Crooked Luck

Fan Tiantiao mused.

"Fang Che's side must also be taken seriously again. No matter how coincidental it was, the fact that Yin Shen Gong personally attended his Initiation Baptism means it was no ordinary matter. He must have something exceptional about him. Otherwise, Yin Shen Gong wouldn't have been so free."

"That's right. If it were you or me, and a genius were taking an exam, we might be interested enough to go and take a look. But if it were an ordinary Martial Student taking the exam, would you be interested?"

"No."

"Isn't that enough?"

"Also, this news clearly shows that Fang Che has already joined the One Heart Sect and passed the baptism." Chen Ruhai spoke with certainty.

"Wasn't that just mentioned?"

Fan Tiantiao sorted through the intelligence, finally feeling a little more at ease. He looked at Chen Ruhai's sorrowful face with some sympathy and said, "Old Chen, although I don't like looking at you either, I still have to remind you of something."

"What?"

"If you have time, go find Divine Physician Meng and have him take a look at your brain. Seriously."

"Go to hell!"

A few days later.

Around midnight.

Iron Blood Fortress, more than a thousand li from Azure Wave City, was attacked by the One Heart Sect.

Iron Blood Fortress was a power of the Guardians Alliance. It had always stood opposite Guardian Hall, one to the south and one to the north, guarding the peace of this region.

This time, the One Heart Sect had been plotting for a long while and launched a massive assault. Five Emperor-level experts took part, along with numerous King-level experts. Clearly, they intended to tear out Iron Blood Fortress, this thorn in their side, in one thunderous strike.

Yin Shen Gong personally took command, secretly summoning large numbers of One Heart Sect experts from nearby.

This operation had been planned for more than half a year. At last, it was put into action.

Yet the moment the attack began, something felt wrong.

Around midnight.

Yin Shen Gong waved a hand.

Experts immediately launched the assault, flying into Iron Blood Fortress from all directions.

With a boom, the gates of Iron Blood Fortress were blasted into the sky.

A large section of the walls collapsed in an instant.

The One Heart Sect experts, fierce as wolves and tigers, charged inside with their faces covered.

A roar rang across the night sky.

"Kill!"

"Leave no one alive!"

The brutal battle erupted instantly.

In the blink of an eye, blood nearly blanketed the ground.

A long howl rang out, and countless figures rose from Iron Blood Fortress to meet the attackers.

At once, howls, bells, shouts, cries of slaughter, and screams rang out in one chaotic mass.

Iron Blood Fortress was thrown into confusion for a few moments at the start, and its casualties were indeed considerable. But as its people charged out, the battle settled into a stalemate.

Then the unexpected happened.

The two sides had fought for no more than a breath when, all at once, the night filled with countless figures. Experts from Guardian Hall suddenly arrived from every direction.

Without the slightest hesitation, they joined the battlefield.

The forces they brought were extraordinarily formidable. In an instant, they launched a counterattack from the defensive position! In terms of strength, the One Heart Sect, which had prepared for a full six months, actually found itself at a disadvantage!

Iron Blood Fortress immediately launched a counteroffensive.

The forces inside and outside coordinated, fighting with everything they had as they closed in from all sides.

They nearly made dumplings of the One Heart Sect's people.

With no other choice, Yin Shen Gong, who had been watching and directing the battle, personally joined the three Great Offerings to block the Guardians' experts. Leading his subordinates in a desperate breakout, he finally escaped with his people after a bloody battle.

But they had lost four King-level experts, more than a dozen General-level experts, and over fifty Innate Grandmasters.

Their strength had been gravely damaged.

The strange thing was... the One Heart Sect had originally concentrated superior forces for a surprise attack, but in the end, it had somehow turned into a breakout!

There was only one word of difference between a surprise attack and a breakout, but... this was clearly not the same thing.

Something that should never have happened had bizarrely happened anyway.

Everyone reached the same conclusion: there was a mole!

Afterward, Yin Shen Gong flew into a rage. "Investigate! Investigate thoroughly! Someone must have leaked the news. Otherwise, how could the Guardians have arrived so perfectly on time?!"

But no matter how they investigated, they found not the slightest clue.

Just then, the mole inside Guardian Hall sent back news: the whole thing had been a coincidence.

As it turned out, a legendary super-tier Demon Beast, the Flame Red Fox, had been hunted down and fled to this area. The southeastern Guardian Hall had summoned a number of experts, including several Hall Masters, to hunt the Demon Beast.

That day, the Flame Red Fox happened to flee near Iron Blood Fortress.

Thus, the Hall Master led all the experts in sneaking over to capture and kill it. But just then, the One Heart Sect launched its attack.

There was no helping it. The Hall Master had no choice but to abandon the Flame Red Fox and rush to Iron Blood Fortress's aid. Who could have known that he would run straight into Yin Shen Gong's One Heart Sect operation?

It was said that the Guardians were also extremely pleasantly surprised by the matter.

They had actually struck the real target in one blow. My, what a beautifully handled affair. Tsk tsk, truly splendid.

They had successfully ruined the One Heart Sect's operation—and it was an operation planned and personally led by the One Heart Sect's Sect Leader, Yin Shen Gong.

It was practically a delightful surprise.

It was the greatest victory they had enjoyed in many years.

Now, Guardian Hall was celebrating its triumph...

Although the Flame Red Fox had escaped, ruining this operation and killing so many One Heart Sect experts was an overwhelming victory beyond all expectations. Compared with capturing the Flame Red Fox, it was far more valuable.

It was worth celebrating.

When Yin Shen Gong received the news, rage instantly blackened his vision. He held his breath in his chest and was so stifled that he couldn't speak for quite some time.

The entire upper echelon of the One Heart Sect wore dark expressions.

