Chapter 2073 — Zhong Yongliang Goes Up the Mountain

"Screwed you over? What exactly happened?" You Zhentian's expression darkened slightly as he frowned. "Panhu, you're not a child anymore. Even if you've taken a loss, you must keep your temper. Don't curse the moment you open your mouth. Tell me the specifics."

"Yes, Uncle..." You Panhu nodded and recounted to his uncle everything that had happened that day.

You Panhu did not dare conceal anything or add embellishments, because he knew that although Yellow Hair and Purple Hair were both his subordinates, the two of them would not hide anything in front of his uncle either. If he made things up wildly, then when his uncle learned the truth, he would likely be even angrier.

"So to put it that way, this was your own carelessness? Wei Zhao clearly warned you several times—that we of the Hidden You family have his kind of goods as well, and that trading with him would be a trap. Yet you insisted on making the trade yourself?" You Zhentian asked.

"Uncle, that may be so, but you know as well as I do that Wei Zhao is a crafty one. Under the circumstances back then, anyone would have thought he was saying that because he didn't want to trade, and was talking that way to inflate the value of the goods in his hands... Who'd have known it would actually turn out that way..." You Panhu said with a bitter face. "You can't blame me entirely for this, can you..."

"I suppose I can't blame you entirely!" You Zhentian waved his hand. "Still, a fall into the pit, a gain in your wit—from now on you must be more on your guard against that Wei Zhao. A first-grade medicinal cauldron and a second-grade medicinal cauldron are valuable indeed, but our Hidden You family can afford to lose them. Let the matter rest here."

"Yes..." You Panhu said this aloud, but inwardly he did not agree in the least.

Let the matter rest? Given You Zhentian's forceful character, if anyone else had swindled the Hidden You family out of something, how could he possibly let it rest? But facing Wei Zhao, what choice was there but to let it rest? Not only had You Thirteen been destroyed, even the late-Earth-rank experts of the Hidden Zhao family had been killed by Wei Zhao. To stand against Wei Zhao, one would have to send Heaven-rank experts!

But to send Heaven-rank experts over one Wei Zhao and thereby provoke the Xuandan Sect—that was plainly a most unprofitable business. To maintain the balance these days, even the Xuandan Sect did not dare casually send Heaven-rank experts into the secular world. What virtue or ability did the Hidden You family have to dare do such a thing?

"By the way, the Hidden World Families Summit is about to be held. Your strength has broken through to the early Mystic rank as well—you should be absolutely certain of refining first-grade pills now, shouldn't you?" You Zhentian changed the subject and looked at You Panhu.

"There shouldn't be any problem!" You Panhu nodded. "Still, after I take the two Spirit Gathering Pills and raise my strength a bit further, I should be even more certain!"

"Mm. When the time comes, at the Hidden World Families Summit, one of the competitions is a pill-refining contest. We of the You family may well send you as our representative, since only your age is suitable!" You Zhentian said. "As long as you can refine a first-grade pill, you will have won—after all, the other hidden families have no pill refiners to enter. Their pill refiners are all over twenty-five, beyond the rules of the contest!"

"Ah, good!" You Panhu nodded hurriedly. "Rest assured, Uncle—if that's the case, victory is surely mine!"

"Good. Since that's so, you may go back!" You Zhentian said. "You took a loss this time; next time look carefully before you act, so you don't repeat the same mistake!"

"Yes, Uncle!" You Panhu breathed a sigh of relief, turned, and took his leave.

At this moment You Zhentian truly had no inclination to berate You Panhu—his mind was entirely on the Hidden World Families Summit! This summit, plainly put, was in fact several hidden families joining hands to swindle the Hidden Han family!

All the competition events were basically tailored for the various hidden families, each of which had an event it excelled at—the Zhao family's racing, the You family's pill refining—and in this way, every hidden family would in the end win a treasure swindled from the Hidden Han family. This was one reason You Zhentian had no mind to berate You Panhu. Another reason was, what would berating You Panhu accomplish? Was he, You Zhentian, any more able to do anything about Wei Zhao? As for that thorn in the side, Wei Zhao, the only way was to send Heaven-rank experts to wipe him out—but without the ancient sects' nod, who dared recklessly send Heaven-rank experts out?

The college entrance examination had passed several months ago, yet Zhong Yongliang had still never gone to school to register! It was not that he did not want to go, but that he had not figured out how to face Wei Zhao and Gu Mengyao.

Toward Wei Zhao, Zhong Yongliang's hatred ran to the bone, but what use was hatred? Watching Wei Zhao grow stronger step by step, until even Zhang Naipao was no match for him, Zhong Yongliang might have the heart to deal with Wei Zhao, but he had neither the strength nor the courage!

With Zhong Yongliang's college entrance exam scores, he could not even get into a third-rate university, and the same went for his lackey Gao Xiaofu.

However, Zhong Fabai had money, and paid a hefty sponsorship fee for each of them, Zhong Yongliang and Gao Xiaofu, and so the two became self-funded students of the Donghai Engineering University affiliated college!

A so-called affiliated college is a private university jointly run by an enterprise and a university. Although the teaching location is together with the regular university, the diploma after graduation is different—the diploma issued bears the name of the affiliated college.

Of course, to a rich young man like Zhong Yongliang, who did not care about diplomas in the least, whatever was written on it made no difference.

And the school's requirements for the self-funded students of such affiliated colleges were relatively low—whether these people attended military training or went to class made no difference. After all, most of these students were only there to muddle through for a credential, and after graduation they would all go to work in the family businesses.

Zhong Yongliang and Gao Xiaofu had not gone to register at school not because they were lazy, but because they were unwilling to accept it! He was unwilling to bow his head and live as an inferior, so before registering, he took Gao Xiaofu with him and hurried to Zhang Naipao's place of cultivation—the Tomorrow Upon Tomorrow Sect!

First time strangers, second time friends—this time the two met Zhang Naipao very smoothly.

And at this moment, Zhang Naipao's whole bearing had changed greatly. The former frivolity and arrogance were gone, replaced by a kind of confidence and steadiness—though the pride deep in his bones remained.

"Brother Liang!" Yet no matter what, Zhang Naipao's loyalty to Zhong Yongliang had not changed. Although Zhong Yongliang was merely an ordinary man, Zhang Naipao put on no airs at all before him, behaving entirely like a subordinate, as he clasped his hands in a respectful salute.

"Paozi, no need for such formality. You're a cultivator now, and it's no small thing that you still acknowledge me as your leader—but there's no need to be so polite!" Zhong Yongliang had actually come this time to ask Zhang Naipao for help, so he did not dare put on airs.

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