Chapter 1650 — Still No Good

"It does look like it!" Feng Xiaoxiao nodded. "Wei Zhao does smile like that too..."

"He probably learned it from me," Gu Mengyao said, naturally unwilling to admit that Wei Zhao had imperceptibly rubbed off on her.

"Uh..." Feng Xiaoxiao and Xiaoshu were somewhat speechless...

Meanwhile, Wei Zhao remained in his room, cultivating. That Heaven-rank girl Bing Tang had needled him today, filling him with fighting spirit and resentment! Even facing those old seniors, Wei Zhao had never felt this way — only Bing Tang left him unconvinced.

So Wei Zhao gritted his teeth and kept condensing energy balls, resolved to succeed or die trying. Tonight, he was determined to produce a top-grade energy ball!

And wouldn't you know it — with fighting spirit in his heart, after two failures, his final attempt actually succeeded!

Staring at the energy ball in his hand, Wei Zhao was instantly overjoyed. Haha! Spurred on by that Heaven-rank girl, he had actually condensed his first energy ball potent enough to propel him straight from the peak of the late Yellow rank to the early Earth rank!

Wahahaha, Wei Zhao truly wanted to laugh out loud. So many days without progress, and today he had succeeded after only two attempts — how could he not be happy?!

It seemed someone had to keep prodding him along. Without that prodding, he could never have condensed a successful energy ball so quickly. Of course, Wei Zhao had also mastered the skill through long practice; otherwise, no matter how Bing Tang needled him, success would have been impossible!

Wei Zhao laughed and laughed, smug and gleeful — until, in a careless moment, the energy ball exploded with a bang. Wei Zhao was stunned.

What did they call it — sorrow born of extreme joy? This was it. Wei Zhao had finally condensed his first energy ball capable of propelling him straight to the Earth rank, only to blow it up by accident in his delight!

"Damn it!" Wei Zhao's eyes went wide as he stared, dismayed, at his empty hand. The energy ball was gone!

"Haha!" Jiao Yazi looked at Wei Zhao and burst out laughing. "Wahahaha, I'm dying of laughter... Tell me, why did you laugh after you finished condensing it? You're done for now, aren't you?"

"..." Wei Zhao shot Jiao Yazi a glare. "Don't laugh. What are you laughing at? Can't I just condense another one? If I succeeded once, I can do it a second time..."

Wei Zhao drew a deep breath, calmed his mind, and prepared to condense the next energy ball!

Yet just when Wei Zhao was full of confidence, this energy ball ended up a failure! That left him somewhat dejected, but he did not lose heart. After adjusting his state, he continued condensing energy balls!

This time, Wei Zhao was careful, not daring a trace of pride or impatience. He worked with meticulous care, adding energy into the ball bit by bit. After a long while, the energy within the ball finally filled up slowly, and it was about to reach the threshold Wei Zhao had set for advancement!

Wei Zhao drew a deep breath and rested briefly. Then, not daring the slightest negligence, he carefully began adding more energy into the ball... At last, Wei Zhao successfully produced another energy ball!

This time, Wei Zhao did not dare laugh. The moment the ball was formed, without delay, he absorbed it straight into his body and began letting it release its energy within him! And so Wei Zhao's strength shot upward like a rocket!

From the peak of the late Yellow rank, he broke straight through to the early Mystic rank, then the peak of the early Mystic rank, the mid Mystic rank, the peak of the mid Mystic rank, the late Mystic rank, and finally the peak of the late Mystic rank! And the energy within the ball had still not been fully released!

Wei Zhao was both astonished and delighted. It looked like this time he had done it. Not daring to slacken, he continued slowly releasing the ball's energy — but now something strange happened. Though the energy within the ball was still being gradually released, Wei Zhao's strength stalled at the peak of the late Mystic rank and would go no further!

All the way until the energy ball's power was completely spent, Wei Zhao remained at the peak of the late Mystic rank. Then, the next moment, his strength began rapidly dissipating again, dropping from the peak of the late Mystic rank like air escaping a balloon, all the way down until he was an ordinary person!

No good? Wei Zhao knitted his brows! The energy he had absorbed into his body was clearly enough to break through to the Earth rank — so why hadn't he broken through? He thought it over and over and could make no sense of it, and had no choice but to consult Jiao Yazi again. "Elder Jiao, why didn't I advance this time either?"

"Let me ask you — back when you were at the peak of the late Mystic rank, you cultivated every day and absorbed true qi every day too, so why didn't you break through and advance?" Jiao Yazi did not answer Wei Zhao's question, but asked one of his own.

"That..." Wei Zhao was briefly taken aback, but in an instant he understood what Jiao Yazi was implying. "You mean this time is actually the same as before — that breaking through from the peak of the late Mystic rank to the Earth rank isn't easy, that sufficient energy alone isn't enough. Is that it?"

"Yes. Is there a lot of energy in the jade pendant space? Enough for you to break through to the Earth rank a hundred times over — so why haven't you broken through? That's the very reason!" Jiao Yazi said. "Breaking through requires accumulation and opportunity. Sufficient energy alone isn't enough. You've already taken far too many shortcuts and cut in line far more than others — and you're still not satisfied?"

"That's true..." Wei Zhao said with a bitter smile. "Then what if, at the peak of the late Mystic rank, I release all the remaining energy in the ball at once?"

"That I don't know. How is that any different from when you used compressed energy to break through before?" Jiao Yazi said. "But you can give it another try and see whether there's any hope!"

"I'll give it a try..." Wei Zhao was somewhat helpless. Originally he had been full of confidence, thinking that so long as the energy ball was successfully condensed, he could break through to the Earth rank — but now it seemed he had been far too naive. How could breaking through be so easy?

Even before his strength had dropped, breaking through had been difficult enough. Now that his strength had fallen again, breaking through was naturally even harder — and yet he had naively believed that absorbing enough energy would be enough to advance...

Wei Zhao rested for a while, raised his strength once more to the peak of the late Yellow rank, and condensed another energy ball. This time, he succeeded on the first attempt!

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