Wasn't Changing the Sect Rules on the Spot a Bit Too Outrageous?

In the Haotian Grand Hall, all the elders and above of the entire Vast Heaven Sect were present.

At the very center of the Haotian Grand Hall stood Chu Xinghe and Ma Liang.

This was the first time Ma Liang had ever seen such a scene. Ma Liang was even more flustered than when he faced Ling Su, and he was trembling with fear.

Although this wasn't the first time Chu Xinghe had seen such a spectacle, he was even more excited than during the New Year, his whole body trembling with excitement!

The Great Sage, looking nervous, wanted to speak but was stopped by his friend Elder He.

No one knows Elder He whispered in the Great Sage's ear, but after smiling, the Great Sage said nothing more.

Sect Gu Mingchao sat at the head of the table, while the Grand Elder stood in the middle of the hall glaring at Chu and Ma...

"Ma Liang!" The sect leader's incredibly authoritative voice startled Ma Liang so much that he almost fell to the ground.

"Disciple is here..."

"I already know the whole story of what happened in the Great Moon Kingdom. You did nothing wrong in seeking revenge for your sister, but you left the sect without permission and disregarded the sect's rules and regulations. Do you know your crime?"

Ma Liang bowed his head and admitted his mistake.

"Using the Fengdu Grand Formation without authorization... using the Haotian Token without authorization, do you know what a grave crime this is!"

As soon as Gu Mingchao finished speaking, Chu Xinghe quickly interjected, "Sect Master, please understand that when Junior Brother Ma Liang left the sect, both the Haotian Token and the Fengdu Token were granted to him privately by me. Junior Brother Ma Liang was completely unaware of this!"

Good heavens... The moment Chu Xinghe spoke, the scene descended into chaos. However, all the elders knew that it would be strange if Xinghe didn't speak now.

The crimes of unauthorized use of the Fengdu Grand Formation and unauthorized use of the Haotian Token would be capital offenses in the Vast Heaven Sect.

Although Chu Xinghe had previously misused the Haotian Token, the nature of those two incidents was different. Ma Liang this time had caused far too much impact. If this wasn't punished, what would become of the sect's authority? What would be the point of the sect rules?

If Ma Liang were to be convicted of these two crimes, his Ma Liang would be far more serious than simply being banished to the outer sect. Therefore, Ma Liang could not bear such charges.

"Shut up! Do you think you can get away with this? Since you've confessed, Ma Liang will be punished as before: banished to the outer sect and never allowed to advance to the inner sect!"

Gu Mingchao glared at Chu Xinghe fiercely, but quickly backed down.

The crimes of misusing the Haotian Token and the Fengdu Grand Formation are either enough to kill Ma Liang. The sect did not intend to really kill Ma Liang. Gu Mingchao just said that these two crimes were actually calculated because Xinghe would never stand idly by.

At this point, Xinghe confessed his crime, and Ma Liang's guilt was naturally lessened.

The punishment of being relegated to the outer sect and never being promoted to the inner sect was enough for Ma Liang.

Ma Liang remained completely calm upon hearing his punishment... Just kidding, I, Ma Liang, am Senior Brother Xinghe's most trusted confidant.

Aren't the identities of outer disciple and inner disciple just titles?

Do you think I, Ma Liang, care about these titles?

As long as the sect doesn't take away the Fengdu Grand Formation from me, I, Ma Liang, will still be the same Ma Liang... I, Ma Liang, am the man who will become the Grand Elder of the Vast Heaven Sect in the Future.

Wouldn't it be even more inspiring to become the Grand Elder of the Vast Heaven Sect as an outer disciple?

After dealing with Ma Liang, everyone's attention turned to Chu Xinghe.

"Chu Xinghe!"

"Disciple is here..."

"Unauthorized use of the Haotian Token and the Fengdu Grand Formation —do you know what crimes these are? Grand Elder, tell him what punishments you will receive for these two offenses!"

