Heaven rewards diligence, but there are always fairies plotting against me.

Chu Chang was indeed taken aback by Xu Shuang's merciless reprimand.

Good heavens, this woman is truly impartial and incorruptible!

Just because I was a tiny bit late, I was scolded like this in public?

Chu Chang took a deep breath, cupped his hands in a gesture of respect, and tried to explain, "Senior Sister Xu, this is my first time reporting for duty, and I'm not very familiar with the area, so..."

"You think you can be late the first time?" Xu Shuang interrupted him coldly, her voice echoing throughout Courtyard No. 3. "No manners whatsoever! The Enforcement Hall needs ironclad rules, not excuses. Given that this is your first offense, you are hereby punished to patrol the outer perimeter of the sect for one month, effective immediately!!!"

Holy crap?

Upon hearing this, Chu Chang's suppressed anger flared up immediately.

Before coming to report, he wasn't completely clueless; he had already inquired with several seasoned veterans in the miscellaneous affairs office.

Among the various tasks of the Enforcement Hall, "Patrol the Outer Territory of the Sect" is notoriously a terrible and tedious job.

The outer area of ​​the sect is vast and has many miscellaneous matters. What's most deadly is that the spiritual energy there is so thin it's like it's been filled with water. This means that for the next month, he can hardly expect to have any time to cultivate in peace.

For Chu Chang, who had just tasted the sweetness of his increased strength, this was like being cut with a dull knife.

What kind of situation is this??

Chu Chang seriously suspected that this woman was deliberately targeting him.

But Senior Sister Lin Ruoxue clearly said yesterday that she had already spoken up for him, so what's going on?

Could this be the legendary "plastic best friend relationship" among female cultivators, where they agree to things on the surface but betray each other behind the back?

Looking at Chu Chang's honest face, which was turning slightly blue and full of resentment, Xu Shuang still stood with his hands behind his back, looking completely at ease.

There was a reason why she treated Chu Chang this way.

Indeed, Lin Ruoxue had visited her yesterday, and her words showed that she took good care of the young man.

But who is Xu Shuang? She's the infamous, stern judge in the Enforcement Hall.

Because Chu Chang was introduced by Lin Ruoxue through connections, she was even more determined to give him a severe dressing down on the first day in public.

She wanted Chu Chang to understand that this was the No. 3 Courtyard of the Law Enforcement Hall, not a place where one could slack off or rely on connections to obtain resources.

If you want to establish yourself here, you have to honestly and thoroughly shed that arrogance that comes with connections!

Many of the trainee disciples around them looked on with schadenfreude as they watched this scene.

"Hey, so what if you're number one? When you're under Senior Sister Xu's command, you'll still have to obediently sweep the streets."

"Exactly, they thought they could fly high with Senior Sister Lin backing them up, but they've kicked a hornet's nest now."

Chu Chang gritted his teeth, looking at Xu Shuang's delicate yet icy face, his mind racing.

If he really made a mistake, Chu Chang would grit his teeth and accept the punishment for Lin Ruoxue's sake.

But damn it, today is his first day here. He hasn't even figured out which way the threshold of the Enforcement Hall faces, and no one has told him a single word of the rules. Why should he admit to this mistake?

People respect me one foot, and I respect others ten feet.

Do you really think of him as a pushover?

Hmph, so what if I quit working in your No. 3 compound?!

With his current strength in the Vajra Invincible Skill and his magical weapons, he could even fight against a formal disciple in the Qi Refining Realm. Why should he put up with this humiliation here?

Thinking of this, Chu Chang's usually honest and simple face instantly turned cold. He spoke coldly and without any politeness: "Everyone says that Senior Sister Xu Shuang is impartial and enforces the law fairly. In my opinion, she's nothing but a hypocrite, just trying to gain fame!"

boom!

These words caused an uproar in the training ground, with the trainee disciples so shocked that their eyes almost popped out.

"Whoa!!"

"Has this kid gone mad?! How dare he talk back to Senior Sister Xu?!"

"What did you say?" Xu Shuang's face instantly darkened to the point of almost dripping water, and a powerful pressure from the Qi Refining Realm faintly enveloped Chu Chang.

Chu Chang, however, acted as if nothing had happened, stubbornly resisting the oppressive aura, and sneered, "I say you're all show and no substance! You're clearly just deliberately suppressing me to settle a personal score!"

"Chu Chang, are you insane! Do you know who you're talking to? How dare you act so recklessly in Courtyard No. 3!"

A fierce rage ignited in Xu Shuang's beautiful eyes. In all her years of enforcing the law, she had never seen a new disciple dare to challenge her authority in public like this.

"What do I have to be ashamed of?" Chu Chang crossed his arms and said loudly and righteously, "This is my first time reporting for duty. How am I supposed to know the rules and regulations of the Enforcement Hall? Did anyone tell me the reporting time in advance? No! Since no one told me, why are you saying I'm late? In my opinion, this is clearly your dereliction of duty as the team leader—failing to have the rules communicated in advance!"

