Upon seeing the Sect Master intervene, the old matriarch finally halted, her eyes showing evident apprehension.

Clearly, she was also intimidated by the Sect Master’s methods. Originally, the Sect Master was a junior comparable in age to Ye Luo, and the Elders respected her due to the power of the Sect’s legacy, but in their hearts, how many truly regarded her?

At least at this stage, that seemed impossible, as the legacy also requires time for conversion and understanding.

However, who would have expected that she now possesses such formidable strength, a power capable of wiping out more than half of the Elders, and possibly even surpassing the Grand Elder.

"Salutations to the Sect Master!"

The Grand Elder was the first to react, immediately followed by others who quickly paid their respects, this time with many showing signs of fear.

"You may all dispense with formalities. The territorial contest is imminent, and any loss could affect the final outcome, so I wish not to see this happen. This time, the selection of disciples is unrelated to the Elders’ status. I will allocate resources based on the number of disciples each Elder selects, and this time the resources are doubled from before, sufficient for all disciples’ cultivation!" the Sect Master said calmly.

Upon hearing this, many disciples cheered.

After all, this is the South Territory, and even for a Great Sect like the Divine Martial Sect, resources for disciples are not inexhaustible. Nearly ninety percent of disciples find their resources insufficient and must exchange them through Sect missions, which in turn affects the progress of cultivation.

"Sect Master, I feel that there should be distinctions among the Elders, as this is the rule set by our ancestors. Otherwise, wouldn’t the arrangement among the Elders be chaotic in the future!" the old matriarch said in a deep voice.

Clearly, she was unwilling to give up just like that. After all, she had been unable to deal with Ye Luo earlier, and just leaving it at that would be quite damaging to her reputation.

"Oh? Are you implying that even I should be challenged?" The Sect Master’s gaze grew cold.

"This old servant wouldn’t dare!" She hurriedly lowered her head, but her eyes were filled with reluctance. "It’s just that the ancestral rules are as such!"

"The ancestral rules?" The Sect Master laughed, "Alright, since you’re invoking the ancestral rules, isn’t there a provision among them that allows the Sect Master to choose an auxiliary elder to help manage Sect affairs, and that this auxiliary elder should rank above all other elders?"

The old matriarch was stunned, not understanding the Sect Master’s meaning. Could it be she wanted Ye Luo to be the auxiliary elder? That seemed impossible! After all, he was merely a guest elder and not even a real elder!

Moreover, the Sect’s affairs had always been managed by the Grand Elder, making the Grand Elder essentially the auxiliary elder. If another auxiliary elder were chosen, wouldn’t that make the Grand Elder’s position awkward?

Thus, upon hearing the Sect Master’s words, many people instinctively looked at the Grand Elder.

However, the Grand Elder’s aged face remained as calm as a still pond, as if she hadn’t heard the words.

"Reporting to the Sect Master, this is indeed among the Sect’s regulations!" the old matriarch said directly.

In fact, she was an old fox herself, wanting to see whom the Sect Master would appoint as the auxiliary elder, and how this newly appointed auxiliary elder would interact with the Grand Elder!

Although the Sect Master’s status is high, the Grand Elder has ruled the Sect for hundreds of years, and her authority is long established, even subtly greater than that of the Sect Master.

If she intended to trouble the Sect Master, it is not only possible to marginalize the auxiliary elder, but even the Sect Master could be overshadowed!

After all, even though the Sect Master’s current strength is terrifying, it is not certain she could defeat the Grand Elder, who was famous during the previous Sect Master’s era, with strength only slightly inferior to the Sect Master, and after hundreds of years, who knows what her strength has reached.

There are even rumors that the Grand Elder’s strength can rival that of the Divine Martial Sect’s.

"Alright, since that’s the case, today I will exercise that right and appoint the auxiliary elder directly!"

Upon hearing this, everyone was shocked!

To speak of it is one thing, potentially a deterrent to the previous Elder, but actually doing it brings significant consequences!

After all, if the Sect Master were really to conflict with the Grand Elder, it would not benefit the Divine Martial Sect, especially at this phase of the territorial contest.

However, since the Grand Elder said nothing, others dared not speak up either.

"This auxiliary elder shall be! Guest Elder Ye Luo!" the Sect Master announced directly.

Silence fell around them.

Not just the elders but the disciples as well stared wide-eyed at the Sect Master.

Could this be a mistake? How could a guest elder possibly become the auxiliary elder? Moreover, he only joined the Sect today!

Not to mention anything else, he didn’t even know the number of Sect members, so how could he manage Sect affairs!

Furthermore, even Ye Luo felt overwhelmed!

This was quite a shocking decision. Becoming an auxiliary elder might not be an issue, but the problem is, where would he find the time to handle affairs? What he currently lacks is time!

"Sect Master, please reconsider!"

Many Elders urged caution, emphasizing that this was not a trivial matter of the Sect, and these Elders were entitled to voice their opinions!

The Sect Master looked at these people, unmoved, with a clear indication that the Sect Master’s words were final, irrevocable like an emperor on Earth, even if the decision seemed unwise, it could not be retracted.

"Sect Master, this old servant will abide by the command. When it comes to the Divine Martial Sect, I am most familiar, and some mundane matters I will personally communicate to the auxiliary elder!" the Grand Elder said respectfully.

Everyone was astonished at the Grand Elder’s attitude.

The Grand Elder is certainly not one to be easily swayed, and she is certainly not indifferent to power!

Otherwise, the authority within the Divine Martial Sect wouldn’t have been in her grasp for hundreds of years!

Yet her current attitude left others bewildered!

"Then I’ll rely on the Grand Elder. However, after this affair, you must join the auxiliary elder at my Cave Mansion to discuss matters further!" the Sect Master said.

"As you command!" the Grand Elder replied respectfully.

Since the Grand Elder agreed, Ye Luo became the auxiliary elder in official capacity, leading him to feel somewhat surreal.

Of course, he wasn’t overly concerned with being the auxiliary elder; his surprise stemmed from the Sect Master’s attitude toward him, entrusting such an important position to him.

After all, he’d only been in the Divine Martial Sect for a few days! He was entirely unfamiliar with the Sect and its workings.