Chapter 246c: Book 4 Prologue
Teng Wuying read the message that had just been delivered to him. There had been three possible outcomes of the battle between Chao Su and the two Jade Chameleon Nascent Souls. Two of those results would have been excellent for Teng Wuying personally.
Had Ye Zhengsheng and Yan Mingxia beaten Chao Su and gained possession of the Trial Pagoda, Teng Wuying would have ended up in charge of it, greatly increasing his personal power. Had Chao Su easily defeated the two Nascent Souls, Teng Wuying would have used that show of power as a wedge to make the other factions fear the sect leader, eventually leading to his overthrow by overwhelming force.
Instead, the third outcome had taken place, the least desirable one. Chao Su had beaten the Nascent Souls, but he hadn’t been particularly impressive in doing so. One of the deaths had been via formation, revealing him to be a hidden Formations Master.
That he created arrays was, of course, widely known, but prior to the battle, he had not shown the ability to create either the strong Grand Defensive Formation that was erected around his sect grounds or, more impressively, the one that had killed Yan Mingxia. The former exposed his status as at least a Formations Expert. The latter proved he was a true Master.
Those were scary to deal with when they had time to prepare the battlefield. On neutral ground or, better, in an ambush, they were nothing special, certainly nothing to fear. He had, of course, shown some competence in defeating Ye Zhengsheng one on one, but a Nascent Soul beating another Nascent Soul was nothing remarkable.
All in all, the results of the battle would be hard for Teng Wuying to spin. Those with the inclination to hate Chao Su would find an excuse to do so. It was unlikely, however, that those on the fence would be convinced to commit wholeheartedly to taking him down.
Instead, the factions would play it safe. The efficacy of the Trial Pagoda was demonstrated by Yuan Yaozu, but in doing so, the Poison Claw Sect rose in prominence with five Nascent Souls while strengthening their ties to the Rising Tide Sect. The two almost had to be considered close allies by that point, a strong force consisting of six Nascent Souls.
The coming months would be tricky to navigate. The Jade Chameleon Sect had taken two large hits, and both their rival sects were clearly ascending.
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As Teng Wuying considered his options, he received the summons he’d been dreading—Sect Leader Duan Dandan wanted to see him.