Chapter 4601 — The Difference Between Geniuses
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
"Oh? And who, pray tell, should I be punishing, Grandfather?" Shangguan Tianxia let out a noncommittal chuckle.
There was, in truth, something to what Shangguan Lan'er said. As the pavilion master of the Soaring Heavens Pavilion, he was known far and wide for his iron hand—if some great personage had in fact been the target of that "no eye for talent" remark, he might well have seen fit to make a real example of the offender. But since no whisper of this had reached his ears, it clearly did not concern any of the great houses, and so there was no cause to take it to heart.
"Ma Dangfeng—the Azure Cloud Pavilion disciple who styles himself the top new talent king. He maligned you in front of a great crowd, and deserves to be punished for it," Shangguan Lan'er declared with perfect confidence.
"Ma Dangfeng?" Shangguan Tianxia pondered a moment before recalling that such a person did seem to exist. "Would that be the new talent at the Nascent Soul stage?"
"That's the one! The man is utterly overbearing. Today, in front of a great many Azure Cloud Pavilion disciples, he nearly strangled Senior Brother Lu Bianren of the Azure Cloud Pavilion to death on the spot. Luckily I happened along. Grandfather, don't you think such a man is simply odious?" Shangguan Lan'er tattled.
"Is that so? And the other Azure Cloud Pavilion disciples—did they all simply stand by and watch him die?" Shangguan Tianxia was briefly taken aback; when Shangguan Lan'er nodded firmly, he shook his head with a sigh. "This Yu Zhenyang—capable enough, to be sure, but he simply will not attend to the affairs of his own Azure Cloud Pavilion. When the disciples are all of this stamp, the Azure Cloud Pavilion rising again under his hand—that will be a hard road indeed."
"Exactly! And that's not all—he also proclaimed that you, Grandfather, have no eye for talent, that you mistook our little junior brother, that good-for-nothing, for a genius. He even said that to prove it, he would go to South Island himself and destroy our little junior brother. Oh, I could simply die of fury!" Shangguan Lan'er huffed, hands planted on her hips. Shangguan Tianxia and Wei Zhao were the two people she cared for most in all the world, and now this Ma Dangfeng had trampled them both underfoot at once. If she wasn't fit to explode with rage, who was?
"Oh? So the man is arrogant, yes—but not entirely without a brain. He has made himself a shield to hide behind," Shangguan Tianxia observed with a smile.
"A bit of cheap cleverness, that's all. What sort of shield is that? Grandfather, you aren't truly thinking of letting this drop, are you?" Shangguan Lan'er frowned.
"Heh. Since he has put it that way, it would be awkward for me to pursue the matter even if I wished to. It has become a matter between him and Wei Zhao; until there is a result, it would be unseemly for me to take a position," Shangguan Tianxia said, shaking his head with a smile.
"What? Then his scheme has succeeded! Grandfather, you are far too indulgent with this Ma Dangfeng!" Shangguan Lan'er broke off mid-sentence, then eyed Shangguan Tianxia up and down with sudden suspicion. "Grandfather, has this Ma Dangfeng caught your fancy as well? Do you think he too is a genius?"
One look at Shangguan Tianxia's expression, and Shangguan Lan'er knew at once she had blundered. She should have known better than to think a man of her grandfather's temperament would ever trouble himself over a nobody like this. By lodging her complaint, she had only brought Ma Dangfeng to her grandfather's notice—and perhaps that had been the fellow's true intention all along.
"No, he is not," Shangguan Tianxia said, still smiling.
"Not?" Shangguan Lan'er, mired in her own chagrin, was caught off guard. "Isn't he the top new talent king? And a Nascent Soul expert besides. By all accounts he's even stronger than our little junior brother..."