Chapter 3727 — A Vicious Killing Intent

So long as the blow was not instantly fatal, a Foundation Establishment expert with even a last breath left in him could be snatched back from the jaws of death by the heaven-defying efficacy of this fourth-grade Great Restoration Pill, and his vitality swiftly restored.

Applied to an ordinary person—provided his constitution was not so weakened that it rejected all tonics—even the gravest of injuries would heal in an instant; one moment he might be at death's door, and the next, after swallowing the pill, he would be bursting with vigor.

Applied to an expert at the early Foundation Establishment stage like Meng Zhou, whose vital essence that needed replenishing far exceeded that of an ordinary person, the effect would not be so miraculous—yet within a single day he would certainly recover.

Word had it that this fourth-grade Great Restoration Pill had been supplied personally by Xu Lingchong. To deal with him this time, the young master Xu had truly laid out no small sum!

Yet although Wei Zhao had seen Meng Zhou violate the rules by taking the pill in advance, he had no intention of denouncing him publicly—for if he did, the fourth-grade Great Restoration Pill would in an instant be swallowed into Meng Zhou's belly, leaving no evidence to be found on the corpse, and the only elder present with the authority to examine whether Meng Zhou had taken medicine beforehand, Zhao Hongbo, would certainly not take his side.

So rather than denounce him publicly and make a fool of himself, it was better to stand by coldly and watch how things unfolded, then give these scheming creatures a grand surprise later on!

Under the gaze of everyone present, Meng Zhou strode up to the examiner with a smug look on his face, and the crowd could not help but curse under their breath: what a petty man reveling in his petty triumph!

When he came to a stop a full zhang before the examiner, the examiner nodded to Zhao Hongbo and Hu Yunfeng, exchanged a subtle glance with Xu Lingchong, Meng Jueming, and the others, and only then signaled that the trial was to begin.

"What follows is the peak early Foundation Establishment level trial. Are you ready?" the examiner asked in final confirmation.

"Of course! Bring it on." Meng Zhou did not even deign to raise his eyelids, carrying himself with the air of an unmatched master who regarded his opponent as so much dirt.

My heavens! If Young Master Xu had not instructed me to go easy on you, then just for that punchable attitude of yours, I would damn well strike you dead with a single palm!

A creature who plainly needed to cheat just to muddle through, yet insisted on putting on an air of looking down upon all creation—Meng Zhou's sheer gall made the examiner's stomach churn with disgust, and he cursed him silently again and again.

Still, no matter how much he loathed Meng Zhou, for the sake of Xu Lingchong's grand plan, this examiner could only pinch his nose and endure it.

Not only could he not strike the man dead with one palm, he had to deliberately hold back thirty percent of his force to let him off easy; otherwise, with Meng Zhou's meager strength, if he truly delivered a full-power strike at the peak of early Foundation Establishment, there was a ninety percent chance it would kill him outright—and even if he had prepared a fourth-grade Great Restoration Pill to hold in his mouth, he would have no chance to swallow it!

Like the vast majority of newcomers, Meng Zhou had not cultivated any defensive martial technique; facing this kind of trial, his only recourse was to condense his true qi at his chest as much as possible to withstand the examiner's attack.

It was a choice made for want of any other—true, it could not compare with dedicated defensive martial techniques, but it was better than nothing. Especially for an expert at the early Foundation Establishment stage like him, whose true qi within had long since grown formidable to a certain degree; relying on true qi alone was enough to offset a full-power strike from a Heaven-rank great perfection cultivator.

But now what he faced was an attack at the peak of early Foundation Establishment—the damage that bit of true qi could offset was clearly insufficient, yet it was better than nothing, far better than doing nothing at all.

Everyone present held their breath and focused, waiting for the examiner to unleash his power; after all, the might of a peak early Foundation Establishment expert was not something one could easily witness in the Welcome Pavilion on ordinary days.

And this examiner truly did not disappoint—without any preceding buildup, he struck out with a palm that seemed plain and unremarkable, slow at first then fast, and by the time it crossed the distance of a zhang and reached Meng Zhou's chest, it already carried the force of a thunderbolt!

Of the many Heaven-rank great perfection experts present, a single glance was enough to make their hearts pound with fright; though this palm was merely an ordinary attack from a peak early Foundation Establishment expert, carrying no powerful martial technique effect, its might was still beyond what they—who had not even succeeded in Foundation Establishment—could withstand.

At this moment, just watching from the sidelines made their hearts tremble; were they in Meng Zhou's place, death would be certain, and no pill, however potent, could save their lives.

"Bang!"

The palm struck home, and with a muffled groan Meng Zhou flew backward like a kite with its string cut, tumbling a full ten zhang or more. And now, looking at his condition, there was no trace of his former arrogance and smugness—his face was like gold leaf, and he vomited blood without cease!

Aiya! Thank goodness he had swallowed the fourth-grade Great Restoration Pill at that very instant—otherwise this blow would surely have finished him!

Yet even though the fourth-grade Great Restoration Pill had already begun to exert its powerful, heaven-defying medicinal force within his body, Meng Zhou still could not stop his vision from going black again and again, and only by clinging to his last breath did he barely keep from collapsing; his five viscera and six bowels felt as though they had been displaced, a sensation worse than death itself.

Still, it was just as well—with the fourth-grade Great Restoration Pill sustaining his life, there was no danger to it.

Seeing that although Meng Zhou was utterly drained, he could still grit his teeth and force himself to sit up and begin meditating to circulate his qi and recover from his internal injuries, the newcomers watching from the sidelines clearly showed a measure of shock and awe in their eyes.

Never mind how long it would take him to recover—to have withstood that blow without dying was in itself a miraculous display, and his strength was beyond doubt!

After all, these onlooking newcomers knew nothing of Meng Zhou having taken the fourth-grade Great Restoration Pill; they assumed all of this was owed to Meng Zhou's own early Foundation Establishment strength, and such a display was naturally worthy of being called formidable!

"Now it is your turn, is it not?" After blasting Meng Zhou away, the examiner looked far off at Wei Zhao, a hint of amusement on his face.

Last time, in their attempt to do Wei Zhao in, these fine enforcers of the Law Enforcement Hall had gone for wool and come home shorn—because the pressure formation had inexplicably gone out of control, they had instead gravely wounded themselves, losing face utterly before Young Master Xu Lingchong, and for that they had naturally come to hate Wei Zhao.

And now, at last, the time for revenge had come: a full-power strike at the peak of early Foundation Establishment with its might raised by thirty percent—this brat was nothing but a mere early Foundation Establishment expert, with no chance whatsoever of lucking his way through. Just wait to die!