Gu Mingchao waved his hand to the Grand Elder beside him, and the Grand Elder immediately stepped out from the crowd.

"Unauthorized use of the Haotian Token is a capital offense, and unauthorized use of the sect's most precious treasure without permission is also a capital offense! Chu Xinghe is guilty of both offenses and, according to the sect rules, should be executed!"

The Grand Elder's words caused an uproar, but at that moment Elder He parted the crowd and walked to the center of the Haotian Grand Hall.

"Elder, you are mistaken. I, Old He, have something to say!"

"Sect Master, Grand Elder... According to the sect rules, these two points should indeed be handled this way. However, firstly, the Fengdu Grand Formation is not the sect's most precious treasure. The Fengdu Grand Formation was obtained by Xinghe, and this treasure should belong to Xinghe. How can it be said that the sect's most precious treasure was used to commit wrongdoing?"

Elder He said this, all the elders present spoke up.

"Elder He is right... Hasn't the Fengdu Grand Formation always belonged to Xinghe?"

"That's right, that's right. Xinghe only entrusted the Fengdu Grand Formation to Ma Liang for management; when did he ever say he would hand it over to the sect?"

"That's right, that's right. Xinghe only used his own treasures, which doesn't count as using the sect's most precious treasures. Besides, even if he acted recklessly, it was Ma Liang who acted recklessly... One crime cannot be punished twice. Elder He is right!"

Elder He, seeing the support of the other elders, first clasped his hands in thanks, then continued, "Sect Master, Grand Elder... as for this unauthorized use of the Haotian Token Old He, I also have something to say!"

"The Haotian Token used by Xinghe this time was bestowed by the sect leader, so it wasn't used for personal purposes..."

Elder He said this, many of the elders present nodded in agreement.

"Elder He is right, Sect Master. This Haotian Token personally given to Xinghe by you... so it doesn't count as misuse!"

"Yes, yes, yes... Even though Xinghe didn't report to the sect when he used the Haotian Token, it's at most an abuse, not private use!"

"That's right... abuse... just abuse... how can it be considered misuse!"

"On another note, when you gave the Haotian Token to Xinghe, you didn't say it couldn't be used like this..."

"Elder Yu is wise! The Sect Master never said that Xinghe was forbidden from giving the Haotian Token to Ma Liang or that Ma Liang should leave the sect, so this is at most an abuse of the Haotian Token!"

The elders started talking over each other, which made the Grand Elder anxious.

Um... it's true that I asked you guys to act today, but at least make it look convincing, okay?

We agreed to give Xinghe a good scare, didn't we? I just said I wanted to execute him, and according to the usual routine, Elder He would come out to plead for him. Elder Yu, what's going on here?

In our plan, Elder Yu, you should play the bad cop...

You should have jumped out and refuted Elder He, and then demanded that Xinghe be executed!

Finally, after much persuasion from the other elders, the meeting ended. "Didn't we go over the script yesterday?"

Elder Yu, you're suddenly deviating from the script? What are you trying to do?

However, regardless of how the script is arranged, misuse and private use are two completely different things.

The worst consequence of abusing the Haotian Token is expulsion from the sect, but using it for personal purposes is a capital offense. For example, when Chu Xinghe used the Haotian Token buy Shen Spirit Herb last time, that was considered abuse, but it didn't cause too much of an impact.

But this time, handing it over to Ma Liang to Fengdu Token out of the palace was considered misuse.

But the elders weren't following the script at all, and now the play couldn't continue...

But the Grand Elder also knows... Xinghe is incredibly kind and righteous within the sect. Who in any of the sects hasn't benefited from Xinghe's kindness or received Xinghe help?

Although Xinghe is his personal disciple, look at the elders of each palace; they all treat Xinghe like their own child.

So even though the script was very well written, the elders couldn't bear to actually have them play the villains...

Besides... why scare Xinghe... Xinghe is such a sensible child...