Every one of them felt as if a huge complaint had lodged in their throats—impossible to spit out, impossible to swallow.

What the hell, how could their luck be this rotten?! Such enormous losses had nearly crippled them.

And you're telling me this was a coincidence?! "Something still doesn't add up!"

Mu Linyuan's identity was special, so he wore a mask during the meeting. One hand covered the hole in his head, while his gaze was gloomy and furious.

During the breakout, he had taken a blow from a certain Hall Master, and a hole had been smashed through his head on the spot.

If Yin Shen Gong had not saved him in time, he would probably have been buried there forever.

In all these years, Mu Linyuan had never suffered such a heavy loss. He was furious beyond measure.

"Iron Blood Fortress was clearly prepared in advance as well. All their experts had gathered together from the very beginning. Otherwise, how could they have been so perfectly assembled, without a single one missing?"

"That was a coincidence too."

Yin Shen Gong's lips twitched. "That was arranged long ago. Iron Blood Fortress had its fullest complement of people that day because the fortress lord's son was about to marry. During this period, they had been discussing the wedding arrangements every day—the safety of the wedding procession, the ceremonies, and so on."

"This operation was precisely intended to wipe out that old bastard's entire family on the eve of his son's great wedding. Since everyone would be gathered together, we could catch them all in one net and achieve the desired result."

Yin Shen Gong spoke.

"It was really that coincidental?" Mu Linyuan stared in astonishment.

"Ah..." Everyone deflated like punctured balls, their faces twisted with frustration.

Yin Shen Gong's face was gloomy as he said, "The One Heart Sect has lost face this time. The Night Demon Sect, Three Saints Sect, Light Sect, and Heavenly God Sect have all sent us their condolences. The other sects haven't sent word yet, but sooner or later, they will."

"Condolences!"

Everyone's faces darkened, their anger turning even more sullen.

Was this condolences? This was mockery!

This was naked schadenfreude!

"The Night Demon Sect's letter says: 'Congratulations to Sect Leader Yin on planning for so long and returning victorious. We raise a distant toast in celebration of Sect Leader Yin's triumph!'"

Yin Shen Gong slammed the table and snarled, "This Sect Leader cannot afford to lose face like this!"

It wasn't only Yin Shen Gong who couldn't afford to lose face. No one in the One Heart Sect could afford it either! Everyone was about to explode!

"Absolutely outrageous! Absolutely outrageous!"

Hou Fang's thigh was wrapped in blood-soaked white cloth. He was so furious that he panted, making his face covering billow in and out.

Yin Shen Gong's eyes flickered. "Everyone else, withdraw."

Then he left only Mu Linyuan and the other two Offerings behind.

Once the room was quiet,

Yin Shen Gong finally said darkly, "If I remember correctly, the Night Demon Sect and the Three Saints Sect once mentioned that they had geniuses in their hands and were preparing to send them undercover into the Guardian Martial Academy?"

"That's right!"

Mu Linyuan's eyes lit up.

Yin Shen Gong's gaze turned cold. "Why should they mock us just because we lost face? Are any of us really stronger than the others? Besides, this is a crucial moment. We suffered one setback, and if their seed wins the championship, they'll be two steps ahead of us... Hmph... Investigate immediately. Find out what their seed genius is called!"

"Your meaning, Sect Leader?" Qian Sanjiang asked.

"They have geniuses. Do you think we don't?"

Yin Shen Gong flew into a rage. "Once we know their names, order the Night Demon Sect to intercept them. No matter what, we cannot let them win the championship!"

He said harshly, "Tell the Night Demon Sect that once they complete this mission, I'll give them another two hundred contribution points!"

Mu Linyuan froze for a moment before remembering that Night Demon was the alias of the genius Fang Che, whom he had just met and which had not yet been put to use.

His face twitched. Only then did he realize that the Sect Leader had directly bestowed the name of the Night Demon Sect upon Fang Che.

Just how deep was the grudge between the Sect Leader and the Night Demon Sect?

"Ahem. If the Night Demon Sect completes this mission, they'll have seven hundred contribution points. Under the sect's rules, seven hundred contribution points are already enough to qualify him to lead a team."

"What would be wrong with giving him a team leader position?"

Qian Sanjiang said, "Geniuses deserve exceptional treatment befitting geniuses. Perhaps decades from now, when Night Demon achieves something... hehe, we may even benefit from it."

"Then it's settled!"

"Settled!"

"Go investigate immediately!"

"Understood!"

"Get Night Demon some cultivation resources—heavenly treasures that can raise his cultivation. Tell him this is a mission to the death. He may succeed, but he must not fail!"

Fang Che was cultivating, naturally unaware that because he had sold out Yin Shen Gong, a great wave of good fortune was coming his way.

He was currently staying behind closed doors and cultivating with all his strength.

That day, Fang Qianyi had gone to the Fang Family to discuss the residence with Fang Zhenghang. As Fang Che continued practicing, Fang Qianyi felt that this little independent courtyard was becoming too small.

She wanted to combine it with the three courtyards beside it.

But those three courtyards already had people living in them, so Fang Qianyi had gone to negotiate, trying to figure out how to give her son a more comfortable environment for practicing.

Night Dream was brooding.

Going undercover at Fang Che's side had gone far too smoothly. She had obtained the earlier intelligence so easily that she hadn't even needed to use her brain.

But over the past few days, she had discovered both advantages and disadvantages. The advantage was that it was easy. The disadvantage was... Fang Che simply never went out.

Go outside.

Go out and take care of some business. Only then can I follow you and obtain more intelligence.

Why have you stopped going out?

That afternoon.

Sun Yuan, whom they had not seen for five or six days, crossed the threshold of Fang Che's home, dusty from his journey.

Saber King Sun had brought a new mission!