Dawnless Sovereign

It was certainly a pleasant surprise for Fang Che that his visit to the scripture library had yielded this lead.

Bao Feiyu had mentioned such a location in the Myriad Spirit Forest, only to be cut off by Li Changkong.

The Myriad Spirit Forest was an enormous place, so finding the location in question would've been like searching for a needle in a haystack.

Fang Che knew that there was no way the instructors would provide him with any further leads, and that was why he had turned to the scripture library.

Never had he anticipated that the elderly overseer of the scripture library would be so knowledgeable on this topic.

At the very least, he had a target now.

In his past life, he had only been a vagrant cultivator. He had been quite well-versed in all things related to cultivation, but his knowledge in other areas had been sorely lacking.

It was not easy serving as a Guardian, and most of the time, he had his hands full just trying to survive, leaving him with no opportunities to learn about the world around him.

Hence, he had already accumulated a great deal of knowledge during his brief time in White Cloud Warrior Academy.

For example, he had already considered making use of the Golden Horn Flood Dragon spirit body even in his past life, but only now did he know that a vessel was required for him to take the spirit body anywhere.

Looking back, it was very fortunate that he hadn't decided to take the spirit body with him right away. Otherwise, it would've already dissipated.

Even though he now had a clear target in the form of Golden Top Mountain, he knew better than to pursue the lead right away.

If he were to try and make the trip at his current cultivation base, death was all but certain to await him.

At this point, he had already fully mastered the Seven Blood Spirit Swords, the Soaring Saber Techniques, and the Thirteen Divine Ape Heart Gouging Techniques.

He had also progressed to the mid first tier of Cool as Ice thanks to the spirit sense enhancing pills from the academy and the One Heart Church.

The Covert Shapeshifting Technique was proving rather difficult to master, and he had only just reached the first tier.

On top of that, he had also already mastered the Blood Incineration Technique, but he was still only at a very elementary stage in his cultivation of the Boundless Sutra, having not even reached the first tier yet.

He was taking in vast volumes of spirit qi every single day, but all of it seemed to have been funneled into a bottomless abyss.

He was still slowly familiarizing himself with the saber, sword, spear, and halberd forms, and out of the Four Kingly Arms, he spent the most time on the spear, even sleeping with his spear every night to deepen their bond.

His objective was to familiarize himself with every single detail of his weapon. Regardless of whether his primary weapon reciprocated his efforts or not, he had to forge a bond with it. It was only possible for a weapon to reciprocate its wielder if its wielder saw it as a living, breathing entity, rather than just a cold, inanimate object.

If one were to only treat a weapon like a piece of cold metal, then it would remain that way without any possibility for change. However, if one were to treat a weapon like their companion, then over time, some miraculous things could happen.

Even if it were only a placebo effect, it still made a difference, nevertheless.

At the moment, Fang Che was only using an ordinary steel spear, but that was no reason for him to shun or look down on it.

That night, as Fang Che ceased his cultivation, he gently exhaled, releasing a long stream of white mist that extended to thirty feet away, resembling a miniature, white dragon.

His meridians rumbled as a certain obstacle was overcome, and his spirit qi instantly flowed through his entire body before returning to his dantian.

He had just made a breakthrough to the second-rank Grandmaster tier, and he took a moment to revel in the sensation of the immense spirit qi surging through his meridians.

The moment right after a breakthrough was always the most blissful moment for a warrior.

It presented an unrivaled sense of power, confidence, and novelty.

Unfortunately, this blissful rush would only linger for several minutes at most before subsiding.

Right as Fang Che was about to go to bed, he noticed something amiss.

It was currently late summer, close to the beginning of spring, and the entire courtyard was filled with unkempt grass.

Hence, chirping insects could always be heard in the thick grass at this time of night.

All seasoned veterans knew that this placid cacophony was an indication of safety, and Fang Che had intentionally instructed Ye Meng to keep the grass untrimmed for this reason.

However, Fang Che could clearly discern the absence of these sounds in the left side of the backyard, and that could only mean one thing: there were enemies lurking there!

Only when disturbed would those frightful autumn insects fall completely silent.

Fang Che immediately lit a stick of Soul Devouring Incense before snuffing out the lamp. From there, he tucked a human doll that he had prepared in advance under the blanket, then kicked off his shoes onto the ground before scurrying into the secret compartment beside his bed.

The stick of Soul Devouring Incense had been placed under the bed, and this time, both ends had been lit, ensuring that its smoke instantly filled the entire room.

***

In the backyard, two figures were prowling carefully atop the wall, observing the manor with cautious expressions.

The two of them were communicating through voice transmission.

