Chapter 2139 — A Countermeasure

After all, at any other time Gu Mengyao, Shen Yushu and the others could run, but Han Xiaopo could not; he had to stay on the arena floor. The moment he stepped outside its bounds, it would count as a voluntary surrender, and to keep Han Xiaopo from being struck out of the ring, Wei Zhao had no choice but to shield him again and again.

"How is it, Wei Zhao? Trading blows with the spirit wolf doesn't feel too good, does it?" Woking Dao saw Wei Zhao cough up blood once more and laughed heartily. "This spirit wolf of mine has muscles of bronze and bones of iron—it ranks among the very best of all attack-type spirit beasts, and it doesn't yield even against a Heaven-rank early-stage expert! Wahaha, Wei Zhao, if you still won't concede, then wait to die!"

Nor could Woking Dao be blamed for such arrogance. Few among the younger generation of Qianshan Sect could forge a pact with a combat spirit beast like his, and his beast stood at the very peak of the peak—so naturally his confidence in battle was absolute.

Besides, word of Wei Zhao had been built up to mythic heights, tales of just how formidable he was. Yet here on the arena he turned out to have nothing to do but take a beating—how could Woking Dao's confidence not swell?

Wei Zhao frowned and said nothing. Inwardly he weighed the worth of this fight, and his eyes flicked toward the clan elders and sect masters below the stage. Seeing the gloating in their eyes, Wei Zhao knew: if he conceded now, the wariness those old men had built toward him over the past few matches would vanish in an instant.

So Wei Zhao gritted his teeth and resolved to hold on no matter what—and truly, if it came to the point where nothing could be done, then he would concede.

"It doesn't matter. We'll see whether your spirit wolf dies first or I do..." Taking advantage of the moment Woking Dao was boasting, Wei Zhao accelerated the circulation of his mental cultivation mantra, mending the injuries within his〖Body〗.

"Spirit wolf, this time you feint at Wei Zhao, but strike Han Xiaopo in truth. I, meanwhile, will attack Wei Zhao!" Woking Dao pondered a moment, deciding to change tactics—but he spoke in a tongue only the spirit wolf could understand, which Wei Zhao naturally did not.

What Woking Dao envisioned this time was: if Wei Zhao still took his fist on his back, Wei Zhao would have to stand his ground to block it. But the spirit wolf would be attacking Han Xiaopo, and in that case it would be impossible for Wei Zhao to face the spirit wolf head-on again!

After all, the spirit wolf's target this time was not Wei Zhao but Han Xiaopo. It could not possibly charge at Wei Zhao!

Though Wei Zhao could not understand Woking Dao's words, once Woking Dao threw his punch, Wei Zhao directly sensed a difference in the warning signal from his jade pendant. His heart gave a faint chill—was Woking Dao striking at him this time?

And looking again at the spirit wolf, it was indeed lunging at Han Xiaopo! So Wei Zhao decided on the instant, spun around, and planted himself behind Han Xiaopo, letting the spirit wolf pounce straight at him.

Seeing Wei Zhao suddenly turn, Woking Dao was briefly taken aback, but his fist did not stop! He was no spirit wolf, and his thinking was naturally not as rigid as the beast's. Seeing Wei Zhao move to block the spirit wolf, Woking Dao immediately switched targets and struck straight at Han Xiaopo!

Wei Zhao saw this too. He shoved Han Xiaopo clear with one hand, then met Woking Dao with the first stance of the Frenzied Fire Fist!

Woking Dao had already committed his move; changing targets again was hardly possible. He met the first stance of the Frenzied Fire Fist head-on, force against force!

"Pff—" Woking Dao's physique was nowhere near as formidable as the spirit wolf's. The first stance of the Frenzied Fire Fist alone was enough to make him cough up blood! His fighting relied chiefly on man-and-beast coordination. On his own, he was far weaker.

At the same time, however, the spirit wolf slammed straight into Wei Zhao's back. With a tremendous crash, it rattled every one of Wei Zhao's internal organs into chaos.

"Cough, cough..." Wei Zhao found that taking this blow from the spirit wolf head-on was far worse than one from Woking Dao. The spirit wolf's striking power was in no way inferior to that Earth-rank man in black he had met that day; though it was much weaker than the Heaven-rank might of the earlier endurance contest and the like, it was already more than the injured Wei Zhao could bear!

But Wei Zhao paid the spirit wolf no mind. Without a moment's pause he unleashed the second stance of the Frenzied Fire Fist, smashing it toward Woking Dao!

Wei Zhao had seen it too: Woking Dao could establish a link with the spirit wolf through a specialized beast tongue, and whom the spirit wolf attacked was entirely at Woking Dao's command! Having found this pattern, Wei Zhao locked his target onto Woking Dao himself!

So long as Woking Dao had not changed his order, the spirit wolf would not be clever enough to turn and attack Han Xiaopo—it would surely keep hounding Wei Zhao. So Wei Zhao did not intend to give Woking Dao the chance to communicate with the spirit wolf. Once Woking Dao was dealt with, the spirit wolf would naturally be nothing to fear!

"Boom—" The second stance of the Frenzied Fire Fist sent Woking Dao staggering back once more. He had not expected Wei Zhao's martial technique to be unleashed in continuous succession, giving him no chance at all to communicate with the spirit wolf!

Woking Dao spat out another great mouthful of blood, his face somewhat pale. He had just opened his mouth to speak when he saw Wei Zhao's fist come at him again!

Woking Dao was startled and hastily circulated his mental cultivation mantra to unleash a martial technique in defense. The third stance of the Frenzied Fire Fist against the third stance of the Wild Wolf Fist—Woking Dao was naturally at a disadvantage.

The Wild Wolf Fist was simply not as superior as the Frenzied Fire Fist. This martial technique only unleashed its greatest might when coordinated with a spirit beast's attack, and Wei Zhao had cultivated the Frenzied Fire Fist to the peak of mastery. Woking Dao fell back again and again, coughing up several mouthfuls of fresh blood, unable to speak!

In truth, wretched as Woking Dao looked, Wei Zhao was scarcely better off! That spirit wolf, stubborn as a mule, kept hammering at Wei Zhao's back until his spine nearly snapped from the impact!

Had Wei Zhao not clenched his teeth and held on with a single breath, he would likely have been in dire straits himself.

The fourth stance of the Frenzied Fire Fist! Seeing that Wei Zhao would not stop—that he was actually unleashing an even more powerful technique—a flash of terror crossed Woking Dao's eyes. The fear of death burst forth an astonishing latent potential in him, and he commanded the spirit wolf: "Use your strongest move—man and beast as one!"

Woking Dao no longer bothered ordering the spirit wolf to attack Han Xiaopo, for he had a premonition: if Wei Zhao's move struck him again, he very likely would not live to see tomorrow's sun. That was why he summoned the spirit wolf, willing to sacrifice both his own and the beast's cultivation, to invoke Qianshan Sect's mightiest secret art—the Man-Beast Unity, Heaven and Earth Wild Wolf Transformation!

This secret art could fuse the power of man and beast into one to strike down an opponent, but the price it exacted was severe: each use drastically diminished one's cultivation. Whether beast or man, at minimum a full grade of cultivation would be lost!

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