Chapter 3008 — Journey to the Snow Valley

"What?!" Hearing the Thunder Pig's explanation, Wei Zhao was both astonished and delighted. The ninth stance of the Frenzied Fire Eight Trigrams Palm—a technique capable of instantly slaying even Heaven-rank experts! He himself had only just managed to unleash it once, yet the Wind-Thunder Violet Lightning Beast could actually unleash it two or three times? What did that even mean? It meant that even if Wei Zhao faced a siege by three or even four skilled fighters below the peak of mid Heaven-rank, he could handle them! Of course, he did not know whether he would hold the advantage against a late Heaven-rank expert, but surely even a late Heaven-rank expert would suffer grave injuries from four heavy blows, no? "So right now, can you unleash it with complete mastery?" Wei Zhao asked hastily. "Roar, roar—" The Wind-Thunder Violet Lightning Beast shook its head. "Squeak, squeak!" the Thunder Pig translated: "Little Wind says it cannot bring out the full power of the martial technique—only about seventy or eighty percent. It should be enough to annihilate a skilled mid Heaven-rank fighter, but against one at the peak of mid Heaven-rank, it would find itself outmatched." "No matter—then just practice more!" Though somewhat disappointed, Wei Zhao felt far more delight, for if his spirit beast could unleash martial techniques, he could carry out his missions and earn money with far greater peace of mind. With the Wind-Thunder Violet Lightning Beast at home, it was as though Wei Zhao himself were guarding the place; even if Heaven-rank experts came, he would not fear them. At last, only the Majestic General remained. After Wei Zhao upgraded the Majestic General into a high dog of peak late Earth-rank strength, the sky was gradually brightening. The night's busy work had yielded a rich harvest, though what disappointed Wei Zhao was that neither the Thunder Pig nor the Majestic General possessed any martial techniques. That the Majestic General had none was within his expectations—after all, it was not a true spirit beast but a pseudo-spirit beast forcibly upgraded and remodeled by Wei Zhao. Yet the Thunder Pig, a spirit beast with a treasure-seeking function, also had no martial techniques, and Wei Zhao truly could not tell what use its every upgrade served. Could it be that its treasure-seeking ability grew stronger each time? In the morning, Wei Zhao prepared an exceedingly sumptuous breakfast—a farewell feast before his departure, shared with Yaoyao, Little Shu, and all his underlings. "After I leave, Qitan and Chentian can stay here; the rest of you may all go back!" Wei Zhao said to those seated: "You each have your own affairs. Come again when there is need—no rush." Everyone nodded, for what Wei Zhao said was the truth. Now that Wei Zhao had no troubles, all those petty clowns had gone into hiding. So long as Wei Zhao's strength remained, no matter how far he roamed to the ends of the earth, nothing major would happen at home—at least, the hidden factions would not dare make trouble. "Jingyi. If you have nothing pressing, go keep Uncle Qing company. Since you were reunited with him, you haven't spent any time with him—you've only stayed at the villa with me." Wei Zhao turned to look at Sun Jingyan, who had been living at the villa all this time; because of Uncle Qing, Gu Mengyao was not at all hostile toward Sun Jingyan, and had even prepared a room for her upstairs. "Mm. But I must go home first." Sun Jingyan said: "According to the Sun family's rules, after a Sun family member heals someone, they must return to the ancestral hall and register it in the genealogy. Barring any mishap, that person will become the Sun family member's other half..." Here Sun Jingyan blushed, and she stole a careful glance toward the young miss; seeing no particular expression on the young miss's face, she breathed a sigh of relief. Wei Zhao was slightly taken aback—he had not expected the Sun family to have such a rule—but he quickly said: "Jingyi, then when I return this time, I'll pay a visit to Old Master Sun and take the chance to tell him about us!" Since this was the Sun family's rule and he had feelings for Sun Jingyan, he naturally owed her an explanation. What relieved Wei Zhao was that neither the young miss nor Little Shu showed any displeasure. When Xiaoxiao had come before, they had shown great resistance, yet toward Sun Jingyan they had always been warm—perhaps because Sun Jingyan had saved him, and was also the daughter of Uncle Qing and Granny Sun. "Mm..." Sun Jingyan murmured softly, her cheeks faintly flushed. "Actually, if there's time this trip, Wei Zhao, it would be best if you took Sister Jingyi back with you," Gu Mengyao spoke up: "Of course, if it's too rushed this time, you can at least speak with Grandpa Lin first." "Ah... all right!" Wei Zhao nodded, casting the young miss a grateful glance. Had the young miss's character changed somewhat? Gu Mengyao felt a little embarrassed under his gaze, and merely said: "Sister Jingyi has done so much for you and likes being with you. Little Shu and I are naturally glad to see it. But this matter must also be told to Xiaoxiao." "That's true. In a little while, I'll make a trip to the Ice Palace and tell Xiaoxiao about this myself, and about Jingyi and Xinyan as well." Wei Zhao no longer felt that old sense of oppression regarding the Ice Palace. It was not that he now had the strength to stand above the Ice Palace, but that he had stepped into the Heaven rank himself, drawing ever closer to Bing Tang; before her, that feeling of being hopelessly out of reach was gone. Sun Jingyan stood to one side, her head lowered, too shy to speak. Even she had never imagined that matters between her and Wei Zhao would go so smoothly! After bidding everyone farewell, Wei Zhao rode the Wind-Thunder Violet Lightning Beast and vanished from their sight. It was only the hour of first light; few pedestrians and vehicles were about, and Wei Zhao and the beast took quiet side roads, so no one noticed them. …………………… Meanwhile, within the borders of the Snow Valley. Two uninvited guests arrived today; Snow Valley disciples stopped a car at the edge of their territory. "This is Snow Valley territory. If you two are here to explore or tour, I ask you to go no further!" A Snow Valley patrol disciple reached out and halted the car led by Tang. Tang did not dare be presumptuous—this was the Snow Valley, after all, a power far above the hidden sects; even an ordinary patrol disciple was about as strong as he was. Tang said respectfully: "Young hero, we've come to find someone. This is the Snow Valley, correct?" "Indeed, this is the Snow Valley. Whom do you seek?" The valley-patrolling disciple nodded; hearing that Tang had come to find someone, his expression softened a little as he asked. "We've come to find Tang Zhi. May I ask whether she is here?" Tang inquired. "Insolent! Our Elder Tang's name is not yours to call so casually! Who exactly are you?" The valley-patrolling disciple, hearing Tang address Tang Zhi by name, was immediately displeased and demanded sharply. (To be continued...)