Dawnless Sovereign

This guy's asking me for help? What's going on? He's never done this before! Could it be that he actually sees me as an ally now after what happened last time?

Indeed, Yin Shengong had struck the nail right on the head.

Kou Yifang had felt very touched by Yin Shengong's warning about the Ximen Clan last time.

Never had he expected that the pope of a competing church would be looking out for him.

In the wake of this incident, the Divine Heavenly Church's forces were too far away to do anything in the immediate future, so he decided to ask Yin Shengong for help.

He felt like there was a very good chance that he and Yin Shengong could forge an alliance in the future.

Yin Shengong thought about it momentarily, then replied: "I've already heard about this. What's going on over in your church, Old Man Kou? Why are your people so careless?"

He hadn't yet decided if he was going to help or not, but he was certainly not going to pass up this opportunity to admonish Kou Yifang and establish his own seniority.

"Honestly, it's all been a massive pain in the backside, Brother Yin. Those two were able to successfully take out the Ximen Clan without being caught, and they must've grown complacent as a result. Normally, we wouldn't have deployed two Kings to take out a first-year academy student, but they just so happened to have been in the area, and they volunteered themselves, so I didn't send anyone else.

“The problem is, you know the deal with those two. It's Snake King and Poison King, a normal disguise just isn't going to work. They have very distinct auras from constantly being in contact with snakes and poison, and apparently, they were detected as soon as they entered the city. I don't even know what to say. I didn't think they'd be that stupid!"

Kou Yifang was making these statements based on some insider information he had received.

Chen Ruhai had put out some vague information, and an undercover agent for the Divine Heavenly Church had learned that someone in the Hall of Protectionists had detected a peculiar aura. They didn't know who it was, but they sent someone to investigate anyway, and it was a very pleasant surprise for them that they had stumbled upon Poison King and Snake King.

Kou Yifang had been furious upon receiving this news.

Of course the likes of Snake King and Poison King possessed distinctive auras!

They could go by unnoticed hiding in the wilderness, but as soon as they entered a city, they were like a pair of lightbulbs in the darkness!

Yin Shengong heaved an internal sigh of relief.

It seemed that they weren't responsible for the capture of Snake King and Poison King.

It then occurred to him that this was another free favor that had been delivered to his doorstep.

"Does that mean you've contacted me to silence those two?"

"That's right. Please help me trigger the Five Spirit Parasites in their bodies, Brother Yin. I know you have high-level undercover agents over there."

"I'm afraid I don't have the ideal personnel for the job, but seeing as you've made a request, I'll do my best to fulfill it."

"Thank you, Brother Yin. I owe you another favor. If you need any help from me in the future, feel free to speak up."

"Nonsense! We're all brothers-in-arms, so it's only right that we help one another out."

After setting down his communication jade, Yin Shengong fell into deep thought.

It seems like Kou Yifang won't be a problem anymore. That's now two favors that he owes me, and he's now lost a bunch of powerful warriors and the seeded prodigy that he planted in White Cloud Warrior Academy. In light of all of that, his Divine Heavenly Church has been knocked down a peg to sit beneath our One Heart Church, and at the very least, he won't be able to pose any meaningful opposition to me for a few years.

“Once Snake King and Poison King have been taken care of, I have to resolve the Night Demon issue as well. How can I maximize Night Demon's usefulness? After what happened to the Su Clan, I'm sure the Protectionists already suspect him, but just how much do they suspect him? I can continue to nurture him, but for now, I can't place my absolute trust in him.

“Otherwise, if the Protectionists turn him against us, then that would spell massive losses. I need to proceed with caution and continue observing.

***

Unlike Yin Shengong, Fang Che didn't have any concerns on his mind, but Ye Meng was feeling rather uneasy.

Is Fang Che going to suspect me?

As they were having breakfast in the morning, Fang Che was in a very good mood, so she asked him what had put him in such a good mood, considering he had looked so concerned just the day before.

"Right now, White Cloud Warrior Academy sees me as the top prodigy among the new student cohort, and they've sent people to protect me in secret. Just last night, they wiped out all of the Divine Heavenly Church members that were sent to kill me! How could I not be in a good mood? This is what they get for trying to target me!"

"You must have some very good sources, Young Master. If this only happened last night, then it's very impressive that you've already heard about it without even leaving the manor!"

"Of course!" Fang Che replied in a smug manner, then suddenly put on a stern expression. "I've been so distracted by all this Divine Heavenly Church nonsense that I forgot to check on your cultivation! What's your cultivation base right now? You must've been slacking off these past few days! I'm going to sell you to a brothel first thing tomorrow!"

