NOVPUBNowadays, there are those throughout the land smearing Gu Chen's name, and naturally, all of these people are King Huai's doing.
By vilifying Gu Chen and Ji Yuan, and glorifying himself, he facilitates the unfolding of his subsequent plans.
Although at first few people were willing to believe it, after all, if a falsehood is repeated often enough, it will be accepted as truth. Over time, quite a few people indeed began to believe it.
Of course, the main reason was that when Gu Chen clashed with the six major Holy Lands, no one was optimistic about him; everyone believed he was bound to die without a doubt and that Da Xia would be implicated because of him, becoming targeted by the Holy Lands.
At this moment, Gu Chen was unaware of these events. Over this period, his cultivation had become thoroughly stable, and his physical body had also improved slightly.
By the time he emerged from his cultivation retreat, all eleven Guardians of Jing Tian Department had already entered the capital and arrived at the headquarters of the Jing Tian Department in the inner city of Tiandu.
"Lord Gu, we meet at last!"
At this moment, upon Gu Chen's arrival, these renowned Guardians all paid their respects.
Although Gu Chen was also a Guardian, and both parties were of equal rank, Gu Chen was, after all, a top-tier Grandmaster who had achieved divine communion in martial arts and had even slain several experts at the peak of divine communion. They dared not show any disrespect to Gu Chen.
Yan Qing, the Guardian of Jing Tian Department from Yan State, was among them. At this moment, he couldn't help but feel emotional; the two encounters were worlds apart.
At present, Qin Wu, the Deputy Commander of Jing Tian Department, also stood by, saying, "I have already explained the terms to you all. Is there anyone among you who disagrees?"
"Not at all," replied all the Guardians, including Yan Qing, unanimously.
It was a joke to even ask. To ascend to divine communion in martial arts just by spending merit? How could they not want such a rare opportunity?
In their eyes, this was a heaven-sent chance and, for Gu Chen, they felt genuine gratitude from the bottom of their hearts.
Gu Chen looked at the eleven Guardians standing before him. Many were new faces to him, but all these Guardians were trustworthy, devoted solely to Da Xia. If they had any other intentions, they wouldn't have been able to become Guardians.
From now on, all the merits they earned in the coming period would belong to him. Once the total amount reached the target, it would be directly transferred to Gu Chen.
At that time, when Gu Chen exchanged the merits for soul crystals, his strength would surge forward by a great margin once again.
Soon after, Qin Wu ordered someone to present the eleven Divine Spirit Fruits. The sight of the fruits caused each Guardian's eyes to light up, as if beholding a priceless treasure.
"From now on, they belong to you," Gu Chen said.
"Thank you, Lord Gu!" All the Guardians exclaimed in unison, their faces overcome with excitement.
Seeing this, Gu Chen couldn't help feeling a little melancholic in his heart. There was a time when becoming a Guardian was his goal, but in just over two short years, he had come to this point, where Guardians had to speak to him with utmost caution.
"Now, there are eight hours until tomorrow's morning court. Should that be enough for you to break through and achieve divine communion?" Qin Wu asked, looking at the group.
"More than enough," nodded Yan Qing and the other Guardians. 𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒑𝒖𝒃.𝙘𝙤𝒎
All of these individuals were at the peak of Innate Realm, or even half a step into divine communion, but had been unable to take that final step, or half step, due to the damaged state of heaven and earth.
Now, with the aid of the Divine Spirit Fruits, they could easily gather divine thoughts. Eight hours was more than sufficient.
"Very well," Qin Wu nodded and said gravely, "Tomorrow at the morning court, you will accompany me and Lord Gu. I want to see who on the Golden Throne dares to be presumptuous!"
"Yes!" The Guardians responded in unison, with no objections.
