Chapter 2157 — Putting Forward a Plan

"Hah, that Wei Zhao is a man I must kill!" Diamond Jin of the Golden Bell Sect sneered. "Whether or not he took those things, he must die! Only, Sect Master Wo, you swore up and down that you could finish Wei Zhao off—so how is it you drop the ball at the critical moment?"

"Hmph! You think I, Wo, don't want to kill Wei Zhao?" Sect Master Wo laughed coldly. "I want him dead more than any of you, but that Wei Zhao used some kind of demonic art I've never seen to lure away my sect's guardian spirit beast!"

"Demonic art? That's called skill, and if you haven't got it, you shouldn't have made such boasts. Now that you've spoken, you come running to me to settle it for you—how was I, the host, supposed to help you in a setting like that?" said Old Master Zhao, wagging his beard. "If you've got the ability, go get your spirit beast back yourself!"

"Old Master Pi, Old Master Zhuang, Mr. An—what do you three say?" Old Master You turned to the three of them and asked. Of those present, only these three had yet to declare themselves.

"My grandson was struck by that spirit beast's true qi, and his life hangs in the balance. I have no heart to study anything else. My apologies!" Old Master Pi shook his head sorrowfully.

"My strength... is only at the peak of the late Earth Rank, I've yet to break through to Heaven Rank. I'm afraid of dying, I wouldn't dare move against that Wei Zhao." Old Master Zhuang was wily and cunning; he had no quarrel with Wei Zhao at all, so why go provoke him? Was he sick in the head?

"I cannot speak for the Fire Wolf Gang; I am only here to lead the team in the competition," An Mingyue said flatly. Last time, even the Fire Wolf Gang's guardian mage had come and still failed to handle Wei Zhao. For now, there was no great conflict between the Fire Wolf Gang and Wei Zhao, and he had no wish to go looking for trouble.

"That's quite all right, I understand, I understand!" Old Master Zhao sighed inwardly. In truth, he did not much care about the attitudes of Old Master Zhuang and An Mingyue—what he most wanted to win over was Old Master Pi, this fine Heaven Rank expert!

After all, to surround and destroy Wei Zhao, Heaven Rank experts were the useful ones; Earth Rank experts who went along would only be cannon fodder.

"Old Master Pi, won't you reconsider?" Old Master You asked.

"With my grandson in such a state, do I have the heart to consider anything else?" Old Master Pi shook his head. "I only want to get back as quickly as I can and think of a way!"

"Each to his own ambition, then we won't press you!" Old Master Zhao said helplessly. "It seems it will be myself, Old Master You, Old Master Yu, Old Master Tang, and Sect Master Jin and Sect Master Wo joining hands against Wei Zhao!"

"Gentlemen, though I take no part in this, there is one thing I cannot refrain from reminding you all—is that Wei Zhao really so easy to deal with?" In his heart, Old Master Pi naturally did not wish Wei Zhao any harm; afterward he still hoped to find a chance to visit Wei Zhao and ask him to treat his kinsman Pi Zhihai. On the surface, however, he spoke as though he were concerned for them all: "Do not forget, his own strength is already extraordinary, not inferior to an early Heaven Rank expert, and that spirit beast of his is even more formidable. Do not forget how my Zhihai was injured! One swat from that spirit beast, and true qi was injected—don't blame me for not warning you!"

"What's this, Old Master Pi? Are you bolstering others' morale and diminishing our own prestige?" Old Master Zhao frowned.

"I merely do not wish to see any of you hurt! After all, Zhihai's injuries are plain before us. Though I take no part in this affair, I do not wish to see you old friends come to harm," Old Master Pi said mildly. "I am not even taking part—what prestige of ours is there for me to diminish? What has this affair to do with me? Besides, that Wei Zhao is sworn enemies with my Pi Family—he killed three of our fine experts!"

Though Old Master Pi leaned toward Wei Zhao and spoke up for him, he could not let it show, and so at the end he cited the deep enmity between the Hidden Pi Family and Wei Zhao.

"Old Master Pi is right... that Wind-Thunder Violet Lightning Beast is indeed a great hidden peril!" Old Master You frowned and nodded. "Though we are Heaven Rank experts, if bizarre true qi is driven into the meridians of our bodies, refining it out or expelling it is a most difficult business."

Having said this, Old Master Pi glanced somewhat sourly at Sect Master Wo of the Qianshan Sect, as if to say: this is all your doing—good for nothing but spoiling things; not only did you fail to kill Wei Zhao, you've handed him a helper for free. What kind of mess is this!

"That Wind-Thunder Violet Lightning Beast—let me think, there should be a way to deal with it!" Sect Master Wo of the Qianshan Sect said hurriedly. "I'm certain Wei Zhao must have promised it some benefit, but I can promise it a greater one! Our Qianshan Sect still has some cultivation pills passed down from ancient times that spirit beasts can take. One pill is worth a year of their own cultivation. When the time comes, I will keep that Wind-Thunder Violet Lightning Beast occupied and communicate with it!"

"Quite so. If that Wind-Thunder Violet Lightning Beast attacks you, I can step forward and block it!" Diamond Jin said. "I have already studied it—that beast absolutely cannot break my Golden Bell Shield. For a hundred moves at least, it will have no way to deal with me!"

"Good. In that case, then I, Old Master You of the You Family, Old Master Tang of the Tang Family, and Old Master Yu of the Yu Family will join forces to surround and attack Wei Zhao, while you deal with that Wind-Thunder Violet Lightning Beast!" Old Master Zhao said through gritted teeth. "With the four of us striking at once, Wei Zhao absolutely cannot escape!"

"Old Master Zhao, are you certain that if we act, the ancient level will not interfere?" Old Master You asked after a moment's hesitation. This was the question that worried him most. "You know the ancient level has strictly forbidden us from stirring up trouble privately during the Hidden Great Families Summit, and even more so from Heaven Rank experts like us setting foot in the secular world to throw our weight around there!"

"Heh heh, has the Hidden Great Families Summit not already ended? And Wei Zhao and the Hidden Han Family's people have already left the manor—how can it still count as being during the Hidden Great Families Summit?" Old Master Zhao smiled slightly. "Old Master You, you worry about this matter, but I, the host, worry about it even more—yet we can slip through a loophole!"

"But what about setting foot in the secular world?" Old Master Yu asked as well.

"Setting foot in the secular world—that's even easier to explain. Once he leaves our Hidden Zhao Family manor, there is still a long stretch of road before he reaches the highway, and this stretch counts as the outer domain of our Hidden Zhao Family. If we strike here, it does not count as setting foot in the secular world!" Old Master Zhao laughed. "That way, the Hidden Great Families Summit is over, we have not set foot in the secular world, and we have broken no rules—yes?"

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