Although the Grand Elder was angry that these old fogies weren't following the script, he still felt it necessary to scare Xinghe a little. "It's so dangerous for you to go out this time!"

You took me with you back then. Was it because I couldn't kill Tian Qingquan, or because I couldn't beat Ling Su?

Looking at Chu Xinghe beside him, the First Elder spoke again.

"Elder He, what should be the punishment for abusing the Haotian Token?"

Hearing the Grand Elder's words, Elder He was also angry... Um... Grand Elder, isn't this script wrong...?

According to the script, I'm in charge of defending Xinghe today, while Old Yu is in charge of smearing Xinghe... You're making me decide how to punish him without warning, this is too much for me!

However, Elder He couldn't remain silent at this point, so he had to speak up, "Reporting to the Grand Elder, this abuse of the Haotian Token deserves expulsion from the sect!"

Upon hearing the words "expelled from the sect," Chu Xinghe almost jumped up in excitement.

Holy crap! Is this going to be a one-step solution?

But Chu Xinghe's excitement lasted less than a second Elder He spoke again, "Although according to the sect rules he should be expelled from the sect, if he has made a great contribution to the sect, the previous sect rewards can be revoked, and he can be treated leniently."

After saying this, Elder He winked at Chu Xinghe.

But if he hadn't blinked, it would have been fine; but if he had blinked, he almost drove Chu Xinghe crazy...

Um... Elder He, you're not helping me, you're setting me up...

Can you expel me from the sect first, and then we can bring me back?

Do you know how attractive being expelled from the sect is to me? Chu Xinghe was so anxious that he wanted to jump out and say that as long as you expel me from the sect, I will show you what it means to directly reach the Martial Emperor in a second.

But he couldn't say that. The Misfortune Compass had no good temper. If he dared to say it out loud, the Misfortune Compass would probably flip upside down and take off on the spot. Chu Xinghe would believe it if you said that a meteorite would fall from the sky and blow up the Vast Heaven Sect in the next second.

Therefore, Chu Xinghe could only remain silent.

"Elder He is right. If someone has made contributions to the sect, revoking previous sect rewards is a lenient punishment."

"Xinghe has made tremendous contributions to the sect, so he should be treated leniently!"

"Not bad, not bad, they should be treated leniently..."

The elders were all talking at once, but as they discussed it, they realized something.

It seems Xinghe has made so many contributions to the sect... but the sect hasn't rewarded Xinghe in any way?

Even Elder He had just said he would take back the reward, was somewhat embarrassed for a moment.

Seeing Elder He, Chu Xinghe's eyes welled up with tears... You guys noticed this problem too?

But the awkwardness lasted less than a second before it dissipated.

Is Xinghe the kind of person who cares about rewards?

Xinghe has devoted himself to the sect without complaint or regret. How can such a good child be treated with vulgar rewards?

Besides... Xinghe will be in charge of the Vast Heaven Sect in the future, and the entire sect will Xinghe. What reward would he need?

After listening to the speeches of the many elders below, Gu Mingchao finally spoke, "Making significant contributions to the sect, withdrawing the reward and giving lenient punishment? I don't recall such a clause?"

Upon hearing this, Chu Xinghe trembled with excitement!

That's right! I, Chu Xinghe, have thoroughly studied the sect rules and try my best to make mistakes every day. I also remember that this rule is not among them... Therefore, I must be expelled from the sect today.

Before Chu Xinghe could be happy for even a second longer, Elder He spoke up.

"Sect Master, you must have a bad memory. I proposed this rule yesterday... but we haven't had a sect vote on it yet. Since all the sect elders are here today, let's vote on it right here... I support this rule!"

I support it too!

"I support this!"

Soon, all the elders present voted, and the rule was passed on the spot...

Chu Xinghe was so angry that tears welled up in his eyes when he saw the sect leader and the first elder raising their hands in agreement...

Um... is this really my trial today? Or is it my acquittal ceremony?

Changing the rules on the spot—isn't that a bit too outrageous?