Toward Wei Zhao, Han Tianba did not dare show the slightest presumption. Wei Zhao was a being who could effortlessly annihilate even a late Earth-rank expert; to wipe out the entire Hidden Han Family would have been, for him, an easy and pleasant task. And Han Tianba himself was at present only an expert at the peak of early Earth-rank.

From afar, Han Xiaopo saw his grandfather and the others waiting at the entrance of the council hall to welcome Wei Zhao, and for a moment he was slightly taken aback—but only for a moment, before he understood his grandfather's intent. This time, the Hidden Han Family was going to gamble big: since they had already resolved to present the ingredients for refining the Spirit-Gathering Pill, they might as well bind the entire interests of the Han Family to Wei Zhao.

Wei Zhao had many enemies, true, but in any case, with a thorn like Wei Zhao standing strong, the Hidden Han Family's situation would be far better than before. Yes, Wei Zhao had no shortage of enemies—but how many really dared to move against him?

Once the Hidden Han Family became Wei Zhao's people, anyone who wished to move against them would have to ask Wei Zhao whether he agreed.

Seeing the Hidden Han Family put on such a grand display, Wei Zhao was rather surprised. He got out of the car together with Han Xiaopo, and Han Tianba came over.

"Mr. Lin honors us with his presence—this humble abode is truly aglow with the honor of your visit!" Han Tianba said with a laugh, cupping his hands toward Wei Zhao.

"There is no need for such courtesy, Elder Han. Since Xiaopo is now my junior brother, that makes us of the same generation—calling you Grandpa Han is no more than proper," Wei Zhao said.

"Haha! In the martial path, the one who has arrived first is honored. We are not blood kin, so seniority here is reckoned by strength, not by age!" Han Tianba waved his hand, not minding in the least. "Mr. Lin can effortlessly annihilate even a late Earth-rank expert. I am merely an expert at the peak of early Earth-rank. To call Mr. Lin a fellow disciple or my senior would be entirely fitting—Mr. Lin is already being polite..."

"Very well, have it your way. I shall call you Elder Han, then," Wei Zhao said, not pressing the matter. Such were the rules among cultivators. Wei Zhao and Han Tianba had no kinship between them, so reckoning seniority by strength was not unreasonable.

"Mr. Lin, I have already laid out a banquet in the council hall; we await only your taking a seat!" Han Tianba smiled slightly and made a gesture of invitation, then said, "Xiaopo, quick, bring Mr. Lin to his seat!"

"Yes, Grandpa!" At that moment Han Xiaopo was feeling immensely pleased. His grandfather's posture could not have been clearer, and since he was Wei Zhao's junior brother, his standing in the Han Family hereafter needed no explaining. Seeing the envious, jealous-and-hateful look in Han Xiaochun's eyes, Han Xiaopo knew he must be regretting having missed a prime chance to make contact with Wei Zhao.

Wei Zhao followed Han Xiaopo into the council hall, where the banquet had already been arranged. The cold-dish platters were set out, but the hot dishes had not yet been served—clearly they would come only after Wei Zhao and the others were seated.

Only after Wei Zhao sat down did Han Tianba lead the rest of the family to their seats. Han Xiaopo sat on Wei Zhao's left, and Han Tianba sat on his right—enough to show how transcendent Han Xiaopo's status now was.

"Mr. Lin, before the banquet, might you first say a few words to the juniors of our Hidden Han Family?" Han Tianba asked respectfully once he was seated.

"A few words?" Wei Zhao shook his head with a bitter smile. "I am neither their elder nor their teacher, so let us skip the speeches. Besides, I am not so difficult a person. Since they are all Xiaopo's family, let us just be at ease."

"Good—since Mr. Lin says to be at ease, then we shall be at ease. Let the banquet begin!" Han Tianba beckoned to the disciples waiting at the side, signaling that they might begin serving.

All the ingredients had been made ready beforehand. At Han Tianba's word, several chefs set to work at once, and soon dish after dish of fine food was carried to the table. But though Han Tianba had said to be at ease, no one dared lift their chopsticks before Wei Zhao; of every dish, only after Wei Zhao had eaten did the others dare to eat.

Wei Zhao was truly hungry and did not stand on ceremony; at this hour he would have been eating dinner back at the villa anyway, so he ate heartily.

Only, every time he ate, Wei Zhao thought of Feng Xiaoxiao. Now, in the Ice Palace, she surely did not lack for fine food, did she?

"Mr. Lin, on behalf of the Hidden Han Family, I drink to you!" Seeing that Wei Zhao had eaten his fill, Han Tianba finally raised his cup.

As for Wei Zhao's earlier devouring of the food like wind scattering clouds, not a single person dared say a word about it. Such was the difference of the strong: when Wei Zhao did it, all could say was that he was bold and straightforward; but had it been someone weak, it would have been called ignorance of propriety.

"Good." Wei Zhao answered faintly and raised his cup as well.

Han Xiaopo, naturally, poured himself a cup too and stood up in agreement.

"Mr. Lin, at this Hidden World Clan Summit, the fate of our Hidden Han Family is placed in your hands!" Han Tianba said. "Earlier, Xiaopo already made the promise: if you compete on behalf of our Hidden Han Family, then however much you win in bets shall be yours to dispose of as you please, including our Han Family's wagers—and moreover, after victory, you may select some things you need from our Hidden Han Family's treasure vault!"

Han Tianba had reasoned it out clearly: better to give all these things to Wei Zhao, even to give him a bit more, than to give them to the other hidden clans. Give them to Wei Zhao, and Wei Zhao would shelter them; give them to the other hidden clans, and what came back was only their ever more greedy appetite.

Once they had tasted this sweetness, no doubt all manner of competitions, trials, summits and other such exchanges would come forth endlessly, with but one aim: to squeeze the Hidden Han Family dry of every fine treasure it had gained from the ancient ruins.

In that case, the Hidden Han Family would not only be worn out dealing with these scheming hidden clans, but its standing among them would grow weaker and weaker, leaving it to be bullied at will. By then, not only would its position be lost, but its good things would all be plundered as well—and to rise again afterward would be a thousand times harder.

But giving these things to Wei Zhao was different. With Wei Zhao's fearsome name standing there, those hidden clans would at the very least not dare resort to coercion. Even if at this summit Wei Zhao won only the racing, that would not matter, because the Hidden Han Family would in effect have announced to the outside world that it was Wei Zhao's people. Let them scheme once—if they wished to scheme again, they could see whether Wei Zhao would agree.

And if by some fortune Wei Zhao won several more events, leaving most of those hidden clans without advantage—or better, leaving a few of them to lose their bait along with their fish—then thereafter they would have still less interest in joining schemes against the Hidden Han Family, and the Hidden Han Family would gain a good deal of breathing room...

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