Chapter 1636 — Yu Shan Returns

"All right." Wei Zhao hung up the phone, turning over in his mind whether Zhao Qitan could ever truly become his own man. Still, this was precisely the moment that tested a man's loyalty; Wei Zhao had only to wait patiently.

In the conference room of the Hidden Zhao family, this was the first time Zhao Qibing had attended a family council as a core member of the Zhao household, and among those gathered in the room were also Zhao Guangyin, Elder Bi, Zhao Qitan, and others.

Old Master Zhao was in seclusion, so the Zhao family's council had naturally taken in a few extra members—even Leader Zhu had come back to attend the meeting.

"By now Wei Zhao must be crippled. Dealing with him will be as easy as turning over my hand! Elder Bi, Young Patriarch, give the order and send men to finish Wei Zhao off in one stroke!" Leader Zhu said. He had administered the poison with his own hands, so naturally he was utterly certain of it.

"Grandfather is in seclusion, and before he went in he told us to keep our heads down and make no great moves. Leader Zhu, did you not know this?" Zhao Qitan gave Leader Zhu a glance and said evenly. He was no match for Leader Zhu in prowess, but he was a core scion of the Zhao family, and he knew perfectly well that Leader Zhu was Zhao Qibing's man, so he did not trouble himself to be polite.

"Wei Zhao has been poisoned and every scrap of his strength is gone—this is an opportunity that comes once in a thousand years. You have never suffered at Wei Zhao's hands, so naturally you feel no hurry!" Leader Zhu snorted coldly, showing Zhao Qitan little in the way of face. He was, after all, an Earth-rank expert now and counted among the core figures of the Hidden Zhao family; and being Zhao Qibing's man, he would hardly humor this rival of his master's.

"I have indeed never suffered a loss—but during this very trial I watched with my own eyes as someone else did!" Zhao Qitan said coolly. "The ancient sects: how formidable is the Tomorrow-and-Tomorrow Sect? Its disciples know a fearsome divine art, the Bee-Sucking Divine Art, which can drain a cultivator's true qi dry and reduce him to an ordinary person. And Wei Zhao fell squarely into it..."

"What? Wei Zhao has already fallen for it? Then you are telling me Wei Zhao is no longer a cultivator at all? But that makes no sense—when Wei Zhao fought that fake Wei Zhao earlier, he plainly had strength!" Zhao Qibing asked in some puzzlement.

"That is exactly the point I wish to make! Wei Zhao may have lost his strength, but he recovered it before long—and not only recovered it, he broke through as well!" Zhao Qitan said evenly. "Everything that happened during the trial is supposed to remain a secret. Still, privately, I will warn you all: if any of you consider himself more capable than the disciples of those ancient sects, then by all means go after Wei Zhao. Otherwise, do not go and throw your lives away!"

"This... is that true?" Elder Bi frowned as he looked at Zhao Qitan. He knew Zhao Qitan had coveted the leadership of the Zhao family for a long time, so he believed his words only by half.

"Why would I have any need to lie about such a thing? Members of the Hidden Yu family and the Hidden Pi family were both present at the time. Leader Bi, you may go and ask them—are we not on good terms with the Hidden Yu family? One question will tell you whether it is true or false!" Zhao Qitan said evenly. "I too am a son of the Zhao house. Though you all know what ambition lies in my heart, I could never harm the Zhao family or let it lose strength for nothing."

Elder Bi nodded, his face darkening. It was true that Zhao Qitan would not speak so wildly about such a matter; even if it was meant to be secret, given the bond between the Zhao and the Yu families, learning the truth would hardly be difficult. So Elder Bi pondered a moment and said, "By your account, Wei Zhao's strength has very likely not fallen at all—that he has recovered to his former level? Which is to say, late Profound-rank?"

"That is hard to say for certain, but it is my inference," Zhao Qitan said.

"Come to think of it, something of the sort has happened before!" Zhao Qibing said suddenly. "Earlier, when Wei Zhao fought Ma Zhu, it was said that Wei Zhao had been crippled too—strength entirely gone, his meridians snapped. So all those enemies of his rushed in to settle the score. In the end, not only was Wei Zhao not crippled, he seemed to have broken through, and he trampled those who came looking for trouble into the ground. What Qitan says does have a certain merit to it!"

Zhao Qibing did not refute Zhao Qitan, for he had personal experience of the matter. The last time, he had nearly believed Wei Zhao's strength was gone and gone looking for trouble—only, before he had even set off, Wei Zhao came storming through his own door. So on this point Zhao Qibing was of the mind that it was far better to believe it true than false.

"In that case, let me call the Yu family first and ask. If such a thing really did happen, then we dare not act rashly!" Elder Bi said with a dark face. "Qitan, such a momentous affair—why did you not speak of it sooner?"

"After the trial concluded, the Ice Palace Master gave special instructions: the course of this trial is to be kept strictly confidential and must not be brought up lightly. Were it not for this once—watching you all go and throw your lives away for nothing—do you think I would have dared risk saying it?" Zhao Qitan said with a pained face. "So, Elder Bi, there is no harm in your asking the Yu family. As for other households, do not ask them. Should word spread and the Ice Palace Master lay the blame upon us, it will not go well."

"So that is how it is!" Hearing Zhao Qitan's explanation, Elder Bi's expression softened a good deal. "Young Patriarch, you are the Yu family's son-in-law—why not give them a call and inquire about this matter?"

"Very well, I shall make the call." Zhao Guangyin nodded and agreed. Now that Zhao Qibing had returned to the Zhao family, he was his son—and a formidable contender besides—so naturally Zhao Guangyin was quite eager.

Over at the Hidden Yu family, the scene was one of utter chaos, nothing at peace. The reason was none other than this: Yu Shan had come home, bringing one piece of good news and one piece of bad.

The good news was that Yu Bing had passed the trial and stayed on in the Ice Palace, becoming an outer disciple of the Ice Palace. The bad news was that Yu Shan had been turned into a cripple—and crippled because Yu Bing had colluded with outsiders to beat him into one!

Feng Nitian was a man of an ancient sect. After Wei Zhao crippled him, the Ice Palace showed the Ancient Feng family some face and dispatched a disciple to escort him home personally. Yu Shan received no such courtesy: the Ice Palace's disciples simply dumped him into the nearest hospital, paid a little of his medical bill, and washed their hands of him.

By the time Yu Shan had recovered, risen from his bed, and walked back to the Yu family under his own power, nearly a whole month had gone by.

Yu Xiaochen sat dark-faced in the family head's seat, watching his second brother and Yu Shan, both displeased of countenance. Yu Shan's accusation was one side of the story only; now that Yu Bing had entered the Ice Palace and become an outer disciple, who could say what the truth of the matter truly was?

A newly admitted outer disciple had no right to contact his own family; the Ice Palace merely sent a letter in his stead to deliver the notice.