Dawnless Sovereign

Huo Churan laid on the ground like a puddle of mud, with only the slight rising and falling of his chest indicating that he still drew breath.

Only after a long while was he able to crawl to the wall, using it for support as he limped away.

Blood was trickling down from the corner of his lips, and the resentment in his eyes had become even more intense.

Fang Che! Mo Ganyun! Just you wait!

It was only the seething hatred in his heart that provided him with the strength to remain on his feet.

As he rounded the corner, he felt a hostile gaze, and he peered through his swollen eyelids to discover a thin, sword-wielding figure standing before him.

The figure was giving off an aura that was just as sharp as the sword in his hand, and it was none other than Ding Jieran.

Huo Churan tossed a few pills into his mouth, then scoffed, "Are you also here to kick me while I'm down?"

"I really want to, but I've lost interest after seeing the pathetic state that you're in. I'll be sure to come after you once you're fully recovered!" Ding Jieran threatened.

"Why don't you come at me now?" Huo Churan challenged.

"If you insist," Ding Jieran harrumphed coldly as he thrust his sword forward, piercing a hole into Huo Churan's arm.

He then promptly turned to depart.

"What do you get out of sucking up to Fang Che like this?" Huo Churan spat through gritted teeth. "Is that all you aspire to be in life? Fang Che's lapdog? Is that something you take pride in?"

Ding Jieran paused momentarily, then continued onward back into the academy without even sparing Huo Churan a backward glance.

He had once seen Huo Churan as a potential rival, but he didn't even want to look at Huo Churan now for fear of dirtying his eyes.

Huo Churan continued to limp onward while viciously cursing everyone that had wronged him.

He failed to notice that Qiu Yunshang, Xie Gongping, and many others were also coldly observing him from the shadows.

They had also come out to teach him a lesson, but they had lost interest after Mo Ganyun was done with him.

"I'll wait until he's fully recovered," Qiu Yunshang harrumphed coldly as he departed in a disappointed manner, quickly followed by Xie Gongping, who shared a similar sentiment.

Elsewhere, Jing Shuanggao was glowering intently at Huo Churan, wondering if he would be able to get away with killing him.

In the end, he decided against it as he didn't want to be punished by the academy.

There were even several students from higher year levels lurking nearby, and they also promptly dispersed.

Huo Churan's actions had sparked mass outrage in the academy.

There were countless sparring matches taking place every day in the academy, and there were many fierce rivalries, as well as no lack of genuine enmity, but no one had resorted to assassination!

Everyone couldn't help but wonder to themselves what would've happened if they had been in Fang Che's place. Would they have been so fortunate to have survived?

No one wanted to have to deal with someone like this.

He was like a snake in the shadows, constantly looking to strike.

These people hadn't all come out with intentions of beating or killing Huo Churan, but they wanted to see him, and they certainly wouldn't mind getting physical if they didn't like the look of him.

***

I want revenge! I want Fang Che dead! Mo Ganyun and Ding Jieran must die too, but Fang Che is the most unforgivable of them all!

Huo Churan's heart had been consumed entirely by obsessive thoughts of revenge.

He trudged arduously to an inn, where he finally collapsed, paying for a room so that he had a place to rest and tend to his injuries.

After that, he immediately sent out a signal to summon the people from the Huo Clan.

"How did this happen, Young Master? We were waiting for you at the northern gate, why did you leave from the southern gate?"

Huo Churan was rendered speechless.

His original plan was to leave from the northern gate, but he would have to pass by Fang Che's first class on the way there, and he was disgusted by that thought, so he made a last-minute decision to leave from the southern gate.

So I could've avoided all of this if I had left from the northern gate?

"Kill them! They must die!" Huo Churan spat through gritted teeth.

"We can't go after Fang Che anymore, Young Master! Our clan can't bear the consequences!"

However, Huo Churan refused to listen to reason. He had a very violent and explosive personality to begin with, and he had been pampered and spoiled from birth. He had thought that he would shine like a bright jewel in the academy, only to be humiliated over and over again.

At this point, he had already been driven insane, and revenge was the only thing left on his mind!

"So you're saying our clan can withstand the wrath of the Three Saints Church? Don't forget that we failed to complete our mission!" Huo Churan snapped.

Everyone fell silent upon hearing this.

He was right.

"I've already been expelled, so the church's plans for me have been foiled. What are we going to do if they blame our clan for this? On top of that, we've already lost three Lesser Grandmasters and two Great Grandmasters! Are we just supposed to let my uncle and the others die in vain?"

