Chapter 2099 — The Second Contest

"Gah!" Old Master Zhao nearly choked on his own blood hearing Wei Zhao's words! So Wei Zhao didn't want the five-hundred-year mint flower after all? Had he known earlier that Wei Zhao intended to trade for something from the hidden Pi family, why would he have parted with two Minor Qi-Gathering Pills? The Pi family's elixir was precious, true, but it was absolutely not worth two Minor Qi-Gathering Pills—one at most!

Unwittingly, Old Master Zhao had paid double the value to obtain the five-hundred-year mint flower!

"I say, old man Zhao, I'm conducting a trade with someone else—what are you butting in for? Cawing and squawking like that, startling everyone—even if you're the host, the family presiding over the Hidden Family Summit, you can't meddle in every last thing, can you?" Wei Zhao said deliberately.

"I..." Old Master Zhao was beside himself with fury, cursing only his own impatience.

"Among these things, this Meridian-Unblocking Pill isn't bad. It's yours, the Pi family—in exchange for that elixir!" Wei Zhao scanned the treasures in his hands. Among them was a Meridian-Unblocking Pill, seemingly contributed by the hidden Yu family or perhaps the hidden Tang family. To Wei Zhao, the thing was utterly useless!

The Meridian-Unblocking Pill could repair up to one-third of an injured person's meridians—that is, if the damage to the meridians was within one-third of the whole body, the pill could restore them; otherwise it had no effect, not even if one swallowed two.

But Wei Zhao—forget one-third; even if his meridians were completely destroyed, he could restore them with the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art. This Meridian-Unblocking Pill was little more than chicken ribs to him.

Old Master Pi was rather speechless. What use did he have for a Meridian-Unblocking Pill? The hidden Pi family was a lineage that cultivated external martial arts; even with their meridians wholly ruined, their cultivation would not be hindered. This Meridian-Unblocking Pill was even more worthless than chicken ribs to them!

But the third place had no right of choice. If the first place wanted to trade, he could only trade. So he handed the elixir to Wei Zhao and took back a Meridian-Unblocking Pill. Old Master Pi thought he would simply have to stake it in the next round...

Wei Zhao had asked for this body-tempering elixir on Wu Chengtian's behalf. Wu Chengtian cultivated both internal and external arts; in the internal arts Wei Zhao could help him, but in the external arts, Wei Zhao could not help much. This body-tempering elixir of the hidden Pi family was clearly a fine thing—something the worldly Wu family could certainly never obtain.

Once the stakes were divided, the old masters of each family led their juniors back to their guest rooms to rest and prepare for the next round of competition!

Every family had its own affairs, and Old Master Zhao was in a foul mood besides, so naturally he held no banquet. Instead, he had the kitchen prepare some exquisite dishes and sent them to the guest rooms of each hidden family.

"Haha, Boss, today was absolutely thrilling!" Back in the guest room, Han Xiaopo crowed with delight, his face alight with excitement. "Earlier, I saw that Zhao Qibing's car looked modified, and I was worried to death, afraid you'd lose, Boss—but who'd have thought that Zhao Qibing was so hated by heaven and man alike that even the heavens helped us and blew out his tire outright, haha!"

"Heh... hated by heaven and man alike?" Wei Zhao smiled faintly. "His car underwent strict inspection before the race. How could a tire blow out so easily?"

"Huh?" Han Xiaopo was stunned. A strange light flashed through his eyes as understanding dawned. "Could it be..."

"Xiaopo, some things are better left known but unspoken!" Han Tianba waved his hand, cutting Han Xiaopo off before he could continue.

"Mm, mm!" Han Xiaopo nodded excitedly, now even more confident that Wei Zhao would keep winning...

"What's the next contest?" Wei Zhao asked.

"We don't know yet..." Han Tianba smiled bitterly in resignation. "The other hidden families have likely all found out and made their preparations early. But our hidden Han family won't know until the very eve of the contest. These people all guard against us—especially after Mr. Lin appeared..."

"It doesn't matter." Wei Zhao had only asked casually. Since there was no news, after dinner he simply closed his eyes to rest and cultivate...

At seven that evening, a disciple of the hidden Zhao family hurried over. "Is Old Master Han present?"

"Envoy, the contest is about to begin again, I take it?" Old Master Han hurried out of the guest room and asked.

"Yes. The second contest is the Hidden Weapon Evasion Contest. Please, Old Master Han, bring your family's participating juniors to the council hall!" said the Zhao family disciple.

"Very well!" Han Tianba answered, then looked to Wei Zhao. After all, whether to take part in this Hidden Weapon Evasion Contest was not his decision but Wei Zhao's. "Mr. Lin..."

"Let's go!" Wei Zhao said calmly. "Just take any one of those treasures we won earlier and stake it."

"That... very well!" Han Tianba had meant to say that these things all belonged to Wei Zhao now, that he needn't worry about the stakes—the Han family had already prepared them. But since Wei Zhao had spoken, so be it. The hidden Han family could compensate Wei Zhao in other ways anyway; one or two treasures made no difference.

In truth, the things won from the racing stakes were of little great use to Wei Zhao, so naturally he was not stingy about putting them up as stakes.

On the way, Wei Zhao asked, "This hidden weapon contest—is the winner predetermined too? Is there another family particularly skilled at this?"

"Indeed!" Han Tianba nodded and explained, "The ancestors of the hidden Tang family were a branch of the Tang Sect. The Tang Sect excels in hidden weapons and poisons, so the hidden Tang family is naturally most adept as well. This Hidden Weapon Evasion Contest is a hundred percent arranged for the hidden Tang family, and they are certainly confident of victory!"

Wei Zhao nodded and said nothing more.

It was still the three of them—Han Tianba, Han Xiaopo, and Wei Zhao—who made their way to the Zhao family's council hall. As expected, it was the same as before: apart from the three of them, the old masters and juniors of every other hidden family had already arrived. They were once again the last.

"Old Master Han has arrived as well, so I won't waste words. We'll proceed directly to today's second contest!" Old Master Zhao announced. "This contest is the Hidden Weapon Evasion Contest. As the name suggests, it is a trial of evading hidden weapons. Within the fixed time, whoever is struck fewer times by hidden weapons wins!

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