The Elder Council was the highest decision-making body of Zongzhi Mountain. Generally speaking, the various direct disciples were only qualified to sit in and listen.
Unless the sect leader or an elder asked you a question, you could not casually interrupt.
Xiao Ran could see that the disciplinary elder had no personal issue with him. The one he had an issue with was Master.
At that moment, he saw his usually unrestrained Master, in order to protect him, acting like a silly girl who could not answer a question in class—her hands on her hips, jabbing her cheek, struck in incompetent silence...
Xiao Ran rarely saw this cute side of Master.
How could he live up to his own filial piety if he did not properly protect such a cute Master and shear some wool off her?
Thinking this, even though everyone present was stronger, older, and more venerable than him, even though he was courting universal condemnation, and even though he might lose face and make a fool of himself because of it, Xiao Ran was going to forcibly interrupt anyway—
"The matter of the Wraith has nothing to do with Master; it came for me."
The spirit runes on the hedge flickered on and off.
A faint clear mist drifted in through the gaps in the hedge.
The entire hall fell into dead silence.
The atmosphere was exceptionally solemn.
All gazes slowly shifted from Lingzhou Yue to Xiao Ran.
Only then did Lingzhou Yue take a sip of wine, keeping her expression unruffled.
Why is this disciple's brain so dense? she thought. He is far too honest!
Boyun, True Person Yinyue, True Person Moxia, even Chunwa and Qiuchan, Gao Shi with his iron ring, Luo Sheng the fatty... all stared straight at Xiao Ran with differing thoughts in their minds.
No one said anything.
Only Huangfu Qun did not look at him, instead gazing detachedly out the window.
After a long time, he finally asked in a gloomy tone:
"What is your name?"
"Your disciple, Xiao Ran."
Xiao Ran steadied his mind, calm and unruffled, a plan already forming in his heart.
Huangfu Qun turned his head back, a pair of deep, aged eyes staring right at him: "Before the Elder Council, didn't anyone tell you the rules here?"
Lingzhou Yue was displeased and about to stand up, but seeing that Xiao Ran remained as calm as an ancient well, she thought better of it and sat back down.
She sat rigidly, radiating a pressure that felt like someone drawing a sword to kill at any moment.
Huangfu Qun appeared to be talking to Xiao Ran, but in reality, he was secretly sneering at Lingzhou Yue.
Although he was no match for Lingzhou Yue, he was not intimidated by her in the slightest.
He held deep grievances regarding her background as a heaven-sent prodigy of the Dao Alliance and her wild, unrestrained style. He always felt she brought an excessive looseness to the sect's ethos. In times of peace, that might not be an issue, but in the Dharma Ending Era, it was no good thing.
The benefits Lingzhou Yue brought to Zongzhi Mountain fell far short of the destruction she caused.
If he hadn't been unable to beat her, he would have long since driven her out of the sect...
This was not a personal grudge.
Rather, it was a philosophical dispute over how to cope with the Dharma Ending Era.
Huangfu Qun was single-mindedly intent on securing the position of acting sect leader in three years, inheriting the will of his master, Qian Junzi, and taking full charge of all large and small affairs within the gate so he could deal with the increasingly severe Dharma Ending Era with a strict and efficient sect ethos.
Within the sect, although True Person Moxia held a high and weighty position, he devoted himself entirely to sword casting and had no intention of seizing power, posing no threat to him.
The only uncertain factor in his plan to govern the sect was Lingzhou Yue.
Now, by making use of Xiao Ran—this obviously unqualified direct disciple—he could certainly blunt her sharpness.
So he deliberately turned his head to look elsewhere, speaking in an extremely flat tone:
"You may step outside first. You will be notified of the result after the meeting."
What an old dog, Huangfu Qun!
Lingzhou Yue's eyelid twitched slightly, and just as she was about to flare up—
Suddenly, an aged voice sounded from diagonally opposite: "Junior Brother Huangfu, let him speak."
It rang out like a blacksmith's hammer, striking with solid impact! Huangfu Qun started, turning his head back in sheer disbelief at his own ears.
"Senior Brother Moxia, you..."
True Person Moxia's eyes were half-closed, firelight flickering within his deep, murky pupils.
"This old man is very interested in what Junior Nephew Xiao has to say."
No explanation, no reason.
Only the sheer weight of the speech itself.
Huangfu Qun's forehead was covered in black lines...
