Chapter 1714 — Joining Forces Once More

So Wei Zhao had invented an alchemist's identity for himself, precisely so as not to draw his opponents' notice.

"An alchemist!" When Wei Zhao declared who he was, everyone in the hall broke into an uproar. At the level of the ancient sects, to be sure, nearly every sect had had dealings with alchemists at one time or another; but among the great houses and the hidden houses — the ordinary houses above all — many went through life without ever once laying eyes on one. They were beings out of legend, and here was one sitting before them now!

Wu Chengtian, Chen Yutian and Qiu Lingshan betrayed nothing out of the ordinary; they had known Wei Zhao's plan beforehand, so the revelation could not surprise them. The rest were another matter, Sun Jingyan most of all — it came to her that even now she had never truly understood Wei Zhao at all.

Wei Zhao, an alchemist? Nothing short of astonishing. Was there any trade in the world he had not tried his hand at?

The Liu family alone merely nodded in sudden enlightenment. Liu Tianyi said with feeling, "No wonder Divine Doctor Lin's medical skill is so extraordinary, and no wonder he could bring forth so world-shaking a pill as the Life-Extending Detox Pill — he is an alchemist!"

The Liu family knew that the Life-Extending Detox Pill had been refined by Wei Zhao, but the other houses did not. Hearing now that the medicine which had stirred such a storm at the auction had come from Wei Zhao's hands, their faces all lit at once with dawning understanding.

So Guan Xuemin had never had that level of skill after all. Otherwise, why had he never in all these years produced any remarkable spirit medicine? He had been held down all along by Divine Doctor Kang's reputation, and only of late had his name suddenly blazed abroad — and it was all because of Wei Zhao!

"Enough. If there is nothing else, let us disperse. In future I shall be in contact with each family's liaison." Wei Zhao took little pleasure in their astonishment; his chief purpose in coming here had been to destroy the Yu family, and his second to gather the strength of the other houses into his own hand.

With this, at the level of the great houses, Wei Zhao could be said to face no further obstacle at all; he could now settle his mind and turn to the matter of the hidden Yu family and the hidden Zhao family.

The Grand Assembly of Houses, which had opened on its first day, thus broke up in haste — a tiger's head and a snake's tail. Yet everyone who had come now carried a heart both heavy and glad: the order of the great houses was about to change utterly. The Xiao family, the An family and the Kang family had been driven out of the alliance by Wei Zhao, and they would certainly not swallow it quietly.

Whatever came of it, that was no longer their concern. Their concern was the profit of their own houses; and as matters now stood, with the Yu family displaced by Wei Zhao, they had lost nothing — rather, they had gained a greater advantage for nothing at all.

Above all, to stand on good terms with a man who was both an early Earth Stage expert and an alchemist — by any reckoning, that could only be a good thing.

In a hotel not far from the Yu family's auction hall sat four men: the two Xiao brothers, and Divine Doctor Kang with Kang Guifeng of the Kang family. The two houses had known their unpleasantness and their quarrels, but now they were fellow castaways, and they sat together to consider what was to be done hereafter.

They had meant to draw the An family in as well, but An Mingyue and An Jianwen plainly had no interest in joining their affairs; it seemed the name of a great house counted for very little with the An family.

And in truth it was so. For these houses, the name of a great house meant no more than that one might count on the courtesy of the other houses in the way of business. But the business the An family pursued was of the kind that must be kept from the light, and the name of a great house only left them with their hands tied.

So losing it did not trouble them greatly.

The Xiao and Kang families were another matter. The Kang family strove desperately to force its way into the ranks of the great houses precisely because the great houses were a league with the Yu family at its head, each favoring and supporting the others, so that on another's ground one's business might spread and prosper.

Now the Xiao family had been kicked out of that circle, and could never again look for the courtesy of the other houses. The hidden Pi family might stand behind them, but those houses which had Wei Zhao's backing would not give the Xiao family the time of day; whatever growth they hoped for hereafter would come hard indeed.

That was why Xiao Ben now drew Xiao Ji along with him and lowered his own dignity, sitting down with Divine Doctor Kang and Kang Guifeng, two men with whom there had been a certain unpleasantness.

"This Wei Zhao — can even the hidden Pi family do nothing against him?" Looking at Xiao Ji and Xiao Ben, Divine Doctor Kang asked in some bewilderment. He knew a little of the affair between Wei Zhao and the Xiao family, and knew that three of the Pi family's people had died without Wei Zhao coming to any harm for it, which he could not fathom.

"There may be some great power behind Wei Zhao. The hidden Pi family even warned us not to provoke him — but now we have come to the point where we must provoke him whether we will or no!" Xiao Ji gave a cold snort. "Pushed as we are, the business of our Xiao family, which had only just begun to prosper, will be utterly ruined. We shall have to draw back into our own little corner of Songshan City — and that is Wei Zhao's home ground..."

"Yes — you were making money for the hidden Pi family. Now that such a thing has happened, they cannot simply leave you to your fate, surely?" Kang Guifeng asked, his face giving nothing away.

"Enough of these ifs and maybes." Xiao Ben was a shrewd man; he waved a hand and did not answer Kang Guifeng's question. He knew that Kang Guifeng was in truth trying to goad him into seeking vengeance through the Pi family — but on this matter the Pi family had already declared itself. Their interests had indeed been touched this time, yet in Xiao Ben's view he still had no sure means of making the Pi family move. He meant to sound out the Kang family's hand. "Tell me, Old Master Kang, your Kang family wishes to become a great house — you must have made ample preparations. What, then, is your bargaining chip this time? You need not guard against me. If I am to persuade the Pi family to act, that reason alone will not serve; a hidden house will not lightly bestir itself for a thing that brings no profit. You understand me."

"Very well, then I shall speak plainly!" said Divine Doctor Kang. "You remember the Life-Extending Detox Pill?"

"Of course I remember it. What of it?" Xiao Ben asked, his face giving nothing away.

"The Kang family is at present studying the Life-Extending Detox Pill. If we can sweep Wei Zhao, this obstacle, out of the way, then we may join hands — and I believe that with the pill's formula in our possession, even the hidden houses will accord us a measure of respect!" said Divine Doctor Kang.