Chapter 1034: The Sacred Venerables' Fury

Niu Youdao had told Huang Ban to ask around, yet Huang Ban did not care whether Niu Youdao was in the right or not. His first response was to detain him and sort it out afterward. That alone said plenty about Huang Ban's opinion of Niu Youdao.

Precisely because of that, Niu Youdao knew he had already offended people inside Misty Pavilion and had not wanted to stir up trouble at a time like this. That was why he had avoided the Myriad Beasts Sect people earlier. Who could have known they would act as though they had swallowed the wrong medicine and refuse to let the matter go?

Everyone involved was detained on the spot.

An Shougui had only just arrived in Sacred Realm and was somewhat frightened, unsure what consequences awaited him. He began regretting that he had gone looking for trouble with Niu Youdao.

After Misty Pavilion investigated the sequence of events in detail, Niu Youdao was released again. He had gone in quickly and come out just as quickly.

An Shougui, however, was summoned by Huang Ban into a pavilion.

The interior was simple: a brazier releasing a thin thread of blue smoke, and a desk. Huang Ban sat behind the desk while An Shougui entered and saluted.

Once the formalities were over, Huang Ban said blandly, "You've got quite some nerve. You only just arrived in Sacred Realm and already dare make trouble?"

This was no empty warning. At any other time, Huang Ban could have used this reason alone to execute An Shougui and make an example of him.

But once a person stood within an organization, very few things could be done purely according to one's own whims. There were always constraints.

The tempering participants were currently waiting here for the next assignment to be issued from above. Myriad Beasts Sect's people had only just been pulled in as replacements by Misty Pavilion. If Huang Ban dealt with them now, finding another set of replacements would already be troublesome. Worse, what if the next assignment arrived suddenly while the tempering roster was short? Were they supposed to postpone the schedule?

Huang Ban was the one presiding over the tempering. He had no desire to manufacture trouble for himself.

After weighing all those considerations, he decided to raise the matter high, then set it down lightly.

An Shougui hurriedly cupped his hands and defended himself. "Steward Huang, I questioned my sect disciples carefully. Neither of them used force to smash the door. Niu Youdao must have done something from inside."

Huang Ban said, "Your own people testify for themselves. Who's supposed to believe that? Do you think Niu Youdao will admit it? Was Niu Youdao the one who came looking for trouble with you? Everyone in that courtyard saw Niu Youdao avoiding you. You were the ones who went to his door. Everyone saw your people pounding on it hard enough to nearly break it down, and in the end the door really was smashed apart!"

An Shougui said indignantly, "Steward Huang, we've been wronged. My disciples would never lie to me. Please interrogate Niu Youdao thoroughly. You will definitely uncover the truth!"

Huang Ban stood. "An Shougui, is there something wrong with your head? Even if Niu Youdao did something, so what? Even if we investigate and prove it, so what? You were the ones who went looking for trouble in the first place and caused the whole incident. Everyone in the courtyard saw it. Myriad Beasts Sect started the trouble! If I punish Niu Youdao, do you think the people who deliberately provoked the incident get to walk away untouched?"

An Shougui froze, caught the implication, and cautiously asked, "Steward Huang means...?"

"So many people saw the commotion. There has to be some explanation. Your punishment is to repair the door!"

That was all?

An Shougui let out a breath of relief. He had no objection now and accepted the punishment.

Watching him leave, Huang Ban stood with his hands behind his back and shook his head.

In truth, he too would have liked to teach Niu Youdao a lesson. Xuan Yao had specifically sent him word to keep an eye on the man. The moment Niu Youdao gave them anything they could seize on, Huang Ban was to deal with him as harshly as possible.

But that was easy advice to give from the sidelines.

Huang Ban knew roughly what had happened earlier. So long as Niu Youdao committed no serious offense, even Ding Wei probably would not dare treat him too harshly at a moment like this. Otherwise, people might start thinking too much about why. And again, Huang Ban was currently presiding over the tempering. He had no desire to create problems for himself by leaving the roster short and making it difficult to report upward.

