Chapter 3783 — Using You to Clear the Way

"So that's how it is." Meng Zhou shrugged his shoulders in a way that betrayed nothing.

"Isn't it just!" Zha Wu hastily chimed in. "Even if our strength falls short, we can't just let that brat Wei Zhao sit around all comfortable and idle, can we? I wouldn't dare claim I could beat him, but at the very least I had to wear down some of his true qi—if all forty of his spirit-medicine seeds end up withered and dead, then you could say I did my humble part for Senior Brother Meng and for you, Leader Meng Zhou, right?"

"Rare to see such loyalty from a weakling like you. I'd have thought a fellow like you volunteered to go hand points to that posturing show-off Wei Zhao and defect to the enemy!" Meng Zhou curled his lip with a look of pure mockery.

Even if Meng Zhou's brain wasn't the sharpest, how could he possibly fail to see the blatantly obvious motive behind Zha Wu jumping up to challenge Wei Zhao at that moment? And even if he himself couldn't see it, the wily, calculating Meng Jueming was standing right beside him!

True, that idiot Wei Zhao hadn't had the brains to turn with the wind and dodge the pit labeled Number One, choosing instead to fight Zha Wu—but in the end it was still a one-move knockout. He'd handed over four points for nothing, and in the end hadn't even consumed any meaningful amount of Wei Zhao's true qi.

Doing his humble part? What utter crap!

"Defect to the enemy?" Zha Wu's expression changed at once, and he hurriedly waved his hands with a fawning smile. "Leader Meng Zhou, you're joking! With my meager courage and meager strength, I can barely cling to Senior Brother Meng's and your legs as it is—how could I possibly defect? Besides, with Wei Zhao's wretched, posturing airs, how could he compare to the brilliant, martial, and formidable Senior Brother Meng and you, Leader? Going over to him would be courting disaster! My eyes work just fine—how could I be so foolish?"

"Hey, now that's more like it—what you just said actually makes sense. With that show-off's miserable character, how could he ever stand against the combination of me and Cousin Ninth? Anyone with eyes knows which way to choose. Seems I really did misjudge you before." Meng Zhou's spirits soared at this barrage of flattery, his mood turning magnificent, and he laughed heartily as he clapped Zha Wu on the shoulder.

Only then did Zha Wu secretly breathe a sigh of relief. Thank goodness this Meng Zhou fellow was simple-minded and easy to hoodwink—otherwise this hurdle today would have been truly hard to clear!

Striking while the iron was hot, Zha Wu followed up with another round of flattery that left Meng Zhou glowing all over. Seeing the moment was ripe, he finally steeled himself and cautiously edged toward the purpose of his visit.

"Leader Meng Zhou, I was just thinking—in your next round of the challenge tournament, you'll probably just steamroll that waste Qiao, won't you?" Zha Wu asked, seemingly casual, while in truth his heart hung suspended in midair.

"Next round?" Meng Zhou blinked, then looked Zha Wu up and down with a playful gleam. "Then you've got it wrong. Aren't you currently in Cave Dwelling Thirteen at the foot of the mountain? Next round I'm obviously going to use you to clear the way!"

Ga? Zha Wu's heart sank at once. He had anticipated this before coming, but hearing it now straight from Meng Zhou's mouth, he still couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine.

"B-but, Leader Meng Zhou, didn't you previously, in front of all of us, publicly name Qiao the waste as your next-round challenge? It wouldn't be quite right to change your mind midway, would it?" Zha Wu hurriedly tried to persuade him.

"How so?" Meng Zhou furrowed his brow.

"Think about it, Leader Meng Zhou—going back on one's word isn't a big deal for ordinary newcomers like us, but you're our newcomers' leader, and what stands out most about you is your prestige! But where does prestige come from? Beyond great strength, the most crucial thing is that a word once spoken must stand. If a leader goes back on his word, how can he have any prestige left? Wouldn't you agree?" Zha Wu reasoned with earnest, bitter sincerity.

"What you've just said, kid, does have some sense to it." Meng Zhou pinched his chin, lost in thought.

In truth, he had harbored this very concern himself—otherwise he wouldn't have hesitated earlier. After all, he had set his heart on regarding himself as the newcomers' leader, and as a leader, having publicly declared war on Qiao the waste for the next round, how could he go back on his word and grow fat on his own promise?

But after Meng Jueming had lectured him a moment ago, he had thrown that notion to the back of his mind.

Just as Meng Jueming had said, as an expert of the early Foundation Establishment stage, one ought to carry the bearing of an early Foundation Establishment expert. If he took Qiao the waste—a mere newcomer at the Heaven Rank Great Perfection—so seriously as to let slip the solid, tangible benefit of points, that would be overestimating his opponent far too much, and the loss would outweigh the gain.

On one side, solid, tangible points; on the other, a trifling empty reputation—and moreover, he could reclaim his face soon enough afterward. Which was lighter and which heavier was plain at a glance.

Still, for all that, to a face-obsessed newcomers' leader like Meng Zhou, empty reputation was no small thing either. If he let his prestige suffer for the sake of three points, that seemed more or less a poor bargain, didn't it?

Seeing Meng Zhou waver, Zha Wu was overjoyed and hastily pressed on. "Exactly! With your strength, Leader Meng Zhou, scoring a hundred points or so in this kind of challenge tournament is a breeze. By then, overtaking a self-entangling show-off like Wei Zhao will come as naturally as water flowing into a channel—so why would you ever miss these paltry three points off me? To sacrifice your prestige in everyone's eyes for these insignificant three points—forgive me for speaking bluntly, but that would be putting the cart before the horse!"

"Is that so? Then by that logic, this great one ought to let you off the hook?" Meng Zhou squinted at him sidelong.

"Isn't it just, Leader Meng Zhou! If you let me off and go straight to crushing that idiot Qiao the waste, that's killing two birds with one stone!" Zha Wu boasted, his face alight with excitement.

"Two birds with one stone? Then tell this great one, kid—how exactly is it two birds with one stone?" Meng Zhou's interest was instantly piqued.

"Think about it, Leader Meng Zhou. If you let me off this time, first, you won't have to go back on your word and can preserve your prestige in everyone's eyes; second, giving up points already in hand in order to protect me—that's what they call the legendary righteousness that reaches the clouds! With a leader so loyal and true, who would dare not submit, who would dare not respect you? Wouldn't you agree?" Zha Wu analyzed and bewitched with a perfectly solemn face.

"What you've said, kid, makes a lot of sense." Meng Zhou nodded repeatedly as he listened.

What he dreamed of day and night was the support of the other newcomers—for his every word to stand as if cast in bronze, with no one daring to raise the slightest objection. Only then could he truly count as Azure Cloud Pavilion's newcomers' leader; otherwise, he was merely deceiving himself.

Seeing that Meng Zhou seemed completely won over, Zha Wu's delight showed plainly on his face, and he kept on spinning his line. "And besides, with a type like Qiao the waste who takes a mile when given an inch, Leader Meng Zhou, you mustn't give him any chance at all. If you don't go crush him next round, that brat will certainly go around proclaiming that you're a coward. Sure, hardly anyone would believe such idiotic talk, but if you let it slide, it'll do real damage to your prestige—people might even think you're easy to push around." (To be continued)