CHAPTER 106 (3): ADVICE FROM YAN BEIHAN

Meanwhile, Fang Che was busy picking out a suitable location for him to meet the person sent by Obsidian.

In spite of Yan Beihan's reassurance, he still instinctively wanted to find a safer meeting point.

In the end, he decided on a location not far away from the branch helm.

If things were to go south, then he would drag everyone in the branch helm down with him.

With the location decided, he informed Obsidian and arranged to meet at midnight.

"You're a cautious man, Brother Night Demon. From what I've heard, there's a One Heart Church branch helm nearby, and the helmsmaster is a very capable man."

"You heard right. I just so happen to be on very good terms with the helmsmaster of that branch helm."

"On good terms? That's not what I heard. Anyway, I'll send my subordinate to wait for you tonight at the designated location. His name is Ye Yun, and he'll be dropping off the cultivation resources that I sent to you. That's all for now. Work hard in your cultivation, I look forward to meeting you soon."

"Are you coming to the White Cloud Prefecture as well?"

"Who knows? Maybe I'll go to see you, or maybe you'll come to meet me in the main church. In any case, I have a feeling we'll be meeting soon."

Fang Che stared at his communication with a contemplative expression for some time before stowing it away.

In his eyes, Chen Yin was a very mysterious character, and the fact that he had just taken part in the Parasite Ascension Project indicated that he was still very young, yet he was already investing in other young prodigies. Fang Che was confident that Night Demon wasn't the only one that Chen Yin had invested in.

The fact that he was already making these moves at such a young age was testament to his lofty ambitions, and it immediately dawned on Fang Che that he was most likely going to be a formidable foe to contend with in the future.

During the Parasite Ascension Project, Fang Che had witnessed many formidable prodigies.

Of course, Yan Beihan and Chen Yin were the most prominent two, but there were also quite a few others who were not only fearsome warriors, but also possessed powerful backing and grandiose ambitions.

Even the likes of Ling Kong and Lu Yuan were definitely not to be looked down on.

Just the fact that Ling Kong, Lu Yuan, and the others hadn't revealed any information about him even after all this time was a clear indication of how tight-lipped they were.

Under normal circumstances, a secret that was known to six people could hardly even be considered a secret at all, yet all six of them had kept their association with Night Demon strictly confidential, and it was clear that they also harbored lofty ambitions for the future.

All of them were young men in their twenties, yet they were displaying maturity and foresight that was normally only seen in people many years their senior.

In contrast, the prodigies of all of the major warrior academies were growing far too slowly.

They were being left behind on all facets of development by their demonic church counterparts.

Some of the enemy prodigies were already running, while most of the academy prodigies had barely even learned to walk yet.

***

After a day of patrolling the streets, Fang Che remained as enigmatic as ever, snaking his way through the streets and alleys to avoid being followed.

However, as he was passing through one particular street, a group of four people that emerged from a teahouse caught his attention.

The four of them were casually making their way toward a nearby inn, and a sense of burning resentment instantly welled up in Fang Che's heart at the sight of them.

They were none other than Li Mengyun and her entourage!

Didn't they already leave? When did they come back?

Fang Che made sure to keep up an expressionless facade as he passed by the inn, but internally, his mind was racing.

They must've been drawn back here after hearing about Night Demon's destruction of the Fierce Tiger Guild branch helm! I can't just let them leave again! I have to take this opportunity to make this their final resting place!

An almost sense of killing intent welled up in Fang Che's heart at the idea.

I can call upon Hall Master Song, Old Man Shen, or just about anyone from the Hall of Protectionists or White Cloud Warrior Academy! They're in the heart of the city right now, so if I can get them surrounded, they're dead! Alternatively, I could even target this inn...

Fang Che instantly came up with over ten plans, every single one of which could ensure the deaths of Li Mengyun and her entourage.

However, his killing intent gradually began to subside once it dawned on him that he was dealing with four Emperors.

If those four were to make a desperate final stand in the city, there was surely going to be a tremendous amount of collateral damage, and at the very least, hundreds of innocent civilians would be killed.

His duty was to protect the masses, and his ultimate goal was to save the world from the clutches of the Church of the Self-Righteous. If he were to put the lives of countless innocent civilians at risk solely for the objective of personal vengeance, then he would be no better than the very same people that he sought to eradicate from the face of this world.

With that in mind, he cast the thought out of his mind and refocused his attention on the meeting that was to take place later at night.

All of a sudden, a thought occurred to him like a strike of lightning, and a bold plan instantly began to take shape in his mind.

Something that Yan Beihan had said to him earlier resurfaced in his mind.

"If the person that he sent wants to kill you, then he could massacre the entire White Cloud Prefecture just to kill you!"

