The qi deviation struck without warning, and in front of outsiders—some strangers, others enemies. Gu Shenwei felt deeply ashamed, but his collapse had averted a possible conflict. Fa Chong had spat blood, and Lian Qing's face was livid, yet neither had made a move.
Shangguan Ru reacted instinctively, catching the Dragon King at once. She only let go when he came to, and she felt just as embarrassed, so she covered it with a smile.
Wild Horse and the Deyi Tower Disciples standing in the doorway leaned slightly to the left in unison. The two female guards beside them barely noticed the subtle movement; even if they had, they wouldn't have understood the threat it conveyed.
The Dragon King and the monk had both been hurt. A godsend could never be planned, but the opportunity had come so suddenly that even Immortal Peng, though the two halves shared one mind, hesitated for a moment.
"Don't rush to get up."
Fa Chong spoke with full vigor and seemed not to have been badly hurt. Wild Horse and the Deyi Tower Disciples briefly disagreed. Wild Horse leaned more toward attacking, but in the end, he followed the gaunt old man's wishes and gave up this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Hearing this, Gu Shenwei rose with even greater resolve. He took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the Ice Qi stirring restlessly inside him. "Your Internal Force is astonishingly profound, monk."
That last palm strike had shown Gu Shenwei the might of a Four Truths Blue Lotus master. His opponent's qi was like a vast ocean. Though Gu Shenwei had wounded Fa Chong, he had come nowhere near striking at the core of that deep, powerful qi. It was like a river flowing into the sea: no matter how fierce its current, it seemed puny