"Who are you calling trash!?"
Su Yan and Wang Feng shouted in unison, their voices perfectly synchronized, as if rehearsed. Even their expressions matched, mirroring rage and righteous indignation.
Xie Hong Chen stood stunned, caught off guard by their harmony. He glared at Su Yan, eyes filled with pain. "How is he not trash? At fifteen, he's only at the Peak of the Initial Element Realm! Either he's trash or he hasn't taken cultivation seriously at all!"
The faces of Wang Feng, Su Yan, Yang Kai, and a few other disciples behind Xie Hong Chen twisted with odd expressions, as if they were staring at an idiot. Wang Feng, surprisingly, felt a flicker of pity for what was about to befall the man.
A disciple behind Xie Hong Chen hesitated, opening his mouth to speak—but before a word escaped, Xie Hong Chen exploded.
"Trash is trash!" he roared, finger jabbing toward Wang Feng. His handsome face twisted into a sneer. "When I was your age, I had already reached the mid-stage of the Qi Transforming Realm! And you? You're still stuck in the Initial Element Realm. And now, I'm at the Peak of the Separation and Reunion Boundary! We're two entire realms apart—how could you possibly compare to me!?"
Suddenly, loud laughter echoed through the area. It came from Yang Kai and Wang Feng. Those who knew the truth struggled to suppress their own laughter. Those who didn't scowled in offense.
Xie Hong Chen's face darkened like a thundercloud. "What are you laughing at, trash!?" he bellowed, his voice shaking. He clenched his fists as Wang Feng's laughter rang in his ears, each chuckle striking him like a slap.
"You… You clearly didn't do your homework, did you?" Wang Feng wheezed between chuckles, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye. His relaxed, mocking tone only deepened the sense of dread building in Xie Hong Chen's chest.
Su Yan stepped forward then, her eyes like shards of ice. Her voice was calm, but it carried the weight of a sword unsheathed. "Trash, you say?" she echoed. Each syllable dropped like cold iron onto Xie Hong Chen's pride. "Do you even know who he is? He's more of a genius than your pathetic self could ever dream to be."
Shock rippled across the crowd. Xie Hong Chen's eyes widened, shocked and wounded, but Su Yan wasn't done....
"You entered the sect at twelve. You've cultivated for nine years, and you've just now reached Peak Separation and Reunion."
Xie Hong Chen stiffened. Her words were fact, and by sect standards, still an achievement. But Su Yan's voice held neither admiration nor praise—only cold indifference and subtle scorn.
She continued without mercy, "Do you know when Wang Feng joined the sect? Hmph. Just a few months ago. With no prior cultivation at all."
A collective gasp swept through the crowd. Those unaware of Wang Feng's history gawked at him in disbelief.
"You boast about reaching the fourth great realm in nearly a decade," Su Yan said sharply, "but he reached the Peak of the second great realm in less than a year—and can already take on multiple opponents above his cultivation."
She looked at him with indifference, even disdain as she spoke, "If that's not talent, I don't know what is..."
Her words struck like a lightening, piercing Xie Hong Chen's pride. "I... Impossible... This can't be..." he muttered, eyes fixed on Wang Feng in disbelief.
Su Yan stepped protectively in front of Wang Feng. Her voice was firm. "Xie Hong Chen, I've no wish to argue with you further. Under the care of your Disciplinary Hall, he has already suffered enough. I'm taking him to treat his injuries." Her firm words struck like a judge's verdict.
Her words snapped Xie Hong Chen out of his daze. He bellowed, "No one leaves today!" His body trembled with emotion as he commanded, casting a sorrowful glance at Su Yan stepping forward to shield Wang Feng.
"Disciplinary Hall disciples, attack to kill! No matter who resists—especially Junior Sister Su—show no leniency!" His voice cracked with desperation. 'I can't let that guy leave!'
More than a hundred disciples froze momentarily, hesitant to strike someone like Su Yan. But fear of Xie Hong Chen's wrath outweighed their doubts, and the mass of Qis surged forward like a tidal waves.
"Are you sure you want this?" Su Yan's voice cut through the chaos. Her crystal-clear eyes shone with deadly intent.
Xie Hong Chen gave a bitter smile. "Junior Sister… I know I'm no match for you. But if you want to get past me, you'll have to do it over my dead body."
It was a pitiful attempt to sway her with courage and helplessness. But Su Yan wasn't moved. Her chest rose and fell with fury.
....
Meanwhile, in the towering Elder Hall, Great Elder Wei Xi Tong sat tall and beaming. He had just forced Elder Su Xuan Wu into silence, using Su Yan's insubordination as his leverage.
"Excellent. Deliver my order!" Wei Zhuang barked to a loyal subordinate, shooting him a meaningful glance. "Wang Feng and Yang Kai are to be crippled and exiled from the sect!"
