Chapter 176: Master Pagoda Can Take the Impact For Me
Ye Guan looked at Madame Li and said, “Senior, I want to go to the Committee.”
Madame Li shook her head and said, “Young Lord Ye, I’m sorry, but I can’t let you go to the Committee.”
Ye Guan was confused. “Why?”
Madame Li replied, “It’s complicated…”
Ye Guan asked, “Senior, are you talking about the aristocratic family and the great clan factions?”
Madame Li nodded. The aristocratic and clan factions were just too powerful, and she didn’t want Ye Guan to get drenched in such muddy waters. The fact that Ye Guan had entertained such a thought was more than enough for her.
However, Ye Guan insisted, “I still want to go to the Committee, Senior.”
Madame Li stared quizzically at Ye Guan and asked, “Why?”
Ye Guan softly explained, “Senior Ye Guanzhi stood up for me despite being aware of the consequences.”
Madame Li fell silent, feeling slightly hesitant.
Ye Guan said in a serious tone, “Senior, please bring me to the Committee. You don’t have to say anything else, I’ve already made up my mind.”
Madame Li stared intently at Ye Guan for a few moments. She realized that Ye Guan was determined to visit the Committee, so she could only nod and agree, “All right.”
In all honesty, she also had some pent-up anger in her heart. Ye Guanzhi hadn’t done anything wrong, so why was she being punished? She felt like there was no longer any logic to the world.
Having made up her mind, Madame Li guided Ye Guan to the Main Guanxuan Academy, and they soon arrived at the Committee Hall. A statue stood right in front of the Committee Hall.
It was the statue of the Sword Master.
Ye Guan made a sidelong glance at the statue before walking into the Committee Hall.
A terrifying aura engulfed Ye Guan just as he was about to enter the Committee Hall.
A voice echoed from afar. “Stop right there!”
Ye Guan stopped in his tracks.
“What do you want?” asked the voice.
Ye Guan looked straight at the Committee Hall and said, “I would like to lodge an Imperial Appeal!”
An Imperial Appeal!
Ye Guan’s voice echoed loudly and clearly. His actions immediately attracted the attention of the nearby students, and they were stunned upon seeing that Ye Guan had come here.
Ye Guan’s reputation was at an all-time high, as he was daring enough to challenge the Chosen One.
An Imperial Appeal?
The students’ interest was piqued upon hearing that Ye Guan had come here to lodge an Imperial Appeal.
The news that Ye Guan had arrived to lodge an Imperial Appeal quickly spread throughout the entire Academy. More and more students gathered near the Committee Hall.
South Garden.
Ye Guanzhi was stupefied upon hearing that Ye Guan was standing in front of the Committee Hall to lodge an Imperial Appeal on her behalf. She truly didn’t expect that Ye Guan would do that for her.
Soon, she recovered from her shock and revealed a beautiful smile. She was moved, and she felt an inexplicable joy in her heart. She wanted to continue reading the book in her hand, but for some reason, she couldn’t focus on it anymore.
A strong breeze swept past her, disturbing the serenity of the nearby lake.
…
The students in front of the Committee Hall were stupefied.
Ye Guan was truly brave!
He had challenged the Chosen One, and now, he was lodging an Imperial Appeal.
The students were curious about Ye Guan’s target.
Ye Guan stared straight at the Committee Hall with no fear in his eyes.
After a few moments of silence, a voice echoed out from the Committee Hall.
“Against whom?” asked the voice.
Ye Guan calmly responded, “Against the Committee!”
‘Against the Committee’?!
The crowd of onlookers burst out into murmurs.
Was Ye Guan mad? Was he seriously trying to lodge an Imperial Appeal against the Committee? The Guanxuan Committee was the most powerful organization in the Guanxuan Universe!
Lodging an Imperial Appeal against the Committee? What? Do you really think that the Academy belongs to your family? This is too absurd![1]
The Committee Hall fell silent.
Ye Guan spoke once more and explained, “I was a competitor of the Upper Realm’s martial contest. The True Dragon Clan broke the rules, and they worked together with the An Clan to deal with me.
”Lady Guanzhi dealt with the matter impartially and punished the An Clan, but Lady Guanzhi’s actions attracted the ire of the aristocratic family faction and the great clan faction.
”They retaliated by suppressing her and dismissing her from her position before locking her up in the South Garden.”
Ye Guan’s gaze turned cold as he continued. “I would like to ask the Committee. Does the Guanxuan Academy belong to the Sword Master, or does it belong to the factions?”
The expressions of the students abruptly changed.
He really went mad!
Ye Guan had just openly challenged the aristocratic family faction and the great clan faction. Many of the students’ gazes turned hostile, as they were members of those aristocratic families and clans.
