Chapter 2373 — From Whom Did You Learn It?

But compressing a true-qi bomb would clearly take too long, and more importantly, if Wei Zhao could secretly learn Piao Laoliu's martial art, it would be far less trouble than a compressed true-qi bomb! A compressed true-qi bomb was not something that could be completed in a moment or two.

"You could say that. And this internal martial art—after I cultivated it, I destroyed it. As far as I know, no one has cultivated it." Piao Laoliu spoke with perfect composure. "So I advise you not to waste your efforts."

The reason Piao Laoliu told Wei Zhao the truth was simply that he did not believe for a moment that Wei Zhao could cultivate his martial art. And even if Wei Zhao could obtain it through some special channel, heaven knew when that would be—moreover, his martial art existed in a single copy, and it was utterly impossible for Wei Zhao to get his hands on it.

In short, he was not in the least afraid that Wei Zhao would use this martial art against him. But it never occurred to him that Wei Zhao would steal the martial art!

"Is that so? Then let us try again!" As he spoke, Wei Zhao activated the fifth form of the Raging Fire Eight Trigrams Palm and charged straight at Piao Laoliu!

"Boom! Boom!" "Bang!"

It was another head-on collision, and Wei Zhao ended this exchange coughing blood and retreating. Yet his mind was not on the outcome at all; instead, he carefully observed the way Piao Laoliu activated the Heaven-Splitting Earth-Rending Claw!

Wei Zhao did not know the mental formulas and oral secrets of the Heaven-Splitting Earth-Rending Claw, nor could he possibly ask for them. So he could only imitate the way the claw was activated, and then—just as he had once combined the Raging Fire Fist and the Five Elements Eight Trigrams Palm—use the mental formula of the Raging Fire Fist together with the activation method of the Heaven-Splitting Earth-Rending Claw to synthesize an entirely new martial art!

After landing, Wei Zhao did not rise at once, but closed his eyes. In his mind's eye flashed again and again the way Piao Laoliu had activated the Heaven-Splitting Earth-Rending Claw; Piao Laoliu's movements became a film in slow motion, playing over and over in Wei Zhao's head...

Thanks to his earlier experience in combining the Raging Fire Eight Trigrams Palm with the Forest of Woods Eight Trigrams Palm, it did not take Wei Zhao long this time to synthesize the new martial art—and in any case, the present situation did not permit him to waste much time!

"Boy. Still not giving up?" Piao Laoliu asked coldly.

"Oh..." Wei Zhao slowly rose to his feet. While he had been synthesizing the Raging Fire Heaven-Splitting Earth-Rending Claw in his mind, his body had not been idle either; he had kept the second layer of the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art circulating to heal his wounds swiftly, so by now his injuries had improved considerably.

"Oh what?" Piao Laoliu was taken aback, somewhat at a loss as to Wei Zhao's meaning.

"Just... the fifth form of the Raging Fire Eight Trigrams Palm!" Wei Zhao circulated the mental formula of the fifth form of the Raging Fire Fist, but changed the activation method to that of the Heaven-Splitting Earth-Rending Claw. As for the Raging Fire Eight Trigrams Palm—that was merely to mislead Piao Laoliu!

"Hmph! Truly overestimating yourself..." Seeing Wei Zhao use the same move again, a trace of disdain flashed through Piao Laoliu's eyes. He gave a cold snort, and this time did not even bother to attack; he simply stood there with his hands clasped behind his back, his meaning plain: strike if you will—let us see what you can do to me.

"Piao Laoliu, look out!" On Piao Huotai's previously unruffled face there suddenly appeared an expression of incredulity, and he cried out sharply to Piao Laoliu.

"Eh?" Piao Laoliu was startled—but it was already too late. Wei Zhao's Raging Fire Heaven-Splitting Earth-Rending Claw had already seized upon Piao Laoliu's chest! Piao Laoliu's face, which had borne such arrogance, went abruptly white. A look of disbelief flashed through his eyes as well, and then his expression turned bleak; his whole body was sent flying backward, slamming hard into the wall of the private room with a thunderous crash!

A deep crater was smashed into the wall of the private room. Piao Laoliu was badly hurt this time; judging by the dark purple blood seeping from the corner of his mouth, he had suffered severe internal injuries! This rather surprised Wei Zhao!

Though the Raging Fire Heaven-Splitting Earth-Rending Claw had been successfully activated, its power was far less than that of the Raging Fire Eight Trigrams Palm—it was only equivalent to the power of the normal fifth form of the Raging Fire Fist, that is, the sixth form of an ordinary superior martial art.

This combination of martial arts had not produced the heaven-defying effect of the Five Elements Eight Trigrams Palm, but that was within Wei Zhao's expectations. After all, the power of the Five Elements Eight Trigrams Palm was heaven-defying, whereas Piao Laoliu's Heaven-Splitting Earth-Rending Claw could hardly be called outstanding in power at all—it was merely on par with an ordinary superior martial art.

So the fifth combined form of the Raging Fire Fist and the Heaven-Splitting Earth-Rending Claw having the power of an ordinary sixth form did not surprise Wei Zhao. But that Piao Laoliu should stand there, neither guarding nor attacking, and let Wei Zhao strike him—that did surprise Wei Zhao!

To make him give up, the man was far too arrogant! And so, with Piao Laoliu utterly unguarded, Wei Zhao's strike landed—and landed squarely on Piao Laoliu's body. Though it was only the sixth form, this Heaven-Splitting Earth-Rending Claw seemed to be a martial art that specifically restrained Piao Laoliu; the damage it inflicted was far greater than that of the Raging Fire Eight Trigrams Palm before!

"You... how is that possible?" Piao Laoliu spat three or four mouthfuls of fresh blood before he managed to stagger to his feet, hardly able to believe the truth before his eyes. "How could you activate the Heaven-Splitting Earth-Rending Claw? From whom did you learn it?"

"From you." No sooner had Wei Zhao spoken than, without giving Piao Laoliu time to steady himself, he lashed out once more with the fifth form of the Raging Fire Heaven-Splitting Earth-Rending Claw!

This time Piao Laoliu saw Wei Zhao's move clearly. Previously he had taken it for granted that Wei Zhao was activating the Raging Fire Eight Trigrams Palm, and so had not guarded at all; it was not until Piao Huotai's warning that Piao Laoliu realized something was wrong—but by then it was too late.

This time, however, he saw it clearly the moment Wei Zhao launched the move: it was the Heaven-Splitting Earth-Rending Claw. He did not know how Wei Zhao had learned it, but the activation method and the movements were identical to his own—and the claws carried red fire-attribute true qi, just as when he himself activated it!

Piao Laoliu was instantly aghast. Others might not know how much the Heaven-Splitting Earth-Rending Claw could hurt him, but he knew! Even though Wei Zhao was activating only the sixth form, the damage to him was still enormous!

Piao Laoliu was certain that if Wei Zhao kept activating it like this, he could not withstand five moves! The Heaven-Splitting Earth-Rending Claw was precisely the bane of his external cultivation method—such was the principle that every thing has its vanquisher.

"Impossible! When did I ever teach you?" Piao Laoliu wanted to dodge, but it was already too late; he had no choice but to circulate his internal-energy mental formula at flying speed and activate the tenth form of the Heaven-Splitting Earth-Rending Claw, attacking Wei Zhao! RQ