Chapter 477

Chapter 477: Rotation

The main hall of the Grand Celestial Guardian’s residences fell into a deep silence.

The atmosphere was somewhat awkward.

The celestial guardian who had stepped forward earlier was stunned by Wang Chen’s strike, and the others, lacking confidence, naturally did not wish to make themselves look foolish. Everyone’s gaze turned to Luo Han.

He was the real authority here!

They were all useless!

Luo Han felt secretly angry but maintained a calm exterior. He nodded and said, “Since Junior Brother Wang believes these people deserved to die, then their killings are without guilt. This minor issue shouldn’t bother the sect.”

As he spoke, he reached out to destroy the heads on the ground.

However, Wang Chen stepped in first, retracting all the heads back into a new storage talisman.

“Ahem!”

Luo Han’s eyes twitched, nearly breaking his composure to curse.

Yet he restrained himself and said, “Junior Brother Wang, let’s not dwell on this matter. Recently, there have been frequent disturbances from the Sand People outside, attacking our Sand Guard several times. Celestial Guardian Xiao Hong sustained injuries while battling the Sand Tribe Sorcerer and is currently recuperating.”

After a pause, the Grand Celestial Guardian continued, “Defending Daying and suppressing the Sand Tribe is our responsibility. Given the current situation, I hope you can participate in the rotation at the Sand Guard earlier than planned.”

The Sand Guard was the most crucial part of Daying City, holding the key passage for the Sand People, or rather, the Western forces, to advance eastward. It occupied a gorge, like a nail deeply embedded in the Sand Tribe’s territory.

Even though the Sand People and the Western Buddhist Sect could easily traverse the high mountains in a flying ship without having to break through the guard, as long as this nail in Daying City remained, they would face a massive threat from both sides.

For centuries, the desert natives had always sought to destroy the Sand Guard and breach Daying City.

As a celestial guardian, Wang Chen’s duty included safeguarding Daying and suppressing the Sand Tribe.

However, according to past customs, a newly appointed celestial guardian was typically required to guard the Celestial Guardian’s pavilion for six months, familiarizing themselves with the circumstances before participating in the rotation.

Now, Luo Han wanted to expedite Wang Chen’s duties.

But he presented it under the guise of a noble intention, a perfectly legitimate scheme!

Wang Chen remained composed: “It is only right to serve the sect. Wang Chen is willing to participate in the rotation.”

Luo Han nodded: “Good!”

He handed Wang Chen a talisman: “Junior Brother Wang, you have three days to organize the affairs of the pavilion. After three days, you will defend the Sand Guard, but I must be clear…”

The Grand Celestial Guardian gazed at Wang Chen sharply, “If you neglect your duty and allow the Sand bandits to infiltrate the city and cause chaos, do not blame me for being merciless!”

The Sand Guard was impregnable; the Sand Tribe had attempted to attack several times over the past few centuries, each time suffering massive losses.

They learned their lesson and no longer launched direct assaults on the formidable guard. Instead, they sent small elite groups for surprise raids, targeting the city’s martial artists to kill them, then slipping into the city to misbehave.

Although the Sand Guard had the protection of a protective formation, it couldn’t be activated at all times. Plus, the elite Sand People practiced the Buddhist Sect’s secret methods, specializing in stealthy appearance and disappearance, making it hard to guard against.

The main duty of the rotational celestial guardian was to defend against these assassins and thieves among the Sand People!

Thus, this was a thankless, exhausting, and dangerous task.

But for Wang Chen, whether early or late, it made no real difference.

After Wang Chen accepted the talisman and left, the earlier celestial guardian curiously asked Luo Han, “Grand Celestial Guardian, why not have the Punishment Department send someone down for verification?”

His question was, in fact, a common inquiry shared by the other celestial guardians present.

Wang Chen had slain seventeen individuals, asserting that none were innocent, yet no one truly believed him!

It was crucial to note that Wang Chen had only been in Daying City for a short while. He spent most of his time cultivating in the Celestial Guardian’s pavilion, and aside from the backing of the Xi family, he had no significant connections or influence.

Even the Xi family couldn’t possibly single out seventeen utterly wicked individuals from hundreds of people!

If even one or two of them were innocent, Wang Chen could be held accountable.

In response, Luo Han looked at him as though he were a fool: “It’s easy to invite a deity, but hard to send it away. If the Punishment Department arrives, do you think they’ll only take Wang Chen?”

The celestial guardians were struck with dread!

Daying City was hundreds of thousands of miles from the West Sea Sect, truly a place where the heavens were high and the emperor far away.

Without the sect’s strict oversight, every one of them had skeletons in their closets; none were truly clean.

If the Punishment Department came, would they really leave without filling their pockets?

The meager gains from Wang Chen, a newly appointed celestial guardian, paled in comparison to what they could extract from others.

They might very well end up shooting themselves in the foot!

Everyone fell silent.

Luo Han sneered, “A brat still wet behind the ears—I underestimated him. Let’s send him to the Sand Guard and test his mettle. It’ll make future arrangements easier.”

The celestial guardians nodded in admiration, “Master is wise!”

No one doubted Luo Han’s methods.

Those who did had long since vanished.

They didn’t believe that Wang Chen, this inexperienced youth, could withstand Luo Han’s full force!

Soon, the news spread rapidly from the Grand Celestial Guardian’s residences, reaching the upper echelons of Daying City.

Not long after Wang Chen returned to the Celestial Guardian’s pavilion, Xi Manyun hurried over.

Wang Chen didn’t waste words, cutting straight to the point: “I have three days. Bring me all the information you have on the Sand People for my review.”

To know your enemy and yourself is the key to victory in a hundred battles. With no support from above, he had to rely on the Xi family to gather intelligence.

Over the next three days, batches of information about the Sand People, collected by the Xi family, were delivered to the Xun Celestial Guardian’s pavilion.

Wang Chen’s soul attributes had reached an impressive 26 points, granting him an extraordinary memory. After reading each document just once, he could commit it firmly to memory.

The troubles caused by the Sand People had persisted for a long time, and the West Sea Sect was deeply troubled by them.

In truth, the West Sea Sect had the strength to annihilate the Sand Tribe, but the issue lay in the Sand Tribe’s backing by the entire Western Buddhist Sect, whose power made the West Sea Sect wary.

Moreover, the West Sea Sect’s adversaries extended beyond just the Western Buddhist Sect.

After much high-level negotiation, the current stalemate had been established.

Conflict between the two sides was confined to those below the Golden Core realm, with each relying on their strength and tactics to prevail.

For centuries, celestial guardians had fallen to the Sand Tribe, and the casualties among the Sand Tribe’s cultivators and shamans were equally devastating.

The enmity between them was irreconcilable!

The Sand People were known for their fierce and brutal nature, naturally adept in combat, earning them the title of a warrior race.

Their tribal shamans could be classified as demon cultivators, yet they wielded the methods of the Buddhist Sect, enabling them to cast bizarre and deadly spells that were incredibly difficult to counter.

The infamous Hunter Cultivators of the Sand Tribe were rumored to have successfully assassinated Purple Palace targets during Qi Training.

Once Wang Chen began his rotation at the Sand Guard, he would inevitably find himself on the Sand Tribe’s Hunter Cultivators’ hit list—ranked second!

Luo Han, the Grand Celestial Guardian, held the top spot.

It was said that Luo Han had also faced assassination attempts by the Sand Tribe’s Hunter Cultivators but had always emerged unscathed.

After reviewing all the documents, Wang Chen felt a sense of clarity.