Chapter 3558 — The Master of the Triple Pavilion
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 3
A classic case of the general being a bear and the whole army a den of bears!
"Let's go. There's a welcoming assembly in the main hall shortly. Apart from you few who were teleported up from the mortal world, the other newcomers selected from this island are already there. I'll take you over." The miserable senior brother sighed.
Wei Zhao and Xiao Che nodded. Matters had come to this; complaining inwardly was of no further use. There was no changing allegiance at the last minute to seek shelter under the Chongtian Pavilion or the Xuanji Pavilion—quite apart from the fact that neither of them was so shameless, even if they did so, they would not be accepted. Otherwise they would have been picked off long ago.
They could only take things as they came and play it by ear.
Past the main gate of the Welcome Pavilion and through a courtyard lay the main hall, imposing and solemn.
As the miserable senior brother had said, a good many newcomers had already gathered there—by rough count, forty or fifty of them, all selected through layer upon layer of screening from the island's towns and villages. Every one of them was above the late Heaven Tier, and even those at the peak great consummation of the late Heaven Tier were everywhere to be seen.
The newcomers present had already spontaneously divided into three small circles. In the very center was a faction of a dozen or so, all dressed in finery, heads held high, superiority radiating from their every gesture. Apart from their own circle, they looked down on everyone else with open disdain. Theirs were the loudest voices in the whole hall, every inch the born overlords.
That sense of déjà vu reminded Wei Zhao of how city folk in the mortal world looked down on country bumpkins—the two were simply identical.
"These newcomers were all chosen by the Chongtian Pavilion. Every one of them comes from a family of great standing and deep connections—true second-generation cultivators. Whatever you do, don't cross these people in the future. You can't afford to." The miserable senior brother introduced them to Wei Zhao and Xiao Che in a low voice, fearful that the two, ignorant of the situation, might carelessly bring down ruin upon themselves.
Only then did the two of them understand. No wonder this lot went around saying "my family's such-and-such elder" and "my family's such-and-such steward"—so they were all second-generation cultivators. These people might not be especially strong, but every one of them had deep backing. Truly provoking the big figures behind them would indeed be no small trouble.
Just then, Xu Lingchong happened to lead Kang Jingming and Zhong Yongliang past along the side. Zhong Yongliang winked at Wei Zhao, and Wei Zhao nodded in understanding.
In this situation, new to everything and with the lay of the land unclear, having Zhong Yongliang infiltrate the Chongtian Pavilion faction was better than keeping him cooped up with them in the Azure Cloud Pavilion. If nothing else, at least he could gather some useful intelligence that might come in handy at some unknown point later.
"Senior Brother Xu, you see that fellow with the smug, posturing look? That's Wei Zhao." Kang Jingming seized the moment to whisper in Xu Lingchong's ear, itching for Xu Lingchong to deal with Wei Zhao right then and there, to make a public spectacle of him and see how he could show his face in the Welcome Pavilion afterward.
Unfortunately, Xu Lingchong did not oblige him. He was, after all, the legitimate grandson of the Chongtian Pavilion's Third Elder. To step forward on such an occasion and take on a mere newcomer from the mortal world would not only dirty his hands but make him the laughingstock of the second-generation set in his own circle. He would never stoop to something so beneath his dignity.