Chapter 94 – If Not Him, Then Defend Who?

　　Gao Yue absolutely hadn’t anticipated this. The Palace Master put in so much effort for Yang Chen, and at the moment he was sitting calmly, not saying anything else, merely observing the responses of everyone around him.

　　Those people who had previously supported Liang Shao Ming also reacted at this moment. If they agreed to Liang Shao Ming’s proposal of seizing Yang Chen’s discovered Di Mai today, then tomorrow they might find even their own things being taken away. The Palace Master had clearly thought about this problem and concluded that Liang Shao Ming would not agree to this proposal.

　　Liang Shao Ming himself also hadn’t come to a decision. If he wanted to take Yang Chen’s Di Mai to be assigned to and be shared with the sect, then his own top grade sword would also be snatched by others to be shared with the sect. The problem with the Di Mai’s Spirit Power could be solved by letting people absorb it, but if the flying sword was given to other people, it would certainly help them to ascend and then nothing would be left behind.

　　If he agreed to this suggestion, he’d have to give up his flying sword, but it was also his own suggestion, so he could not easily dismiss it. Even if he agreed, it would only imply that the Luminous Moon Hall would have to give all of their harvests to the sect for ten years, not to speak of others, just by the pressure of the disciples of the Luminous Moon Hall, Liang Shao Ming could not guarantee that he could take the responsibility. This kind of affair really put Liang Shao Ming in a dilemma, he, a JieDan stage cultivator, had his whole face turn red, as if he was being choked. He was rooted to the ground speechlessly.

　　The few elders who were originally in support of Liang Shao Ming were all silent at this moment. Previously, when they had been incited by Liang Shao Ming, they had all believed that this Di Mai could greatly increase the strength of the Pure Yang Palace, so they hadn’t thought much. But now that the Palace Master had given this sort of argument, they were all adults, how could they not understand the deeper meaning?

　　The Di Mai only had a good amount of Spirit Power, but these kind of resources were secondary. For a sect, the most important resource was its disciples. If the disciples didn’t have any morality, then the sect was not far from decline. If the Spirit Veins they discovered themselves were taken, then they would go to find a spirit vein outside of the sect, and if they lost their attachment to the sect, they may not return anymore.

　　Silence spread on the scene and it continued for a good long moment. That nobody was speaking also implied that the people didn’t agree with the Palace Master’s proposal.

　　“Until now I was under the impression that cultivators would conform to the heavenly laws, most of all the law of karma, to not give birth to greed and not let the heart be sullied by jealousy”

　　Within the gaze of the Palace Master, a hint disappointment flashed. Whomever he looked at lowered his head, not daring to make the slightest eye contact with the Palace Master. The Palace Master had slowly spoken these words and many of the people who heard it felt a jolt, as if they had realized something.

　　“Today I am very disappointed. All disciples of the sect, regardless of whether they were the JieDan experts or the YuanYing experts, coveted the possessions of a foundation stage junior.”

　　The Palace Master’s voice suddenly got loud and was filled with immense fury, directly echoing in all directions:

　　“My Pure Yang Palace is considered to be an honest and upright sect, but you still use such evil ways? What about the rules of my Pure Yang Palace, ‘You must not attack the disciples of your own sect and forcibly plunder a junior’s possessions’, what about them?”

　　The ire of a YuanYing stage expert created a frightening pressure over the entire Pure Yang Palace, regardless of whether it were the formal disciples or the servants, all kept quiet out of fear, not daring to make any kind of noise.

　　“Today you all tried to snatch a junior’s things, tomorrow a senior would try to snatch your things, today it is Yang Chen, tomorrow it will be you all. If everyone kept on robbing things from others, then one day, if my Pure Yang Palace faces a calamity, who will defend my sect?”

　　The Palace Master was angry at the fact that these people had forgotten about the bigger picture in their greed.

　　“Or perhaps, at the day when your own life hangs by a thread, who will come to help you?”

　　Nobody dared to raise their head, it was the first time that the Palace Master had been so angry in front of everyone. Even those who hadn’t planned to support Liang Shao Ming didn’t dare to raise their heads. The angry words of the Palace Master made them realize many things. Although they were being yelled at, they were glad that the palace master was defending Yang Chen today, because it meant tomorrow he would also defend all of them.

　　“The Spirit Power at the Second Fierce Yang Courtyard is strong, but that doesn’t mean that nobody will have the opportunity to enter.”

　　After giving them the stick, it was naturally time for showing them the carrot, the Palace Master clearly knew this.

　　“If a disciple of the Pure Yang Palace gains sufficient merit in the future, he will be allowed to cultivate in the Second Fierce Yang Courtyard for one year, as a reward for his accomplishments. If you want to enter the Second Fierce Yang Courtyard you still need to work very hard!”

