Either the Law or the Sect Master Is at Fault
Yang Chen’s voice was able to travel so far because of help from the golden bell. He had used the golden bell which could barely function to louden his voice before letting his voice out. The shapeless soundwave was accompanied by an unparalleled momentum that helped spread it to its surroundings uncontrollably.
A crisp yet deep voice propagated into the ears of everyone within fifty meters instantly.
Yang Chen did not move a muscle nor did he ask Sun Qingxue to invite Elder Hua Wanting to come over. Nobody would have thought that he was actually directing his question towards Lu Zhenyu of the Clear Sky Sect.
It would not be much of an issue if he was just shouting a few words out. The most that could happen was the high level disciples who were guarding the auction would just put an end to that. That would be some fun to watch anyway.
But now, Yang Chen was calling out Sect Master Lu’s name. Moreover, he was questioning if the promise the sect master had made earlier still held. With his loud voice, even if an expert were to appear and stop him, it would already be too late.
The auction was held at the inner sect and it was just a few metres from the sect master’s residence. Yang Chen’s sceam had surely been heard by the sect master.
“Who dares to take such liberties at the Clear Sky Sect?” Yang Chen’s echo had not ceased yet but it was soon followed by another harsh voice. Out of nowhere, a shadow of a woman emerged at the entrance of the auction in front of everyone’s eyes. She was sending out enormous pressure around her.
Whoosh…
The formless pressure was felt by everyone at the entrance. Instantly, the crowd, including the disciples and the spectators fell onto their knees. There was no way they could resist it.
Sun Qingxue, who was beside Yang Chen also did the same. The woman who had just appeared must be very formidable. She was surely a Dacheng stage expert. Just by her manners, everyone already could not handle it.
The only exception to that was Yang Chen. He was still standing upright at his spot. He had a relaxed expression on his face, as if he had just done something insignificant.
“I formally pay my respects to Aunt Master!” echoed the crowd
……
Only voices of people paying their respects could be heard. The pressure that had made people fall onto their knees was then halved. Nevertheless, the force that remained still made everyone tremble with fear. Before the woman said a word, nobody dared to stand up.
Her gaze was automatically fixed at Yang Chen. Only at this moment, Yang Chen then cupped his hands in front of his chest and made a bow, “I formally pay my respects to Senior Shi!”
The woman was actually familiar to Yang Chen. She was Shi Yanhe, a Dacheng expert of the Clear Sky Sect. During the termination of the secret organisation behind the Hundred Thousand Mountains, Elder Shi was one of those who were involved in the operation. They had only met once back then. Who would have known that she was the one in command of the auction today.
Shi Yanhe was surprised that Yang Chen did not yield to her immense pressure. But she couldn’t ask about it on such an occasion. She just nodded her head towards Yang Chen as a greeting.
However, she immediately realised that his voice was very familiar. It was the same voice as the person who had shouted and screamed earlier. She raised her brows and asked, “Yang Chen, are you the one who was calling out just now?”
Apart from Shi Yanhe, those in the crowd and those planning to frame Yang Chen all knew who he was. He had made a reputation for himself after betting with the Wine Immortal in the market a few days ago. His name was now known all over the Clear Sky Sect. Those people did not mention Yang Chen’s name because if there was any blame, they could avoid it by saying they had not known Yang Chen’s identity.
Of course, people that were at the higher ranks knew about Yang Chen’s agreement with the Clear Sky Sect. However, the ordinary disciples did not quite understand the agreement. Using the absence of the identification token as an excuse on purpose, the person who had thought of the idea clearly knew about the agreement. Some of the people however, actually had no clue about it.
“Yes!” Yang Chen admitted truthfully without denial.
“My sect’s auction had delayed some of the honoured guests.” After saying that, everyone was frightened. It was better off when she kept silent. Even she had addressed him as an honoured guest. Wouldn’t the people who had laughed at him be in hot soup? Some of the people who were kneeling on the ground began to shiver.
Given how polite Shi Yanhe was,Yang Chen did not explode with anger. He smiled a little and said, “I just want to ask about what you had said before this. The things you have promised me, do they still count?”
