Dawnless Sovereign

"Indeed, anyone who bears innate fortune is sure to be a bright prospect," Mu Linyuan said with a nod. "Such bright prospects must either be claimed or destroyed."

"That's right. If Night Demon continues to display this rate of growth, then we'll have to keep a much closer eye on him. If he begins to develop ambitions similar to Ren Zhongyuan's, then he can be just as destructive to us in the future as he is useful to us now."

"At the moment, he's not displaying any such signs, so you can rest assured, Pope Yin."

"You think I would be so tolerant of him if I had doubts about his loyalty?" Yin Shengong harrumphed. "Why do you think Sun Yuan treats this disciple of his even better than his son? It's because his son is useless! Even if his son does manage to make something out of himself, there's no telling what he'll do in the future.

“It won't be a surprise to anyone even if he completely abandons his father. However, Night Demon is different. Sun Yuan was the one to have discovered him and nurtured him from the very beginning of his journey as a warrior, and he's also encouraging Night Demon to go down a more ruthless and lonesome path. That way, his future options will be limited, and that's of benefit to both us and Sun Yuan.

“Sun Yuan knows that he has already reached his ceiling, and he also knows that his son is competent enough to ensure safety and stability for his clan for at least the next three generations. However, this disciple of his could secure his future for much longer than that. If Night Demon can fulfill his full potential, then by the time he enters the main church, the Sun Clan will have enjoyed a meteoric rise to prominence!"

Mu Linyuan nodded in agreement, then remarked with more than a hint of envy in his voice, "Sun Yuan really is a lucky old bastard..."

"You should learn to be content with what you already have. Don't forget that both of us bore witness to Night Demon's baptism, and each of us have also taught him something."

"Could it be that you decided to oversee Night Demon's baptism because you saw the potential in him? Your foresight is truly unmatched, Pope Yin!" Mu Linyuan exclaimed.

Of course, Yin Shengong hadn't actually thought that far ahead.

This was only a thought that had gradually manifested itself in his mind as Fang Che began to display his worth, but he naturally wasn't going to admit that.

Hence, he put on a measured grin and confirmed, "That's right!"

Mu Linyuan's eyes were practically glowing with admiration.

"But Night Demon can't be allowed to find out about this. Right now, he's sucking up to me with all his might!" Yin Shengong chuckled as he gestured to the communication jade in his hand.

Mu Linyuan instantly burst into laughter. "Let's keep it that way for at least a few more years."

"That'll depend on whether he can live up to my expectations. In any case, it's imperative that we ensure that Night Demon's identity remains a secret. At the moment, only six people are aware of Night Demon's identity in our One Heart Church, and I do not want this number to increase any further. Do you understand?"

"I do."

"At the moment, he's already been exposed to the Guardians. In other words, he went down a path of no return ever since the Su Clan incident. Hence, we don't have to ever worry about him defecting to the Guardians. If he really can continue to impress us even after reaching the Great Grandmaster tier, then I may have to trouble you to personally keep an eye on him, Old Man Mu."

"I'm happy to be of service!" Mu Linyuan replied in an ecstatic manner.

Over the years, his main concern had always been the lack of a suitable heir. His sons and grandsons were all dead, and none of his other descendants were particularly impressive.

If he were to die someday, his clan would most likely instantly be torn to shreds.

Hence, by assigning him with the task of looking after Fang Che, Yin Shengong had essentially given him an heir.

He had bore witness to Night Demon's baptism and was essentially half a master to him, having taught him the Cool as Ice mental technique, and he was now being assigned the role of Night Demon's guardian.

Once Night Demon fulfilled his full potential, he would be sure to reciprocate him, and no one would dare to touch the Mu Clan then!

Yin Shengong could've given this opportunity to anyone, so this was an enormous favor, provided that Night Demon's aptitude didn't wane after the Great Grandmaster tier.

Yin Shengong's words from earlier were echoing through his mind.

Only two people had earned the approval of the Heavenly Centipede Deity at their baptisms, namely the pope of the main church and Duan Xiyang.

What did the future have in store for Night Demon?

***

Fang Che was left scratching his head at Yin Shengong's response.

A reward of fifty merit points took his total to over seven hundred.

That's all I get for reaching the Lesser Grandmaster tier?

Fang Che was not very happy, so he sent another message: "Pope Yin, I want to make more contributions for the Protectionists!"

Yin Shengong immediately hurled his communication jade to the ground.

