The villain, Xiao Nanliang, caused the female lead excruciating pain.

Ruo Bingli smiled gently, nodded slightly to everyone, and walked to an empty seat. Instead of sitting down immediately, she looked at Su Qi and asked with her eyes, "Why don't you sit down?"

Su Qi refused to make eye contact with her, and walked to the back of the hall, leaning against a pillar and closing his eyes to rest.

Helpless, Ruobingli smiled apologetically at everyone and sat down.

Everyone who witnessed this scene had strange expressions, and some couldn't tell who was the master and who was the disciple.

"Cough cough..."

At this moment, the middle-aged man sitting in the main seat spoke up.

"There are two main reasons why I have invited you elders here today."

Yue Chongshan, the sect leader of Qingyun Sect, glanced down.

"The first thing I want to announce to everyone is that today I, Yue, have officially accepted Mu Feng as my disciple."

Ye Feng understood and stepped forward with a faint smile, bowing to the elders.

"Disciple Mufeng greets all senior uncles and elder brothers."

The others nodded perfunctorily, but the Third Elder let out a cold snort of dissatisfaction.

The Fifth Elder's expression was also unpleasant, but since he belonged to Yue Chongshan's faction, he couldn't afford to show disrespect to his own people. Just as he was about to nod in acknowledgment, a slender hand reached out from the side and placed on his shoulder.

"Brother Mufeng, were you forced by Elder Yue? If so, just blink secretly, and our Fifth Elder will stand up for you!"

In front of everyone, Fourth Elder Jiang Ying pretended to be furtive and whispered a message to Ye Feng.

He even put on a very righteous act, patting the Fifth Elder Tie Kun on the shoulder to indicate that he would fully support you.

Fifth Elder Tie Kun's face darkened, and he slapped the claw off his shoulder.

"Senior Sister Jiang, you alone are enough to stand up for him, there's no need to drag me into it."

"Hiss..." Jiang Ying gasped in surprise, "Junior Brother Tie, I was just joking. But from what you're saying, is there really some injustice involved?"

His suspicious gaze darted back and forth between Yue Chongshan and Ye Feng, and then, without any attempt to hide it, he started winking at Ye Feng in front of everyone.

"Brother Mufeng, give me a signal! If you utter a sound, I'll immediately use the Fifth Elder as a hidden weapon and have him protect you with his life!"

What the hell are you...

The Fifth Elder's skin was visibly red.

Yue Chongshan, who was sitting in the sect leader's seat, also looked grim.

Seeing that the situation was starting to get out of control, Ye Feng, who was full of black lines, quickly stepped in to smooth things over.

"Thank you for your concern, Uncle-Master Jiang. My decision to become your disciple was entirely voluntary and I was not forced in any way."

"Huh? Really?"

Jiang Ying looked disappointed and glanced at the Fifth Elder with reluctance.

It seems she really wanted to use Elder Tie Kun as a hidden weapon.

"You...you go too far!"

The Fifth Elder was furious. He stood up from his seat and bowed to the Sect Master.

"I humbly request the sect leader's permission to challenge her to a one-on-one duel!"

"This……"

Yue Chongshan had just uttered a single word when a loud "Aow!" echoed through the hall.

Everyone only saw a blur before their eyes, and the Fifth Elder, who had just been shouting for a one-on-one fight, darted out of the open door like an arrow, leaving a clear footprint on his back.

Only the Fourth Elder, Jiang Ying, remained, pointing his sword at his brow and pretending to be profound.

"Don't blame me. From the moment you challenged me to a one-on-one fight, we became enemies. I never show mercy to my enemies!"

Everyone:...

"Jiang Ying, you..."

Even if Yue Chongshan was very tolerant, he would still get angry at this behavior of treating himself as a mere figurehead.

But as soon as he opened his mouth, he saw Jiang Ying fall to the ground with a thud, her eyes red as she clutched her foot.

"Waaah... Sect Master, I think I twisted my ankle. I'm afraid I won't be able to contribute to the sect anymore. You should leave the Weapon Peak to someone else."

One sentence was enough to turn Yue Chongshan's face from red to purple and then to green, making him look like someone had his life in someone's hands, full of anger but unable to vent it.

Among the four major sects in the Eastern Region, the Cloud Mist Immortal Sect is rich in various spiritual fruits and plants, the Myriad Saints Sect is rich in elixirs, and the Qingyun Sect's pillar industry is weapon crafting.

Unfortunately, this lifeline ended up in the hands of the Fourth Elder, Jiang Ying.

Don't let this girl's fierceness fool you; her weapon-refining skills are unparalleled in the entire Eastern Region. If she were to quit, Yue Chongshan would be in serious trouble.

So here's the question: Aren't there four major categories? Why are only three mentioned?

The answer is simple: the last sect was named the Star Sword Sect.

Just from the name, you can tell it's a sect that practices swordsmanship.

As everyone knows, sword cultivators are only good at fighting, and they are notoriously poor because they are focused on comprehending the way of the sword.

"You...you...how could you be so careless? Someone, quickly help the Fourth Elder down to rest."

Seeing Yue Chongshan forcefully swallow his anger, Su Qi wanted to give him a thumbs up.

"They're not that fragile."

Seeing that Yue Chongshan didn't intend to pursue the matter further, Jiang Ying's expression changed instantly, and she stood up as if nothing had happened.

He patted off imaginary dust and was about to sit back down in his seat.

Just then, a deafening roar came from outside.

"Jiang Ying, I am not on good terms with you..."

The Fifth Elder had only spoken halfway when the door slammed shut.

Yue Chongshan, his face dark, put away the sect leader's token and sat down again.

"Alright, let's move on to the second thing."

At this moment, Su Qi seemed to understand why this Sect Master Yue was so unpopular.

Instead of comforting his subordinates who had been mistreated, he locked them out of the room.

If this is true even for our own people, then what about others?

When this second matter was mentioned, everyone subconsciously looked at Ruobingli and Suqi.

"Elder Ruo, do you know that our Qingyun Sect is a righteous sect, and we are irreconcilably opposed to demonic cultivators!"

Seeing Yue Chongshan's accusatory stance, everyone else showed a calm and collected expression, wanting to see how the person involved would respond.

To everyone's surprise, Ruobingli not only did not refute, but also smiled and agreed.

"The sect leader is right. We cultivators cultivate righteousness and should be irreconcilably opposed to those evil demonic cultivators. It is our duty to eliminate demons and protect the righteous path."

This left everyone stunned, wondering what she was up to.

Yue Chongshan was also filled with doubt and suspicion, but the die was cast and he had no choice but to continue questioning.

"If that's the case, why did you still take demonic cultivators as your disciples?"

"Hey?"

Ruo Bingli covered her mouth with a surprised expression, then turned to look at Su Qi, who was leaning against the pillar.

"Ruoxue, are you a demonic cultivator?"

Su Qi rolled her eyes and looked away.

"Sect Master, look, my Ruoxue refuses to admit that she is a demonic cultivator."

Everyone:...

Isn't silence tacit agreement? Can it also be interpreted as a refusal to acknowledge?

You've truly mastered the art of language.

This was the first time the elders had ever seen Ruobingli so blatantly lying.

Yue Chongshan's face darkened; he was already very unhappy about being humiliated by Jiang Ying.

Jiang Ying held the lifeline of Qingyun Sect in her hands, and Yue Chongshan dared not touch her.

However, Ruo Bingli was only the last elder, and her cultivation level was the lowest among all the elders. She also did not hold any real power.

What gives her the right to be so self-righteous?