“The things I have said and the promises I have made naturally still hold,” she assured him. She did not even wait for the sect master to come over to give him an answer.
After answering Yang Chen, Elder Shi just remembered the disciples who were still on their knees. She then said, “All of you, stand up!”
Her voice was soft but clear as it travelled into everyone’s ears. After Shi Yanhe’s words, the force around her vanished. When the force had decreased, only then did the crowd stood up. But after they stood up, they were still standing in an orderly manner. They were not daring enough to let out a heavy sigh of relief.
“The promises still hold?” Yang Chen sneered and said, “It doesn’t look so, does it?”
“What is going on?” After hearing what Yang Chen had said, she lost her temper immediately. And for Yang Chen to question her word was practically a joke. But she had no idea what had happened, so she questioned just to be sure.
Although Shi Yanhe was the one in command at the auction, she didn’t pay constant attention to any commotion in her surroundings. There had not been a person who dared to cause trouble in the Clear Sky Sect before this. Most of the time, Elder Shi would be engrossed in her cultivation. She would only make her appearance when something had come up. She had only appeared now because of Yang Chen’s scream, but she wasn’t aware of what just happened.
After Shi Yanhe shouted angrily, which disciple would dare to step out and speak? Each of them was hiding in the corner, keeping quiet out of fear. And those who stirred trouble up in the first place were shivering tremendously non-stop.
The crowd could not control their fear towards Elder Shi. Apart from being a Dacheng stage elder, she had another identity. She was the sect’s Law Enforcement Hall’s master. If any of the disciples had committed any wrongdoings, it was up to her to decide the punishment. Which disciple would not cower in fear after hearing her name? Who would even dare to face her now that she was mad with that kind of position?
“Little Xue, you do the talking.” Shi Yanhe did not even need to look around. She already knew the culprits behind this were the people on the scene now. None of them would need to open their mouths. She might as well just call out a name.
Elder Shi had called Sun Qingxue to speak up and the latter certainly did not dare to disobey. She explained the conflict that had happened in great detail from the beginning when the disciples started to quarrel with them to how Yang Chen wanted to leave, only to be constantly provoked by the crowd. She spilled everything out without reservation.
It went without saying that she was still a disciple of the Clear Sky Sect. She was just describing the actions of the Jindan cultivator. As for the people who were aiding him, she did not put too much emphasis on them and only mentioned them briefly.
“Yang Chen, is what Little Xue said true?” Shi Yanhe questioned right after Sun Qingxue had finished talking.
“It is,” he replied with a nod. Yang Chen would not let Sun Qingxue down.
“Liu Shichang, is what Little Xue said true?” questioned Shi Yanhe to the Jindan cultivator who came forward just now.
“It is.” The Jindan cultivator was Liu Shichang. He did not dare to play any tricks in front of Elder Shi and admitted with a nod. His face was pale as chalk the moment he said those words. His body was shaking continuously as if he was going to crumble at any moment. It seemed like he could not even stand upright anymore.
“Barring you from entering the auction was appropriate according to the sect’s regulations since you did not bring the token as identification.” Shi Yanhe was perplexed by this matter. The situation had developed to this stage and it was indeed giving her a headache.
The disciples who were guarding the sect’s auction were merely carrying out their duties. The blame was clearly not on them. Yang Chen did not have the token as identification on him, so he naturally couldn’t gain entry to the auction. If it had been Shi Yanhe who was in the guards’ shoes just now, she would have done the same thing.
However, she had known that Yang Chen was qualified to enter the auction. Either way, it was still Yang Chen’s fault for not bringing his token as identification. Nevertheless, Yang Chen was not a member of the Clear Sky Sect. Iit would not be appropriate for her to rebuke him.
In her opinion, Liu Shi Chang was at fault too. He should not have mentioned anything regarding the Pure Yang Palace. As for the others, she did not think that they had done anything wrong. This was a time when the Clear Sky Sect was cooperating with the Pure Yang Palace. In addition to that, Yang Chen had the ability to concoct the Heart Questioning Pill. Hence, she could not cover for her disciples too much.
“Liu Shichang should not have talked inappropriately, and he should apologise for that,” decided Shi Yanhe, “However, Yang Chen, you did not bring your token as identification, so according to the regulations, you cannot enter the auction.”
