Punishment

Sure enough, the moment he grasped the longsword, Li Daoyuan's gaze fell upon Chu Jinghong.

Chu Jinghong's face instantly went pale.

What rotten luck.

Lu Shouzhuo was the one who beat them up, so why was he taking the blame?

Fortunately, Li Daoyuan's gaze did not linger on him for long, but instead shifted to Ye Shu.

Is this the person Senior Brother Lin thinks so highly of?

Li Daoyuan pondered inwardly.

Neither servile nor overbearing in the face of the strong, and not showing his emotions on his face.

This child is truly an outstanding talent.

With the arrival of the Sect Master, the plaza at the mountain peak fell completely silent.

Right at this moment, an immortal crane let out another long cry.

"Peak Master of Purple Heaven Peak, Mu Yunxi, has arrived!"

As soon as the words fell, a purple silhouette arrived from the horizon in an instant. Mu Yunxi landed on the plaza, her gaze immediately falling upon her four disciples.

She saw Lu Qinghuan with a deathly pale face and a footprint on her body.

Zheng Yunshu was even worse, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth, her face ashen, and a sword wound on her abdomen. Although the bleeding had stopped, the wound was visibly there, difficult to heal.

And Qing Wanyue, who was known alongside her as the Twin Pearls of the Eastern Wasteland, had been beaten beyond recognition and lay unconscious.

Mu Yunxi's expression darkened.

She looked at Qin Ke'er, the only one uninjured, and asked in a deep voice, "What happened here?"

"Master..."

Qin Ke'er hesitated for a moment but still told the truth.

She recounted the entire process without adding any embellishments.

She believed that someone as incredible as her Master should be able to distinguish right from wrong on her own, right?

Who knew that the more Mu Yunxi listened, the darker her expression became.

She had only arrived a little late, yet that little thief had managed to cause such a massive commotion.

"Senior Brother Sect Master."

Mu Yunxi turned to look at Li Daoyuan, pointing at Ye Shu's group on the ground and said, "At today's apprentice acceptance ceremony, my disciple has told me the entire story. These people have no respect for their elders, are insubordinate to their superiors, and have disrupted the order of the ceremony..."

She listed out the charges one by one, pinning guilt on them, yet kept her mouth shut about Su Xiao and Lu Qinghuan's initial provocation.

After stating the charges.

All the Peak Masters looked at Li Daoyuan in unison.

With such a huge mess occurring at the apprentice acceptance ceremony, just when they thought Li Daoyuan would fly into a thunderous rage.

Li Daoyuan instead gently stroked his beard and let out a faint smile.

"I don't think it's a big deal. At least it was quite lively."

"Quite... lively?"

As soon as these words came out, everyone looked at each other in dismay, none of them expecting Li Daoyuan to say such a thing.

"Senior Brother Li!"

Mu Yunxi frowned. "These people disrupted the order of the ceremony. If this can be glossed over with a mere 'lively,' then where are the rules of our Azure Mystery Sect?"

"Indeed."

A few more people stood out from the Peak Masters' seats. The one leading them was the Peak Master of the Spirit Beast Peak. The others were either women or had female true disciples in their peaks, and at this moment, they all stepped forward.

"His Profound Heaven Sword Lineage dared to commit insubordination today."

"A mere true disciple actually dared to attack a Peak Master. He simply doesn't put us elders in his eyes! If this continues, the sect will surely lose all distinction between superiors and inferiors, disrespecting teachers and elders. What kind of system is this!"

Right at this moment, several female disciples of the Blue Luan Peak dug the unconscious Qing Wanyue out of the dirt, crying endlessly as they looked at their master's bloody and mangled face.

"Martial Uncle Sect Master, you must seek justice for us..."

"Sob sob sob..."

Hearing the words of these people, the crowd below was in an uproar.

"Holy crap, do these people have no shame? It was clearly them who attacked first, and now they're falsely accusing others."

"I don't think so, they didn't directly attack either."

"Look at those people, aren't they standing there perfectly fine? On the other hand, the others are all injured."

"Simps rank behind dogs."