"You... talking nonsense!" Xu Shuang's full chest heaved with anger as she roared, "Chief Chu, how dare you! Considering this is your first offense, if you dare to spout nonsense and talk back to your superiors here again, I will definitely arrest you on the spot and punish you severely according to the rules!"

"Punishment my ass! At worst, I'll quit being a disciple of the Enforcement Hall. Who wants to serve you anyway!"

Chu Chang spat, snorted coldly, and became increasingly convinced that he had grasped the truth: "I think I've figured it out. You're just using your position as captain to deliberately establish your authority here and suppress me. Oh... I see, you and Senior Sister Lin Ruoxue don't actually have a good relationship, do you? Good sisters on the surface, but secretly just putting on a show, so you're deliberately targeting me, the person she introduced, right?!"

Chu Chang tilted his head, his face showing an expression that said, "I've already seen through your sinister intentions."

He genuinely suspected it; otherwise, how could he explain why this woman had targeted him like a gun from the very beginning?

"You...you actually dared to sow discord between me and Ruoxue!" Xu Shuang was so angry at Chu Chang's twisted logic that her face turned red, and she instantly lost her icy beauty composure.

"Did I tell you? Speechless now, aren't you?" Chu Chang sneered, looking like he knew it, but secretly observing Xu Shuang's reaction.

"You bastard..."

Xu Shuang gritted her teeth in anger, her fingers gripping the sword hilt turning white from the force.

She never expected that Chu Chang, who looked honest and even a bit silly, would be so eloquent!

What frustrated her most was that she couldn't refute it for a moment.

Xu Shuang is a genius in cultivation and combat, but she's really clueless when it comes to arguing.

At that moment, her mind raced, and she suddenly realized with a guilty conscience that what this kid said actually made a bit of a point.

On the first day the other party came to report for duty, I did not have anyone send over the rules and regulations and the specific reporting time.

According to the regulations of the Enforcement Hall, it is indeed somewhat unreasonable to punish someone without prior notice.

What's even more troublesome for Xu Shuang is that this kid is incredibly opportunistic and always says things like, "I might as well quit."

If she really forces Chu Chang away, how will she explain it to Lin Ruoxue?

When she encountered a bottleneck in her cultivation, Lin Ruoxue didn't hesitate to secretly provide her with a lot of precious cultivation resources.

Now that Ruoxue has finally taken a liking to and entrusted a junior brother to take care of, she forced him away on the very first day. How will she face Lin Ruoxue in the future?

"What kind of impartiality is this? It's so boring. Forget it, forget it. This lousy place is better left alone!" Seeing Xu Shuang standing there in a daze, Chu Chang curled his lips, flicked his sleeves in an extremely roguish manner, turned around and was about to walk out of the courtyard.

Seeing that Chu Chang was really about to leave, the apprentice disciples around him were so shocked that their jaws almost dropped.

This kid actually dares to disregard Senior Sister Xu's feelings??

He's gone mad. Does he really not care about his future?

"stop!"

Just as Chu Chang was about to step out the door, Xu Shuang's voice, still cold but clearly tinged with gritted teeth, came from behind him.

Chu Chang stopped in his tracks, glancing at her sideways: "What, is Captain Xu going to force me to stay?"

Xu Shuang took a deep breath, trying to calm the raging anger surging in her chest.

With a cold face and forcibly suppressing her emotions, she said stiffly, "Chief Chu, what you just said... isn't entirely unreasonable. I, the captain, have always been fair in my dealings. Since it's your first day reporting for duty, and the hall didn't actually read out the rules and regulations to you beforehand, this lateness doesn't count as a violation of discipline. It was I... who didn't consider things carefully."

boom!

These words struck the disciples of Courtyard No. 3 like a thunderbolt, leaving the entire scene in shock!

Everyone was completely bewildered.

Good heavens! What did they hear?

Xu Shuang, the usually ruthless and cold-blooded judge, actually "apologized" to a new apprentice in public? And even went so far as to try to make amends for the other person?

The sun must have risen in the west!

"So," Xu Shuang continued curtly, his face dark, "given the circumstances, today's lateness will not be pursued. As for the punishment of a month of patrolling the perimeter... that's also rescinded. You, return to your unit!"

Chu Chang was slightly taken aback after hearing this.

The other party apologized.

He couldn't help but smile slightly, turned around, rubbed his nose, and cupped his hands, saying, "Oh dear, it turns out Senior Sister Xu is indeed a reasonable person. I was rash just now, please don't take offense!"

Seeing Chu Chang's fawning expression change in an instant, Xu Shuang felt her temples throbbing. This bastard... he definitely did it on purpose!