Chapter 3786 — Succeeding to the Third Pavilion Master's Seat

"It's fine. You know, for all his reckless bluster, I'd bet my life Hongcai has thought this through more thoroughly than any of us. If he has already set his mind on burning his boats, then we have even less reason to hold him back. Let him go and do it!" Wei Zhao patted the Suffering Senior Brother on the shoulder and consoled him.

In his view, if Qiao Hongcai's attempt at Foundation Establishment should fail, then judging by the rough exterior and meticulous interior the fellow had displayed in the previous round, he would most likely concede defeat of his own accord, just as Xiao Che had, rather than foolishly gamble his life on bravado.

And to look at it from the most pessimistic angle, even if Qiao Hongcai truly crossed blows with Meng Zhou, no matter how badly wounded he was, so long as he could cling to that single breath and not die, Wei Zhao was confident he could pull him back. So in a sense Wei Zhao had ample capacity to save the day, and there was no need to worry overmuch.

Just then, Xiao Che, who had been standing nearby, spoke as if struck by a thought: "Brother Wei Zhao, Senior Brother Ku, there's really no need for either of you to fret so much over him. I have a premonition—that fellow Hongcai is very likely to reach the summit before I do."

After several days of wholehearted adjustment, Xiao Che privately judged that his odds of a successful Foundation Establishment were nearing eighty percent, and he meant to make the attempt within the next couple of days. Yet no matter how thorough one's preparations, the process of breaking through to Foundation Establishment differs from person to person.

A man driven by momentum like Qiao Hongcai might see results in the space of a few breaths. But he, Xiao Che, was a different matter: his process would be like simmering congee over a slow fire—win or lose, he would likely be locked in the struggle for some time.

"Ha... that's a good thing. Hongcai is just the sort to serve as vanguard. Letting him go first and give Meng Zhou a run for his money is fine enough, and then you, Xiao Che, follow with the second hand. Two hands, two forms of insurance—that makes it complete! Don't idle about here either; go into seclusion at once and I'll wait for your good news!" Wei Zhao said with a laugh.

"All right." Xiao Che nodded, took his leave of the Suffering Senior Brother, and turned to enter Cave Dwelling No. 15 beneath the mountain.

Watching Xiao Che depart, the Suffering Senior Brother finally turned to Wei Zhao and said with feeling: "Junior Brother Lin, to be frank with you, until today I always believed that among the lot of us, you alone were a dragon among men, a phoenix among fowl. But now I suddenly have this feeling—our Junior Brother Xiao and Junior Brother Qiao are no creatures of the common pond either. Following you, Junior Brother Lin, they are bound to soar to the heavens one day. It's only I, the senior brother, who has neither talent nor skill, and whose life will come to no more than this."

"Senior Brother Ku, now you're selling yourself far too short." Wei Zhao draped an arm over the Suffering Senior Brother's shoulder. "Since the occasion offers, your junior brother here owes you a word of honest advice: we cultivators must above all else have confidence in ourselves. If even you do not believe in yourself, how can you presume to hope for a breakthrough? By the way, Senior Brother Ku—how did those two Foundation Establishment Barrier-Breaking Pills I gave you last time work out?"

The Suffering Senior Brother gave a sheepish laugh. "I was afraid of wasting the fruit of your labor, Junior Brother Lin, so I'm still adjusting and preparing to this day. I haven't taken them yet."

No wonder! Wei Zhao pressed a hand to his forehead in exasperation. No wonder he had seen no sign of anything from the Suffering Senior Brother all this time—he had assumed the man's assault on the barrier had failed. So it was that, like Xiao Che, he had grown timid and cautious, not daring to take the plunge.

Honestly, given the depth of the Suffering Senior Brother's strength built up over the years, plus the top-grade Foundation Establishment Barrier-Breaking Pills Wei Zhao had given him, once he made his push to the early peak of Foundation Establishment, success was all but one hundred percent guaranteed. There was simply no need for such worry.

"Senior Brother Ku, now your junior brother really must scold you a little. You are the leader of our little band, and we're counting on you to shelter us from wind and rain! Besides, if I can refine Foundation Establishment Barrier-Breaking Pills at all, then there's no need for you to be so frugal, Senior Brother Ku—use them first and we'll talk later. If there aren't enough, I'll refine more!" Wei Zhao urged.

At these words the Suffering Senior Brother could not help but flush with embarrassment, nodding again and again. "You're right, Junior Brother Lin. I've been poor so long that I'm afraid of wasting good things, so I've been holding back and not daring to touch them. I clean forgot—you're the alchemist of our whole outfit! Then I won't stand on ceremony about asking for more!"

The man was truly scared stiff by poverty, hoarding good things and not daring to use them! Wei Zhao shook his head in exasperation, then said: "Of course, no problem! By the way, Senior Brother Ku, there's been talk lately that Xu Lingchong means to throw his weight behind Meng Jue Ming's bid to succeed to the Third Pavilion Master's seat. Have you heard?"

"That so?" The Suffering Senior Brother was startled at once.

In truth, Wei Zhao had seen this intelligence through Li Zhengming's information network; it was still in the stage of secret deliberation, and it was only natural that the Suffering Senior Brother had caught no wind of it.

"If this really becomes settled fact, that would be far from good!" the Suffering Senior Brother said, his face still pale with lingering dread.

What Wei Zhao had spoken of was still at the stage of rumor wafting on the wind, but on careful reflection, if Xu Lingchong truly had a mind to push Meng Jue Ming into that position, the odds of success were really not small at all!

By convention, the post of Third Pavilion Master of the Newcomers' Pavilion is always filled by someone from the Azure Cloud Pavilion; barring special circumstances, neither the Soaring Heaven Pavilion nor the Mysterious Mechanism Pavilion would interfere.

Still, although the Third Pavilion Master's seat carries little real power, it nonetheless falls within the upper echelons of an independent department. Which disciple of the Azure Cloud Pavilion is to fill it must in the end be submitted to the Council of Elders for review.

Generally speaking, for so insignificant a position, whichever disciple is submitted, the Council of Elders will simply give tacit approval rather than reject it. But if anyone should raise an objection, the Azure Cloud Pavilion will not go against the Elders' wishes on that account either.

So if Xu Lingchong took the high road and had his grandfather Xu Yuanzheng speak up on Meng Jue Ming's behalf, then Meng Jue Ming's claim to the Third Pavilion Master's seat would be all but secure, and no one else could possibly compete with him.

And once Meng Jue Ming sat in the Third Pavilion Master's seat, with greater power in his hands and a reach into every matter high and low, then the situation of the rest of them would become even more uncertain.

"But there's no need for you to fret, Senior Brother Ku. I hear that to compete for the Third Pavilion Master's seat, one needs at least mid-stage Foundation Establishment strength, so we still have a chance to muddy these waters and fight for an opening. But before that, Senior Brother Ku, you absolutely must raise your strength!" Wei Zhao analyzed.

Without strength, there is no right to speak. Say what you will, seize what opportunities you will—it all comes to nothing.