Chapter 4805 — A Fall Short of Success
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
Naturally, no one here was rooting for Wei Zhao. They simply wanted to see Leng Rufeng make his move, to witness just how terrifyingly formidable this cold-faced Blade God's strength truly was—that and nothing more.
"Heh heh, the fellow named Leng has finally come to his senses. There's a rare killing intent about him today—looks like he means to go all out against Wei Zhao. About time!" Ren Zhongyuan said with a smug laugh as he watched.
"Hardly surprising. Leng Rufeng was never the mild-tempered sort. After being toyed with by Wei Zhao yesterday, it would be stranger still if he didn't get serious. If he let Wei Zhao make a fool of him again like he did at the end yesterday, where would he hide his face?" Yi Xiaotian wore the expression of a man who had foreseen it all.
"Quite right, quite right—let the killing begin. I've been waiting impatiently." A dark, unnameable venom showed on Ren Zhongyuan's face. These past two days his father, Ren Tiansuo, had been working to dissolve the five-element killing aura from his body, and each session brought him inhuman agony, nearly tormenting him to the brink of collapse. He hated Wei Zhao to the very marrow, and longed to see the wretch torn limb from limb.
By now the two on the arena had once more taken up their stances. Leng Rufeng opened with Ice and Snow Domain the moment he stepped up, a colossal ice blade gripped in his hand. Wei Zhao, without a word, entered the Super-Limit State—what choice did he have? Without it, he would have no chance at all.
It had to be said: even under the severe suppression of Ice and Snow Domain, the speed displayed by the Super-Limit Butterfly Microstep remained extraordinary. Its darting, weaving turns were especially agile, and Wei Zhao actually evaded Leng Rufeng's opening slash—just barely, but without harm.
Leng Rufeng cast Wei Zhao another look of surprise. It seemed the fellow's injuries were not merely healed; even his true qi had returned to its peak. How on earth had he managed that?
After all, even for him, yesterday's battle—though not especially taxing—was not the sort of expenditure that could be fully replenished overnight. Some loss was inevitable.
This was a problem nearly every cultivator had to face. The fighting was exhilarating enough, but recovering was a long, drawn-out process. Leng Rufeng's rate of recovery was already considered swift. Yesterday's battle had cost him roughly thirty percent of his true qi, and a night's rest had restored about twenty percent. In other words, the true qi in his body now stood at only ninety percent of his peak.
Of course, never mind ninety percent—given the vast gulf in strength between them, even if he had only thirty percent left, Leng Rufeng could still crush Wei Zhao utterly. It would make no difference to the outcome whatsoever.
Yet facing this vigorous, vital Wei Zhao, Leng Rufeng instinctively felt a measure of wariness—though he immediately told himself he was making a fuss over nothing. Yesterday's battle had laid the fellow's strength bare before him. However many tricks he might produce, in the end he could never bridge that enormous chasm of power.
To actually feel apprehension toward this thing? Leng Rufeng could not help but laugh at himself. Having spent so long in the Profound-rank waters, he had truly grown jumpy, imagining this place to be as thick with masters as that other place. How absurd.
From a distance, Wei Zhao saw Leng Rufeng suddenly laughing for no apparent reason, and his heart gave a faint start. What was this man playing at?
But he did not dwell on it. Since his opponent was distracted, this was a rare opening and a rare chance. Without hesitation, Wei Zhao closed the distance to Leng Rufeng. The gap in strength was already vast; if he kept to pure defense, he would truly have no chance at all. He had to seize this opportunity and attack with everything he had—attack in place of defense!