Chapter 2089 — Barred at the Gate
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
"So Mr. Lin has already noticed me?" Han Tianba was rather surprised as well. He had feared disturbing Wei Zhao and had walked with great care; he was a mid-Earth-Rank expert—newly broken through, true, but still mid-Earth-Rank—and he had been very careful to restrain his own aura. Yet Wei Zhao could still sense him?
"Heh heh, I have too many enemies. Vigilance has become a habit," Wei Zhao said with a smile.
Han Tianba nodded. There was a question in his heart that he had never voiced—he had wanted to ask it the day before, and today, after Wei Zhao had sensed his aura, he wanted to ask it even more, yet he could never bring himself to speak it aloud.
"Elder Han, is there something you wish to ask me?" Wei Zhao, seeing the doubt in the old man's face, asked.
"This... Mr. Lin, forgive my presumption, but I would like to ask—just what is your true cultivation level?" Han Tianba asked cautiously.
"My level? Did you not see it for yourself?" Wei Zhao smiled and answered with a question of his own.
"My eyes are poor... Is Mr. Lin perhaps a peak early-Earth-Rank expert?" Han Tianba ventured. The day before, when he had watched Wei Zhao unleash his martial technique, he had sensed the strength of a peak early-Earth-Rank. And yet—could Wei Zhao possibly be merely a peak early-Earth-Rank?
"Heh heh, you saw it yourself, so why ask again?" Wei Zhao said with a smile.
"But... it is rumored that Mr. Lin can, within a single move, instantly kill three Earth-Rank experts—among them one of late-Earth-Rank strength?" Han Tianba asked, somewhat perplexed.
"With hidden trump cards, naturally one can fight above one's level," Wei Zhao said, without explaining in any greater detail.
"So that is how it is!" Han Tianba nodded and asked no further.
This time, with Wei Zhao joining the Hidden Han Family, there was no need for the other disciples to venture out. Only Han Tianba, Han Xiaohu, and Wei Zhao—keeping a low profile—rode in that same Mercedes-Benz S600 and set off for the Hidden Zhao Family.
Wei Zhao had never been to the seat of the Hidden Zhao Family in East Sea City. It was in exactly the opposite direction from the Hidden Han Family's seat—one to the south, one to the north. And the Hidden Zhao Family's seat was far finer than the Hidden Han Family's: it stood by the seaside, amid green hills and clear waters.
Clearly, this was the advantage of an old-line hidden family. Even with the Hidden Han Family's present wealth, it would be difficult for them to buy a large plot of seafront land on which to build a manor—after all, those places had all been developed, with amusement parks, bathing beaches, villa districts, companies, holiday resorts, and so on. Thus the Hidden Han Family could only build its manor in the suburbs of East Sea City.
"So this is the Hidden Zhao Family? Quite imposing!" Wei Zhao said in admiration as he looked over the scenery around the Zhao Family manor.
"Yes, this is the place!" Han Tianba did not seem envious. "My Hidden Han Family rose rather late; to have held on to our standing is already no small feat. All this manor scenery is nothing but emptiness."
The car drove all the way to the gate of the Hidden Zhao Family manor, only to be stopped. A disciple of the Hidden Zhao Family barred the way before the car and asked, "This is private property. Idlers and outsiders are not permitted entry. Please leave at once!"
As a rule, hidden families coming here for the summit would not arrive in just one car—at the very least, two or three would come together. But the Hidden Han Family had only this one Mercedes, and with East Sea City local plates besides, so the disciple at the gate naturally assumed they were tourists who had taken a wrong turn.
"We are here to attend the Hidden World Families Summit. Here is our invitation!" Han Xiaohu, sitting in the driver's seat, took out a red invitation card and handed it over.