Chapter 2241 — Preparing to Flee

Even so, the wound was no more than superficial, hardly enough to cripple the Grand Protector. Yet his face was grim and cold; he raised a hand and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with his sleeve, then fixed his icy gaze on Wei Zhao. "Very well. You have some skill. But that is all it amounts to."

"Heh, old thing, that can't feel too good, can it?" Wei Zhao taunted him aloud, but his mind was racing: could he seize this chance to run? And if he did, how great were his odds of getting away?

"Hmph. That last move of yours—if this old man has not misjudged—was actually three moves!" The Grand Protector was no fool; a careful breakdown made it clear that Wei Zhao's attack had in fact consisted of three techniques.

Wei Zhao frowned slightly. The old man was sharper than he looked—he had actually distinguished the true qi bomb, the Mad Fire Fist, and the Wood Forest Thousand Transformations. "Is it not allowed to unleash them all at once?"

"Allowed, it is allowed. This old man will not quibble over such things!" the Grand Protector said coldly, his face dark. "I have taken your moves. Now the thing should be handed over with both hands, should it not?"

"The thing, is it? I told you long ago—if you want it, come and take it yourself!" Wei Zhao said.

"What? You go back on your word—you mean to cheat me?" The Grand Protector's expression turned ugly at once.

"Cheat you? When have I ever cheated you? Old thing, I have never taken you for a man—only for a mangy old dog!" Wei Zhao laughed aloud, but in secret he shot Sun Jingyan a look, telling her and the Heavenly Thunder Pig to find a chance to escape.

Just now, Wei Zhao had given everything he had, pulling out every trick in his book, and had still failed to do anything about the Grand Protector. The true qi bomb had not been fully compressed—there had been no time for it—and he truly had no way to deal with the old bastard.

The chasm in rank and power between himself and a Heaven-rank expert was not something a few exquisite martial techniques and ordinary trump cards could simply bridge.

"Fine. Very fine. Since that is how it is, do not blame this old man for being ungracious!" The Grand Protector was furious—yes, truly furious. He was angry that Wei Zhao had broken his word, going back on what he had promised. He was an expert who had come from that place, and he had always prided himself on being the orthodox standard of the martial world; even when he had wiped out the sect here in years past, he had first found a lofty and honorable pretext.

So when he promised Wei Zhao five moves, he had yielded him five moves—and never expected a junior to dare treat him so.

As he spoke, a flush of blood rose through his livid face, brimming with a razor-sharp killing intent.

Sun Jingyan did not want to flee and leave Wei Zhao behind, but she had no choice. Had Wei Zhao not fought himself to the death precisely to protect the little box in her arms? If that box were taken, every effort he had made would be wasted.

And if she stayed here, she would only become a burden to him. So at Wei Zhao's signal, Sun Jingyan turned to run.

"You want to run? Then all of you stay together!" The Grand Protector had truly lost his temper. Before this, he had not intended to hurt Sun Jingyan—he meant to capture her and bring her back for those lords to deal with—but if she fled, then he might well have to be ruthless with the flower, and wound her first.

As he finished, his eyes narrowed to slits, and a thick, overbearing true qi surged from within his body. His form blurred into an afterimage as he pressed toward Sun Jingyan with an oppressive, crushing force.

His Bagua robe swelled under the force of his true qi, humming like a swarm of bees—proof that he was in a genuine rage, holding nothing back at all.

Wei Zhao had not expected the Grand Protector to abandon him and turn straight on the fleeing Sun Jingyan, and he could not help but frown. It seemed his calculations had been wrong; even in full fury, the Grand Protector had not lost his head, and still remembered his objective.

It looked as though the plan of letting Sun Jingyan slip away alone in the chaos would not work. The Grand Protector was utterly immune to Wei Zhao's tricks: what his eyes were fixed on was the box in Sun Jingyan's arms, and only second came the two spirit-beast essence cores on Wei Zhao's person.

The essence cores of spirit beasts were nothing but a trinket he had obtained to lend Tagan Long some prestige; whether he had them or not hardly mattered. So long as the box was in his hands and delivered to that place, asking for a few spirit-beast cores as a reward would surely be an easy matter.

Wei Zhao had no choice but to brace himself and step into the breach. Tapping the ground lightly with both feet, he left a trail of fierce, sharp energy, his body almost transforming into a lightning afterimage as he threw himself in front of Sun Jingyan.

Fortunately, Wei Zhao's past experience as an assassin served him well; with his exquisite footwork he was a match for the Grand Protector before him. But block it he did—and then, with two muffled thuds against his chest and belly, Wei Zhao was sent flying by the Grand Protector's blow, slamming heavily onto the ground.

"Boy, I have not even used a martial technique yet—and you are already this easily broken?" the Grand Protector said coldly, staring down at Wei Zhao on the ground.

"A novice Heaven-rank expert, and that is all the power you have?" Wei Zhao climbed to his feet. In truth, that one blow, delivered without any martial technique, surpassed even the eleventh form of the Fifth Protector from yesterday. But Wei Zhao had not resisted; he had used all his true qi to shield his body, and while flying through the air he had entered the jade pendant space to heal himself swiftly. Even so, he knew he could not last many more exchanges.

So Wei Zhao had to come up with a plan; otherwise, this day might well be his last.

He glanced at Sun Jingyan clutching the box, and roughly made his choice. From the way the Grand Protector had attacked Sun Jingyan the moment she tried to flee, it was clear his primary target was the box in her arms.

If Wei Zhao took the box from Sun Jingyan's hands and ran for all he was worth toward the Great Fire Lion's cave, what were his chances?

His exquisite footwork would help, but he had no absolute certainty of escape. And yet—if he gritted his teeth and spared no cost? If he turned his back to the Grand Protector, ignored his attacks entirely, held his breath, and kept healing himself with true qi from the jade pendant space, fleeing all the while without defending himself?

In that case his chances might well become even—fifty-fifty. So long as Wei Zhao did not fall, so long as he kept running and could hold out until he reached the Great Fire Lion's cave, the alarm could be lifted.

But if the Grand Protector could not catch Wei Zhao, might he not turn back and strike at Sun Jingyan instead?

That being so, Wei Zhao would have to persuade the Great Fire Lion's whole family to block the Grand Protector at the mouth of the cave—and that, he thought, should not be too difficult.

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