However, Ye Guan remained calm. Factions? They can go to hell! I’m only nice to those nice to me!
“How impudent!” an old man roared and walked over to Ye Guan before asking, “Just who do you think you are? How dare you question the Committee’s decisions?”
Ye Guan looked at the old man and asked, “Are you from the Committee?”
The old man replied coldly, “No!”
Ye Guan frowned and retorted, “Then, how is this any of your business?”
Everyone was utterly speechless.
The old man was furious, and he snapped, “I am an elder of the Central Department; how dare you look down on me!”
Ye Guan glanced sideways at Madame Li and asked, “What does the Central Department do?”
Madame Li explained, “Whenever the Committee makes any decisions, they will pass their orders down to the Central Department. The Central Department executes the Committee’s orders.”
Ye Guan nodded slightly, then looked at the elder before asking, “Does my Imperial Appeal against the Committee matter to the Central Department?”
“You!” The old man stumbled over his words in anger. “Y-Ye Guan! You can’t afford to mess around like this because the Sword Sect is backing you up!”
Ye Guan stared deeply at the old man and asked, “Does it look like I’m messing around?”
“You—” the old man started.
However, Ye Guan shook his head and interrupted him. “Stop nagging, I don’t want to listen to your nonsense. If you’re unhappy about what I’m doing, then let’s fight. I’ll bury you myself!”
The old man was enraged. He wanted to retort, but an old man walked out of the Committee Hall.
Everyone hurriedly bowed and said, “Greetings, Elder Zhang!”
Elder Zhang!
Elder Zhang wasn’t a member of the Committee, but he was the only individual who could enter and leave the Committee Hall freely. It was only a matter of time before he became a member of the Committee. After all, the Sword Master was the one who had given him his special status many years ago.
The old man from the Central Department bowed and said, “Elder Zhang!”
Elder Zhang glanced sideways at the old man.
The old man hurriedly said, “This Ye Guan is truly a lawbreaker. He should be kicked out of the Guanxuan Academy and be sent to the Heaven’s Writ Prison—”
“Shut up!” Old Zhang roared like thunder.
Everyone was shocked by Old Zhang’s reaction.
The old man stammered, “E-Elder Zhang?”
Old Zhang glared at the old man and asked, “Ye Guan is a lawbreaker? What law did he break, then?”
The old man’s voice was trembling as he answered, “He wants to lodge an Imperial Appeal against the Committee…”
Old Zhang remained expressionless as he replied, “Who said that one couldn’t lodge an Imperial Appeal against the Committee?”
The old man froze, and he soon went beyond pallid. Fuck, there’s something wrong here. Why does it feel like Elder Zhang is on Ye Guan’s side?
Old Zhang glared at the old man and asked, “Elder Yu, who said that Ye Guan can’t lodge an Imperial Appeal against the Committee? I don’t think the Sword Master made that kind of a rule, so what are you trying to imply here?
“Are you implying that you’re more powerful than the Sword Master?”
Elder Yu’s face immediately changed. He fell to his knees and begged. “Elder Zhang, I was wrong!”
Everyone looked at Elder Yu with strange expressions. They truly didn’t expect Elder Yu’s bootlicking to backfire on him!
Old Zhang nodded slightly and said, “Holding power in the Academy is equivalent to holding a deadly weapon; it tends to fill people with intrusive thoughts. We’re powerful, and that is exactly why we have to be careful not to abuse our power.
”Do you understand?”
Elder Yu hurriedly replied, “Yes, I understand! I was wrong!”
Everyone nodded to express their agreement with Old Zhang’s words.
Ye Guan looked at Old Zhang. This old man is pretty great!
Old Zhang waved his hand in dismissal and said, “You may leave.”
Elder Yu took one last glance at Ye Guan before leaving.
Old Zhang examined Ye Guan from top to bottom.
His gaze softened, and he smiled as he asked, “You want to lodge an Imperial Appeal against the Committee?”
Ye Guan nodded. “Yes.”
“Then, come with me,” said Old Zhang. He turned around and started walking toward the Committee Hall.
Ye Guan followed him closely, but he seemed to have thought of something as he asked hesitantly, “This isn’t a trap, right? You’re not luring me into the building to surround me with the Committee’s powerhouses, right?”
Ye Guan was still wary of the Guanxuan Committee. After all, they had locked up even someone as kind as Ye Guanzhi. They must be super corrupt!
Old Zhang was so dumbfounded by Ye Guan’s words that he couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Are you scared?” asked Old Zhang.
Ye Guan shook his head and replied, “No!”
He continued on following Old Zhang, but he inwardly asked, “Master Pagoda, are you familiar with the influential figures of the Academy?”
Little Pagoda calmly replied, “I’m familiar with every single one of them!”