"Apparently, Fang Che's master just so happened to have been here last time, and that was how the other three were killed. Surely he can't be here again this time, right?"

"Don't second-guess yourself. We've already been observing the manor for two days, and we haven't seen anyone else aside from Fang Che and his maidservant."

The two men were both from the Huo Clan.

Never had the Huo Clan imagined that it would lose three Grandmasters while failing to kill a first-year academy student!

Furthermore, Huo Churan had already been driven insane, unable to eat or sleep properly, such was the intensity of his vengeful fury.

The Huo Clan had received a warning from White Cloud Warrior Academy, and it was forced to make a formal apology, as well as fork out a large sum of money as compensation. Additionally, they had made an official promise not to target Fang Che again, so they had been quite reluctant to make this second attempt on Fang Che's life.

If they were caught again, then it wouldn't just be a simple matter of compensation.

Failure was not an option here. Hence, the two assassins sent on this occasion were both Great Grandmasters.

After two days of observation, the two men were certain that Fang Che and his maidservant were the only ones in the manor, and now, they were about to strike.

***

In the early hours of the morning, Qian Sanjiang sent a message to Yin Shengong.

"The Huo Clan sent two Great Grandmasters to assassinate Night Demon, but they were also poisoned to death and decapitated. Once again, I didn't have to do anything."

"He used poison again?"

"That's right."

"What does the top-end power of the Huo Clan look like?"

"The Huo Clan is an eighth-tier clan with five Great Grandmasters, twelve Lesser Grandmasters, and apparently, their patriarch is a General."

"In that case, the Huo Clan most likely won't make any further moves, so it'll most likely be the Three Saints Church coming after Night Demon next. Make sure to be on your guard."

"I will."

Yin Shengong set down his communication jade, then said to Mu Linyuan, "The Three Saints Church and the Divine Heavenly Church are most likely going to be making a move soon. Night Demon will be in some danger, but he'll also be presented with opportunities to make contributions to the Protectionists."

"We can only hope that Qian Sanjiang doesn't screw anything up," Mu Linyuan said.

"It should be fine. Night Demon is only a Lesser Grandmaster, so even if the two churches target him, at the very most, they should only be sending out Generals. If Qian Sanjiang can't even protect Night Demon as an Emperor, then he may as well put an end to his own pathetic existence!"

"That's true."

"Looks like we won't have to throw him any bones. He's already attracted enough trouble himself to create the opportunities that he desires," Yin Shengong remarked with an amused smile.

Mu Linyuan couldn't help but burst into laughter.

At this rate, Mu Linyuan had no doubt that the Three Saints Church and the Divine Heavenly Church were eventually going to be sending some very powerful warriors after Fang Che.

"It must be nice to be young. He has no fear at all!" Mu Linyuan sighed.

Yin Shengong nodded in agreement. "Also, have you noticed something, Old Man Mu? This kid is genuinely ruthless. Even I wasn't as ruthless as him at his age!"

Mu Linyuan smiled as he said, "Honestly, I would be very concerned if he were my enemy. Even if it's considered unsporting for an Emperor like myself to hunt down a Lesser Grandmaster, I would make sure to personally put an end to him."

"He truly is a frightening little bastard. Thankfully, he's on our side."

"Indeed, having him on our side is a really good feeling," Mu Linyuan agreed with a smile.

"You sound like you're already smitten with him!" Yin Shengong harrumphed. "On a serious note though, I think we can now fully eliminate the possibility that he's an undercover agent for the Protectionists."

"Could it be that you still suspect him, Pope Yin?"

"Not anymore," Yin Shengong said with a smile. "Even though we were the ones to discover Night Demon, we still have to be wary of the possibility that the academy could turn him against us. Of course, the likelihood of that is very low, given the presence of the Five Spirit Parasite in his body, but it's not entirely out of the question. Having said that, I can assure you that I've never truly suspected him. Otherwise, he would already be dead by now."

Mu Linyuan nodded in response.

Indeed, given Yin Shengong's personality, even the slightest hint of suspicion would be sufficient reason for him to kill someone.

***

The next day.

Instructor Liu of the eleventh class was in the middle of teaching a lesson when he heard the sound of knocking on the door, and a sense of foreboding instantly welled up in his heart.

The door was opened to reveal Fang Che standing at the entrance.

Just like last time, he was carrying a pouch with blood dripping down from the bottom.

Instructor Liu felt as if he were living through a nightmare on repeat, and he immediately turned to Huo Churan, as did all of the students in the classroom.

Huo Churan's face had turned deathly pale, and even his lips were quivering slightly.

He stared blankly at Fang Che as he asked in a feeble voice, "Y... Your master still hasn't left yet?"