“I am not very familiar with the regulations of the auction.” said Yang Chen with a smile after listening to what she had said, “Sect Master Lu, back then when you promised me the qualifications to enter the auction, you didn’t give me any token as identification. If the regulations of the auction state thusly, then the fault must lie with…”
Yang Chen dragged his voice towards the end but did not finish his sentence. However, everyone at the scene understood what he was going to say next. It must be that Sect Master Lu did not keep his end of the promise.
Shi Yanhe was stunned. She did not think that the sect masters had not given him a token as identification after they had made a promise to Yang Chen. She then guessed that some mistake must have occurred somewhere due to rushed work.
The most of the fault probably lied with Elder Mo Qian. She had made up her mind to murder Yang Chen before this. So why would she even bother so much about him? It was Elder Mo Qian who had collected the miscellaneous books. She should have given the token as identification to Yang Chen too. But since she had plotted against murdering him, she did not give it to him as it was unnecessary.
After that, Elder Mo Qian had disappeared. Sect Master Lu also paid little attention to minor issues like this. Consequently, the result turned out this way. Either the sect master had defaulted on the promise or the regulations of the auction were poorly planned. She had to make a choice among the two options. If it had been someone else in her position, it would still be a hard decision.
Yang Chen was not a citizen of the Clear Sky Sect. He did not know about the laws of the auction, so he was excusable. Moreover, regardless of the numerous laws that been enforced, if nobody kept the promises that had been made how would that reflect on the sect to outsiders? After reaping the benefits and promising the other person certain conditions, she was now using her own laws to not fulfill their word. What would other people say if that were the case?
“It may also be possible that an error occurred because of the rush.” Yang Chen did not let Elder Shi be in an awkward position for long. He quickly finished his sentence and gave her a way out.
“The person who handled this matter must have made a mistake. I will investigate this matter and give you a reasonable explanation.” Shi Yanhe used Yang Chen’s reasoning to step out of the situation all the while defending the reputation of the Clear Sky Sect. Since the person in charge was at fault, it couldn’t be the sect master’s fault.
“So, senior, does Sect Master Lu’s promise still hold?” Yang Chen then asked, “Can I still participate in the auction?’
“I am a woman of my word,” said a voice suddenly out of nowhere. It must be the sect master of the Clear Sky Sect, Lu Zhenyu. She had been there not knowing since when.
“I formally pay my respects to Sect Master.” All the ordinary disciples kneeled once more. Only Shi Yanhe and Yang Chen remained standing and bowed. Shi Yanhe was the sect master’s junior apprentice sister. She only needed to bow to Lu Zhenyu and did not need to kneel.
“Every disciple here, except for Sun Qingxue and Liu Shichang, shall go to the Law Enforcement Hall and receive a hundred whips. All of you must face the wall and repent your mistakes for half a year.” Once Sect Master Lu arrived, he did not say much and announced the punishment for the crowd. “Liu Shichang, you will receive five hundred whips, face the wall for ten years and you are not allowed to receive any allowance for five years.”
Every disciple, even the disciples who were guarding the auction were included. It seemed that Sect Master Lu understood the incident in its entirety. He even knew about the sneaky adjusting of the level of admittance at the last minute. Those who had involved themselves in the matter dared not utter a word. All of them accepted the punishment obediently.
“Yang Chen, since I have promised you that you can participate in the auction, it goes without saying that you can join,” Sect Master Lu then turned to Yang Chen and said, “From today onwards, Yang Chen of the Pure Yang Palace does not need any token as identification to enter the auction. He can enter and exit the auction as he wishes.”
The last sentence reverberated and echoed throughout. Yang Chen’s had asked his question with a different intention in mind but the results were satisfactory nevertheless. Everyone had heard the sect master’s final decision.
This decision shocked many. The sect master had made an exception of the law of the auction for Yang Chen alone. He had just enforced a new ruling specifically for Yang Chen, whose position had risen a few levels right away in everyone’s heart.
The face of those who teased and ridiculed Yang Chen earlier became paler than ever. They would not have done such a stupid thing in retrospect.
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