Cheng Heng strode forward, stopped in the center of the hall, clasped his fists, and bowed deeply.
"This disciple, Cheng Heng, thanks the sect master for this generous reward and the sect for its trust. From this day forward, I will fulfill my duties, oversee the Fire Vajra Court, train diligently in the martial arts, and protect the Cloudpiercing Sect."
His voice was steady, neither servile nor arrogant.
After the award ceremony ended, the gathering did not disperse. The senior members remained in the council hall to discuss how to deal with the Mahayana Evil Cult.
Shi Songquan laid out all the records obtained from Su Xuanyi's interrogation.
"Although the Southern Region Sub-Altar has been destroyed, the testimony indicates that the Mahayana Evil Cult still has more than ten branch altars across the other prefectures. Xiao Dongsheng remains at large. He has thrown in his lot with the cult, and the danger he poses is endless. The Cloudpiercing Sect will immediately send all our intelligence to the Orthodox Alliance headquarters and request that it order the orthodox sects in every prefecture to work together to hunt down the cult's remnants and track Xiao Dongsheng. At the same time, we must strengthen our border checkpoints, assign more disciples to patrol in shifts, and guard against demonic cultivators infiltrating us."
The elders and court heads spoke in turn, offering suggestions, assigning their disciples, and arranging defenses. One directive after another was settled.
Only after two full hours did the deliberations end. The senior members rose, took their leave of the sect master, and filed out of the hall.
After bidding Shi Songquan farewell, Cheng Heng headed alone toward the mountain behind the Fire Vajra Court.
Lu Ding had never been far from his thoughts.
Before Cheng Heng's departure, his master Lu Ding