Yun Yun, Out of the Loop

On Misty Cloud Mountain, Yun Yun was racing along at full speed.

Not long before, she had sensed her teacher's aura from far away. Still unaware of what had happened, Yun Yun had been overjoyed and hurried toward the Misty Cloud Sect.

She had barely arrived on Misty Cloud Mountain when she spotted a black speck shooting straight into the sky. Taking a closer look, she realized it seemed to be her own Grand Elder!

Oh, the Grand Elder is moving quite fast. Could he have made a breakthrough?

In high spirits, Yun Yun hurried after him, just in time to see the bedraggled Yun Leng barely manage to form Dou Qi Wings and halt his ascent. His face was covered in blood, the clothing on his back had long since been shredded, and the flesh beneath was torn open, without a single uninjured patch remaining.

Shocked to see the first elder in such a miserable state, Yun Yun asked, "First Elder, what happened?"

Knowing he had done something foolish, Yun Leng hardly dared say more. He could only reply with a bitter smile, "I handled things poorly and was punished by the old sect leader."

Seeing that Yun Yun wanted to question him further, he hastily cupped his hands. "The old sect leader's anger has yet to subside. I must hurry back. Please forgive me, Sect Leader!"

With that, the Dou Qi Wings on his back beat once, and he flew toward the Discussion Hall.

His frightened appearance only left Yun Yun more baffled. Her teacher had always protected his own. As long as the Misty Cloud Sect's reputation was not involved, even when the sect's elders made mistakes, he generally raised the rod high but brought it down lightly, settling matters with a token punishment behind closed doors. What mistake could the Grand Elder possibly have made to enrage her teacher so?

Unable to make sense of it no matter how she thought about it, Yun Yun simply followed the Grand Elder to the Discussion Hall.

Upon landing, Yun Yun saw the ruined doors before her, along with two elders who had been slapped into the floor tiles of the passage beyond. She blinked instinctively. She had never seen her teacher lose his temper this badly. What on earth had happened?

"You're back, Yun'er?" Ignoring Yun Leng, who landed in a sorry state and knelt in his former spot again, Yun Congxin smiled at Yun Yun. "Thank you for your hard work while I was in seclusion."

There was anger in Yun Congxin's voice. Yun Yun was still at a loss when he continued, "Look at you, utterly flustered! Where is your dignity? You are the sect leader now!"

"Go sit in the sect leader's seat and take a good look at what the Misty Cloud Sect has become!"

Yun Yun still carried herself properly. She walked gracefully to the sect leader's seat and sat down with an air of authority.

Yet as she passed Yun Congxin, she secretly pouted at him like a little girl who had made a mistake but refused to accept it. For that fleeting instant, she looked terribly aggrieved.

Yun Congxin coughed softly. He knew Yun Yun was not acting cute because she truly felt wronged; she was trying to soothe his anger.

"Yun Leng, let me ask you again. Once the youngsters' match was over, what did you do?"

"I... I wanted that boy to yield a little to Yanran and let it end in a draw. Afterward, we could naturally give him some benefits, and the Misty Cloud Sect would owe him a favor. But who knew that boy would fail to appreciate the kindness... I..."

"He failed to appreciate kindness? You're the one who can't tell good from bad!" Yun Congxin cut Yun Leng off sharply. "I intercepted your voice transmission. Did you not stop to think? You were in full public view, with so many streams of spiritual power darting about the arena, and you simply sent a voice transmission over? Who could you hide it from? Did you think Fa Ma was merely there to eat his fill? Or that Jia Xingtian had gone senile?"

"Even that old rascal Hai Bodong could hear it!"

"You were turning a millstone with your bare backside, parading your shame around in circles! Was embarrassing yourself not enough? You wanted to drag the Misty Cloud Sect into it too?" Yun Congxin continued. "Xiao Yan had already won. In broad daylight, with every eye upon you, what were you trying to do by stopping him? What could you accomplish by keeping him here?"

"Can the Misty Cloud Sect not afford to lose? Does the Misty Cloud Sect lack even that much tolerance? In an honest match, the youngsters lose and the elders step in; the elders lose and the sect leader steps in. And what if the sect leader loses too? Were you planning to summon me as well, so I could disgrace myself in front of Jia Xingtian and the others?"

"I... I've been wronged! Ge Ye reported that Xiao Yan had killed one of our Outer Sect Stewards. That was why I wanted to ask him to stay and cooperate with the investigation. Please look into this, Old Sect Leader!"

"I think you really have gone senile! Never mind whether that Outer Sect Steward was killed by some greenhorn who had only just become a Da Dou Shi. Even if he truly did it, you still could not stop him from leaving the mountain!" Seeing that Yun Leng still dared argue, Yun Congxin angrily slapped him, leaving a bright red handprint on his wrinkled old face.

"Of all the times you could have brought this up, you chose to do so right after someone from the Misty Cloud Sect lost? Saying something like that at such a moment turns even the truth into a lie! Outsiders will only think the Misty Cloud Sect throws its weight around, inventing excuses to detain people—that we're a pack of petty villains who cannot accept defeat!"

"Where is the Misty Cloud Sect's honor? Where is the Misty Cloud Sect's dignity? If word of this gets out, how will the Misty Cloud Sect have the face to stand upon the Northwest Continent?"

"I think you—and all of you—have grown too accustomed to comfortable lives! Every day, all you see are respectful Outer Sect Stewards. The moment you open your eyes, tributes from every region are waiting for you. Too many flattering words have softened your ears, and now even your bones have gone soft!"

"You've become as shortsighted as mice, staring only at this tiny patch of land in the Jia Ma Empire! You've completely forgotten how glorious the Misty Cloud Sect once was, and how vast the Dou Qi Continent is!"

"A small temple breeds fierce, foul winds; a shallow pond swarms with turtles! Look at the Misty Cloud Sect now. What is left that could inspire even the slightest admiration or longing?"

"I do not wish to speak too harshly. Everyone here today will reflect on their actions! Until you have thought things through, you are not to take a single step off Misty Cloud Mountain!"

Yun Congxin delivered his reprimand just as Yun Shan had in the past, stating only his demands without making threats, never so much as uttering an "or else."

The reason was simple: there was no need. Yun Shan had led the Misty Cloud Sect far longer than Yun Yun. Unlike Yun Yun, who had nearly become the elders' enforcer, Yun Shan had accumulated authority over many years and was long accustomed to having his word stand unchallenged.

"They were merely accomplices. Confining them to seclusion is only a light punishment to serve as a warning."

"Yun Leng, you were the ringleader. While I was in life-or-death seclusion, you probably handled even more of the sect's affairs than Yun'er, didn't you? Tell me yourself. According to the sect's rules, what should be done?"

"...For disgracing the sect, my Dou Qi should be crippled, and I should be expelled from the Misty Cloud Sect..."

Yun Congxin glanced at him. Yun Leng was now white-haired and decrepit, having devoted his entire youth to the Misty Cloud Sect.

Though foolish beyond belief, he was indeed unwaveringly loyal.

"...Forget it. After all these years, even if you have no achievements to your name, you have still toiled hard." In the end, Yun Congxin softened. "You are stripped of your position as Grand Elder and demoted to keeper of the Library Pavilion. You will kneel in punishment for three years at the Library Pavilion at the foot of Misty Cloud Mountain. Spend some quiet time there and think carefully about what you have done!"

"Thank you for your mercy, Old Sect Leader!" Yun Leng kowtowed.

"Yun'er and Nalan Yanran will stay. The rest of you, get out!"