It was to no one’s surprise that the outcome of the four pavilions conference caused huge waves in the four pavilions.

Except for a few unhappy Heavenly Spirit Sect disciples, the news overjoyed everyone. No one had expected that Zhou Yuan’s first act as chief pavilion master would be to lower the price of the four mother runes.

By doing so, he had alleviated their origin coin worries from another direction.

Such actions were more convincing than any promises.

As such, the news instantly divided the Fire Pavilion, which was originally the most opposed to Zhou Yuan. Several Heavenly Spirit Sect disciples tried their best to fan the dying embers, but the majority of the Fire Pavilion members met them with cold eyes.

This was especially so for the contenders Zhou Yuan had nominated to challenge for the deputy pavilion master and commander positions.

The contenders were not weak, but the Heavenly Spirit Sect disciples had consistently suppressed them and made it hard for them to stand out because the contenders weren’t part of the sect.

Zhou Yuan, however, had now risen to chief pavilion master, breaking Lu Xiao’s suppression and giving them a fair chance to vie with the Heavenly Spirit Sect disciples.

Although they knew that this was part of Zhou Yuan’s ploy to divide the Fire Pavilion, they willingly bit onto this dangerous bait. After all, no one would willingly be suppressed by someone weaker.

The four pavilions were a competitive environment, and one needed to fight for more cultivation resources. In the past, they had been unable to shake the positions of the Heavenly Spirit Sect disciples, but it was different now. With the chief pavilion master, Zhou Yuan, opening a path for them, they naturally did not hesitate to follow.

Hence, after a single day, the originally strongest pavilion fell into chaos!

The members Zhou Yuan had nominated challenged the current deputy pavilion masters and commanders one after another. Furthermore, the non–Heavenly Spirit Sect members strongly supported these challenges.

The Heavenly Spirit Sect disciples were after all still the minority in the Fire Pavilion and were far outnumbered by the rest of the members!

Hence, the non–Heavenly Spirit Sect members had stronger momentum!

In less than a day, the Fire Pavilion’s upper echelon began to be replaced.

Out of the seven deputy pavilion masters from the Heavenly Spirit Sect, three lost their positions!

Among the twenty-three Heavenly Spirit Sect commanders, fifteen were replaced!

In a single day, nearly the entire Fire Pavilion was in a celebratory mood. The cheers grew louder with the defeat of every Heavenly Spirit Sect member; so did the support for Zhou Yuan in the Fire Pavilion.

...

The Fire Pavilion, the pavilion master building.

Zuo Ya and Zhu Lian hurriedly found Lu Xiao and anxiously said, “Senior brother Lu Xiao, if you don’t step in, how will our Heavenly Spirit Sect maintain control over the Fire Pavilion?!”

Zuo Ya was both flustered and miserable. She was not the strongest among the seven deputy pavilion masters and had thus been challenged. In the end, she had lost the match and was forced to step down.

This was unacceptable to her!

If it was before, these bastards would never dare to eye my position!

Pale-faced, Lu Xiao indifferently said, “What do you want me to do? Do you believe they will stop if I ask them to?”

Zuo Ya and Lu Xiao were stunned. They understood that Zhou Yuan was the true cause of the recent events, but he was currently the chief pavilion master and was Lu Xiao’s superior. In other words, Lu Xiao could not defy him.

Zuo Ya tightly gritted her teeth and said, “Then we’ll report this to the elders and try to escalate this matter to the sect master!”

Lu Xiao responded, “All of this is within the rights of the chief pavilion master. Even if we escalate it to the sect master, do you think he can just remove Zhou Yuan? If it were so simple, why would we have plotted for so long to have me vie for the chief pavilion master position?

“Escalating this will only make the sect master feel that we are useless. Nothing will be achieved.”

“Then what can we do!” Zuo Ya felt as if she was about to explode, turning somewhat hysterical. She was about to go mad due to the string of recent events. She had already lost all face in the Tianyuan Utopia after making that bet with Yi Qiushui, and her clan members had severely reprimanded her. Now, she had even lost her deputy pavilion master position. Who knew how much ridicule she would receive in the future?

Lu Xiao calmly looked at her and said, “There’s nothing to be done. Everything will be decided according to one’s strength. As a disciple of the Heavenly Spirit Sect, you guys already have an advantage over the other members. What’s more, I’ve been doing my best to provide more cultivation resources for you guys, but you guys still manage to lose your positions. Who else can be blamed but yourselves?

“I already said that you guys should adjust your attitudes. The current four pavilions are not the same as before.

“Zhou Yuan is no saint, but as long as you do not provoke him, he will not cause trouble for you. His goal is the nine regions tournament where he will require our strength. Hence, he will not go overboard.

“In the past, you guys believed that you could do anything as long as I’m here, but I have to tell you now that I can no longer protect you.”

Zuo Ya bit her lip as she stared at Lu Xiao’s calm eyes. He seemed to have lost his drive and pride. She knew he was right, but she still felt disappointed.

As she turned and ran out of the room, she left behind the words, “You’ve changed, senior brother Lu Xiao!”

Zhu Lian sighed helplessly before he followed.

As Lu Xiao watched them leave, he seemed to crumple into his chair. It was exactly as Zuo Ya had said: his loss to Zhou Yuan had shattered his drive.

He should resent Zhou Yuan, but he ultimately realized that he could not bring himself to resent him too much. He knew that if Zhou Yuan had not dissipated the nine-headed python’s bloodline at the very last moment, he would currently be a mindless snake demon.

The thought of such a fate made him shiver inside.

Strictly speaking, he should be thanking Zhou Yuan.

Sigh.

Lu Xiao sighed deeply. He could sense that Zhou Yuan was aiming for the nine regions tournament. His ambition was even greater than Lu Xiao had imagined.

However...

The nine regions tournament was not that easy. Those monstrous heaven prides would make one feel despair at times.

Lu Xiao knew that he did not even have the qualifications to cross blows with those monsters.

He closed his eyes as he mumbled to himself, “Zhou Yuan...you have great ambition. I’m interested to see what kind of results we’ll achieve under your leadership in the nine regions tournament.

“But if you lose too terribly, don’t blame me for kicking you while you’re down.”

...