Chapter 2923 — The Divine Fist Hall's Decision, Part One

"Tsk!" Old Master Feng clicked his tongue in amazement, then fell into deep thought. Even a disciple of the Divine Fist Hall had acknowledged Wei Zhao as their leader? Old Master Feng knew exactly what sort of sect the Divine Fist Hall was. Among the ancient sects, the Divine Fist Hall was the very model of external cultivation—formidable in the extreme! Though it had kept a low profile these years, no one could deny the Divine Fist Hall's transcendent standing!

Granted, the disciples the Divine Fist Hall had sent to the Xuandan Sect's trial might not have been of the direct bloodline, but they were certainly core disciples—and core disciples of the Divine Fist Hall were surely no fools. This Wei Zhao must possess some extraordinary quality!

Then there was that Ge Xian. Old Master Feng had heard the name as well. Among the ancient circles, Ge Xian counted as a figure in his own right, with an intelligence network second to none—yet he had never pledged himself to any ancient sect. For a man of such caliber to acknowledge another as his leader... there had to be something suspicious in it!

"Feng Shihua, be that as it may, this time you have done something that stains the family's honor. For the time being, you will go to the Reflection Chamber and face the wall in contemplation! Take no part in any other family affairs!" Old Master Feng finally spoke, and his word was final: "In this trial you obtained a Great Return Pill; the merit offsets the fault, so I will impose no further punishment on you!"

"Yes—thank you, Grandfather!" Feng Shihua had never expected the matter to be settled so lightly! After all, facing the wall in contemplation was much the same as cultivation; otherwise, Feng Shihua would often go into seclusion to cultivate anyway. To a cultivator, this punishment was essentially no punishment at all!

Originally, Feng Shihua had assumed he would surely be stripped of his title as first-in-line heir to the young sect master. But now it seemed his grandfather had no such intention!

Feng Tianhu's expression shifted. He had not expected the old master to settle the matter with a single sentence, yet there was nothing he could do—he dared not say more.

"Very well, Tianhu. Take the Great Return Pill and give it to Nitian to consume. He too is the most promising scion of our ancient Feng family; it is good if he can recover!" Old Master Feng was not playing favorites either—he had directly hinted to Feng Tianhu that this was his son, and if the boy recovered, he would have his chance to compete as well.

"Yes! Thank you, Father!" Feng Tianhu was overjoyed. He had never expected this Great Return Pill to truly fall to Feng Nitian! After all, he had entertained such a hope before, but he had never dared be certain whether the pill would actually be given to Feng Nitian.

After all, to the ancient Feng family, Feng Nitian was nothing but a man in a vegetative state, of no use anymore. By the practice of certain cold-blooded clans, such a figure was a discarded piece; even if the Great Return Pill were brought back, it would be stored away at home for emergencies and not lightly given to anyone to consume.

The Hidden Zhao family was a living example of exactly that—Old Master Zhao's conduct had been utterly cold-blooded and heartless.

"All of you, withdraw and attend to your own affairs." With that, Old Master Feng turned and left. The current atmosphere in the ancient Feng family was far from healthy, but there was nothing Old Master Feng could do. Feng Shihua was too soft. If the ancient Feng family were powerful, that would be no problem—no one could do anything to the ancient Feng family—but at present the ancient Feng family was a bottom-tier clan. If Feng Shihua lacked any ruthlessness, would the ancient Feng family not be bullied to death in the days to come?

Yet Old Master Feng could think of no good solution either. Feng Tianqi and Feng Shihua were similar in temperament, while Feng Tianhu and Feng Nitian were likewise alike—but both temperaments were extremes, and neither suited the role of family head.

For now, all they could do was take one step and see the next; Old Master Feng could only hope that one among them might change.

……………………

At the Divine Fist Hall, Li Ciba's return could only be called an accident!

On the road, Li Ciba and a fellow disciple had encountered Zhang Naipao. After Zhang Naipao beat his fellow disciple to death, Li Ciba had gone on alone to the Xuandan Sect to take part in the trial.

At the time, the Divine Fist Hall disciples sent to collect the body had urged Li Ciba to withdraw and not go, but Li Ciba had firmly made his way to the Xuandan Sect. Some thought him stubborn; others thought he was acting on hot-headed impulse!

He had already made an enemy of Zhang Naipao. When he went to the Xuandan Sect trial, there was no guaranteeing Zhang Naipao would not harbor a grudge and attack Li Ciba again, leaving him behind in the trial grounds.

So when Li Ciba returned, the sect's people were astonished—especially his master, the Peerless Boxer. The Divine Fist Hall and the Tomorrow Upon Tomorrow Sect had always been rivals, and the Peerless Boxer was currently the Divine Fist Hall's sect master. Though Li Ciba was not his final disciple, he was one of the disciples he thought highly of. Earlier, when he heard that the Divine Fist Hall's grand elder's disciple had been beaten to death while his own disciple had nonetheless gone on to the trial, he had been deeply worried.

Li Ciba's spirit was admirable, but to go knowing full well how dangerous it would be—that smacked of hot-headed impulse.

"Ciba, you passed the trial?" the Peerless Boxer asked in some surprise.

"Yes, Master. Your disciple passed the trial and successfully exchanged for a Great Return Pill!" With that, Li Ciba carefully took the Great Return Pill from his pocket and presented it to the Peerless Boxer.

"Ah!" This time the Peerless Boxer was truly shocked. That Li Ciba had come back alive had already astonished him enough, but that he had actually brought back a third-grade Great Return Pill was hardly to be believed: "During the trial, Zhang Naipao did not make things difficult for you?"

The Peerless Boxer hated Zhang Naipao to the bone—not only because he had beaten a core disciple of the Divine Fist Hall to death, but also because he was a disciple of the Tomorrow Upon Tomorrow Sect. Of all people, the Divine Fist Hall hated the disciples of the Tomorrow Upon Tomorrow Sect the most!

"He did, but during the trial your disciple acknowledged a leader. Under that leader's protection, not only did we blunt Zhang Naipao's edge and avenge my fellow disciple, but he also enabled me to pass the trial successfully and obtain the third-grade Great Return Pill!" Li Ciba reported truthfully.

"Oh? You acknowledged a leader? And blunted Zhang Naipao's edge? What happened?" The Peerless Boxer had initially been somewhat irritated that Li Ciba had acknowledged some leader or other—the disciples of the Divine Fist Hall were all outstanding figures; how could they casually acknowledge a leader?

But when he heard that Zhang Naipao's edge had been blunted, his interest was piqued. Nothing delighted the Peerless Boxer more than seeing the Tomorrow Upon Tomorrow Sect's people come to grief.

"It happened like this..." Li Ciba held nothing back, and recounted in detail to his master, the Peerless Boxer, the encounter with Wei Zhao—how Wei Zhao had killed Mo Ba and crippled Mo Jiu, and how he had blunted Zhang Naipao's edge.