Mission Changes

Fang Che said calmly, "Our sect's grand undertaking has only just begun. We can't afford to be careless. The fewer unrelated people who know, the better. Being cautious will also benefit our future development. This disciple still hopes to secure a place within the sect one day. Then I'll be able to properly honor you, Master."

Sun Yuan was instantly delighted, his face blooming with joy.

He immediately felt that all his efforts and sacrifices had been worthwhile.

After thinking for a moment, he warned him, "In the future, you'll definitely catch the eyes of the higher-ups. By then, who knows where your master will be? So let me give you a reminder in advance. Those who practice unorthodox arts... although their progress is extremely fast, try not to provoke them. If anything happens, go to the Sect Master. After all, you're practically half his disciple, having learned his Blood Spirit Seven Swords."

Fang Che pondered for a moment. "Master, there's something I don't know whether I should ask."

"Whether you should ask or not, you've already said that much."

Sun Yuan rolled his eyes. "Go ahead."

"I've heard that many masters in our One Heart Sect trick and exploit their disciples... Ahem..." Fang Che revealed the bashfulness of a young man. "But why have you treated me so well, Master?"

Sun Yuan laughed despite himself.

He fell silent for a moment before saying, "Our One Heart Sect is indeed selfish. Everything we do is for ourselves. After all, there's a saying: even if everyone under Heaven died, it would still be better for you to remain alive."

"In certain life-and-death situations, betraying one another and using the other person to escape and save your own life is perfectly normal. After all, if a person doesn't act for himself, Heaven and Earth will destroy him."

"But when it comes to an inheritor of one's legacy... aside from those old monsters with ulterior motives—such as those who want to absorb someone's lifespan, refine human pills, or seize souls to replenish themselves—most still hope their disciples can rise above the rest. Especially those whose own martial paths have been cut short, while their disciples are still young and have bright futures ahead of them."

"Because in our environment, there are truly too few people worthy of sincere trust and entrustment. Life in the martial world is death at every step, and everyone is supporting their entire family alone. No one knows when they might suddenly be gone."

"And someone worthy of entrustment is precisely what we need most. Because if we misjudge someone and die, our families and children can basically be swallowed up immediately by the person we entrusted them to."

"Che'er, if something happens to your master one day, my whole family will be entrusted to you."

Sun Yuan looked somewhat sorrowful.

He held his teacup, his expression bleak.

"Whether we're good or bad, the world's judgment means nothing to us. We live only for ourselves, and for our families. But, Che'er..."

Sun Yuan spoke word by word. "The more selfish people like us are, the more we must always leave ourselves a way out."

"Otherwise... our final fate will be worse than that of a stray dog!"

"You are my way out!"

Sun Yuan let out a long breath. "You're still young. It's too early to talk about leaving yourself a way out, but once you reach a certain position, you must remember this! You have to arrange a way out for yourself!"

Fang Che nodded silently.

So that was how it was.

Sun Yuan immediately changed the subject. "The Sect Master has given clear instructions regarding your mission this time."

"Please tell me."

"The Grand Sect successfully established a nation, shaking the world, and the change in the number-one expert has brought the Grand Sect a tremendous boost in fortune. From now on, the Grand Sect will devote itself to building the nation and conquering east and west. As for matters in the martial world, the subordinate sects will govern themselves for the time being."

"There are eighteen sects across the world that use the title 'sect' and have reached the first grade. These eighteen sects are divided among the five roads of the world. Each road must have a sect that holds the reins—in other words, one sect must take the lead."

"Our One Heart Sect, along with the Night Demon Sect, the Heavenly God Sect, and the Three Saints Sect, all belong to the South Road. So either we lead them, or one of the other three leads the remaining three."

"And this qualification must be exchanged for contribution points."

"Ding Ziran belongs to the Night Demon Sect, Huo Churan belongs to the Three Saints Sect, and Ximen Xuri belongs to the Heavenly God Sect."

"The Sect Master wants you to cripple them at all costs!"

Fang Che immediately frowned. "Cripple them? Cripple them outright?"

"Yes, or kill them!"

Sun Yuan drew a deep breath. "Because if they can continue, then even if they fail to take first place this time, they'll make other moves. And their actions concern our position, because these are contribution points within the Guardians, and they're extremely important."

"If they manage to obtain points, we'll only be able to crawl beneath one of their sects."

"And our last operation ended in a fresh defeat... We were already behind in points."

"So... your mission this time is extremely important. Failure is not an option."

Fang Che was silent for a moment before saying, "Master, can I know whether we have anyone among the Martial Academy's upper echelons?"

Sun Yuan frowned. "Why are you asking about that? Recklessly inquiring into such matters is the greatest taboo!"

"You misunderstand, Master."

Fang Che said, "I don't want to know who he is, but this person must know who I am."

Sun Yuan said, "Hm?"

"I'm worried that if our people don't know about me, they might deliberately target me or rig things against me because of these three men's identities... Then I'd have no power to resist."

Fang Che said, "They might even target me afterward, using the viciousness of my attacks as an excuse, after I cripple or kill them. At that point, I'd have no power to resist... You know that if our people identify me as a genius of the Guardians, they won't hold back when suppressing me."

Sun Yuan was startled. "That does make sense."

He said, "I'll report your concerns to the Sect Master."

"Good." Fang Che lowered his head, a glint flashing in his eyes.

As expected!

The Sole True Sect has a mole among the White Cloud Martial Academy's upper ranks! His identity should be fairly high-ranking.

A big fish!

Sun Yuan left behind all the cultivation materials and departed.

Fang Che had originally thought Sun Yuan would stay in his own courtyard, but Sun Yuan refused.

