Chapter 116

Chapter 116: First Day in the Sect, Becoming Young Sect Master

Shen Sang Ruo looked at the two tokens stacked in her palm and asked: “Why are there two tokens?”

She thought Daoist Wu Wei had made a mistake.

The top one was Ninghua Sect’s disciple token, covering the one underneath.

Daoist Wu Wei narrowed his eyes with a smile and said: “Just take a look.”

Seeing his cheeky expression, Shen Sang Ruo felt a chill of worry: [This cannot be good.]

She lifted the top token; the words “Young Sect Master’s Token” leaped into view.

Daoist Wu Wei grinned wider and asked: “How is it, do you like it?”

Shen Sang Ruo leaned forward, eyes widening as she pointed to herself and said: “Me?”

He nodded, full of approval, and said: “Yes, you.”

She frowned and said: “You want me, someone who just joined, to be Ninghua Sect’s Young Sect Master? Sect Master, please do not joke.”

Although Ninghua Sect had few disciples, Ye Huai and the others were outstanding. If they chose a Young Sect Master, they should consider them first.

Also, giving her the Young Sect Master’s Token was like handing her the whole Ninghua Sect in the future.

She glanced around and said: “This is too hasty.” She hoped the others would help talk Daoist Wu Wei out of it.

But everyone wore the same look of trust, as if they already knew and agreed.

Shen Sang Ruo could only stare, speechless: “…”

Daoist Wu Wei stroked his beard with a proud twinkle and said: “See, we all agree you should be the Young Sect Master.”

Noting the hesitation on her face, he added: “If you prefer, we can arrange a Young Sect Master trial like the Flying Cloud Sect did.”

He spread his hands and said: “There are only a few of us. Even if I let Ye Huai and the others all join, none of them could beat you. If the sect voted, they would all vote for you. For handling sect affairs, I trained you myself, so you are stronger. As for cultivation, who among them can match you? Su Xi Yu and Song Wei Yan only just recovered. Ye Huai is about to recover. Bai Ruo An has not recovered yet.”

He pressed the token toward her and said: “Three wins across the board. You are the popular, well-deserved Young Sect Master.”

“Yes, yes,” Su Xi Yu and the others nodded hard, and even Ye Huai agreed with a nod.

Immortal Lord Chang Li said: “Take it without worry. This was not Wu Wei acting on a whim. He thought it through and discussed it with us.”

He added: “No matter what happens to Ninghua Sect later, we are at ease entrusting it to you.”

Shen Sang Ruo gazed at the weighty Young Sect Master’s Token. She understood the duty behind it. After a quiet moment, she closed her fingers around it, eyes steady and calm: [I will carry it.]

Since childhood, she had held herself to the standard of a Young Sect Master. Faced with this scene, she felt no fear.

Her voice firm, she stopped refusing and said: “I will not fail.”

They chose to trust her, so she would shoulder that trust.

Thus, on her first day in Ninghua Sect, Shen Sang Ruo became the sect’s Young Sect Master.

Meanwhile, in the Flying Cloud Sect, Master Ling Xiao exploded with fury and said: “Wretched disciple, how far will you go for someone who was expelled from the sect?”

He flicked his sleeve and sent the kneeling Wen Xuan flying several meters.

Wen Xuan spat a mouthful of blood. Though pain tightened his face, he still stubbornly crawled back to kneel before Master Ling Xiao and knocked his head to the floor, saying: “Please, Master, persuade Sect Master Shen to take back the order expelling Little Ruo.”

Feng He Yun and Luo Chu, who had come with him, thought he had gone mad. When Shen Sang Ruo left Thunder-Scale Peak, Wen Xuan had not reacted this strongly. They did not know why he was like this now.

He was so determined that the usually steady Wen Xuan chose one rash act after another just to plead for Shen Sang Ruo.

They had gone to beg Shen Dao Chen first, but were turned away at the door. Wen Xuan then acted like someone under Body Seizure and refused to leave. He knelt outside the main peak asking Shen Dao Chen to withdraw the order, drawing many disciples to stop and stare.

Already angry over the Young Sect Master trial, Shen Dao Chen grew even more annoyed and sent word for Master Ling Xiao to bring Wen Xuan back for strict teaching.

Master Ling Xiao’s face was dark when he returned with Wen Xuan, yet Wen Xuan seemed not to notice and kept begging, risking his Master’s full wrath.

Master Ling Xiao had already knocked him away several times. Seeing Wen Xuan still refuse to yield, he neared the end of his patience.

He peered down at Wen Xuan and said: “Wen Xuan, what did Shen Sang Ruo do to bewitch you? You used to guard against her hurting your junior sister. Now she has hurt your junior sister badly and shows no regret, yet you still beg for her?”

He pressed harder and said: “Shen Sang Ruo has nothing to do with you, with Thunder-Scale Peak, or with the Flying Cloud Sect anymore. Why protect her? Bai Mu Mu is your junior sister.”

At the words no longer has anything to do with you, Wen Xuan’s body trembled. He lifted his head; tear tracks marked his face, which shocked Master Ling Xiao, Feng He Yun, and Luo Chu.

With pain filling his voice, Wen Xuan argued: “No, Master, Little Ruo has always been my junior sister. She will always be my junior sister.”

He added: “We truly cannot be without Little Ruo. We owe her too much. Master, please, if we do not do something to make this right, she will never want to come back.”

He did not notice the slight tremble in his voice. He was now sure Shen Sang Ruo had chosen to leave the Flying Cloud Sect. She wanted a clean break. Little Ruo did not want them.

Master Ling Xiao knit his brows and drew breath to speak, but Wen Xuan said: “I do care about my junior sister. I hurt when she is hurt. But I believe Little Ruo did not do it on purpose. She is not that kind of person.”

Master Ling Xiao let out a cold laugh and said: “Not that kind of person? Then tell me what kind she is. Before, whenever anything happened to your junior sister, you were the first to suspect Shen Sang Ruo. Now you say you trust her?”

He stared down and said: “For Shen Sang Ruo, have you forgotten my teaching and learned to lie with your eyes open?”