Chapter 3951 — An Abrupt End
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 3
Especially those who had not yet succeeded in Foundation Establishment—in the end, perhaps all they lacked was this final push. If by paying a certain price they could exchange for Cave Dwelling No. 1 at the summit, then even if the price was not small, in their eyes it was still well worth it.
Of course, even if the new disciples of the Xuanji Pavilion and the Qingyun Pavilion harbored such thoughts, they would find it hard to meet Wei Zhao's terms—and there was, besides, the risk of being collectively targeted.
But the new disciples of the Chongtian Pavilion had no such misgivings. After hearing Wei Zhao's words, their eyes lit up one and all.
Among them were plenty who did not bow to Kang Jingming; it was only out of regard for Xu Lingchong that they dared not openly set themselves against him. And even the occasional bold one who did pluck up the courage had, without exception, gone the way of Shi Yuda and been secretly done in by Kang Jingming.
But now their chance had come. So long as they took Cave Dwelling No. 1 at the summit, in a sense it would be almost equivalent to supplanting Kang Jingming—and without offending Xu Lingchong at all. All it took was paying a certain price to trade with Wei Zhao, an outsider with no stake in the matter.
And when that time came, even if Xu Lingchong wanted to assign blame, he would have no grounds to lay it at their door.
For a moment, the new disciples of the Chongtian Pavilion were all eager to try, the matter of the cross-pavilion challenge cast entirely to the back of their minds. Seeing this, Kang Jingming rolled his eyes and promptly fainted dead away from sheer fury.
By relying on the various favors shown him by Xu Lingchong and Pavilion Master Hu Yunfeng, he had spent so long and barely managed to establish a certain standing among the new disciples of the Chongtian Pavilion. And now, in the end, with one casual sentence from Wei Zhao, all his painstaking effort was about to be swept away down the drain. Small wonder he fainted from rage!
At the sight, Hu Yunfeng could not help but frown, deeply displeased with Wei Zhao's maneuver. It was true that the Welcome Pavilion did permit new disciples to exchange dwellings among themselves, but such dealings had always been conducted in private. Wei Zhao's doing it so brazenly—where did that leave the dignity of him, the Pavilion Master?
"Wei Zhao, hold your tongue for a moment," said Hu Yunfeng, feigning benevolence. "You have indeed won this cross-pavilion challenge, but our Welcome Pavilion has always upheld the virtue of benevolence. Even if you wish to take Cave Dwelling No. 1 at the summit, you should at least wait until Steward Kang has recovered from his injuries."
"Wait until he recovers?" Wei Zhao responded with a cold laugh. "And what if he never recovers for the rest of his life? Would this cross-pavilion battle then become a joke? Pavilion Master Hu, those words of yours hardly seem fitting."
Everyone present was soon buzzing with discussion as well. Hu Yunfeng's favoritism was indeed far too blatant—and besides, many of them were still waiting to trade dwellings with Wei Zhao. This concerned their own vital interests, so resentment rose naturally in their hearts.
Seeing that the situation was turning somewhat unfavorable, Hu Yunfeng was not about to do something so foolish as to incur public wrath for the sake of a single Kang Jingming. He could only soften his stance and concede: "Be that as it may, to make Steward Kang move out in his present condition would be far too chilling a thing to do! How about this: give him ten days, and after ten days, Cave Dwelling No. 1 at the summit shall be handed over to your disposal. Does that suit you?"
"Good. Those are your words, Pavilion Master Hu," Wei Zhao said with a faint smile.