Afterward, all three Myriad Beasts Sect men were released.

Led by An Shougui, they found some lumber, carried the materials to Niu Youdao's room, and began repairing the smashed door with a clatter of tools.

The affair itself was minor, but An Shougui found it humiliating. Plenty of people from the various sects were watching the spectacle from around the courtyard.

Fortunately, he still had two Myriad Beasts Sect disciples under him. He did not need to repair the door personally.

The work was too noisy to remain inside, so Niu Youdao took Qin Guan and Ke Dingjie outside to bask in the sun.

After supervising the repairs for a while, An Shougui eventually came over to Niu Youdao.

The two stared at one another for a moment before Niu Youdao asked, "An Shougui, are you still looking for trouble?"

An Shougui said, "You know perfectly well how that door broke."

Niu Youdao replied, "You suspect I did it myself? Are you certain those two disciples of yours aren't afraid of punishment and lying to shift responsibility? Elder An, let me offer you a kind reminder. In a place like this, having two dishonest disciples under you is no small problem. Taishu Shancheng's death is a lesson right before your eyes."

An Shougui instinctively fell silent.

Put that way, even he was no longer completely certain. Perhaps one of the two really had grown frightened and shifted the blame.

He did not reveal those thoughts. Instead, he brushed the subject aside and returned to what he had actually come to ask. "Taishu Shancheng said you were colluding with Chao Jing. How do you explain that?"

Niu Youdao said, "The dead can't testify. Why should I explain anything? If this kind of dirty water can simply be thrown over another person's head to frame them, Elder An, believe me when I say I could pin a hundred accusations on you without effort."

Chao Jing and Chao Shenghuai were both dead. Every inconvenient witness who knew the details was gone. Niu Youdao had little left to fear on that front.

An Shougui asked, "Then explain where all those flying mounts of yours came from."

At this, even Qin Guan and Ke Dingjie began wondering.

Back at Zijin Cave, they had already heard people say that the number of flying mounts in Elder Niu's hands rivaled what a major sect possessed. Disciples had argued endlessly over where they came from. The most common explanation was that Elder Niu's liquor business brought such enormous profits that he could afford to buy them.

Looking at the situation now, perhaps their origin really was questionable.

After spending this period with Elder Niu, both men had come to believe he was absolutely capable of doing things that skirted the proper path.

Niu Youdao said, "What business is it of yours where mine came from? Once Myriad Beasts Sect sells something, do you still control how the buyer uses it? Whether someone buys a flying mount to ride, gives it away, or kills it and stews it for meat, what does that have to do with you? You're not going to claim I stole Myriad Beasts Sect's flying mounts, are you? Has your sect actually lost any? Take ten thousand steps back—even if I had stolen them, do you have evidence? Elder An, if you have no evidence, don't speak recklessly. You'd be better off worrying about whether you can leave this place alive."

An Shougui said, "Myriad Beasts Sect will definitely demand an explanation from you once this is over. We will investigate the matter thoroughly."

The reason he refused to let go of the flying mounts was that Taishu Shancheng's suspicions had reminded him of something.

An Shougui himself had long been responsible for the eyries at Myriad Beasts Sect. He remembered vividly the old "plague" that had caused the loss of many flying mounts. Even now, the matter had never been explained clearly. If Chao Jing truly had been an inside traitor, it was entirely possible that he had tampered with something back then.

And then, for no obvious reason, Niu Youdao had suddenly acquired a large number of flying mounts. The coincidence was far too suspicious.

Niu Youdao sneered. They would have better luck investigating ghosts.

Given his current status, could Myriad Beasts Sect really seize a Zijin Cave Elder and drag him away for interrogation? If they tried, Zijin Cave would storm their gates.

Without that premise, what exactly were they going to investigate? Every person connected to what happened back then was already dead. How were they supposed to investigate ghosts?

