Chapter 2101 — Victorious Once More Though both are contestants, being struck by a few iron balls is no great matter; but struck by many, of course it hurts—not everyone belongs to the Golden Bell Sect and fears no pain. Who would keep on enduring?

"Bang..." Just as Old Master Tang was beside himself with anxiety, Tang Yuyi was finally struck by an iron ball, and Old Master Tang's heart sank at once!

Looking back at Wei Zhao, he was still as leisurely and composed as ever, not seeming to be dodging hidden projectiles at all but rather strolling and sightseeing, still maintaining his perfect score of "0"!

"Haha, looks like the head is about to take another first place?" Han Xiaohu chuckled as he saw that the remaining time in the contest was running short.

"Naturally. Mr. Lin is the head of our Hidden Han Family; of course he will help us stand out!" Han Tianba nodded without the slightest concealment.

Old Master Zhao, Old Master You, and the rest all frowned. When had Wei Zhao gotten involved with the Han Family? How had he become the head of the Hidden Han Family? That being the case, in future dealings with the Hidden Han Family, they would have to be wary of Wei Zhao...

This news left everyone thoroughly displeased, but in the end all eyes fell upon the sect leader of the Qianshan Sect. Since this Sect Leader Wo was confident he could dispose of Wei Zhao, that meant that after the Hidden Family Summit concluded, Wei Zhao would be no more—and then it would be perfectly possible to deal with the Hidden Han Family afterward!

"Bang..." Tang Yuyi was struck again, and Old Master Tang's expression grew even uglier. He had been hoping that Wei Zhao would also be struck, so that the two could end in a draw, each taking half the stakes—that would not have been bad either. But... Tang Yuyi had already been struck twice, and Wei Zhao had not been struck even once, which gave Old Master Tang the urge to tear his hair out!

Damn it! What on earth was going on with Wei Zhao? Could he be some sort of all-around genius? First he was formidable at racing, and now he was formidable at dodging projectiles too—surely it could not be mere coincidence?

Old Master Zhao, by contrast, remained unruffled. This round had nothing to do with his Zhao Family anymore; one of the two disciples who had taken the most hits and already given up was from the Zhao Family, and the Zhao Family had never done any such training normally, so it was only natural that he could not dodge them.

Since they had already given up, it no longer mattered who won or lost.

With the sounding of a shrill bell, the projectile-evasion contest came to an end!

Wei Zhao halted his steps, his score still "0."

"Head, congratulations!" Han Xiaohu waited until the contest was over before daring to shout. Earlier he had feared disturbing Wei Zhao and splitting his attention, so even in his excitement he had not dared to shout or yell.

"Heh, this stuff is too easy—no challenge at all," Wei Zhao said mildly. "I used to practice dodging bullets."

Wei Zhao was not exaggerating, though it was true that the bullets he had practiced dodging were not as fast as these iron balls, coming one after another without pause. Otherwise, amid a hail of gunfire, even with his jade pendant, Wei Zhao would have had a hard time escaping unscathed!

"..." Old Master Tang had been somewhat unwilling to accept it, but upon hearing Wei Zhao's training method he deflated at once. Practice dodging bullets? Even the Tang Family would not dare—no wonder Wei Zhao had not been struck by a single ball. If those had truly been bullets, one hit could have killed him...

"The Hidden Han Family wins, with a count of 0; second place, the Hidden Tang Family, with a count of 2; third place, the Qianshan Sect, with a count of 24!" Old Master Zhao announced the results impassively. The gap between first and second place was not very large, but the gap to third place was much greater!

And the reason the Qianshan Sect had taken third was that its disciples often mingled with spirit beasts and had honed remarkably swift reflexes.

Wei Zhao collected the stakes and glanced at those of second and third place, sighing inwardly. Why was it that the things he needed were always in the hands of second and third place?

The treasure wagered by the Hidden Tang Family was a "Poison-Avoiding Pearl." The pearl itself was white and translucent, but when placed in poisoned water or food it would change color—the more potent the poison, the deeper the color. Of course, this Poison-Avoiding Pearl was effective only against ordinary poisons; against something too peculiar, such as the Seven-Herb Death-Command Powder that Zhong Yongliang had slipped into the school cafeteria, it had no effect at all!

Because that Seven-Herb Death-Command Powder was made of seven herbs, none of which was toxic alone, and only together did they produce poison. So no matter how remarkable the Poison-Avoiding Pearl, it could not possibly detect such a poison—but for guarding against ordinary poisons, it was a fine treasure indeed!

Wei Zhao planned to get it and give it to the eldest young lady and Xiaoshu. He had offended many people, and if someone meant them harm, they would at least have a few life-saving treasures in hand.

The treasure the Qianshan Sect put up was also a pearl, but its registered name was the Century Spirit Beast Essence Core! Though Wei Zhao did not know what use the essence core had, he already had one in his possession, so it was likely the essence core did have some use after all. This one was smaller than the one Wei Zhao held, but he still wanted to get his hands on it.

"Old man Tang, is there anything you want to trade for?" Wei Zhao glanced at Old Master Tang. Though his impression of the old man was not the best, Wei Zhao's impression of Tang Yuyi was rather good—he did not know why, it was simply a feeling—and so he had taken the initiative to ask.

There was indeed something among Wei Zhao's pile that Old Master Tang wanted. By their agreement, this contest should have been won by the Hidden Tang Family, and in fact, had Wei Zhao not appeared, no other family would have been a match for Tang Yuyi.

So a blood-red centipede from the Hidden Yu Family was of great importance to Old Master Tang. Blood-red centipedes were exceedingly rare and excellent for compounding poisons—precisely what the Hidden Tang Family needed. But Old Master Tang also feared being cheated as Old Master Zhao had been during the car race, so he hesitated: should he bring it up or not?

In the end, however, Old Master Tang did raise it. Better safe than sorry—if Wei Zhao, after he had given up, refused to trade the blood-red centipede for the treasures in his hands and those of the Qianshan Sect, then he would lose more than he gained!

"I want the blood-red centipede in your hands!" Old Master Tang said. "I can trade this Poison-Avoiding Pearl for it. If you think that is not enough, I can trade other treasures as well. I brought quite a few good things for this transaction—poisons and the like."