Ye Guan’s face darkened. “I’m really serious here, Master Pagoda. Just where did you get the habit of bragging? You should be more humble, Master Pagoda.”
Little Pagoda was speechless. This bastard never believes me whenever I tell him the truth.
Ye Guan followed Old Zhang into the Committee Hall.
Meanwhile, the onlookers outside the Committee Hall were curious about how the Committee would deal with Ye Guan. The Committee would definitely not tolerate anyone challenging their power.
The Committee would definitely challenge Ye Guan to make an example out of him.
Madame Li stared at Ye Guan’s departing back with worried eyes, as she was unaware of the Committee’s stance.
Ye Guan was astounded to find that the Committee Hall was more spacious than he thought. There was a huge table with a mountain of documents on top of it. A woman was sitting in front of the huge table, and she was busy going through the reports.
The woman put down the brush and looked at Ye Guan. She smiled and asked, “You want to lodge an Imperial Appeal against the Committee?”
“Yes!” said Ye Guan with a nod.
The woman chuckled and said, “Old Zhang, bring me another chair.”
Old Zhang nodded and placed a chair in front of the woman.
The woman turned to Ye Guan and said, “Have a seat.”
Ye Guan was wary, and he felt that there was something wrong here. The Committee members were way more accommodating than he expected. Ye Guan dismissed his thoughts and sat down.
The woman quietly smiled at him.
Ye Guan pondered in the deafening silence for quite a while before taking out a tiny pagoda. He had no other intentions; he just felt more at ease with his Master Pagoda in front of him.
Ye Guan was convinced that his Master Pagoda would take the impact for him first.
Of course, Ye Guan would step up once Master Pagoda couldn’t take it anymore.
Little Pagoda was stupefied by Ye Guan’s abrupt decision to take him out.
The woman grinned at Ye Guan’s decision. What a clever little guy.
Ye Guan hesitated briefly before asking, “Senior, do you recognize my Master Pagoda?”
The woman blinked and replied, “I do!”
Ye Guan was shocked.
“You do?” he repeated.
The woman nodded and replied, “Yes!”
Ye Guan muttered, “To think that Master Pagoda actually has such a great network!”
The woman burst out laughing.
Old Zhang laughed as well. His gaze softened as he stared at Ye Guan.
Ye Guan was slightly confused, so he asked, “Senior, why are you laughing?”
“It’s nothing,” said the woman. “Anyway, don’t you want to lodge an Imperial Appeal against the Committee? You can start now.”
Ye Guan pondered over something for a few moments before asking, “Senior, what crime did Lady Ye Guanzhi commit?”
The woman smiled and said, “She didn’t do anything wrong.”
Ye Guan frowned and asked, “Why did you lock her up, then?”
The woman replied, “It was a mistake.”
Ye Guan froze and went silent. What the fuck?
The woman grinned and continued. “We’ve investigated her case, and we found out that she didn’t commit any crimes, so we’ve decided to release her.”
Ye Guan remained silent. Why are these guys so easy to talk to? I feel ashamed having come here with such bravado.
“Do you have any other questions?” asked the woman.
“When will Lady Ye Guanzhi be released?” Ye Guan asked.
“She’ll be released very soon. We’ve already collected a ton of evidence against the An Clan and the True Dragon Clan. We’ll release Lady Ye Guanzhi once things are finalized. After all, we still have to follow the protocols, don’t you think so?”
Ye Guan gazed intently at the woman before saying, “Are you sure you’re not just trying to push the blame onto someone else?”
“Rest assured, we’re not trying to do that.” She opened her palm, and a decree appeared in front of Ye Guan. “Look, we’ve already signed the decree that will release Lady Ye Guanzhi. She’ll be released once the formalities are over.”
“All right.” nodded Ye Guan. He suddenly thought of something, but he hesitated for a few moments before asking, “Senior, the Sword Master’s Qingxuan Sword… is it in the Academy?”
The woman nodded. “Yes, it’s here.”
“Can I borrow it?”
“Yes, you can, but you must defeat the Chosen One first.”
Defeat the Chosen One! Ye Guan went silent.
Eventually, he nodded and said, “I understand.”
The woman’s smile deepened as she asked, “Is there anything else?”
Ye Guan stood up. He cupped his fist and said, “Senior, I’m sorry for the disturbance when you’re so busy. I’ll be taking my leave.”
Ye Guan turned around and started walking away.
The woman called out to him. “Wait!”
Ye Guan turned and directed a confused gaze at the woman.
The woman pointed at the tiny pagoda on the desk and asked, “Do you not want that tiny pagoda anymore?”
Little Pagoda truly had no idea what to say.
1. Hahahaha, if only they knew that it was indeed founded by his family. ☜
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freewe(b)nov𝒆l