Prior to this, he had only considered using the power of the Hall of Protectionist or White Cloud Warrior Academy to exact his vengeance, and he had failed to consider that there was actually another option available to him.

In the darkness of the night, the Golden Horn Flood Dragon snuck out with a folded piece of paper, setting off for the inn where Li Mengyun and her entourage were staying.

***

Li Mengyun and her three guards had already been staying in the inn for over a month, and during this time, they had been trying to uncover Night Demon's whereabouts every single day, but to no avail.

Furthermore, all of the demonic church branch helms in the entire prefecture were being eradicated at an absurdly rapid rate, and it almost seemed like the Hall of Protectionists knew exactly where to find them!

Even though the four of them were all Emperors, they didn't dare to step out of line at all in the White Cloud Prefecture.

If they were busted and surrounded, then they definitely weren't going to make it back to the Li Clan alive.

Hence, they had been acting with a great deal of caution.

Almost all of the branch helms of the subsidiary churches had already been uprooted, and with their information sources constantly dwindling, they were already planning to leave.

However, earlier on this very day, they had gotten into contact with some of their juniors from the main church, who wanted to return to the main church with them for their safety.

During the course of the conversation, they discovered that the One Heart Church still had a branch helm in the White Cloud Prefecture, and not only had it not been eradicated like the others, it was thriving!

Furthermore, people from the branch helm had the juniors in question, inviting them to join the branch helm.

Li Mengyun immediately instructed them to accept the offer.

Once they joined the branch helm, they would be able to find out its location. Li Mengyun had already agreed to meet those juniors in three days, and as soon as they found out where the One Heart Church branch helm was situated, they would go there and interrogate the helmsmaster for Night Demon's whereabouts.

It was already very late at night, but Li Mengyun was still full of vigor.

"Our efforts have finally paid off! We finally have a lead!"

"I wouldn't get excited too soon," Li Changbo said. "The helmsmaster of this branch helm may not know where Night Demon is."

"What if Night Demon is the helsmaster?" Li Changbo speculated.

"That's certainly a possibility."

Li Mengyun was sitting on a chair, casually sipping on some tea, and she said, "All will be revealed in three days. If we can find Night Demon, that would be ideal. If we can't, then we'll just kill the helmsmaster. I want every single member of the One Heart Church dead! If it wasn't for them, my brother would still be alive!"

"The One Heart Church is not to blame. The Parasite Ascension Project..."

"Don't mention the Parasite Ascension Project to me! It's clear from Yin Shengong's attitude during our previous communication that there's no possibility for reconciliation between the One Heart Church and our clan! Who the hell does he think he is?!

“He better be careful that he doesn't follow in Hai Wuliang's footsteps! He thinks he can stand up to us now just because his church was promoted up a rank? What a joke! A worthless old fart like him needs to learn his place!"

"Speaking of Hai Wuliang, I heard that the recent fall of the Night Demon Church had something to do with the One Heart Church as well."

"Of course it did! Hai Wuliang was reported by Yin Shengong, the sly old bastard! All the old coward does is go around reporting people behind their backs!"

The three guards fell silent, and the conversation petered out for a moment.

A short while later, Li Mengyun broke the silence as she sighed, "Mengnan, my good brother... I'm going to avenge you soon."

She stared blankly out the window as she spoke, and she felt as if she could see her handsome brother smiling down upon her from the night sky above.

"Mengnan was a prodigy from birth. He always progressed faster in his cultivation than anyone else! I was already seventeen the year he was born, and I watched him grow from a naive little boy into a handsome young man. He used to cry for me to give him a kiss and hug whenever he fell over.

“In what felt like no more than the blink of an eye, he was already an eighth-rank General, and he didn't take a single cultivation base enhancement pill to get there! He was the brightest prodigy in the history of our Li Clan, yet...

“Every night, when I close my eyes to sleep, I recall back when Mengnan was two. He was so naughty and always had cuts and grazes from falling down. Whenever he fell, he would always cry and call out for me to pick him, but I pushed him away every single time. Before the Parasite Ascension Project, he had already reached a bottleneck in his Blood Refinement Demonic Arts.

“Once he came back, all he had to do was consume the blood of ten virgin girls, and that would've been enough for him to break through his bottleneck to reach the Lord tier. In four months, he would've been a Warlord, then a King in a year! The path was already mapped out for him! I even had those ten virgin girls ready, yet those ten wretches are still alive, while Mengnan is dead!

“Why? How is this fair?! Why do the heavens always envy the brightest stars? There are so many mediocre people who are still alive, yet my brother is dead! I just don't understand it!"

Li Changhe and Li Changbo had both fallen into a solemn silence.

Right at this moment, something began to drift down from the ceiling above, much to the astonishment of the four people in the room.

They watched, bewildered and transfixed, as a folded piece of paper dropped down onto the table in front of Li Mengyun.