Chapter 3564 — Who Dares to Challenge?
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 3
"I—" Qiao Hongcai gritted his teeth. Unwilling as he was in his heart, he still did not dare openly defy Meng Jueming before the crowd. As things stood, at least he still had a Cave No. 15; the worst cave in history it might be, but it was still better than none! Though he could not tell whether Meng Jueming had backers of his own or simply did not fear his lodging a complaint, at this moment he could only force himself to say: "I wouldn't dare. But since we are being made to make a push for Foundation Establishment, then having been given the worst cave, when the time comes and I fail, you will not blame me for it, Senior Brother—that is all I ask!"
"Ho! You say you wouldn't dare to your face, yet you still dare to bargain with me? So you are still dissatisfied. Very well then, I have always been a most fair and democratic man." So saying, Meng Jueming pointed a finger at Meng Zhou. "I now allot the finest cave, No. 1, to Meng Zhou, but likewise I give you a chance to challenge him. So long as you can beat him, Cave No. 1 goes to you. In the world of cultivation, the strong are honored—don't say your senior brother never gave you a chance! And if you cannot even beat him, I can hardly just hand Cave No. 1 over to you, can I? For then would Junior Brother Meng Zhou not say I had been unfair, and would it then be my fault if you could not reach Foundation Establishment?"
The moment Meng Jueming said this, Meng Zhou leapt out at once, bubbling with excitement, and taunted Qiao Hongcai: "How about a little contest? If not for Cousin Jiu's sake, a piece of trash with nothing but peak late Heaven rank cultivation like you would not even be worth my trouble on an ordinary day. But today I'll give you this chance! And I'll honor the wager—if I lose, I'll willingly take Cave No. 15, and if I fail to reach Foundation Establishment, I won't blame heaven or complain of others, and I'll let Senior Brother Meng reprimand me as he pleases!"
"Qiao Hongcai, Junior Brother Meng Zhou is being noble and magnanimous. What do you say?" Meng Jueming was thoroughly pleased with Meng Zhou's response. Now let us see what Qiao Hongcai had to say for himself.
Qiao Hongcai looked at the eager, restless Meng Zhou, and his face went from green to purple by turns. He himself was only a fine hand at the peak of the late Heaven rank, and one who had broken through not long ago at that, his foundations not yet steady; his opponent, by contrast, was a Grand Perfection master at the peak of the late Heaven rank, at least two grades above him. How was he supposed to fight that? If it came to blows in earnest, he feared he could not even take a single casual move from the man!
Seeing Qiao Hongcai back down, Meng Zhou sneered with a face full of smug contempt. "Spineless piece of trash. I say from now on you had better stop calling yourself Qiao Hongcai and just call yourself Qiao the Trash!"
Meng Jueming had anticipated this all along. He smiled without a care and turned to address all the newcomers: "What I said just now applies not only to him, but to every one of you as well. If you are dissatisfied with the cave allotted to you, no problem—so long as you can beat Meng Zhou here in this hall, Cave No. 1 is yours! Of course, if you happen to be on good terms in private, you may also swap caves among yourselves. I won't interfere with that!"