225: Chapter 225: The Performance Begins, Showing Weakness in the Council Hall

The Hehuan Council Hall.

This hall, symbolizing the Hehuan Sect's highest center of power, was located atop the main peak, spanning a vast area with a magnificent Aura.

The interior was supported by eighty-one pillars of Ten-thousand-year Ironwood; the dome was painted with ancient murals of the sun, moon, stars, and the union of Yin and Yang; the floor was paved with black spirit stones as smooth as mirrors, reflecting light clearly.

On ordinary days, this place was solemn and dignified. The Sect Master's throne sat high above, overlooking the area below, with Elders lined up on both sides to deliberate on major Sect matters under strict laws.

However, today, as Xu Ruyu stepped into the Council Hall accompanied by Lady Qingli, he felt a strange dullness and a surging undercurrent.

Dozens of people had already gathered inside the hall.

Aside from Granny Jingxu and a few other Grand Elders, who were gasping for breath due to the backlash from Summoning the Ancestor and sitting in specially arranged soft chairs supported by Disciples, the rest were all the remaining powerful Elders of the Hehuan Sect and some core hall masters of special status.

The number was slightly fewer than Xu Ruyu had expected.

Clearly, the one-third who chose to leave included many middle and high-level managers.

The cultivation of those who stayed ranged from the Middle Golden Core Stage to the Late Nascent Soul Stage. Their ages and appearances varied, but at this moment, the gazes they cast toward Xu Ruyu were surprisingly complex—curiosity, scrutiny, doubt, disdain, coldness, and a few hidden traces of worry or bewilderment.

Lady Qingli had changed into a relatively solemn light purple Palace Gown today, appearing more dignified and capable, with less of her usual charm and laziness.

She followed half a step behind Xu Ruyu, demonstrating her intent to assist without overstepping.

As for Xiao Nianyin, Lady Qingli had ordered her to follow further behind under the guise of being a "maidservant."

Xiao Nianyin still wore those slightly disheveled Sect Master robes (Mo Hehuan hadn't asked her to change). Her face was as pale as paper, her ice-blue eyes downcast, following closely like an exquisite doll without a Soul. She was out of place in this solemn Council Hall, yet she drew countless gazes of mysterious meaning.

Xu Ruyu took a deep breath, suppressing the involuntary nervousness rising in his heart.

He had also changed into a relatively decent green robe today, prepared for him by Lady Qingli. The fine material made him look a bit more upright, but that weak Aura of the "Qi Refinement Stage" (a disguise he deliberately maintained) still appeared glaring and... ridiculous before these Elders, who were at least at the Golden Core Stage.

He could clearly feel the unabashed scrutiny and weighing in many of the gazes falling on him, as if they were evaluating a piece of gaudy, impractical porcelain suddenly placed on a high pedestal.

At Lady Qingli's implicitly encouraging look, Xu Ruyu steadied himself and stepped toward the high Sect Master's throne at the end of the hall.

The throne was carved from a single piece of warm white jade. The armrests were in the shape of spreading Luan Bird wings, and the backrest was a complex relief of Hehuan Flowers intertwined with Yin and Yang Fish, symbolizing the Hehuan Sect's orthodoxy. This position originally belonged to Xiao Nianyin, but now, Xu Ruyu was to sit upon it.

He climbed the steps one by one. His steps were not steady, even somewhat floaty, fully displaying the posture a young man "suddenly pushed into a high position and feeling fearful and uneasy" should have.

When he finally sat on the wide, cold white jade throne, he could even hear faint, mocking scoffs from below.

Xu Ruyu acted as if he hadn't heard. He placed his hands on the armrests, his fingertips pressing down slightly, as if trying to draw some support from them.

He raised his head, his gaze sweeping over the dense crowd below. He cleared his throat and spoke.

His voice wasn't loud, and it even carried an imperceptible tremor from nervousness, but in the silent hall, it was still clearly audible.

"Elders... Seniors."

He used a relatively humble form of address, not directly referring to himself as the Sect Master.

"I have called you all here today... for the matter of the Sect's future."

Xu Ruyu paused, seemingly organizing his words. His face appropriately showed expressions of exhaustion, bewilderment, and heaviness.

"I presume everyone is already aware of what happened at the Law Execution Platform today.

Old Ancestor Qingtian... and the Hehuan Ancestral Master's decree have ordered me... to take over the position of Sect Master."

At this point, he gave a bitter smile, one filled with helplessness and a sense of inadequacy. "To be honest, even now, I... I feel like it's a dream, an utterly absurd and unbelievable dream."

His gaze moved below, meeting the eyes of some Elders before quickly looking away, appearing to lack confidence. "What virtue or ability do I, Xu Ruyu, possess? I am but a Foreigner who was luckily summoned to this world. My cultivation is low, my experience shallow, I know nothing of Sect affairs, and I have no prestige or merit to speak of.

This Sect Master's position, to me, is not an honor, but... a heavy burden of a thousand pounds, a bottomless abyss!"

His voice gradually rose, carrying a heartfelt anxiety. "I have thought about it over and over, and the more I think, the more fearful and uneasy I become!

The Hehuan Sect has stood for eight thousand years, with a deep heritage and a great Legacy. How can it be handed over to someone like me, who has no Foundation and no ability, just because of one word from the Old Ancestor?

This is not just a question of my personal ability, but more importantly, it's irresponsible toward the past Sages of the Hehuan Sect, toward everyone present, and toward the future of the thousands of Disciples in the Sect!"