Chapter 3865 — No Willingness to Yield

"That slut who cursed Young Miss Shangguan here last time, don't you remember, Young Master Xu?" Lou Tianyou exclaimed in sudden surprise. The whole reason he had gone out of his way to put Murong Zhen in her place was to curry favor with Xu Lingchong—if the man had no memory of this woman at all, then it would have been a wasted effort.

"Oh, her." Xu Lingchong nodded as it came back to him, still wholly uninterested. Given his status and background, a petty Murong Zhen was beneath his notice. Yet at the thought that she had cursed Shangguan Lan'er back then, he gave a lukewarm reply: "Fine, then let her stay where she is. Out of sight, out of mind."

As for making further moves against Murong Zhen, Xu Lingchong had no inclination whatsoever—especially since the woman was distantly related to Elder Murong. Enough was enough.

"Uh... all right. I thought you would at least be a little pleased. Since you are not interested, Young Master Xu, then let it be." Lou Tianyou shrugged in disappointment.

He bore Murong Zhen no grudge, past or present; he had moved against her purely for amusement and to humor Xu Lingchong. Now that the young master had not the slightest interest, there was no point to it at all.

Given Murong Zhen's tenuous kinship with Elder Murong, and with personages as lofty as Young Miss Shangguan and Young Master Xu standing at the fore, even if Murong Zhen were trampled into the ground, that Elder Murong was unlikely to come forward to shield her.

Still, an elder of the Chongtian Pavilion was an elder of the Chongtian Pavilion; Lou Tianyou was not so foolish as to provoke one to death for no reason.

He had, in fact, prepared quite a few tricks. But now, the woman had unwittingly dodged a calamity.

While Xu Lingchong and Lou Tianyou were chatting, the door of the private room was suddenly pushed open, and with it came a low voice: "It seems this seat has arrived late, Young Master Xu."

"Heh, it is we who came early. It has been many days—I trust you have been well, Senior Brother." Xu Lingchong smiled faintly and gestured for Nantian Guan to take a seat.

Nantian Guan exchanged a glance with Yu Jiang, who followed behind him, nodded in greeting to Lou Tianyou at the side, and then sat down directly across from Xu Lingchong and his companion.

This was not like paying respects to a top-tier figure such as Shangguan Tianxia; there was no need for excessive nerves or restraint. The reason Nantian Guan had brought Yu Jiang along was that, besides having Xu Lingchong relay a message to pressure Hong Zhong, he intended to try other avenues to find that Lin Er.

By Yu Jiang's deduction, this Lin Er was very likely connected to the Yingxin Pavilion. The master of the Yingxin Pavilion, Hu Yunfeng, was a direct subordinate of Xu Yuanzheng; if they wished to do anything in secret at the Yingxin Pavilion, it would be impossible without Young Master Xu's approval.

Glancing at the sumptuous feast on the table, brimming with spiritual energy, Nantian Guan could not help but raise an eyebrow once he was seated: "This time it is this seat who asked Young Master Xu for a favor, yet I am treated so lavishly in return. Truly, I am overwhelmed by the honor!"

Such an extravagant meal, costing upward of a thousand spirit jade at a go, was hard to stomach even for Nantian Guan, for all that he sat in the lucrative post of the Chongtian Pavilion's managing senior disciple.

"It is only proper. You are our senior brother; we juniors ought naturally to show you more filial respect—so that when the crucial moment comes, we may feel justified in opening our mouths and asking our senior brother to lend us a hand, no?" Xu Lingchong said with a smile.

"Young Master Xu, there seems to be a hidden meaning in your words." Nantian Guan frowned slightly.

"How could there be? Senior Brother, you are overthinking it. This young master sincerely hopes for your promotion," Xu Lingchong said, seemingly offhandedly.

At these words, Nantian Guan's eyes flickered. He was a clever man; with Xu Lingchong having hinted thus far, he knew well enough what was meant.

He had long heard that Xu Lingchong had recently made a breakthrough in cultivation, becoming a consummate Foundation Establishment expert on par with himself. Now it seemed the man could no longer contain his restlessness and was preparing to take his place.

Though Nantian Guan had always been confident in his own strength, his background here on the North Island was not especially deep. If Xu Lingchong truly meant to have his way and used every means at his disposal, whether Nantian Guan could keep his current post as the Chongtian Pavilion's managing senior disciple was genuinely uncertain.

"Young Master Xu jests. I would not dare dream of promotion. This seat intends to remain in this position a few more years and lay a solid foundation for the future," Nantian Guan responded without betraying a thing.

In the Sandie Pavilion, no matter how deep or powerful one's backing, personal strength was always indispensable. Without sufficient strength, one could not occupy a corresponding post.

At Nantian Guan's present cultivation of consummate Foundation Establishment, though on the surface there was still a sliver of room for advancement, the office of the Chongtian Pavilion's managing senior disciple was unquestionably the most coveted key position at this stage.

Even if he could be transferred to some post that looked more prestigious, it would be a promotion in name and a demotion in truth. So unless driven by necessity, or unless he could contend for a higher-tier position such as managing senior disciple to the direct disciples, Nantian Guan would never voluntarily retreat. If it truly came to a fight, the Three Heroes of the Nan clan were not to be trifled with either.

The so-called managing senior disciple to the direct disciples referred to the managing senior disciple of those disciples formally apprenticed at the Golden Core stage. But that position—never mind someone like him who had not yet broken through to Golden Core; even a consummate Golden Core cultivator who wished to contend for it would have to fight on the strength of his backing!

Besides, if he were at the Golden Core stage, he would long since have gone to the inner sect to seek a master. Becoming a nominal disciple of some elder would have made him a figure whose stomp on the North Island of the Heaven Tier would shake the ground three times!

An elder's direct disciple and his own post as managing senior disciple were worlds apart! In the cultivation world, a direct disciple was much the same as a son or grandson by blood. If he could succeed in becoming an apprentice, then he too could be said to belong to the ranks of the second and third generation of cultivators!

Even if he could not match Xu Lingchong's eminence, he would still be someone with the means to come and go at all manner of high-society banquets! And if he could take Shangguan Tianxia as his master, he would be nearly on par with Shangguan Lan'er—he could even trample Xu Lingchong without fear!

Only, Shangguan Tianxia rarely took disciples. Gongyang Jun counted as one of his nominal disciples—nominal, of course, not direct.

And yet, was the Golden Core stage so easy to break through to? Before reaching Golden Core, his current position remained very useful indeed!

As for those so-called apprenticeships at the Foundation Establishment stage, such as Yu Jiang and the former Nantian Yong, they were in truth merely nominal relations—akin to the sworn kinship recognized in the secular world. In practice, the Sandie Pavilion did not officially acknowledge them, though neither did it forbid them.

Cultivators banding together in factions was only natural.