Chapter 181: The Golden Badge and Oh, By the Way, I’m an Honorary Disciple ( Bonus GT - V )

Chapter 181: The Golden Badge and Oh, By the Way, I’m an Honorary Disciple ( Bonus GT Chapter V )

Looking at the trembling, desperate face of Patriarch Zhao Feng and the terrified expressions of the Cloudwater Sect disciples, Yu Liang finally set his teacup down.

He let out a soft chuckle that cut through the heavy, suffocating atmosphere of the hall.

"Oh, by the way," Yu Liang said lightly, as if he had just remembered a trivial matter. "I completely forgot to mention in this farce that I am actually an Honorary Core Disciple of the Cloudwater Sect."

With a flick of his wrist, a brilliantly glowing, intricately carved golden badge appeared between his fingers. The badge was forged from pure Spirit Gold, engraved with the majestic, swirling cloud patterns of the Cloudwater Sect, and radiated an undeniable, authoritative aura that only the highest members of the sect possessed.

Seeing that golden badge, it was the last straw that broke their hopes.

The golden badge reflected the light, shining directly into Patriarch Zhao Feng’s eyes. The moment he recognized the emblem of an Honorary Core Disciple, the last shred of sanity and arrogance in his mind completely shattered.

An Honorary Core Disciple!

This wasn’t just some random outer disciple or a mere inner disciple. This was a status that held the exact same privileges, authority, and respect as a true Core Disciple of the Top Tier Sect!

Zhao Feng’s eyes lost all focus. His legs gave out, and he slumped heavily to the ground, his face as gray as ash. His heart was completely crushed into dust.

’If... if he had just shown this badge at the very beginning,’ Zhao Feng thought, his mind filled with agonizing regret. ’There wouldn’t have been this massive farce! I wouldn’t have brought my gaurds either! I would have immediately bowed down, kowtowed until my head bled, and repeatedly begged for his forgiveness! I actually brought people to kill an Honorary Core Disciple... My Zhao Family is finished!’

Seeing the golden badge, the reaction in the restaurant was instantaneous.

Lin Feng, the inner disciples, Elder Qian, and even the restaurant staff, Head Chef Chen Ming, Wan Jing, Auntie Mei, and the guards who just got up, all instantly stood up straight.

Without any prior coordination, they bowed deeply in perfect unison.

"We greet Honorary Core Disciple Yu Liang!"

Their voices, infused with their spiritual energy, merged into a single, massive shockwave of sound. The greeting was so deafening, so filled with absolute reverence and respect, that it blasted out of the restaurant and spread through the entire Azure Merchant Street!

Outside, the bustling crowds of the outer city instantly froze. Countless cultivators stopped in their tracks, looking toward Heaven’s Table with faces full of shock and awe. The sheer volume and authority behind that greeting clearly communicated one thing. A Core Disciple of the Top Tier Cloudwater Sect was present! The respect commanded by such a title was absolute, capable of making the entire city tremble!

Inside the hall, Yu Liang couldn’t help but smile slightly at this dramatic, face slapping scene. The contrast between the arrogance of these people just moments ago and their current bowing was simply too entertaining.

He turned his head and gave Elder Qian a slight, knowing smile.

’This old man is truly a cunning fox,’ Yu Liang thought amusedly.

Elder Qian didn’t called him "Honorary Disciple" when he first rushed in, instead he called him "Young Master". An honorary title was just a formal status granted by the sect, but "Young Master" implied a close, personal, and deeply entrenched relationship with a High Ranking elder of the sect. By using that term, Elder Qian had deliberately inflated Yu Liang’s status in the eyes of the onlookers, showing that they were on intimate terms, which in turn saved Elder Qian’s own face and completely intimidated the Zhao family.

But it didn’t matter to Yu Liang in the slightest. In fact, he appreciated the old fox’s cunning. He had actually wanted to drag out this farce as much as possible.

Ever since his System had recently upgraded, Yu Liang’s mindset completely shifted. He didn’t just want to be a hidden, untouchable expert; he wanted to play a much bigger game, to weave a massive web of influence across the cultivation world, to amass money as much as possible and then convert that into System Points.

He sighed, ’The bait of an honorary disciple is a bit too small for the grand game I want to play... but oh well, it’s not like I don’t have any other plans. Let’s use this as the first stepping stone.’

Yu Liang’s slight smile slowly faded, replaced by a cold and authoritative expression. The temperature in the hall seemed to drop many degrees.

He looked down at the slumped, trembling Patriarch Zhao Feng, who was still muttering incoherently on the floor.

"Patriarch Zhao," Yu Liang’s voice echoed through the surroundings, carrying the undeniable weight of a Core Disciple’s authority. He looked directly at the Zhao Family Patriarch with calm expression, as though he were merely reminding the old man of something he had forgotten.

"Just a moment ago, you kept using the name of the Cloudwater Sect to avenge your son. You repeatedly claimed that I was slapping the face of the sect, and you even demanded that the sect execute me to uphold justice."

Yu Liang paused briefly, allowing his words to sink in before continuing.

"You made it sound as though I had committed some unforgivable crime simply by offending your precious son. You didn’t even bother to find out what had actually happened. You didn’t ask who started the conflict, what your son had done, or whether I had any reason to act against him. You simply decided that because he was your son, he must be in the right, and because I had dared to oppose him, I must be guilty."

His gaze remained fixed on Zhao Tianlong.

"And when that wasn’t enough, you brought the Cloudwater Sect into it. You spoke as if you and you alone can decide what disgraced the sect, what constituted an offense against its dignity, and who deserved to be executed in its name."

A faint smile appeared on Yu Liang’s face, though there was no warmth in it.

"Patriarch Zhao, I would like to ask you something. Since you are so concerned about the reputation of the Cloudwater Sect, do you really believe that the sect’s name is something you can use whenever it suits your interests? Or do you think that by shouting loudly enough, you can turn a personal grudge into a righteous cause?"

The surrounding crowd gradually fell silent.

Everyone had heard Patriarch Zhao’s earlier accusations. He repeatedly involved the Cloudwater Sect’s authority, acting as if Yu Liang’s actions had brought shame upon the entire sect. Now Yu Liang calmly repeated his words, if others can use morale high ground then he will simply burry them in that same ground.

"You also demanded that the Sect should execute me to uphold justice. Very well. Since you insist on bringing the sect into this matter, let us settle one thing first."

He was closing patraich Zhao’s trap one by one.

"Are you speaking on behalf of the Cloudwater Sect, Patriarch Zhao, or are you merely using its name to intimidate someone you believe you can bully?"

He tilted his head slightly.

"Because if you are speaking on behalf of the sect, then I would very much like to know who gave you that authority. And if you are speaking only for yourself, then perhaps you should stop pretending that your family’s personal affairs have anything to do with the dignity of the Cloudwater Sect."

Yu Liang let out a quiet chuckle.

"After all, I am also a Core Disciple of the Cloudwater Sect. So, according to your logic, when you publicly accuse me of disgracing the sect and demand my execution without establishing the facts, aren’t you also dragging the sect’s reputation through the mud?"

His smile widened a little.

"Or does the sect’s dignity only matter when it can be used against someone else?"

Then he took a step forward, his aura pressed down on Zhao Feng like a mountain.

"Now, tell me. According to the strict laws of the Cloudwater Sect... what is the punishment if someone dares to maliciously frame, slander, and tarnish the reputation of an Honorary Core Disciple?"