At the Elder Council meetings of the past several decades, True Person Moxia had never once expressed a personal opinion.
Yet everyone knew that his words carried the weight of a thousand jun.
If there were no sect leader, Zongzhi Mountain would easily become the target of outsiders, such as the other Mahayana masters of the Dao Alliance.
But if there were no True Person Moxia, Zongzhi Mountain would lack the sword-casting industry that sold like wildfire throughout the True Spirit Continent. The sect would lose its economic foundation and collapse entirely on its own without needing outsiders to bully it.
This was the weight True Person Moxia carried! Yet Senior Brother Moxia, who had not uttered a sound in decades, was suddenly helping a junior speak? Huangfu Qun was completely baffled, yet he had no choice but to spare Senior Brother Moxia's face.
Xiao Ran smiled without a word, slightly bowing his head toward True Person Moxia in a salute of thanks.
He had originally wanted to give this old man a subtle look to discuss the matter of tea-tasting...
He hadn't expected the old man to sensibly help him out before he even had a chance to hint! This went to show that True Person Moxia was not only extraordinary in his sword-casting arts, but his attainments in architecture must also be ridiculously high.
If one's architectural attainments were not high, one would not be worthy of valuing him! Having finished thanking True Person Moxia, Xiao Ran stared at Huangfu Qun, cupped his fists, and bowed: "Now, may this disciple speak?"
His question was asked very politely—unhurried, neither servile nor overbearing. There was no deliberate revenge or face-slapping, yet it seemed to carry its own built-in applause sound effect.
Huangfu Qun's face turned completely dark, resembling a black blade carved in the dead of a freezing night. Matters having reached this point, he had no choice but to smoothly take the out, putting on a rigid expression as he said:
"Make it brief."
However, Xiao Ran prepared a long discourse instead.
"The first thing this disciple wishes to say is that Master finding me in the vast sea of humanity was no coincidence; rather, it was because her discerning eye saw what others could not."
As for who these "others" referred to, those who understood, understood.
Huangfu Qun wore a dark, rigid face, enduring the insult without erupting.
Lingzhou Yue was praised to the point of slight embarrassment, sitting obediently in front of Xiao Ran.
True Person Moxia, however, pondered slightly, asking with curiosity:
"What exactly is Junior Nephew Xiao referring to?"
He was certain there was something on Xiao Ran that others could not see, but even with his nearsighted vision, he couldn't make it out.
Xiao Ran recounted it in a smooth, flowing manner.
"This sort of thing is extremely crucial. This disciple cannot explicitly state it just yet, but the fact that it has already drawn the attention of higher-tier beings like the Humanoid Wraith demonstrates that it is paramount, and likely tied to the future trajectory of the entire Dharma Ending Era."
With the system backing him up and Master propping him up, Xiao Ran had a draft prepared for his tall tales.
True Person Moxia fell into silence.
True Person Yinyue's eyes held a gentle glow.
Huangfu Qun almost laughed his teeth off, seizing the opportunity to sneer: "Put that way, I suppose we must send people to protect you?"
Xiao Ran gave a slight cupped-fist salute.
"This disciple has no need for Senior Uncle's protection. With the sect leader in seclusion, no one in Zongzhi Mountain can protect this disciple better than Master."
Every single sentence struck home, leaving no room for refutation. With just a few brief words, he dismantled Huangfu Qun's conspiracy against Lingzhou Yue.
"You—"
Huangfu Qun was left speechless, his face as dark as ink.
Lingzhou Yue nodded slightly, thinking the pup was teachable, and was so amused she took three consecutive sips of her small wine, slowly savoring its true flavor.
The rest of the company fell into deep thought.
Logically speaking, there was nothing wrong with a single thing Xiao Ran said.
However, everything he said was merely a castle in the air and still required proof.
Proof of his own worth! Naturally, Huangfu Qun would not let Sword-Wielding Mountain off the hook just like that.
He smoothed his emotions, banishing the disadvantageous situation from just moments before, and produced a trump card he had prepared long in advance—
A small stack of yellow sealed jade slips.
"Ever since Junior Nephew Xiao entered the sect, my side has received dozens of letters of protest in a short period of time. Some protest Junior Sister Lingzhou's unfair acceptance of disciples, some say she intentionally accepted a useless disciple to shirk her teaching obligations, some even say she is infatuated with looks, and some people even suspect you are her biological younger brother or illegitimate son..."
Lingzhou Yue: "Huh?"
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