Chapter 2095 — Something Fishy

"Mr. Lin, I leave it in your hands, please!" Han Tianba said.

"A trifle," Wei Zhao said with a wave of his hand.

At one o'clock sharp, all the family patriarchs and sect masters who had appeared that morning came to the council hall with their disciples. Unlike the Han family, these clans and sects generally brought only a single competing disciple with their patriarch or master; the rest of their disciples stayed at their lodgings to conserve their strength and did not come along to gawk.

After all, the winner of this contest was all but decided, and there was no point in watching it. Besides, they were not skilled at the events in question—better to rest well and make a stunning showing in the contests to come.

"Old Master Han, who is it that competes for your Hidden Han Family? Why have two of you come?" Old Master Zhao asked with a hint of sly amusement as he registered the stakes and the roster of competitors for the Hidden Zhao Family.

"Naturally it is Mr. Lin who competes!" Han Tianba smiled slightly, not at all provoked. "Xiao Po has only come to see a little of the world."

"Very well!" Old Master Zhao had a Zhao disciple beside him enter Wei Zhao's name, then glanced at the treasure in Han Tianba's hands—a thousand-year lingzhi, excellent material for refining elixirs and a fine tonic even taken on its own. So the Hidden Han Family knew the rules after all, and would not dare stake anything of too poor a grade.

"Old Zhao, who fights for your Zhao family? Don't tell me it's that jinx Zhao Qibing?" Wei Zhao glanced at Old Master Zhao and asked mockingly.

Wei Zhao had long since learned from Han Tianba that at this Hidden Family Summit no one might fight to the death during a match, still less strike a blow in private. So he had no worries about his own safety—there were beings of the ancient tier overseeing matters, after all.

"Hmph, Zhao Qibing is the God of the Wheel—since when did he become a jinx? Mind what you say! Take care, or I shall warn you in my capacity as host for casting curses!" Old Master Zhao said coldly.

"I cast no curse—it is you who should mind what you say, Old Zhao!" Wei Zhao curled his lip. "I am merely stating a fact. That boy Zhao Qibing has a habit of breaking his legs!"

"Say what you like—if you have the skill, prove it on the track!" Old Master Zhao thought to himself: let him run his mouth a while longer; when the time comes, Qianshan Sect will do him in!

Once everyone had registered, the whole party swept in grand procession to the rear mountain of the Hidden Zhao Family estate. This was private Zhao land as well, and its winding mountain road could serve as a private racing course.

At the foot of the mountain, a row of brand-new Jetta cars stood waiting, each printed with the surname of a family or the name of a sect.

Clearly, the young contenders from every house knew the model of the car, and none of them saw anything amiss.

"A car race. There are no rules to speak of—whoever first reaches the finish line at the summit wins!" Old Master Zhao said. "To demonstrate the fairness of this contest, I now ask two representatives of high repute to inspect the cars and confirm that they are all identical, brand-new, and have not been tampered with! Elder Yu, Elder You, you are both Heaven-rank experts—if you would be so kind!"

"Certainly, no problem!" Elder Yu and Elder You both nodded and went over to inspect the cars.

Wei Zhao watched the scene with a cold sneer. This was nothing but a trick to fool ghosts. These two were in league with the Hidden Zhao Family, cheating the Hidden Han Family together. Sending them to inspect? What could they possibly find? And this was supposed to be fair?

But the Hidden Han Family was weak now, and the rules were made by others; there was nothing to be done.

After a while, Elder Yu and Elder You announced together: "The cars are all brand-new!"

"Good. Since Elders Yu and You have certified them, let the competitors take their seats in the cars bearing their family surnames and sect names. The horn shall be the signal—the instant it sounds, the race begins!" said Old Master Zhao.

Wei Zhao gave Zhao Qibing, not far away, a cold look. A strange smile flickered at the corner of his mouth, and then he walked toward the car marked "Han."

Zhao Qibing felt a chill crawl over his skin at Wei Zhao's look, unable to guess what that smile meant. Still, he snorted, forced himself to look calm, and climbed into his own car, thinking: What is there to fear? A car race is not a fight—beating him will be far too easy!

After all, his car had been modified—the only modified car among them all. As for the inspection by Elders Yu and You, that was mere formality. The Zhao family were the hosts of this Hidden Family Summit, and the other events had all been snatched up by others. If the Hidden Zhao Family, as hosts, could not win a single contest, that would be a disgrace.

But compared with the others, the Hidden Zhao Family's Zhao Qitan had no great advantage, so to balance the contest they had added a car race and handed the championship to the Hidden Zhao Family!

Zhao Qibing might be formidable at racing and know the terrain to his advantage, but the other hidden families, apart from the Hidden Han Family, could have hired skilled racers as outside help. They simply all understood the championship to be settled in advance, and so spared themselves the trouble.

At the sound of a clear, ringing horn, Wei Zhao swiftly shifted into gear and stamped on the accelerator; the car shot away at flying speed!

Then Wei Zhao began shifting without pause, quickly reaching the highest gear, the accelerator pressed flat to the floor, and in an instant he had taken the lead among all the cars!

That opening move left every patriarch and sect master watching the race dumbstruck. Was Wei Zhao truly so formidable a driver?

Old Master Zhao too silently counted his blessings—thank heaven he had held something back. Zhao Qibing's car was modified; otherwise this race would truly have been in doubt. This Wei Zhao was not to be underestimated: a cultivator, and such a superb driver besides—even Zhao Qibing, who often ran illegal street races abroad, was no match for him?

Though Zhao Qibing's start had not been as fierce and effortless as Wei Zhao's, the advantage of his modified car soon showed itself. The cars of Wei Zhao and the others all had naturally aspirated engines, while Zhao Qibing's was turbocharged; once the turbo kicked in, his speed leapt at once, and in a single instant he overtook Wei Zhao's car and flung him far behind!

Wei Zhao knew car performance no less than Zhao Qibing—more, if anything. Seeing Zhao Qibing's car pull ahead, he frowned at once.

Wei Zhao had been accelerating ever since the horn sounded, and his speed had now passed one hundred and sixty miles an hour; still he kept accelerating. Zhao Qibing's car, by Wei Zhao's eye, was doing at least two hundred and twenty or thirty, and still accelerating!

Was that even possible? Wei Zhao had driven a Jetta before; past two hundred was the absolute limit, and even for him holding steady at two hundred and twenty was no easy feat! (To be continued.) RQ

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