Chapter 4578 — Stepping In
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 3
The Law Enforcement Hall moved with remarkable speed. Almost the instant they received the report, the much-watched Ma Dangfeng was taken away for interrogation. Yet, unexpectedly, that investigation dragged on for a full half month without ever producing a concrete result.
In the end, it was Hall Master Gongyang Jun who settled the matter with a single hammer blow, declaring that the fifteen disciples of the Threefold Pavilion who had died overnight had all perished from a unique and unprecedented acute illness, the source of which still required further confirmation with the Elixir Hall. None of it, however, had the slightest connection to Ma Dangfeng; he had merely been concealing his true strength, and beyond that had committed no violation whatsoever.
Since this was Gongyang Jun's final ruling, naturally no one dared question it. Even though Miserable Senior Brother and Xiao Che still found it somewhat strange, they did not dare raise an objection. And so, after half a month's confinement in the Law Enforcement Hall, Ma Dangfeng walked out unscathed, without a scratch on him.
And so the matter passed. But from that day on, Ma Dangfeng shed his former low profile entirely and grew brazen beyond measure, doing whatever he pleased. As an unprecedented Nascent Soul-stage newcomer, to think that Miserable Senior Brother and Xiao Che, with their mere Foundation Establishment cultivation, could keep him in check was nothing short of a fool's dream.
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One was the third-pavilion master of the Welcome Pavilion; the other, the senior brother in charge of newcomers. Not only were they unable to rein in this Azure Cloud Pavilion newcomer, Ma Dangfeng, but because of their earlier report, he bore them a deep grudge and repeatedly humiliated them in public, leaving them unable to show their faces—truly, they were made to swallow every indignity. And the other higher-ups of the Welcome Pavilion, Pavilion Master Hu Yun included, all looked on coldly, neither asking nor caring.
If even the Welcome Pavilion's higher-ups took such an attitude, then in the Azure Cloud Pavilion it went without saying. Whether it was Miserable Senior Brother or Xiao Che, their only patron was Wei Zhao. Now that Wei Zhao was gone, they had, within the Azure Cloud Pavilion, not even the most basic foothold to rely on. Those Azure Cloud higher-ups would not only fail to speak up for them—they actually praised Ma Dangfeng to the skies, every last one of them standing squarely on the opposite side!
This tendency became especially pronounced after Ma Dangfeng unquestionably became the King of Newcomers—particularly after he, just like Wei Zhao before him, skipped the outer sect grand tournament and went straight to shine brilliantly in the inner sect grand tournament. Word had it that the Azure Cloud Pavilion's higher-ups had now unanimously recognized Ma Dangfeng as the hope of the future, and had even resolved to designate him as the pavilion's future successor!
In strength, the man was a Nascent Soul expert; in status, he was the Azure Cloud Pavilion's heir apparent. In neither respect could anyone present begin to contend with Ma Dangfeng, so this utterly one-sided slaughter was only to be expected. Lu Bianren and the others were helpless against it, able only to take their beating passively.
"Judging by those looks, seems you've all accepted your fate, have you?" Ma Dangfeng swept his eyes sidelong over the crowd with a cold sneer. "How boring. I thought you'd have at least a little backbone—didn't expect you'd be so sensible. Or do you think that means I'll let you off? Hahahaha, don't be so naive. Since I said I'd cripple every one of you today, I won't cut the slightest corner. Might as well start with this one under my foot!"