Chapter 3238 — A Hard-Won Opportunity

"A small fry?" The Black Horse Association's Grand Elder was taken aback, and his doubts only deepened. Which small fry of the Black Horse Association could afford to pay for an assassination against him? To summon all three ancestors of the Bloody Garment Yellow Springs Sect at once—how enormous a price would that command?

Feng Tianhu had spent five billion and a promise just to buy a single strike from one Grand Elder. If the Bloody Garment Yellow Springs Sect's three ancestors took the field—and with no promise demanded—the starting price would be at least twenty billion!

In the Black Horse Association, the only one who could produce twenty billion was the president himself. A figure of that magnate tier—there was exactly one in the entire association.

"I understand. Do it, then. Give me a clean end." The Black Horse Association's Grand Elder sighed and gave up resisting. He did not even bother with true qi to protect his body, for he knew that even if he did, it would only be a question of dying sooner or later.

A few more blows and he would die all the same. Since the outcome was already decided and there was no difference in it, he had no heart left to resist—better to let them grant him a swift end!

"Straightforward of you." The Sinister Ancestor was briefly startled, then nodded.

He said no more. The Bloody Garment Ancestor, the Yellow Springs Ancestor, and the Sinister Ancestor stepped forward together and surrounded the Black Horse Association's Grand Elder on all sides, circulating their mental cultivation formulas in unison. In an instant, the true qi pressure filling the room left Wei Zhao feeling as though he could scarcely breathe!

Too formidable! Wei Zhao's own injuries had not yet healed; he had only been out of mortal danger, and had rushed off to treat Cheng Yiyi and Xu Shilan. Now two experts at the great perfection of the late Heaven Rank peak, plus one more expert at the late Heaven Rank peak, were circulating their mental cultivation formulas together, and Wei Zhao, standing so close, nearly failed to hold out—a mouthful of fresh blood almost burst straight from him: "Pff—"

The Black Horse Association's Grand Elder glanced at Wei Zhao with indifferent eyes and shook his head. So the rumors had been wrong, it seemed. And judging by how familiar Wei Zhao was with the Bloody Garment Yellow Springs Sect, those two experts at the late Heaven Rank peak from last time—it must have been Wei Zhao who hired them to make those kills, no?

The Black Horse Association's Grand Elder also knew Wei Zhao was very rich; a single automatic medicinal cauldron sold for several billion, even a dozen billion. That was more than enough to hire the Bloody Garment Yellow Springs Sect to kill. He did not know, of course, that Wei Zhao also donated to the orphanage—he assumed all that money was Wei Zhao's own!

Yet even having guessed such a conclusion, he could no longer send word of it out. The next moment, he would be dead!

The pressure in the air left Wei Zhao gasping, and he hurriedly circulated the third layer of the Xuanyuan Dragon Taming Art to resist it! Though Wei Zhao knew the three men's true qi pressure was not aimed at him, he was simply far too close. He was caught in the backwash!

This was what they called getting shot while lying down.

The Sinister Ancestor noticed Wei Zhao's condition as well, but did nothing about it, for they were not targeting Wei Zhao. Wei Zhao could easily have withdrawn from the room; that he had not meant he could still endure it, so naturally they had no worries! He supposed Wei Zhao wanted to watch the Black Horse Association's Grand Elder die with his own eyes before he could rest easy.

The Sinister Ancestor and the other two did not dare be careless either. Though the Black Horse Association's Grand Elder had made it clear he wanted a swift end—that is, he was waiting to die—this was, after all, the first time in the lives of these three ancestors of the Bloody Garment Yellow Springs Sect that they were about to kill an expert at the great perfection of the late Heaven Rank peak. They were nervous too, afraid something might go wrong!

So they did not strike at once, but gathered their strength, preparing to unleash their strongest moves in unison and send the Black Horse Association's Grand Elder straight on his way!

The reason Wei Zhao had not left, had not departed, was not that he wished to watch the Black Horse Association's Grand Elder be slain! There was no need to watch that at all—it was a foregone conclusion. The Black Horse Association's Grand Elder faced two experts at the great perfection of the late Heaven Rank peak and one at the late Heaven Rank peak; with the three of them striking together, it went without saying that the Grand Elder had already given up resisting—even if he had not, death was certain.

No—Wei Zhao stood there circulating his mental cultivation formula because he had actually caught a glimmer of an opportunity to break through in strength! Earlier, in his battle with the Black Horse Association's Grand Elder, he had been in a state of constant tension. That struggle beyond the limits of his body had drained him, but it had also brought him the chance to rise one step higher.

Only, the gap in strength between Wei Zhao and the Black Horse Association's Grand Elder was simply too vast. The two exchanged a single move, and Wei Zhao had no choice but to use the Heaven and Earth Net—otherwise he would have died beyond any doubt!

That left Wei Zhao deeply frustrated. He had clearly touched the very edge of the rank barrier; one small effort and he would certainly have broken through—yet at the critical moment it had stopped short! This was a bitterness Wei Zhao could not voice.

But now, as the Bloody Garment Ancestor, the Yellow Springs Ancestor, and the Sinister Ancestor circulated their mental cultivation formulas together, the pressure of their true qi was no joke either. It left Wei Zhao aghast—and at the same time both shocked and delighted!

That opportunity he had narrowly missed before—he had touched it again! The combined strength of these three far surpassed the Black Horse Association's Grand Elder, but their target was not Wei Zhao; he merely bore the backwash of their residual might!

And one man's residual might could not possibly have put such pressure on Wei Zhao—yet this was the residual might of three. For Wei Zhao, three was a little too many; two would have been just right. But he could not afford to worry about that now!

An opportunity so hard-won would not be lightly abandoned. If he let it slip, who knew when the next one would come? And though the pressure of these three was hard to bear, it was not beyond Wei Zhao; he could just barely resist it. It would merely be arduous, and likely to leave him with internal injuries and coughing blood!

Of course, internal injuries and blood were nothing Wei Zhao feared—so long as he could level up, that was enough. As for the injuries, with the Xuanyuan Dragon Taming Art and the jade pendant space, recovery was easier than could be imagined.

So Wei Zhao did not leave. Instead, he desperately circulated his mental cultivation formula to withstand the true qi pressure of the three ancestors. The Sinister Ancestor found Wei Zhao's behavior strange, but said nothing more. In his eyes, Wei Zhao was cleverer than anyone; if he chose not to leave now but to resist while coughing blood, there must be a reason—so let him be.

"Ready..." The Bloody Garment Ancestor abruptly quickened the circulation of his mental cultivation formula, and the true qi around his body rose to an unprecedented height!