CHAPTER 117: DID I DIE?

"Is that not the case?" Xiang Xinghe asked.

"Of course not!" Fang Che scoffed. "By your logic, anyone associated with a demonic church member has to be one themselves. In that case, I'm sure you've interacted with demonic church members in the past, how do we know you haven't been swayed to join them? If you say I'm a demonic church member, what evidence do you have? You say you're not a demonic church member, what evidence do you have there?"

Xiang Xinghe had no evidence, but Fang Che had a surefire way to prove his own innocence.

"Everyone is aware that the demonic churches have a way to somehow kill any members who insult the demonic churches or even consider becoming a traitor, isn't that right?"

"That's true," Huang Yifan replied. "It's a little more nuanced than that, but yes, that's the general gist of it."

"Alright, in that case, I pledge myself to fight the demonic churches until I draw my final breath. The Church of the Self-Righteous is filled with pathetic scumbags who are worse than even the lowliest of imbeciles, and I would like nothing more than to kill every single one of them with my own hands! So? Did I die?"

Xiang Xinghe could only gawk in astonishment.

"Oh, and that Heavenly Centipede Deity that they worship. Ugly ass critter! I bet even a rooster could eat it alive! Did I die?"

Sure enough, he did not die, and everyone was at a loss for what to say.

Just as Fang Che had said, no one knew exactly how the Five Spirit Parasites worked, but what was for certain was that Five Spirit Parasites instantly killed their hosts at the first sign of betrayal, and making blasphemous gestures and remarks toward the Heavenly Centipede Deity was an even more surefire way to get a demonic church member killed.

Hence, there was no way that Fang Che should still be alive right now if he were a demonic church member.

"Perhaps you haven't joined them yet, but it'll happen sooner or later!" Xiang Xinghe declared.

"I would say the same about you! You're eventually going to betray the continent and join the Church of the Self-Righteous! Maybe you should try insulting the Heavenly Centipede Deity as well just to prove to everyone that you haven't already joined them!"

Xiang Xinghe was furious to hear this.

"How dare you insult me, you little brat!"

"What? So you can accuse and insult me all you like, but I can't say anything back?"

"Brother Xiang, I understand that there are some suspicions surrounding Fang Che, but that's the extent of it," Lü Jiaoshan interjected. "I think Fang Che has a point. If we're going to accuse him of having ties with the demonic churches, then we need to provide evidence."

"Fang Che does have some explaining to do in certain matters, but I think we'd be going too far if we directly accused him of being a demonic church member," Meng Chizheng chimed in in agreement. "May I ask why Fang Che is under suspicion, Master Zhao?

“If there really is evidence to indicate that he has ties with the demonic churches, then there would be sufficient justification to apprehend him or even execute him on the spot, but making such accusations without any evidence seems a little unreasonable."

"I received a report accusing Fang Che of being a spy for the demonic churches, and I just so happened to have been in the area on official duty, so I decided to come and take a look," Zhao Shanhe explained. "If White Cloud Warrior Academy were to nurture a demonic church seed as its top prodigy, then the reputation of the academy could be tarnished beyond repair once his identity is exposed.”

Gao Qingyu had remained silent this entire time, but he couldn't resist the urge to speak up any longer.

"There have been countless cases of demonic church seeds infiltrating all of the major academies over the years, and they're often prodigies that are held in high regard, which makes sense, considering their aptitude is what catches the eye of the demonic churches in the first place.

“While nurturing a demonic church seed is certainly not a desirable outcome, I think it would be an overstatement to say that such a thing will damage our academy's reputation beyond repair. We are only ranked fifth among the top eight academies, and according to my knowledge, more demonic church seeds have come out of the first and second-ranked academies over the past one thousand years than our academy. For example..."

Once again, Gao Qingyu was up to his old tricks, preparing to rattle off a list of names to sidetrack the conversation.

"That's enough! Don't try your little distraction tactics on me!" Zhao Shanhe snapped, clearly very familiar with Gao Qingyu's tricks.

"Alright, fine, I won't say anything then! You're throwing life-threatening accusations at my student with no supporting evidence, yet I'm not allowed to say anything! Justice is truly being served!" Gao Qingyu grumbled.

"I'm doing this for the sake of your academy, Dean Gao!" Zhao Shanhe said in an exasperated manner.

