Chapter 202: Chapter 202: Forcing the Sect Master to Abdicate

Song Wanning was back.

The Sect Master of the Heavenly Inquiry Sect had a bad feeling and subconsciously avoided her gaze.

But his confidence quickly returned, and he looked up at Song Wanning with some annoyance. "Junior Sister Song, you’re finally back. I sent you so many Communication Talismans. Why didn’t you reply?"

His words made the elders behind him widen their eyes in disbelief.

They could understand the Sect Master’s desire to shirk responsibility and shift the blame, but he had to consider who he was talking to.

Using this tactic on Song Wanning wouldn’t just be useless; it would be like pouring oil on a fire.

The Sect Master had clearly been overwhelmed by his anger lately.

The elders exchanged glances and sighed once again.

He was clearly no longer fit to lead the Sect.

"Heh..."

Song Wanning gave a faint smile. She took in the expressions of the elders behind him. ’I’ve held back for so long,’ she thought. ’It’s time for him to step down.’

She had just been waiting for an opportunity, and now, he had handed it to her on a silver platter.

"Sect Master, I’d like to ask you something. I told you long ago that Ye Chuxue murdered Lu Nanfeng, but you refused to believe me. You deliberately stalled for half a month and never gave me a straight answer!"

"Then, even after it was confirmed that Ye Chuxue was the true culprit, you did everything you could to lessen her punishment. You even helped them fabricate those insulting rumors about my disciple, causing him to be slandered by everyone even after his death! What were you thinking?"

As she spoke, Song Wanning’s eyes grew red.

The disciples had never seen her like this before, and a hint of envy rose in their eyes.

Becoming Song Wanning’s disciple had always been their greatest dream, and now, even more so.

The crowd couldn’t help but turn their reproachful gazes toward the Sect Master.

"Even if you’re dissatisfied with me, Lu Nanfeng was a disciple of the Heavenly Inquiry Sect. Why did you protect Ye Chuxue?"

"Are the Sect’s rules just for show? Or are they something that one person can just decide?"

"How can you expect to command respect when you act this way?"

Song Wanning’s thunderous questions hammered down on the Sect Master, forcing his face to pale and his eyes to dart away.

He stammered for a moment, utterly unable to form a coherent rebuttal.

Now that Lu Nanfeng’s name had been cleared, no matter what he said, he couldn’t offer a reasonable explanation.

Finally, face flushed, he could only apologize. "Junior Sister Song, I was inconsiderate in this matter. But... I only chose to believe Gu Qingyuan because he assured me time and time again..."

"Rest assured, I will give you a proper accounting for this. Ye Chuxue’s cultivation must be crippled, and she must be expelled from the Sect to appease Lu Nanfeng’s spirit in heaven!"

There was no other choice now. If Ye Chuxue had to be sacrificed, so be it. He was tired.

The Sect Master sighed, seeming to age ten years in an instant. He had thought an apology would put the matter to rest, but he never imagined Song Wanning had no intention of letting him off the hook.

"You think an apology will solve everything, Sect Master?"

She let out a cold laugh, her voice still sharp and aggressive.

"Do you have any idea how much your actions have disheartened the disciples? First, you caused our Heavenly Inquiry Sect to be demoted, turning us into a laughingstock. Then, you repeatedly showed favoritism to Gu Qingyuan and Ye Chuxue, and even your private life is improper..."

"And now, you’ve allowed Gu Qingyuan and Ye Chuxue to become the butt of the world’s jokes, nailing the Heavenly Inquiry Sect to a pillar of shame! Do you still not realize the severity of the situation?"

Her words finally shifted everyone’s focus to Ye Chuxue and Gu Qingyuan.

"I clearly told the Sect long ago that Gu Qingyuan harbored those filthy feelings for Ye Chuxue. When you found out, Sect Master, not only did you fail to intervene, you even shielded them..."

"Now the entire world knows the Heavenly Inquiry Sect produced such degenerates! Tell me, how are you going to take responsibility for this?"

A Nascent Soul Elder of the Sect engaging in an incestuous relationship... The world will scorn us!

How could the Sect Master not have foreseen such a grave consequence?

But he wasn’t the one who made it happen, so how could Song Wanning push all the blame onto him?

The Sect Master immediately retorted, "The moment I found out, I tried to persuade Junior Brother Gu! I absolutely did not condone it or turn a blind eye, and I certainly didn’t favor them!"

"I was only thinking of the Sect’s development! I didn’t want to lose a genius disciple like Ye Chuxue, so I..."

"So you admit you were biased, Sect Master?"

Song Wanning seized on the flaw in his words and sneered, "So what if she’s a genius disciple? Once you join the Heavenly Inquiry Sect, you must abide by its rules. If one of my disciples did something like this, the Sect wouldn’t even need to act. I would handle it myself and give everyone a proper accounting!"

"But you, the master of this Sect, don’t even understand your own duties. What are you still doing in that seat?"

"I think you should step down voluntarily and let someone more capable take your place!"

Her words were like a drop of water splashing into a pan of hot oil.

"That’s right! Grandmaster Song is right! We’re all supposed to be treated equally, but the Sect Master shows favoritism to genius disciples. It’s not fair!"

"We demand an explanation for this!"

"Yes, an explanation!"

The disciples had long complained about the Sect Master in private. Now that Song Wanning had taken the lead and voiced their unspoken thoughts, they all felt a sense of catharsis.

But for fear of the Sect Master’s retaliation, no one dared to be too blunt.

Several elders looked at one another, exchanging glances.

If this continued, the Sect would descend into chaos.

Since Song Wanning had already made her move, they might as well seize this opportunity to pull the Sect Master down.

The Second Elder was the first to step forward. "I agree with Junior Sister Song. Sect Master, you disregarded the Sect’s rules, ignored the pleas of the elders, and stubbornly insisted on your own way, shielding the two who brought shame upon our Sect. It is truly difficult for anyone to respect you!"

"If you wish to retain a shred of dignity, then voluntarily abdicate the position of Sect Master!"

The Second Elder’s words were even more direct.

The Sect Master stared at her and Song Wanning in shock, his raised finger trembling with rage. "You—you—"

"You all—"

"Don’t you push me too far!"

The Sect Master’s eyes reddened as he looked at the expectant gazes of the people around him, a desolate feeling rising in his heart.

"I’ve sacrificed so much for this Sect, and you want me to step down?" 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

"You’ve all gone too far!!!!"

His entire body began to tremble, consumed by an overwhelming rage.

Everything he did, every consideration he made, wasn’t it all for the Sect’s development?

"What good did I get from favoring Ye Chuxue? Wasn’t I just trying to stop the Sect’s continuing decline?"

"So how did it all become my fault in the end?"

The Sect Master couldn’t understand it, nor could he accept their reactions.

His words silenced the crowd, and some of the disciples’ gazes began to waver.

A cold glint flashed in Song Wanning’s eyes as she scoffed, "You know perfectly well whether you were doing it for the Sect’s development or for your own reputation!"

"Over the years, how much profit have you skimmed while sitting in the Sect Master’s seat? How many women have you kept on the outside? Do I need to help you run the numbers?"