Chapter 1107 — Er Goudan Is Here
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
"The hidden Pi family?" Wei Zhao started slightly. "Is it an entity like the hidden Yu family or the hidden Zhao family?" Not being clear on how the hidden aristocratic families were arranged, Wei Zhao asked.
"Yes. The hidden Pi family's overall strength is a shade stronger than the hidden Zhao family's. I've heard that the Pi family's ancestor is supposedly a peak late-stage Earth Rank expert, only a step from the Heaven Rank — though that is mere rumor, since it has never been verified. And everything the Pi family practices is external-school martial art, which still falls short of the internal school." In a few brief words, Uncle Qing told Wei Zhao what he knew.
"Only a step from the Heaven Rank?" Wei Zhao frowned. He had not expected the hidden Pi family to be so formidable. One had to know that once external-school training reached the late stage, advancing even one step was harder than hard! The external school differed from the internal: the internal school raised its strength through true qi and treasures born of heaven and earth, while the external school raised its through the unceasing tempering of the body!
Put another way, the internal school could be cultivated by oneself alone, but the external school, once it reached a certain level, demanded a partner to drill and spar with — only then could one improve and seize the chance of a breakthrough! To put it bluntly, external skill was much like boxing or sanshou: to get better you needed a sparring partner. Alone, it could not be done!
And since the Pi family's ancestor stood only a step from the Heaven Rank, then by the same reasoning the Pi family, besides this ancestor, must also possess an expert of comparable strength to drill with him. That being so, the Pi family's power was not to be scoffed at!
"Yes. But as things stand, the Pi family and the Xiao family are partners and nothing more; for the time being the Xiao family will not use the Pi family's people to take their revenge on us," Uncle Qing said.
"By the way, what strength are the experts the Pi family sent to the Xiao family?" Wei Zhao asked.
"One is at the peak of the late Profound Rank, the other at the early Profound Rank. Both are external-school experts," Uncle Qing said.
"An early Profound Rank is hardly a threat. A peak late Profound Rank... hmm... that is rather troublesome." Wei Zhao's brows drew tightly together. He himself was an internal-school expert at the mid Profound Rank: against an external expert at the peak of the mid Profound Rank or in the late Profound Rank he still had a certain measure of confidence, but against a peak late Profound Rank opponent he had none whatsoever. Unless he deployed an ultimate finishing move such as an energy bomb — yet a gambit that slew a thousand of the enemy at the cost of eight hundred of his own was not something Wei Zhao would resort to unless there were no alternative. The consequences it wrought were far too perilous, and he had to weigh the matter carefully.
"Ah... if only I could recover the strength of my former peak." Uncle Qing sighed, speaking with helpless regret. "If I were to break through to the Profound Rank now — even the early Profound Rank — I could be of use. With the two of us combining our strength, we would not necessarily have to fear that peak late Profound Rank expert. But as it stands, though I am only a step from the Profound Rank, that step still represents an entire tier..."
Hearing this, Wei Zhao could not help nodding. It was true: he could fight above his own level against stronger opponents, but Uncle Qing could not. He owed that to the purity of the true qi he absorbed and to the superiority of his cultivation method!
If only he could hand the true qi stored in the jade pendant over for Uncle Qing's use — but that was easier said than done. Energy was not like other things; Wei Zhao even wondered whether he could bottle it up and take it out when needed. But that was pure fantasy!