The Sage's decree, like the Heavenly Dao's solemn proclamation, slowly faded from every inch of Golden Ao Island and from the hearts of every living being.
Yet its lingering might became an eternal brand, plunging the entire immortal island into an unprecedented silence.
Tens of thousands of disciples, whether inner or outer sect, remained frozen in place, staring up at Jade Palace.
Dao Protector.
Status equal to a personal disciple.
Uphold discipline, oversee calamity aversion.
Those thirteen words each struck their souls like a colossal hammer of chaos, leaving them dizzy and unable to think.
Especially that final sentence: "All disciples of my Interception Sect must study his Safety Guidelines." It struck everyone like a thunderbolt.
That Guidebook they had secretly passed around, which Senior Disciple Duobao had denounced as "heretical nonsense," had actually... been personally approved by their master and made into a compulsory course for the Interception Sect?
This was even more absurd than the heavens collapsing.
Within Jade Palace, chaotic currents swirled.
Chen Changsheng felt the vast, boundless power within him, terrifying mana that seemed capable of propping open a small world, and his heart surged with emotion.
Ten thousand years of cultivation had poured into his body, while Primordial Merit protected him. His realm had long since shattered the shackles of the Golden Immortal Realm, soaring all the way to the peak of the late Grand Unity Golden Immortal Realm.
He was only one step away from becoming a Grand Unity Golden Immortal.
More importantly, that Chaos Bead fragment had merged into his Purple Mansion and echoed with the Great Freedom Head-Shrinking Technique, instantly raising his understanding of great principles such as "karma" and "existence" by more than a single level.
"Go."
Sect Leader Tongtian's gentle voice roused him from his wild elation.
"This disciple takes his leave."
Chen Changsheng performed another full prostration before slowly rising and respectfully withdrawing from that space of chaos.
When he stepped out through Jade Palace's gates once more, the Seven-Colored Rainbow Bridge was already waiting beneath his feet.
He took one step onto it, and streaks of light whirled around him.
When his feet touched solid ground again, he had returned to the entrance of his humble cave dwelling.
The Rainbow Bridge vanished.
The pressure and deathly silence between heaven and earth dissipated with it.
Then came an uproar like a roaring sea.
"He's back! Senior Brother Chen is back!"
"It really was a Sage who summoned him! Heavens, we outer sect disciples have never received such honor!"
Everyone's gaze focused on that young man, whose aura was still "unsteady" and whose face was "pale."
But this time, no one dared show even the slightest contempt.
Only reverence, fervor, and deep confusion remained in their eyes.
Zhao Gongming was the first to approach. His face was filled with shock and joy as he grabbed Chen Changsheng's arm, looked him over from head to toe, and stammered in excitement.
"Junior Brother! You... Master... Are you all right?"
"Thank you for your concern, Senior Brother. Master merely discussed the Dao with me."
Chen Changsheng gave him a reassuring smile.
Just then, a figure parted the crowd and slowly walked forward.
It was Daoist Duobao.
He looked at Chen Changsheng with an incomparably complicated expression. There was shock, there was bewilderment, but more than anything, there was the dejection of someone utterly crushed by reality.
He deeply, deeply bowed to Chen Changsheng, the outer sect disciple he had regarded not long ago as the source of "demonic words that disrupted the sect."
"Duobao greets Guardian Junior Brother."
That bow plunged the entire crowd into silence once more.
Even Zhao Gongming was stunned.
He knew just how proud his Senior Disciple Brother was. Yet now, he had actually offered such a formal bow to an outer sect disciple... no, to a newly appointed Dao Protector.
Chen Changsheng accepted the bow calmly.
He knew it represented the collapse of the Interception Sect's old ideals and the beginning of a new order.
"Senior Brother Duobao, there is no need for such courtesy. I am also a disciple of the Interception Sect. We are fellow disciples; there is no need for this."
Daoist Duobao slowly straightened, a bitter smile appearing on his face.
"Junior Brother's talent far surpasses mine. Before this, my Dao heart was clouded, and I nearly committed a grave mistake. I hope Junior Brother... no, Dao Protector, will not hold it against me."
He had already figured it out.
Even their master approved of Chen Changsheng's Dao. That proved that what he had upheld for countless years might have been wrong from the very beginning.
Those bloody casualty figures were the finest proof.
"You overstate it, Senior Brother."
Chen Changsheng did not dwell on the matter. He swept his gaze around, looking at the faces that were either excited or lost, and spoke in a clear voice.
