Seeing Elder Yao and the disciples lowering their heads, Elder Xuan spoke without revealing his presence, "If you think lowering your heads will solve everything, the world would not be this chaotic and dangerous."
"Please forgive us, Grand Elder! We were wrong! We didn't know this Outer Court disciple was assigned to this place by you!" Qiao Kang suddenly said.
"Did I ask for your input, disciple?" Elder Xuan responded in a nonchalant voice, immediately shutting the Qiao Kang up.
Elder Xuan continued a moment later, "Every disciple here will be punished with 1 month of confinement within the Caves of Repentance."
"As for you, Elder Yao… Since you belong to the Disciplinary Hall, I shall let your leader decide your punishment. And before you leave, I want you to remember what comes out of my mouth next— What happened here today did not happen at all, do you understand me? I was never here, and you have never met the Outer Court disciple. This applies to the disciples, too."
"If I hear even a single disciple that is not here right now speaking about what happened here today, you can expect another visit from me, and I will be there in person at that time."
"We understand, Grand Elder! We will forget about what happened today!"
Elder Yao and the disciples responded in a fearful voice.
"Good. Now get out of my sight!" Elder Xuan's voice boomed within the disciples' and Elder Yao's head, nearly knocking them unconscious with his powerful voice.
The next second, once they could stand again, the disciples and Elder Yao ran away like a bunch of scared rabbits before a tiger.
Once they were all gone, Elder Xuan spoke again, "Are you okay, Disciple Yuan? I apologize for that just now. While it's common for disciples to argue with each other, it's inexcusable for a sect elder to bully a disciple."
"Don't worry about it, Senior Xuan. It's only natural that there'd be a couple of bad apples no matter where you are," Yuan said with a calm smile on his face.
"You have handled this situation much better than I would've if I was still a disciple, and I thank you for that. Most people quickly result to violence when they come to a disagreement, and that is a trait many Cultivators have because we are vicious and brutal in nature. Anyway, I must return to my own business now. If you ever encounter another similar situation, it's okay to scare them a little with your powers as long as you don't kill them. This is just how the cultivation world works, as intimidation works better than actual violence in most cases."
"However, if a sect elder is involved like today, it's best if you immediately contact one of us to help you. Although we won't show ourselves, we'll definitely keep you safe."
"Intimidation over violence… I will keep that in mind, Senior Xuan! Thank you very much for helping me today!" Yuan bowed towards the sky, feeling as though he'd learned something important today.
"Don't even mention it…. Hahaha…" Elder Xuan's voice sounded as though it was getting further away, dumbfounding Yuan.
Once Yuan could no longer hear Elder Xuan's laughing voice, Yuan returned to his room and sat on the large, comfortable bed before taking out the guide book and reading through it as he was doing before being interrupted by Elder Yao and the others.
Meanwhile, inside Fairy Min's room, the beautiful young lady remained standing by the window with a dazed look on her face.
"Disciple Yuan? I don't recognize this name at all. Just who is he? Which family did he come from? And what kind of connection does he have with the Grand Elder? Although the Grand Elder said that the Outer Court disciple was his granddaughter's friend, their conversation sounded like they were pretty close friends themselves!" Min Li mumbled to herself in a dumbfounded voice, feeling her interest slightly piqued by him.
Sometime later, at the Disciplinary Hall, Elder Yao entered Bai Ling's room after being summoned by him.
"Greetings, Leader Bai!" Elder Yao bowed to him with respect and his back soaked in sweat.
"Do you know why I called you here?" Bai Ling ignored his greetings and asked him with a calm voice.
"Yes, I do!" Elder Yao responded after a brief moment of silence.
"Good, then this will make things much easier for the both of us." Bai Ling then stood up from his chair and walked to the window before staring outside with a seemingly dazed look on his face.
"Do you have any idea what you've done today, Elder Yao?" Bai Ling asked him a moment later.
"No, I do not, Leader Bai!" Elder Yao quickly responded.
"At least you're honest," Bai Ling nodded, and he continued, "That Outer Court disciple… you may not know him now, but I can guarantee you that you will know him in the near future— and I am willing to bet my position as Leader of the Disciplinary Hall that you will regret what you've done today."
Elder Yao looked at him with a surprised look, and he said, "Please enlighten this ignorant one, Leader Bai! Just who is that Outer Court disciple and why did Grand Elder Xuan protect him?"
"..."
However, Bai Ling did not respond to his question and continued to speak as though he never heard it, "I will give you two choices, Elder Yao. For your offenses today, I can either let the Sect Master know about this incident so he can punish you himself, or you can give a lecture to the disciples at the Education Peak and eat your shoes before every disciple there afterward. It's your decision."
"W-What did you just say?!" Elder Yao cried out loud with pure disbelief on his face
Why on earth would Bai Ling involve the Sect Master over a mere Outer Court disciple?! It was not as though he'd killed this disciple! This is ridiculous! How can they treat a sect elder like him because of a single Outer Court disciple?! None of this made any sense!