Chapter 105

Chapter 105: Managing Sect Affairs

After that big turn, no one used the rumor of Shen Sang Ruo being expelled to attack her or to say she did not deserve to be Young Sect Master.

Most of the talk shifted to how she faced Master Ling Xiao head on. Some felt she was truly brave, while others said she was wildly disrespectful.

People also began to question whether Feng He Yun’s group was two-faced.

In short, the focus was no longer on the sect vote itself.

Half an hour passed quickly, and almost everyone in the sect had cast their votes.

Aside from Lu Shi Qing, who had voted for Shen Sang Ruo right away, Feng He Yun and the others were still hesitating.

Bai Mu Mu glanced over at them without saying anything and gave a small smile.

It seemed to say they could vote in peace with no pressure, that she would be happy no matter who they chose.

In the end, Feng He Yun and Wen Xuan voted for Bai Mu Mu, while Luo Chu voted for Shen Sang Ruo.

Bai Mu Mu looked at the numbers on the giant stone next to her name and Shen Sang Ruo’s name, and the corners of her lips slowly lifted. She walked to Shen Sang Ruo and said, “Your performance was impressive. Even I did not expect it.”

To dare to tear her face with Master Ling Xiao took a kind of boldness few people had.

“But it still did nothing. Look,” she added, pointing her eyes toward the giant stone.

“In this round, you lost.”

Shen Sang Ruo raised her eyes and gave the stone only a light glance.

In the end, the gap between her votes and Bai Mu Mu’s was huge. Compared side by side, her votes were so few it was almost pitiful.

The bias against her in the Flying Cloud Sect could not be changed in a short time.

In the hearts of most people, Bai Mu Mu was still the preferred choice for Young Sect Master.

The Peak Masters and Elders also held more votes. They would not risk offending Master Ling Xiao by voting for her.

Of course, she did not care. Bai Mu Mu’s taunt did not touch her mood at all.

She answered Bai Mu Mu with silence.

The half hour ended, and the numbers on the stone froze.

Although the process had some surprises, Shen Dao Chen was still satisfied with the result.

He announced at once: “The winner of the sect vote is Bai Mu Mu. Congratulations.”

The Disciples watching cheered. From their point of view, this was what everyone expected.

Bai Mu Mu was pleased with the sect vote. She was also pleased with the process.

She kept a calm face, quietly stepped aside, and waited for the next trial to begin.

After a short rest of a quarter hour, Shen Dao Chen announced the start of the second trial, Managing Sect Affairs.

The rules were simple. The Elders would draw on the sect’s last few years and raise two hundred questions, arrange them into one test paper, and have the two of them answer within a set time.

Then the Elders would grade the papers together in public. The higher score would win.

For the Disciples watching, this trial was far more boring than the first.

The answering time lasted two full hours. To serve as witnesses, they could not leave and had to stay quiet.

Test papers and desks were set on the stage, turning it into a test hall in an instant.

Shen Sang Ruo did not aim to take the Young Sect Master’s seat. She had planned to scribble through the test and make it to the third trial.

But in the days of preparation, Daoist Wu Wei, who would yelp like an old man bullied by two extra steps, stayed up with her every night just for this Managing Sect Affairs trial.

If she did not win this round, she would fail his effort and every hair he had lost.

Luckily, she had read plenty of the sect’s records. She had seen most of these questions before, and with how well she knew the Flying Cloud Sect, she could infer answers even to the few she had never seen.

On Bai Mu Mu’s side, she had only read the records for a few days when Shen Dao Chen pressed her hard. After that, she sweet-talked him and wriggled out of it.

She stared at the questions and felt extremely annoyed. [I am a strategy raider. Why am I still taking tests?]

She spoke in her mind: “System, help me find the answers to these questions.”

The System answered: “Sweetie, we are the Strategy System, not a top student System.”

“Then forget it. I will not write. Winning this round does not matter anyway,” Bai Mu Mu said in her mind.

The System chimed a warning: “Kind reminder, Shen Dao Chen has very high expectations for the Host. If the Host cannot hand in a decent paper, his favorability may drop.”

“You should have said that earlier,” Bai Mu Mu ground out between her teeth.

Her original plan was to put all her effort on the last trial of strength. She did not want to waste brainpower on Managing Sect Affairs.

She was here to complete a strategy mission, not to truly be the Young Sect Master.

If she had known sooner, she would have prepared for this round.

The System went silent. Ever since the time it lost connection, the System felt a little off to her.

With no choice, Bai Mu Mu began to answer the two hundred questions seriously.

Thankfully, Shen Dao Chen still had some bottom line. He had not leaked the test questions to her.

Shen Sang Ruo, on the other hand, worked smoothly. She finished well before the two hours were up.

She checked her work, made sure there were no gaps, then stood and signaled the proctoring Elder to collect her paper. [If you learn and do not show it, it is like you never learned.]

Everyone in the Flying Cloud Sect looked at her in surprise. That was two hundred short-answer questions.

Seeing her hand in early, Shen Dao Chen’s expression eased. He felt she had taken the Young Sect Master trials seriously after all.

He then turned his hopeful gaze to Bai Mu Mu, thinking she would hand in soon as well.

But at that moment, Bai Mu Mu was in a panic. Every one of the two hundred questions felt tricky and strange.

Worse, Shen Sang Ruo had handed in so early, so now everyone was watching her.

Shen Sang Ruo had been resting her mind when she suddenly felt a hateful stare. She turned and met Bai Mu Mu’s eyes.

She raised a brow, turned her whole body, and simply stared at Bai Mu Mu.

The smile at her lips was pure mockery.

She would not miss a chance to make Bai Mu Mu squirm.

Now their positions were the reverse of the sect vote.

Bai Mu Mu bit down and told herself she would make Shen Sang Ruo pay in the next trial. Only then did she calm down.

As time ticked by, Bai Mu Mu kept writing. The hope on Shen Dao Chen’s face slowly turned into a deep frown.

At last, just before the time ran out, Bai Mu Mu finished and signaled the proctoring Elder to collect her paper.

Finishing within the limit counted as completing the test.

But after Shen Sang Ruo’s very early hand-in, Bai Mu Mu’s on-time finish looked much less impressive.

With both papers in, it was time to grade them in public.

Shen Dao Chen took back his gaze, still holding high expectations for Bai Mu Mu. Since Bai Mu Mu had worked more slowly than Shen Sang Ruo, her answers must be better than Shen Sang Ruo’s.