Hidden Moth-Chapter 590 - 340: Yesterday’s Promise and the Cause Before Escape (2)

"Considering Johnson's conduct and cultivation achievements, he is not suitable to continue serving as a Supreme Council Elder. I propose his dismissal from the Elder position, and urgently call for a vote!"

Hu Weidong's counterattack left Mei Lin a bit unprepared, but taking advantage of the procedural flow, Hu Weidong had already pushed the proposal to the voting stage.

Although it was his first time attending a formal meeting, he clearly had a considerable understanding of the elder's privileges and the Supreme Council, utilizing the rules skillfully.

Apart from Arthur, Mei Lin, and Fabre, the other three grand elders expressed their agreement. They were Artifact Master Ward representing the Microcosm lineage, Earth Master Madala representing the Heart Plate lineage, and Hu Weidong himself representing the Alchemy Cauldron lineage.

Soon after, two more people raised their hands in agreement. They were the Tier Five elders from the Microcosm and Heart Plate lineages. It was natural for them to align with the grand elders of their lineages, which was customary.

Hu Weidong's sharp gaze swept towards another regular elder present, a Tier Five Taster cultivating the Alchemy Cauldron Skill, a blonde female cultivator named Alice.

Alice was initially hesitant, waiting to see Arthur and Mei Lin's reactions, when she heard Hu Weidong's divine thought conveyed secretly: "Even if you have disagreements with me, do not counter in the public discussion of the Supreme Council."

Elders of the same lineage should align their stance during formal votes in the Supreme Council, unless there is an irreconcilable major conflict. In the presence of a grand elder, the stance of the grand elder of the lineage takes precedence. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

This has been an unwritten rule of the Supreme Council since ancient times, and upon hearing this, Alice raised her hand in agreement.

Subsequently, two regular elders representing the Lingxi lineage and the Xingshen lineage also raised their hands in agreement.

The Lingxi lineage had only one regular elder on the Supreme Council, while the Xingshen lineage originally had two seats, including a grand elder, but unfortunately, that grand elder was recently slain in Qi Yuan.

The only ones yet to express their stance were Arthur, Mei Lin, and Fabre, along with a regular elder from the Qi Observation lineage. This regular elder had not expressed his stance simply because he needed to align with Arthur's position.

With twelve people participating in the vote, eight votes were in favor, enough to support the measure.

Apart from the proposer Hu Weidong himself, and the seconder Alice, the reason the other six agreed was simple. First, a seat as an elder was vacant, and everyone present had nomination and voting rights, meaning private benefits.

The benefits of nominating someone need not be mentioned; even if one's nominee cannot serve as an elder, ultimately supporting someone else's nomination implies a form of interest exchange.

Another reason, often overlooked but very important, especially for the few grand elders, is crucial.

The content of Hu Weidong's proposal is not just about removing Johnson's elder status, but it includes a premise that Johnson's conduct and cultivation achievements make him unsuitable to serve as an elder of the Supreme Council.

For Tier Six cultivators, the vote implies that the result should align with their genuine inner judgment.

At this point, the proposal is not yet considered passed because there are still three grand elders who have not expressed their stance. They all hold veto power, and if any of them votes against, the proposal still cannot pass.

At this moment, Mei Lin glanced at Fabre, seemingly urging Fabre to step forward and oppose.

Fabre hesitated, appearing to be pondering something.

Indeed, Johnson's conduct and cultivation achievements did not compare favorably to some other Tier Five cultivators in the Xiao Alliance. However, in Fabre's view, elder qualifications for the Supreme Council can't solely focus on these but should include various other factors...

Before Fabre could express his stance, a divine thought from Hu Weidong reached his primordial spirit, reminding him to consider three main things clearly.

Firstly, asking Fabre if he truly believes that Johnson's cultivation and conduct qualify him to be an elder.

Secondly, asking Fabre if he knows what role Johnson plays within the Supreme Council. With two grand elders from the Observing Body lineage, why occupy an additional seat?

One of Mei Lin's purposes for bringing Johnson in was to counterbalance Fabre within the faction. Now there's an opportunity to dismiss Johnson. If Fabre still opposes, is he fond of self-torture?

Lastly, suggesting to Fabre that it's best to wait for Mei Lin to express her stance before doing so himself.

Perhaps it was this last piece of advice that Fabre took to heart, and he conveyed a divine thought to Mei Lin: "Grand Elder Mei Lin, may I ask your stance? I will wait for you to express first!"

Mei Lin was somewhat displeased, and at this moment, Hu Weidong sent a divine thought to Mei Lin again: "If my proposal does not pass, then regarding the discussion on the leak incident, I will not cooperate with you further."

Mei Lin angrily replied with a divine thought: "How can you break your promise!"

Hu Weidong secretly responded: "You should be well aware, with my level of cultivation, how could I possibly break a promise?"

A grand elder who has broken through Tier Six cultivation, compared to regular elders, has a significant advantage, which is the ability to communicate secretly using divine thought during voting without being detected by others.

On the other hand, Tier Six cultivation is also referred to as Great Success, and in ancient times, it was also called True Man.

There's a saying, "True Man doesn't tell lies." This is not a matter of moral cultivation but a cultivation realm where what they say represents their true inner intentions.

Being genuine intentions means they will not break a promise; otherwise, it would be equivalent to self-damage in cultivation.

However, ordinary people should never think of this as a loophole, trying to exploit this to scheme against the highly skilled. Doing so not only fails to succeed but may result in a miserable end, as the specifics are never that simple.