"You need not worry about that. Without receiving the legacy, no one can see through Yu Ning however brilliant her talent may be." The Yu family ancestor waved a hand and said indifferently, "All you must do is meet this glory with everything you have. Once our Yu family boasts four Heaven Tier masters, and you yourself break through to Heaven Tier as well, that makes five. Even among the ancient sects we would be a formidable presence, and by then our Yu family would no longer be a Hidden Aristocratic Family, but an Ancient Aristocratic Family!"

At this, Old Master Yu could not help but break into hearty laughter. He had waited for this day for a very long time indeed, and he longed for nothing so much as the moment the Yu family would rise to glory.

"Yes, Father, I understand!" Yu Xiaochen nodded and said solemnly.

"Yu Bing's aptitude is good enough in its way, but to break through to Heaven Tier he will need a fortuitous opportunity, just as you and I did. Xiao Ning and she, however, are without question people who can break through to Heaven Tier. The core of the Yu family must still remain in the hands of Heaven Tier masters; those routine family affairs can be left for Yu Bing to manage." The Yu family ancestor said, "By the way, what became of the Qi Gathering Pill?"

"To answer you, Father, it failed..." A flicker of disappointment crossed Yu Xiaochen's face, and he spoke with some helplessness.

"If it failed, so be it. We can try again when the chance comes," the Yu family ancestor said. "Do not set too much store by such things; they will disturb the state of mind your cultivation requires!"

"Yes, Father!" Yu Xiaochen nodded hastily.

"One more thing. You must understand that the trials carry real danger. Yu Bing and Yu Shan might well lose their lives over them!" The Yu family ancestor sighed, as though calling those years to mind. "For the sake of the final score, there has never been any shortage of people who turned on friends and teammates alike. Everyone knows how rare such a chance is, so... you must be prepared in your heart."

"Ah!" Yu Xiaochen started. He had only known that passing the trial would bring benefits of enormous value; he had never known the trial itself might prove dangerous. So he asked hastily, "In that case, if Yu Bing goes, might he be in danger? Then..."

"Xiaochen, your mind is not steady enough. A family head must look to the future and the interests of the whole clan. Selfishness has no place in a family head!" The Yu family ancestor said, "Yu Bing is my descendant, and so is Yu Shan; Yu Ning and the others are more so still! Yet in your eyes there is only Yu Bing, and no Yu Shan at all!"

"Please forgive me, Father!" Yu Xiaochen's heart gave a lurch, for only now did he realize he had committed the gravest taboo of a family head. For a clan to flourish, its head could not harbor private interests; only by placing the capable in charge could a family's prosperity be guaranteed. Once a family head succumbed to selfishness, the whole clan stood in peril!

"Both Yu Bing and Yu Shan have fine aptitudes. Let them go and face the trial this time. If they pass, cultivation within the Ice Palace will benefit them beyond measure. If they fail, they have only their own lack of strength to blame, and if they cannot stand out among all the other trial-takers, on what grounds would they deserve to manage the whole Yu family?" The Yu family ancestor was far more clear-eyed about it. "For the sake of the family's interests, whatever must be sacrificed must be sacrificed!"

"Yes, Father, I understand!" Yu Xiaochen nodded firmly. "Yu Bing and Yu Shan... this time, it rests on you!"

The Yu family was by no means the only one to receive an invitation to the trial. The Hidden Zhao family, the Hidden Pi family and others received them as well, together with various sects and gangs. Anyone who qualified would be sent an invitation.

All the other factions had almost to a one received the Ice Palace's invitation to the trial; only the nine great families went without. It was not that the Ice Palace had deliberately excluded them. Rather, none of the juniors in those families were Profound Tier masters, and only the Yu family had a young generation cultivator at that level. But if the Hidden Yu family wished the secular Yu family to take part, no invitation would have been necessary at all, and so the Ice Palace had simply overlooked those families.

"Qiqi, for this Ice Palace trial you will have to rely on yourself. You cannot go on carrying out missions forever under my protection." An old man spoke with earnest gravity to the girl standing before him. "The Ice Palace's trial does not permit outsiders to act as escorts; otherwise it would defeat the entire purpose of the trial!"

"Don't worry, Grandpa Mubei. I'll be careful, and I will definitely win the right to exchange for heaven-and-earth treasures!" Yang Qiqi clenched her fist and nodded with solemn gravity.

"You may be an early-stage Profound Tier external-style master, but your experience is still far too thin. External-style masters lack real combat experience, and that is a fatal weakness! Besides, yours is a lightness skill as your main study, so your striking power is a weak point as well. I confess I am not entirely at ease..." Mubei sighed, yet there was nothing to be done about it. This Ice Palace trial was an opportunity that came along once in a thousand years; if she did not take part, there was no telling when she might face such a trial again.

"It's all right. My lightness skill is superb — if I can't beat them, can't I run?" Yang Qiqi soothed him with a smile. "Once I've scored enough points, I'll just find somewhere safe to hide."

"That may be the only way..." Mubei nodded. "Remember: when facing an enemy, if your ambush fails, escape at once and never linger in the fight! Never mind an opponent at the Profound Tier — even a common Yellow Tier master, if you face him head-on, you may well be no match for him."

"I understand!" Yang Qiqi said so, yet some defiance still rankled within her. Why should she, an early-stage Profound Tier external-style master, be unable to defeat even a Yellow Tier? Surely she was not that worthless.

A similar scene was unfolding in the Hidden Zhao family.

Zhao Guangyin, the young family head, was pacing back and forth in急 agitation before the door behind which his father was in secluded cultivation, until even Elder Bi was made dizzy watching him.

"Young Family Head, the old family head will not emerge from his seclusion in an hour or two. Why not let you make this decision yourself? Though the Ice Palace trial is important, it still falls somewhat short of the old family head's attempt to break through to Heaven Tier." Looking at Zhao Guangyin's unrelieved frown, Elder Bi too spoke with a measure of helplessness.

"Elder Bi, then what would you advise?" Zhao Guangyin could not quite make up his mind, so he put the question to Elder Bi.

Elder Bi was not wrong. The Ice Palace trial was important, yes, but it did not matter so much as his father's seclusion and his attempt to break through to Heaven Tier. Yet Zhao Guangyin could not decide the matter on his own; the only person he could consult was Elder Bi, the senior elder of the clan.

"Young Family Head, we must certainly take part in this Ice Palace trial. Every other family will surely send representatives, and our Zhao family will be no exception," Elder Bi nodded and said. "This is a matter you can decide without troubling the old family head."