Zong Ningbing stepped forward and looked at Fang Yun, his eyes reddening. He cried, "You must not! You must not! Before two armies face battle, no commander can humiliate a leading general and shake the troops' morale like this! Void Sage Fang, please be magnanimous and spare Yetian this once! What lies between you is merely a quarrel of words, a clash of pride, not some deep blood feud. Besides, you are weak at present. In the coming contest for the Ten Cold Kings' thrones, Yetian can lend you a hand and help the Human Race secure a Frost Lord's seat. Without Yetian, the Human Race would be losing an arm!"
Another Grand Academician of the Zong Family stepped forward and said, "Earlier, we brought charges against Void Sage Fang, but out of compassion, we agreed to postpone his punishment until he recovered. Now, we ask Void Sage Fang and the Great Scholars to punish Xiao Yetian after the contest for the Ten Cold Kings' thrones. As you have all seen, Xiao Yetian is not refusing punishment. We merely believe that punishing a crucial Grand Academician at this moment amounts to slaughtering our own!"
His argument was balanced and measured, and even those supporting Fang Yun could find no rebuttal. Earlier, to help Fang Yun, the Great Scholars had employed a delaying tactic, using his illness to postpone matters. Now the Zong Family was using the same method. Insisting on punishing Xiao Yetian would seem somewhat excessive.
The Zong Family was shameless, but the Grand Academicians of the various families would not push matters to the bitter end unless necessary.
Xun Pingyang said, "Xiao Yetian is neither ill nor injured, and his body is stronger than that of an ordinary Great Scholar. There is no harm in punishing him now.