Chapter 3002 — The Metal-Attribute Inheritance (Third Update, More Tonight! Summoning ***!)

Back when he was only at the Mystic rank, that goal had been beyond his reach, but now, though one could not call it within easy grasp, it was no longer distant either.

Then there was the matter of Wei Zhao at the Tang family's birthday banquet, standing his ground for Tang Zhi's sake, not hesitating to fall out with the Tang family and even the envoy of the Mystic Elixir Sect. At the time, Bingtang had thought Wei Zhao was overreaching himself, but now it seemed that the ones overreaching themselves were the Hidden Tang family!

And now, on the Hidden level, who would still dare to defy Wei Zhao's will? The Hidden Zhao family was the fate that awaited them!

Thinking of all this, Bingtang suddenly felt that Wei Zhao was not so detestable after all. A loose cultivator, able to climb step by step to where he stood today, entirely by his own effort, one footprint at a time — he was different from cultivators like her who came from the great sects. The only one he could rely on was himself.

Heroes are not asked where they come from. Those two unknown experts of old, able to sweep across the Ancient level — were they not loose cultivators themselves? They might not even have been loose cultivators at all, and yet they had still turned the Ancient level upside down.

Unknowingly, Bingtang's view of Wei Zhao began to change. She even felt rather happy for Feng Xiaoxiao: to have a man who loved her so, that was at least far better than Aunt Qing's lot!

Although Aunt Qing had gone to help Wei Zhao, Feng Xiaoxiao still had no heart for cultivation. Aunt Qing could help for a time, but she could not help for a lifetime.

Wei Zhao had been poisoned and crippled — this was no small matter. The poison had no antidote at all, and Wei Zhao's injuries lay in his meridians and his dantian. It was a dead end: no matter how fine the elixir, it could not repair Wei Zhao's injuries.

In the world of cultivation, a ruined dantian meant the end of a cultivator's path. For the rest of his life he could only be an ordinary man! Feng Xiaoxiao knew how much Wei Zhao valued strength. Without strength, where would Wei Zhao go from here?

Just as Feng Xiaoxiao sat there steeped in gloom, Aunt Qing walked into her room.

"Aunt Qing?" Hearing the footsteps, Feng Xiaoxiao looked up, and then froze: "Aunt Qing, why have you come back? My husband Wei Zhao... how is he?"

"Vice Palace Master Feng, I have a piece of very important news for you. Whatever you do, don't get too excited when you hear it..." Aunt Qing had untied the knot in her heart today, and she actually made a rare joke with Feng Xiaoxiao.

At any other time, Feng Xiaoxiao would surely have said, Aunt Qing, just call me Xiaoxiao, why call me Vice Palace Master Feng! But today she had no time for such things. Wei Zhao was on her mind, and she asked hurriedly, "Aunt Qing? What is it? Has something happened to Wei Zhao?"

"Something very big!" Aunt Qing looked at Feng Xiaoxiao with a grave expression, then said slowly, "He has broken through to the early Heaven rank!"

"Ah?" Feng Xiaoxiao's heart was pounding with nerves, but she had never expected the big news to be this kind of big news! It truly was big news, but the way Aunt Qing said it, how could Feng Xiaoxiao not fear the worst? A smile broke across her face, and she grumbled, "Aunt Qing, you're just trying to frighten me!"

……………………

The Tomorrow After Tomorrow Sect. Word of Wei Zhao recovering from his injuries and wiping out the Hidden Zhao family naturally spread there as well. When Zhong Yongliang heard the news, he was somewhat surprised — but not especially so.

He was the earliest opponent Wei Zhao had faced since his return to the city, and one of those who understood Wei Zhao best. He had watched all of Wei Zhao's several rises and falls. Outsiders said Wei Zhao had been injured, and in the end Wei Zhao had stood up again — which made it easy for Zhong Yongliang to accept that Wei Zhao had never been injured at all, but had been playing the pig to eat the tiger.

"Chunyang, what do you make of it?" After receiving the news, Zhong Yongliang frowned.

"Master, in truth this has nothing to do with us. The news that Wei Zhao was poisoned and crippled and the news that he was playing the pig to eat the tiger and kicking over the Zhao family came back at almost the same time. We never intended to take advantage of his misfortune — we decided to act with absolute force and send Junior Brother Chunyin. Even at the early Heaven rank, Wei Zhao would be no match at all before peak late Heaven rank strength," said Celestial Lord Chunyang.

"True enough. Has Chunyin finished his seclusion?" Zhong Yongliang nodded and asked.

"Not yet. Judging by Chunyin's current strength, breaking through will be very difficult, so he won't be leaving seclusion for a while." Celestial Lord Chunyang said, "If you command it, Master, I can call him out early..."

"Forget it. Interrupting his seclusion could cause a backlash and make him lose control. We already have one Zhang Naipao sunk in a heart demon. The Tomorrow After Tomorrow Sect cannot afford to lose any more of its own." Zhong Yongliang waved his hand. "There's no hurry to kill Wei Zhao. We can go once his seclusion is over."

"Whatever Master says. Then we'll wait a while longer," Celestial Lord Chunyang hastened to agree.

……………………

The Dark Night Palace.

Today was a day of celebration for the Dark Night Palace, because today the Mystic Elixir Sect had delivered a Qi-Gathering Pill!

Perhaps because they had been given a fine cauldron, Ancestor Xuanchen had specifically ordered that a Qi-Gathering Pill be refined for the Dark Night Palace first and sent over.

Of course, this was merely a gesture. Although that cauldron was of no use for Tianchan's cultivation, in order to show the outside world how much he prized the cauldron, he had quickly handed over a Qi-Gathering Pill.

"Wan'er, this Qi-Gathering Pill is the Dark Night Palace's last hope. After you take it, I will send you at once to the Dark Phoenix Mountains for seclusion. At the very moment you break through to the Heaven rank is when it is easiest to receive an enlightenment inheritance. At that time, you may become a Metal-Attribute Inheritor in one stroke." The Supreme Elder held the Qi-Gathering Pill in his trembling hand and said solemnly, "I hope you will not waste this chance!"

"Yes, Supreme Elder..." Ye Rou'er was somewhat nervous. Looking at the excitement in the Supreme Elder's eyes, she could only pray silently that this time she would succeed in receiving the inheritance. Otherwise, even if she was the old Palace Master's granddaughter, it would be of no help.

The Supreme Elder was a woman almost fanatically devoted to the sect's development. In her eyes, no interest was more important than the sect's interest! Even the Palace Master — so long as she was detrimental to the sect — could still be deposed, and a new Palace Master installed in her place.

One had to admit, a person who would disregard every other interest for the sake of the sect's interest was a rare oddity indeed on the Ancient level!

After Palace Master Wan'er received the Qi-Gathering Pill, the Supreme Elder sent her to the Dark Phoenix Mountains to enter seclusion, break through to the Heaven rank, and receive the inheritance.

Yet the greater the hopes of those in the Dark Night Palace, the greater the pressure on Palace Master Wan'er. In truth, everyone knew in their hearts that stepping into the Heaven rank only slightly increased the odds of receiving the inheritance!

But that slight chance had become the hope and spiritual mainstay of everyone in the Dark Night Palace, magnified without limit... (To be continued.)