Chapter 3859 — Something Fishy

Even though she was rather embarrassed, Murong Zhen quickly regained her composure and cooed in a sugary voice, "From now on we'll all be newcomers to the Azure Cloud Pavilion together. I'm just a weak little woman, all alone with no one to depend on—Brother Lin, you must remember to look after me properly!"

Her honeyed, cloying tones seeped right into the marrow. Having gone so long without seeing a woman, even these cultivators of formidable self-control could not help but feel their hearts stir; each one wished he could swap places with Wei Zhao and at once gather this soft, boneless beauty into his arms and cherish her tenderly.

Wei Zhao's only response was a noncommittal smile. He had not the slightest intention of taking the bait and speaking with her.

This scene once again left the entire crowd dumbfounded. If before they had merely thought Wei Zhao a fool with a hole in his head who did not know how to appreciate a favor, then now no one held that view any longer.

Recalling the rumor that Wei Zhao had had countless girlfriends back in the mortal realm, a thought rose unbidden in everyone's minds: this lecherous starved ghost Wei Zhao probably did not mean to ignore the lovely Murong Zhen at all. Rather, while habitually putting on airs, he must be playing hard to get!

As lofty cultivators, even if they found it hard to win the favor of female cultivators of equal strength, their standing among ordinary folk was beyond question. If they truly wanted to, men like them would never lack for women—and naturally, they each had a trick or two for handling them.

Play hard to get—if the heat is controlled just right, this tactic not only leaves a deep impression on the other party's heart, but often proves far more effective than fawning all over someone.

The prerequisite for using this tactic, however, is that one must be attractive enough. In the cultivation world, where the strong are honored, that means having sufficient strength and, at the same time, a powerful backing—otherwise it only backfires.

As for strength, Wei Zhao, that arch-airs-putter, was indeed decent in the eyes of the Azure Cloud Pavilion newcomers, but only at the early Foundation Establishment stage, whereas Murong Zhen was a peak early Foundation Establishment expert—a notch above him!

As for backing, Wei Zhao was nothing but a grassroots newcomer from the mortal realm. Even though everyone present was a rootless rogue cultivator, their backing and strength were still far better than Wei Zhao's—after all, however down on their luck, as native cultivators they at least had relatives and connections.

What was more, the lovely Murong herself was rumored to be related to Elder Murong of the Soaring Heavens Pavilion. For anyone present, such backing was utterly beyond reach—let alone for a weakling like Wei Zhao who had come up from the mortal realm!

"Just watch—sooner or later that airs-putting fool will lift a rock and smash his own foot. When the lovely Murong tramples him, now that will be a sight!" Meng Zhou sneered with a cold chuckle.

Hearing this, Li Zhengming could not help but grin with amusement. Whether Leader Wei Zhao truly had designs on this Murong Zhen, he could not say—but of one thing he was certain: if it ever came to a real fight, Leader Wei Zhao could crush his opponent in an instant. Of that there was no doubt!

So in his eyes, Meng Zhou's self-fantasizing notion could be described in a single word: naive!

He obviously would not say such a thing to his face, though; he merely joined in with a cold chuckle—and the object of that chuckle was not Wei Zhao, but this newcomer, Meng.

Seeing that Wei Zhao still would not take her up on it, Murong Zhen was genuinely annoyed now. This creature—how could he refuse a face given to him!

The reason she had taken the initiative to show Wei Zhao favor was simply that she saw he was relatively strong among the crowd, and that the other Azure Cloud Pavilion newcomers seemed rather in awe of him. She had judged him no simple sort—someone worth making use of.

She had assumed this sort of thing would be child's play for a great beauty like herself, that she could make Wei Zhao fall at her feet with the greatest of ease. Never had she imagined that this creature Wei Zhao would be so oblivious—ignoring her twice in a row as she showed him favor before the crowd!

Did this creature think he was some top-tier young master like Xu Lingchong? Could he really be dreaming that a great beauty like her would throw herself at him?

A mere early Foundation Establishment cultivator with no background or foundation to speak of—this young lady granting you a second glance is already a blessing you could not earn in several lifetimes, and you still expect a beauty to throw herself at you? Pah, as if you deserve it!

Though furious inside, with so many people watching and this being her first appearance before the crowd, Murong Zhen did not want to lose her poise and ruin her image. She had not yet given up on herself.

Even after being ruthlessly banished to become an Azure Cloud Pavilion newcomer, Murong Zhen had not the slightest intention of giving up. She was still thinking that during her time at the Welcome Pavilion, she would seize the chance to win over a few promising, powerful newcomers, in preparation for dealing with Shangguan Lan'er in the days to come!

To deal with that lofty eldest daughter, Shangguan Lan'er, the Azure Cloud Pavilion newcomers present would certainly be of no great use—but they were not entirely worthless either. When the time came, she could hatch a scheme and use them as cannon fodder, could she not?

Just as Murong Zhen was stewing in awkward vexation over Wei Zhao's cold response, Meng Jueming, the managing senior brother, stepped forward of his own accord to smooth things over for her.

"All right, everyone quiet down. Let me introduce everyone properly!" Meng Jueming smiled at Murong Zhen with feigned warmth, then announced in a ringing voice, "Starting today, Miss Murong here is officially a newcomer of our Azure Cloud Pavilion. Like everyone else, she will take part in the upcoming newcomer assessments. As for the assessments already conducted, there will be no separate make-up test."

Pausing, Meng Jueming went on, "In addition, since all fifteen cave dwellings at the foot of the mountain are already occupied, per the instructions of the higher-ups, we are to build Miss Murong a wooden hut on the spot as temporary lodging."

At these words the crowd exchanged glances. To say they felt not the least puzzlement at Murong Zhen's arrival would surely be a lie.

With Murong Zhen's strength and backing, joining the Triple-Tiered Pavilion would have been a mere word away. Her joining the Welcome Pavilion midway was fishy enough in itself—and what was more, she had not joined the Soaring Heavens Pavilion, but their own Azure Cloud Pavilion.

That being so, even after leaving the Welcome Pavilion in the future, according to the long-standing rules of the Triple-Tiered Pavilion, she could only become an inner disciple of the Azure Cloud Pavilion, not of the Soaring Heavens Pavilion—and the difference in treatment between the two was vast beyond measure!

For Murong Zhen, who by all rights should have become an inner disciple of the Soaring Heavens Pavilion, this was nothing short of a ruthless, merciless suppression!

What was more, after becoming an Azure Cloud Pavilion newcomer, Murong Zhen had not only lost at the starting line in the all-important newcomer assessment, but did not even have the most basic, most ramshackle cave dwelling—they were merely having a wooden hut built for her on the spot! RS