Chapter 2792 — The Feng Family Council

"Impossible! Do you take me for that kind of man? Could I do something so beneath me?" Feng Tianhu snorted. "Whatever else, I am a Feng. I would never slaughter my own kin!"

"That's not so certain, is it?" Feng Tianqi gave a cold laugh, then said mildly, "You know well enough what you have done."

"Say what you like. I'm going to look in on Nitian." With that, Feng Tianhu rose and left.

Feng Tianqi was so furious that he pointed at the man's retreating back and for a long moment could not get a word out. Helplessness weighed heavily on him. Within a family there was scheming and jockeying at every turn; one could never relax for an instant, or ruin would come in a flash. This business with Feng Shihua was a warning bell, reminding him that he must guard against his younger brother all the more from now on.

"Father, you see how it is..." Feng Tianqi turned to the old master with a look of helplessness.

"Tianlin, you must understand: if a family lacks competition, that does it no good in the long run," the old master said with a sigh. "I am old. I must think of the way ahead for the Feng family. As for Shipian—he has the gift for cultivation, no less than Nitian—but he is too kind-hearted, too guileless. He is not the stuff of which a patriarch is made. If the Feng family were strong, very well; but the Feng family as it stands is no great power among the ancient lineages. I myself have still not cultivated to the peak of the late Heaven Rank, and our family—counting Shipian, who has just broken through—has only five Heaven Rank experts. Five may sound formidable, but we have no deep reserves. If some ancient sect truly came into conflict with us, we would have no strength to resist."

Feng Tianqi fell silent as well. True enough—his rise to power had come entirely through marriage, through the influence of his wife's kin, and his own political skill was plainly not great. Otherwise he would not have failed to get the better of Feng Tianhu for all these years.

He knew also that if the Feng family had a powerful patron behind it, none of this would be a problem—such as the connections on his wife's side. But in recent years those connections had withered, their former glory gone. And so the Feng family too had begun to slide.

"But... if Nitian recovers from his injuries, then Shipian..." Feng Tianqi asked hesitantly.

"This trial was in fact permitted by my leave. Did you really think Tianhu could have pulled the wool over my eyes? This is still my family, and my word is law!" The old master laughed. "I let Shipian go for two reasons. First, to see whether he might make the acquaintance of some powerful friends. Second, to broaden his horizons—his nature leaves him too easily taken advantage of otherwise."

"So that is how it is..." Feng Tianqi had not expected his father to have sanctioned this, and was taken aback. Still, he could not help worrying. "But this trial at the Xuandan Sect—in the past, most who went never came back. I fear for Shipian..."

"One must be tempered sometime. If he cannot weather even this much, he is not fit to hold the position of patriarch." The old master waved a hand. "Enough. My mind is made up. Say no more."

"Yes, Father." Feng Tianqi nodded. Since his father had spoken thus, there was naturally nothing more to say; he could only pray in secret that Feng Shihua would return safe and sound.

Feng Tianhu, for his part, had no peace either. He had no sooner returned to his room than a grand lady—none other than Feng Tianqi's wife, who had gotten wind of the news—burst in and railed at him: "Feng Tianhu, you wretch! Did we not agree to stand together against that little harlot Xu Shilan? And now you strike at my son behind my back?"

"Sister-in-law, you do me wrong," Feng Tianhu said, shaking his head quickly. "Shipian is a Heaven Rank expert now, a match for me in strength, the future pillar of our Feng family. If he does not go out and be tempered now, when will he? Without experience, how can he be fit to lead the family? Think: what benefit is Shipian's misfortune to me? I am counting on him to return victorious and win a Great Return Pill for Nitian. If something befalls him, not only is the pill lost, but the Feng family line ends with him. Even a fool would not do something so idiotic."

"And if Shipian returns safe and sound, will Nitian not recover? Will he not go on contending with Shipian for the patriarchal seat?" the lady demanded with a cold snort.

"Sister-in-law, with you standing behind him as you do, when Shipian returns he will still be the heir as young master. What advantage does Nitian have? Even recovered, after all this, I would not let him contend for anything. Peaceful cultivation is the true path," Feng Tianhu said.

"Hmph. I will believe you for now—I doubt you would dare deceive me!" The lady nodded, apparently convinced by his words.

In the Xuandan Sect's inn, Wei Zhao tidied a few things and prepared to go out to eat with Zhao Qilei.

"Eh? What's this?" Zhao Qilei stared as Wei Zhao took a small pig-like creature out of his pack, and for a moment was dumbstruck—then he remembered: was this not the Thunder Beast Wei Zhao had brought along on the last trial at the Ice Palace? Delighted, he said, "Little fellow, we meet again!"

But the Thunder Beast paid Zhao Qilei no mind. With a couple of grunts it burrowed into Wei Zhao's arms; plainly the journey cooped up in the pack had been hard on it.

"Are spirit beasts allowed in this trial?" Wei Zhao asked.

"They should be. The invitation said nothing against it, so there should be no problem," Zhao Qilei said, a little awkwardly. "It's a cute little thing, but it doesn't look much like a spirit beast with any attacking skills, does it?"

"It can be used to hunt for treasure," Wei Zhao said, making no secret of it. Back at the Ice Palace trial, after he had taken Zhao Qilei on as a follower, he had stopped using the Thunder Beast to seek treasure; and whenever he needed to communicate with it, he had made the excuse that the beast needed to relieve itself. So Zhao Qilei knew nothing of its abilities.

At the time it was because Wei Zhao did not trust Zhao Qilei, and so had said little. But now Zhao Qilei's loyalty was beyond question—that he had been willing to be confined by his family for so long merely for passing word to Wei Zhao was proof enough of his reliability.

"Hunt for treasure?" Zhao Qilei started, then something occurred to him. "You mean—back at the Ice Palace, was it because of this creature that you found so many rare treasures?"

"Exactly so," Wei Zhao said with a nod. "Come on, let's go down and eat."

"Right!" Zhao Qilei thought no more of it. (To be continued.)