Battle of Words (II)

The storm of mutterings and heated murmurs erupted all across the grand banquet hall. The reaction to Long Yifei varied from person to person and wildly according to their backgrounds. Some were shocked, others angry. Disbelief was on everyone's minds but for different reasons. Some couldn't believe she would willingly throw her future away. Others couldn't believe they hadn't thought of it themselves.

This had always been an option, at least for Sacred Daughters who entered the Order with an acolyte. The Virtuous Order of Chunzhen was not the same as ordinary cultivation sects. Nobody in the Order was her master. Only Chen Wentian was her master, the person she had bowed and sworn fealty to.

For ones like her, this place was exactly like a school so it was not unreasonable to leave. Leaving had been the result of many third-phase challenges in the distant past. It was just that nobody had ever such a public declaration of withdrawal.

"You." The voice that broke the hubbub belonged to Abbotess Yang.

"You want to leave? Have you thought it through? There is no need to be hasty. Leaving doesn't benefit anyone." She said with barely hidden agitation.

Long Yifei shook her head, "It is not that I want to leave but that you are giving me no other choice. If the challenger cannot receive the same punishment, then it is unacceptable."

"Impudent!" Abbotess Yang spat, sending out a wave of spiritual energy due to her anger.

Long Yifei's body swayed but she managed to remain upright with Chen Wentian's help.

Abbotess Yang continued, "This is the Virtuous Order! Not some street market where you can haggle prices up or down. You dare make a mockery of this Gift Giving Ceremony? It is a holy night for all Sacred Daughters. Do you think you are better than the Order?"

"Abbotess Yang, everything I have said is in accordance with laws and tradition. My acolyte is a person very dear to me. He is my master. My respect for him is as deep as the ocean. My devotion to him is profound like the starry skies. Yet despite this, as long as this challenge is fair, I am still willing to go through with it. I am willing to follow the conventions of the Gift Giving Ceremony, even at the risk of my master losing his acolyte status. If I am willing to do this, why cannot my challenger face the same consequences? How am I making a mockery of anything? If anything, it is this unfair challenge making a mockery of everyone present!"

Long Yifei's voice was bright and determined. In the ways of verbal arguments, she had plenty of experience dealing with the stubborn elders of Glacier Palace. They never liked her status the sect master's favorite and gave her a lot of trouble. Old people were like blood-sucking demons that fed on youth and inexperience. They loved to argue and they loved to see their victims wilt under mere words, without having to lift a finger. The best way to deal with people like this was by slapping them across the face over and over again using laws and tradition. It was the best way to drive them crazy.

"You… you…" Yang Mengshi pointed a trembling finger at Long Yifei, now thoroughly enraged.

"Enough." A different abbotess cut in before she could form coherent words. This one sat on the other side of the row of seven and glanced over at Abbotess Yang disdainfully, "Can we just get on with the actual trial part of the challenge? If we keep this up, we'll be here until the roosters crow."

Another one chimed in, ignoring Yang Mengshi's livid expression, "That's right, why are you acting so scared. A challenge is a challenge. If Yang Gehu is brave enough to bring forth a challenge, he should be brave enough to suffer consequences should he fail. Fair is fair, I find no fault with this sacred daughter's words."

"Abbotess Yun, how can you say that?" An abbotess on Yang Mengshi's side shot back, "Don't try to pretend like you don't know what kind of status Yang Gehu holds in the Yang Clan of Great Waves. Even in the Seven Potentates, he is among the best of the younger generation of Spirit Lords. He will be a leader for centuries to come."

"That's right!" A third one added.

"Really? I can't tell…"

"You dare?"

"I dare!"

Shouts erupted across the executive council. Abbotesses on both sides threw fiery arguments at each other, with only Li Shishi remaining out of the fray. Four abbotesses supported Yang Gehu while two were adamantly against him. These two groups of old but good-looking women never saw eye to eye. They were probably using Long Yifei's situation to get even on some old grudges.

Chen Wentian turned to Long Yifei who gave him a small nod. This was what they had banked on all along, this faction of abbotesses within the school. Although the Seven Potentates held great influence at the Millennium Mountains Campus and across the Martial Brilliance Continent, they were still a local power. The Order would not allow them to have complete authority over their school so they had installed their core members onto the council. It was the only way to ensure that local powers did not run amok and sully the principles of the Order.

Chen Wentian looked toward Li Shishi. She was a wily, unreadable person. She was the head abbotess, the leader of the executive council. She was, of course, a core member of the Order. There was no way such an important position could go to someone aligned with the Seven Potentates. He knew that she wanted Long Yifei and that she wanted him out of the way. But he also knew that handing Long Yifei over to the Seven Potentates was even more impossible.

This was what tonight hinged on, whether or not they could force Li Shishi to help them even though she didn't want to. So, they waited anxiously as the dispute between the abbotesses dragged on, waiting to see if Long Yifei's threat of leaving the Order would finally compel Abbotess Li.

After what seemed like forever, after the abbotesses seemed to run out of steam for the moment, Abbotess Li finally clapped her hands, bringing silence to the hall.

"Very good arguments from all sides. What a spirited debate! But we really should move along. We can't hold the entire ceremony hostage over a single challenge. The food is getting cold and the wine is getting stale." She paused and glanced at Chen Wentian with an indecipherable smile, "People have places to be, places to go. This matter we've been arguing over for so long is really a trivial one. It should not cost the Order one of our best young talents. I don't want to see Sacred Daughter Long Yifei leave and I don't think anyone here wants this. So… Immortal Bamboo Wave Yang Gehu."

"Yes, Abbotess Li." Yang Gehu spoke up for the first time in a long time.

"I want to ask you a very simple question."

"Please."

"You were brave enough to challenge this acolyte beside you. If you prevail, he will be banished from the Order for a hundred years. Tell me, are you brave enough to face the same punishment as him if you fail? Are you confident in your own abilities?"

Yang Gehu didn't answer immediately, instead looking towards Abbotess Yang.

"I asked you, not your babysitter." Abbotess Li snapped.

Yang Gehu's expression darkened. She was directly calling out his manhood, his honor, his reputation. There was nothing Abbotess Yang or the other abbotesses on his side could do anymore. In front of the gathered heroes and heroines of the Martial Brilliance Continent, there was no other answer he could give. Everyone already knew this as soon as Abbotess Li made her intentions clear.

"I am… willing." Yang Gehu finally said.

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