"The Elders are quite imposing, aren't they?" a calm voice interrupted.
Everyone turned towards the source and saw, an old man unknowingly appearing into the hall like a ghost, seemingly having appeared from nowhere.
"Treasurer Meng?"
Indeed, it was Meng Wu Ya of the Contribution Hall.
The elders were baffled. This man had arrived at High Heaven Pavilion over a decade ago and somehow gained the Head's favor, securing a position overseeing the Contribution Hall. Despite frequent inquiries, none ever learned who he really was.
But one thing was certain—he was powerful. Perhaps even more powerful than the sect master himself.
Fortunately, he had never sought influence and lived quietly. So the elders had always ignored him. Until today.
Wei Xi Tong felt a chill. Facing Treasurer Meng felt even more oppressive pressure than facing the Head himself.
With a forced smile, he asked, "Treasurer Meng, May I know why you came to my elder hall?"
Meng Wu Ya ignored him and turned to Su Xuan Wu with an unsettling grin. Making Su Xuan Wu frown, wondering what warranted such smile.
"You believe your decision is just?" he asked suddenly.
"What?" Su Xuan Wu blinked.
"Sacrificing Yang Kai and Wang Feng to protect Su Yan..... Do you believe that's the right thing to do?" Meng Wu Ya asked, his tone deceptively mild. Su Xuan Wu fell silent.
What could he say, he had tried his best already. But suddenly he froze, 'wait... Why is Treasurer Meng...'
His thoughts were cut short as Meng Wu Ya vanished.
Gasps echoed through the hall. No one had seen how he moved.
A voice rang behind them. "The Sect Master has given orders. Do not interfere with the younger generation. And stay clear of that brat, Yang Kai."
They turned and saw Meng Wu Ya seated casually in the Sect Master's chair, holding a jade token.
"The Sect Master's Token!?" Great Elder Wei Xi Tong cried, stunned.
A cold sweat broke over him. 'Has the Sect Master been watching all along? Did I just overstep...? And who is that boy Yang Kai!?'
Despite their turmoil, the elders bowed and saluted the token. "We obey the Sect Master's command."
Meng Wu Ya nodded and tucked away the token.
"Now that's resolved," he said, standing from the seat with the same smile gracing his face.
Suddenly, a tremendous pressure filled the hall. The elders dropped to their knees, their hands trembling, trying to stop them from completing crashing on the floor.
"What... What is this!?" they gasped.
A calm, steely voice pierced the tension. "Shall we move on to the next matter?"
The elders felt their bodies shaking with goosebumps as they mechanically looked up at Meng Wu Ya. who was now standing in front of Great Elder Wei with a cold, almost detached look in his eyes.
"Why...?" Wei Xi Tong croaked, suffocating under the aura. Meng Wu Ya's presence dwarfed even the Sect Master's, leaving him in disbelief and fear.
Meng Wu Ya snorted. "Why? Wei Xi Tong, weren't you just about to cripple and exile Wang Feng—my prospective disciple?"
Then, his voice thundered. "Who gave you the courage to touch my people!?"
His aura burst forth like a storm, pressing the elders further into the ground. Su Mu and Wei Zhuang cowered in the corner, pale and trembling.
While the long forgotten Su Mu and Wei Zhuang felt like wetting their pants as they saw the usually aloof elders trembling and kneeling in front of the Treasurer no one respected in the sect.
Meng Wu Ya shot a glance at the Second and Third Elders. The pressure on them lifted, but they remained kneeling, too afraid to move.
He turned his gaze back to Wei Xi Tong, who was on the verge of tears.
Wei Xi Tong felt like crying. He felt that today was the worst day of his life. He just wanted to make an example of a few rowdy disciples to make his faction appear the dominant one.
Who knew that the two disciples he had chosen for this would turn out to be someone associated with the Powerful Sect Master and an even more powerful person, the seemingly ordinary Treasurer of the Sect.
"Trea.... Sen...Senior Meng... I...I didn't know he ... was your disciple.... Please...If ...If I had known", Wei Xi Tong stammered.
"Oh? So if you'd known, you'd just pick some other poor disciple to make an example of?" Meng Wu Ya's eyes narrowed.
Wei Xi Tong's heart sank. "N-No! I wouldn't—please, Senior Meng!", his hair stood on ends, his body drenched in cold sweat.
With a snort, Meng Wu Ya struck. His palm landed squarely on the Great Elder's chest, sending him crashing through the wall, landing outside in a heap.
"Let THIS be a lesson!" Meng Wu Ya roared. "Don't toy with the lives of ordinary disciples for your power plays!"
Meng Wu Ya swept his gaze across the elders. None dared meet his eyes. Then, without another word, he walked out of the hall, leaving a scene of devastation and trembling elders in his wake.