Chapter 2111 — Trying to Steal a Chicken Only to Lose the Rice

"What kind of nonsense is this? What are you talking about? What dead man?" Old Master Zhao was stunned for a moment, but then he looked toward the formation and saw that the Fire Wolf Gang disciple was still sitting cross-legged inside it without moving, and had not come out at all!

Previously, everyone had only cared about who would take the championship, and had neglected that disciple's situation. It was only now that they discovered the problem!

"You raised the pressure and crushed that Fire Wolf Gang disciple to death. I was quite puzzled—I thought you had deliberately wanted to kill him. But I never expected it was just a contest within the competition. There's nothing to be done; his skills were inferior, so he died, and that's that!" Wei Zhao said. "Since he's dead, the championship should be mine, shouldn't it?"

"This..." Old Master Zhao's face immediately darkened. He had not expected such a situation to arise!

An Mingyue, who was just about to collect the winnings of the bet, also stopped in her tracks and turned quickly toward the Fire Wolf Gang disciple in the formation. One look and her expression changed drastically. She fixed Old Master Zhao with a cold stare: "Old Master Zhao, what is the meaning of this? I have never heard that the rules allowed anyone to raise the pressure on a whim!"

The pressure had been agreed upon beforehand and was supposed to remain unchanged throughout, which was precisely why the Fire Wolf Gang had sent out a bio-engineered man—a test subject created by Dr. Yin's junior fellow disciple. Naturally, his pressure resistance far exceeded that of an ordinary person. But he was only a test subject, after all; there was no way he could withstand pressure without limit!

It was just that under the pressure, the test subject did not feel pain. After the contest ended, this bio-engineered man would in fact be considered a cripple, but he absolutely would not die! Now, Old Master Zhao and the others had suddenly raised the pressure without authorization and killed the bio-engineered man. Naturally, An Mingyue was displeased, fury rising in her heart!

Back then, the talk had been so pleasant—they said the Fire Wolf Gang was the local strongman here, and that they ought to be given a share of the benefits too. That was why An Mingyue had deliberated for a long time before coming up with the idea of using this bio-engineered man to compete in the pressure-resistance contest. After all, this bio-engineered man was a person remade through drugs, devoid of will and thought. If left inside the formation, no matter how much pain he suffered, he would never come out on his own.

But now he was dead. How could a dead man claim a prize? A dead man meant that an accident had occurred during the contest, that his qualification was automatically revoked—let alone that he could win!

"Mr. An, this matter was indeed not made clear by us beforehand. My apologies. We will bear your losses!" Old Master Yu said after drawing a deep breath.

At this moment, he had no choice but to compromise and placate An Mingyue. An Mingyue himself was someone they could afford to offend—a family that was not even one of the five minor families. Would a hidden family fear him? But An Mingyue was not representing the An family now; he was representing the Fire Wolf Gang!

The Fire Wolf Gang was a transcendent faction. Although it had only been established in recent years, it was filled with masters, and even the ancient sects dared not offend them! It could be said that the Fire Wolf Gang also possessed several experts of Heaven-rank strength!

Who would dare offend such a great gang, straddling both the underworld and the martial path? Moreover, the Fire Wolf Gang often took unorthodox paths, producing modified humans and bio-engineered men—truly surpassing even the Tomorrow Upon Tomorrow Sect, the evil faction of the martial world. So, to say nothing of the hidden Yu family, even the Tomorrow Upon Tomorrow Sect would not dare oppose the Fire Wolf Gang.

Therefore, under these circumstances, the only option was to sacrifice some benefits to placate An Mingyue.

"Fine. Since that is the case, I hope you will present me with an answer that satisfies me!" An Mingyue said indifferently.

"The Fire Wolf Gang disciple is dead. The contest rankings shall be adjusted accordingly! The champion is the hidden Han family, second place is the Jinzhong Sect, and third place is the hidden You family!" Old Master Zhao had no choice but to announce the results thus.

At this moment, the happiest were Han Tianba and Han Xiaohu. They had been in second place, and now they had unexpectedly become champions—this joy had come far too quickly! And they finally understood why Wei Zhao had walked out of the formation: Wei Zhao had known all along that the other contestant was already dead!

Since the man was dead, what was there left to contest?

Old Master You was also delighted. The hidden You family had already been eliminated from the top three, and now they had unexpectedly fought their way back into the top three. This had somewhat turned the situation around for the hidden You family!

Of course, all four Heaven-rank old masters were implicated in the unauthorized raising of the formation's pressure. When the time came, they would probably have to give An Mingyue an explanation and might even have to part with some fine treasures. But this was a matter for the four families together, so Old Master You was naturally not too worried.

"I knew it—Boss would definitely win! Four consecutive championships, haha! This Hidden Family Summit really was tailor-made for you, Boss—it's like delivering treasure right into the hands of our hidden Han family!" Han Xiaohu said with a laugh.

Those old masters and sect leaders who had broken the hidden Han family's fortune—when they heard Han Xiaohu's words, their expressions turned extremely ugly!

It was a slap in the face—a naked slap in the face!

Originally, every one of the contest events and rules they had devised had been aimed at the Han family, but now they had turned into something tailor-made for them. It was enough to make a person die of anger!

"Very well. Hidden Han family, please collect your victor's wager. Jinzhong Sect and the hidden You family, take back your own items!" Old Master Zhao said.

Wei Zhao glanced at the wagers of the Jinzhong Sect and the hidden You family. The Jinzhong Sect's wager was the Minor Restoration Pill they had obtained earlier, while the hidden You family's wager was a Foundation Establishment Pill!

The Minor Restoration Pill was of no use to Wei Zhao—it was the very pill he had traded away—so Wei Zhao had no interest in it.

The Foundation Establishment Pill, however, was a pill capable of transforming a cultivator's constitution. Its primary purpose was to allow those who had missed the optimal age for cultivation to take this pill and set foot once more upon the path of the cultivator!

Zhao Qibing had once taken a Foundation Establishment Pill precisely in order to cultivate! This thing might seem precious, but to Wei Zhao it was a piece of junk—it even took up space in his hand!

To Wei Zhao, enhancing a cultivator's strength was simple: regardless of constitution or aptitude, as long as one could circulate the mental cultivation formula, he could instantly boost their power. So this Foundation Establishment Pill was completely useless.

"No trade for this round. You may take your own items back," Wei Zhao said, having collected his own wager.

Neither Old Master You of the hidden You family nor Diamond Jin of the Jinzhong Sect doubted that Wei Zhao was an alchemist, and that pills held no attraction for him. So this outcome was no surprise, and they silently took back their belongings.

Wei Zhao did not linger either. After collecting his things, he returned with Han Tianba and Han Xiaohu to their temporary residence to rest. (To be continued)