Chapter 2594 — The Return of Leader Zhu

And at this very moment, he finally understood why Wei Zhao, Wu Chengtian, and Chen Yuxuan had repeatedly been injured in the past, seemingly on the verge of becoming cripples, only to break through miraculously—so this was how it worked! No wonder the last time Wei Zhao was hurt, he came out of it completely unscathed: Wei Zhao could heal himself!

Thinking back to how Wei Zhao, after being injured, had played the pig to eat the tiger, luring enemies to come kick down his door, the corner of Zhu the Second's mouth twitched twice. This was plainly a trap! Wei Zhao had probably been fine long ago, sitting at home feigning illness and waiting for enemies to come asking to be humiliated!

Still, in this he wronged Wei Zhao. Before Wei Zhao had discovered the Mighty General's secret, he truly had intended to take the whole family and flee.

"It's done! I'm completely healed! Big Brother, my meridians are all repaired, and they're even thicker and sturdier than before, which is all the more beneficial for cultivation!" Zhu the Second looked at Zhu the Leader in astonishment and delight, crying out excitedly.

"Healed? Then that's good—truly wonderful!" Zhu the Leader let out a long breath. The parents of the two Zhu brothers had passed away early, and the two had always depended on each other. Though Zhu the Second had not died before, being unable to cultivate meant his lifespan would inevitably be cut drastically short; Zhu the Leader was the elder, yet he would have had to watch his younger brother go first. The thought had left a bitter taste in his heart. Now all was well—he had never imagined that a decision made on a single impulse would bring his brother such an immense turning point!

"Don't spout nonsense. Now circulate your own heart-method mnemonic—I'm going to raise your strength!" Wei Zhao said flatly.

"Yes, Leader!" Zhu the Second no longer harbored the slightest doubt. At this moment he was ready to follow Wei Zhao with wholehearted devotion. With a leader like this watching over him, he would truly have nothing to fear in the future—he was practically an unkillable cockroach! When he was about to die in a duel, he could simply use a return-to-town, find Wei Zhao, and be revived at full health. Who could be more formidable than that? Who could be more indulgent in fantasy?

Zhu the Leader could feel his brother's joy as well, but that Wei Zhao was going to raise Zhu the Second's strength left him half-believing, half-doubting. That Wei Zhao could heal injuries—of that he had no doubt; after all, Pi Zhitao's example was right there for all to see. He was delighted, yet not surprised. But raising strength was a different matter entirely.

"Lin... Leader, you're not going to test us brothers first?" Zhu the Leader asked with some hesitation. Happiness had come too fast, and it felt a little unreal.

"Trust those you employ; do not employ those you distrust. If the two of you were to obey in word but betray in deed, taking your lives would be as easy as turning my hand." Wei Zhao smiled. His tone was mild, yet it left the two Zhu brothers silent and shivering.

Indeed—Wei Zhao could effortlessly kill even a Heaven-rank expert in a single strike; disposing of the two of them would be no more than reaching out and snatching something up. At that thought, they were set at ease. Wei Zhao was not afraid of them turning traitor at all; if they turned, he would simply kill them.

"Rest assured, Leader. I, Zhu the Leader, swear here and now: we two Zhu brothers will follow your lead in all things from this day forward!" Zhu the Leader said hurriedly.

"Heh. I'll look at results," Wei Zhao said indifferently.

Yet the more indifferent Wei Zhao was, the more the two Zhu brothers revered him and admired him in earnest. Had this been Zhao Qibing, he would certainly have been delighted to put on a show, utter some feigned words of emotion, and then dangle a few vague promises of benefit.

As he spoke, Zhu the Second circulated his own internal-energy heart method—and was astonished to find his strength rising rapidly. Threads of pure, refined true qi surged into his body through his pulse gates; as his heart-method mnemonic circulated, they cycled through his body and were converted to his own use!

Zhu the Second was utterly aghast. Never before this had he heard of strength being raised in such a way. Was this not a furnace-cauldron? Yet it differed from a furnace-cauldron: a furnace-cauldron generally sacrificed its own strength to complete another, but Wei Zhao was plainly not so foolish as to give his strength away for nothing. So the only possibility was that Wei Zhao's own strength would not be lost, and yet he could raise the strength of others. To think what a terrifying prospect that was!

Zhu the Second's injuries had only just healed, so there was originally not much true qi in his body; but with Wei Zhao helping him level up like this, in the blink of an eye he was already an expert at the peak of late-stage Yellow rank, just one step away from Mystic rank!

Fast—truly far too fast! Zhu the Second was circulating his internal-energy heart method, so Zhu the Leader could see his strength as well. Zhu the Leader stared wide-eyed at Zhu the Second, whose strength had soared so violently; his heart was glad, and yet there was a trace of envy in it too. But Wei Zhao had also said just now that he was an Earth-rank expert, and it seemed he could not raise the strength of Earth-rank experts. So Zhu the Leader could only pray that Wei Zhao would soon set foot in Heaven rank, and then be able to raise his strength.

Over the course of a single morning, Zhu the Second went from a cripple to having his strength surge all at once to the peak of late-stage Mystic rank. Then Wei Zhao gave him another Small Qi-Gathering Pill, and under the guardianship of Zhu the Leader and Wei Zhao, he swallowed it successfully and became an early-stage Earth-rank expert.

"Leader, I... I..." Zhu the Second was so overwhelmed he could not speak. Though Zhu the Leader had told him before that Wei Zhao could not only heal injuries but also raise strength, Zhu the Second had been half-doubting; only after experiencing it himself did he know the wonder of it. He did not even know how to thank Wei Zhao properly.

"All right, you've been out a long while. Take these two doses of medicine back with you, and this pill—take it now, ahead of time." Wei Zhao handed a pill and two sealed packets of medicine to Zhu the Leader. He had just prepared them.

"Yes, many thanks, Leader!" Zhu the Leader took the things Wei Zhao handed over and said excitedly.

"Mm. What comes next will depend on you two yourselves. But if you operate according to the method Little Shu described, there should be no problem," Wei Zhao said. "The medicine I've prepared—ordinary people won't recognize it, and neither will Medicine King Zhao."

"Of course we trust you!" By now the two Zhu brothers placed unreserved trust in Wei Zhao.

Wei Zhao drove off to the school, while the two Zhu brothers returned to the Hidden Zhao family. Zhu the Second, who had been so full of vigor a moment ago, at once reverted to that decrepit look from before. His disguise was still well executed: unless one examined the meridians within his body, no one could tell that his injuries were fully healed and his strength raised.

Of course, the Medicine King, with nothing better to do, was hardly likely to go examine his meridians.

Zhu the Leader and Zhu the Second quietly returned to the Hidden Zhao family, and Zhu the Leader hurried off to meet the Zhao family's old patriarch, Old Master Zhao.

"Zhu the Leader, aren't you supposed to be guarding Chen Xi's side? Why have you come back after leaving?" Old Master Zhao looked at Zhu the Leader with some displeasure. Chen Xi was one of the Hidden Zhao family's trump cards, used to curry favor with experts of the ancient tier; there could not be the slightest mishap with him.