Chapter 3876 — The Opportunity Arrives

Nan Tianguan was indeed the chief steward and senior disciple of the Soaring Sky Pavilion, but even facing Xu Lingchong alone was no small pressure. Add to that a Miss Shangguan with an even more formidable background, and there was simply no chance of victory!

In that case, if he dared to lay a hand on a mere underling like Kang Jingming, he would offend not only Xu Lingchong but Miss Shangguan as well—and would end up dragging out the great figures standing behind those two!

If things truly reached that point, forget Nan Tianguan himself; even if Nan Tianxiong, leader of the Three Heroes of the Nan Clan, came back, he would be scared witless, and even if their uncle, Nan Tian Liuguang, all the way over on Mid-Island, stepped in, it would likely still be useless!

Their uncle Nan Tian Liuguang was the most eminent figure of the Nan family's middle generation. Not only was his strength formidable, but he had now risen to the post of provost at the Mid-Island Cultivator Academy; his status and influence were both extraordinary.

Unfortunately, this was the Three-Tiered Pavilion of North Island. Even if Nan Tian Liuguang wielded considerable power on Mid-Island, his reach could not extend so far, and even if he did stretch out his hand, a top figure of North Island like Shangguan Tianxia would never defer to him.

The more he thought, the more complicated it became. With so many important figures involved, even Nan Tianguan could not help losing his head; at least until the leader Nan Tianxiong returned, he would not dare make any rash move.

The waters here ran too deep. The title of chief steward and senior disciple of the Soaring Sky Pavilion might look impressive, but it was utterly useless!

"Let's go back first. In a couple of days, once the leader returns, we'll discuss a plan together!" Nan Tianguan frowned in thought for a moment, and at last decided to hold his troops in place.

Nan Tianguan and Yu Jiang returned to the cave dwelling, each with a bellyful of schemes. Meanwhile, over on Wei Zhao's side, after planting a few words to frame Kang Jingming, he had sauntered into the venue of the newcomers' challenge tournament.

But when the crowd saw that Wei Zhao—this domineering newcomer who normally put on such outrageous airs—had now appeared covered in blood, the newcomers of the Azure Cloud Pavilion were truly startled, and even Meng Jueming could not help but lose his composure for a moment.

"My heavens, what great figure has this brat gone and provoked now? The heavens are blind! How is he hurt this badly and still not beaten to death?" Meng Jueming loudly lamented the pity of it.

Ordinarily, when he saw a newcomer injured, his first reaction as chief steward and senior disciple should have been to report it upward and then spare no effort in ferreting out the culprit. Yet now he could not even be bothered to go through those superficial motions; his eagerness to see Wei Zhao dead and gone was plain as day.

Beside him, Meng Zhou gloated, "Cousin Ninth, do you think the brat went and pestered Murong Jiaren, and she gave him a beating for it?"

Among all the newcomers of the Azure Cloud Pavilion—even including Meng Jueming, the chief steward and senior disciple—everyone except Wei Zhao and his handful of companions drooled over that seductive beauty Murong Zhen. And her earlier special treatment of Wei Zhao, looking on him with favor, had truly made them burn with envy.

Especially types like Meng Zhou, who wished they could kneel publicly beneath Murong Zhen's petticoat and lick the toes of her feet—they were consumed with envy and resentment toward Wei Zhao. Now, seeing him covered in wounds, they could not help but think along those lines.

Nor was he speaking at random. Last night Murong Zhen had come calling on Wei Zhao. Late as it was and the night deep and quiet, Murong Zhen lived in a little wooden hut on the open ground, and her every move drew the close attention of the newcomers, so such a thing could hardly escape the eyes and ears of the watchful. Meng Zhou was naturally among them.

He did not know exactly what had happened, but that Murong Zhen and Wei Zhao had parted on bad terms—of that he was certain.

And Wei Zhao was well known as a starving ghost in the realm of lust, wearing a prim and proper face while heaven knew what filth churned in his belly. With his early Foundation Establishment strength, if he truly angered Murong Zhen, who stood at the peak of early Foundation Establishment, a beating was already lucky for him—killing him outright would not have been excessive!

"You're saying it was that woman Murong Zhen who did it?" Meng Jueming studied Murong Zhen and Wei Zhao with an amused look, and found that the relationship between the two was indeed not good at all; there seemed to be a hidden wariness and hostility between them.

Meng Zhou gave a knowing, cold chuckle. "Think about it, Cousin Ninth. Among our newcomers here, who else besides Miss Murong could make that brat Wei Zhao suffer such a big loss?"

"That's true enough." Because Nan Tianguan and Yu Jiang had been very careful to cover their tracks earlier, Meng Jueming had not considered that direction. The question he cared about most now was just one: where exactly did this woman Murong Zhen stand?

Before Murong Zhen arrived, he had already found it quite a strain just dealing with Wei Zhao and his gang. Especially of late, since he had made Meng Zhou deliberately hold back, they had been utterly crushed in the open by Wei Zhao's crew, all but stripping him, the chief steward and senior disciple, of every shred of face. Day in and day out, he could only console himself with a single saying: he who cannot endure small matters ruins great plans!

And now, with Wei Zhao not yet dealt with, along came Murong Zhen, whose difficulty was in no way inferior to Wei Zhao's—which had truly given Meng Jueming a whole night of grief.

After all, from Murong Zhen's first show of behavior, she had seemed rather well disposed toward Wei Zhao. Wei Zhao's gang alone had already been more than Meng Jueming could handle; add a Murong Zhen at the peak of early Foundation Establishment, and how was he supposed to manage?

But now, seeing the subtle antagonism between the two, Meng Jueming's heart finally settled. So long as this woman Murong Zhen did not side with Wei Zhao, things would be easy!

Murong Zhen was nothing but a woman. Even if her strength was decent, she had just arrived with no foundation whatsoever. However scheming she might be, in Meng Jueming's eyes she had no possibility of standing on her own; she had only two choices—throw in with Wei Zhao's gang, or with him, Meng Jueming.

And now, since Murong Zhen and Wei Zhao were at odds, then by process of elimination she could only turn to him, Meng Jueming!

"This woman is actually a rare piece of goods!" Meng Jueming pinched his chin, his triangular eyes fixed greedily on Murong Zhen's voluptuous figure as he clicked his tongue in admiration again and again.

In the Three-Tiered Pavilion of North Island, female cultivators were rare to begin with, and one as beautiful as Murong Zhen was rarer still, like phoenix feathers and qilin horns. Generally speaking, even if one was lucky enough to see such a woman, she would be the exclusive prize of young lords and second-generation heirs like Xu Lingchong—there was no chance she would ever fall to a lowly steward like Meng Jueming.

This time, Meng Jueming knew his chance had come. This woman Murong Zhen was clearly no chaste and virtuous maiden; once she was forced by circumstance to submit to him, she surely would not put on airs. It was time to enjoy himself properly!

At the mere thought, Meng Jueming's lust surged, and his triangular eyes fixed unblinkingly on Murong Zhen as he swallowed his saliva again and again. (To be continued)