Sun Mingyue placed the memorials down, then glanced at him. “What are you guilty of?”

　　 “I didn’t come out from Isolated Cultivation in time.” Chu Li sighed. “I comprehended something during the Isolated Cultivation, so I couldn’t help but prolonged the cultivation. Initially, I was going to cultivate in isolation for over ten days, but I ended up enjoying it so much that I didn’t want to come out.”

　　 “Why didn’t you inform your subordinates of your location when you went into Isolated Cultivation?” Sun Mingyue glared at him coldly. “You’re not just anybody, you’re the Branch Leader. If I can’t find you during times of need, what’s the point of having you as the Branch Leader?”

　　 Chu Li nodded helplessly. “Yes.”

　　 “Since you couldn’t carry out your role well, I’ve allowed someone else to replace you. You shouldn’t occupy the spot without doing anything.” Sun Mingyue added, “The Holy Church can accommodate idle people, but the Branch Leader is not an idle person!”

　　 When she looked at Chu Li carefully, she noticed that his cultivation level had increased greatly. It looked like he did not lie as he really did gain from his Isolation Cultivation.

　　 Nevertheless, Sun Mingyue was not going to forgive Chu Li. The fact that he had placed his personal cultivation above the Holy Church and that he allowed personal matters to outweigh his duty proved that he was not fit to be the Branch Leader. She wondered, ‘Zhao Dahe can only fight, but he can’t guard a place well since he can stay in his place conscientiously.’

　　 Chu Li expressed, “It’s fine if I lose my post as the Branch Leader, but Zhao Chun has killed two Gale Branch disciples just to set a strong impression!”

　　 “He killed someone?” Sun Mingyue furrowed her brows.

　　 Chu Li scoffed. “Gale Branch disciples were chosen through strict evaluations. I selected them carefully, and they’re all very loyal. Each one of them is precious!”

　　 Sun Mingyun assured, “I’ll look into this.”

　　 Chu Li said, “I came to beg your forgiveness because of Zhao Chun.”

　　 “Did you kill him?” Sun Mingyue frowned.

　　 When she heard that Zhao Chun had killed the disciples, she knew that something was off. She knew that based on Zhao Dahe’s hot temper, he could have killed Zhao Chun.

　　 ‘He’s not Zhao Dahe if he can put up with it!’

　　 Chu Li humphed. “The church has strict rules in which I don’t have the guts to violate them. I didn’t kill him!”

　　 “That’s great. It looks like you’ve improved!” Sun Mingyue sighed a long breath of relief. Then, she leaned against her armchair and asked, “Why are you begging forgiveness then?”

　　 “Although I didn’t kill him, I didn’t let him off. All I did was beat him up nicely!” Chu Li added, “I did hurt him physically, and let him suffer in pain!”

　　 “Is he severely injured?” Sun Mingyue questioned right away.

　　 Chu Li shook his head. “I didn’t injure his joints or bones, only flesh wounds!”

　　 Sun Mingyue commented, “If you’re mad and you want to avenge your disciples’ deaths, why didn’t you report the incident to me? I would’ve resolved the matter fairly!”

　　 Chu Li replied, “I trust that you’ll punish him, Saint, but I couldn’t tolerate it! Zhao Chun has gone overboard. He disregarded their lives and he was being too brutal. Just because they didn’t obey his orders, he killed them. Although Gale Branch disciples are not disciples from the Holy Church of Light, they’re still one of us!”

　　 “He was at fault.” Sun Mingyue frowned. “But you shouldn’t have attacked him!”

　　 Sure enough, it was wrong to kill the Gale Branch disciples brutally.

　　 Chu Li scorned, “Would you have tolerated it, Saint?”

　　 Sun Mingyue scowled. “Don’t drag me into it. No matter what, you’ve violated the church rules!”

　　 “Yes, so I’m here to receive my punishment!” Chu Li replied.

　　 Sun Mingyue mentioned, “You don’t have to be in such a hurry. I’ll have to make sense of what exactly happened first… You’re no longer the Branch Leader of Gale Branch, do you understand?”

　　 Chu Li answered loudly, “Yes!”

　　 “Are you displeased?” Sun Mingyue looked at him. “Tell me if you’re not pleased. If it’s reasonable, I might retract the designation!”

