Chapter 121 (2): Whipping Rookies Into Shape

There were a number of factors that contributed to this collective lack of interest in seeking retribution.

Firstly, people from the main church had been dying throughout all seventeen southeastern prefectures, and the total number of casualties far outnumbered those from the White Cloud Prefecture. Secondly, many people had died before the Unmatched Escort Agency even came into existence, so surely the agency couldn't be blamed.

Of course, most importantly, all of those who had perished were branch lineal descendants of their clans, and it was simply not worth going up against a collective force of several hundred clans to seek retribution for the deceased.

Any misstep could lead to the demise of an entire clan, all for the sake of a branch lineal descendant, and it was simply not worth it.

Night Demon had killed direct lineal descendants from so many clans during the Parasite Ascension Project, even that hadn't caused any infighting among the clans of the main church, yet here these people were, trying to start intra-clan conflicts over a bunch of branch lineal descendants!

If the deputy popes were to learn of their attempts at sowing dissension among the clans, they would undoubtedly be met with severe punishment.

***

That night, upon Starlight's arrival at the Unmatched Escort Agency, he was immediately informed of the unfolding situation by Zhao Wushang and Zheng Yunqi.

"No way!" he immediately refused. "Our branch helm has already been established, and the assessment team from the main church is already on its way! This would be the worst time to take in a large batch of new recruits! If something goes wrong, not only will all of our prior efforts go to waste, all of us could end up dead!

“If you're willing to put your lives and futures on the line for no reason, then go right ahead. I'm not around most of the time anyway, so you'll have to fend for yourselves. Even if something goes wrong, I can simply go into hiding and wait out the storm. Good luck to all of you!"

Everyone became even more determined in their stance after hearing what Starlight had to say.

"But our clans are constantly nagging us..."

"Of course they're constantly nagging you! Your clans don't want to make any enemies, but you can't allow them to appease others at your expense! What're they going to do to you if you refuse? They're too far away to do anything, so ultimately, the decision is up to you! If you continue to say no, they can't do anything!"

"All of these bastards are really getting on my nerves!" Tian Wanqing spat through gritted teeth. "They're constantly nagging us because their children are alive, so how about we just report them and get them killed? That way, we'll be able to get their parents off our backs and shut them once and for all!"

Everyone turned to him with astonished expressions. Tian Wanqing was a rather handsome young man with a refined disposition, and everyone was shocked that he was capable of coming up with such a demented idea.

Tian Wanqing always liked to dress in pristine white robes with a green jade flute strapped to his waist, posing as an elegant and cultured young master, yet he was putting his true colors on full display here.

It was an absolutely diabolical suggestion, but everyone was instantly intrigued.

He's right! These people are only causing us so much trouble and exerting so much pressure on us because they're still alive! We wouldn't have to deal with any of this if they were dead!

Starlight merely sat on his throne and sipped on some tea, offering no input of his own on the matter.

𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"What do you think, Helmsmaster?"

"Don't ask me. Make the decisions yourselves."

Starlight immediately made it clear that he wished to play no part in any of this.

Zheng Yunqi and the others decided to discuss this matter later that night. For now, they had other things to discuss with Starlight.

"Right now, our escort agency is thriving. Should we consider expanding our business to beyond just offering armed escort services?" Zheng Yunqi suggested.

"Absolutely not!" Starlight immediately denied in no uncertain terms. "This will always be our sole line of business! Don't even think about trying to do anything else!"

"Why?"

"You tell me why!" Starlight snapped. "All of you will be gone in a couple of months! If you leave a bunch of holes behind, how am I going to find enough people to fill them? Anyone can fulfill armed escort services as long as they possess the cultivation base, but if you start offering a bunch of other additional services, you'll be completely screwing me over after you leave!

“Our One Heart Church can't supply the personnel to match all of you, so don't start getting any funny ideas!"

***

The next day, the assembly horn in the Hall of Protectionists suddenly sounded, and Fang Che emerged from the administration hall with everyone else to find the hall master and deputy hall masters all present.

Situated across from them was a group of people dressed in white Hall of Protectionist uniforms with black belts around their waists.

"These are the people sent to us from the Frost Sword Pavilion of the Guardian headquarters! Everyone, please give a warm round of applause to welcome your new colleagues!"

Everyone erupted into applause.

"Thirty of them will go to the battle hall, ten to the emergency response hall, and thirty to each of the two administration halls."

With that, Fang Che had thirty new administrators under his command, consisting of two Kings and twenty-eight Warlords.

Fang Che led them into the administration hall as he urged, "Come familiarize yourselves with your new colleagues, everyone. Make sure to remember their names! Otherwise, it'll be very awkward if you're calling for reinforcements, but don't even know who to call upon!"

Everyone erupted into laughter, but the thirty new administrators remained silent and stoic.

They appeared very cold and unapproachable, and the atmosphere instantly became a little awkward.