"Oh, sure! You've done so many things over the years under the guise of helping our academy, but have you actually helped us? Have we reached the top spot among the top eight academies? If you really want what's best for our academy, then you should give us some autonomy. For example, we could've easily taken care of this matter today by ourselves!"

Zhao Shanhe didn't say anything.

Even he had no answer to Gao Qingyu's shameless tactics, and if they were to continue bickering any longer, Gao Qingyu would most likely start throwing one of his signature fits soon.

Hence, he didn't dwell on the subject any longer as he turned to Xiang Xinghe and instructed, "Continue."

"Where is Su Yue right now?" Xiang Xinghe asked.

"I don't know."

"You don't know? He's come to help you on multiple occasions, yet you don't know where he is?"

"I don't know," Fang Che repeated. "Brother Su never tells me when he's coming. He always drags me out of bed in the dead of night, then takes me out on a mission before leaving. He's very mysterious right now, even to me."

"He mentioned last time that he was part of a secret organization. What is this secret organization?"

"I don't know."

"Who are his master and uncle-master?"

"I don't know."

"What do they look like?”

"I've never seen their faces," Fang Che replied in an exasperated manner. "I don't know the answers to any of these questions. I'm already very grateful that Brother Su is going out of his way to help me, it would be way too ungrateful of me to try and dig into his secrets! Brother Su has already told me everything that he can, but there are clearly some things that he can't tell me, and I'm in no position to ask.

“Right now, I'm just a kid. I don't possess the power to be entrusted with any secrets, nor do I have the right to ask any questions. Besides, everytime Brother Su has helped me, our targets have always been demonic church members. We are doing our part to make this continent a better place!

“All of the merit points that I've earned should be sufficient testament to that, so I don't understand why I'm being subjected to this interrogation. I don't want to say that everyone should thank me or praise me, but surely, I shouldn't be vilified for my actions!"

A look of indignation appeared on Fang Che's face as he spoke, and it was as if he were on the verge of tears.

"I understand that I can be a little rash at times and act without considering the consequences, but I don't feel like I've committed any heinous crimes! Why am I being accused of serving the demonic churches? Have you not seen everything I've done? I already have close to five thousand merit points! That's more than the vast majority of all of my upperclassmen!

“Shouldn't I be the last person in my cohort to be suspected of colluding with the demonic churches?"

Everyone fell silent upon hearing this.

Li Changkong had stood up to speak out for Fang Che on multiple occasions, but was forced to hold his tongue in the face of Huang Yifan's stern glares.

Finally, Meng Hejun spoke for the first time, asking, "Do you have any more questions to ask, Master Zhao?"

"There are still some points of suspicion, so I hope that your White Cloud Warrior Academy can remain on your guard," Zhao Shanhe said.

"We'll be sure to remain vigilant," Meng Hejun promised.

Zhao Shanhe was silent for a moment, then continued, "There are no holes in his story for the moment, but as the number one prodigy of White Cloud Warrior Academy, his importance is not to be understated, so we'll have to put him through the Path of Self-Inquisition."

"The Path of Self-Inquisition?!"

Meng Hejun's expression changed drastically upon hearing this, and even Xiang Xinghe's stern facade cracked to reveal a hint of shock.

Li Changkong instantly sprang out of his chair as he said in an urgent voice, "Surely that won't be necessary, Master Zhao! He's only just become a Great Grandmaster, the Path of Self-Inquisition is too much for him!"

"It must be done," Zhao Shanhe insisted in a gentle, yet firm voice.

"But Master Zhao, the Path of Self-Inquisition is normally reserved for warriors of at least the General tier!" Meng Chizheng protested. "A mere Great Grandmaster's soul cannot withstand its rigors, and there's a very good chance he'll come out with permanent mental impairments!"

"I understand, but the one that reported Fang Che is an extremely important figure, indeed, so he must be put through the Path of Self-Inquisition to erase all semblance of doubt!"

"May I ask who put in the report?" Meng Hejun asked.

"I can't tell you that," Zhao Shanhe replied.

"Why not? We deserve to know! Could it be that you accepted a bribe from them, and that's why you're covering their tracks?" Gao Qingyu accused in an enraged manner.

"Do you understand what you're saying right now, Gao Qingyu?" Zhao Shanhe asked in a cold voice.

Even Meng Hejun's face had become flushed with anger as she protested, "We can't subject Fang Che to the rigors of the Path of Self-Inquisition when there's no evidence at all to indicate that he's a demonic church seed! We'd be ruining him!"