Chapter 1520 — The Fire Spirit Sacred Fruit Discovered

"Yes, there must be things in this that I know nothing about, but what exactly they are, I could not say either—family secrets of that sort would never be shared with me." Zhao Qitan shook his head. "Originally, I had a very good chance of becoming the next young family head, but Zhao Qibing's sudden appearance put my position in dire peril..."

"Oh. Then find a way to learn what you can." Wei Zhao said this, but in truth he cared little for the hidden affairs of the Zhao family. If Zhao Qibing meant to become the head of the hidden Zhao family, that would take some time at least, and even if he did become its head, he could not immediately free himself and come seeking revenge! Never mind whether his strength could match Wei Zhao's—even if it could, he would not dare strike rashly.

Wei Zhao understood what Zhao Qitan meant: Zhao Qitan wanted to borrow his hand to deal with Zhao Qibing. But for the moment Wei Zhao had no mind to deal with the man. If Zhao Qibing did not provoke him, he had no time to go looking for him either! After all, behind Zhao Qibing stood a master at the peak of the late Earth Rank; for Wei Zhao to go courting trouble of his own accord would be pure folly.

"Fine. Once I am back, I will certainly look into it." Zhao Qitan could see as well that Wei Zhao had no intention of making a move, but it did not matter. With such a deep hatred between Zhao Qibing and Wei Zhao, he did not believe Zhao Qibing would swallow it. When the time came and Zhao Qibing had the strength, he would surely still go seeking revenge on Wei Zhao.

The longer Zhao Qitan followed Wei Zhao, the more alarmed he became!

He felt that on this snow mountain Wei Zhao had scarcely taken a single wrong turn, circling upward again and again as though he were making straight for certain heavenly treasures. Those treasures hidden beneath tree roots and in the snow were all too easily found by Wei Zhao!

In the blink of an eye, a day had passed, and the points he and Zhao Qijiu had amassed had broken past the thousand mark, while the points in the hands of Wei Zhao, Yu Bing, and Yang Qiqi showed signs of breaking two thousand! That was just a bit too formidable, wasn't it?

Zhao Qitan had already decided not to remain in the Ice Palace as an outer disciple. But since there were so many heavenly treasures about, it would be good for him to bring back an exchange right for the hidden Zhao family. It was a symbol of honor as well—at the very least, it would prove his strength.

Wei Zhao did not tell Zhao Qitan and Zhao Qijiu about the Thunder Pig. Even when he communicated with the Thunder Pig, he did so secretly, under the pretext of relieving himself, never letting Zhao Qitan notice.

"Still no trace of the Fire Spirit Sacred Fruit?" Wei Zhao frowned and asked the Thunder Pig.

"Chirp chirp..." The Thunder Pig shook its head.

"Then let us keep going. There is still another day before the trial ends, after all." Wei Zhao sighed. Matters had gone beyond his expectations; the Ice Palace was an unforeseen factor. In Zhang Liju's day, the Ice Palace had not existed, but now the snow mountains of the far north had been seized by the Ice Palace and renamed the Ice-Snow Spirit Mountain—so the Fire Spirit Sacred Fruit upon it might very well have been taken as the Ice Palace's own.

Clearly, this was the seat of the Ice Palace, and the forbidden zone for this trial's participants as well. Once here, they most likely could go no farther!

The Ice Palace's wall looked as though it had been built of ice, but when Wei Zhao examined it closely, it seemed more like a kind of high-hardness crystal, and along the top of that crystal wall were cameras, one after another, as if keeping watch over something.

By the look of it, the Ice Palace had incorporated modern electronic equipment. From this, one could also tell that its people were hardly rigid, not the sort to cling to convention! This actually gave Wei Zhao a little more confidence. If he truly could not find the Fire Spirit Sacred Fruit, then so long as he obtained the exchange right for heavenly treasures, he might still be able to trade for what he wanted.

Yet toward evening, the Thunder Pig suddenly grew restless, flinging itself onto Wei Zhao and squealing without pause.

Of course, Zhao Qitan and Zhao Qijiu had no idea what the Thunder Pig was about; they took it for nothing more than the creature fawning on Wei Zhao.

But Wei Zhao understood what the Thunder Pig meant. Its meaning now should be plain enough—it must have sensed the whereabouts of the Fire Spirit Sacred Fruit!

"This little thing needs to relieve itself. I will take it out!" Wei Zhao shrugged and said, somewhat helplessly.

"..." Zhao Qitan was rather speechless. "Good heavens, a spirit beast that has to hide from others just to relieve itself?"

"Heh..." Wei Zhao smiled and said no more. Holding the Thunder Pig, he went straight behind a snowdrift.

"Up there. I can sense it!" The Thunder Pig swiftly wrote its meaning in the snow.

"Up there? You mean, inside the wall?" Wei Zhao looked up at the summit of the Ice-Snow Spirit Mountain; that was where the Ice Palace sat!

"Chirp chirp!" The Thunder Pig nodded.

"Just as I thought." Wei Zhao sighed. It seemed now that his guess had been right: the Fire Spirit Sacred Fruit had been claimed by the people of the Ice Palace. Searching for it himself was out of the question; he could only hope to trade with the Ice Palace after winning the trial.

Wei Zhao carried the Thunder Pig back and nodded to Yu Bing, Zhao Qitan, and the others. "The trial is nearly over. Everyone, take a rest. Up there is the Ice Palace's domain, and there are no more heavenly treasures to be found."

Yu Bing, Zhao Qitan, and the rest all nodded, then sat down on the ground. Since Wei Zhao said they should rest, they naturally obeyed him; besides, the heavenly treasures the group carried were already enough to win this trial, so searching further was pointless.

They had not been there long when Xiaoqing of the Ice Palace came drifting over. Behind her followed a crowd of white-robed Ice Palace disciples, and once she arrived, Xiaoqing spoke out in a clear, ringing voice: "Attention, all trial participants. The trial period has ended. All participants, please report to the mountaintop!"

Xiaoqing's inner strength was profound. Though her voice did not seem especially loud, reinforced by inner strength it could carry very far—everyone on the whole mountain could likely hear it!

Not long after Xiaoqing finished speaking, trial participants arrived here one after another. These people had in fact been hiding nearby all along; they had merely caught sight of Wei Zhao here from afar and not dared approach, keeping their distance one and all. Who knew whether Wei Zhao might make a move and snatch away their heavenly treasures?

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