Chapter 2121 — The Seventh Match: Those Disciples Who Competed Earlier Must Have Used This Elixir, Turning Them into Puppet Bio-Men Who Fear Neither Pain Nor Death and Have No Minds of Their Own!

As for the elixir Wei Zhao had asked for, it was not actually meant for his own use—he simply wanted to take it back and study it.

"Good, since there's nothing else, we'll go back and rest!" Wei Zhao said flatly. He had suffered internal injuries; though nothing showed on the surface, he had to return and heal them.

With that, Wei Zhao departed together with Han Tianba and Han Xiaopo. The match had been a close call but no real danger—Wei Zhao had not only tested the power of an early Heaven Rank expert, but successfully claimed the championship once again. A double gain, all told.

After Wei Zhao left, however, both Diamond's and Old Master You's faces were dark as could be; An Mingyue's expression, by contrast, was rather better. To An Mingyue, second place and third place were much the same—either way one recovered one's own stake, or exchanged it for another.

And An Mingyue had already exchanged for a stake he found satisfactory, while a top-three finish had salvaged some face for the Fire Wolf Gang. So for the moment, he was quite composed.

Diamond, though, had come aiming for the championship, only to lose it to Wei Zhao's renewed challenge—and what galled him most was that he had lost it because of his own loose tongue, having added an extra rule to the contest. How could he possibly be at ease?

Old Master You was the same. He had been sitting comfortably in third place, secure enough, only for Wei Zhao to charge from fourth to first and shove him down into fourth!

"Enough. Being angry now will only make us sick with rage, and it does nothing for the larger picture. Since Qianshan Sect has a hidden card to play in this final supplementary match, why should we fret so much?" Old Master Zhao said. "By now everyone can see it: that Wei Zhao took a full-force blow from an early Heaven Rank expert and came away without a scratch, walking and laughing as if nothing happened. Even if we joined forces, we might not be able to take him down—let alone that the rules forbid us from lifting a finger against him outside the ring..."

"True. Even if we did try something, we'd likely not be Wei Zhao's match. That Wei Zhao is truly beyond anything I expected!" Old Master You sighed and shook his head.

Yet in the depths of Old Master Yu's and Old Master Tang's hearts stirred the same thought: had they known it would come to this, why had they done it in the first place? If only they had never set themselves against Wei Zhao!

For the hidden Tang family, there was no longer any chance of mending relations with Wei Zhao. That day they had chosen the camp of the hidden You family and the Xuandan Sect, making enemies of Wei Zhao, Tang Yun, and the Ice Palace line. There could be absolutely no turning back now—unless they broke with the hidden You family and the Xuandan Sect outright, which would cost them far more than it was worth...

The hidden Yu family, however, was another matter—the scales in Old Master Yu's heart had begun to tip ever so slightly... If only Wei Zhao had not been the one who seized the Yu Mars Qi-Gathering Pill. Then, plainly speaking, apart from the secular Yu family, there would be no irreconcilable hatred between the two houses.

But the Qi-Gathering Pill was a grudge of life and death; it had delayed Yu Xiaochen's breakthrough to the Heaven Rank, and that made Wei Zhao a great sinner of the hidden Yu family. Even if Old Master Yu wished to mend relations with Wei Zhao, Yu Xiaochen himself might not be willing—that had been a chance to enter the Heaven Rank, the most precious thing of all to a cultivator!

The death of one or two people was of little consequence—after all, the dead were only worthless trash—but the crux of the matter now was the Qi-Gathering Pill...

At this thought, the Yu family's Old Ancestor heaved a long sigh, turned, and strode away...

When Wei Zhao returned to his temporary lodging, the healthy ruddiness drained from his face and turned somewhat pale. He had only temporarily replenished some energy and repaired the damage to his internal organs, but the healing was far from complete. Now that he was back in his quarters, there was no need to keep up appearances...

"Leader, what's wrong?" Han Xiaopo was startled at the sight of Wei Zhao and asked at once.

"Nothing much. The power of an early Heaven Rank expert really is extraordinary—especially taking such a blow head-on..." Wei Zhao smiled wryly. "I've suffered severe internal injuries. I need to circulate my energy and heal now. Just don't disturb me. I'll skip lunch!"

"Ah... then the next match..." Han Xiaopo was frightened to hear Wei Zhao was injured. "Should we just forfeit the next match?"

"Heh, it's fine. I'll be better in a little while," Wei Zhao said indifferently.

"Oh..." Han Xiaopo nodded, and hearing Wei Zhao say so, said no more.

At noon the Zhao family disciples brought food. Wei Zhao sat with eyes closed, healing, and Han Xiaopo dared not disturb him; he set aside a portion for Wei Zhao, then quietly finished lunch with Han Tianba and waited patiently for Wei Zhao to recover.

If the Zhao family's messenger came to invite them to compete before Wei Zhao recovered, Han Xiaopo planned to refuse. Wei Zhao's health mattered most; the outcome of a match was not so important—so long as the green hills remain, there will be no shortage of firewood.

Yet just as the hour of the afternoon match was about to arrive, Wei Zhao suddenly opened his eyes and let out a long breath of turbid air: "Phew—"

"Leader, you've recovered?" Han Xiaopo asked, overjoyed to see Wei Zhao open his eyes.

"Yes, recovered!" Wei Zhao nodded. "I expect the Zhao family's people will be here soon."

Sure enough, scarcely had his words fallen when from outside the lodging came the voice of a Zhao family disciple: "Is Old Master Han in? The second match of the day is about to begin. Please, Old Master Han, bring your family's competing disciple and the stakes to the council hall to register..."

This time Han Tianba did not rush to agree, but turned to look at Wei Zhao. In his view, Wei Zhao had been gravely injured that morning; competing now, if it hindered the healing of his wounds, would be a loss not worth the gain!

They had already won so many matches; losing one or two now and then would not dent the hidden Han family's prestige in the slightest—and as for the stakes, the hidden Han family could afford to lose them.

"Let's go, Xiaopo, Old Master Han. Let's see what this sixth match is about!" Wei Zhao said. "May I ask what this match tests?"

"My apologies, I forgot to mention it—this match is an alchemy contest..." the Zhao family disciple answered cautiously. It was not that he had forgotten; he had come expressly to deliver the notice, so how could he have forgotten to say?

The reason he did not disclose the content of the match was simple: Old Master Zhao had instructed him beforehand to sound out Wei Zhao's side. If Wei Zhao was injured and the content of the match was not revealed, then Wei Zhao would very likely forfeit on account of his wounds.

But if the content were revealed and it happened to be Wei Zhao's strong suit, how could Wei Zhao refuse? That was why he had deliberately been so vague before!

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