded with splendid flair, and Leng Rufeng seemed utterly led by the nose. Yet after this had gone on for a time, his voice suddenly cut through the chaos: "Is this the whole of your repertoire?"
Wei Zhao's heart lurched at the words, and in the next instant the jade pendant's warning shrieked wildly in his mind. Without a moment's hesitation he threw his entire body into a backward retreat at full power—not merely the beyond-limit Butterfly Microstep, for this time he even employed the art of true qi propulsion. To save his life, every fraction of speed counted; a hair's difference might spell life or death.
The giant ice blade came down almost grazing the tip of Wei Zhao's nose, its afterwave instantly carving a savage, ghastly wound across his face. At the same time, the mountainous force of the blade hammered Wei Zhao flat against the ground once more, the scene a perfect repetition of the day before—the only difference being that this time Wei Zhao was wounded more grievously still, and for a long while could not rise.
Leng Rufeng strode to where Wei Zhao lay and was about to demand his surrender, when from below the platform Ning Xuefei cried out: "The incense is out! The time of one stick of incense is up!"
"Cough, cough..." Wei Zhao clambered painfully to his feet and staggered off the platform, leaving behind a remark that was all too familiar to Leng Rufeng and yet left him utterly speechless: "Seems my luck holds. We continue tomorrow."
Leng Rufeng stood frozen on the platform, not a word escaping him, as he watched Wei Zhao's bedraggled figure vanish from sight. Below, Ren Zhongyuan was stamping his feet in a fury: "Useless trash! He cannot even kill a mere Wei Zhao—and a wretch like that dreams of entering the Mystic Rank Sea Domain? No wonder he was beaten back!"
He was nearly mad with rage. It had been bad enough that Wei Zhao escaped disaster yesterday, and now today it happened all over again—would there be no end to this?
But for all his fury, Ren Zhongyuan was powerless—unless he dared risk openly striking at Wei Zhao when he was down. Otherwise he could only wait for the two to settle matters on the platform. As for assassinating the Western Isle's consort within the academy grounds? That, Ren Zhongyuan truly lacked the nerve for.
The sole consolation was that although Wei Zhao had slipped through disaster these two days, the brat had also been badly wounded each time. At least in the matter of suffering, they were now even—so Ren Zhongyuan could only console himself.
The next day, when Wei Zhao once again appeared on the platform, Leng Rufeng could not suppress a crawl of dread along his scalp—the brat had recovered to his peak condition once more!
As on the two days before, this bout too ended with Wei Zhao being thoroughly thrashed. Yet Leng Rufeng still failed to finish Wei Zhao within the span of one stick of incense. Even though he had nursed murderous intent, it availed him nothing—Wei Zhao's speed seemed greater than on the previous two days, and his strength in every respect appeared to have grown.
By contrast, Leng Rufeng himself, after two successive days of attrition, could not help but decline bit by bit. On the second day he still had ninety percent; by the third, not even eighty. And what galled him most was that after being carried off wounded, Wei Zhao would still, eager for more, utter those four words once again: "We continue tomorrow!"
No one had expected matters to unfold this way. Had he not met Wei Zhao, Leng Rufeng would sooner have died than believe that a mere mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator could use him as a sparring partner!