Chapter 3951 — An Abrupt End

Yet Wei Zhao felt no great regret over this. To him, Kang Jingming's death would certainly have been a gratifying sight, but even if the man survived, that was not entirely a bad thing either.

He had, after all, taken the opportunity to divert the attention of Nan Tianguan and Yu Jiang onto Kang Jingming. He did not flatter himself that he could keep fooling those men forever, but at the very least, the fellow could serve as a smoke screen for a while.

If he had simply killed Kang Jingming here and now, it would not only risk bringing down the vengeance of Xu Lingchong and his ilk, but would also easily draw back Nan Tianguan and Yu Jiang, who for some reason had lain low of late. And if Meng Jueming were then to sidle up to them, Wei Zhao's situation would be perilously close to collapse.

So Kang Jingming's narrow escape this time was, in Wei Zhao's eyes, of some use after all. So long as the man kept clinging to his miserable existence, he could continue to confuse Nan Tianguan and Yu Jiang, and keep those people from growing desperate and reckless in their pursuit of the Star Ink Stone.

And so long as he could hold those people in check for the time being, then before Meng Jueming made contact with them, Wei Zhao still had a sliver of a chance to resolve the latent crisis. Slim as the odds were, he had to make the attempt regardless.

After all, compared with Nan Tianguan and Yu Jiang—and even the far more formidable Nan Tianxiong behind them—Meng Jueming was little more than a minor nuisance. Wei Zhao had no strength to contend with Nan Tianxiong for the moment, but if all he needed was to dispose of Meng Jueming alone, he still had no small confidence of success—provided he could find the right opportunity.

Whether Kang Jingming lived or died, there were advantages and drawbacks either way. It was precisely for this reason that Wei Zhao had behaved so unpredictably on the arena platform earlier.

Otherwise, had he truly set his mind on killing Kang Jingming and having done with it, then with Kang Jingming's paltry cultivation, the man could have had ten lives and still been dead long ago—how would he have had the chance to linger on until now? Had Wei Zhao simply unleashed a true-qi bomb and fought him head-on, Kang Jingming would assuredly have died swiftly. But in doing so, Wei Zhao would also have exposed himself.

The Grade Four Great Restoration Pill was, after all, a sovereign remedy for healing and saving lives. Kang Jingming, reduced to such a wretched state by his own pill-fire bomb, had nonetheless been kept hanging on to his last breath—not only did his breathing gradually steady, he even regained consciousness before long.

But before he could rejoice at having snatched back his pitiful life, Wei Zhao's next words nearly made him faint dead away on the spot.

Wei Zhao cleared his throat and announced loudly to the whole hall: "According to the rules, Cave Dwelling No. 1 at the summit now belongs to me. But I have little interest in the place. If anyone here wants it, by all means speak up—so long as the terms are right, I have no problem trading it to whoever it may be."

At these words, the entire hall erupted in an uproar. Everyone had assumed that today's affair was merely a cross-pavilion challenge, that whatever one wanted had to be won through one's own hard strength—never had they imagined there would be such a benefit on offer.

Cave Dwelling No. 1 at the summit was, without question, the finest dwelling a new disciple of the Welcome Pavilion could obtain. There was no second.

Nearly half a year still remained before the new disciples' one-year term was up. Setting aside the risk of being isolated and targeted, this prospect was still exceedingly tempting to every new disciple present.

Especially those who had not yet succeeded in Foundation Establishment—in the end, perhaps all they lacked was this final push. If by paying a certain price they could exchange for Cave Dwelling No. 1 at the summit, then even if the price was not small, in their eyes it was still well worth it.

Of course, even if the new disciples of the Xuanji Pavilion and the Qingyun Pavilion harbored such thoughts, they would find it hard to meet Wei Zhao's terms—and there was, besides, the risk of being collectively targeted.

But the new disciples of the Chongtian Pavilion had no such misgivings. After hearing Wei Zhao's words, their eyes lit up one and all.

Among them were plenty who did not bow to Kang Jingming; it was only out of regard for Xu Lingchong that they dared not openly set themselves against him. And even the occasional bold one who did pluck up the courage had, without exception, gone the way of Shi Yuda and been secretly done in by Kang Jingming.

But now their chance had come. So long as they took Cave Dwelling No. 1 at the summit, in a sense it would be almost equivalent to supplanting Kang Jingming—and without offending Xu Lingchong at all. All it took was paying a certain price to trade with Wei Zhao, an outsider with no stake in the matter.

And when that time came, even if Xu Lingchong wanted to assign blame, he would have no grounds to lay it at their door.

For a moment, the new disciples of the Chongtian Pavilion were all eager to try, the matter of the cross-pavilion challenge cast entirely to the back of their minds. Seeing this, Kang Jingming rolled his eyes and promptly fainted dead away from sheer fury.

By relying on the various favors shown him by Xu Lingchong and Pavilion Master Hu Yunfeng, he had spent so long and barely managed to establish a certain standing among the new disciples of the Chongtian Pavilion. And now, in the end, with one casual sentence from Wei Zhao, all his painstaking effort was about to be swept away down the drain. Small wonder he fainted from rage!

At the sight, Hu Yunfeng could not help but frown, deeply displeased with Wei Zhao's maneuver. It was true that the Welcome Pavilion did permit new disciples to exchange dwellings among themselves, but such dealings had always been conducted in private. Wei Zhao's doing it so brazenly—where did that leave the dignity of him, the Pavilion Master?

"Wei Zhao, hold your tongue for a moment," said Hu Yunfeng, feigning benevolence. "You have indeed won this cross-pavilion challenge, but our Welcome Pavilion has always upheld the virtue of benevolence. Even if you wish to take Cave Dwelling No. 1 at the summit, you should at least wait until Steward Kang has recovered from his injuries."

"Wait until he recovers?" Wei Zhao responded with a cold laugh. "And what if he never recovers for the rest of his life? Would this cross-pavilion battle then become a joke? Pavilion Master Hu, those words of yours hardly seem fitting."

Everyone present was soon buzzing with discussion as well. Hu Yunfeng's favoritism was indeed far too blatant—and besides, many of them were still waiting to trade dwellings with Wei Zhao. This concerned their own vital interests, so resentment rose naturally in their hearts.

Seeing that the situation was turning somewhat unfavorable, Hu Yunfeng was not about to do something so foolish as to incur public wrath for the sake of a single Kang Jingming. He could only soften his stance and concede: "Be that as it may, to make Steward Kang move out in his present condition would be far too chilling a thing to do! How about this: give him ten days, and after ten days, Cave Dwelling No. 1 at the summit shall be handed over to your disposal. Does that suit you?"

"Good. Those are your words, Pavilion Master Hu," Wei Zhao said with a faint smile.

To him, Cave Dwelling No. 1 at the summit held no attraction whatsoever. If he could use it as bait to set Kang Jingming and the other new disciples of the Chongtian Pavilion at odds, that alone was profit enough. As for the ten days, it hardly mattered.