Sun Jingyan truly did not know what to say. Shock? Or envy? A Profound Tier master! And one who cultivated both the inner and the outer arts at that — even among the elder generation of the great families such a one stood at the very peak, to say nothing of their younger generation!

"That is more or less how it stands." Wei Zhao said. "But this must not get out. The people who know are few — not even your family, so do not speak of it carelessly."

"I cannot be bothered to tell them." Naturally Sun Jingyan would never take the initiative to speak of such things at home. "But you are actually this formidable? Wei Zhao, you are not simply a highwayman, are you?"

"Highwaymen are in fact quite formidable; you simply never noticed." Wei Zhao laughed.

"Then... could you help raise my strength?" Sun Jingyan could not help asking. Such a temptation was far too hard to resist.

"What tier are you now?" Wei Zhao asked, taken aback.

"The first layer... I do not even know what tier that is." Sun Jingyan was startled too, and only then realized that her heart method was defined differently from other people's.

"That... your family's heart method is too strange. If you want to test it, wait until I return. But I take no responsibility if something goes wrong. I have no experience whatever in advancing that kind of heart method of yours..." Wei Zhao reflected that the Sun family's heart method was of the healing kind, rather special, and he truly had no confidence in the matter.

"Then we will speak of it when you return..." Sun Jingyan said, somewhat disappointed.

With his call to Sun Jingyan finished, Wei Zhao had to set out.

He exchanged a few words with the old man at home and asked after Ergoudan and Yu Yuanyuan; hearing that both were well, Wei Zhao was finally set at ease.

"If Ergoudan were well, having him accompany you would be a fine choice, but as things stand he will need to rest and recover for some time." Old Man Wei said. "That spirit spring water cannot be carried about; once it is away from the spirit spring for a while, its effect is gone. That does rather limit Ergoudan's movements."

"Indeed!" Wei Zhao sighed as well. "Unless he can find that kind of spirit medicine, or break through to Heaven Tier and use Heaven Tier true qi to nourish the gu poison in his body, there is no way at all."

Wei Zhao and Old Man Wei had been studying Ergoudan's problem all along, yet without any result.

Only two paths could restore Ergoudan to normal. One was to find a certain spirit medicine, from which Old Man Wei could refine another gu poison to counteract the gu poison already within him; once a certain balance was reached, Ergoudan would no longer need to drink the spirit spring water.

But as matters stood, neither path was feasible. That spirit medicine was said to be extinct, and no substitute could be found for it. And Heaven Tier was an even more distant dream for Ergoudan — Wei Zhao himself was not yet Heaven Tier, so how could Ergoudan possibly break through to it?

"Still, there is hope in sight now. Since you can mass-produce masters of your own tier, then if you raise Ergoudan to Heaven Tier in one stroke, that limit will be gone." Old Man Wei naturally knew of such matters concerning Wei Zhao, and Wei Zhao had never concealed them from him.

"In theory it is possible, but in practice I do not know whether it can be done. After all, at present only the breakthrough from Yellow Tier to Profound Tier is feasible; the breakthrough from Profound Tier to Earth Tier may not work." Wei Zhao said worriedly.

"True. We can only take one step and see. After all, as one's strength rises, each next breakthrough grows harder; it will not come so easily." Old Man Wei said in turn.

The farewells to Tang Yun, the Eldest Miss, and Xiaoshu were somewhat subdued. Though everyone looked cheerful, the thought that Wei Zhao would be gone for perhaps several months left them all reluctant to part.

"Come now, do not be so glum. I am going to seek hope for Xiaoxiao's cure, not leaving forever." Wei Zhao looked at Tang Yun and smiled. "Here — a kiss, to say goodbye."

"Loathsome..." Tang Yun's face flushed slightly and she grew coy. Had they been alone together, Tang Yun would surely have half-yielded and agreed; but with the Eldest Miss and Xiaoshu right there beside them, she was naturally embarrassed.

By now the three of them had long passed the stage of jealous rivalry. Each knew plainly how matters stood, and there was no need to make a show of anything.

"Oh, me, me! Brother Arrow, kiss me too." Shen Yushu raised her hand and volunteered.

"Xiaoshu, stop making trouble!" Gu Mengyao was both annoyed and amused. Wei Zhao and Tang Yun were flirting with each other — what business did she have butting in? She had ruined the mood entirely.

Even Tang Yun could not help but burst into laughter. "Then just kiss Xiaoshu."

Tang Yun no longer felt the old dislike for Shen Yushu. Having spent so long together, she had grown used to her; even Feng Xiaoxiao had accepted her, and one Shen Yushu more or less made no difference to Tang Yun. Besides, whether anything was going on between Wei Zhao and Shen Yushu, Tang Yun knew perfectly well.

At most there was a certain ambiguity between the two, but certainly nothing that had developed into a romance; and as for Gu Mengyao's feelings, they drifted this way and that, and Tang Yun could not be bothered to concern herself with so much.

Still, Xiaoshu's interruption had come at just the right moment, turning a rather subdued atmosphere lively again.

"Ha... I am off. Study hard at home, all of you, and try to get into the same university." Wei Zhao said with a smile.

Gu Pengzhan would make arrangements, of course, but being admitted by one's own effort and paying one's own way to study felt quite different.

Wei Zhao drove a modified Grand Cherokee that Feng Tianlong had prepared for him, with a modified ice coffin in the back. Such a modified vehicle might cause some trouble on the road, but Feng Tianlong had evidently taken that into account in advance: the car bore a plate from the number range reserved for the Secret Investigation Bureau, and inside were various travel permits and papers, enough to guarantee Wei Zhao a smooth journey to his destination.

After a final check of the car, Wei Zhao got in. This time he left the villa at night, and apart from Tang Yun, who had moved in to live with him, he had asked no one else to see him off.

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