Intelligence (Revised)

As an undercover agent secretly cultivated by the Guardians, Night Dream knew exactly what she was doing.

Orphaned at a young age, she had lost both parents on the battlefield fighting the Sole True Sect. At the time, she had been only two years old.

From the age of two and a half, she had taken part in the Dark Hall's intensive training.

There had been around four hundred children of roughly the same age as Night Dream undergoing secret training at this base.

Later, some changed careers and became assassins, some became killers, while others were eliminated outright, assigned to internal work, sent to the guard legions, or transferred to various functional departments.

In the end, only fifteen remained.

The brutal elimination system could no longer be described as merely "washing away the sand with great waves."

The fifteen were both male and female. Three of them had gone out on missions and already died in action.

Night Dream had been the first among those fifteen: the most talented, the most proficient at her work, and the best at concealment.

Because her aptitude was exceptionally outstanding, she had always received priority intensive training and all sorts of instruction. Of course, that was also because the girl's appearance was almost unnaturally beautiful.

Her eyes were too large.

She also had a bit of natural baby fat.

The moment she opened her eyes, she began to reveal a dazed, adorable charm.

Even though she was shrewd to the extreme inside, on the surface she gave people the impression of being dazed, muddleheaded, and adorably innocent.

At first glance, anyone would think this little girl was dazed and muddleheaded, as if she clearly wasn't very bright.

And yet she was naturally lovable.

With her eyes slightly drooping, she looked like a demoness capable of bringing calamity to a kingdom; but the moment she opened them, she instantly transformed from a demoness into a dazed and adorable little girl.

Everyone who saw her wanted to pinch her cheek.

With such material, combined with her extraordinary Martial Arts Talent, no one could bear to send her out.

Until this time, when the higher-ups decided she could give it a try.

When Fan Tiantiao submitted his report, they heard that it was merely a newly initiated small fry, with such low strength that the safety factor was extremely high.

Thus, they chose a relatively safe mission and placed her beside Fang Che to let her gain some experience first.

After all, the value of a line like Fang Che's was average.

His rank was too low. He was only a Warrior, and only seventeen...

If she gained something, good. If not, they could simply close the net when the time came.

It was like beating three stalks with a single jujube—whether there were any jujubes or not. They were letting Night Dream train a little.

But Night Dream was now completely bewildered.

The mission had gone far too smoothly! Fang Che had practically given her the most lenient environment imaginable for an undercover agent, and every one of his reasons was flawless! He made her feel: That really is how it is.

It really should be this way! So although Night Dream was not asleep, she felt as though she were dreaming.

She was dazed.

"Successfully infiltrated Fang's side."

"Fang Che's cultivation is around Warrior Fifth Grade. His aptitude is excellent, and his cultivation speed is extremely fast. At this rate, he is certain to rank in the top ten of the Guardian Martial Academy's entrance competition in one month, and may even reach the top three."

"Fang Che intends to cultivate me in martial arts in hopes that I can assist him in the future."

"..."

She wrote several brief lines in code and sent them out.

After that, Fang Che began practicing his martial arts. Not only was he diligent himself, he also urged Night Dream to practice with him, demanding even more from her.

It even reached a perverse level.

Whenever she made the slightest movement incorrectly, he either hit her or cursed her, filling his mouth with words like, "Trash! As expected, you're hopeless! What kind of aptitude is this? You're wasting my food!"

Night Dream seethed with rage but dared not speak. She also did not dare reveal her true level, so she swallowed her anger and trained desperately, until layer after layer of bumps rose on her head from his scolding.

"You don't even know how to hold a sword!"

"Why are you looking at me instead of practicing?"

"Three days and you still haven't even entered the threshold of the cultivation art. Trash!"

"You don't know how to stand, walk, or even run! What exactly do you eat? Do you think you're just a maid, pouring tea and fetching water?"

"..."

Whenever Fang Che took a break, Night Dream's nightmare began!

That mouth was like a venomous snake, spewing all kinds of vicious, wounding words.

