Chapter 476

Chapter 476: Inquiry

Before the main entrance of the Xun Celestial Guardian’s Pavilion, corpses lay strewn across the steps!

Seventeen bodies rested on the flat, thick blue stone slabs, all decapitated.

Some heads had rolled dozens of steps away, their eyes wide open, gazing at the sky with an expression of disbelief.

Crimson blood flowed in winding streams, seeping into the cracks between the stones, and the pungent smell of blood in the air made many onlookers feel nauseous.

No one had anticipated that Celestial Guardian Wang Chen would react with such ferocity and ruthlessness!

It was only at that moment that many truly understood the nature of this new celestial guardian; they were both terrified and awestruck. Some quietly retreated, while others surreptitiously released message cranes.

The main street outside the pavilion fell into an eerie silence.

Clang!

The flying sword slid back into its sheath as Wang Chen reached out, summoning the heads that had fallen to the ground.

He collected all of them into a storage talisman.

These wretched beings were hardly worth the use of a storage bag!

“Issue my command.”

Wang Chen scanned the surroundings with an impassive expression, his deep voice resonating, “Leave these troublemakers’ corpses exposed for three days as a warning to others!”

Xi Chenlong, standing beside him, immediately bowed and said, “As you command!”

Their voices carried clearly to the ears of the onlookers, who stood as silent as cicadas in winter.

“Hmph!”

Wang Chen let out a cold snort and turned back toward the residence.

Xi Manyun followed closely behind, hesitating as if she wanted to speak but held back.

Wang Chen said, “If you have something to say, speak plainly.”

Xi Manyun forced a bitter smile and replied, “Master Celestial Guardian, the Lesser Steward is concerned that the Grand Celestial Guardian may come to question your actions.”

The dismissed patrol guards who had caused trouble at the Xun Celestial Guardian’s Pavilion surely had someone orchestrating their actions from behind the scenes.

There were many ways to handle such a situation.

Yet Wang Chen had chosen the most decisive and irreversible method.

Killing was swift, but this meant the Wu family and other local factions in Daying City now had grounds to report the matter to the Grand Celestial Guardian’s residences. The accusation of executing innocents without cause could lead to severe consequences for Wang Chen.

In full view of everyone, Wang Chen had slain seventeen people!

Among them, Xi Manyun recognized several, all of whom were from the Wu family.

The Wu family would never let this go unpunished!

Most critically, the relationship between Grand Celestial Guardian Luo Han and Wang Chen was already strained, making it unlikely that Luo Han would defend Wang Chen.

Xi Manyun feared that Wang Chen might face punishment from the sect and lose his position as celestial guardian.

If that happened, both she and the Xi family would inevitably suffer the fallout!

“It’s of no consequence.”

Wang Chen, however, showed no concern, waving his hand and saying, “I’m waiting for Grand Celestial Guardian Luo Han.”

Seeing Wang Chen so indifferent, Xi Manyun felt speechless.

She seriously doubted whether she had boarded the wrong ship.

Yet, having come this far, it was impossible to jump ship; she could only follow Wang Chen down this dark path.

Xi Manyun hoped that Wang Chen truly had the confidence to deal with Luo Han.

The inquiry from the Grand Celestial Guardian’s residences came swiftly; only an hour had passed since the incident occurred when Luo Han sent someone to deliver a decree to Wang Chen, demanding he come to the Grand Residence immediately for questioning.

Although the branch celestial guardians had significant autonomy and were not considered subordinates to the Grand Celestial Guardian,

Wang Chen could also refuse Luo Han’s decree if he had sufficient reasons.

However, he did not evade it and willingly set off for the Grand Celestial Guardian’s residences.

Not only that, but Wang Chen also ordered his ceremonial items to be prepared, riding in a dragon-mounted cloud palanquin, publicly making his way there with fanfare.

His actions naturally caught the attention of those with ulterior motives, and various rumors spread quickly throughout Daying City, causing quite a stir among many.

Particularly the numerous families and gangs in the Xun district paid close attention.

In an atmosphere filled with tension and intrigue, Wang Chen arrived at the Grand Celestial Guardian’s residences.

This was Wang Chen’s second time visiting the Grand Residence since coming to Daying City!

In the main hall of the Grand Residence, he once again met the Grand Celestial Guardian Luo Han.

Also present were five other celestial guardians with the same status as Wang Chen!

These celestial guardians were all older than Wang Chen, observing him with strange gazes; some looked down on him, some reveled in his misfortune, while others regarded him as if he were already dead.

Wang Chen activated Global Mode and took a glance.

Goodness, there were actually four in yellow and two in red!

“Greetings, Grand Celestial Guardian Luo.”

Wang Chen greeted him with an even demeanor, asking, “May I ask why you summoned me?”

Truly arrogant!

Luo Han, seated in the main position, had a cold expression, annoyance flashing in his eyes and a poor impression of Wang Chen.

He spoke coldly, “Junior Brother Wang, someone has accused you of wantonly killing the innocent in front of the Xun Celestial Guardian’s Pavilion, violating the West Sea Sect rules and tarnishing the sect’s reputation. Are you guilty or not?”

In the West Sea Sect’s rules, wantonly killing the innocent was a severe crime, punishable by the removal of cultivation and expulsion from the sect.

“Guilty?”

Wang Chen seemed to find this incredibly hard to believe, chuckling as he said, “I have never killed anyone innocent; I ask, what crime have I committed?”

“You dare to argue!”

Before Luo Han could speak, a nearby celestial guardian jumped in excitedly, “You killed seventeen people with your flying sword, and there are hundreds of witnesses present!”

“Those people?”

Wang Chen replied lightly, “None of them were innocent.”

“Just because you say so, does it make it true?”

The celestial guardian raised his eyebrows and shouted sharply, “Wang Chen, if you turn back now while there’s still time, otherwise we will report this to the sect; having your cultivation taken away and being expelled from the sect will be the least of your worries.”

He was overstepping his bounds not out of eagerness to show off, but to speak on behalf of Luo Han.

Luo Han did not wish to completely crush Wang Chen.

This Grand Celestial Guardian aimed to use this opportunity to take Wang Chen under his wing, to be his obedient servant!

But he deemed himself too high to descend to such tactics.

“Ha ha.”

Wang Chen tossed out a storage talisman, and a dozen heads rolled out in an instant.

One head rolled right to the feet of the shouting celestial guardian, causing him to instinctively take half a step back.

The embarrassed celestial guardian exploded in anger, “Wang Chen, what do you mean?”

“None of these people were innocent.”

Wang Chen said lightly, “They were all riddled with blood curses, deserving death, and now they attacked the Celestial Guardian’s Pavilion under orders. Their crimes are worthy of execution. If you don’t believe it, you can report to the sect and ask the Punishment Department to come with their magical tools to investigate!”

He did not kill recklessly; he had specifically targeted those who were marked as red names in the map!

There were only those who slipped through the cracks, none who were innocent!

The West Sea Sect’s Punishment Department had the means to distinguish good from evil, right from wrong, even among the dead.

That was why Wang Chen collected the heads.

He wasn’t afraid of an investigation at all!

The celestial guardian was immediately left speechless.

Since Wang Chen had invited the Punishment Department to investigate, what more could he say?

It was understood that unless Wang Chen committed an act of rebellion, even Grand Celestial Guardian Luo Han, without the sect’s directive, had no authority to convict and punish Wang Chen.

And Wang Chen was so confident!