　　 Chu Li knew that it was a trap. Being the Saint, it was impossible for her to be inconsistent in her actions. Even if she had made a wrong decision, she had to be wrong until the end.

　　 Chu Li raised, “Saint, there’s something that I don’t understand!”

　　 “Tell me!” Sun Mingyue sounded softer than before

　　 Pretending not to notice the change in her mood, Chu Li seriously asked, “Does Zhao Chun have anything against me? Or was he instructed by anyone to target me on purpose?”

　　 “Why do you say so?” Sun Mingyue asked.

　　 Chu Li rejoined, “The disciples of Great Light Peak are aware of my temper, so I assume that Zhao Chun is aware too. Yet, he infuriated me as if he wanted me to kill him. Or else, he wouldn’t have killed my men so brutally. If he didn’t have ulterior motives, he wouldn’t have killed his subordinates so casually!”

　　 Sun Mingyue pondered.

　　 She felt that it was strange too, but she kept quiet about it. In fact, she was going to look into it secretly.

　　 Sun Mingyue looked at Chu Li from head to toe, then thought to herself, “Looks like Zhao Dahe has become wiser after his Isolated Cultivation. Though there’s nothing different about his disposition, he has become steadier and calmer. Even when he was terribly mad, he didn’t kill Zhao Chun.

　　 ‘Nonetheless, it’s not odd that he noticed this. Zhao Dahe’s known to be an incredibly smart person, but people are usually fooled by his ugly looks and his hot temper.’

　　 Chu Li stressed, “I think that it’s not as easy as it seems!”

　　 “I’ll investigate it!” Sun Mingyue instructed, “If there’s nothing else you’d like to say, return to the Small Light Peak!”

　　 Right away, Chu Li’s face looked terrible.

　　 Sun Mingyue asked, “What is it?”

　　 Chu Li took a deep breath before he explained, “I don’t want to return to the Small Light Peak.”

　　 “Why?”

　　 “Whenever I go back, I think about Senior Sister Li.”

　　 “You still think about her.” Sun Mingyue sounded more gentle.

　　 Even though Zhao Dahe was an impulsive person, he had an affectionate nature. This was also why the Saint valued him so much and paid more attention to shaping him.

　　 Chu Li uttered, “Saint, I wish to return to Gale City.”

　　 Sun Mingyue responded, “I’ll give you a chance to earn your credit.”

　　 Chu Li rejected, “I don’t want to earn any credit, I only wish to return to Gale City.”

　　 Sun Mingyue frowned at him.

　　 Chu Li explained, “Gale City is my root, I don’t want to leave that place and I can’t tolerate Zhao Chun fooling around. I have put in a lot of effort to rope in those disciples, and he made them lose their trust. Everything’s a mess now!”

　　 “You did establish Gale Branch, but it’s not your private property.” Sun Mingyue sneered, “Gale Branch belongs to the Holy Church.”

　　 Chu Li remarked, “Saint, you’re being too unreasonable. Just because I went into Isolated Cultivation, you appointed a new Branch Leader!”

　　 “Zhao Dahe, looks like you’re full of resentment.”

　　 “Yes, I refuse to accept this!”

　　 “There’s nothing you can do even if you refuse.” Sun Mingyue said, “Unless you earn your credit to regain your post as the Branch Leader.”

　　 Chu Li scoffed and turned around.

　　 Sun Mingyue asked, “You don’t want to return to Falling Autumn City, am I right?”

　　 Chu Li remained silent.

　　 Sun Mingyue asked again, “Is it because it’s a sad place?”

　　 Chu Li looked up at her.

　　 Sun Mingyue said, “You’re not going to Falling Autumn City.”

　　 “What is it?” Chu Li was curious.

　　 Sun Mingyue cast a sidelong glance at him. “A high-ranking person from Jade Capital wants to travel to Zheng Dynasty.”

　　 Among the disciples of the Holy Church, Zhao Dahe was the boldest one as he dared to be disobedient toward the Saint.

　　 Chu Li asked, “Which high-ranking person?”

　　 “A prince,” Sun Mingyuen answered.

　　 Chu Li quickly declined, “Change my task.”

　　 Sun Mingyue stared at him coldly. “Then it’s set!”