"This little bastard is saying he wants to make contributions to the Protectionists! What am I meant to do? Throw out members of our church for him to hand into the Protectionists? What an absurd request!"

"At the very least, he's not keeping his intentions secret from us. He's a cunning kid, but he's very candid with us," Mu Linyuan said.

"Even so, he can't just ask for whatever he pleases!" Yin Shengong snapped.

"Let's just toss out a few insignificant church members for him. Surely there are some that you don't like the look of."

Just like that, Mu Linyuan was already on Fang Che's side.

Yin Shengong gave him a displeased glare, but then acquiesced, "Are there any more strongholds of the other churches over there? He's already taken one out, we may as well send him further down the path of no return."

"I'll look into it right away!" Mu Linyuan volunteered, then promptly departed with an eager look in his eyes.

***

Fang Che didn't send any further messages beyond those two.

He knew that while Yin Shengong was fond of him, it was definitely not to the extent that any words and actions of his would be tolerated, so he had to be measured in his approach.

Over the next few days, Fang Che paid frequent visits to the scripture library, but none of the cultivation arts and battle techniques that could be freely browsed proved to be of any use to him.

Hence, on this day, Fang Che approached the elderly instructor overseeing the scripture library with a large bag of fruits.

"What do you want?" the instructor asked as he peered at the bag of fruits through narrowed eyes.

"I have too many fruits to eat at home, so I decided to bring you some, Instructor," Fang Che replied with a smile.

The old man rolled his eyes as he scoffed, "You've been coming here every day for the past few days. I'm assuming you must've failed to find what you were looking for, so you've come to me for help, right?"

"Indeed! Your wisdom is truly unmatched, Instructor!" Fang Che hurriedly flattered.

"That's why you brought all these fruits?" the old man asked.

"That's right!"

"That's it? You want to use these to bribe me?" the old man scoffed as he picked up a pear, then tossed it back into the bag.

Fang Che: "......"

"Go away! Stop wasting my time!" the old man scoffed, but displayed no intention of returning the bag of fruits to Fang Che.

"Don't be like that, Instructor! I still have more..." Fang Che said as he reached into his pocket.

"Hold on a second!" the old man interrupted as he raised a hand. "Tell me what you want to find first."

"I want to find a cultivation art that can be used by soul bodies, as in souls that have lost their physical bodies, but remain intact."

"That's nonsense! A human's body and soul are closely interconnected, so it's impossible for the soul to survive after the body has perished! Perhaps a Warrior God could accomplish that, but that's beyond the realm of my understanding, so I can only speculate. Honestly, I don't think even a God tier warrior would be capable of that!

“Do you not know the relationship between the body and the soul? Who's your instructor? It's a case of one plus one equals two. A human is the two, and if you remove any of the two constituent opponents, the two will cease to exist, do you understand?"

"But even if the two ceases to exist, the two ones still remain, no? I'm searching for one of the two remaining ones after the two has ceased to exist."

"And I'm telling you that it's impossible!" the old man snapped. "Is this meant to be a prank? Get your instructors to come and see me! I want to ask him what they've been teaching you!"

"There's no need for that," Fang Che hurriedly said. "You're right, Instructor, my apologies for raising such an ignorant question."

At the same time, he was rather perplexed by the old man's firm attitude.

According to him, it was impossible for souls to exist without a body, yet he had personally witnessed the Golden Horn Flood Dragon's soul flee into the pond, and he had even encountered it again six hundred years later.

All of a sudden, a contemplative look appeared on the old man's face, and a thought seemed to have abruptly occurred to him.

He leaned in closer, looking intently into Fang Che's eyes as he asked, "Could it be that you've encountered a disembodied soul before?"

"I have," Fang Che confirmed with a nod.

The old man's eyes instantly lit up with excitement as he sprang to his feet.

"You have? Which demon beast was it?"

"How do you know it was a demon beast?"

"Because the situation that you described is only possible for a demon beast. The spirits of some demon beasts reside in their inner core, so as long as their inner core isn't broken, their spirits can continue to exist for some time even after their physical demise. However, no matter how powerful a demon beast is, they can't exist long term in a purely spiritual form.

“The only way that such spirits can survive for long periods of time is if they enter a place that can nourish spirit bodies, such as mass graves and ancient battlefields. One thing to note here is the distinction between souls and spirits. Humans have souls, while demon beasts have spirits, understood?"

The old man's eyes were practically glowing with excitement as he exclaimed, "I can't believe you've seen a ghost before!"