"I think..." Chi Qianqiu hesitated, somewhat unable to bear it. "Perhaps we should postpone it. It would not be too late to hold the confrontation after she breaks through to the Golden Core. What does the Sect Master think?"

But before Hong Qingyuan could respond, Xue Jianming had already slammed the table, saying without the slightest scruple, "Elder, I think you really have grown too old and muddled. When someone errs, they must be judged at once, to warn others. This is no children's game; this is a matter of principle, one that concerns the very foundation of our Snow Sword Sect's survival. Surely you do not think principles can be discounted and bargained over?"

Chi Qianqiu's expression turned exceedingly grim. Even Hong Qingyuan had never dared speak to him in such a tone, let alone a mere junior.

Yet though Xue Jianming's words were harsh to the ear, every one of them stood on solid ground, and for a moment he truly had no way to refute them.

All eyes turned back to Hong Qingyuan. With the argument deadlocked, it now fell to him as Sect Master to make the final call.

Hong Qingyuan was deeply troubled. This question was even more difficult than making Xue Jianming managing vice-sect master had been. With the latter matter, he well knew it was unrealistic to try to suppress it by force—after all, the man was a cultivator of Golden Core Great Perfection, young and with boundless prospects. Rather than stubbornly overriding it, it was better to let it flow with the current and simply support Bing Wushuang as a counterbalance between the two.

But in the matter of Leng Leng, he could not let matters simply flow along. That might well destroy a pillar of the future!

Yet Xue Jianming clung to it stubbornly and moreover occupied the moral high ground. As Sect Master, he could not simply ignore it. What was he to do?

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Hong Qingyuan drummed his fingers on the table off and on, his expression unfathomable, giving no clue as to what he was thinking. Only after a long while did he say slowly, "What the managing vice-sect master says has both feeling and reason behind it."

At that single sentence, Xu Xiaoshuang felt as though she had plunged into an ice cellar, while the corners of Xue Jianming's and his father Xue Liping's mouths curved upward. Yet before they could laugh aloud, Hong Qingyuan added, "However, the matter of leaking the sect's core arts still cannot be considered settled. At worst, Leng Leng is only a suspect, not yet one actually convicted of a crime. So we must still consider her interests, and there is no harm in postponing the confrontation."

"Is that not inappropriate?" Xue Jianming's face immediately darkened as he sneered, "Setting aside that reason and feeling both demand this be handled seriously at once to warn others—to argue the very least of it, this is my first proposal as managing vice-sect master. Is the authority of the managing vice-sect master merely a decoration?"

Chi Qianqiu and the other elders all curled their lips in unison. In their eyes, Xue Jianming's position as managing vice-sect master had been controversial to begin with, and now he truly fancied himself a personage of consequence!

Hong Qingyuan could only placate him. "The post of managing vice-sect master is crucial, and of course it is no mere decoration. It is simply that, speaking plainly of the matter itself, we truly cannot be too arbitrary."

"And if I insist?" Xue Jianming turned his face as swiftly as flipping a page. A moment ago he had been all smiles toward Hong Qingyuan; now his manner was sharp and cold. From his stance, should the other not consent, he might well fall out with him openly on the spot.

This fellow truly has a dog's temperament! Hong Qingyuan cursed inwardly with fury. Though the other's Golden Core Great Perfection strength was by no means trivial, to think that alone could intimidate a dignified Sect Master like himself—that was hardly realistic. It was only out of consideration for the larger picture that he could not turn hostile at the drop of a hat the way Xue Jianming did.

He had not felt it before, but at this moment Hong Qingyuan genuinely regretted it. Normally speaking, anyone who reached a level like Golden Core Great Perfection must surely be a mature and seasoned figure. He had thought that even if Xue Jianming were not as steady and proper as Chi Qianqiu, he would at the very least be on par with his father Xue Liping, and not turn hostile to one's face at every turn. Who could have imagined he would be such a dog-faced specimen!

What he did not know was that if Xue Jianming stood alone, then even with Golden Core Great Perfection strength, he might not necessarily have dared to be so utterly unbridled. But now he had the Center—an unfathomably powerful backer—behind him, and he did not regard Hong Qingyuan and the rest as worth a single proper glance. True to his habitual nature, of course he turned hostile whenever he pleased, with no scruples to speak of.

In Xue Jianming's eyes, with the Center pushing matters behind the scenes, the entire Snow Sword Sect would sooner or later fall into his grasp. Hong Qingyuan and the others were nothing but bones in a tomb. If they were sensible, they might still be granted nominal high positions; if not, not one of them would come to a good end!

The atmosphere in the council hall abruptly turned exceedingly tense and oppressive once more. Hong Qingyuan's face shifted between light and dark, and faced with the aggressive Xue Jianming, under the circumstances he was forced to yield a small step. Otherwise, were they truly to come to blows face to face, the entire grand situation would descend into chaos.

"Very well. Since the managing vice-sect master insists, then I must trouble Elder Xu to send a message to Leng Leng. On the premise that it will not affect her too greatly, have her come out and clarify matters through confrontation," Hong Qingyuan said.

Xu Xiaoshuang struggled with it a moment, but in the end could only nod in agreement. This was a choice forced by circumstance, a method with no other way out. If she went to send word to Leng Leng, naturally she would mind her measure—at most a gentle reminder, not a forcible interruption, so that the harm to Leng Leng would not be too great. Had it been anyone else, the trouble would have been enormous.

"No!" Xue Jianming stepped forward at once to stop it, sneering, "She is Leng Leng's master. Who knows what tricks she might play in this? What if she takes the chance to collude with Leng Leng? Let me do it instead. If any of you want to stop me, then just try!"

At these words, everyone was stunned. The extent of Xue Jianming's unreasonableness far exceeded all their expectations, and for a time not a single person dared step forward to stop him. As for strength, the only one present capable of contending with Xue Jianming was Hong Qingyuan—but now that Xue Jianming had spoken thus far, how could Hong Qingyuan, as Sect Master, dare take the risk lightly?

If they truly fell out and came to blows face to face, the entire Snow Sword Sect would be thrown into great chaos.

But if no one stopped him, Xue Jianming would absolutely not give up this perfect opportunity to strike at Leng Leng. A fine top-tier genius might well be destroyed at his hands—and if Leng Leng were later found innocent, it would truly be too late for regret.

At this moment of being caught between advance and retreat, a frail figure stepped without hesitation in front of Xue Jianming. Xu Xiaoshuang.

"You want to die?" Xue Jianming's eyes narrowed. Xu Xiaoshuang might be Leng Leng's master, but by status she was no more than the lowest-ranked alternate elder, and by strength she had only the paltry early Golden Core stage. With what was she to bar his path?