The point remained the same. He was a Zijin Cave Elder. Mere suspicion was not enough to do anything to him.

"Elder An, investigate however you like. I don't even know whether I'll make it out of here alive. Do whatever you want." Niu Youdao teased him, then looked around and continued, "Haven't you understood why you were brought in as a replacement? You wrote those things down. Do you really think you can go back afterward and live as though nothing happened? I'm telling you now: everyone who wrote those things has no road back."

He rose as he spoke, leaned close to An Shougui's ear, and lowered his voice. "When I saw the replacements arrive, I more or less understood something. Why do people from every major sect have to be present? Can't you see it? The Sacred Venerables want to use us as anchors to keep the major sects steady—which means keeping the entire cultivation world steady, and by extension keeping the whole world steady—so they can turn around and clean up Misty Pavilion. We have no road of retreat. This so-called tempering is meant to force us into conflict with Misty Pavilion. And you still have the leisure to keep snapping at me?"

An Shougui recoiled a step in shock and stared at him with uncertainty.

...

Huang Ban was just as shocked as he stared at the sheet of paper in his hands.

Ding Wei had arrived and now stood silently before a window inside a secure pavilion at Shouque Villa.

After finishing the document, Huang Ban seemed unable to believe what he had read. He looked up. "They are to be allowed into the various departments, and they're being given the right to report directly to the Sacred Venerables?"

Ding Wei nodded silently. "Without the Sacred Venerables' permission, no one may decide their life or death. Any execution requires the Sacred Venerables' approval."

Huang Ban exclaimed, "How did it come to this?"

Ding Wei sighed. "During the contest, Misty Pavilion personnel violated the rules. The people responsible for enforcing the rules broke them themselves. The Sacred Venerables were furious. The contest results have been voided. The original plan to select the best-performing people from the various sects and absorb them into Misty Pavilion has also been canceled. Instead, the tempering participants from the various sects are ordered to enter Misty Pavilion's departments and investigate problems."

Huang Ban said, "Misty Pavilion can investigate itself. How can we let outsiders intervene?"

"I said the same thing." Ding Wei's voice remained flat. "The Sacred Venerables rebuked me: 'Have Misty Pavilion investigate itself?' Huang Ban, they caught us by the handle. There was nothing to say. Carry out the order."

Huang Ban's expression dimmed. "So this whole so-called tempering was staged so convincingly only as a pretext, a way to find an excuse. And we actually put our hearts into it. Every one of these people has the power of a major sect behind them. If things are handled this way, are they trying to hollow out Misty Pavilion's authority?"

Still facing the window, Ding Wei said calmly, "Don't say what shouldn't be said."

...

The tempering participants from the various sects were summoned once again and gathered together in one hall.

When Huang Ban announced the new decree, the sect cultivators sitting cross-legged inside were stunned into disbelief.

They had actually been granted authority to inspect Misty Pavilion?

They could even report directly to the Sacred Venerables?

Authority over whether they lived or died had been placed directly in the Sacred Venerables' hands, with no one else permitted to decide their fate?

The sudden grant of such enormous power left everyone wondering whether they had heard correctly.

Even Niu Youdao had not expected the matter he had only just begun to piece together to erupt with such force.

At first, everything had moved slowly under the name of "tempering." The moment the Sacred Venerables obtained leverage, however, they launched the real operation with thunderous speed, utterly unafraid that the upheaval might cause disorder.

Niu Youdao finally understood something of the Nine Saints' domineering confidence in holding all beneath Heaven within their grasp.

After observing everyone's reactions, Huang Ban said, "The situation has already been explained clearly. There are certain places you will not be permitted to enter. Apart from those, the lists of departments open to your participation have already been distributed. You have three days to choose for yourselves. After three days, Misty Pavilion will make any necessary adjustments and report the final arrangements upward."

[End of Chapter 1034]