After a cup of tea, eleven disciples were recommended, including Chen Duo and Mingye.
The Heavenly Sword Hall Master seemed somewhat interested, but after thinking for a while, he gave up and did not recommend any disciples.
"Good! It seems the potential of the new students in recent years is quite good, managing to recommend eleven disciples."
The Heaven-Questioning Pavilion nodded in satisfaction and praised him.
In previous years, it was already quite good if four or five disciples were recommended for the cabinet selection; this year, eleven are indeed rare.
"By the way, I remember that during this year's sect trials, a disciple broke the Demon Hunting Ranking record and earned over a million Demon Hunting Merits, but why wasn't that person among the people you recommended?"
The Heaven-Questioning Pavilion suddenly raised a question.
After a moment of silence in the main hall, He Xiao, the Talisman Rune Hall, spoke first.
"Reporting to the Pavilion Master, that disciple's name is Chen Mu, and he is a disciple of our Talisman Rune Hall."
He is indeed quite capable, but perhaps because he comes from Wilderness and uncivilized background, he usually acts savagely and is unruly.
Today, he even injured a disciple of the Law Enforcement Hall over the trivial matter of paying teleportation fees.
I felt he was unfit for the cabinet, so I did not recommend him.
The Heaven-Questioning Pavilion frowned and turned to look at Wang Jun, the Law Enforcement Hall.
"Master Wang, is this truly the case?"
"Your Excellency, this is indeed true!"
However, the reason for this was that Palace Master He increased the cost of teleporting back from the Wilderness tenfold.
Wang Jun was always fair and just, so he made a point of explaining the cause and effect of the matter.
"Hey! Master Wang, you've probably misunderstood. I've actually increased the teleportation fees for more than just the Wilderness! I've increased the fees for all teleportations from outside the Central Land."
The reason for this decision is mainly due to the unfavorable situation on the front lines recently. I am afraid that spies from the Otherworldly Demon may have infiltrated the Pavilion, so I have increased security measures for those entering the Pavilion from outside the Central Land. This will inevitably increase costs, hence this measure.
He Xiao hurriedly began to explain.
An Ruhai, sitting below, opened his mouth, wanting to say something for Chen Mu, but didn't know how to explain. In the end, he sighed and remained silent.
After a moment's deliberation, the Heaven-Questioning Pavilion made a decision.
"What Lord He is considering is indeed reasonable. If that is the case, then let's drop the matter of Chen Mu participating in the cabinet election."
Master Wang, the law must not be disregarded!
"The punishment for Chen Mu is to spend half a year facing the wall at Black Wind Cliff, to temper his temperament."
"Yes!"
Wang Jun nodded in agreement.
Treasure Arrival Peak, inside Chen Mu's courtyard.
What happened at the teleportation array today made A Huo and Mingye very uneasy, so they stayed with Chen Mu to see what the Law Enforcement Hall would do.
As Dusk fell, they finally welcomed the people from the Law Enforcement Hall, and surprisingly A Huo, Mingye, and Chen Duo's master all came along as well.
"Disciple Chen Mu greets Hall Master Wang, Palace Master Cao, Hall Master Qiu, Elder Leng."
Chen Mu bowed respectfully. Although he was usually bold, he couldn't help feeling a little uneasy seeing so many important figures coming together.
" Chen Mu, you have shown no respect for your elders and injured a disciple of the Law Enforcement Hall. Today, the Pavilion Master has personally ordered that you be punished by spending six months in solitary confinement at Black Wind Cliff. Are you willing to accept this punishment?"
Chen Mu was somewhat surprised upon hearing this, not expecting that this matter would alarm the Heaven-Questioning Pavilion.
However, the punishment of facing the wall at Black Wind Cliff was not a painful thing for Chen Mu, who liked to study and think. In any case, he usually spent most of his time at home doing research in seclusion.
He had already prepared himself for this to be a difficult situation, and now that the punishment was so lenient, he didn't bother to argue anymore and simply agreed.
"This disciple is willing to accept the punishment!"
"Alright! Don't leave Heaven-Questioning Pavilion during this time. Someone will come to pick you up and take you to Black Wind Cliff tomorrow."
Seeing that things were going so smoothly, Wang Jun secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
On the other side, A Huo, Chen Duo, and Mingye's master each spoke with them for a while, informing them about the cabinet selection process.
A Huo turned around and formally said goodbye to Chen Mu and the other two.
" A Mu, Duoduo, Mingye, Master said the inner circle might not be right for me. My Sword Dao needs to be learned from the myriad aspects of human life, so I'm leaving now. Goodbye!"
After A Huo finished speaking, he was carried into the sky by Cao Lingxiao and slowly disappeared into the horizon.
Perhaps because they had already said goodbye, all three appeared quite calm.
"Brother, it's all my fault! If I hadn't been so impulsive this morning, causing you to injure the law enforcement disciple, you wouldn't have been punished with solitary confinement, and now you can't even participate in the cabinet assessment."
Qiu Zhen had just told Chen Duo what had happened in the council hall, and she felt very guilty.
"It's alright. Joining the inner cabinet would simply mean gaining more cultivation resources, but it would also come with more constraints. It doesn't really hold much appeal for me."
I am not lacking in cultivation resources now, and I already have a clear goal for advancement. Given time, I believe I will be no worse than you are in the Inner Cabinet in terms of cultivation.
So you all need to work hard and don't let me leave you behind.
Chen Mu shrugged nonchalantly, a smile on his face.
"That's right! Duoduo, you don't need to worry about this monster at all. Let's focus on passing the cabinet assessment first."
In Mingye's eyes, Chen Mu was indeed a monster. Not only did his cultivation progress rapidly, but he also always managed to come up with all sorts of amazing inventions.
This often gave her a sense of urgency, fearing that she might be left far behind by Chen Mu if she wasn't careful. So when she comforted Chen Duo, she was very confident.
Chen Mu and the other two chatted for a while longer, and then Chen Duo and Mingye were taken away by their respective masters. They were both given special training to prepare for the cabinet assessment a few days later.
Not long after, everyone in the courtyard had left, leaving Chen Mu all alone.
Seeing his companions all having bright futures, Chen Mu was in a good mood. He went back to his room to pack up his research equipment, preparing to move to Black Wind Cliff.
When I returned to Chen Village before, I emptied all the Rune Artifacts from my storage ring. Now that my storage ring has plenty of space, Chen Village decided to take all the usable equipment with me, since I'll be staying at Black Wind Cliff for half a year this time.
Black Wind Cliff is a perilous place located on the edge of the Heaven-Questioning Pavilion.
This place is barren year-round, and birds and beasts never approach it; it Death Qi and devoid of any vitality.
Led by the disciples of the Law Enforcement Hall, Chen Mu arrived at Black Wind Cliff.
He looked around and saw that the cliff was surrounded by gray clouds and mist, and even the sun in the sky could only be seen as a blurry ball of light.
Ahead lay a sheer cliff, its bottom unseen, with only a continuous stream of gray mist rising up, creating an eerie atmosphere.
Beside the cliff, there was only a simple stone house, containing a stone bed, a stone table, and a stone stool, nothing else.
Being locked up in such an environment is worse than being killed for many free-spirited young people.
But after taking a quick look, Chen Mu took out Fu Mo, talisman paper, and some books, and placed them neatly on the stone table, already prepared to stay for a long time.