Chapter 1017 — Elder Jiao's Explanation — Though Peak Late Yellow Stage Strength Was Already a Formidable Presence in the Secular World, Almost One in a Million!

But for Wei Zhao as he was now, it was of no use at all!

Wei Zhao's present enemies all came from the great clans, not the secular world; they were Mystic stage experts, and Uncle Qing and General Weiwu could not help him against them either!

No matter. It seemed that scheming shortcuts were still not to be relied upon; everything must rest on his own strength in the end!

Seeing Wei Zhao shake his head and sigh, Uncle Qing knew he must be deeply disappointed at this moment, and said nothing more. He only sighed and said, "Xiao Yi, then I will go to Mr. Gu's company. Will you drive yourself to school?"

"Yes, I will go myself," Wei Zhao said. "I will take a bath first. Uncle Qing, you go on ahead."

"All right." Seeing that Wei Zhao had already recovered his strength, Uncle Qing was no longer worried. He turned and left the villa.

And Wei Zhao returned to his own room and, scarcely able to wait, asked Elder Jiao in the jade pendant space, "Elder Jiao, is my energy not all-powerful? Why can it not make Uncle Qing an Earth-stage expert? Why can it not raise General Weiwu's strength as well?"

Earlier, Wei Zhao had been in such haste to recover his strength that he had had no time to consult Elder Jiao; now that the attempt had failed, he hurried to ask Elder Jiao the reason for it.

"I am not too clear on it myself." Elder Jiao's voice sounded at Wei Zhao's ear...

"Is that so..." Wei Zhao smiled bitterly. Even Elder Jiao did not know the reason?

"I had not finished speaking." Elder Jiao was plainly displeased at being interrupted. "However, I have roughly formed some conjectures..."

"Please go on, Elder Jiao!" Wei Zhao asked hurriedly.

"Though I am not clear on your situation, I have seen similar cases," Elder Jiao said slowly. "In some martial sects there are secret arts for transmitting cultivation! They may also be called inheritance, or empowerment!"

"Oh? Inheritance? Empowerment?" Wei Zhao was taken aback.

"Exactly! It is when an elder, before his death, transmits the whole of his life's cultivation directly to his disciple by a secret art, so that the disciple's strength is swiftly raised!" Jiao Yazi said. "But after the inheritance, the disciple is always one rank below the master; only after diligent cultivation of his own in the days to come can he reach the master's height!"

"Oh? One rank below..." Wei Zhao nodded thoughtfully.

"Yes. If all strength could be inherited, their sects would grow boundless in power, and experts would pour forth without end! How would any other sect survive then?" Jiao Yazi said. "But even so, such sects are still very great!"

"Hmm... Elder Jiao, do you mean that what I did also counts as a kind of inheritance?" Wei Zhao nodded and asked.

"It should be much the same!" Jiao Yazi said. "Only, after you transmit it, you can swiftly cultivate in the jade pendant space and recover your strength, while others cannot!"

"That is indeed so." This golden finger of Wei Zhao's was truly a little outrageous.

"So, you are now a Mystic stage expert. By the theory of inheritance, at most you can transmit to produce an expert one rank lower; peak late Yellow stage strength is already the limit!" Jiao Yazi said.

"Ah, if only I had consulted you earlier, I would have spared myself the wasted effort of that trial." Hearing Jiao Yazi's conjecture, Wei Zhao knew it was perhaps not far from the truth.

"If you had not tried it, how would you know it would not work? It was only after seeing your trial fail that I inferred this conclusion," Jiao Yazi said with a chuckle. "Otherwise, I too would have thought you could produce an Earth-stage expert!"

"Yes... but if only Uncle Qing could enter the jade pendant space..." Wei Zhao sighed to himself.

But no sooner had the thought arisen than Wei Zhao quickly rejected it! Quite apart from the fact that only he himself could enter the jade pendant space, even if Uncle Qing could enter, Wei Zhao would not let him, for this was his greatest hidden card after all. Though Wei Zhao felt Uncle Qing was worthy of trust, such a secret was better kept to himself; every additional person who knew was an additional danger.

During the earlier trials, Wei Zhao had worked up a foul sweat. Now, after his talk with Elder Jiao, he had abandoned the notion of forging an Earth-stage expert altogether, for it was unrealistic unless he himself possessed Heaven-stage strength. But once he had Heaven-stage strength, what use would there be in mass-producing Earth-stage experts?

Wei Zhao stripped off his clothes, turned on his phone, and went into the bathroom to shower.

He had shut the phone off earlier to avoid being disturbed, and he had no idea whether anyone had tried to reach him...

East Sea, the home of Divine Doctor Kang.

At the gate of Divine Doctor Kang's villa stood the two brothers, Xiao Ji and Xiao Ben, carrying precious gifts in their hands, come to pay their respects to Divine Doctor Kang.

When the servants reported the visitors, Divine Doctor Kang did not hurry to let Xiao Ji and Xiao Ben in. Instead, he leisurely summoned Kang Guifeng, Kang Cuipu, Kang Jinglong and Kang Jingming together and convened a family meeting.

"The Xiao family's visit this time is ninety-nine percent certain to be about Zhaolong's marriage. Guifeng, what do you make of it?" Divine Doctor Kang asked his eldest son in an indifferent tone.

"Father, in my view, the Xiao family is already like a stray dog with its tail between its legs. Uncle Pi has become a vegetable, and the Xiao family still owes Wei Zhao a mountain of debt. At this rate, their ruin is already at hand. Our Kang family should keep our distance from them!" Kang Guifeng voiced his opinion; in his eyes, the Xiao family had lost all value to exploit.

Divine Doctor Kang nodded. In truth, that was precisely why he had not let the Xiao brothers through the door. He had watched the Xiao family's recent misfortunes as well, and the family was finished; what trace of a great clan remained in them? They could not even compare with the wealthy houses of the provinces.

To put it kindly, the Xiao family was still a great clan, but anyone could see that at the coming Great Clan Assembly, the Xiao family would certainly be struck from the rolls. A fallen house that could not even match an ordinary wealthy family—to speak of it remaining a great clan was out of the question.

"Guifeng is right—the Xiao family's situation is truly pitiful!" Divine Doctor Kang said. "We originally hoped to use the Xiao family as a gateway into the ranks of the great clans, but now they cannot even protect themselves. Not only can they bring our Kang family no benefit, but if we were to ally with them by marriage now, their debts and their messes would likely all fall upon our shoulders. Cuipu, what do you think?"

Divine Doctor Kang turned his gaze to his second son.

"There is a saying: a starved camel is bigger than a horse. I do not think the Xiao family is entirely without merit. If we merge with them, they should have no trouble holding on to their clan seat, and when the time comes our Kang family would still be the leading party..." Kang Cuipu was utterly ignorant of the world, and the ideas he put forward were a chaotic jumble.