"Do I have to repeat myself?" The calm look on Elder Dai's face suddenly turned cold, causing Elder Cheng to tremble.
"N-No! I will leave this to you, Senior Elder!" Elder Cheng bowed to Elder Dai again before leaving the area in large strides.
Once Elder Cheng was gone, Elder Dai looked at the Outer Court disciples and said, "Someone bring me a bucket of cold water. Now."
Immediately after Elder Dai's words, most of the disciples there scrambled to get a bucket of cold water.
While they waited for the water, Elder Dai looked at Yuan and asked him, "That was a marvelous display of technique. However, why didn't you strike him? It would've ended much sooner if you'd just knocked him unconscious with your fists."
After a moment of silence, Yuan spoke in a calm voice, "Because I was taught that intimidation works better than violence. Even if I'd beaten him, I don't think he will give up, and he will eventually come to bother me again."
"Is that so?" Elder Dai nodded.
"Anyways, congratulations on defeating Wu Laohu who was ranked 3rd. Since you defeated him, you'll now replace his spot as third."
Meanwhile, somewhere within the Outer Court, on the Outer Court disciple's Power Ranking, Wu Laohu's 3rd place was replaced by Yuan's name before being pushed down to the 4th place, shocking the disciples that were there to witness this change.
"Disciple Yuan? Who's this? I don't recognize this name! Where the heck did he come from?! Defeating that Mad Tiger is no easy feat!"
A small uproar occurred within the sect on that day with Yuan's name spreading like a wildfire.
A few minutes after the disciples left to get a cold bucket of water, one of the disciples finally returned with a large bucket of cold water.
"Here you go, Senior!" The disciple handed the cold bucket to Elder Dai, who immediately went onto the stage and dumped the entire cold bucket on Wu Laohu's unconscious body.
Splash!
"Aaaaaah!"
Wu Laohu woke up screaming as though he was just having a nightmare.
"Where am I?!" He looked around with a dazed look on his wet face, clearly puzzled by his situation.
However, when he saw Yuan's handsome figure standing not far away, Wu Laohu recalled everything that had happened and immediately ran away.
"Ahhh! Monster! Get away from me! Help—!"
Before Wu Laohu could run very far, Elder Dai appeared in front of him and slapped him in the face, causing him to fall on the floor again.
"Looks like you're still quite healthy." Elder Dai said in a nonchalant voice, and she continued, "You're lucky this wasn't a deathmatch, young man. Come with me, I have a lot to say to you."
Although he was puzzled, Wu Laohu nodded regardless.
"Senior, I…"
Yuan suddenly spoke, but Elder Dai shook her head and interrupted, "You don't have to tell me anything. I know what happened. They forced this match upon you even though you didn't accept it. Don't worry, I will punish them according to the Sect Rules."
Hearing Elder Dai's words, Yuan nodded and said, "Thank you."
"Heavens! I was right! Wu Laohu and Elder Cheng actually conspired against this Disciple Yuan with this fixed match! What an unfair match!"
"Hahaha! But they still lost in the end! How hilarious!"
Sometime later, Yuan left the scene, and the other disciples also left shortly later to spread the news of Wu Laohu's miserable loss.
"What? Disciple Yuan? This is the first time I've heard of this disciple. Is he new?"
"A new disciple defeated that Mad Tiger? He must be a genius!"
"I heard he used some kind of eye technique that rendered Mad Tiger spineless with a single gaze! I wouldn't mess with this guy even if I had ten lives!"
"I was there to witness his eye technique! Shit! I am still getting chills down my spine just thinking about it, and it felt like I was looking at a powerful beast!"
Yuan's name spread across the Outer Court like wildfire, and within a single day, almost every disciple in the Outer Court had heard about his fight against Wu Laohu, becoming famous.
Meanwhile, in the Dispute Hall, Elder Cheng and Wu Laohu stood beside each other while they faced Elder Dai with nervous looks on their faces.
"Elder Cheng, did you really think I didn't know about your actions? Not just today— I have known about it since you rigged your first match." Elder Dai said in a calm voice, dumbfounding Elder Cheng.
'Does this mean she doesn't intend on punishing me?' He wondered inwardly with a hopeful feeling.
"Do you know why I didn't even bother to punish you?" Elder Dai then asked him.
"N-No, I do not, Senior Elder." Elder Cheng quickly shook his head.
"Because the cultivation world is never fair. Things like this happen on a daily basis throughout the world, not just the cultivation world, and I really couldn't care less about it since it doesn't really affect the sect." Elder Dai said, and she continued, "However, like most situations in the cultivation world, it's not about whether you're caught or not."
Elder Dai narrowed her eyes and said in a cold voice, "It's about who you're doing it to."
"If you'd treated a nobody unfairly, who would care? Nobody would care even if the entire world knew. However, if you treated someone from the Legacy Family like how you treated Disciple Yuan today, what do you think would happen once word gets out?"
"Of course, I doubt anybody would be stupid enough to offend someone from the Legacy Family, but hypothetically, if you'd done that, everybody would call you out for it."
"Now returning back to the topic at hand. The main reason I will be punishing you two for your actions today is not because you were being unfair— it's simply because you'd picked the wrong person to offend." Elder Dai spoke in a calm manner.
"Elder Cheng, you are no longer a disciple of the Dragon Essence Temple as of this moment. As for Wu Laohu, you'll be punished with four years of confinement. If you have a problem with my decision, you may speak with the Sect Master. However, I highly advise you to just accept my punishment and not speak with the Sect Master, who will definitely make your lives much more miserable."