Cold and malicious.

"With aptitude like yours, if you don't improve, you'll have no use besides bearing children!"

"Your breasts aren't high, your butt isn't firm, and there isn't even two ounces of flesh on you. You're all ribs—if you became a concubine, you'd be uncomfortable to lie against..."

"If you stay this stupid, I'll sell you into a brothel!"

A blazing fire raged in Night Dream's heart. Several times, she had nearly lost control and slapped the bastard to death.

His mouth was just too damn poisonous! Her anger made her feel as if she were about to explode, yet she instinctively followed Fang Che's instructions. By the end of the day, her waist and legs ached and her head throbbed. Yes, the headache was from being cursed at.

At night, after serving Fang Che and putting him to bed, Night Dream finally began sorting through the day's gains.

One movement after another flashed through her mind.

In the end, her thoughts stopped at the motion of drawing her sword.

She suddenly felt somewhat astonished.

She carefully recalled her original movements and compared them with her current ones, forming one image after another of sword-drawing motions in her mind.

To her horror, she discovered that drawing the sword this way was actually smoother than her original movement. Moreover, the instant the sword left its sheath, it already possessed killing power. If cultivated to a certain level, the Sword Qi released while drawing the sword would be enough to injure an opponent directly! Her original habitual movement, however, could not do this! Although it was only a single style, if she restored her current true strength and drew her sword, her combat power would practically double in terms of unexpectedness because of this one move alone! Its killing power would increase even more.

"How is this possible?"

Without realizing it, Night Dream suddenly felt a little lost.

She decided to take another look tomorrow.

Could this really be the most correct method? Or was it something even the predecessors had failed to discover? What I practiced before... wasn't actually the most correct?

Leaving Night Dream's thoughts aside, Fang Che was lying on his bed, secretly laughing to himself.

I knew you'd let the cat out of the bag.

Hmph. A weak woman who had never undergone martial training, had only just recovered from severe injuries, and was carrying an Azure Steel Sword weighing more than four pounds—yet she practiced all afternoon without even swelling an arm.

This girl was lucky to have met me.

Otherwise, they would probably already have begun torturing her for answers.

Morning came.

Seeing Night Dream carry water inside, Fang Che snorted and said, "What? Your arms hurt? I knew you were trash. You practiced swordsmanship for only one afternoon and already ended up like this? What utter trash!"

Night Dream broke out in a cold sweat.

She suddenly realized that she had exposed such a huge flaw!

She hurriedly said, "It... It was my first time practicing swordsmanship. It felt very novel... I didn't pay attention to my body..."

"You need a mental cultivation art to go with it. Today, practice the one I taught you first."

Fang Che snorted. "That's my master's exclusive cultivation art."

"Your master?"

"Of course."

Fang Che said proudly, "My master is known as the Flying Saber King. You don't understand it now, but you'll realize in the future what the word 'King' represents!"

The Flying Saber King! Night Dream's heart jolted.

Countless pieces of intelligence immediately surfaced in her mind: Flying Saber King, Sun Yuan; both righteous and evil, a Rogue Cultivator of the martial world.

Could it be...

"Young Master is amazing!" Night Dream praised him.

"Of course!"

Fang Che raised his head proudly. "This young master is a genius, and I've made the acquaintance of countless important figures. What do you know?"

Night Dream said excitedly, "Important figures? I really have never met any important figures. In my heart, Young Master is the greatest important figure of all."

Fang Che said arrogantly, "How many true figures above the clouds could you know? Then again, you've only just come into contact with martial arts. As for those above the clouds, such as Yin Shen Gong and the others I just met, you'll know about them in the future."

Yin Shen Gong? Night Dream suppressed the shock in her heart and shook her head blankly. "I don't understand."

Fang Che waved his hand disdainfully. "Talking to you is like playing a lute to a cow. All right, you may leave."

Hurry up and use this time and space to send a message.

Yin Shen Gong definitely didn't come for my Initiation Baptism. I'm not important enough for that.

So he must have come here for something major! Report this immediately!

