Chapter 3445 — Preparing to Set Off

"Xuan Chen? Is something the matter?" the White Leader asked flatly.

"The Heaven-rank trials are about to begin. By rights, you have a quota here as well. When will you send me your disciple's information so I can complete the registration?" Elder Xuan Chen probed.

"You mean Wei Zhao?" The White Leader paused slightly. "Don't you already have his information on your end?"

"You're sending Wei Zhao? Not Guan Xin?" Elder Xuan Chen asked instead.

"Guan Xin?" The White Leader was taken aback. "Do Inheritors also need to take part in the trials?"

"Inheritors must take part in the trials. This time I will gather all the Inheritors at the trial grounds to receive the final inheritance. They will all advance to the peak of the late Heaven-rank, at the Great Perfection of power, and their constitutions will undergo a final, thorough transformation—all in preparation for the final plan!" Elder Xuan Chen said.

"Then... Wei Zhao cannot participate?" The White Leader frowned. To be honest, he had originally intended to send Wei Zhao, and once Wei Zhao passed the trials, to bring him along to the Heaven-rank Assembly. But now, if Wei Zhao could not even enter the trials, wasn't that the same as being shut out of the Assembly altogether?

Wouldn't that leave Wei Zhao with no chance at advancing to the Heavenly Way? That was not what the White Leader wanted to see! In truth, he knew full well that this was Elder Xuan Chen making things difficult on purpose. Since when were the qualifications to register for the Heaven-rank trials not decided by the Five Luminaries Sect?

If he wanted to send Wei Zhao, then Wei Zhao would certainly be able to go—but the crux of the matter lay with Elder Xuan Chen.

"We'll see about that later!" Elder Xuan Chen said. "Right now, Wei Zhao's strength is still too low. He's been pestering Kang Jingming to refine Qi Gathering Pills for him. If his strength were a bit higher, it would be no harm to let him participate—my main worry is that he'll go and die because he's too weak!"

"Kang Jingming? Pill refining? Qi Gathering Pills?" The White Leader knew of this too, though all that talk of Wei Zhao's strength being too low was nothing but an excuse on Elder Xuan Chen's part!

"Indeed. But Zhaoming's skill is limited, and I don't know whether he can even succeed in refining them. Even if he does, I'm afraid Wei Zhao might make himself sick eating them. So when you have a moment, talk him out of pestering Zhaoming for pills," Elder Xuan Chen said.

Naturally, the White Leader had no inkling of the scheming in Elder Xuan Chen's heart. All those words were merely a hint that if Wei Zhao ate himself to death, Xuan Chen was not to blame! So the White Leader replied with some annoyance, "A promise made should be kept. This is a matter for the younger generation—we should stay out of it!"

"Very well then..." Elder Xuan Chen sighed with feigned displeasure, though in truth his heart was blooming with joy. This White Leader was just as easy to fool as ever! Everything was under his control!

"Is there anything else?" the White Leader asked.

"Nothing else, really. Since you've said as much, I'll have Kang Jingming refine the pills. If Wei Zhao eats himself to death, I won't be held responsible," Elder Xuan Chen said.

"Can Qi Gathering Pills really kill a man? Even if they don't help, they can't do harm. Do you think that when it comes to discussing pill refining, you know more than I do?" the White Leader asked coolly.

"Haha, certainly not. Never mind, I'll hang up if there's nothing else. As for Guan Xin, make your preparations on your end too, and have her take part in the Heaven-rank trials," Elder Xuan Chen said.

After hanging up, Elder Xuan Chen was elated. This time, if Wei Zhao ate himself to death, then so be it—later he could claim that he had given fair warning beforehand, but the White Leader had refused to listen. If the boy died now, he had only his own bad luck to blame!

……………………

Wei Zhao returned from the Song household to Donghai City. Xiaoshu was leaving—she had received formal notice from the Yu family—so this time Xiao Chen had come back to see her off to the Flaming Mountain.

By the time he reached Donghai City, Wei Zhao could already see Yu Yi seated in the living room of the villa. Shen Yushu's spirits were rather low.

Over this period, she had come to understand everything—the Yu family's intentions over the years, and her own identity. That was why she had been forcing smiles all this time, while in her heart she remained deeply lonely and withdrawn.

The belief she had held to for so many years—she had suddenly discovered it did not exist! Yu Xiaochen was her father, yet this father she had never once met, who had only ever brought her endless pressure, had conspired with Yu Yi to weave an enormous lie, leaving Shen Yushu with not a shred of fatherly affection for him. They would not let her return to the Yu family—and she could not be bothered to go back anyway.

The Chen family was her home! The villas in Donghai and Songshan were her home! Wherever Wei Zhao and Gu Mengyao were—that was her home!

"Mr. Yu Yi, you've come," Wei Zhao said with a nod as he entered the villa.

Yu Yi smiled bitterly. Shen Yushu's identity was already out in the open; there was no longer any need to conceal it. Looking at Wei Zhao, he said, "Miss Yushu won't pay me any mind, won't speak a word to me. Young Hero Lin, you see... it's time she set off for the Flaming Mountain..."

Previously, Yu Yi had been able to threaten Shen Yushu with matters concerning her parents, adopting a lofty, commanding posture. But now that her identity had been exposed and she was revealed to be the eldest young lady of the Yu family, how dared Yu Yi order her about anymore?

Besides, even if he did order her about, Shen Yushu would have to listen first! The Shen Yushu of now was not the Shen Yushu of before. With Wei Zhao's protection, to say nothing of the hidden Yu family, even the Five Luminaries Sect would not dare boss Shen Yushu around. In the world of cultivation, strength was what commanded respect—put plainly, whoever had the greater power had the greater say!

"Xiaoshu, pack up and get ready. The inheritance must be accepted sooner or later. The sooner you accept it and complete that task, the sooner we can be reunited with Yaoyao. Isn't that the life you've always wanted?" Wei Zhao said with a smile.

"Arrow Brand Brother, you're back! Xiaoshu never said she wouldn't go! It's just that I've got nothing in common with this old man!" The moment Shen Yushu saw Wei Zhao return, she was a different person entirely, brightening at once—leaving Yu Yi not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

"Haha, that's good then. I knew you couldn't possibly not want to go," Wei Zhao said with a laugh. "So shall we pack up and get ready to set off?"

"Mm-hm, Xiaoshu's all packed already—just waiting for Arrow Brand Brother," Shen Yushu said, and with that she skipped upstairs, plainly to fetch her things.

Seeing Shen Yushu agree to go to the Flaming Mountain so readily, Yu Yi was at a loss for words for a moment. Looking at Wei Zhao, he said, "Young Hero Lin, it's your words that carry weight. I've been pleading earnestly with her for so long, and Miss Yushu won't pay me any mind—won't say a single word to me!"

"Who told you to put so much pressure on her in the past?" Wei Zhao said with a smile. "All right, stop complaining. That's just how Xiaoshu is—if she doesn't like someone, she can't be bothered to say a word to them. Count yourself lucky she hasn't done you in. Anyone else would have collapsed by now."RS