"But White Cloud Warrior Academy and the Hall of Protectionists is already onto us, and our clan has already been demoted. We can't keep this up any longer, Young Master..."

"Our clan can't do anything, but what if we get the Three Saints Church involved? Right now, Fang Che is the top prodigy of the new student cohort. If we can kill him, then we will be eliminating a bright future prospect for the Protectionists! The same applies to Mo Ganyun as well!"

The other members of the Huo Clan present immediately tensed up at the mention of Mo Ganyun.

"We absolutely cannot touch Mo Ganyun no matter what, Young Master! The Mo Clan is not to be messed with!"

Huo Churan gritted his teeth as he struggled to suppress his fury, and after a long silence, he acquiesced, "Fine! Then we'll only kill Fang Che!"

"But Fang Che and White Cloud Warrior Academy are definitely prepared at this point! We don't have the personnel to be able to pull it off!"

"We may not have the personnel, but the church does! I'll contact them myself!"

***

That night, upon returning home, Fang Che immediately sent a message to Qian Sanjiang.

"Are we tracking Huo Churan, Uncle-master Qian?"

A hint of warmth welled up in Qian Sanjiang's heart at the word "uncle-master," and he immediately replied: "He's currently staying in the Golden Voice Inn, and he seems to be contacting the Three Saints Church."

"Thank you for keeping an eye on him, Uncle-master Qian. Once they've established contact with the Three Saints Church, we can storm in and catch them red-handed."

"Are we going to use Su Yue as a ruse again?"

"Of course. We have to ensure that Huo Churan doesn't get away. He has to die!"

"Are you worried that he'll grow up into a future threat?"

"Among the new student cohort of White Cloud Warrior Academy, Huo Churan's aptitude easily ranks in the top five, and he has the support of the Three Saints Church. If he's allowed to grow into his own and later finds out about my ties with our One Heart Church, you and I will most likely both have to face retribution from him."

A shiver ran down Qian Sanjiang's spine at the thought, and he replied: "Rest assured, I'll make sure Huo Churan doesn't get away."

That night, Fang Che enjoyed a night of sound sleep.

Of course, Qian Sanjiang didn't sleep at all.

He was personally stationed on the rooftop of the Golden Voice Inn, watching Huo Churan and the others discuss their plans.

In the early hours of the morning, the people of the Huo Clan and the Three Saints Church began to move, clearly regarding the inn as unsafe.

Qian Sanjiang followed them all the way to a cottage on the outskirts of the city, and this seemed to be their stronghold.

However, he was a little hesitant about how to proceed.

As it turned out, this wasn't just a simple stronghold. Instead, it was an incense hall.

The organizational structure of the Three Saints Church was much the same as that of the One Heart Church. At the very bottom were the disciples, then came the captains, commanders, and strongholds (which were often disguised as businesses). Above strongholds were incense halls, branch helms, branch halls, and altars.

Qian Sanjiang had no qualms about eliminating a stronghold of a competing church, but taking out an incense hall felt a little excessive.

Hence, he turned to Yin Shengong for guidance, but received no immediate response.

After waiting for some time, Qian Sanjiang sent a message to Mu Linyuan: "Why is Pope Yin not returning my message?"

"Are you stupid? Pope Yin doesn't know anything!"

Qian Sanjiang immediately caught on.

"Understood. Thank you, Boss Mu."

He then sent a message to Fang Che: "We're ready to strike."

"Do we have enough people?" Fang Che asked.

This was a reasonable concern, and Qian Sanjiang immediately summoned several of his most trusted subordinates from nearby while ensuring absolute secrecy.

"I've summoned all of you here today to take out a secret base of the Protectionists."

A total of four warriors had been summoned, all of whom were Lords, and they were raring to go.

After that, he sent another message to Fang Che: "The team has been assembled."

"Alright, make sure no one gets away. Once we're done, get your people to leave, then say the line I gave you earlier."

"Sure."

It seemed that Fang Che intended to keep everyone else in the dark, fooling them into thinking that they were targeting the Protectionists as opposed to the Three Saints Church.

Furthermore, he clearly intended to claim all the accolades for himself.

What a conniving little bastard!

***

Following their discussion, everyone in the cottage began focusing on treating Huo Churan's injuries.

Despite the terrible condition he was in, he insisted on coming along.

"I have to be the one to put an end to Fang Che's life! No one else can take that from me!"