護花近衛 - 第1479章 給小凝的電話 - 清風書屋

Zhang Naipao sat cross-legged on the ground, and at once a mighty vortex of aura took shape around him, swirling above his head. The demonic qi within his body stirred the spiritual energy of heaven and earth about him and drew it together. To all appearances, he truly looked as if he were about to break through!

As for Wei Zhao, neither Zhang Naipao nor the disciples of the hidden families and sects spared him another glance. In their eyes, Wei Zhao was no different from that master at the peak of late Profound Rank who had put on airs on the road. Both had become cripples, and for such cripples they would not spare even a thought, much less a look.

With every shred of true qi in his body drained dry, Wei Zhao collapsed to the ground in an instant. At this moment he was not even the equal of an ordinary man, for even an ordinary man's body holds some energy, while Wei Zhao had not a scrap left at all.

"Are you all right!" Yu Bing glared furiously at Zhang Naipao and the others in the distance and asked Wei Zhao anxiously.

"It is nothing... help me back to my room..." Wei Zhao glanced at Zhang Naipao in the distance and could not help a bitter smile. Now was the finest moment to deal with Zhang Naipao. At the instant of his advance and breakthrough, a man was at his most defenseless. To strike at him now would very likely leave him gravely wounded.

But that crowd of followers stood sternly on guard beside him, shielding him, and left Wei Zhao's side with no opening to exploit! Had Wei Zhao been at his peak, he could have fought in a way that hurt others at cost to himself, wounding all these men with energy bombs and then turning on Zhang Naipao. But now there was no energy at all within Wei Zhao's body, and where was he to find an energy bomb?

And Yu Bing was no match at all for such a pack of Profound Rank masters. To send him up would be tantamount to sending him to his death, so Wei Zhao could only return to his room for now, helpless, and think of a way after his strength was restored.

"We are teammates, yet I cannot avenge you..." Yu Bing said with grief and guilt when he saw Wei Zhao in such a state.

His grief came from helplessness, from having no way to avenge Wei Zhao, and his guilt came, on the one hand, because Wei Zhao had been his teammate and friend, and was his teammate still! On the other hand, it was because of Xiaoning. If Xiaoning learned of this, she would surely be heartbroken. If Wei Zhao had become an ordinary man, stripped of his strength, then the gulf between him and Xiaoning, and between him and the hidden Yu family, would only grow wider, and his future with Xiaoning would only grow harder. His father Yu Xiaoshen would never allow Xiaoning to marry an ordinary man. Not to speak of his father, even his grandfather would never agree!

"It is nothing. The revenge will be had, and I will take it myself." Wei Zhao smiled. "You need not carry any burden on your conscience..."

"But... in your present state... how can you still take revenge?" Yu Bing gave a bitter smile. "Forget it... let me help you back first."

Amid universal indifference, Yu Bing helped Wei Zhao toward the great door of the inn, and this scene happened to fall into the innkeeper's eyes. Having seen it, the innkeeper neither stopped them nor said anything more.

Though he too was a man of the Ice Palace, the trial had not yet begun, and the Ice Palace bore no duty for the lives and safety of these trial takers, so there was no need for him to interfere at all.

Once Yu Bing had helped Wei Zhao back to his room, he said hurriedly, "What now? What should I do? Do you need any heavenly treasures? Name them. I hold some standing in the Yu family, and with Xiaoning besides, whatever you want, so long as the Yu family has it, I can get it for you!"

"No need..." Wei Zhao smiled gratefully. "Why go to such trouble? You go back. I will rest by myself."