Elder Eliot frowned as he muttered under his breath," Look at how Rick can still drink his tea and chat away. It seems like he doesn't know how bad the consequences of his actions can be.
"If we lose, Phoenix Valley will be hurt gravely, be it in terms of our reputation or our coffers. Things would be much harder than us in the future. We're already in a dangerous position in the first place. Do you think he's just stupid or overly selfish?"
Elder Baggins sipped his tea and grumbled, "It's probably a mix of both. Others don't know, but we as elders know what's at stake here. The main rights to the Whirling World have always been in the hands of us and the Unbreaking Pavilion.
"The only reason Sky Peak Pavilion is competing with us is to gain more benefits in the Whirling World. If we lose, we'd just be giving Sky Peak Pavilion a piece of what's ours for no reason.
"Worse still, our reputation will crumble, too! Anyone with half a brain would understand how important this is, but Rick doesn't seem to care at all. He'd do anything to get rid of Fane, not bothering to think things through, even using this tournament! It's obvious that he's aggressively vain!"
Elder Eliot had a bitter look on his face as he asked," Does he not know that we'll find the root cause of the
loss if he loses in the tournament? The merit logs clearly wrote that he was the one who recommended Fane. Rick wouldn't be able to escape it. Does he think he won't be held responsible?"
Elder Baggins raised an eyebrow and snorted. "He's not that stupid; he knows that he'll have to take responsibility. He's being this relaxed, drinking his tea and chatting his minutes away, probably because he doesn't think we'll lose at all.
"If the final result is a win, he won't be punished. Instead, Fane will look like he dragged down everyone. Fane would be punished, even if they won the tournament. Elder Maurice, who brought them to Sky Peak Pavilion, would start to hate Fane because Fane had failed the team.
"The merit logs will make Fane's bad result seem even worse, and he might even be kicked out of Phoenix Valley because of this.
"Rick would've won."
Hearing that, Elder Eliot's scowl deepened. The others did not know, but Elder Eliot had witnessed first-hand Fane's talent and skill. If Fane was punished because of this, it would be quite a big blow to Fane.
Phoenix Valley might actually lose an incredibly rare genius because of it.
Elder Eliot took a deep breath. "What do you think Elder Maurice will write in the merit logs?"
The merit logs were something Phoenix Valley had specifically to determine rewards and punishments. As long as one participated in a tournament, be it within Phoenix Valley or not, the person hosting the tournament or the one in charge of the team would write everything in the merit log after the tournament.
It would detail the happenings of the tournament as well as each person's contributions, and the higher-ups of Phoenix Valley would then use the information on the merit log to determine whether to reward or punish people.
Of course, those who performed exceptionally would be blessed accordingly; those who failed the valley would be punished.
Elder Eliot had a decent relationship with Elder Baggins and Elder Maurice, and he knew how Elder Maurice was. If Fane truly had failed the team, Elder Maurice would be very critical toward him, which would ultimately lead to Fane's punishment, affecting his growth.
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