"Everyone has surely heard Master's decree."
"From today onward, the Interception Sect's foremost priority shall be 'safety,' and 'calamity aversion' shall be our highest principle."
His voice was not loud, yet it reached every person's ears clearly.
"To put this Dao into practice, I propose establishing an entirely new division within the sect: the Calamity Aversion Department."
The Calamity Aversion Department?
Everyone froze. Even Duobao and Zhao Gongming showed puzzled expressions.
Chen Changsheng did not keep them in suspense and continued explaining.
"This department will neither administer punishment nor teach cultivation. It will do only three things."
He raised one finger.
"First, risk assessment. From now on, any disciple of the Interception Sect, inner or outer, who wishes to leave the mountain to carry out any task must first report it to the Calamity Aversion Department. The department will conduct a comprehensive risk assessment and provide one of three recommendations: 'feasible,' 'high risk,' or 'certain death.' Any task rated 'certain death' is strictly forbidden!"
The moment he said this, suppressed gasps rose from the crowd.
This... this would eliminate the possibility of going to one's death at the root!
A sharp light flashed in Daoist Duobao's eyes, and even his breathing became hurried.
Chen Changsheng raised a second finger.
"Second, technical research. The Calamity Aversion Department will gather all fellow disciples skilled in formations, artifact refinement, and talismans. We will not seek to forge powerful treasures of slaughter. We will focus solely on developing three things."
"First, the most ingenious concealment formations. Second, the fastest escape Divine Abilities. Third, the most convincing substitute-death artifacts!"
"I want every Interception Sect disciple who leaves the mountain in the future to possess at least three life-preserving arts!"
The moment those words fell, Zhao Gongming slapped his thigh in excitement.
Exactly!
If I can't beat them, can't I run? If I can't run, can't I find something to die in my place?
This was the true Dao!
Chen Changsheng raised a third finger, and his voice became incomparably solemn.
"Third, practical drills. The Calamity Aversion Department will regularly organize survival exercises for all sect disciples under every sort of extreme condition. These include, but are not limited to, 'How to maintain a fleeing posture under a Sage's pressure,' 'One hundred survival methods after being targeted by an innate supreme treasure,' and 'The proper response to the Western Sect's "Fellow Daoist, please stay."'"
"I will carve the words 'stay alive' into the bones of every Interception Sect disciple and make them our instinct!"
When he finished, the entire crowd was silent.
Everyone was stunned by the blueprint Chen Changsheng had laid out.
How was this heretical nonsense?
This was clearly a systematic, theoretical, practical supreme scripture that could maximize one's chances of survival!
"I agree!"
Daoist Duobao was the first to step forward. His eyes were bloodshot, and his voice trembled slightly with excitement.
"What the Dao Protector has said is precisely what the Interception Sect lacks most and needs most urgently! I, Duobao, am willing to become the first member of the Calamity Aversion Department and serve at the Dao Protector's command!"
"I'm joining too!"
Zhao Gongming followed immediately, his voice brimming with heroic spirit.
"Count me in!"
"And me!"
For a moment, supporters gathered in droves.
Those surviving disciples who had personally experienced the cruelty of the battlefield were so moved that tears filled their eyes.
If this Calamity Aversion Department had existed earlier, how could so many of their fellow disciples have died in vain?
A system notification sounded in Chen Changsheng's mind at just the right moment.
[Ding! Detected that the host has successfully established the Dao of Survival as the Interception Sect's official path and proposed specific implementation guidelines. Main quest progress has greatly increased!] [New branch quest unlocked—[Establishment of the Calamity Aversion Department]!] [Quest reward: Complete comprehension of the second level of the Divine Ability Great Freedom Head-Shrinking Technique, the [Sever Causality] chapter! Post-Heaven Merit Treasure 'Heaven and Earth Mysterious Yellow Exquisite Pagoda' (Imitation)!]
Chen Changsheng steadied himself and raised a hand toward the crowd.
After the crowd quieted down, he calmly announced his first order as Dao Protector.
"I hereby announce that the Calamity Aversion Department is officially established, effective immediately."
"Its first directive shall be..."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the crowd.
"From this moment onward, Golden Ao Island will be sealed for one thousand years! No disciple may leave the mountain without authorization! Everyone will participate in the first unified study and examination of 'Jie Sect Survival and Calamity Aversion Ideology'!"
Before you continue