Chapter 2112 — The Fifth Contest

Only after Wei Zhao had left did An Mingyue turn to Old Master Zhao, Old Master You, Old Master Yu, and Old Master Tang, his face dark: "You four—what is the meaning of this? Are you going to give me an explanation? What exactly happened here? If you do not make it clear, I will find it very hard not to suspect that you did this on purpose!"

"This..." Old Master Zhao gave a bitter smile. "Mr. An, please do not be angry. What we did was indeed somewhat improper, but our intentions were good!"

"Oh? And what intentions were those?" An Mingyue asked.

"Our original aim was actually to do away with Wei Zhao!" Old Master You explained. "We simply never expected it would drag down a man of yours, Mr. An..."

"Do away with Wei Zhao!" An Mingyue was no fool; with Old Master You's explanation, he grasped the reason well enough, though resentment still rankled in his heart. "Since that is so, then this matter can be counted an accident. But I understand it—the Fire Wolf Gang may not. And I had already promised to carry back a bet's winnings. This disciple is dead; so be it. But the winnings cannot simply vanish, can they?"

"This... the four of us will make up those winnings," Old Master Yu said helplessly.

"Good. Since that is the case, the matter is closed." An Mingyue nodded, said no more, and turned to go.

"Ah—trying to steal a chicken only to lose the rice," Old Master Tang sighed.

"Indeed. We were rather rash," Old Master Zhao said as well.

"Enough. Let us speak no more of it. The next contest is the antidote contest. Old Master Tang, this one will show the true skill of our two houses!" Old Master You said.

This contest was reckoned to be to the common advantage of the Hidden You family and the Hidden Tang family. One of the two had risen through pill refinement, the other through poisons; both were adept at antidotes, so which house would take this next contest was hard to say.

"Very well. Then let us go back and make our preparations," Old Master Tang nodded.

Wei Zhao had taken his fourth straight championship, his expression still as calm as a light breeze and pale clouds, while Han Xiaopo was beside himself with excitement, as though some immense fortune had fallen to him. The moment they returned to their lodgings, he began chattering without pause.

"Xiaopo, enough. Let Mr. Lin rest properly—there is another contest tonight!" Han Tianba knew the endurance contest was the most draining of all. Without proper rest, where would the energy come from to keep competing at night?

Of course, how could he know that Wei Zhao had not expended the slightest physical effort at all, and had been drawing on the energy of the jade pendant's space the whole time?

"Heh, it is fine. Let him talk," Wei Zhao said mildly.

"Boss, you are incredible! From now on your little brother will be counting on you to pull him up. You are simply an all-rounder, an all-capable genius—you can do anything!" Han Xiaopo said excitedly.

"A genius, is it... Actually, I do know a true genius," Wei Zhao shook his head. Whether he himself was a genius, he did not know; but he did know that though his success owed something to the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art, the greater part of it came from his own diligent cultivation day and night.

There was likely no cultivator more hardworking than Wei Zhao. From the moment he obtained the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art, he had cultivated night and day without cease, and even now he still cultivated every single day. Any spare moment, and he cultivated.

"A genius? For the boss to call someone a genius, what kind of monstrous prodigy must that be!" Han Xiaopo said, somewhat astonished.

"Heh, her surname is Han too," Wei Zhao said with a smile. "So you had better work hard as well!"

"Also surnamed Han?" Han Xiaopo was briefly taken aback. "Could it be one of my own clan?"

"Indeed. When there is a chance, I will introduce the two of you. By then you will know what a genius truly is," Wei Zhao said.

That evening, the Hidden Zhao family's disciple again delivered exquisite dishes. In these trivial matters, the Hidden Zhao family had never made things difficult for Wei Zhao, nor created trouble over his food and lodging.

It was plain that although the Hidden Zhao family hated Wei Zhao to the bone, they took great care to keep up appearances on the surface, which put Wei Zhao considerably more at ease.

At least the Hidden Zhao family did not wish to tear off all pretense at this Hidden World Family Summit. Even today they had worked their tricks in secret rather than move against Wei Zhao openly—and that was enough. Once the contests were over, Wei Zhao would be gone anyway. What could the Hidden Zhao family do to him?

After dinner, the same Hidden Zhao disciple appeared once more. "Is the venerable head of the Han family present? Today's third contest—the poison identification contest—is about to begin. Please, venerable head of the Han family, bring your participating disciple and your wagers to the council hall!"

"Let us go," Han Tianba nodded, and went out of the room together with Wei Zhao and Han Xiaopo.

"Boss, do you feel confident about this contest?" Han Xiaopo asked in a low voice.

"Poison identification? I do know a little of that," Wei Zhao smiled and said mildly. "It should not be a problem."

"Good, then go take another first place and let those Hidden World family people see for themselves—with the boss here, our Hidden Han family is the finest of all!"

"Good, then go take another first place and let those Hidden World family people see for themselves—with the boss here, our Hidden Han family is the finest of all!" Han Xiaopo was even more confident than Wei Zhao himself.

Han Tianba shook his head, feeling as though he were in a dream. Barely half a month ago he had still been fretting over the Hidden Han family's future and over this Hidden World Family Summit; yet now the Hidden Han family had become a dark horse charging to the front.

Most laughable of all was that those Hidden World families, though they hated Wei Zhao to death, dared not touch him openly and could only scheme in the shadows—and in the end, trying to steal a chicken, they lost the rice. Exposed by Wei Zhao, they had needlessly offended the Fire Wolf Gang's people. Truly, the loss outweighed the gain.

"Xiaopo, the reason I can help your Hidden Han family this time, and the reason those other Hidden World families dare not act, is simply that they fear me, that they dread the cards I hold, that they dread whether there is some backing behind me!" Wei Zhao saw it all clearly, and said to Han Xiaopo, "So after this Hidden World Family Summit ends, your Hidden Han family must remain as low-key as ever. Do not let those Hidden World families catch hold of anything against you! Out of regard for me, they dare not move against you openly, but in secret they certainly will not let it rest. That pressure directed at me in the last contest is proof enough!"

"Yes!" Han Xiaopo's heart gave a slight start. Indeed, he had nearly let victory go to his head; only when Wei Zhao said this did the gravity of the situation become clear to him. The outlook was truly not very favorable! (To be continued)

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