Chapter 3878 — The Return of Nan Tianxiong

Watching helplessly as Murong Zhen rose to become a third pole of power whom everyone looked up to, they could do nothing—for the slightest stir, and if Murong Zhen simply threw her weight to the other side, would they not be courting disaster?

They had seen it clearly enough: this was an open stratagem of Murong Zhen's, one no one could stop. And because of the newcomer challenge system, none of them had the power to stop it either; they could only sit by and watch this woman sink her roots step by step, her wings gradually spreading.

For Wei Zhao, however, there was one piece of good news: under his command were only two men, Xiao Che and Qiao Hongcai. With Wei Zhao's orders given beforehand, even if Murong Zhen wished to seduce them, she would find it hard to succeed.

Meng Jueming's side was a different matter entirely. The newcomers under him were hardly loyal, and every one of them, Meng Zhou included, drooled over the fair Murong. As Murong Zhen established her position step by step, the odds were great that these men would turn into reeds that bend with the wind.

After all, having been suppressed by Wei Zhao's faction all this time, Meng Jueming's control over his newcomers had sunk to freezing point. Even if these men dared not betray him openly, if Murong Zhen threw them a flirtatious glance—or even tossed them a little sweetness—few of them, one could believe, would refuse to exchange amorous looks with this fair Murong.

Murong Zhen's brilliance lay precisely in this: even knowing full well that she was poaching his people, Meng Jueming, to keep the situation from worsening and to keep from driving Murong Zhen into Wei Zhao's camp, could for the time being only endure in silence.

And while Murong Zhen was stirring up wind and rain in the Welcome Newcomer Pavilion, far away in the Soaring Heaven Pavilion, Nan Tianguan and Yu Jiang had finally received the leader of the Three Heroes of the Nan Clan—Nan Tianxiong.

Nan Tianxiong had just returned from a mission and had not yet changed out of his ferocious black armor. Seated in the master's chair, he looked with an awe-inspiring expression at Yu Jiang, who lay prostrate on the ground trembling and not daring to move, and then at Nan Tianguan beside him, whose face was taut with tension.

Only when the sheer pressure had left the two of them gasping for breath did Nan Tianxiong suppress his anger and speak: "I was away from the island on a mission for a mere two months, and such a great calamity befalls us? Not only did Old Three lose his life, but you failed to bring the true culprit back. Second Brother, you have disappointed me greatly!"

As he spoke, Nan Tianxiong—fresh from ruthless slaughter—let his killing intent and mighty aura bear down, pressing Yu Jiang, a fine hand of the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, flat against the ground, not daring to stir in the slightest.

After all, the man before them was a being who stood above even Nan Tianguan, who was at the great perfection of the Foundation Establishment stage—a true expert of the Golden Core stage, a formidable figure regarded throughout the Triple Stack Pavilion as a pillar of strength!

Not only Yu Jiang—even Nan Tianguan, the august senior disciple and steward of the Soaring Heaven Pavilion, now had fine beads of cold sweat all over his forehead.

"Eldest Brother, it is not that I do not wish to avenge Old Three. But I have already laid the whole matter out for you in detail. Behind this Kang Jingming stands not only Xu Lingchong but even the eldest young miss of the Shangguan family. This is no trifling matter—I truly dared not act rashly," Nan Tianguan said with a grim face, pouring out his grievances.

Hearing this, Nan Tianxiong could not help frowning with a headache. With his mighty Golden Core strength, figures like Xu Lingchong and Shangguan Lan'er were themselves beneath his notice—but the powers behind them stood at the very pinnacle of the entire North Island, and even a Golden Core expert like him dared not provoke them lightly.

What was more, Xu Lingchong was now eyeing the post of senior disciple and steward of the Soaring Heaven Pavilion with predatory greed, and this was precisely the moment they needed their connections at the top. Otherwise, a single word from a power like Shangguan Tianxia, and Nan Tianguan might well have to step down and yield his place, with no power to resist at all.

After a long silence, Nan Tianxiong finally spoke slowly: "So be it. This situation is indeed hard to handle, and the blame cannot rest wholly on your shoulders, Second Brother. The pressing task now is to secure your position as senior disciple and steward of the Soaring Heaven Pavilion. As for Old Three's matter, we will think of a way to avenge him later."

Nan Tianguan's position could skim off a great deal of profit, and even Nan Tianxiong had benefited much from it; so even if Nan Tianguan himself wished to yield, he would not agree.

Seeing that Nan Tianxiong had finally stopped harping on Old Three's affair, Nan Tianguan breathed a sigh of relief and nodded: "All as Eldest Brother commands."

"Second Brother, you have always been the schemer. Tell me, what shall we do next?" Nan Tianxiong gestured for Nan Tianguan to devise a plan. Though he was the leader of the Three Heroes of the Nan Clan and his strength was beyond doubt, he had never cared for such headache-inducing matters and simply left them to Nan Tianguan.

"Eldest Brother, if it is just the two of us, our voice will plainly not carry far enough. So I think it necessary to have our uncle on Middle Island write a letter to the high elders of the Soaring Heaven Pavilion. Even if it cannot persuade all of them, it will at least lend us some prestige, so that we do not appear so isolated and weak. These high elders should still think twice and not all throw in with Xu Lingchong," Nan Tianguan suggested.

"Good. Do as you say. I shall write to Uncle at once." Nan Tianxiong nodded, then sighed: "It is only that our grandfather has been in death seclusion all these years. Otherwise, with his influence, a single word from him, and which of the Soaring Heaven Pavilion's high elders would dare say no?"

"Indeed. Let us hope the old man succeeds in his death seclusion this time. Then we shall be able to hold our heads high!" Nan Tianguan said with the same sigh of feeling.

When the two brothers had finished their discussion, Nan Tianxiong turned his gaze to Yu Jiang, his face abruptly cold again. He snorted: "Old Three's death came about entirely because of you. By my own inclination, I would kill you to comfort Old Three's spirit in heaven!"

At these words, Yu Jiang broke out in a cold sweat on the spot, every hair on his body standing on end. Nan Tianxiong's killing intent had been utterly real—these were no idle words.

Fortunately, Nan Tianxiong had a next sentence: "However, in light of how Old Three always praised you, his disciple, so highly, I shall spare your miserable life today. Get out!"

Yu Jiang hurriedly cried: "Hold, Grand Uncle-Master! This disciple has spent the past three years in the Scripture Pavilion reading the ancient texts, and I know of a treasure that can help you become the strongest Nascent Soul expert!"

What a joke! He had earlier risked revealing the secret of the Xingmo Stone precisely out of greed for Nan Tianguan's Minor Formless Divine Art—and if he stayed, the benefits to be had from this Grand Uncle-Master were likely even greater. How could he let such an opportunity slip?

"The strongest Nascent Soul expert? Do you speak the truth?" Nan Tianxiong was startled. The Xingmo Stone could only help a person perfectly break through the Golden Core stage, and was of no use to him, a ready-made Golden Core expert—which was why he had not been moved when he heard of it before. But the strongest Nascent Soul expert—that made his mouth water!