Chapter 2092 — The Conspiracy Behind It, Part One

"Hey... why don't we just quietly do away with this Wei Zhao and be done with it!" This time, the one who spoke was the current sect master of the Golden Bell Sect, Diamond Kong—the senior fellow disciple of Jin Wudi! Diamond Kong had devoted himself single-mindedly to cultivation and paid no heed to sect affairs, leaving them to his junior disciple Jin Wudi to manage. But who could have foreseen that the Golden Bell Sect's prized Dark Steed Pillar would be crippled, and that Jin Wudi, seeking vengeance on its behalf, would end up dead!

All of it traced back to a man from the mundane world named Wei Zhao! From the moment Diamond Kong heard the name Wei Zhao, the intent to kill had risen in his heart, but no suitable moment had presented itself for him to voice it. Now, seeing that the Hidden You Family was less than certain of winning the alchemy contest, he had seized the opening to make his suggestion.

Elder You's eyelid twitched. He had to admit that Diamond Kong's idea was not bad at all; with the strength of those gathered here—several Heaven-rank experts among them—killing Wei Zhao would not be too difficult a task.

"Yu Family Ancestor, what is your view on this matter?" Though Elder You held a revered position here, the Yu Family stood even higher, so he decided to hear the counsel of the Hidden Yu Family.

"Impractical." The Yu Family Ancestor pointed a finger at the sky and said mildly, "Every session of the Hidden Family Summit draws close attention from the ancient level. This time, we have already done a few sordid things in secret—only they were not easy to pin down. But if we go too far and someone dies, and the higher-ups call us to account, neither you nor I could bear the blame!"

Elder You's expression shifted slightly. Indeed, before this Hidden Family Summit, he too had received hints from the Mystic Pill Sect: suppress the Hidden Han Family, undermine the Hidden Han Family—all of that was permissible. But the bottom line was: no deaths!

So long as no one died, the Hidden Han Family could not strike back, nor would they embrace a mentality of mutual destruction and fight to the bitter end. But if someone truly died and the matter blew up, and other ancient sects intervened, even the Mystic Pill Sect would lose control of the situation!

Moreover, the Mystic Pill Sect was at this very moment playing a very large game of chess. At such a critical juncture, there was no way they would let the Hidden You Family create trouble for them!

"Quite right. At the Hidden Family Summit, killing Wei Zhao is hardly possible!" Elder You said. "The rules of every Hidden Family Summit are plain for all to see: friendship first, competition second; skills are tested, but life and death are not wagered!"

Diamond Kong sighed. His attempt at instigation had failed. It seemed none of these hidden-family patriarchs were fools; something so blatantly contrary to the will of the ancient level would never be done. If he wanted revenge, he would have to rely on himself alone.

"Heh, but if during the individual trials some mishap occurs and a man dies, that cannot be blamed on us, can it?" The one who spoke was the sect master of the Qianshan Sect, a sect that specialized in the rearing of spirit beasts.

"Oh? What insight does Sect Master Wo have?" The one who spoke was An Mingyue!

Indeed, this man was none other than An Mingyue of the An Family, An Jianwen's father! Previously he had been of the An Family, one of the five minor families—yet here he was at the Hidden Family Summit! Only, he was not representing the An Family, but the Fire Wolf Gang's northern branch, come to attend this Hidden Family Summit!

With the strength of the Fire Wolf Gang's northern branch, they could naturally stand on equal footing with the hidden families, so his presence here was hardly surprising! What was more, the Fire Wolf Gang was one of the local powers of Donghai City; to hold the Hidden Family Summit here, by reason and by custom alike, they could not be bypassed.

In his heart, An Mingyue loathed Wei Zhao with a passion and wished the brat dead as soon as possible. Earlier he had wanted to second Diamond Kong of the Golden Bell Sect, but Diamond Kong's proposal had been rejected, so he had said no more. Now that Sect Master Wo of the Qianshan Sect had spoken up, An Mingyue was happy to add fuel to the fire.

"Heh heh, in this competition, the final hidden round is a challenge my Qianshan Sect has devised: a contest against an ancient spirit beast, and whoever holds out the longest wins!" Sect Master Wo said with a sinister smile. "I could drop a hint to that ancient spirit beast—it would be far from impossible to have it take Wei Zhao's life!"

"Oh?" Everyone present felt their eyes light up! Yes—if something went wrong in such a contest and a man died, that would have nothing to do with anyone else. Killed by a spirit beast and killed by the scion of another family were two entirely different matters!

A spirit beast was not a person; for it to fly into a rage and go mad now and then was perfectly normal. When the time came and Wei Zhao, lacking in strength, was done away with by the spirit beast, that could only be blamed on his bad luck. Even if the ancient sects came asking, they could deflect it cleanly!

After all, no one had lifted a hand—it was the spirit beast that did the deed. Surely no one could hold a grudge against a dumb animal? True, the spirit beast was reared by the Qianshan Sect, but to put it plainly, it was only kept there temporarily; spirit beasts had minds of their own and might run off any day. If it killed a man, that had not the slightest thing to do with the Qianshan Sect!

"Sect Master Wo, are you confident?" Elder You's eyes lit up. The enmity between the You Family and Wei Zhao ran deep, so naturally he took keen interest in this matter.

"Yes, Sect Master Wo, is what you say true?" The one who spoke was Elder Zhao; the hatred between the Hidden Zhao Family and Wei Zhao was no small thing either.

"I am somewhat confident, but... to carry this out would bring my Qianshan Sect not a single benefit," Sect Master Wo said mildly. "My Qianshan Sect bears no grudge against this Wei Zhao. And however formidable Wei Zhao may be, he cannot win the contest my Qianshan Sect has set!"

What Sect Master Wo said made sense: Wei Zhao had no dealings with the Qianshan Sect, and the Qianshan Sect had no fear of losing the contest!

Elder You and Elder Zhao exchanged a glance, then looked toward the Yu Family Ancestor. "Old Yu, your Yu Family has a feud with Wei Zhao as well, does it not? What say you?"

"I think I shall stay out of this," the Yu Family Ancestor said mildly.

"Old Yu, that Wei Zhao has even slain an expert of the late Earth rank! The experts of your Hidden Yu Family are formidable—I do not deny it—but even so, can they beat Wei Zhao when they step into the individual arena?" Elder Zhao, at this moment, naturally wanted to drag as many people into the water as possible. Only by offering the Qianshan Sect enough benefits would its sect master possibly help do away with Wei Zhao!

"Heh heh, the competition rules do not permit the taking of life. I have studied them. Most of Wei Zhao's techniques are lethal moves—a single strike to kill. If he is not allowed to use those moves, he may not necessarily beat our Yu Family's experts." The Yu Family Ancestor was a cool-headed man. His earlier trouble with Wei Zhao had been an attempt to "snatch back" the Qi Condensation Pill, not to take Wei Zhao's life.

So now, when asked to come forward and plot Wei Zhao's death, he had no wish to take part! Above all, if little Ning were to learn of it, and she were to do something rash, the Yu Family Ancestor would regret it beyond remedy!

For the fastest updates, read without pop-ups at.