　　It gave hope to everyone that they could also get the opportunity to enter the courtyard.

　　“If anyone wants to say anything, speak now, if not, then return to your cultivation!”

　　Perhaps because the Palace Master was able to vent his anger, he was not that stressed anymore, so that kind of frightening pressure also dissipated. Only then did the people inside of the Pure Yang Palace become able to move again.

　　“Disciple has been thoughtless in this matter. I must ask Palace Master to punish me!”

　　Liang Shao Ming hastily bowed his head to admit his mistakes. The way he had acted this time would surely invite malevolence from many people and the excuse that he had been thoughtless provided him a way out to save his face, after all, people were not gods, they could make mistakes. Moreover, he had only thought about the sect from the beginning, but his way of thinking had been wrong, that’s all. It wasn’t a huge sin.

　　“But Palace Master, allowing Yang Chen to enter the secret pavilion, isn’t that somewhat excessive?”

　　This time, Liang Shao Ming didn’t aim at Yang Chen’s underground vein and instead turned his attack towards the reward bestowed on Yang Chen.

　　“This kind of treatment should only be given disciples who have done a great service for the sect. Yang Chen has only offered a hundred thousand spirit essences. We could always provide him with enough Spirit Stones and contribution points as rewards, but is it right to make an exception in his case and allow him to enter the secret pavilion?”

　　The secret pavilion was the most central region of the Pure Yang Palace, and once inside, one could only be allowed to select one thing, it simply could not be allowed as a reward for people who have not done a great service for the sect. These words of Liang Shao Ming were based on well thought out reason, not allowing anyone to find any faults with it.

　　“I will once again discuss the matter regarding the secret pavilion with the elders.”

　　This time, the Palace Master showed his authority and directly rejected Liang Shao Ming’s question in his face. But even after this, Liang Shao Ming was still somewhat glad. After all, those elders who had been present today would not be very happy, so Yang Chen’s chance to enter the secret pavilion was already forfeited.

　　After the general assembly of the sect was dispersed, Gao Yue immediately went to see Yang Chen after returning, to inform him about this. After telling all of this to him, she encouraged him in the manner of a master:

　　“This time the Palace Master has shouldered a big burden for you, you must cultivate diligently, so that you do not fail to meet the great hopes of the Palace Master and your master!”

　　Naturally, Yang Chen immediately made a solemn vow and exposed a calculative smile on his face.

　　Although Gao Yue did not know what the Palace Master had discussed with those YuanYing stage elders after the general assembly, the other people also didn’t know, but Yang Chen could roughly guess what happened.

　　Just as Yang Chen had anticipated, when the Palace Master met with those YuanYing stage masters in the small hall, where the official business was discussed, an elder immediately started blaming the Palace Master:

　　“Palace Master, why did you defend that one foundation stage disciple today? Not even hesitating to rebuke all of the JieDan stage disciples?”

　　Although the other elders did not say anything, everyone had the same expression. Today, the Palace Master had flown into a furious rage, which had showed his awe inspiring authority. But that awe inspiring authority did not have any affect on these elders, they only hadn’t refuted him on the scene because he was the Palace Master and they should not ruin his prestige.

　　“Very simple!”

　　After the Palace Master sat down, he replied indifferently:

　　“Because Elder Wu still hasn’t ascended!”

　　Once these words came out, all of the elders clearly understood everything. Yang Chen had assisted Elder Wu in refining the Heaven Seizing Pill, almost everyone under the heavens knew about this matter. Although nobody knew what exactly had happened at the time of refining, but it was rumored that Yang Chen’s role in the refining was crucial.

　　For this reason, Elder Wu had even specifically spread word for Yang Chen to be protected, this already was sufficient to illustrate Yang Chen’s importance. Since nobody among them was Elder Wu’s opponent, then they still had to give him face about the people under his protection. Most of all, inside of the Pure Yang Palace. This was a great opportunity to make friends with Elder Wu, so what the Palace Master had done was absolutely correct.

　　“Since this was the reason, then the matter regarding the Secret Pavilion, shall still be carried out as decided previously, no need to say anything more.”

　　All of the elders nodded their heads, representing everyone, Lin Yun Feng declared the conclusion:

　　“Before Elder Wu ascends, we must not allow any person to cause grievances with Yang Chen.”

　　“But, if this happens, will Yang Chen not face no bumps on his cultivation path? Wouldn’t that harm him instead?”

　　Another elder had a different thought.

　　“In my opinion, although we should show suitable consideration towards him, we should also allow him to face his own problems, as long as he is not in a life or death crisis. At other times, allowing him to deal with his own problems would be better.”

