Chapter 3688 — An Unexpected Interruption

Li Zhengming ground his teeth and looked at Meng Jueming. "Senior Brother Meng, I'm sitting at three hundred and twenty points right now, just barely tenth place. If I bring out even one more spirit herb, I'll drop right out of the top ten!"

Li Zhengming's stock held nothing too shabby; the lowest-value herb he had was worth two points, and the fellow in eleventh place stood at three hundred and nineteen. Even if he put up his cheapest herb, it would still sink him to eleventh!

Meng Jueming paused a beat, then said, "So it's the top-ten reward you're after? That's no problem. As long as Meng Zhou takes first, I'll have him make it up to you afterward with five spirit jades—surely that's richer than the three spirit jades you'd get for a top-ten finish?"

To his surprise, Li Zhengming was not moved in the least. He shook his head. "You misunderstand me, Senior Brother Meng. It isn't the spirit jades I'm after—I simply don't want to fall out of the top ten. In every official contest of the Welcome Newcomers Pavilion, whether the newcomer trials or the ranking matches, a single drop beyond tenth place leaves an indelible stain on a newcomer's record. And once you carry a stain like that, it means you're deficient in at least one respect. Even if you enter the Azure Cloud Pavilion later on, you'll never be taken seriously—you'll be consigned to the margins for good. Those were your very words to us, Senior Brother Meng!"

At that, Meng Jueming had nothing left to say.

Everything Li Zhengming had just quoted was indeed his own teaching, and true enough besides. It was only that back then he had never imagined those words would come back to haunt him at a moment like this—and work against him, no less!

Put that way, if he forced Li Zhengming out of the top ten purely so that Meng Zhou could crush Wei Zhao and take first, it really wouldn't hold up. Li Zhengming was, after all, the first newcomer besides Meng Zhou to throw in his lot with him; endlessly fleecing one's own people was never a good look, and if word got out it would only unsettle the ranks.

Yet matters had come this far, and the same trick could hardly be played twice. He could scarcely claim that Meng Zhou had stashed a few more herbs with other newcomers—that would be an insult to the intelligence of everyone present, and likely even the three elders would no longer turn a blind eye.

As things stood, the only course left was to have Young Master Xu think of some way to exert a little more influence. Fortunately, Meng Zhou's score, though not above Wei Zhao's, was no lower either—so it ought to be manageable enough.

Meng Jueming laid the situation out in detail for Xu Lingchong and Hu Yunfeng. Xu Lingchong was somewhat displeased that the man couldn't even manage such a trifling matter—yet to keep Wei Zhao from taking the final first place, he could only nod with a dark expression.

After all, at a time like this, no one but he himself could step forward. Everyone else, Hu Yunfeng included, was of too low a station to speak directly with the three elders—let alone induce them to do anyone a favor.

Xu Lingchong went over and said a few words to the bald elder seated at the center, then nodded to Hu Yunfeng and Meng Jueming. It was done.

Hu Yunfeng and Meng Jueming were overjoyed, secretly marveling that Young Master Xu was worthy of his name—he could work any crowd he walked into, and even a personage as lofty as an elder of the Rear Mountain Hall would do him a favor!

In truth, the two of them were giving him far too much credit. Young Master Xu's face carried weight, to be sure, but it hardly extended so far that even elders would owe him personal favors.

The reason it had gone so smoothly this time was simply that this bald elder was on close personal terms with his grandfather, Xu Yuanzheng. Otherwise, even Young Master Xu would likely not have gotten a single word in.

In the Threefold Pavilion, whether or not one sat on the Elder Council, any elder was a power in his own right. Ordinary disciples could only tremble in their presence; a rule like that even someone with backing as deep as Young Master Xu's could not lightly overstep. Of course, elders who were on close terms with his grandfather were another matter altogether.

At Xu Lingchong's signal, Hu Yunfeng cleared his throat and announced loudly, "The final tally is now in. Meng Zhou, one thousand eight hundred points; Wei Zhao, one thousand eight hundred points. With identical scores, the two stand tied for first. But by the rules of newcomer trials in years past, there has never been any such thing as a tie. If two contestants finish with the same score, the elders stationed at the Rear Mountain Hall shall judge between them according to their conduct and bearing throughout the trial."

These three elders could actually observe each person's conduct during the trial? Wei Zhao was startled—but after a moment's thought, understanding dawned.

Since Hu Yunfeng had said this before everyone, it was unlikely to be idle fabrication; it must therefore be true.

With the formidable strength of these three elders, combined with the various seals and formations of the Rear Mountain, monitoring conditions throughout the mountain ought not to be too difficult. Their chief duty was, after all, to guard the Rear Mountain—and if they could not manage even the most basic surveillance, how could they guard it at all?

Still, Wei Zhao was confident that even their monitoring could not be overly fine-grained; at most they likely kept watch on the few spots where commotion tended to be greatest. The Rear Mountain was vast—if they truly fixed their attention on every corner at all times, then never mind three elders; send thirty or three hundred and they would only work themselves to death.

This put Wei Zhao quietly on his guard. If he ever entered the Rear Mountain again, he would have to be careful when making any big moves—otherwise, who knew when his secrets might be glimpsed and land him in real trouble.

At Hu Yunfeng's request, the two parties concerned, Wei Zhao and Meng Zhou, stepped forward one after the other into the open space ahead, so that the elders might recall how each had conducted himself during the trial.

As the crowd waited breathlessly, the bald elder at the center—the one with the greatest say—scrutinized the two of them carefully. Just as he was about to open his mouth and declare the result, a commotion suddenly broke out among the newcomers below. Then a small black-and-white creature darted out from the crowd and leapt straight onto Wei Zhao's back.

The bald elder's eyebrow twitched. He was about to bellow a reprimand—but the comely figure that came trailing after made him swallow the scolding whole. There was no help for it: this young girl's background was so deep that even he felt a chill of dread.

Xu Lingchong's grandfather, Xu Yuanzheng, was indeed a towering figure on the Elder Council—but this girl's grandfather was the master of the Rushing Heavens Pavilion, one of the top three figures on the entire northern island of Cloud Terrace Island. In both strength and authority, he stood head and shoulders above Xu Yuanzheng!