"There are twenty-one vacant spots right now, you can all go claim whichever one you like. Tang Zheng, go to the logistics department and request nine more desks."

Tang Zheng immediately departed.

"Introduce yourselves. From now on, we'll all be working together."

"You're the chief administrator here?" one of the Warlords from the Frost Sword Pavilion asked in a cold voice. "Does that mean we have to follow your orders from now on?"

Fang Che's brows furrowed slightly at the blatant insubordination in the Warlord's voice.

From the moment that Fang Che first laid eyes on these people, he was immediately able to tell that they were from some reclusive sect, so he wasn't surprised at all by their arrogance and insubordination.

These people always saw other warriors as beneath them, and in summary, a thorough beating was often required to whip them into shape.

"How dare you!" a bunch of the other administrators snapped in unison. "You need to know your place, rookie!"

Fang Che raised a hand, instructing everyone to stand down, then turned to the Warlord who had just spoken as he said, "You're right. From this day forth, all of you have to follow my orders!"

"You think you have what it takes to order us around?"

"I do," Fang Che replied with a faint smile, and Cripple Hong instantly shuddered as if the mere sight of that smile alone had triggered some type of PTSD response within him.

In spite of the arrogance displayed by the people from the Frost Sword Pavilion, Cripple Hong was beginning to feel a little sorry for them.

"Firstly, I am the chief administrator here, while all of you are complete newbies. Essentially, you're only interns right now, and only after you've earned some merit points will you be officially instated as third-rank administrators. Secondly, in our Hall of Protectionists, the sum of your merit points matters much more than your cultivation base.

“Thirdly, you don't think I have what it takes to be your leader because you think I'm no match for you in battle, right? Fine. There's a special rule in our administration hall, which is that if you're a stronger warrior than me, I'll give you some respect and room for autonomy. You can't take my place as chief administrator, but you can do as you please, to a certain extent."

"Is that a challenge?" the Warlord harrumphed. "Who's going to be facing us? You?"

"Of course," Fang Che replied. "While we're at it, who else wants to test themselves against me?"

"Do you intend to challenge us as well?" the two Kings from the Frost Sword Pavilion sneered.

"Sure," Fang Che replied with a nonchalant shrug. "I'll take on anyone who wants to challenge me."

"In that case, you'll have to get through our junior brothers first," the two Kings sneered.

"Let's go to the drill grounds!"

***

Fang Che led the way to the drill grounds without any hesitation, but upon arrival, he discovered that they had to wait in line.

The administrators from the first hall were already there, and their chief administrator had also been challenged.

The chief administrator of the first hall was a ninth-rank Warlord, and he was able to defeat five rookies from the Frost Sword Pavilion in succession. However, he was defeated by the sixth one, who was also a ninth-rank Warlord.

Embarrassed in defeat, he had no choice but to acknowledge the status of these new recruits in the first hall.

Even though he was still the chief administrator, he had lost all authority, and the incumbent administrators of the first hall were all hanging their heads with sullen expressions.

As soon as the battle wrapped up, Fang Che strode over to the other chief administrator as he said, "Leave the rest to me, Brother Lei."

"Have you been challenged as well, Brother Fang?" Chief Administrator Lei asked.

"Indeed, I have," Fang Che harrumphed. "These bastards are more trouble than they're worth."

"I'm sorry, Brother Fang. I've been an embarrassment to everyone. It's up to you to salvage our honor now," Lei Hu sighed.

"You can count on me," Fang Che said with a reassuring pat on his shoulder.

Even though Lei Hu had already been defeated, everyone remained at the drill grounds, eager to see Fang Che's performance.

Fang Che strode directly to the center of the drill grounds, then asked, "Who's up first?"

A white-robed young man immediately stepped forward.

"I am Yu Wen, a sixth-rank Warlord. Please enlighten me, Chief Fang."

"Are we going up in ascending order of cultivation base?"

"That's right. I'll serve as your first opponent."

"Opponent?" Fang Che sneered. "It's nice that you think so highly of yourself!"

Yu Wen let loose a loud roar as he sprang forward, while Fang Che remained completely still on the spot, and only when Yu Wen was within swinging range did he finally sweep a hand through the air as if he were swatting away a pesky fly.

An almighty slap rang out as Yu Wen was struck in the face, and he was sent flying over a hundred feet through the air. By the time he tumbled to the ground, he was already unconscious.

Everyone looked on with stunned expressions, astonished by Fang Che's brutality!

"Next!"

Next came a seventh-rank Warlord, but he was also disposed of with just a single slap.

"Next!"

"Next!"

"Next!"

"Next!"

Before long, Fang Che was facing a warrior at the pinnacle of the ninth-rank Warlord tier, and it was only now that he finally adopted a proper fighting stance.

However, his battle style remained as barbaric and violent as ever.

After blocking his opponent's punch with his palm, he reached out with his other hand to grab onto his opponent's wrist, then tugged him toward himself before delivering a vicious knee strike to the lower abdomen.