Chapter 3810 — I Surrender!

After that uninvited guest Yu Jiang had taken his leave, he found himself somewhat puzzled. Lin Yi, Lin Er—the names were nearly the same. By any reasonable reckoning they ought to be one and the same person. Could those people have misheard?

Few knew the name Lin Er, but when he had sold his spirit beasts, someone with an attentive ear had still caught it. Now that it had passed through who knew how many mouths and finally reached Yu Jiang's inquiries, there was little wonder that some error had crept in. Quite understandable.

The fifth round of Qingyun Pavilion's newcomers' challenge had now formally begun.

This time was unlike any before it. With two such great personages as the eldest young lady of the Shangguan family and the eldest young master of the Xu family seated in attendance, any normal person would be thinking of putting on a show, of making a good impression on the pair. After all, if either of them took a liking and accepted you as a follower, wealth and glory would follow in the days to come.

Nursing such designs, and fired further by all the grudges and hot tempers built up over four previous rounds of clashes, this day's round of the newcomers' challenge was, from first to last, fairly reeking of gunpowder and brimming with spectacle.

And as custom dictated, the curtain was again raised by a heavyweight bout between two of the top five: Xiao Che of Cave Dwelling No. 14 at the foot of the mountain stepped forward first to challenge Meng Zhou of Cave Dwelling No. 13.

The moment Xiao Che took the stage and called out his name, Meng Zhou's face collapsed on the spot. He exchanged a glance with Meng Jueming, whose expression was equally helpless, and in the end had no choice but to screw up his courage and mount the platform with heavy steps.

This was not like the previous round. Last time, to set a trap for Qiao Hongcai, Meng Zhou had clearly already recovered after taking a fourth-grade Great Returning Pill, yet had stubbornly put on the feeble air of one whose injuries were still unhealed.

This round, however, Meng Zhou had no such luck as to wangle a third fourth-grade Great Returning Pill out of Meng Jueming. So now he truly was gravely wounded and far from recovered—yet to bluff Xiao Che, he had no choice but to force himself, before the eyes of the crowd, to feign the appearance of one already whole again.

Unfortunately, heaven did not grant his wish. Xiao Che paid him no heed at all, and from the very start named him as his challenger without the slightest hesitation. The man who calls out first holds the advantage, after all.

"What's Meng Zhou dawdling for? Isn't this Xiao Che fellow one of Wei Zhao's underlings? Wouldn't it be just perfect to use this chance to finish him off?" Xu Lingchong frowned at Meng Zhou's cowering, shuffling manner.

True, the likes of Meng Zhou had never been worthy of young master Xu's notice, but he was Meng Jueming's follower after all, and thus counted among his own men. And now, facing even a mere underling of an underling like this Xiao Che, he had to be so shrinking and timid—it was simply beneath all decency!

Since he had not visited Yingxin Pavilion in some time of late, and since a lowly pawn like Xiao Che had never been worth young master Xu's notice, Xu Lingchong had never taken any careful measure of Xiao Che's strength. He had no idea that Xiao Che was now already an expert of the early Foundation Establishment stage.

What young master Xu knew even less was that Meng Zhou, an early Foundation Establishment expert in his own right, had already fallen so low as to have twice traded mutual ruin with opponents in succession. He was now taking the field bearing a whole body of grave injuries. In his present condition, never mind facing an expert of his own level like Xiao Che—even sending up the universally acknowledged weakling Zha Wu would have been enough to make him kneel with ease.

"Uh..." Meng Jueming was thrown into immediate embarrassment at these words, and for a long while could not squeeze out a single sentence in reply.

After all, Xu Lingchong had pinned high hopes on him, and had of late even begun building momentum for him among the upper echelons of the Sandie Pavilion, paving the way for him to take up the post of third pavilion master at Yingxin Pavilion. If he were to tell the young master now that not only had he failed to settle Wei Zhao, but had instead been slapped in the face one after another by two of Wei Zhao's underlings and pawns—how could he go on serving at young master Xu's side?

While Meng Jueming was still casting about for how to explain matters to young master Xu, the referee's announcement rang out, and the duel on the platform formally began.

Yet this contest between two early Foundation Establishment experts ended remarkably quickly.

For in his present state, Meng Zhou did not dare cross hands with Xiao Che at all. Their positions were, after all, inherently opposed, and they had already shared that unpleasant experience back in the first round. He dreaded that Xiao Che would seize the chance for revenge, perhaps even strike to kill him outright. So before the referee's voice had even died away, he was already hastily raising his hand and crying, "I surrender! I surrender!"

A great uproar broke out among the crowd below the platform. A scene that felt all too familiar had already played out back in the first round—the same two men, he and Xiao Che, only then it had been Xiao Che who volunteered surrender. And now, after a mere four rounds, the situation had been turned completely on its head.

What bitter irony, this instant retribution!

For Xiao Che, this bout was nothing short of a sweet release of pent-up grievance. To have forced Meng Zhou—the so-called leader of Qingyun Pavilion's newcomers—to volunteer surrender was something no one had ever accomplished, and it thoroughly vented the fury left over from that first round.

For Meng Zhou, however, the feeling at this moment was far from pleasant. A creature who, only a few rounds ago, could do nothing but cower, who lacked even the courage to face him, had now in the blink of an eye turned the tables and ridden roughshod over him, even forcing him to surrender of his own accord. Who the hell could fathom such stifling, deathly gloom?

Worse still, this day's round had, by the cruelest of chances, fallen on a day when young master Xu was present—and young master Xu was the patron of his own patron! This was not merely a loss of face; it was a matter of life and death!

And while the crowd was still in an uproar, young master Xu, watching from below the platform, heard Meng Zhou's words and his face instantly turned as black as the bottom of a pot. Beside him, Meng Jueming could not help covering his face.

Though Meng Jueming well knew that Meng Zhou had had no choice in the matter, that it had been an inevitable decision under the circumstances—young master Xu knew nothing of the whys and wherefores!

Truth to tell, although he had brought Yu Jiang along today for other business, he had also come full of anticipation, eager to see Wei Zhao's crew fall flat on their faces. After all, he had brought along this eldest young lady Shangguan Lan'er, who on the face of it could not abide Wei Zhao in the least, and who had sworn up and down the whole way that she would see to it Wei Zhao came to grief!

And as far as this round of the newcomers' challenge went, the match was just right. Even if he could not see Wei Zhao himself, the leader, take a fall, watching his underling be crushed by Meng Zhou would be a pleasure to savor in body and soul.

Yet what a fine result it had turned out to be! That wretch Meng Zhou had gone up on the platform, done not a blessed thing, and surrendered outright without so much as a word. This was slapping young master Xu across the face before all present—and the slap had rung out to the heavens!