Was Jiang Ning rebuking him?
Was Jiang Ning calling him useless?
Was Jiang Ning accusing him of being undeserving of his position as Senior Elder of Qingshan Sect? What arrogance!
"How dare you!"
"You're just a young punk. How dare you speak this way!"
"You're disrespecting your elders. Are you tired of living?"
"Such nerve! How dare you insult the Senior Elder?! You ought to be killed!"
The other elders voiced their protests in unison.
Liu Zong and Liu Heng had not expected Jiang Ning to be so audacious and speak in such a manner to the Senior Elder. Was he an idiot?
Even their father, the sect leader of Qingshan Sect, would not speak to the
Senior Elder in this fashion. Had Jiang Ning lost his senses? Did he not think before he spoke?
The Senior Elder fumed quietly, with a stormy look coloring his face.This text is © NôvelDrama/.Org.
He had toiled and bled for Qingshan Sect his whole life. Who knew there would come a day when he would be chastised publicly by a young man?
What was Jiang Ning trying to say?
Was he calling him useless? A piece of trash?
Was he saying that he had failed to bring Qingshan Sect to greater heights and that, in fact, he was the cause of the sect's decline? Was he to shoulder the full blame? "Disrespect?" Jiang Ning shook his head lightly. "You call this an act of disrespect? I'm simply speaking the truth."
He eyed the Senior Elder, then burst out into sudden laughter.
"Senior Elder, has anything I've said caused you offense? Was anything untrue? Do point them out. I'll be sure to apologize and let you do what you will with me."
The sight of the seeming smile on Jiang Ning's face left the Senior Elder at a loss for words.
Qingshan Sect's current state of decline remained an irrefutable fact and equally undisputable was the fact that he had served as the Senior Elder during the sect's gradual decline. Everything that Jiang Ning had said was the truth.
What basis did he have to refute Jiang Ning's words?
Was he supposed to argue that he had done his best and that he had shed blood and tears, toiling with sleep or rest for the sect?
That only served to prove his incompetence.
The Senior Elder didn't say a word. The look on his face gradually darkened.
He glared unblinkingly at Jiang Ning, his breathing growing uneven whilst he struggled for words. Yet, nothing came to mind.
"It seems that the Senior Elder has nothing to say for himself," said Jiang Ning. "That means that I was right. Why are you complaining then?"
His eyes swept past the other elders and the two brothers.
"All of you are to blame for the current state that Qingshan Sect is in!"
An air of authority surrounded Jiang Ning suddenly upon his thunderous proclamation.
"Especially the two of you!" He
pointed an accusatory finger at Liu
Zong and Liu Heng. An icy smile appeared on his lips. "As the sect leader's sons, you've been nothing but useless, failing at everything that you do. Qingshan Sect wouldn't be in its current state if you've displayed even the slightest bit of
competence."
"How dare you!" Liu Zong and Liu Heng's faces flushed with anger. They pointed furiously at Jiang Ning and exploded in unison. "That's utter rubbish!" "You know very well that I'm speaking the truth. You've been fighting with each other openly and secretly, all for the sake of your own selfish interests." "But what's the point of your fighting?
What are you going to be left with if the Qingshan Sect falls to someone else? You fight between yourselves when you should be protecting your sect from poachers."
"Are you fools? All you're doing is helping the enemy, who's using you as a stepping stone. I've never seen idiots more foolish than you lot!"
Jiang Ning's words of rebuke spewed forth rapidly and gave neither Liu Zong nor Liu Heng time to retaliate.
They had no grounds for refutation anyway.
What had they done all these years for
Qingshan Sect?
Nothing. They hadn't thought of doing anything for the sect at all.
They had poured their energies into bribing the hearts of others, getting more allies and strengthening their own factions. They hadn't spared a thought for Qingshan Sect or the sect's future. Liu Zong's and Li Heng's ears flushed with heat when they heard Jiang Ning's scalding
words of reprimand. There was
nothing they could say
forthemselves.
The elders did not escape unscathed. They too took heat from Jiang Ning's harsh rebuke.
Jiang Ning's voice was the only
voice filling the hall. His words thundered like a series of cannonballs fired from the cannon and exploding with extreme force as he listed their wrongdoings one by one without using a single curse word. Nevertheless, every word turned out to be equally maddening.