Chapter 189: Chapter 189: If they come in, it will surely bring no good!

Before the Azure Cloud Pavilion, snowflakes danced wildly, burying Nathan's knees, yet he remained unmoved. The repeated oppressions by the Blackwoods had long stripped the Azure Cloud Pavilion of its dignity.

Today, they still dared not come out to fight, leaving the disciples of the Azure Cloud Pavilion in despair. Over the years, a sect that once boasted thirty thousand disciples had dwindled to just over two thousand.

The sect leader had already been replaced three times...

Today, the Azure Cloud Pavilion had hoped to remind the world of its existence during the martial contest for a royal marriage at the foot of the mountain.

They had even prepared a grand entrance: a thousand swords from the Azure Cloud Psychics would fill the sky, and the Pavilion Master would stand with hands behind his back, summoning his spiritual form to show the enduring depths of the Azure Cloud Pavilion.

But...

They simply couldn't make it out.

"Reporting to the Pavilion Master, the elders, and Master Azure Cloud, all our prodigies have been defeated by the Blackwood disciples. Blackwood Edward has been taken away along with the young princess of the Prince's Mansion!" A disciple of the Azure Cloud Pavilion reported, leaving the elders and the current Pavilion Master, Jason, looking utterly defeated.

The Blackwoods hadn't even needed to breach the Azure Cloud Martial Pavilion; the only person from Azure Cloud killed by the Blackwoods was Elizabeth.

And just like that, their once exalted sect seemed as if it had been wiped out, existing in name only.

"Why must you Blackwoods press us so relentlessly?!" Jason roared in anger. "With the major sects having left the Azure Cloud Pavilion, do you truly wish to see the Azure Cloud Pavilion, which once performed great deeds for the entirety of Cloudview County, completely destroyed?"

"Time and again, Elizabeth is dead, and my Azure Cloud Pavilion has paid the price it owed. Where in the world does such logic exist?!!"

"Just give my Azure Cloud Pavilion a chance to start over..."

Jason, nearing his limit, seemed to have exhausted all his strength. He had never bowed down in his life, and now he looked up to the sky and sighed deeply, tears streaking down his face, "Blackwood, let my Azure Cloud Pavilion go.

From today onwards, we no longer wish to be a part of Cloudview County's memory, nor do we desire any dirty power. All the filth has been cleansed, let my Azure Cloud Pavilion disappear from the world."

His words carried endless sorrow, and the falling snow seemed to sweep away all the glory of the Azure Cloud Pavilion, leaving it like a withered tree.

Finally, Nathan's expression showed a trace of emotion, a flicker of pity in his clear eyes.

In truth, Jason wasn't entirely wrong. Elizabeth was dead, and the Azure Cloud Pavilion had paid back its dues for its indulgence.

Those remaining in the Azure Cloud Pavilion were mostly from the neutral faction, not aligned with any major powers.

Suddenly, Nathan laughed loudly, "Ah, Jason, you speak so righteously. Dare you open the protective formation and let me, Nathan, come inside for a talk? If you are upright, you need not fear a crooked shadow. Why do you keep me, Nathan, out? Why did you drive away my family's George?!!"

"Open the gate!"

Jason clenched his teeth, seemingly making a firm decision.

As these words were spoken, the faces of the Azure Cloud Pavilion elders and disciples changed.

"Pavilion Master, this cannot be! There might be Blackwood people lying in ambush outside. Once the gate is opened, they will come in!"

"Yes, Pavilion Master, I've heard that the Blackwoods used this same tactic to destroy another power."

"There's not a single trustworthy person among the Blackwoods; if they come in, it will surely bring no good!"

"..."

Jason, his voice firm and resolute, shouted at his disciples, "Open the gate! After so many years of cowering, what pride does the Azure Cloud Pavilion have left? Are we not ridiculed enough? Do you want to suppress your inner demons forever?"

Everyone fell silent.

Soon after, the gates of the Azure Cloud Pavilion swung open. Nathan, with narrowed eyes, made his way towards the pavilion. Jason stood at the doorway, the atmosphere tense throughout the Azure Cloud Pavilion.

To their relief, Nathan, who was carrying a coffin, did not attack. He trudged through the thick snow, step by step, until he reached Jason and stopped.

He didn't even glance at Jason, his voice low and somber. "You made the right choice. Now, I need to know everything about the former Pavilion Master, Stephen."

Jason's body trembled, his pupils dilating as he seemed to realize something. "Who... who is that?!"

From the walls of the pavilion, the disciples of the Azure Cloud Pavilion gasped in shock.

Lucas, along with four younger members of the Blackwood clan, had followed Nathan's snowy path and now stood where Nathan had been moments before.

Lucas smiled as he watched his father enter the Azure Cloud Pavilion, while Donna and Nicholas looked on guard, and two young monks continued to chant some indecipherable scriptures.

In the midst of both groups, another figure approached Lucas and bowed. "Sword King, you've traveled far and wide across the lands, and finally found me in Star Dance County. We agreed that after today, you would cease to trouble me."

Lucas nodded slightly. Searᴄh the novёlF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Only Jason's expression drastically changed. "Is it you?"

The family head of the Gu family, Frank, who had fled soon after taking over as Pavilion Master, spread his hands helplessly towards Jason.

"Let's go, Jason. Have a good talk with Mr. Nathan about Stephen. Oh, and make sure the grand formation is ready; no one leaves the Azure Cloud Pavilion. As for the outside, don't worry about it. I've experienced the Sword King's clever tactics myself.

No matter how many come with developing skills, they're useless."

"Understood."

Jason, accompanied by Frank, walked back into the Azure Cloud Pavilion, feeling a conspiracy unfolding across Cloudview County—a conspiracy that had always involved the Azure Cloud Pavilion!