Ye Meng was unable to suppress the urge to roll her eyes right in Fang Che's face.

He was always like this! One moment, he would be cheerful and amicable, only for his mood to swing at the drop of a hat! And couldn't he work some originality into his threats? He was always playing the same old brothel card!

"I'm already a Warrior Master now. In fact, a second-rank Warrior Master!" Ye Meng pouted.

"That's not bad. I didn't think you even knew what a Warrior Master was," Fang Che remarked in a meaningful voice.

Ye Meng immediately realized that she had been too complacent.

I shouldn't have said that! I have to make it seem like I know next to nothing about cultivation!

"I'm selling you to a brothel if you don't reach the third rank in half a month!" Fang Che threatened.

There he goes again!

"Get out of here! It's time to cultivate! You're going to turn into a pig if you keep eating!"

Ye Meng stormed out of the room with a furious pout.

***

As soon as Fang Che arrived at the academy, he immediately realized that something wasn't right.

All of the instructors were looking very deflated, and that wasn't what Fang Che had been expecting at all.

Why is the atmosphere so glum? Didn't they just score a resounding victory?

Not only were all of the instructors looking very displeased, they were rushing about as if they were all in a hurry for some reason, and some were even flying through the academy.

Fang Che arrived in the classroom and commenced his cultivation as usual, taking a break to beat up Mo Ganyun in between.

Mo Ganyun didn't mention the fact that he had gone to beat up Huo Churan. In his eyes, this was not something worthy of a mention.

At the moment, Fang Che was like a tall mountain in his eyes, one that he was determined to surmount!

Fang Che had also noticed that Mo Ganyun's mental state had completely changed, and it was as if he were a different person from back when he first arrived at the academy.

His battle intent was far more fierce than during their battle in the new student tournament, and he was making rapid progress while ensuring that his foundation remained uncompromised.

The more he was beaten, the quicker he progressed, and that was very perplexing to Fang Che.

After striking down Mo Ganyun once again, Fang Che decided to ask Mo Ganyun some questions.

"Little Yunyun..."

"Don't give me these stupid nicknames! How are you going to call me Little Yunyun when I'm built like this?" Mo Ganyun snapped.

"Alright, I'll just call you Yunyun instead then. You possess a berserker constitution, right?"

Mo Ganyun was just about to erupt into a rage again at the nickname of Yunyun, but his eyes abruptly widened in shock as he exclaimed, "How did you know that?"

"So that's why you're looking for a target to aim for!" Fang Che mused. "Those who possess the berserker constitution must place themselves under high pressure to maximize their battle intent. Your cultivation progression would be much slower if you didn't have someone constantly beating you up, right?"

Mo Ganyun burst into laughter as he gave Fang Che a thumbs-up.

"Even the instructors haven't figured this out, yet you've managed to strike the nail right on the head!"

"The instructors aren't stupid, I'm sure they figured it out long ago," Fang Che scoffed. "Otherwise, do you think they would've just allowed me to constantly beat you up every day? Clearly, this is the best way for you to cultivate, and that's why they haven't intervened."

"That's true."

"No wonder you're searching for prodigies around your age superior to yourself! If anything, I should've figured it out even sooner! Doesn't that mean you're essentially using me as a whetstone to sharpen yourself?" Fang Che accused.

"Are you telling me you don't get anything out of this?" Mo Ganyun scoffed. "Surely it must be cathartic having a free punching bag and meal ticket every day!"

Fang Che couldn't argue with that.

"I fought Ding Jieran last night."

Mo Ganyun suddenly changed the subject, clearly not wanting to dwell on the topic of his constitution.

"Qiu Yunshang and Jing Shuanggao were there as well, but Xie Gongping didn't show up. Little coward!"

"Who won?"

"I won. I was really beaten up by the end, but I'm more durable than they are," Mo Ganyun replied in a proud manner.

"Indeed, you can take beatings like no one else. If there’s a Cloud Punching Bag Archive, you would be racing your way to the top. Cloud Punching Bag Archive, Little Yunyun of the Mo Clan. It just rolls off the tongue!"

"Piss off!" Mo Ganyun snapped, but it was clear that he was amused.

"How did you feel going up against them?"

"Not bad. Ding Jieran was a bit difficult because I'm not used to facing left-handed swordsmen. He sliced quite a few good gashes into my legs. If I didn't possess more strength than him, I could've easily lost."

"What do you think of them overall?"