　　Everyone there was a YuanYing stage expert, naturally they knew that the words of this elder made sense and nodded in agreement. No matter what was said, Yang Chen was still a disciple of this sect, so someone among them would be Yang Chen’s great master, they, as elders, would not persecute a disciple of their own sect deliberately.

　　“Then how should we treat Yang Chen after Elder Wu ascends?”

　　Raising this question was precisely Yang Chen’s great master, Gao Yue’s master, Wang Yong. During the previous discussion, he hadn’t said anything since the Palace Master had already spared no pains for the matter regarding his disciple and disciple’s disciple, so he had no need to stick out. But after hearing that the Palace Master only supported them because Elder Wu had not ascended yet, he felt somewhat dissatisfied and started to closely enquire about the Palace Master’s future plans.

　　“We will still cultivate him with our full attention and vigorously defend him.”

　　The Palace Master said this without the slightest bit of hesitation. Everyone was aware of the relationship between Wang Yong and Yang Chen so nobody said anything, but hearing the words of the Palace Master, Lin Feng Yun displayed a trace of disapproval.

　　“Yang Chen had ascended to the peak of the Heavenly Stairs, so his will power is very strong, he had also offered his spirit essences to the sect and without anyone’s guidance he successfully built his foundation. This proves his exceptionally good comprehension, he’s basically a very talented disciple.”

　　The Palace Master faintly replied with a smile.

　　“If we don’t cultivate this kind of genius, then should we cultivate a disciple like Chu Heng, the sort of disciple who cheats his master and brings shame to his ancestors?”

　　During the discussion, nobody said anything. What the Palace Master said was reasonable: a loyal and talented disciple was naturally worth cultivating, even cultivating with great attention. These kinds of juniors were the future of the Pure Yang Palace. After all, the elders were only waiting to be able to attack the bottleneck of the Da Cheng stage and add to sect’s glory, how could they be jealous of a junior?

　　“Even if it was not because of this reason, I still would defended Yang Chen with all my strength.”

　　After giving them a pompous reason, the Palace Master did not mind telling them his intentions. He could see that, there were elders who had disapproved of his intentions even though they hadn’t said anything, so he naturally wanted to unify everyone’s thoughts.

　　Hearing these words of the Palace Master, everyone was startled, apart from this reason, there was still another reason? Everyone clearly understood the Palace Master’s temperament, he would not show this much consideration for a junior without a good reason, so everyone pricked their ears to hear the Palace Master’s reason. If this reason did not convince Lin Yun Feng, then he would probably be directed against Yang Chen some day in future.

　　“Yang Chen has refined the Heaven Seizing Pill”

　　These few words made everyone slap their foreheads. They figured it out within a moment.

　　“I will speak some unpleasant words, I have not defended Yang Chen so energetically just to cultivate him, but rather, when the time of ascension comes for me and I require a Heaven Seizing Pill, who will refine it for me? If I do not use the disciples of my sect, then should I go to ask other people?”

　　Everything had suddenly become clear to the group of elders, including Lin Yun Feng. All had an understanding expression on their faces. If the previous reason, that Yang Chen talent was worth cultivating, had not convinced everyone, then this reason was sufficient for everyone to lay down any prejudices and wholeheartedly support Yang Chen.

　　Everyone was at the stage of advancing from the YuanYing stage to the DaCheng stage, with their final goal being ascension, but who didn’t know the difficulty of ascending? If, at the time of their ascension, they had the help of a Heaven Seizing Pill, wouldn’t it be much smoother?

　　If Yang Chen had a significant influence during the refining of the Heaven Seizing Pill, then didn’t this mean that he knew the method to refine a Heaven Seizing Pill? Whether it was for the good of everyone or for their own good, there was no reason to become hostile with this junior. Even Lin Yun Feng felt the same way. The reason why he had previously opposed him was because Liang Shao Ming had incited him. He was a YuanYing stage elder, why would he have any reason to become hostile with a junior of the sect, who had only joined ten years ago?

　　Nobody knew what was discussed between the Palace Master and the elders in the end, but the Palace Master and the elders had unanimously agreed to the reward of Yang Chen entering the hidden pavilion once. Similarly, nobody knew that Yang Chen had gained the support and defense of all the elders.

　　Yang Chen had guessed this beforehand, but he did not discuss it with anyone else. He was still following his regular routine, spending a fixed time in the Hidden Pavilion every day and then returning, and training, without any interruption.

　　The Pure Yang Palace now had a tranquil environment, the small waves caused by this were all silenced after the Palace Master’s fury. But this was already not the same Pure Yang Palace as in his previous life. Some minor transformations had taken place in the whole Pure Yang Palace, whom nobody but Yang Chen knew of.

　　This life’s Pure Yang Palace just happened to be slowly turning in the right direction for Yang Chen.