Chapter 3794 — Who Wins, Who Loses?
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 3
After all, he was not without connections above. So long as he did not alarm those fiends in the Law Enforcement Hall, a few careless remarks and some rumors floating around would hardly pose a serious problem.
At this, Meng Jue Ming's eyes shifted. "Pavilion Master, I actually have an idea. It would spare us the need to keep dragging this out, and we would not have to invoke the word 'draw,' which has never appeared in the rules. We would incur no risk at all, and our reasoning would be sound enough that no one could find fault with it."
"Oh? Then speak up, Jueguang. Let me hear it." Hu Yun Feng's eyes lit up. If there really was a way to satisfy both sides without leaving anything to chance, nothing could suit him better.
Meng Jue Ming gave a sly chuckle, then immediately leaned over and whispered his plan into Hu Yun Feng's ear. Hu Yun Feng listened, nodding again and again, and finally slapped the table in delight.
After the two men had conferred in private, Hu Yun Feng finally stepped onto the arena and announced loudly to the assembled crowd, "Given the special circumstances of this confrontation, both newcomers have suffered severe injuries and lost the ability to act. If they continue to wear each other down, it will serve no purpose and may even cost the Welcoming New Pavilion two promising newcomers. Therefore, in my capacity as Pavilion Master of the Welcoming New Pavilion, I hereby declare this confrontation suspended."
His announcement provoked no controversy. Everyone, Wei Zhao included, knew that this outcome was inevitable. If Qiao Hongcai and Meng Zhou were allowed to continue grinding each other down, Hu Yun Feng's tenure as Pavilion Master would probably be over.
Yet the few words Hu Yun Feng spoke next sent a wave of uproar through the entire arena.
"However, although both sides have been grievously injured and neither can do anything to the other, the newcomer challenge has never recognized such a thing as a draw. A loss is a loss, and a victory is a victory! Under the rules, the challenger who occupies the lower-ranked cave dwelling is naturally at a disadvantage. Even if the two sides fight to a standstill, that still counts as the weaker party overcoming the stronger. Our Welcoming New Pavilion has always encouraged its disciples to face formidable enemies and advance in the face of hardship. Therefore, I hereby announce that the winner of this confrontation is Meng Zhou of Cave Dwelling Number Thirteen at the foot of the mountain!" Hu Yun Feng delivered the verdict with righteous conviction.
Count Meng Zhou as the winner? Everyone in the arena froze. Then, once they grasped what they had heard, the crowd erupted like a pot set to boil, and voices rose in every direction.
In theory, Hu Yun Feng's reasoning was indeed impossible to fault. According to the rules of the newcomer challenge, an active challenger could not stall for time and had to make the first move within the time it took half an incense stick to burn. In that sense, the challenger truly was at a natural disadvantage.
But every clear-eyed person present could see that Qiao Hongcai had plainly turned the tables and gained the upper hand. If a verdict had to be given, a mutually destructive draw would have been far more reasonable. Hu Yun Feng, however, had directly declared him the loser to Meng Zhou, which was obviously unfair to Qiao Hongcai.
Of course, since the matter did not concern them, the others would do no more than watch the spectacle and discuss it among themselves. No one would actually make an issue of it.
Wei Zhao, however, was Qiao Hongcai's backer and the leader of his little group. He would never stand by and watch his younger brother take a loss.