"Striving for a higher realm is only natural for cultivators. How many Small Qi-Gathering Pills does your family have?" Wei Zhao asked.

"Around ten, I suppose?" Pi Zhishan was not entirely sure. Although the pills were precious, no one in the Pi family could take them, so he had never paid them much attention. He turned to Old Master Pi.

"Fifteen in all," Old Master Pi said. "Actually, we have had plenty of opportunities to gather more Small Qi-Gathering Pills. I simply never bothered, because they would have been useless to us. We might as well collect something else of practical value."

"Good. You, Pi Zhishan, Pi Zhihai, and Wu Gonggao will each have one—that makes four. Of the remaining eleven, I'll take five." Wei Zhao considered it for a moment before speaking. He had not expected the Hidden Pi family to have such a stockpile. Who would have thought they possessed so many Small Qi-Gathering Pills?

"What?" Old Master Pi was completely stunned! It was not because Wei Zhao had asked for Small Qi-Gathering Pills, but because Wei Zhao's words clearly meant that he intended to raise the cultivation of the entire Pi family. That was something Old Master Pi simply could not take in.

Had happiness come far too quickly? Even if Wei Zhao had wanted all fifteen Small Qi-Gathering Pills and then told him to go collect more, Old Master Pi would have agreed wholeheartedly. Without Wei Zhao personally taking action, let alone fifteen Small Qi-Gathering Pills, even a hundred would never have been enough to raise the people of his family into early-stage Earth-level experts of the Internal School!

"Mr. Lin, wouldn't that be a bit unfair to you?" Old Master Pi asked cautiously.

"Unfair?" Wei Zhao was slightly taken aback. At first, he had thought Old Master Pi meant that giving up five Small Qi-Gathering Pills would be a loss for him. But judging by the old man's expression, that clearly was not what he meant. Wei Zhao immediately understood and smiled. "I regard you as my own people. In the future, whenever I leave, I'll need you to help protect those around me. If your strength doesn't improve, I won't feel at ease either."

"Then... we would be ungrateful to refuse!" Old Master Pi said, deeply moved. "About how long will this advancement take? Why don't you upgrade Zhihai first, Mr. Lin, while I go back and bring all the Small Qi-Gathering Pills here?"

"Have someone deliver them. The round trip would take too long," Wei Zhao said. "If nothing unexpected happens, all four of you will be experts at the peak of the late Profound level by tomorrow morning."

"By tomorrow morning?" Old Master Pi, Pi Zhishan, and Pi Zhihai were all dumbstruck! If Wei Zhao had said he could raise one person to the peak of the late Profound level by morning, they would already have found it astonishing. But he had said four people, and that left them utterly petrified!

"As long as nothing goes wrong along the way, there definitely won't be a problem by tomorrow morning!" Wu Chengtian had personally experienced the sensation of his strength soaring, and he explained with some pride.

"This... Mr. Lin, you truly astonish this old man!" Old Master Pi gave a bitter smile, then shook his head. "It seems that what we know of your abilities is merely the tip of the iceberg. I understand now. No wonder Han Xiaopo of the Hidden Han family never advanced before, only to have his strength suddenly surge on the eve of the Hidden Aristocratic Families' Grand Gathering. That must have been your doing as well, Mr. Lin!"

"I can hardly claim the credit, but I was the one who took action." Wei Zhao did not deny it; he merely nodded.

"It seems Pi Zhishan made the wisest choice of his life when he acknowledged you as his leader!" Old Master Pi sighed. Then he cast an envious glance at Wu Chengtian. The boy had come from nothing more than a secular aristocratic family, yet he had still managed to thrive under Wei Zhao. Even in terms of seniority, Pi Zhishan had to address him as Brother Tian. After all, Wu Chengtian had joined Wei Zhao before he did.

"Haha, naturally. I've always had excellent foresight," Pi Zhishan said smugly.

"Bring all fifteen Qi-Gathering Pills," Old Master Pi said. "The rest are of no use to our Hidden Pi family. Mr. Lin, you may decide for yourself how to use them. If you need more, I'll send people to collect another batch..."

"No need. These are enough." Wei Zhao had planned to return one to Han Xiaopo, give one to Qiu Lingshan, one to Chen Yutian, one to Zhao Qitan, and one to Uncle Qing—five in all. He had not expected Old Master Pi to bring him so many.

"Haha, they would be useless to us anyway." Old Master Pi waved his hand. "Besides, we've already gained a great deal from you. And if, as you said, we're all one family from now on, then these things belong to you as well."

"Very well, then." Wei Zhao did not refuse again. If he had extra Small Qi-Gathering Pills, he could give some to Feng Tianlong and the others. Feng Tianlong's strength was simply too weak to stand against the Red Conch. He was Feng Xiaoxiao's father, and if anything happened to him, Wei Zhao would have no way to answer to Xiaoxiao.

"But... our Wu family has no rare or presentable treasures to offer..." At that moment, the one who felt most undeserving was Wu Chengtian's grandfather, Wu Gonggao. He felt deeply indebted to Wei Zhao. When Wei Zhao's side had been in trouble, Wu Gonggao had not only failed to contribute a single cent but had even frozen Wu Chengtian's allowance account. The memory left him filled with guilt.

"Don't say such things. You have a good grandson, and that's more than enough." Wei Zhao spoke lightly. His words were somewhat blunt and gave Wu Gonggao little dignity, but they were simply the truth.

Wu Gonggao's old face flushed. Feeling ashamed, he glanced awkwardly at Wu Chengtian and gave a sheepish smile.

"Leader, thank you!" Wu Chengtian said solemnly.

Old Master Pi sent people home to fetch the Small Qi-Gathering Pills, while Wei Zhao began upgrading them one by one, starting with Pi Zhihai. In any case, he had nothing else to do while waiting for the young miss and Xiao Shu to finish school. It was not yet noon, and the time between now and their dismissal was more than enough to bring two people to the peak of the late Profound level.

Of everyone present, Pi Zhihai was the most impatient. No one tried to compete with him for the first turn, so Wei Zhao naturally began by raising Pi Zhihai's strength.

"In a moment, you won't need to do anything. Just circulate your family's internal cultivation method as usual. I'll transmit the true qi you need through your pulse gate," Wei Zhao told Pi Zhihai.

"All right, Leader. I understand." Pi Zhihai nodded. Although Wei Zhao's method and explanation were both rather novel, Pi Zhihai readily agreed. After all, he did not need to do anything, which made things wonderfully simple.

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