Have you checked yet?

Gong Ning hadn’t expected Xue Yingdong to speak up for her at this moment.

Inner sect elders, to a certain extent, held the power of speech within a faction and could make decisions on its behalf.
Her speaking up was basically equivalent to a declaration of war.

Gong Changqian glanced at her, then turned his gaze elsewhere.
Gong Ning observed nonchalantly; the person he was looking at was Gong Chengyun of the main family.

After receiving a response, Gong Changqian stood up.
He seemed quite polite at this moment, “Elder Xue, I am Gong Changqian, an outer sect elder of the Sky-Sword Pavilion, from the main branch of the Gong family.”

After speaking, he looked at Gong Ning provocatively, as if questioning her, ‘Do you dare to announce your name?’

If she did, she could only answer that she was from a side branch of the Gong family, an elder of the Sky-Sword Pavilion.
Then, sitting on the Heart-Sword Hall’s side would be quite inappropriate.

If she didn’t, it would mean she knew she was in the wrong but refused to repent, which would be unfilial.

This gave the other party an opening.
Xue Yingdong’s question seemed to have made the situation worse.

Xue Yingdong continued to speak, “Oh, so Elder Gong Changqian means that her staying in the Heart-Sword Hall means she can’t find her roots?”

Hearing this, Bai Peilan was about to die of anxiety.

‘Why are you following their lead? Isn’t that just making our argument weaker?’

But she continued, “I don’t care who she is in your Sky-Sword Pavilion, nor do I care where her roots are.
I only know that she is currently working in my Heart-Sword Hall, and her position is irreplaceable.”

Gong Changqian suppressed his thoughts.
He knew that with her saying such a thing, he could make a big deal out of it.

The Heart-Sword Hall was the Heart-Sword Hall.
Their brains were even smaller than those blacksmiths in the Blade-Forging Hall, to dare to say such rebellious words so casually.

In today’s competition, Gong Ning’s disciple would surely not be a match for that Lu Yunling.
When she was defeated, he would use these words to attack her, to wear down her mind.
Why worry about not getting her cultivation technique then?

What he had to do next was to turn the spearhead towards Gong Ning, to question her whether Xue Yingdong’s words also represented her meaning.
But before he could speak, he heard Xue Yingdong say to Gong Ning:

“Why don’t you hurry up and call those oversleeping dead pigs to the arena, Acting Hall Master?”

Before the four words “Acting Hall Master” were uttered, Gong Changqian had not thought about how this verbal confrontation could be lost.

Similarly, only after these four words were spoken did Bai Peilan understand how they had won.

The appointments in the Profound Heaven Sword Sect were rather strict, ultimately boiling down to the distinction of one’s affiliated faction.
Without a legitimate reason and official documents, elders from different factions were absolutely not allowed to overstep their authority.

This was originally a protection for weaker factions, to prevent internal strife between factions and to prevent elders from abandoning their own factions in order to climb higher.

If violated, the minimum charge would be deliberately destabilizing the sect.

It’s just that no one would have thought that this rule would restrict an elder like Gong Ning, who was actively moving downwards.

But the identity of an Acting Hall Master was different.

Generally speaking, in times of crisis, this identity could be given to anyone, even a disciple, as long as they held the jade pendant.
However, after declaring the identity of the acting leader, a council would be held within the faction, and a second election would be held by the elders’ votes.

However, after Gong Ning received the jade pendant and declared her identity, no voting was held, nor was it returned.
The jade pendant was still in her system space.

She could still take out the jade pendant at any time and declare that she was the Acting Hall Master of the Heart-Sword Hall.
As long as no one in the Heart-Sword Hall initiated a second election, and Jiang Yuyao did not take it back.

In the Sect Law of the Sword of Justice Bureau, it did not say that the Acting Hall Master could not be from another faction.
On the contrary, it placed many restrictions on this identity.