"My identity appears to be neither righteous nor evil on the surface, but that doesn't mean I'm beyond suspicion. If I stay here, I'll only increase the chances of exposure, which would be counterproductive."

"Although our master-disciple relationship has been established, it's best for you to remain independent. I'll find somewhere in the city to stay. If anything happens, I can come over at any time."

"Your identity is the same. It's certain that you've already attracted attention, but you must make careful use of this fact that you've 'already attracted attention.'"

Sun Yuan hinted at this very subtly.

"This disciple understands."

Sun Yuan left.

After walking a long way out of the courtyard, Sun Yuan stood on the main street and watched the pedestrians coming and going, but he suddenly felt somewhat lost.

How carefree and comfortable it would be to live in my disciple's large courtyard.

But he didn't dare.

He didn't dare bring even the slightest trouble upon the person who represented his way out.

Only he knew that quite a few people seemed to have been watching him lately.

With his cultivation, the moment he was exposed, he would certainly die. And even if he wasn't exposed, he could still lose his life whenever he encountered a powerful figure in a bad mood.

Fang Che was his only trump card.

He was also his sole inheritor. There could not be the slightest risk.

Although Fang Che had already attracted attention, that very fact made him much safer. But toward an old fox like himself, they would not be so tolerant.

Standing amid the crowded street, he suddenly felt an extreme loneliness.

He couldn't help recalling Fang Che's question.

Many people in our sect trick and exploit their disciples. Why have you treated me so well, Master?

Then Sun Yuan remembered his own reply.

In certain life-and-death situations, betraying one another and using the other person to escape and save your own life is perfectly normal. After all, if a person doesn't act for himself, Heaven and Earth will destroy him.

He sighed softly.

How many times in his life had he used those around him to bear the disaster?

How many companions who had carried out missions with him had he ruthlessly used, leaving them behind to fight and die while he escaped alone? He truly couldn't count them.

Those words had come from the bottom of his heart.

Protecting himself and betraying his friends at the brink of life and death had already become instinct.

But now that he thought about it, if one day Fang Che were beside him in a life-and-death situation...

Would I throw him out to bear the disaster, just as I had before? Perhaps I would... right?

Because I was inherently heartless and without loyalty.

Sun Yuan remained silent for a long time before finally laughing at himself.

His body vanished into the crowd.

Fang Che frowned, sinking into thought.

He had not even examined the fourteen kinds of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures for cultivating his soul and body that Sun Yuan had found for him.

He was thinking about what Sun Yuan had said just now.

The One Heart Sect, the Night Demon Sect, the Heavenly God Sect, and the Three Saints Sect.

The four sects belonged to the South Road.

A leader had to be chosen. Normally, they were scattered throughout various regions, but when necessary, they would command operations.

"Yin Shen Gong has quite the ambition." Fang Che thought of the unused codename "Night Dream." It was obvious that Yin Shen Gong had ulterior motives here.

Otherwise, he would not have forgotten that the words "Night Dream" clashed with the Night Demon Sect!

This mission...

"Kill or cripple them..."

As Fang Che sensed Yin Shen Gong's ruthlessness, he also hesitated.

Because this conflicted with his original intentions.

He had never planned to kill or cripple them. In Fang Che's eyes, these three men were visible targets. He had originally intended only to defeat them.

Then he would keep the three of them around, perhaps even deliberately get close to them and make friends, so he could obtain intelligence on the three sects whenever necessary.

Moreover, Yin Shen Gong's initial order had only been to "defeat" them.

But Yin Shen Gong's current order had disrupted the plan he had originally devised.

Yet he had no choice but to do it.

Fang Che's thoughts were in disarray for a moment.

"I need to sort this out again."

"It would be a pity to really kill or cripple them."

"These three men are connected to three sects. At the very least, they also represent three lineages! These are three big fish."

Fang Che frowned. "Besides, now is absolutely not the time to expose them. If I expose them now, first, it's too early, and I won't be able to catch more fish. Second, it would be too cheap for them. Third, I'd be facing exposure myself."

"So I still need to think of a way."

He pondered as he opened the package Sun Yuan had brought.

He couldn't help but freeze.

Soul-Soothing Ginseng, Ice Crystal Spirit Fruit, Ice and Snow Spirit-Shocking Fruit... Adamantine Grass, Body Tempering Stone Milk, Meridian-Opening Dark Orchid...

These things weren't very useful for increasing cultivation, but they were all treasures for laying a solid foundation!

He stared at them for a long time before sighing.

Sun Yuan, although he was a member of the Sole True Sect and had committed no shortage of utterly inhumane, heinous deeds in the past, was genuinely good to him.

"It's a pity that our positions and beliefs differ. I can die for my brothers, and my brothers would be willing to die for me at any time. But I absolutely would never do what you people do—push a brother out to take the blade at the final moment."

"Sigh..."

Only a sigh remained.

"If you die in the future, and your family isn't too terrible, I'll repay you for this favor."

Fang Che pondered as he picked up the Soul-Soothing Ginseng and stuffed it into his mouth...

Early morning.

Night Dream carefully dressed Fang Che.

Then Fang Che set off for the Martial Academy.

Today was the first day of the Martial Academy's grand competition for the top one hundred prodigies among the new students.

But even as he walked along the road, Fang Che was still considering what to do about those three men. Should he really follow Yin Shen Gong's order and cripple or kill them?

How could he satisfy Yin Shen Gong while also gaining the greatest benefit for himself and the Guardians? Or, to put it another way, how could he make maximum use of these men to strike at those sects? A thoughtful look flashed through Fang Che's eyes. Did the Sole True Sect have only these three candidates at the White Cloud Martial Academy among all its subordinate sects?

Tomorrow's three chapters will be released at midnight. One chapter has already been scheduled.