Chapter 1217 — A Colossal Reward

Within the space of the jade pendant, Wei Zhao had just failed for the twentieth time in his attempt to force his way to the peak of the middle stage of the Mystic tier.

"Young Lin, I have told you before — you are still short of the right moment. Train solidly for a few more days and you may well carry it through in one stroke. All this ceaseless experimenting of yours is nothing but wasted time." Jiao Yazi watched the failed Wei Zhao, shook his head, and said.

"Elder Jiao, I cannot simply resign myself to it. And if I am to save Xiaoxiao, I must possess far greater strength! Only at the Heaven tier can I extend her life!" Wei Zhao gritted his teeth and said.

"Forgive my bluntness — even if you are a genius of cultivation, do not dream of reaching the Heaven tier before Feng Xiaoxiao dies!" Elder Jiao said. "Having a goal worth striving for is one thing; but when that goal is too far beyond reach, it is nothing but reaching for the skies."

At Elder Jiao's words Wei Zhao could not help smiling bitterly. It was true — he was reaching rather too high of late, hungering to break through to the Heaven tier as quickly as possible so that he might extend Feng Xiaoxiao's life. But now that he had calmed down, Elder Jiao's words were not without their logic.

He was a mere expert of the middle Mystic tier; between him and the Heaven tier lay a whole Earth tier besides. To dream of advancing from the Mystic tier to the Earth tier — if that was not reaching for the skies, what was? Let word of it get out and people would laugh their heads off! For anyone else, even conceiving of the Earth tier from the middle Mystic tier was already absurd, let alone from the middle Mystic tier to the Heaven tier!

And Elder Jiao was not the least bit wrong: genius or not, it was impossible for him to break through to the Heaven tier before Feng Xiaoxiao died.

In other words, even if he did break through to the Heaven tier, all it would buy him was time for Feng Xiaoxiao — it would not truly cure her. So to solve her problem at its root, what he had to do was ascertain whether a thing called the Fire Spirit Sacred Fruit truly existed in this world!

If it did, he could first give Feng Xiaoxiao one to suppress the yin-cold energy within her body; that would leave him ample time to seek out for her a suitable yin-attribute cultivation art and formula, and by guiding her through it himself, he could settle the matter once and for all!

"My thanks." Wei Zhao nodded; in that single instant a great many things became clear to him.

"I only did not care to watch you labor in vain." Elder Jiao waved his hand and said indifferently.

"But I still mean to break through! Not only to save Xiaoxiao — for my own sake as well! My enemies are far too powerful; I must raise my strength!" Wei Zhao said.

"Hell! Everything I said was for nothing!" Jiao Yazi rolled his eyes. "Have it your way, then. If you want to waste your effort, waste it. Break through today and I shall tell you of a colossal reward!"

"A colossal reward?" Wei Zhao's eyes lit up. A reward from Jiao Yazi was no ordinary reward! Everything Wei Zhao had learned from him had proven of immeasurably value — and Jiao Yazi had given it all freely, without exacting so much as a single condition in return. So his so-called colossal reward must surely be knowledge far more formidable still!

"Indeed. Ordinarily I would tell you of this reward only after you had broken through to the second layer of the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art — but if you break through today, there is no harm in telling you ahead of time." Jiao Yazi had only wanted to stop Wei Zhao from thrashing about any longer; but since the young man would not stay down, Jiao Yazi had spoken a word in pique, and had never expected Wei Zhao to take him at his word.

"Good — it is a bargain!" Wei Zhao nodded, settled once more cross-legged, and entered a state of cultivation.

Jiao Yazi was rather lost for words; but since Wei Zhao was set on it, there was nothing more for him to say.

Wei Zhao circulated the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art and调动 the elemental energies of the jade pendant's space — all of these preliminary steps he had long since mastered and handled with perfect ease. Yet at the final instant of the breakthrough, failure once again proved unavoidable.

Once... twice... three times... and by the tenth attempt, Wei Zhao was beginning to want to give up!

It seemed Jiao Yazi had been right — his present preparation was not yet sufficient. Though he had cultivated all the way to the great perfection of the middle Mystic tier, he was still short by the smallest of margins. And no small matter was that margin, for there is a saying that an error of a hair's breadth can lead one astray by a thousand miles!

Still, Wei Zhao's thoughts drifted back to the reward Jiao Yazi had promised, and a restless itch crept into his heart. He opened his eyes, looked at Jiao Yazi, and ventured, "Elder Jiao, what if I give up — you simply tell me what the reward is?"

"I say, young Lin — what does your giving up or not giving up have to do with me? If you give up, why on earth should I tell you any reward? Do you take me for a doddering old fool?" Jiao Yazi could not help being laughed into a rage by Wei Zhao. "Clever little scheme you've hatched there — give up and still walk away with a reward! Do you think you are dreaming?"

"Uh... well..." Wei Zhao reddened a little under Jiao Yazi's words, yet it only goaded his stubbornness the harder. "Very well — then I shall break through and show you!"

"Then carry on..." Jiao Yazi nodded.

"Carry on I shall — who's afraid of whom?" Wei Zhao drew a deep breath and resolved to enter the next round of breakthrough attempts.

This time Wei Zhao did not plunge into cultivation so rashly and blindly as before; instead he carefully recalled the sensation of the instant just before the breakthrough!

He kept feeling that the energy he drew in was not quite enough — only a little more, just a little more. Yet the amount he could absorb had already reached its very limit; it was simply impossible to take in a single further measure. Did he truly have to cultivate for a while longer, waiting until the energy within him had accumulated more fully, before entertaining any thought of breaking through?

But then the reward would be gone! And Jiao Yazi, for all his bluster, was after all a mere virtual being — there was no use trying to press him. So if Wei Zhao wanted to know the reward, the one and only way was to break through today!

But how could he break through? Wei Zhao knit his brows tight.

Watching Wei Zhao rack his brains, Jiao Yazi found the sight faintly comical, and thought to himself: So the lad wants to know what this reward is that badly? Once you have cultivated the second layer of the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art, you will know of it soon enough! And as things stand, what good would knowing it do you even now?

Your strength is not yet at the second layer — even if you knew, you could not use it!

Wei Zhao did not yet realize that he had in fact been outmaneuvered by Elder Jiao, who had dangled before him a reward that was nothing but unrealistic! Had he known as much, he would never have been in such a tearing hurry to break through!

A little more energy... just a little more... how was he to get a little more?

Suddenly a flash of insight struck Wei Zhao, as if he had seized hold of something, and his expression turned somewhat strange...