Chapter 2443 — Looking Awfully Pale — If It Worked, Many Troubles Would Be Avoided; If Not, Wei Zhao Had No Choice but to Fight Head-On!

Since these two men had been brought in by Right Panhu, Wei Zhao did not believe they would dare linger and fight here. Besides, such an obvious blockade on the highway would soon attract the attention of anyone with an eye for trouble.

Fortunately, Wei Zhao had bet correctly—and succeeded.

Given Wei Zhao's current level of strength, even with his physical stamina and true qi fully replenished, he could probably force out only three palms. A Heavenly Rank martial technique was still far too taxing for someone whose actual strength was merely at the Earthly Rank.

Although the fifth form, Crazy Fire Eight Trigrams Palm, was equivalent to the eleventh form of an ordinary martial technique, and could theoretically be considered a Heavenly Rank martial technique, that was entirely due to the effect of Crazy Fire Fist. Strictly speaking, the fifth form of Crazy Fire Fist, combined with the five additional forms gained from Five Elements Eight Trigrams Palm, still fell within the realm of Earthly Rank martial techniques. It was merely equivalent to the eleventh form, not actually the eleventh form.

Beginning with the sixth form of Crazy Fire Eight Trigrams Palm, however, it truly entered the realm of Heavenly Rank martial techniques. After forcing out the sixth form and then the seventh, Wei Zhao felt as though his entire body were on the verge of collapsing. They consumed far too much stamina.

The seventh form in particular, once successfully unleashed, seemed to drain every last trace of true qi from Wei Zhao's body. At that moment, he could only stand weakly by the bus door, supporting himself with one hand against it.

"Bye-bye, gentlemen robbers." Wei Zhao put on an air of complete indifference. "Driver, I chased them off. Get us moving. Don't worry about those two. They won't die."

The tall robber's life or death was uncertain, but Wei Zhao estimated there was an eighty percent chance he was already dead. However, with all his classmates on the bus, Wei Zhao could hardly announce in front of them that he had killed a robber. That would have been rather too terrifying. It was also why he had not gotten off the bus to pursue the four robbers from earlier.

"Oh... all right!" Seeing that Wei Zhao had dealt with two robbers all by himself, the driver finally breathed a sigh of relief. He hurriedly backed up, turned the bus around the heavy truck ahead, and sped away.

Once Wei Zhao put it that way, none of the classmates on the bus gave the matter much thought. They merely felt that Wei Zhao was remarkably skilled. The possibility that someone had died never even entered their minds.

Of course, aside from White Leader, Han Jingyi, Right Panhu, and Right Panhu's two subordinates, no one on the bus knew how dangerous and terrifying the two robbers Wei Zhao had faced truly were.

In the eyes of the driver and the other students, these two robbers were worlds apart from the four earlier ones. They had come barehanded, without pistols or daggers, and had not even brought clubs. How could they possibly expect to rob anyone?

It was perfectly normal for Wei Zhao to knock them off the bus through the door. There was nothing remarkable about it; Wei Zhao was simply a little more skilled than most.

White Leader was no longer a cultivator, but the name of the technique Wei Zhao had shouted when he struck, together with the short robber's words, had made him understand just how formidable that attack had been.

The thirteenth form of a Heavenly Rank martial technique had failed to kill that short robber. What level of cultivator did that make him? He had to be at least a Heavenly Rank cultivator.

The realization startled White Leader, and he secretly counted himself lucky. If Wei Zhao had not acted, the students on the bus would have been in danger. Naturally, White Leader had no way of guessing that the two men belonged to the Hidden Right Family.

But if Wei Zhao could injure a Heavenly Rank expert, then what level of strength did Wei Zhao himself possess?

Han Jingyi was only an alchemist, but she could sense the fluctuations of true qi emanating from Wei Zhao and from the cultivator among the robbers. From those fluctuations, she too had discerned the strength of the two cultivators.

The tall cultivator's strength had flashed past in an instant, but she had still managed to sense it. As for the short cultivator, who had been treating his injuries with true qi ever since he vomited blood, his level was naturally even clearer to her.

Yet even knowing that one was an expert at the peak of the late Earthly Rank and the other an expert at the early Heavenly Rank, Han Jingyi was not afraid in the least. She believed Wei Zhao was stronger than either of them.

The ones with the most unpleasant expressions, however, were Right Panhu and his two subordinates. They were all cultivators, so naturally they could sense what Han Jingyi had sensed. The instant the tall robber was struck by Wei Zhao's palm, he had instinctively tried to shield his body with true qi. But it was already too late. He had shown no sign of life afterward, and was probably beyond saving.

And the short robber, an early Heavenly Rank cultivator, had actually been unable to withstand even one move from Wei Zhao? What on earth was going on?

Of course, that was not the fundamental reason their faces looked so grim. The real reason Right Panhu looked so awful was that he had suddenly realized he had been wrong—horribly wrong. Judging from the way they had acted, these two men were the experts sent by the Hidden Right Family. The group of robbers from earlier, meanwhile, had been genuine robbers.

That explained why the earlier robbers had acted so differently from what Right Panhu had anticipated, and why they had refused to cooperate with Kang Jinglong, instead making a complete fool of him.

Right Panhu felt like crying when he thought of it. How could things have coincided so perfectly? He had arranged for a robbery, only to encounter real robbers on the road as well. With luck like that, he could have gone out and bought a lottery ticket. What incredible fortune.

"Brother Right, what's wrong? Why do you look so pale?" Kang Jinglong suddenly noticed that Right Panhu's face had gone deathly white and that his entire body was trembling.

"I... I..." Right Panhu had just begun to speak when he saw Wei Zhao walking toward them. His heart jolted, and his gaze darted away. Could Wei Zhao have figured something out?

That did not make sense. Although Right Panhu had been the one to find the men, he himself had never even met them. How could Wei Zhao possibly know? Right Panhu lowered his head and pretended nothing was wrong.

Yet, as fate would have it, once Wei Zhao reached them, he stopped. He stood beside the row of seats occupied by Kang Jinglong and Right Panhu, and did not continue forward.

"Wei Zhao, what are you trying to do? Show off because you beat two robbers? What's there to brag about? If you're so capable, why didn't you help when Brother Kang was dealing with the robbers earlier?" Right Panhu felt increasingly uncomfortable under Wei Zhao's gaze. With no other choice, he braced himself and challenged him.