Fang Che smiled silently. This was information he had deliberately let slip. First, whenever the Demon Sect Leader personally mobilized, it was bound to be for something major. This intelligence was important and could not wait. Second, Night Dream had only just arrived. If he waited until she became familiar with things and began stealing information on her own, this matter would have already passed.

Of course, there was a third reason: it was not easy to finally get an undercover agent beside him, so he had to give her some achievements and let her demonstrate a little value.

What if she turned out to be a blockhead, got recalled after several days without finding out anything, and left Fang Che completely dumbfounded?

So although the method was a little low, as long as it worked for now, that was enough.

For the entire following day, they merely practiced martial arts.

Seeing her son practicing enthusiastically, Fang Qianyi came over and joined him.

As she practiced, she kept praising him. "Che'er, I have to say, what your master taught you really is useful."

Indeed, Fang Qianyi had also sensed its benefits.

Fang Che did not take it to heart at all.

They were family. The stronger they became, the better.

Aside from the Limitless True Scripture, which could not be passed on, everything else was permissible.

Over the past few days, Fang Che had pushed the Limitless True Scripture forward a small step and entered the first layer. Ice-Clear Spirit Platform and Shape-Shifting Bone Art had both completely entered the threshold.

The Seven Blood-Spirit Swords and Thirteen Styles of Divine Ape Heart Snatching had reached proficiency.

Most importantly, he had thoroughly mastered every saber art, movement art, and mental cultivation art inherited from Sun Yuan.

He was also carefully pondering every single style of the saber, spear, sword, and halberd.

The Guardians had already begun making arrangements.

Regarding Night Dream's intelligence, only two people in the entire Guardian Hall had the authority to read it.

Chen Ruhai and Fan Tiantiao.

The two men could not stand the sight of each other, yet they had to gather every day to discuss matters.

"The Flying Saber King, Sun Yuan, has already been placed under surveillance!"

Fan Tiantiao pondered with a sorrowful expression. "However, the crucial point in this intelligence is this sentence: 'Today Fang Che mentioned Yin Shen Gong, the leader of the One Heart Sect. His exact words were: For example, Yin Shen Gong and the others I met today.' I'm reporting this specifically."

"This is of the utmost importance. That girl probably doesn't even realize that she has transmitted such extremely important intelligence."

Chen Ruhai immediately became fully alert and sank into thought. "It's Yin Shen Gong, and it's Yin Shen Gong and the others... The phrase 'and the others' is worth considering. Another point is, how did Fang Che meet Yin Shen Gong?"

Chen Ruhai said, "Fang Che is merely a maternal relative of a Ninth Grade small family. At his level, he doesn't even have the qualifications to know the name Yin Shen Gong. Yet he has now met him, so there must be a reason."

"Indeed. What reason?"

"The greatest possibility is that Yin Shen Gong came here and was seen by him—in other words, Yin Shen Gong is in Azure Wave City?"

"What qualifications does he have to meet Yin Shen Gong?"

"The greatest possibility is Initiation Baptism. Apart from something like that, there is no possible way he could meet Yin Shen Gong."

"So Fang Che has already joined the sect. That is set in stone."

"Yin Shen Gong is the leader of a sect, and the One Heart Sect's headquarters certainly isn't here. Would he come all this way to perform Initiation Baptism for a mere Fang Che? Wouldn't that be making far too much of a fuss over nothing?"

"Exactly. So Yin Shen Gong must have come for another reason—and a major one at that." Fan Tiantiao's expression grew even more sorrowful.

"Whenever Yin Shen Gong personally takes action, something major is bound to happen. Within a radius of two thousand li around here, what could possibly be worth Yin Shen Gong making the trip himself for?"

The two men continued back and forth, and soon their conclusion became increasingly clear.

"If it were an attack on the Guardian Hall, Yin Shen Gong probably wouldn't—and wouldn't dare. So..."

Chen Ruhai's gaze suddenly froze.

"Iron Blood Fortress?! Fuck!"

"Report it immediately!"