Chapter 2134 — A Straight Surrender

"It's fine. Just be careful of Pi Zhihai. Pi Zhishan is the same rank as you, so you two are evenly matched. Between him and Pi Zhihai, you'd sooner take a hit from Pi Zhishan than let Pi Zhihai land one on you!" Wei Zhao said.

"All right, I understand, Chief!" Han Xiaopo nodded and said.

Pi Zhihai had been brooding over his surrender in the earlier singles arena challenge, and so he meant to turn the tables in this doubles arena challenge!

"Old Master Pi." Wei Zhao's steps toward the arena suddenly halted, and he turned his head to look at Old Master Pi.

"What is it?" Old Master Pi's heart gave a sudden lurch at the look in Wei Zhao's eyes, though he still feigned composure as he asked.

"Nothing much. I only wanted to tell you—one move. One move is all it will take." Wei Zhao smiled faintly. "Don't imagine that beating Han Xiaopo means you've won. The moment I step onto the arena, I can wipe out two people in a single move..."

"Is this a threat?" Old Master Pi's expression changed on the spot! Earlier, he had discussed the matter with Pi Zhishan and Pi Zhihai. Pi Zhihai had been full of confidence that the instant they stepped onto the arena he could finish Han Xiaopo in a flash, blasting him off the stage with a single punch—and then no matter how formidable Wei Zhao was, he would have no choice but to concede.

Moreover, from the way Wei Zhao had fought Ma Dashen, it was plain that Wei Zhao was arrogant, the sort who waited for his opponent to strike first! That being so, they would have their opening—while Wei Zhao had yet to make his move, they would strike first to seize the advantage!

That was exactly why Pi Zhishan and Pi Zhihai were so confident. But this time Wei Zhao had abandoned his previous tactics and actually declared that he would attack the moment he stepped onto the arena. Old Master Pi had never expected Wei Zhao to have the same idea, and he could not help but worry!

"It's not a threat. Believe what you like—I'm only offering a friendly reminder," Wei Zhao said mildly. "I'd rather you didn't end up as brainless as Diamond."

"This..." Old Master Pi's expression turned shifting and uncertain, and Pi Zhishan and Pi Zhihai, who had been about to step onto the stage, halted in their tracks as well!

This was nothing short of a barefaced threat from Wei Zhao, yet apart from feeling utterly humiliated and stifled, Pi Zhishan and Pi Zhihai could not muster the least thought of resistance! When Wei Zhao said one move, he meant one move. Never mind that Wei Zhao had once wiped out three Earth Rank experts in a single move—just that one martial technique of his on yesterday's arena was enough to slay two people in an instant!

"Don't imagine I don't know what you're scheming. Target Han Xiaopo, is it? Very well—let's see who's faster!" Wei Zhao said mildly.

"Hah..." Old Master Pi drew a deep breath. But he was, after all, the head of a family, possessed of a certain magnanimity and depth of scheming. Though Wei Zhao's threat left him deeply embarrassed and shamed, and put him in an agonizing dilemma, he still made his choice!

Old Master Pi was no fool. In this doubles arena tournament, the family agreed upon in advance to advance was the hidden Zhuang family. However formidable the hidden Pi family might be, they were at best second or third rate—and with Qianshan Gate, that unpredictable factor of one man and one beast, thrown into the mix, who could say whether they might not rise out of nowhere?

Add to that Wei Zhao's side, and the hidden Pi family's chances of entering the top three had already grown very slim. So rather than be squeezed out of the top three when the time came, better to concede now! After all, Wei Zhao had already stated things that plainly. If the hidden Pi family still refused to see reason, that would be no different from courting death!

And when they died, others would mock Old Master Pi for not knowing how to appreciate a favor—Wei Zhao had warned them outright, and they had still fought? Was that not sheer lunacy?

"Hah. Since Mr. Lin has put it that plainly, then the hidden Pi family has no choice but to concede!" Old Master Pi said with a faint smile. "But it is you, Mr. Lin, whom we fear—not Han Xiaopo. As for finishing someone in an instant, we too could slay one the moment we stepped onto the stage. But we would rather not trade one for two. That's a poor bargain! And it would be meaningless besides."

Wei Zhao nodded. "That would be best. I have many enemies here. I hope Old Master Pi makes the right choice, and has no cause for regret."

"Ha, Mr. Lin, I said before that the enmity between us was built upon the Xiao family—in essence there is no real conflict between us. Haha, I will restrain the Xiao family and see that they do not provoke you. With no clash of interests between us hereafter, what enemies are there to speak of?" Old Master Pi laughed heartily and said.

In saying so, he was in truth yielding. He was merely an outer-path expert of the early Heaven Rank. Wei Zhao could withstand the full-force blow of an inner-path expert of the early Heaven Rank, so he might well withstand a blow from Old Master Pi as well—and once Wei Zhao weathered it and struck back, the result would be devastating!

Old Master Pi asked himself whether, against that fierce strike of Wei Zhao's on yesterday's arena, he would have had any chance of survival at all. So no matter how stifled he felt now, no matter how many experts Wei Zhao and his underlings had slain before, he had no choice but to pinch his nose and swallow it!

Such was the world of cultivators: the strong are revered. Without strength, you must compromise—or be destroyed.

"That would be most excellent!" Wei Zhao nodded.

"Pi Zhishan, Pi Zhihai, concede outright!" Old Master Pi said to his two grandsons. "There is no shame in conceding before Mr. Lin. Only a ** fool would put on airs before him!"

"Yes!" Though Pi Zhishan and Pi Zhihai felt somewhat aggrieved at heart, they knew Old Master Pi was speaking the truth. It was true they had the power to destroy Han Xiaopo—but Wei Zhao likewise had the power to destroy the two of them, and that was a poor bargain. Better to concede!

And so Pi Zhishan and Pi Zhihai cupped their fists and said, "We are no match for Mr. Wei Zhao. We concede."

Still, the hidden Pi family's choice of words was artful indeed. They said again and again that they conceded to Wei Zhao, not to the hidden Han family. Though the result was the same, the meaning was altogether different.

Wei Zhao did not call them out on it, and Han Xiaopo had no mind to quibble either. The Han family had latched onto Wei Zhao's coattails—so what? Sour grapes on their part; they might wish to be Wei Zhao's underlings, but he would not even have them!

"Ha, it's fine. When you lot have acknowledged a formidable chief of your own someday, I, Han Xiaopo, will concede of my own accord too!" Han Xiaopo said, taking no shame in it but rather pride.

"Hmph!" Old Master Pi was all pleasantness toward Wei Zhao, but toward Han Xiaopo he showed no such face. With a cold snort, he led Pi Zhishan and Pi Zhihai away from the arena.

"The contest between the hidden Han family and the hidden Pi family—the hidden Han family wins!" Old Master Zhao announced the result. He represented the official authority of the Hidden Clans Summit, so there was no room for wordplay—no saying things like "Wei Zhao wins."

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