Chapter 2004 — The Peak of the Early Earth Rank!

And Wei Zhao, too, was for the first time using the second-layer heart method of the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art to break through a level. He felt that his speed in drawing in the spiritual qi of heaven and earth was now far greater than with the first layer; in the same span of time, he could absorb far more spiritual qi into his body.

With this sudden, massive influx of true qi, Wei Zhao even found it somewhat hard to bear! He drew a deep breath and gritted his teeth, holding on. He did not switch back to the first layer of the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art, but instead kept rapidly circulating the second-layer ** heart method, because he vaguely sensed that the first layer could not break through this shackle—the second layer was the right choice.

With his eyes closed, Wei Zhao carefully controlled the true qi surging into his body, guiding it to flow and coil through his meridians. And once this true qi entered his meridians, it seemed to take on a life of its own, threading back and forth through them under the drive of the second-layer Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art!

This sensation was very comfortable to Wei Zhao. As the true qi threaded through his meridians, with every step of its flow it seemed to twist together with the true qi already in his body, forming a single unified current of force. This was completely different from his breakthroughs before the Earth Rank; the first layer of the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art could not drive the true qi that poured into the body to circulate back and forth—it merely drew the true qi into the body, nothing more...

But the present benefit was this: the true qi was drawn into the body and fused with the original true qi, and that original true qi likewise grew vast and mighty, seeming more vigorous than before, making it all the easier for Wei Zhao to assail the bottleneck at the peak of the early Earth Rank!

Yet breakthroughs at the Earth Rank were plainly harder. As more and more true qi poured into his body, Wei Zhao felt as though his whole person were being consumed by raging fire, on the verge of bursting. The sensation was a torment to him; several times he wanted to give up, but each time he gritted his teeth and held on.

For Wei Zhao understood that ** was like rowing a boat against the current—advance or fall back. If he gave up now, then the next time he wished to make a second attempt it would be somewhat harder. After all, this kind of limit-breaking in the midst of battle was something one could only encounter, never seek; once he gave up, there was no telling how long he would have to wait for the next chance...

So no matter what, Wei Zhao had to hold on!

Suddenly, Wei Zhao felt a tremendous shock burst from the meridians within his chest, as though some obstruction had been smashed through, and his body convulsed violently in response. With a "pfft," he spat out another mouthful of black blood. This startled Feng Sanmang beside him, and not far away Xu Shilan and Cheng Yiyi were badly frightened as well. None of them knew what had happened to Wei Zhao, yet none dared step forward to disturb him...

In truth, nothing was wrong with Wei Zhao; on the contrary, the rapid circulation of true qi had forced the congested blood from his injuries out of his body, and his wounds were gradually healing as the true qi flowed. The heart method of the second-layer Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art seemed able to heal injuries in the midst of a breakthrough—painful, yes, but truly marvelous!

After spitting out that mouthful of blood, Wei Zhao felt his chest grow much easier. The vast, mighty true qi within him had begun to break through the bottleneck; little by little it strove forward through the meridians, gradually swelling to fullness!

Cautiously, Wei Zhao absorbed and controlled the true qi within his body, letting it merge into every meridian. Wherever the true qi flowed, it not only fused swiftly with the true qi already there, but the injuries in that vicinity were swiftly healed as well.

Because some places were more severely wounded and others less, Wei Zhao walked as though on a tightrope, wary of the slightest carelessness, using the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art to guide the true qi forward now fast, now slow...

By now Wei Zhao's body was soaked through with foul blood and sweat, a thoroughly wretched sight. He was like a man of blood; if not for the steady rhythm of his breathing and heartbeat, which told that his bodily functions were sound, anyone looking from afar would surely have thought Wei Zhao could not possibly survive...

Slowly, slowly, Wei Zhao circulated the true qi, and at last it completed one full cycle through his body—and all his injuries were restored in that very moment!

But the influx of energy from the jade pendant space had not yet ceased, so Wei Zhao dared not slacken in the slightest, and continued to circulate the second-layer Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art.

Under Wei Zhao's guidance, the true qi began its second cycle... slowly, from beginning to end, and all at once Wei Zhao discovered that the true qi within his body had grown full to an inconceivable degree. At the same time, he felt as though his whole being had exploded in that instant; after a thunderous "boom" rang out by his ears, what followed was an ease he had never known before!

At last—a breakthrough!

In this moment, Wei Zhao stood at the peak of the early Earth Rank!

As Wei Zhao exhaled that breath, he slowly opened his eyes, and in that moment he was restored to his former vibrant spirits.

At the moment of Wei Zhao's breakthrough, Feng Sanmang also let out a long breath of relief. He too was a **, and though not of such a high rank as Wei Zhao, he knew well the circumstances of a breakthrough. So when he saw Wei Zhao open his eyes, he at once cupped his fists excitedly and said, "Congratulations, Brother Lin! On the path of **, you have taken another step forward and reached the peak of the early Earth Rank!"

"Ha, I've put you to trouble!" Wei Zhao nodded to Feng Sanmang. Though Wei Zhao had been within the jade pendant space, he knew that Feng Sanmang had been standing guard outside for him all along, and so he was deeply grateful to him.

"What do you mean by that, Brother Lin? You fought tooth and nail for our sakes, while I did no more than lend my humble efforts—how is that trouble?" Feng Sanmang shook his head at once and said, "If not for your righteous intervention, Miss Xu and Miss Cheng and I would likely not have escaped that man in black's clutches today..."

In Feng Sanmang's eyes, Wei Zhao could simply have walked away, yet he had not done so; he had even risked his life to hold the Earth-Rank man in black there, winning by a hair. Such a debt of gratitude moved him profoundly.

"Xiaohan is someone I invited here. If anything were to happen to her, my heart would never forgive it. Unless I am dead, I could not stand by and do nothing." There was a certain tenacity in Wei Zhao's heart—a tenacity toward the friends and kin around him.