Meanwhile, Qin Ke'er, standing behind Mu Yunxi, was completely dumbfounded. She never expected that even her Master would be so incapable of distinguishing right from wrong.

Just to target Ye Shu.

They could even ignore the most basic principles of reason?

"Giggle... Is this the rule you were talking about?"

Medusa let out a mocking voice from Ye Shu's wrist. "I used to think the Azure Mystery Sect was amazing for having Lin Heming, but looking at it now, there are quite a few useless good-for-nothings inside."

"I think this Azure Mystery Sect is doomed too."

Ye Shu stood offstage and surprisingly did not retort. Obviously, even he thought the same.

This is too absurd, you know?

Just what kind of genius could write such a plot? Where is the IQ? Where is the logic? And where are the morals?

Meanwhile, on the high platform.

Over a dozen Peak Masters exerted pressure together. A solemn atmosphere permeated the entire plaza, and the previously restless crowd gradually quieted down.

The wind blew the fallen leaves.

Li Daoyuan slowly turned his head, smiling faintly as he looked at these Peak Masters who were jointly petitioning to punish Jian Wuhen.

"Are you few... trying to force my abdication?"

He stared at them coldly. Although he was smiling, that smile was so cold it sent chills down one's spine.

"Why don't I just give this Sect Master position to you?"

"W-We wouldn't dare..."

Swept by his gaze, the eyes of the Peak Masters who had just stepped forward instantly became much clearer. They retreated repeatedly, shaking their heads and waving their hands, wishing they had never stepped out in the first place.

"As a disciple of the Profound Heaven Sect, committing insubordination."

Seeing them retreat, Li Daoyuan then turned his head back, looked at the disciples below, and spoke calmly.

"No matter how you put it, it is wrong. If there is a problem, you shouldn't just attack directly. Instead, you should first report it to the Law Enforcement Hall. If you feel the Law Enforcement Hall's handling is unfair, then report it to the Elder Council. If you are still unsatisfied, then report it directly to me."

"After the problem is handled, the Law Enforcement Hall will notify the Peak Master of the results, and then the Peak Master will execute the punishment."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the crowd.

"That is what we call rules."

"If you all just fight recklessly like this, doing whatever you want, wouldn't the sect fall into chaos? You might as well scram back to the wilderness and be rogue cultivators."

The entire venue was dead silent. Everyone lowered their heads, like elementary school students being lectured by the principal during morning exercises.

Seeing this, Li Daoyuan nodded in satisfaction.

"It seems my words have touched your souls. I won't say much more."

"Next, let's talk about today's farce."

After saying that, his eyes sharpened as he looked at Jian Wuhen.

"Jian Wuhen, as the Eldest Senior Brother of the Profound Heaven Sword Lineage, you disrespect your teachers and elders. Injuring the Peak Master of the Blue Luan Peak in broad daylight has caused an immeasurable psychological impact on the sect's disciples. You ought to be severely punished!"

"You are hereby sentenced to receive three hundred lashes of the God-Smashing Whip."

"Furthermore, you will be confined to the back mountain for ten years to clear your mind and cultivate tranquility, in order to rectify the sect's ethos."

"Do you have any objections?"

He stared at Jian Wuhen, his gaze burning like a torch.

Before Jian Wuhen could speak, Chu Jinghong could no longer hold back. He stepped forward and was just about to speak when Ye Shu grabbed him and shook his head at him.

"Don't speak."

"Junior Brother Ye, do you know what the God-Smashing Whip is?"

Chu Jinghong was burning with anxiety. "Taking a hit from that thing is no joke. The last person to suffer it was an elder who betrayed the sect, and after the beating, his cultivation dropped by an entire realm on the spot."

"Even if Senior Brother is at fault, his crime does not warrant this."

"Look at you, getting anxious again."

Ye Shu sighed helplessly and quietly sent a voice transmission, "The Sect Master is trying to save him."

"Save him?" Chu Jinghong was taken aback.

"Exactly."

The corners of Ye Shu's lips curled up slightly. Seeing the smiles already forming on the faces of the others, he chuckled inwardly.

"Just sit back and enjoy the show."