Chapter 2122 — Changing the Rules of the Contest
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
"Grandfather, that is indeed a fine idea—though a bit of a pity!" You Panhu sighed. Originally, he had hoped to show off a little in this alchemy contest, but upon learning that Wei Zhao was also competing, that notion had died.
"It is no pity. This is the only way. If we let Wei Zhao win another round, I shall die of rage!" Old Master You struck the table. "Good—let it be done by this rule!"
So it was that Old Master You changed the contest rules on the spot, while Wei Zhao and the others arrived at the council hall.
Han Tianba registered Wei Zhao's name and stake, then sat to one side, quietly waiting for Old Master Zhao to announce the rules of the contest.
Yet whether it was Han Tianba or Han Xiaohu, both were filled with unprecedented confidence in this match—for they had long known that Wei Zhao was an alchemist, that alchemy was Wei Zhao's forte. The odds of taking the championship once again were therefore still very high!
Only, for all that Wei Zhao's face showed no ripple, bitterness filled his heart. He, an alchemist? Alchemist his foot! It would be more like it to have Han Jingyi compete in his place! But Wei Zhao was not yet willing to reveal Han Jingyi, his hidden card, before the crowd—the tallest tree catches the wind. Han Jingyi was not Wei Zhao; Wei Zhao had a few hidden cards and means of self-preservation, but Han Jingyi had none!
If the You family or the Mystic Elixir Sect sensed the danger and sent men to do away with Han Jingyi, Wei Zhao would weep too late for regret. So there was no need at all for him to bring Han Jingyi out for such a paltry stake!
Even if Han Jingyi were to appear, it would have to be for some heaven-defying reward before Wei Zhao would so much as consider it. For a trifling affair like this, Wei Zhao did not harbor the slightest such thought.
The reason Wei Zhao had come here at all was simply to exert a kind of pressure upon the old masters of the hidden Zhao family, the hidden You family, and the other great clans—to tell them that an early Heaven Rank strike had failed to do anything to him, that he was still alive and well and hopping about; so let all their plots against him take a rest for now!
Sure enough, when these people saw Wei Zhao arrive for the contest with his usual calm expression, they were all rather startled. After all, the disciples of the Golden Bell Sect from before were still bedridden with their injuries; the Fire Wolf Gang's disciple was dead; and the You family's disciple had vanished no one knew where.
"You Panhu, how do you do? This time, why not have your You family swap the stake for a tier-two cauldron? I saw the thing—it looked rather nice. How about losing one more to me?" Wei Zhao called out with a smile when he spotted You Panhu.
"Damn it, do you think a tier-two cauldron is a street-stall trinket? In this contest, putting up a tier-one cauldron as a stake is already no small feat, and you want tier-two? Do you think my family runs a cauldron factory?" Hearing Wei Zhao speak as though victory were already assured, You Panhu was instantly furious.
"So stingy." Wei Zhao shrugged.
"You—I'm stingy?" You Panhu was so enraged his blood boiled. Am I the stingy one, or are you? You cobbled together a worthless bit of information, swindled two cauldrons out of me, and you call me stingy?