Love & Redemption
Chapter 233: Volume 5 Phoenix Flower Blooms, - 40: Reviving Majesty (Part 3)

Chapter 233: Volume 5 Phoenix Flower Blooms, Chapter 40: Reviving Majesty (Part 3)

Today continued through the third watch. The first watch.

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Yu Sifeng took a deep breath. He had contemplated such a situation before, but once it actually happened, he still felt a heavy pressure. He stood in the center of the main hall, thought for a moment, and then said, "Elders, please rise. Regarding the matters of Li Ze Palace, I think we should discuss it carefully."

Elder Luo said, "Although the hope for the Juntian Ring is gone, I, this old fellow, don’t believe that the sole purpose of Li Ze Palace’s existence is the Juntian Ring! After a thousand years, even stones can be perforated by drops of water, not to mention the original intention of Li Ze Palace!"

The other elders nodded in agreement. Yu Sifeng spoke loudly, "Elder Luo is right! I personally also believe that Li Ze Palace should not exist solely for the Juntian Ring. I remember that Li Ze Palace used to forcibly recruit new disciples from overseas, gathering talented clanspeople so much so that to many clanspeople, Li Ze Palace was akin to hell. I think, the first step should be to change the tribespeople’s view of Li Ze Palace."

When the people heard his stance, they couldn’t help but rejoice, but he then said, "As for the matter of becoming the palace master, I think it should be considered for the long term... Firstly, I am still young and cannot command respect, and secondly, my nature is lazy and I dislike being constrained, fearing that I may not perform well as the palace master. Why not choose someone from among the elders who is capable and virtuous to be the new palace master of Li Ze Palace, what do you think?"

The elders were immediately panicked. Elder Luo hurriedly said, "Why does the palace master say this? Apart from you, who else is qualified to be the new palace master of Li Ze Palace? If you want examples, then I also can provide some. Firstly, the previous palace master designated you personally to be the palace master; secondly, you are the only one in the palace who carries the noble bloodline of the Shieryu; thirdly, although young, who in the palace dares to belittle you? Why should the palace master sell himself short!"

Seeing that Yu Sifeng hesitated and did not respond, he continued, "The palace master says he is lazy and dislikes constraints, which implies that Li Ze Palace has many rules. But we, these old fellows, discussed it all afternoon and are determined to break all the old rules and build a brand new Li Ze Palace, no longer with so many ironclad laws. The most crucial point is... the palace master should not take offense, young man, you cannot escape your responsibilities! Especially responsibilities that belong to no one else but you! Would your heart really be at ease if you threw everything aside and left?"

His last few words were very stern. Yu Sifeng felt ashamed and lowered his head, saying, "Elder Luo is right, I was reckless."

All the elders laughed and said, "Elder Luo truly is from Precepts Hall; he finally persuaded the palace master!"

Yu Sifeng softly said, "Elders, please be seated. Thanks to the Great Palace Master and all the elders’ considerable favor, I, with great audacity, assume the position of the palace master. Regarding how to establish a new Li Ze Palace, I would like to hear the elders’ opinions."

Someone had already brought over a thick stack of paper, densely packed with everyone’s proposals. He quickly glanced through them and felt his blood boil, realizing that his own thoughts coincidentally matched those of the elders, such as restoring the prestige of the Cultivation Sect; abolishing all previous laws and setting ten new precepts; opening the door to restrictions and no longer forcibly recruiting people; current disciples who wish to leave Li Ze Palace should not be obstructed, and so on.

He was somewhat spellbound as he read, and after a long moment, he laughed and said, "It seems the elders have long harbored thoughts of reform?"

An elder from Shanji Hall answered, "Not to conceal from the palace master, under the iron laws of the past, indeed many disciples died, chilling to the heart. After the Iron Fist Old Palace Master, there were two crude new palace masters. The Great Palace Master’s mind was not at all on building Li Ze Palace, and the Vice Palace Master, engaging in many small actions in private, was entirely focused on the Juntian Ring. After the Great Palace Master’s bloody return from Fuyu Island, we quietly discussed the matter of reforming, hoping after submitting it, there was no response, suggesting that the matter did not please the two palace masters, and we had to temporarily shelve it. If you are interested, it truly is Li Ze Palace’s fortune."

Yu Sifeng nodded his head, looked at Elder Luo, remembered he had always been a stern person, even severely clashing with Liu Yihuan previously, and couldn’t help but smile and ask, "Elder Luo, forgive my rudeness, but given your personality, shouldn’t you be the first to oppose the matter of reform?"

Elder Luo seriously said, "The palace master is right. Initially, when Elder Zhou and several others discussed it, I was a staunch oppositionist. But later, seeing the capricious acts of the two palace masters, thinking of Li Ze Palace’s millennium foundation, I realized it should not just degrade due to the Juntian Ring. Actually, having experienced these two generations of palace masters, I’ve come to see that the Juntian Ring had become an obsession. I often think, should our arduous lives only signify such a Divine Artifact? Extinguishing all thought and spirit, purely becoming the sacrifice of personal desires, it chills me simply thinking about it. The method of the Old Palace Master, in extinguishing human desires, harmed not only you and Liu Yihuan! The countless corpses in the dungeon, they are all products of the iron laws. I don’t want the next generation of young people to continue suffering such devastation!"

Yu Sifeng was moved, looking around the hall at these elders, some with white hair, others with solemn expressions, and in that moment, he felt a warm, homecoming sensation. He carefully placed the stack of papers into his sleeve, stood up with a smile and said, "Regarding the reform, I will provide the final plan tomorrow. I am inexperienced, but I wish to build a new Li Ze Palace together with all the elders! I still need the guidance of all the elders!"

