Chapter 4203 — Yu Jiang Returns
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 3
As one of the highest figures in the Threefold Pavilion of the North Island, Shangguan Tianxia, even as he puzzled over it, could not help but feel a trace of suspicion. Was this mere coincidence, or was some invisible hand pushing events from behind the scenes? If not, why should so many perfect Golden Core experts suddenly appear at once?
"Xu Lingchong and Meng Zhou—what fortuitous encounter did those two scoundrels stumble into? I fear it must be that piece of Star-Ink Stone... But since when has Star-Ink Stone become so plentiful? It makes no sense!" Amid the crowd, Wei Zhao could not help but knit his brows as well.
Both of them were his sworn enemies, hurdles he would have to cross head-on. He had been on guard against them when they last met, but at the time he had never imagined the two of them would become so troublesome—especially Xu Lingchong, who had grown fearsome to such a hair-raising degree!
If it came to a one-on-one clash with Xu Lingchong, unless Wei Zhao brought out his great killing trump card, a straight contest of strength would likely leave him little chance of victory.
Elsewhere, the brothers Nan Tianxiong and Nan Tianguan were likewise among the crowd enjoying the spectacle, clicking their tongues in admiration and envy at Xu Lingchong's formidable strength.
Nan Tianxiong was an early Golden Core core disciple of the inner sect, and he too was entered in this inner-sect tournament—only his turn had not yet come, and he was waiting for the next round of drawing. As for Nan Tianguan, though his strength fell short of the Golden Core stage, with his status it was no great difficulty to slip in and watch the excitement.
Of course, were one an ordinary outer-sect disciple, forget coming in to watch the inner-sect tournament—during this period they could not set foot within several li of the North Island arena. After all, the strength of Golden Core disciples could be regarded as a sect's very foundation, and it was to be kept strictly secret from outsiders.
"Brother, with Young Master Xu's strength defying heaven like this, don't you think we ought to find a chance to ingratiate ourselves with him properly? Otherwise, if he becomes our enemy down the road, that'll be no laughing matter," Nan Tianguan suggested in a low voice.
"Ingratiate ourselves with him?" Nan Tianxiong bared his teeth. His nature had always been domineering and forceful, and he rarely bowed his head to anyone. But on second thought, circumstances did indeed overpower men now—Xu Lingchong was this formidable, and it truly would not do to offend him. So he shifted his tune: "Won't it be hard to explain things to Steward Si?"
Nominally, he and his brother Nan Tianguan had already become peripheral members of the Center, running with Si Haitao's crowd.
"To hell with that! I made inquiries on the sly—the moment this Young Master Xu returned, Si Haitao came scurrying over to curry favor with him. He just didn't bother telling us!" Nan Tianguan curled his lip.
"Really? Then it's worth a try. Otherwise, once Xu Lingchong truly rises to glory, we'll be reduced to marginal figures who can't even get a sip of the broth," Nan Tianxiong said with a thoughtful nod.
The two brothers were whispering and privately scheming when suddenly they felt a slap on the back and nearly jumped out of their skins. Turning around, they were all the more shocked, staring at each other in dismay.
For the man before them was none other than the traitorous disciple Yu Jiang, who had vanished for so long—standing there now with a smug look on his face, grinning from ear to ear!