Chapter 1689 — The Current Limit

To put it plainly, all of this was thanks to Wei Zhao. Without him, they would not even have been early Xuan-rank experts. But once they had allowed themselves to dream, once they had imagined the glory they would command at the Gathering of the Great Families, being told all of a sudden that it was impossible was bound to leave anyone feeling deeply disappointed.

Yet after their initial disappointment, Qiu Lingshan and Chen Yutian both thought of a far more important question. Qiu Lingshan looked up at Wei Zhao. "You... didn't break through to the Earth rank?"

"I did!" Wei Zhao sighed. He circulated his internal cultivation technique, revealing his strength before Qiu Lingshan and Chen Yutian, then said, "But I can't raise you to the Earth rank. The method I used before no longer works. Uncle Qing and I tested it last night, and it simply isn't viable."

"Ah!" Qiu Lingshan was at a loss for words. Still, Wei Zhao's breakthrough to the Earth rank was something worth celebrating. If he openly supported the Song family at the Gathering of the Great Families, then the Songs would certainly remain one of the great families, and their position would not change.

After all, the strongest person at the Gathering of the Great Families would be Yu Shuixing of the Yu family, whose strength was only at the peak of the late Xuan rank. Wei Zhao firmly surpassed him by an entire level. The situation was not as bad as it seemed.

"As long as you broke through, that's enough! Whether I personally take revenge doesn't matter. So long as revenge is achieved, I'll be happy!" Afraid that Wei Zhao might feel pressured, Chen Yutian began consoling him after his brief disappointment. "With an Earth-rank expert like you leading the way and watching over us, not only can I avenge myself, but the Chen family can preserve its standing too. This is a happy ending for everyone!"

"Heh." Wei Zhao gave a faint smile. "Who says you can't take revenge with your own hands? You don't have to reach the early Earth rank to accomplish that. Yu Feng is only a mid-Xuan-rank expert. Even if he has made a breakthrough recently, he can't possibly be stronger than the peak of the mid Xuan rank!"

"Mid Xuan rank... That's already two levels above me. If he's at the peak of the mid Xuan rank, then that's three levels... I'm only an early Xuan-rank expert. How could I possibly stand against him?" Chen Yutian gave a bitter laugh. "Instructor Eagle, you're not messing with me, are you?"

Qiu Lingshan could now be considered one of Wei Zhao's "close" friends. Not only were they close in the ordinary sense, but they also shared another kind of "intimacy." For that reason, Wei Zhao no longer hid his past from her. She knew about his relationship with Yang Huaijun, and naturally knew something of Chen Yutian's situation as well. So Chen Yutian had little reason to be guarded in front of Qiu Lingshan.

"Could it be..." Qiu Lingshan's eyes suddenly lit up, and she looked at Wei Zhao in delighted surprise.

"Go on, little silly girl. Looks like you're not quite as silly as you seem. Whether you can finally cast off that title depends on how you perform this time!" Wei Zhao said with a smile.

"I'm not silly to begin with!" Qiu Lingshan rolled her eyes in exasperation. But in front of Wei Zhao, she had always played the role of the one who took all the teasing, so she did not dare argue with his suggestion. Besides, shedding the title of little silly girl would indeed be a good thing. She continued, "If my guess is right, you can't raise us all the way to the early Earth rank, but you can still increase our strength somewhat, at least to the peak of the mid Xuan rank!"

"Not bad!" Wei Zhao gave Qiu Lingshan an approving glance. "You've finally started using your brain."

"..." Qiu Lingshan pouted unhappily. "I suppose that's something. Then stop calling me little silly girl. Call me Cute Girl instead."

"Pfft..." Chen Yutian had just been thinking of taking a sip of water when Qiu Lingshan's words nearly choked him to death. "Cough... cough... cough!"

"Cute Girl won't do either. That's such a good nickname that I was planning to save it for Yaoyao or Xiaoshu. Now tell me, why do you say it would be at least the peak of the mid Xuan rank?" Wei Zhao rejected Qiu Lingshan's proposal and continued questioning her.

"Because you just said that Yu Feng couldn't possibly be stronger than the peak of the mid Xuan rank. And even someone at the peak of the mid Xuan rank would be enough for Brother Yutian to take revenge. That means you can raise us to at least the peak of the mid Xuan rank!" Qiu Lingshan said smugly. "Am I wrong?"

"You're right!" Wei Zhao nodded. "Your analysis is sound."

"Then am I still little silly girl? Can you change it now?" Qiu Lingshan was overjoyed. Her relationship with Wei Zhao had taken another step forward. She had gone from Brain-Dead Girl at the beginning, to Little Silly Girl, and now she was about to receive yet another new name.

"Actually, I mostly call you Lingshan now. Little silly girl is only a joke. Don't you think little silly girl is pretty cute too?" Wei Zhao said with a smile.

"That's true!" Qiu Lingshan thought about it, then nodded. "That's the sort of thing couples usually call each other! In that case, keep calling me little silly girl. As for Lingshan, call me Shanshan instead. Lingshan sounds a little awkward."

"All right." Since it was nothing important, Wei Zhao saw no need to argue with Qiu Lingshan over it. He understood what she was thinking, but matters like this were best allowed to take their natural course. At least for now, he did not have such thoughts.

"Then what level can you raise us to at most?" Chen Yutian finally waited for Qiu Lingshan and Wei Zhao to finish their flirtatious banter before asking, unable to contain his impatience.

"The peak of the late Xuan rank!" Wei Zhao said. "That is the limit for now. Only after I come up with another method will I be able to raise you to the Earth rank!"

"The peak of the late Xuan rank? Then... what's the difference between that and the early Earth rank?" Chen Yutian leaped to his feet in shock. Earlier, when Wei Zhao had said he could not raise them to the Earth rank, Chen Yutian had assumed that he could not raise them at all. But now that he heard they could reach the peak of the late Xuan rank, he was both astonished and delighted.

In Chen Yutian's eyes, the peak of the late Xuan rank was already the highest level among the great families. Once someone stepped into the Earth rank, members of the hidden great families would come to recruit them. Of course, at present, only the Yu family had produced an Earth-rank expert. Among the other great families, even early- and mid-Xuan-rank experts were already regarded as formidable.

Take Wu Gonggao, the head of the Wu family. With his mid-Xuan-rank strength, he was already an extraordinary figure. Unless one reached the level of the hidden great families, the peak of the late Xuan rank could be said to be the highest level attainable.

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