Chapter 4574 — The Newcomer King Ma Dangfeng

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! Who cares about that damned Mountain-Opening stage—there's no way Leader Wei Zhao would die at the hands of some devil cultivator!" Qiao Hongcai's eyes were red as he snarled in a low voice.

"I believe it too—there's no way Junior Brother Lin would die at the hands of this West Mountain Old Sect. In fact, although the West Mountain Old Sect hates him to the bone and would love nothing more than to kill him on the spot, Junior Brother Lin did not die in the old sect's hands there and then. From what we could see at the assembly, at least, he made a clean escape," Lu Bianren said with a nod to the others.

"Escaped?" Everyone started at the words, then let out a collective breath of relief and turned to Lu Bianren with a hint of reproach. "Senior Brother Lu, next time could you finish what you have to say in one go? You had our hearts in our throats—we can't take that kind of strain!"

"Haha, all right." Lu Bianren smiled apologetically, then went on. "He did escape at the time, but Junior Brother Lin's situation still isn't what you'd call good. With a devil-cultivator titan of the Mountain-Opening stage like the West Mountain Old Sect hunting him, frankly the odds are still grim. If he really had gotten away cleanly, he should have been back long ago. Yet there's still no word of him at all. Alas..."

"With Leader Wei Zhao's strength and resourcefulness, I'm certain he isn't dead. The reason he hasn't come back is simply that he's lying low somewhere, biding his time. Certain of it!" Qiao Hongcai declared with great conviction.

"Exactly. Leader Wei Zhao has always had heaven's favor. That West Mountain Old Sect couldn't kill him then, and it won't find it so easy to kill him later," Xiao Che agreed with a nod.

"I feel the same. From what you just told us, Senior Brother Lu, it's clear Leader Wei Zhao must already be a household name around the South Continent seas. If he really had died at the hands of the West Mountain Old Sect, the news would have spread like wildfire—there's no way it would be dead silence like this. So no news, as far as we're concerned, isn't bad news at all. It's good news!" Li Zhengming reasoned along his own line.

"Right, right. Hearing you juniors put it that way, I feel a good deal steadier," Miserable Senior Brother said, nodding again and again. After a pause he turned to Lu Bianren. "By the way, Senior Brother Lu, the mission deadline has passed. Let's think of a way to cancel Junior Brother Lin's and Junior Sister Huang's missions first, so we don't have trouble waiting for us when he comes back."

"Mm. That's a good idea. I've met the inner-sect steward, Senior Brother Jia Mufan, a few times. I'll go talk to him tomorrow. Given Junior Brother Lin's standing, it shouldn't be much of a problem," Lu Bianren said with a nod. Wei Zhao was, after all, the disciple Shangguan Tianxia had named publicly. Even with no word of him now, a smooth operator like Jia Mufan surely wouldn't make things difficult over such a trifle.

As they were talking, the courtyard gate was suddenly kicked open. Everyone's expression changed at once, and they glared toward the gate and shouted in unison, "Who's there?!"

"Well, well. Didn't expect things to be so lively here. What are you lot scheming about, sneaking around in here? Why not tell me and let me have a listen?" The newcomer swept a glance over the group, then tilted his nose to the sky and sneered with open contempt.

The man was born with a sallow golden complexion, and his eyes habitually narrowed into a thin slit, with a savage glint drifting now and then from their corners. Whether he meant to or not, he gave off a faint, dread-inspiring killing intent at all times, so that few dared meet his gaze, and wherever he passed, heads turned. Those of weaker nerve might even be frightened off on the spot, let alone stand their ground before him.

Once they made out the newcomer's features, the faces of everyone in the courtyard sank at once—especially Miserable Senior Brother and Xiao Che, whose expressions turned dark as deep water, their eyes fairly blazing.

Small wonder. The man was named Ma Dangfeng, and he had once been a new disciple of Qingyun Pavilion under their charge. Of course, that was no longer the case.

"Ma Dangfeng, what are you doing here!" Miserable Senior Brother said at once, his face cold. He might be a meek, deferential sort, but a year as the Third Pavilion Master of the Reception Pavilion had bred in him some measure of authority—and besides, facing this Ma Dangfeng, fury surged in his heart. It took a rare man indeed to stoke such wrath in this honest soul.

"What am I doing here? Hmph, I haven't even asked what you're doing here. From today on, this whole courtyard is mine!" Ma Dangfeng sneered.

As a Qingyun Pavilion new disciple who had only just "graduated," he had barged so brazenly into the inner-sect's vital grounds not because he had lost his wits, but because he truly had solid backing and nothing to fear.

Like Wei Zhao, this Ma Dangfeng was the Newcomer King of his cohort—in some respects even more impressive than Wei Zhao had been. His name had already spread throughout the Tri-Stack Pavilion, and the upper echelons of Qingyun Pavilion held him in high regard, treating him for all the world as the future hope of the pavilion.

Every last one of the miracles Wei Zhao had once accomplished, this fellow had done in turn—and not merely done, but done better. A few days earlier, just like Wei Zhao, he had signed straight up for the Tri-Stack Pavilion's inner-sect grand tournament, and there, a mere newcomer, he had swept all before him, crushing his way through the field to become the undisputed Newcomer King of the new cohort.

"What did you say? This courtyard is yours? The hell it is!" Qiao Hongcai flew into a rage and pointed straight at Ma Dangfeng's nose, cursing without the slightest courtesy.

Over the past year he and Li Zhengming had been cultivating out in Qingyun Pavilion's outer sect and had rarely wandered over to the Reception Pavilion, so he had had little dealings with this Ma Dangfeng. He had heard Miserable Senior Brother and Xiao Che and the others mention him, but had never truly taken him to heart.

In his mind, Wei Zhao was a unique existence. For some brash, ignorant clown to strut in and imagine he could surpass Leader Wei Zhao was simply madness. And now the wretch dared brazenly come to seize Wei Zhao's residence—and in front of all of them, no less. This was beyond all endurance.

"I hate it most when people point their fingers at me. Point at me one more time and I'll kill you!" Ma Dangfeng looked at Qiao Hongcai with a cold, sinister expression, killing intent bristling from his whole body as if he might truly erupt and kill at any moment. The rule forbidding Tri-Stack Pavilion disciples from killing one another seemed, in his eyes, not worth a fart.

"What? Kill me? Good—no time like the present. I'd heard this newcomer was arrogant and overbearing, and it seems the man lives up to the rumor and then some. Why not try killing me right now?" Qiao Hongcai's anger turned to laughter. He did not lower his finger; if anything, his provocation grew sharper. He was a man of truly explosive temper—who cared about some damned Newcomer King? Whoever dared provoke him got exactly one answer: screw you! (To be continued...)

...R640