Chapter 2514 — I Am Lost in Admiration

Those words only deepened the doubts in the Heaven Rank vice president's heart. But before he could open his mouth, the thin man's voice cut off abruptly, replaced by a bloodcurdling scream!

The seventh form of the Frenzied Fire Eight Trigrams Palm! Wei Zhao thought to himself as he drove a palm strike straight at the thin man. This man had to be eliminated—he was a scourge through and through. Even if the Heaven Rank vice president managed to resolve today's matter, this creature would go on to poison the vice president's mind, or turn others against Wei Zhao. He absolutely could not be allowed to live!

"Boom—"

A great hole burst open in the thin man's chest, blasted clean through by Wei Zhao's palm. His body crashed heavily to the ground, dead on the spot.

"You—" The Heaven Rank vice president was aghast; he had never expected Wei Zhao to lash out and strike without warning. But he had barely gotten out the single word "you" before the force of that palm strike overawed him. His eyes went wide, and he was struck dumb with dread.

"Didn't you ask me to prove it? I've proved it." Wei Zhao spoke mildly, as though finishing off the thin man had been nothing more than a demonstration of his strength.

"The thirteenth form of a Heaven Rank martial technique..." It was a long moment before the Heaven Rank vice president drew a sharp breath and said in wonder, "Indeed. You truly do have what it takes to cross blows with me—and if that palm had landed squarely on me, I fear I would have suffered no small injury... I'm convinced. You are indeed qualified to speak with me as an equal!"

You Pan Gao was dumbstruck as well. He too had felt the might of Wei Zhao's technique, and his face turned ashen with fright. He had been stirring up trouble and sowing discord moments ago, and now he was filled with regret. Had he known Wei Zhao was this formidable, why had he opened his big mouth?

Yet Wei Zhao bore him no ill will. On the contrary, he rather felt the man's loose tongue had served its purpose—without those few extra words, things could never have been settled so easily. In saying what he had, the man had also helped Wei Zhao convey a message to the Heaven Rank vice president from the sidelines. Now Wei Zhao did not need to waste his breath.

The short expert, Third You, wore a bitter smile as he looked at the Heaven Rank vice president. He spread his hands and said, "Vice president, now you understand my predicament, don't you? He really can cripple me with ease. The power behind that palm of his is at least on par with an expert at the peak of the early Heaven Rank. I had no choice!"

"I understand!" The Heaven Rank vice president nodded and said, "Mr. Ling, I must apologize for all the offense earlier. I was lax in disciplining my subordinates. But as for my standing up for my disciples—do not take it to heart. The cultivation world is cruel; that is simply how it is."

"I understand. If I lacked the strength, I would be a corpse by now, and Third You would not have had to humble himself here." Wei Zhao smiled and spoke mildly.

"Good that you understand!" The vice president smiled as well. "It's easy to talk with a clever man. I accept you as a client. Here is my contact information—if anything comes up in the future, you may reach me directly."

With that, the vice president produced a business card made of pure gold and flicked it toward Wei Zhao. Such cards were not to be had by anyone but those of comparable strength; in giving one to Wei Zhao, the vice president was acknowledging him. Of course, the act of flicking the card was also a test and a punishment.

The vice president put his full strength behind it. Even an expert of the early Heaven Rank who caught it head-on could not come away unscathed—an injured hand was all but inevitable, and at the very least he would not be able to move it for a month. He wanted to see whether Wei Zhao could take it head-on. If Wei Zhao did not dare, that would prove his strength still lacking; even if the vice president did not make trouble now, he would think somewhat less of him.

If Wei Zhao did catch it head-on, then naturally the grievances of today would be settled—but Wei Zhao's hand would surely be ruined for a month, which would serve as punishment. Who had told him to wipe out three of the vice president's disciples?

"Smack!"

Wei Zhao reached out and caught the card the Heaven Rank vice president had flicked at him, but the force behind it drove straight into his palm, shattering every bone in it and damaging the meridians to no small degree!

Wei Zhao had anticipated this. But to keep the Heaven Rank vice president from seeing through him, he still chose to catch it head-on rather than dodge.

The only thing was, the Heaven Rank vice president had misjudged Wei Zhao. The moment Wei Zhao caught the card, he swiftly circulated the second layer of the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art to heal himself. Though the injury to his palm was severe, it covered only a small area—nothing compared to the wounds he had taken in battle, which made this seem trifling. And so, in moments, his palm was restored as good as new!

Wei Zhao raised his hand and turned the card over and over, playing with it. Palm and fingers moved with perfect agility, showing not the slightest sign of injury!

"Hm, this card is worth a pretty penny—pure gold. It seems the vice president truly did me honor. I'll be sure to keep it safe." Wei Zhao smiled and tucked the card into his pocket, and that hand even made a show of adjusting it back and forth a few times, as though settling its position in the pocket.

At this, the Heaven Rank vice president was struck dumb. Nothing wrong? Wei Zhao's hand had suffered not the slightest injury? How was that possible? Even an expert at the peak of the early Heaven Rank, with true qi shielding his body, could not have managed that, could he?

Even if such an expert used true qi to protect himself, he would more or less be affected. Even if the bones were not all broken, the hand would be contused and unable to move freely, no? But Wei Zhao seemed to have no problem at all?

"Mr. Ling is truly no ordinary expert at the peak of the mid Earth Rank!" the Heaven Rank vice president exclaimed. "Might I ask from what sect Mr. Ling hails? The cultivators of your esteemed sect truly cannot be measured by ordinary grades. Though Mr. Ling's rank is the peak of the mid Earth Rank, in truth—whether in the might of his martial techniques or in the defensive power of his true qi—he surpasses experts at the peak of the early Heaven Rank. I am lost in admiration!"

The Heaven Rank vice president privately admitted that even his own defensive power was not as formidable as Wei Zhao's, and that Wei Zhao's martial techniques were mightier than his own. So he spoke of himself as "this humble one" and placed Wei Zhao in the position of a senior.

Though Wei Zhao's rank was low, his strength spoke for itself. The vice president saw nothing improper in it at all.

"Indeed, Senior Ling's strength is truly formidable!" Third You chimed in. He did not know why Wei Zhao had taken the surname "Ling," but he was no fool—he would not expose it now. He had no wish to die. RQ