Chapter 3559 — A Heap of Loose Sand
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 3
After all, Xu Lingchong not only outstripped them in strength but had a tougher backing behind him. Offend him, and not only would they themselves suffer, but even the patrons behind their families would be dragged into it. They were not about to do anything so foolish.
"These two are from the Soaring Heavens Pavilion, and from now on they belong to me. All of you, keep an eye out for them." Xu Lingchong pointed at Kang Jingming and his companion, greeting the crowd of cultivation heirs with easy, offhand swagger.
The cultivation heirs had held Kang Jingming and Zhong Yongliang in contempt from the bottom of their hearts—upstarts from the mundane world, the lot of them—but for Xu Lingchong's sake, and because the two of them could talk a decent line, they grudgingly took them in. One honors the Buddha, if not the monk; since these two had latched onto Young Master Xu's coattails, they could just about pass as people with backing.
And so, at the very moment Kang Jingming and his companion joined the cultivation heirs' faction—that is, the Soaring Heavens Pavilion—on the other side, Dongfang Badao and the Unlawful Boxer likewise wormed their way into the little circle to the left of the cultivation heirs.
Unlike the brash arrogance of the cultivation heirs, this circle was made up mostly of men no longer young, the youngest of them middle-aged at forty or fifty, and their average strength ran a notch above everyone else present. At the very least they were all fine hands who had just set foot in the peak Great Perfection of the late Heaven Rank. They did not talk much among themselves, but every one of them looked deep in scheming and domineering in bearing—not men to cross.
"These people are all from the Xuanji Pavilion. Their backing may not run as deep as the cultivation heirs', but they have age on their side, and their strength generally far outstrips fine hands of the same tier. Best to steer clear of them in future." The miserable senior brother went on drilling the two of them: "And these old things are the hardest to deal with—forever leaning on their years. Some of them are younger than others, but they broke through to the Heaven Rank early, so they do not look old! What gives them their edge is the pavilion master standing behind them in the Xuanji Pavilion! That pavilion master is said to be one of the most formidable figures on our Heaven Rank North Island—thoroughly unapproachable, and fiercely protective of his own. Even the Soaring Heavens Pavilion's pavilion master is a junior to him! So we had best not brush up against these people either! You know how it is in the mundane world—there is a thing called staged collisions. We have it here too! These old relics will pin some mishap on you at the slightest excuse, and then their pavilion master will still deign to take up the matter, and who suffers in the end? We do!"
Wei Zhao and his companion could only exchange a speechless look. The cultivation heirs were not to be provoked; the old men were not to be provoked either. Whoever they met, they would have to tuck their tails and keep their heads down. Of the three pavilions, the Azure Cloud Pavilion was the weakest—that saying, it seemed, was no lie.
What galled them most was that these old relics would even stage collisions? Was this really the cultivation world?
"Come, let me introduce you to our own newcomers in the Azure Cloud Pavilion. They are rootless wanderers like you, except they were selected from all over the island."
The miserable senior brother led Wei Zhao and his companion toward the last remaining circle. If the first impression given by the Soaring Heavens Pavilion's cultivation heirs was arrogance, and the first impression given by the Xuanji Pavilion's old men was domineering strength, then the first impression given by the Azure Cloud Pavilion's rootless wanderers was a heap of loose sand.