Chapter 3968 — The New Order of Yingxin Pavilion

Never mind what the future might hold for Lu Bianren—as things stood, he was already the second senior brother and steward of Qingyun Pavilion, and there was naturally no question of him returning to Yingxin Pavilion.

And apart from him, there was for the moment no suitable candidate who could satisfy all parties, so the seat of the Third Pavilion Master of Yingxin Pavilion was left temporarily vacant.

In addition, the other position left empty by Meng Jueming's death—that of the chief senior brother and steward of the Qingyun Pavilion newcomers—was finally settled: the successor was Senior Brother Kubi.

There had never really been any suspense about this. Senior Brother Kubi had served for years as the second senior brother and steward of the Qingyun Pavilion newcomers under Meng Jueming; his credentials were sufficient, and he had now broken through to the peak of the early Foundation Establishment stage, so his strength was sufficient as well.

More crucially, among the Qingyun Pavilion newcomers, Wei Zhao's faction was now unquestionably the sole dominant power—something no one could prevent.

Anyone who wished to sit securely in that seat had to have Wei Zhao's approval, and the only man who could win Wei Zhao's approval was, naturally, Senior Brother Kubi.

The higher-ups had little interest in a position at such a low level; their priority was stability, and so Senior Brother Kubi's appointment went off without a hitch from beginning to end.

That, however, left Senior Brother Kubi's former post—second senior brother and steward of the Qingyun Pavilion newcomers—vacant in turn, and like the seat of the Third Pavilion Master, it hung unresolved for a long while.

Had Wei Zhao wanted it, the position would likely have fallen into his hands in a matter of minutes. Unfortunately, he did not think much of a mere steward of newcomers; it could have been delivered to his door and he still would have refused it.

And if Wei Zhao did not want it, then his subordinates Xiao Ran and Qiao Hongcai wanted it even less—after all, what sense would it make for the underling to become the leading steward senior brother?

As for Meng Tong and his crowd, they did harbor some thoughts on the matter. Unfortunately, now that they had lost Meng Jueming, their protective umbrella, they were hard-pressed even to keep themselves safe under Wei Zhao's threat; this sort of thing could amount to no more than daydreaming.

It was Murong Zhen, rather, whose mind began to stir—she had just recently attached herself to Kang Zhaoming, after all!

"Senior Brother Ku, how are things?" The group had gathered once again, and Wei Zhao spoke up. What he was asking about, naturally, was how matters stood after Senior Brother Kubi took up the post of chief senior brother and steward of the newcomers.

"Quite good, actually! Now that Meng Jueming has fallen, and with your influence, Junior Brother Lin, everyone apart from a handful of newcomers has come over to our side of their own accord—the situation looks excellent!" Senior Brother Kubi, an honest man, said with rare excitement.

Since Meng Jueming's death, the Qingyun Pavilion newcomers had all been watching and waiting; only when Kubi took the seat of chief senior brother and steward of the newcomers did they finally make their choice. After Zha Wu was the first to defect of his own accord, the other Qingyun Pavilion newcomers came over one after another. The situation was indeed excellent.

Senior Brother Kubi had toiled in Yingxin Pavilion for so many years, always a meek and put-upon sort, not daring even to squeak when he was wronged—when had he ever enjoyed such a moment of vindication?

For the first time in his life, Senior Brother Kubi felt the dignity of being the chief senior brother and steward of the newcomers. The legendary serf turning over and singing—it was no more than this, and all of it he owed to Wei Zhao.

"A handful? Who exactly?" Wei Zhao raised an eyebrow.

"Murong Zhen, Meng Tong, and two other newcomers. They seem to have gotten in touch with Kang Zhaoming of Chongtian Pavilion and mean to keep resisting us." At this, Senior Brother Kubi could not help but worry. He was not a man built for conflict; without Wei Zhao to bear the weight for him, either Murong Zhen or Meng Tong would likely have been enough to give him a very hard time.

"They've thrown in their lot with that creature Kang Zhaoming? Ha, the thieves really won't give up." Wei Zhao smiled dismissively, not taking it much to heart. With his current strength, if he still took such people seriously, that would be underestimating himself far too much.

"A dog can't change its taste for filth—that they'd do this doesn't surprise me in the least. But there's one person who did give me quite a shock," Qiao Hongcai chimed in.

Before he could finish, Xiao Ran beside him had already spoken the name he was about to utter: "Li Zhengming."

There had been no sign of it beforehand, and Li Zhengming's defection, shocking as it was, was also so abnormal as to invite suspicion. The blunt and impatient Qiao Hongcai could not help saying, "Boss, you don't think this fellow's got some crooked scheme in mind?"

Xiao Ran nodded as well. "From where he stands, coming over now is a forced choice, compelled by circumstances. But there is one thing we must guard against: if this is a false surrender, and he means to coordinate with Meng Tong and the others from within, it will leave endless trouble."

"How about this... I go and test him?" Qiao Hongcai said eagerly. By "test" he naturally meant a fight—simple, direct, and often very effective. A man with something to hide easily gives himself away when trading blows.

Wei Zhao smiled noncommittally, neither speaking up to explain on Li Zhengming's behalf nor moving to stop him. Men come to know one another through fighting; no amount of talk is as solid as a good brawl, and besides, he wanted a look at Li Zhengming's true strength now as well.

In any case, whoever got hurt, Wei Zhao was confident he could heal them. Let it be a friendly sparring match between fighters.

Seeing Wei Zhao's tacit consent, Qiao Hongcai at once went off, crowing with delight, to find Li Zhengming. When it came to fights, he never turned one down.

And truth be told, though his hostility toward Li Zhengming was not as implacable as toward Meng Tong, he still remembered with perfect clarity that scene on the mountain behind the compound during his first month in Yingxin Pavilion—the newcomers' trial, when Li Zhengming had defeated him in a single move. That loss had rankled him ever since.

After successfully establishing his Foundation and having his strength utterly transformed, Qiao Hongcai had thought he would get his chance against Li Zhengming, only to find that through two full months of the newcomers' challenge tournament he had somehow missed him entirely. Though he had in the end trampled Meng Tong underfoot, missing out on Li Zhengming had remained a nagging regret, neither great nor small.

But now the chance had finally come. Wei Zhao had tacitly consented, and his challenge to Li Zhengming would likewise be a rare opportunity for the man to display his strength and stake a claim to standing—surely he would not refuse.

And indeed, it went exactly as Qiao Hongcai had expected. Hearing the challenge, Li Zhengming was only slightly taken aback; after exchanging a glance with Wei Zhao, he promptly and readily agreed.

Just as Qiao Hongcai thought—Li Zhengming truly did need such an occasion to show himself. To be sure, he had all along been Wei Zhao's key inside man, and if his merits and hardships were laid out, they would more than suffice to win him the recognition of both Xiao Ran and Qiao Hongcai.R1152

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