230: Chapter 230 While pointing fingers and cursing everyone, Madam Qingli was quite at ease.

The old woman's angry rebukes were like whips, lashing across the faces of those Elders.

Wang Tiexin, Li Wancai, and the others' faces turned various shades of blue and white. They wanted to argue back, but facing this Martial Aunt—who held extremely high seniority and had always been upright—they found themselves momentarily short of breath.

Granny Liu's cloudy yet sharp gaze was like a cold blade, sweeping over the few Elders who had been jumping around most vigorously:

"Wang Tiexin! As the Elder of our Hehuan Sect's Punishment Hall, you have always been entrusted with great responsibility, presiding over the hall."

"Your status should represent the fairness, integrity, and iron discipline of our Hehuan Sect."

"But look at you now! What do you look like? Do you still have even half a shred of the Sect's laws and regulations in your eyes?!"

"And you, Li Wancai! Look at your current state; where is there any resemblance to an Elder?"

"In my eyes, you look exactly like a petty, money-grubbing scoundrel from the marketplace!"

"If the Sect were handed over to someone like you, I fear you would sell every last bit of it sooner or later!"

"And look at you, Huo Lianzi! Besides flaunting your brute courage and fighting and killing, can your brain hold any thought for the Sect's overall situation?!"

"The most detestable one is you, Leng Mian! As a law enforcer of this Sect, at such a critical juncture, you harbor impure motives and use ruthless methods. The Sect's atmosphere has been corrupted by fence-sitters like you!"

"Dan Xiazi! Zhen Xuanzi! And the rest of you!"

"Each of you acts sanctimonious on ordinary days, yet at the critical moment, you think not of how to weather the storm together, but of how to seize power and line your own pockets!"

"Even I feel ashamed for you!"

With every sentence she barked, the face of the Elder being named grew a degree uglier.

Granny Liu's scolding wasn't loud, but every word struck the heart, pointing directly at their most unspeakable secrets and their ugliest desires at this moment.

"Chaos! It's all in chaos!" Granny Liu said with heart-wrenching sorrow, thumping her chest and stamping her feet. "The Hehuan Sect's Legacy has lasted eight thousand years, weathering how many great storms? What did we rely on? Was it the protection of past Ancestral Masters? Was it the strength of our Cultivation Techniques?"

"No! We relied on rules! On laws! On being of one mind from top to bottom!"

She suddenly looked up, her gaze like lightning shooting toward Xu Ruyu, who was still 'sitting blankly' on the high platform. Her voice abruptly rose, filled with unquestionable resolve:

"Regarding today's matter, I see it clearly and hear it plainly!"

"Founding Ancestor Mo Hehuan arrived in person! Old Ancestor Qingtian manifested to make the decision!"

"The two Old Ancestors spoke words as precious as gold, personally designating Xu Ruyu as the new Sect Master of our Hehuan Sect!"

"This is the legitimate line of succession! This is the Mandate of Heaven! This is the foundation for our Hehuan Sect's continuation!"

She scanned the entire field, especially those silent Elders and the 'troublemakers' on the ground who had been scolded into hanging their heads, and said sternly:

"The Old Ancestor's decree still rings in our ears! The Ancestral Master's lingering prestige has not yet dissipated!"

"But look at you! Taking advantage of the Old Ancestor's departure, you dare to openly question the Ancestral Master's decision here, forcing the new Sect Master's hand, and even for your own selfish desires, you were about to resort to internal strife and violence right here in the Council Hall?!"

Granny Liu's voice was hoarse with agitation, yet it carried a soul-shaking power:

"In your eyes, is there still the Founding Ancestor? Is there still Old Ancestor Qingtian? Are there still the various generations of Ancestors of our Hehuan Sect?!"

"How is this action of yours any different from betraying the Sect?!"

The words 'betraying the Sect' were like two heavy hammers, smashing violently against everyone's hearts!

In the Cultivation World, this was a supreme crime; everyone had the right to execute such a traitor!

The faces of Wang Tiexin and the others changed completely. They could refuse to submit to Xu Ruyu and they could fight for power and profit, but they absolutely did not dare to wear the label of 'betraying the Sect'!

"Martial Aunt Liu! These words are too heavy!" Wang Tiexin suppressed his anger and defended himself. "We are not questioning the Ancestral Master; we just feel that little friend Xu... really cannot handle such a great responsibility. For the safety of the Sect, we only..."

"Bullshit!" Granny Liu interrupted unceremoniously, her saliva nearly spraying onto Wang Tiexin's face. "The Ancestral Master's Wisdom Eye perceives all of eternity; could it be she doesn't see as clearly as you profit-blinded fools? Since the Ancestral Master designated Sect Master Xu, there must be a profound meaning!"

"How can you be allowed to make wild conjectures, let alone force a transition of power!"

Leaning on her cane, she shuffled forward step by step. Though her steps were faltering, her Aura was so heavy it made people breathless. "Though I am old and decrepit with meager cultivation, my heart for guarding the Sect's legitimacy and honoring the Ancestral Master's will has never changed!"

"As long as I have a breath left, I will never allow anyone to trample on the Ancestral Master's dignity or destroy the Sect's rules!"

She stopped and stood between the restless Elders and the high platform, her withered body like an insurmountable wall.

She raised her cane, pointing at Wang Tiexin and the others, her voice resolute as it echoed in every corner of the hall:

"Now, before I ask you a question—"

"Before you wretched obstacles decide to 'elect' a Sect Master with your fists and decide who is qualified to sit in that position—"

She suddenly turned her head, her cloudy yet firm gaze sweeping the field before falling back on those Elders whose expressions were shifting. Word by word, like a clap of thunder, she said:

"Should you not first answer me—"

"In your eyes, is there still a Founding Ancestor?!"

"Where do your actions today place the Ancestral Master's decree?!"

"Do you—"

Granny Liu took a deep breath and used all her strength to let out a deafening interrogation:

"DO. YOU. AGREE. To honor the Ancestral Master's decree and acknowledge Xu Ruyu as the Sect Master?!"

This string of interrogations was like a thunderous weight, or like cold water being poured over their heads, completely shocking those Elders who had been blinded by the lust for power back to their senses!

They finally realized how foolish and transgressive their behavior just now was in the face of the righteous cause of 'honoring the Ancestral Master's decree'!

As the guardian of the Hall of Power Transmission—someone who usually kept a low profile but represented the Sect's most orthodox legitimacy and rules—Granny Liu's anger and accusations carried far more weight than they had imagined!