Zhanxian

ed somewhere due to rushed work.

The most of the fault probably lied with Elder Mo Qian.
She had made up her mind to murder Yang Chen before this.
So why would she even bother so much about him? It was Elder Mo Qian who had collected the miscellaneous books.
She should have given the token as identification to Yang Chen too.
But since she had plotted against murdering him, she did not give it to him as it was unnecessary.

After that, Elder Mo Qian had disappeared.
Sect Master Lu also paid little attention to minor issues like this.
Consequently, the result turned out this way.
Either the sect master had defaulted on the promise or the regulations of the auction were poorly planned.
She had to make a choice among the two options.
If it had been someone else in her position, it would still be a hard decision.

Yang Chen was not a citizen of the Clear Sky Sect.
He did not know about the laws of the auction, so he was excusable.
Moreover, regardless of the numerous laws that been enforced, if nobody kept the promises that had been made how would that reflect on the sect to outsiders? After reaping the benefits and promising the other person certain conditions, she was now using her own laws to not fulfill their word.
What would other people say if that were the case?

“It may also be possible that an error occurred because of the rush.” Yang Chen did not let Elder Shi be in an awkward position for long.
He quickly finished his sentence and gave her a way out.

“The person who handled this matter must have made a mistake.
I will investigate this matter and give you a reasonable explanation.” Shi Yanhe used Yang Chen’s reasoning to step out of the situation all the while defending the reputation of the Clear Sky Sect.
Since the person in charge was at fault, it couldn’t be the sect master’s fault.

“So, senior, does Sect Master Lu’s promise still hold?” Yang Chen then asked, “Can I still participate in the auction?’

“I am a man of my word,” said a voice suddenly out of nowhere.
It must be the sect master of the Clear Sky Sect, Lu Zhenyu.
She had been there not knowing since when.

“I formally pay my respects to Sect Master.” All the ordinary disciples kneeled once more.
Only Shi Yanhe and Yang Chen remained standing and bowed.
Shi Yanhe was the sect master’s junior apprentice sister.
She only needed to bow to Lu Zhenyu and did not need to kneel.

“Every disciple here, except for Sun Qingxue and Liu Shichang, shall go to the Law Enforcement Hall and receive a hundred whips.
All of you must face the wall and repent your mistakes for half a year.” Once Sect Master Lu arrived, he did not say much and announced the punishment for the crowd.
“Liu Shichang, you will receive five hundred whips, face the wall for ten years and you are not allowed to receive any allowance for five years.”

Every disciple, even the disciples who were guarding the auction were included.
It seemed that Sect Master Lu understood the incident in its entirety.
He even knew about the sneaky adjusting of the level of admittance at the last minute.
Those who had involved themselves in the matter dared not utter a word.
All of them accepted the punishment obediently.

“Yang Chen, since I have promised you that you can participate in the auction, it goes without saying that you can join,” Sect Master Lu then turned to Yang Chen and said, “From today onwards, Yang Chen of the Pure Yang Palace does not need any token as identification to enter the auction.
He can enter and exit the auction as he wishes.”

The last sentence reverberated and echoed throughout.
Yang Chen’s had asked his question with a different intention in mind but the results were satisfactory nevertheless.
Everyone had heard the sect master’s final decision.

This decision shocked many.
The sect master had made an exception of the law of the auction for Yang Chen alone.
He had just enforced a new ruling specifically for Yang Chen, whose position had risen a few levels right away in everyone’s heart.

The face of those who teased and ridiculed Yang Chen earlier became paler than ever.
They would not have done such a stupid thing in retrospect.