Chapter 5135 — Abandoned
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
"Enough!" Xue Liping could hold back no longer. He slammed his palm on the table, silencing the crowd, and snorted coldly. "At this rate, even if we argue for ten days or half a month, we will never reach a conclusion. The way I see it, we should settle the two most urgent matters first and leave the rest for later—no harm in quarreling over them then!"
"What two matters?" Everyone turned to look at him in unison.
"First, send healing pills to Bing Wushuang and my son Xue Jianming at once—this cannot wait." Xue Liping's face was grave, though in truth his son was the real priority; otherwise he would never have been so earnest. He paused, then continued, "Second, setting aside Cangwu Sect of North Island for now, that fellow called Lin Dongfang must be severely punished!"
The senior members of the Snow Sword Sect nodded one after another. Xue Liping's words did make sense. How to deal with Cangwu Sect of North Island and how to handle Lengleng were matters that could be debated at leisure; only these two could not be delayed and had to be decided at once.
Even Chi Qianqiu did not continue to oppose him, though neither would he let matters go so smoothly for Xue Liping. Instead he turned to Hong Qingyuan and said, "Sect Master, I fear this matter can only be settled by you personally."
From beginning to end today, Hong Qingyuan, the sect master, had stood by with folded arms, and no one knew what he was thinking. Perhaps he had not yet made up his mind, perhaps he was simply playing the balance between Chi Qianqiu and Xue Liping—at any rate, he came across as profoundly unfathomable.
Hong Qingyuan's gaze swept across each face in the hall before he finally spoke slowly. "Very well, then let us address the first matter. To heal the injuries of Bing Wushuang and Xue Jianming, nothing short of a fifth-grade Great Restoration Pill will do. Our Snow Sword Sect possesses one, but it is a necessary reserve for emergencies. According to sect rules, it may be used only when someone of elder rank or above is injured."
Xue Liping's expression darkened at these words. Though Hong Qingyuan had not said it outright, his meaning was already abundantly clear.
Bing Wushuang and Xue Jianming. The former was one of the candidates for elder, but not a full elder; as for the latter, by rank he was merely a disciple, distinguished only by the reflected glory of his father, the vice sect master. Neither qualified. So if the rules were truly to be followed, the fifth-grade Great Restoration Pill was out of the question.
"But..." Xue Liping wanted to plead further on his son's behalf. After all, this was his only promising son—if the boy were to become a cripple from now on, the Xue family would have no heir worthy of the name.
Yet Hong Qingyuan merely glanced at him, and Xue Liping did not dare say another word. He could spar with Chi Qianqiu, the grand elder, however he liked—to some extent that was tacitly permitted by Hong Qingyuan—but if he dared defy Hong Qingyuan to his face, his future days would be anything but pleasant.
"Second, regarding Lin Dongfang, the man who crippled Bing Wushuang and Xue Jianming. His identity remains uncertain. No one knows whether he is an expert of the North Island Alliance, a man of the secular world, or a mysterious master from somewhere else. Until we have clarified his origins and background, we must not act rashly. To cripple Bing Wushuang so effortlessly in a single exchange—this man's strength is by no means ordinary. Even among Golden Core experts he is not one to be trifled with. We would do well to proceed with caution," Hong Qingyuan said.