Chapter 3605 — So Domineering That No One Dares Provoke Him
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 3
The mere thought of that sweeping overhaul of the three pavilions three years ago still sent a chill through Lu Bianren's teeth. That restructuring had been set in motion by the Council of Elders, a vast realignment touching every conceivable facet of the three pavilions and all the various independent bureaus and halls—and for Azure Cloud Pavilion, the weakest of them, it had been nothing short of catastrophe.
Being weak, Azure Cloud Pavilion did have men who could win seats on the Council of Elders, but their number had always been the smallest of the three stacked pavilions, and their voice accordingly the feeblest. In that restructuring, the meager influence Azure Cloud Pavilion possessed was carved up almost clean between Skyward Pavilion and the Mystic Mechanism Pavilion. The plainest illustration: across independent bureaus like the Welcome Pavilion and the Spirit Jade Hall, one could search high and low and never find a single head of office who hailed from Azure Cloud Pavilion—not one!
Others might muddle along and let it pass, but for a man like Lu Bianren, who longed with all his heart to see Azure Cloud Pavilion strong again, that restructuring was seared into the bone. Three years had gone by, and still there was not the slightest sign of the pavilion recovering its strength; if anything, it slid further downhill, growing more feeble by the day. Were another such overhaul to come now, Azure Cloud Pavilion might well simply fly apart.
Faced with a threat so nakedly undisguised from Xu Lingchong, men of little conscience might shrug it off, but to a man like Lu Bianren, that threat was nothing short of lethal! In truth, had the other party threatened his own person outright, a man of Lu Bianren's temper might not necessarily have flinched—but this concerned the fate of all Azure Cloud Pavilion, and he could not afford to be anything but careful.
Drawing a deep breath to still the towering waves within his chest, Lu Bianren looked at the other and said slowly, "Young Master Xu. It is merely a change of mining zone for one newcomer—a trifling matter not worth mentioning. Surely there is no need to muster such forces and resort to such alarmist talk?"
"Ha, trifling? It seems Pavilion Master Lu has been banished to Reflection Cliff too long. So ill-informed you do not even know what has been happening out in the world!" Xu Lingchong gave a snort of derision, then said darkly, "That newcomer of yours, Wei Zhao, did not know the height of the heavens or the depth of the earth, and dared defy my wishes to my face, making a fool of me before so many people. You think I can let this bastard off? I will lay it out plain right here: if you dare change his mining zone for him, then do not blame me for bringing ruin down upon all Azure Cloud Pavilion!"
"Young Master Xu, is this not a bit too overbearing? And besides, a great man does not hold a small man's faults against him—why must a young master of your stature lower himself to quarrel with a newcomer?" Lu Bianren still hoped to win one last concession for Wei Zhao. But in his heart he already knew that, with Xu Lingchong having spoken in such terms, there was no longer any chance of the other yielding.
"Overbearing? Overbearing is exactly what I am! What of it? Displeased, do you want to bite me? Does a spineless coward like you even have the guts? Hahaha!" Xu Lingchong laughed with boundless arrogance. Setting all else aside, by virtue of the single fact that his grandfather sat on the Council of Elders, there was not a soul in all Azure Cloud Pavilion who dared provoke him—and as for Lu Bianren, that notorious good-for-nothing of the Welcome Pavilion, he was even less likely to be taken seriously.