As soon as he finished speaking, several elders immediately voiced their agreement:
"What Elder Ma says is not without reason! Rules are dead, but people are alive!"
"The legacy of the Demon Quelling Celestial Venerable must never be entrusted to the wrong person!"
"Especially those 'special items'—they are worth a fortune and contain tokens of the Celestial Venerable. How can they be handed over so lightly?"
"He has already collected the Divine Origin, Perfect Spirit Stones, and the like. As for that 'special item,' why not delay it for now and wait until Chu Jiang's background has been thoroughly investigated?"
"Absurd!" Suspended Void Elder's expression darkened. His voice remained steady, yet carried an unquestionable authority. "The foundation upon which the Myriad Treasures Building stands is the word 'trust.' Without trust, it cannot stand! On the basis of nothing but groundless suspicions, you wish to break the agreement? Today, you may withhold the Celestial Venerable's relics because of 'suspicion'; tomorrow, you may embezzle any treasure entrusted by a customer because of a 'possibility.' Once such a precedent is set, the Myriad Treasures Building's ten-thousand-year reputation will be destroyed in a single day! When that happens, you and I will all be sinners of the Building!"
The elders supporting Suspended Void Elder also retorted one after another:
"Suspended Void Elder is absolutely right! Reputation outweighs all else!"
"Elder Ma's concerns are understandable, but we cannot stop eating for fear of choking!"
"Tower Lord Su handles matters prudently; his judgment can be trusted. If Chu Jiang truly harbored evil intentions, would the descendant of the Celestial Venerable's divine beast willingly follow him?"
The two sides each held firmly to their own views, and the argument grew increasingly fierce. Elder Ma's faction insisted that "prudence comes first, righteousness above all," believing that Chu Jiang