Chapter 1566 — A Bittersweet Moment
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
Had Wei Zhao not broken through to the late Xuan Tier in one leap, with Zhang Naipao's "assistance," right before taking part in the trial, he would have found it quite a struggle to handle the man before him. Even if he ultimately won, he would have suffered severe internal injuries!
So after Wu Chengtian's warning, Wei Zhao grew even more cautious. The instant Zero One swung his left hand, Wei Zhao moved too — he thrust his right hand forward as well, but did not clash with it head-on. Instead, he condensed a tiny energy bomb in his right palm. The consequences of that energy bomb were carefully calculated: it would blast Zero One flying, cripple his left hand, and cause him no serious bodily harm beyond that!
But that was more than enough! Wei Zhao could see that Zero One's advantage lay in his limbs and hand-to-hand skill, so crippling his left hand first to strip away some of his strength was the right move. As for the recoil of the energy bomb damaging his own right hand — that could be negligible, since Wei Zhao could heal himself with true qi in the blink of an eye. After all, the affected area was too small.
Through this trial, Wei Zhao's skill at condensing energy bombs had grown ever more refined — he could essentially say he had mastered it at will. Whatever outcome he desired, he could gauge it with near-perfect accuracy.
Of course, Wei Zhao could also have used an enormous energy bomb to blow the Zero One before him into a cripple. But he did not do so, for two reasons: first, there was no time — he had no moment to spare to condense a large energy bomb; and second, he had the college entrance exam to sit in a short while, so he could not afford to be injured!
An energy bomb could wound the enemy, but it could also harm oneself — so under normal circumstances, Wei Zhao would not use one unless absolutely necessary.
With a thunderous CRACK, what looked like a clash of palms was nothing of the sort — Zero One's palm struck the energy bomb itself, never once touching Wei Zhao's hand!
In the next instant, Wei Zhao relaxed his grip on Zero One's right hand, and Zero One was blasted backward, sent flying through the air!
Although Zero One possessed external-style power at the peak of the late Xuan Tier, it had been forcibly enhanced — his technique was far from mature, and certainly nothing like genuine, cultivated strength. What was more, Zero One had no thoughts of his own; he could not assess the situation or make tactical judgments, but fought purely on blind, subconscious instinct. So an unstable stance that sent him flying was entirely expected.
"Ah!" Qiu Lingshan and Wu Chengtian both exclaimed in delighted astonishment, their bodies trembling with excitement. Wei Zhao was incredible! Before, it had always been Zero One sending them flying — and the moment Wei Zhao returned, a single seemingly effortless palm strike sent Zero One sailing through the air!
Over on the other side, Shen Yushu, Gu Mengyao, and Tang Zhi were equally thrilled. The instant Wei Zhao came back, he unleashed his full might!
"Captain Arrow, you can do it! Captain Arrow, you're the best! Xiaoshu loves you the most!" Shen Yushu cupped her hands around her mouth like a megaphone and cheered at Wei Zhao.
"This feeling — it's so reassuring. It's like he's come back, and none of the troubles matter anymore..." Tang Zhi said with emotion.
"Yes... ever since that time, when Wei Zhao rescued me at the bank, I've thought he was quite something..." Gu Mengyao finally blurted out the truth without intending to.
"Heh..." Tang Zhi smiled, a flicker of sourness darting through her heart, but she said nothing more.