The elders all stood up together, repeatedly saying, "The palace master is too polite!"

Yu Sifeng also said, "It’s getting late, everyone should rest now. Tomorrow morning at the Danyat Platform, we will gather all the disciples to ask about their wishes. Those who want to stay may stay, and those who want to leave may go, all according to individual choice."

Elder Luo laughed and said, "Palace Master need not worry; we asked them all this afternoon, and not one disciple wishes to leave. I don’t know what they’ve encountered outside, but they all greatly respect the Palace Master!"

Yu Sifeng smiled shyly, suddenly remembered something, and took out a cloth bag from his bosom, handing it over, "This is a fragment of the Juntian Ring. Though broken, it seems its power remains. Brother Liu has another piece, which he will return after his injuries heal. I have yet another piece which I will return after dealing with the affairs of Heaven. The elders can decide how to deal with it."

All said in unison, "It was for this artifact that Lize Palace was brought to its present state. Please lock it in the shrine of Jingui Palace for veneration."

******

When Yu Sifeng returned to the Vice Palace Master’s bedroom, it was already the third watch. The Great Palace Master’s corpse had already been carried to the spirit hall in Jingui Palace, where a long-burning lamp was lit, and faint sobbing sounds drifted in with the wind. Xuanji was sitting in a chair, already asleep, but her sleep was not deep, her eyelashes trembling slightly.

Yu Sifeng sighed, went over to lift her into his arms, and Xuanji woke up immediately, wrapped her arms around his neck, and murmured sleepily, "You’re back... I haven’t slept; I was waiting for you." Yu Sifeng chuckled softly, kissed her nose, and carried her to the bed—where the bedding and curtains had all been changed to new ones. He pulled the covers over her and said softly, "I’m back, but there’s something I need to take care of. You sleep first; don’t worry."

Xuanji was truly exhausted, unwilling to let go, clung to his neck, and said in a soft voice, "Those masks on the wall, don’t they look like Wuzhiqi’s face? I’ve been staring at them all night long, and the more I look, the more chilling it feels... Do you think Yuan Lang ever really considered Wuzhiqi a good brother?"

Yu Sifeng shook his head silently, those masks mostly smooth and shiny, clearly often touched. He said in a low voice, "What’s between those two, no one can say clearly. I think Wuzhiqi is a smart person, and if Yuan Lang really was a despicable character, he wouldn’t have sworn brotherhood with him. Perhaps Yuan Lang was quite a figure before... just blinded by greed."

Having spoken, Xuanji was silent, and looking down, Yu Sifeng saw she had already fallen deep asleep. He gently pried her hand away, tucked her in properly, and lit a lamp to go to the outer room to see the reform plan, listing it down on new Jade Paper with his pen, adding his own thoughts.

Among them, one idea he found particularly interesting; originally, Lize Palace did not allow marriages and even required wearing a mask without contacting the outside world. Now this rule had been abolished; Elder Zhou had changed it to no longer wearing a mask and allowing marriages. The younger Elder Tang even hoped that Lize Palace would, in the future, not only recruit Golden Winged Birds but also humans who come in admiration and other sincere demons who wish to cultivate for enlightenment, opening doors for them. This suggestion was certainly good but not suitable to be implemented at the current stage.

He annotated on the Jade Paper with a vermillion pen next to that suggestion: Good, but not suitable for now, plan in detail after five years.

Lize Palace originally had four elders assisting the Palace Master, and under the four elders was the Elder Pavilion, with ten elders managing five halls inside the palace, each hall having spiritual officials of high and low ranks handled by the older disciples in the palace. Originally, two of these halls, Precepts Hall and Dark Hall, were specifically used to punish and supervise the disciples’ conduct—once a transgression occurred, the Dark Hall would first identify it, then hand it directly to Precepts Hall for sentencing, making everyone dread offending anyone from Dark Hall to avoid retaliation.

Yu Sifeng renamed Dark Hall as Inspection Department, removing the role of secret supervision. He renamed the other four halls Shanji Department, Precepts Department, Internal Affairs Department, and Yinwu Department, each managing different functions. Formerly, Shanji Hall was almost just for show, although the Old Palace Master often said that Shanji Hall was meant to provide aid to destitute demons, but in reality, it almost never carried out this function. This time, he not only wanted the Shanji Department to start aiding destitute demons but also destitute humans, adding a Medicine Stone Room to the department, specifically to cultivate medicinal herbs and practice medicine—of course, this plan inevitably contained his personal preference, but it was very useful.

There was no shortage of things in Lize Palace, as the Golden Winged Bird clan had accumulated countless jewels, Bright Pearls, and beautiful jade, related to their clan’s love for splendid things; therefore, money was never a problem.

When Yu Sifeng finished the initial drafting of the budget, day was already breaking dimly. He rubbed his sore neck and shoulders, stretched lazily, walked over to the bedside to look at Xuanji. She was sleeping soundly, her fingers clutching his outer garment, entwined together, showing deep affection.

He couldn’t help wanting to hug her, kiss her rosy cheeks, but time was insufficient, and as he had now become the Palace Master, he could no longer sleep whenever he wanted as before, nor could he whimsically only do what he liked. He only lightly touched her hair, left her a note, and with the painstakingly prepared reform plan, headed towards Jingui Palace’s spirit hall. (To be continued. For more details, please visit www.qidian.com. More Chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!)