Chapter 1490 — The Unlucky Pi Brothers

"Peak late-stage Profound Rank, external strength." The innkeeper had not been thrown off by the fact that Pi Zhishan was an external-style expert; he announced the man's strength promptly enough. "Go pay your deposit!"

"Yes..." Pi Zhishan handed his bank card to Elder Qing at his side, but his eyes kept darting desperately toward Pi Zhihai behind him, signaling for all he was worth. Pi Zhihai was now an early-stage Earth Rank external expert; there was no chance he would pass the test. Pi Zhishan's meaning was plain: get out, and quickly!

Earlier, Pi Zhihai had not stepped forward because Pi Zhishan had clung to a hope. He was not certain whether the innkeeper could test the strength of an external expert, so he had come up first as a scout. If the innkeeper could not detect it, then Pi Zhihai would come up as well; if he could, then Pi Zhihai must slip away at once and go home.

Pi Zhihai caught the hint and rose to leave, only to be halted by a sudden shout from the innkeeper: "Where do you think you're going?"

"I... I was going to withdraw. I won't take part in the trial..." Pi Zhihai said hastily, badly startled.

"Withdraw? Why?" the innkeeper asked coldly.

"I... I'm not feeling well..." Pi Zhihai's heart was pounding. The Hidden Pi family might be a formidable presence before ordinary clans, but before an ancient sect like this, he scarcely dared breathe.

"Not feeling well? Come here!" the innkeeper said. "Did I give you leave to go?"

"This..." Pi Zhihai did not dare disobey the innkeeper, and in any case escape was impossible. Before an expert of peak late-stage Earth Rank, what was he, an early-stage Earth Rank? Besides, the monk may flee, but the temple cannot; his identity could be uncovered with little effort, and then the Pi family would be dragged down with him.

So, after a moment's hesitation, Pi Zhihai turned and walked back.

"Whose family's son are you?" the innkeeper asked.

"The Hidden Pi family..." Pi Zhihai answered honestly.

"Hold out your hand!" the innkeeper barked.

"This... yes..." Reluctant as he was, Pi Zhihai had no choice. He held out his hand, and it was clasped in the innkeeper's.

"Early-stage Earth Rank, external strength? Hmph. The Hidden Pi family's trial qualification is revoked. You may not enter again for ten years!" the innkeeper said with a cold snort.

"Uh... and me?" Pi Zhishan asked, alarmed.

"Are you not of the Hidden Pi family?" the innkeeper countered.

"..." Pi Zhishan was utterly dejected. Had he known, he would have sent Pi Zhihai home. All along the journey he had made Pi Zhihai conceal his strength, and in the inn the man had shown no flaw, all so that they might slip through and shine in the trial. Yet even so, they had failed this strict screening.

"An external expert is one rank weaker than an internal one to begin with, so he's the equivalent of a peak late-stage Profound Rank internal expert. Surely that doesn't count as a violation?" Pi Zhishan argued, struggling.

"Are your ears deaf?" the innkeeper snorted. "Did I ever say Earth Rank external cultivators could take part? Be off, before you bring disaster down on your Hidden Pi family!"

"Ah! I understand..." Pi Zhishan was out of options. How could his luck be so bad? Yet he truly did not dare voice any complaint against the Ice Palace. He could only say, crestfallen, "Then my trial deposit..."

"Deposits are not refunded once paid. It has already been deducted." Xiaoqing returned the bank card to Pi Zhishan and spoke coldly.

"What?!" Pi Zhishan had not expected to lose a hundred million in deposit without even entering the trial. Truly, he had lost the lady and the troops besides. Could anything be more wretched? But since the Ice Palace said it would not be returned, he did not dare demand it back. He and Pi Zhihai could only slink away...

"Heh..." The next in line to register after Pi Zhihai was Wei Zhao, who stood closest. Watching Pi Zhishan's agonized expression, he could not help but be amused. Wei Zhao knew well enough which family the Hidden Pi were; for a family so unfriendly, the only thing he could offer was mockery.

Hearing Wei Zhao's laugh, Pi Zhishan's expression froze. A flicker of hatred crossed his face, and he turned to fix his eyes on Wei Zhao. "It's you? That cripple? Very well, Ling Yi, is it? I, Pi Zhishan, will remember you! We'll meet again!"

Pi Zhishan was full of rage and dared not vent it on the Ice Palace. As he saw it, a "poor wretch" had just blundered into his path, and he would hardly be polite. Later he would find this Ling Yi and take it out on him.

"As you like," Wei Zhao said mildly. "Next time we meet, you might buy yourself a coffin in advance."

"Hmph!" Pi Zhishan sneered. "Cheap talk!"

With the Ice Palace's people present, he naturally dared not strike at Wei Zhao. So after the sneer he and Pi Zhihai hurried off, but he had fixed Wei Zhao's face in his mind.

The feud with the Hidden Pi family could no longer be resolved. His little brother Ergoudan had beaten several of their people to death; even without today's affair, the hatred was to the death. So Wei Zhao had no fear at all of offending the Pi family.

"Enough talk. You, come and register!" The innkeeper glanced at Wei Zhao, a strange light flashing in his eyes. He had seen with his own eyes the business of Wei Zhao being crippled, and now Wei Zhao had not left but was instead entering the trial, which only confirmed the innkeeper's earlier guess: the person upstairs who had broken through was none other than Wei Zhao before him.

"Yes!" Wei Zhao registered his particulars: strength, late-stage Profound Rank; affiliation, unaffiliated cultivator; name, Ling Yi.

Reading Wei Zhao's registered strength, the innkeeper was now certain: Wei Zhao had indeed broken through. It made him deeply curious and deeply puzzled. How on earth had the man done it? Of course, such things were a person's private secret. Even the Ice Palace, powerful as it was, had no right to inquire into another's cultivation methods; that would be against the rules.

"Hold out your hand!" The innkeeper was rather impatient to confirm Wei Zhao's strength.

As for Wei Zhao, he too wanted to use this chance to test the innkeeper's ability. Wei Zhao also had the power to conceal his own strength. The energy within him was omnipotent energy; when he did not circulate the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art, the energy did not move, nor did it transform into true qi. So Wei Zhao wanted to see: if he did not run his heart method, could the innkeeper detect his true strength?

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