Chapter 2119 — Too Late for Regret

Otherwise, given Wei Zhao's friendship with Yu Bing and his bond with Yu Ning, bringing him into the hidden Yu family would have been a crucial bargaining chip for the hidden Yu family to reach a higher tier—the ancient families! But matters concerning Yu Ning were not his to decide; Yu Ning was bound to soar and stand out from the crowd!

Even if she did not become the future head of the hidden Yu family, she would still be its future support, for Yu Ning had long since been noticed by the people of that place...

"You didn't dare—that's all it is. If it were me, I'd likely be dead already!" Old Master You did not hide it either. He specialized in alchemy, and what he cultivated was a supporting heart method. Though he had reached the Heaven Rank, this Heaven Rank was far more watered down than a normal one, and under such a blow he would certainly have died beyond doubt!

"Indeed, that is my meaning as well!" Old Master Tang's thoughts were much the same as Old Master Yu's—some regret and some pity. If Wei Zhao had not treated him and Tang Yun that way back then, the hidden Tang family would now be in a very different state, would it not?

If Wei Zhao had not died under that blow, how extraordinary would that be! None of them dared to take a strike of the early Heaven Rank, yet Wei Zhao had taken it—what did that mean? It meant that even if Wei Zhao's strength was not higher than early Heaven Rank, it was at the very least at the early Heaven Rank!

"Sorry to disappoint you all. I'm not dead—quite well, actually. A few breaths to regulate my qi and I was fine!" Wei Zhao opened his eyes with a faint smile and rose to his feet, walking steadily toward Han Tianba's direction. He seemed not to have suffered the slightest injury, a world apart from the others' staggering steps!

"This... how is this possible?" Old Master Zhao's eyes went wide. He stared in astonishment at Wei Zhao, who stood unscathed after spitting blood.

"You... just what is your strength?" Old Master Yu stared at Wei Zhao as though he had seen a ghost.

"This is unscientific—there isn't something wrong with the artifact, is there?" Old Master You looked at the artifact before him with doubt and alarm.

"Whether there's a problem or not, go up and try it yourself and you'll know!" Wei Zhao said indifferently. "Cut the nonsense—is there anyone else who wants to continue the challenge?"

"This..." Everyone exchanged glances. Early Heaven Rank—how could anyone challenge that?

But Diamond's expression was uncommonly grim! He had a closed-door disciple, the ace of this competition, whom he had prepared to enter in the singles arena. This disciple's strength had likewise reached the peak of the late Mystic Rank, but in the cultivation of the Golden Bell Shield, he was far above the disciple who had competed earlier!

If that earlier disciple's limit was the peak of the late Earth Rank, then this disciple's limit was the early Heaven Rank! But the crucial problem was that he had just blocked his own path! He had told Wei Zhao that to challenge, one must challenge a higher rank of strength!

In other words, to surpass Wei Zhao, he would have to challenge the peak of the early Heaven Rank—and at that level, his disciple could not possibly withstand it. The boy would be beaten to death the moment he stepped up! If Diamond himself went onstage, there would be no problem at all; he could naturally take that blow. But the summit contest's regulations had long stipulated that competing disciples must be under twenty-five years of age, and Diamond had long since passed that age!

How Diamond hated it! If only ties had been allowed! If he had loosened his tongue just now, perhaps Wei Zhao would not have challenged the early Heaven Rank and would have gone on to challenge the peak of the late Earth Rank. Then they could have shared first place—far more pleasing to the ear than this second place now!

At worst, after Wei Zhao challenged the early Heaven Rank, he could have let that closed-door disciple challenge the same early Heaven Rank, and they could still have tied for first!

After all, in the singles arena, though his disciple had his advantages—even if he could not beat an opponent, the opponent could not hurt him either—the rules of the singles arena were not merely about defeating one's opponent. Knocking the opponent off the platform counted as a win!

Although his closed-door disciple had the Golden Bell Shield protecting his body and could surely withstand pure true qi attacks, there was no guarantee an opponent might not use a powerful martial technique to knock his disciple off the platform! After all, martial techniques were a far more powerful form of attack than pure true qi!

So in the arena contest he had no confidence of victory. The best outcome would be for everyone to be unable to do anything to one another and tie for first—but that too carried great uncertainty. And now a fine opportunity had been thrown away for nothing...

"The hidden Han family is, to date, the record holder for the highest endurance rank! Early Heaven Rank! Is there any disciple from another family or sect who is unconvinced and wishes to challenge?" After announcing the result with some gloom, Old Master Zhao asked.

Yet after the question, for a long while no one answered.

"Sect Master Jin, do you have any disciples left to enter the challenge?" Old Master Zhao spoke again, pinning his hopes on the Golden Bell Sect.

"N... no..." Diamond forced out the two words, utterly helpless! Yet he had no choice but to give up!

"Very well. Since there are none, the champion of this endurance contest is the hidden Han family, second place the Golden Bell Sect, and third place the Fire Wolf Gang!" Old Master Zhao announced.

The moment this result came out, the face of the hidden You family disciple from before turned deathly pale! He was fourth—he had actually become fourth! And fourth place came with no benefits at all!

Earlier, Old Master You had promised him that only by placing in the top three would he receive rewards, would he be given Meridian-Opening Pills and Minor Restoration Pills to heal his injuries. But now he had nothing at all. His hatred, his regret—there was nothing he could do about it!

A loss was a loss. He regretted it deeply; he should never have come to this competition clinging to fantasies. The previous matches had already spread Wei Zhao's fearsome name far and wide—why had he come to join the fun? In this contest, the preordained first place had been the Golden Bell Sect, and the Fire Wolf Gang had been a hot favorite too, while he had only sought to secure third place!

But he had deliberately ignored Wei Zhao. In his view, Wei Zhao was formidable in so many events—surely he could not be good at everything? Yet he had gambled and lost... There was no medicine for regret in this world, and his future was naturally bleak!

He was not resigned to it—no, utterly unresigned! He was already a skilled hand of the late Earth Rank; what a formidable existence that was! And he was only twenty-four this year, with every hope of charging toward the Heaven Rank—but all of it was ruined! (To be continued)

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