One of them was: If one’s original faction was not the faction of the acting leader, while temporarily holding the position of leader, one could not have any contact with any other faction, nor could one engage in any exchange of benefits, including but not limited to…

It was all thanks to Xue Yingdong, the only person in the Heart-Sword Hall who did her job seriously.
Only she could have remembered this eight-hundred-year-old rule at this moment.

Gong Changqian’s face turned ashen for a moment, but he quickly composed himself and slowly sat down, looking as if he didn’t care at all.

Gong Ning immediately took out the jade pendant and used it to call the other elders who had not yet arrived at the frequency of “gather.”
Then she said to Xue Yingdong, “Thank you, Elder Xue, for speaking up.”

Bai Peilan, this “timid of authority” person, also mustered up her courage and whispered to Xue Yingdong, “Elder Xue, you were so cool just now!”

“It’s just some verbal tricks.”

Although Xue Yingdong said this, she was quite pleased in her heart.

The people of the Heart-Sword Hall arrived one after another, both elders and disciples.
At the last moment, the two elders Hu and Zhang finally arrived.

Seating was usually divided into different ranks.
In a strictly hierarchical place like the Sky-Sword Pavilion, one had to choose carefully.
But the Heart-Sword Hall didn’t care so much.
Whoever was on good terms with whom would sit together.

Gong Ning unfortunately sat in a pile of women.
Zhou Yu’an had also arrived at her other side at some point and was holding her hand.

Hu Zhenyuan asked, “Elder Gong Ning, when is your disciple going on stage?”

Gong Ning replied, “The seventh group.”

The first group of disciples was already on stage.
Perhaps it was their first time being watched by so many people.
Both of them were a bit reserved and couldn’t let go.

The new disciple competition was held a month after recruitment.
A month was basically not enough to practice anything significant.
The main purpose of this competition was to screen disciples.

In order to prevent talent from being buried, this rule was established.
Those who were willing to go on stage were either talented youths or already had a foundation in martial arts.

Even so, the impression of the first group was not very good.
The disciple on the left’s sword was flashy but full of openings.
The disciple on the right couldn’t see any openings, but only felt terrified and kept using magical arts in an attempt to break through.

The disciples below who didn’t understand were shouting and cheering, but the elders’ seating area was a different scene.

“Elder Gong Ning, when it’s your disciple’s turn, give me a call…”

Hu Zhenyuan was about to doze off again, and Xue Yingdong rarely scolded him.

It was no wonder.
At this level, in the eyes of the elders, it wasn’t even worth judging.

The second and third groups were the same.
It wasn’t until the fourth group that it became a little more impressive, but the next two groups were still the same.

Finally, it was Tao Lingling’s turn.
She was the first person to step onto the stage wearing the uniform of a direct disciple.

This was the main event.
The elders of the Sky-Sword Pavilion, the Heart-Sword Hall, and the Sword-Riding Cottage all perked up.

Tao Lingling and her opponent both took out their swords.
The opponent even did a sword flourish.

Zhang Zhubian asked, “Elder Gong Ning, what do you estimate her chances of winning are?”

“If the opponent’s strength is about the same as the previous groups, then the chances of winning are ninety percent.”

“So certain?”

With the first beat of the drum, the competition officially began.

Below the stage, disciples of the Heart-Sword Hall were shouting.
More people from the Heart-Sword Hall had come this year than in previous years, because everyone knew that Gong Ning’s disciple was on stage.

“Elder Zhang, instead of asking me the chances of winning, why don’t you ask another question?
For example, in how many breaths can Lingling defeat her opponent?”

As soon as she finished speaking, before the cheering and charging disciples had finished their first shout, Tao Lingling executed a “Swift Step Piercing the Heart,” lunging forward in three steps and thrusting her sword at her opponent’s chest, but stopping steadily.

The opponent hadn’t even had time to react.
In that instant, she was covered in cold sweat and sat down on the stage with a plop.