Dual cultivation makes you stronger, everyone else is a prodigy, and I'm the only one slacking

All eyes were fixed on the two figures; the air was so still you could hear a pin drop.

Cheng Min's pupils contracted slightly. She stood up first, cupped her hands towards the newcomer, and said, "Greetings, Your Excellency."

The other elders then snapped out of their daze, stood up and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Your Excellency."

Cui Xiu's purple eyes swept indifferently over the expressions of the crowd, her voice as cold as ice: "Who's surnamed Pan?"

His voice echoed throughout the great hall.

But the air was deathly silent, and no one dared to answer.

A hint of impatience flashed in Cui Xiu's eyes. "Did no one hear what I said?"

Then, a suffocating pressure enveloped the entire area, and everyone's face showed horror.

Cheng Min, who was standing at the front, was immediately stunned.

You didn't come to see him?

He seemed to have thought of something, and his gaze lingered on Yu Luoning for a moment.

Yu Luoning felt his gaze, but said nothing and simply looked away.

At this moment, the patriarch of the Pan family walked out shakily. He bowed respectfully, but before he could speak, he was pressed down by an overwhelming spiritual pressure and became unable to move.

He coughed up a mouthful of blood, his knees slamming heavily to the ground, his bones creaking under the strain.

"Your...Your Excellency, please spare my life!"

Choi Soo looked down at him, "Who gave you the audacity to touch my people?"

The clan chief of the Pan clan turned pale and hurriedly explained, "No, it wasn't me, it was my father. My father has already been executed, and this matter is over."

"Oh, dead? He's dead, and that's the end of it?"

The Pan family members trembled all over and dared not raise their heads.

Cui Xiu snorted, her purple eyes turning icy cold, and said in a sinister voice, "The Pan family lineage will have their cultivation destroyed, be expelled from the sect, and never be allowed to set foot in the Dongbao Upper Sect again."

The Pan family members stared wide-eyed, their faces ashen.

At this moment, an elder of the Pan family stepped forward with a stiff upper lip. "Your Excellency, this young lady is unharmed, while our Pan family has lost a Nascent Soul elder. Is it too harsh to hold the entire Pan family accountable now?"

At that moment, even breathing seemed to stop. No one had expected that someone would dare to stand up and question it.

Cui Xiu merely glanced at the man and said, "If she were dead, do you think you'd still have the chance to stand here and speak to me?"

"Since you've reaped the benefits, you should bear the consequences. Your mistake was provoking the wrong person."

A chill ran down everyone's spine, their faces turned deathly pale, as if they had been sentenced to death. They all hung their heads in dejection, their faces ashen.

"This is not fair! This has nothing to do with us, we know nothing about it, please have mercy, Your Majesty!" In an instant, the cries of the Pan family members in the hall resounded.

Cui Xiu's purple eyes held a hint of a smile. "Don't you all think too kindly of me? According to my habits from a thousand years ago, I would have wiped you all out, leaving not a single one alive. Today, I'm merely removing you from the register, which is already letting you off easy. You dare to bargain? Talk about fairness with me? Do you even deserve it?"

The Pan family member who spoke was immediately pulled back by the others.

The scene was quiet as everyone kowtowed and bowed in Cui Xiu's direction, saying, "Thank you, Ancestor... for your leniency."

Yu Luoning stood beside Cui Xiu like a quail, not daring to utter a single word.

In her view, even the most serious matters were nothing more than a few words to Cui Xiu. And no one dared to question the punishment Cui Xiu mentioned.

For some reason, Yu Luoning felt her heart pounding.

It's a strange feeling to be favored and protected like this.

Just when everyone thought the matter was over.

Cui Xiuyi stared intently at Cheng Min with deep eyes, "Don't you old guys know why I appeared at the Selection Ceremony that day? I was only in seclusion for a few days, and my people almost died. What were you doing?"

"The Dongbao Sect has been under my protection for hundreds of years, and now it can't even protect one of my people?"

"It was my dereliction of duty." Cheng Min's forehead was covered in cold sweat.

At this moment, Yu Luoning quietly looked up and met Cheng Min's gaze. A complex look flashed in Cheng Min's eyes.

Seeing this, Yu Luoning felt extremely relieved and still didn't say anything, which made Cheng Min breathe a sigh of relief.

Cui Xiu, oblivious to the exchange of glances between the two, stared straight at Cheng Min and said, "I hope this is the last time."

Cheng Min said tremblingly, "Your Majesty, rest assured, it will not happen again."

"What about compensation?"

"That's natural. Anything that Luo Ning takes a liking to at the Treasure Pavilion will be recorded in the sect's ledger."

After speaking, Cheng Min cautiously glanced at Cui Xiu's expression and asked, "Is Your Majesty satisfied?"

Cui Xiu didn't answer, but instead turned her head to look at Yu Luoning, "What do you think?"

Yu Luoning was taken aback, blinked, and said with a smile, "That's enough, that's enough."

Cui Xiu nodded gently, "Then let's go."

After speaking, he fluttered his robes and led Yu Luoning out of the main hall.

Only after the two figures completely disappeared did a series of relieved breaths echo throughout the main hall.

Many of the most senior elders were now soaked in cold sweat.

"Old Lei, isn't that girl a relative of that genius disciple of your Sword Peak? When did that girl gain such favor from him?"

Elder Lei's tense back instantly relaxed, and he weakly clutched his chest, "I don't know either?"

The Elder in charge of law wiped the cold sweat from his brow, his heart still pounding with lingering fear, but his eyes were filled with envy.

"This is an incredible opportunity! That person has always been indifferent to worldly affairs, but now Zhexue Peak has produced such a favored only son. Things are going to get interesting from now on."

"That girl and Shi Shangxu from your Sword Peak are already lovers. Why don't you, as their master, propose marriage to that Venerable One? If it can be arranged, our Dongbao prodigy and Zhexue Peak will become Daoist partners, which would be a wonderful thing for us in the future."

Elder Lei's eyes lit up upon hearing this. "What you've said makes a lot of sense..."

Before the two could finish speaking, a loud shout came from the high seat.

The group was startled and looked up to see Cheng Min's face was pale and her eyelids were twitching.

They're even proposing marriage alliances? Do these old geezers have a death wish?

Others might not be able to see it, but he, as the sect leader, could see it very clearly.

Is that possessiveness and protectiveness the look a master should have when looking at a disciple? It's clearly...

Alas! I cannot say.

Secular ethics simply do not exist for that person.

If Lei Changchun were to actually go to Zhexuefeng to propose marriage, he'd probably be beaten to death.

"How could we presume to know what that person is thinking? That girl has now become His Excellency's personal disciple, and none of you are allowed to interfere in her marriage."

Seeing that the sect leader had rarely lost his temper like this, all the elders in the hall immediately fell silent.