Chapter 3571 — Canvassing for Votes

Wei Zhao’s heart stirred slightly. Given Kang Zhaoming’s vindictive nature, if he had latched onto a powerful patron, it was only natural that he would rush to take revenge. Back in the mortal realm they had signed the Peaceful Ascension Treaty, but now that everyone had joined the Welcome Pavilion, presumably the others no longer took that treaty seriously.

Wei Zhao betrayed nothing. Watching the group approach slowly, he could only improvise as each move came. The reception envoy from the Soaring Heaven Pavilion was indeed formidable, but Wei Zhao was already a capable early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator; even if it came to a real fight, he would not necessarily lose too badly. And if he could not win, could he not run? Besides, the Welcome Pavilion had its rules—surely it would not let these people freely attack new disciples.

"Young Master Xu, please wait a moment. Let me introduce these newcomers, lest they fail to recognize eminence and end up offending you." Meng Jueming, his face wreathed in fawning smiles, bowed and scraped to Xu Lingchong.

The other man was, after all, the eldest young master of the Soaring Heaven Pavilion, and strictly speaking had no dealings whatsoever with a mere steward of the Azure Cloud Pavilion like himself. Yet to show him any negligence would be foolish beyond all measure. One must not forget: the Welcome Pavilion’s master, Hu Yunfeng, had the backing of a Soaring Heaven Pavilion elder. A single casual word from this Young Master Xu could destroy Meng Jueming in the blink of an eye.

Xu Lingchong gave a slight nod, and only then did Meng Jueming turn to the crowd of new Azure Cloud Pavilion disciples, instantly switching to a stern expression as he announced in a ringing voice, "Listen carefully, all of you. This beside me is Young Master Xu Lingchong, direct grandson of the Soaring Heaven Pavilion’s Third Elder and an inner-court steward senior brother of the Soaring Heaven Pavilion. I need not elaborate on how exalted his station is—now hurry and pay your respects to Senior Brother Xu!"

"Greetings, Senior Brother Xu," the Azure Cloud Pavilion newcomers hastily chorused.

"Spare me." Xu Lingchong waved impatiently. For these worthless newcomers at the very bottom of the Azure Cloud Pavilion, he had not the slightest interest even in laying eyes on them. Turning to Meng Jueming, he ordered, "Get to the point. Don't waste my time."

"Yes, yes." Meng Jueming answered with alacrity, then turned to the crowd. "Young Master Xu has come specially today regarding the matter of the new disciples’ steward. Though this has little to do with you, each of you holds one vote, so it must still be explained to you."

"As you all know, our Welcome Pavilion has, besides the master and two deputy masters, two steward senior brothers in each of the three pavilions, responsible for your daily cultivation, allocation of resources, and assignment of missions—a tangled mass of duties beyond counting."

"And to better manage you newcomers and foster fraternal bonds among the new disciples, the Welcome Pavilion has, in addition to the six steward senior brothers, specially created the post of new disciples’ steward. Its duty is to centrally assign the lowly tasks of the new disciples across the three pavilions—cleaning, sweeping, kitchen duties, and the like. This new disciples’ steward is to be elected by the common vote of all you newcomers, and only one who wins more than two-thirds of the votes can take office. Do you all understand?"

The newcomers finally saw the light, and the sharper ones among them quickly grasped the trick of it.

The post of new disciples’ steward—nominally responsible only for assigning the lowliest tasks, involving no cultivation resources, and appearing to offer no profit whatsoever—was all mere appearance. In truth, for any newcomer, this position was pivotal.

There were three reasons. First, as the Welcome Pavilion’s sole new disciples’ steward, one was naturally the model and exemplar for all newcomers. Even if only for the Pavilion’s own face, cultivation resources would inevitably be tilted in one’s favor. Otherwise, if the exemplar representing the newcomers could not even clear the Foundation Establishment hurdle, would that not make everyone laugh their teeth out?

Second, though the new disciples’ steward only assigned the lowliest tasks, with skillful handling one could build a vast network of connections among the newcomers of all three pavilions—of great benefit to future prospects. A simple example: nobody wants to clean the latrines. Assign it to others but exempt this one person—would that person not owe you a favor?

Third, since the new disciples’ steward was a post of the Welcome Pavilion, it necessarily came with the post’s privileges. Even if not as generous as those of the steward senior brothers, there would be some stipend—and compared with other new disciples, one would already have won at the starting line.

Having worked out these three points, the minds of the Azure Cloud Pavilion newcomers instantly began to race. Since the post of new disciples’ steward was to be decided by vote, did that not mean they too had a chance? If one secured the post, would one not rise to glory hereafter?

Yet when they saw the aggressive, predatory gazes of Xu Lingchong and his companions, their faces stiffened at once, and they immediately realized: for newcomers of the Azure Cloud Pavilion like themselves, this was nothing but a pipe dream!

Among all the new disciples of the three pavilions, one needed more than two-thirds of the votes to win. What did that mean?

It meant not only fully conquering every newcomer of the Azure Cloud Pavilion present, but also conquering at least half the newcomers of the Soaring Heaven Pavilion and the Mystic Mechanism Pavilion combined. Was that possible? Never mind the pack of cultivation second-generations from the Soaring Heaven Pavilion—even the old codgers of the Mystic Mechanism Pavilion would pay you no mind. To think they would vote for you worthless Azure Cloud Pavilion newcomers—dream on!

"By past experience, the new disciples’ steward is generally a newcomer from the Soaring Heaven Pavilion; a few times it has been snatched by the Mystic Mechanism Pavilion. But as for our Azure Cloud Pavilion—that has never happened." The long-suffering senior brother explained in a low voice to Wei Zhao and the others.

Wei Zhao nodded. All of this was only to be expected. The cultivation second-generations of the Soaring Heaven Pavilion looked down on the newcomers of the other two pavilions entirely; the old codgers of the Mystic Mechanism Pavilion, relying on their formidable strength, still had some competitiveness. As for the Azure Cloud Pavilion, in such matters they could only be bystanders. For them, the only difference lay in whether they would end up conquered by the Soaring Heaven Pavilion or by the Mystic Mechanism Pavilion—nothing more.

"It seems everyone understands now. Good." Meng Jueming, long accustomed to such things and harboring no unrealistic ambitions to fight for his own Azure Cloud Pavilion newcomers, at once turned and presented Kang Zhaoming beside him: "This is Senior Brother Kang Zhaoming of the Soaring Heaven Pavilion, the candidate Young Master Xu is backing this time. When you vote tomorrow morning, you all know what to do, yes?"

Only now did Wei Zhao finally understand. So Kang Zhaoming had not come to make trouble for him after all—he had come borrowing the tiger’s skin to canvass for votes. Who knew what honeyed words the brat had spoken to persuade Xu Lingchong to back him so? At the very least, Zhong Yongliang, who likewise trailed at Xu Lingchong’s side, had never enjoyed such favorable treatment.

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