Task Complete

The old student barked angrily:

"Fang Che, you've got so much wealth, yet you just stand by and watch so many senior brothers unable even to afford food. How can you bear it? If something delays their cultivation in the future, can your conscience live with that?"

Another enormous hat had been slapped on him.

Fang Che laughed heartily. "Senior brothers, even if I have a son in the future, I'm not sure whether I'll take care of him. Whether my son turns out talented or not won't be up to me. Why would I have to take responsibility for you?"

The group of old students immediately suffered a severe blow to their pride. Their eyes flashed viciously as they rolled up their sleeves and crowded forward.

"What? You have the guts to lose points but not the ability to go hungry? What are you doing? Trying to hit someone?"

Fang Che shouted at the top of his lungs, "Is there any justice?! Is there any law?! Help! The old-student gamblers who lost their heads are trying to hit someone!"

His voice was truly thunderous. "What are you doing? What are you doing? Is there no justice anymore? Are you planning a rebellion?!"

A furious roar rang out.

Swish, swish, swish.

Several figures descended!

The male students who had lost their heads were all taken away by the Discipline Department.

The girls beside Fang Che were angrily berating them, rolling up their sleeves and preparing to fight, when they too were taken away.

Everyone was delighted.

"Tch! That Huang Shuijing usually looks so respectable, but he's actually this shameless. He even pursued me before. Good thing I didn't agree to him!"

"Exactly! That Hu Xiaoniu bet on Huo Churan and lost, yet he had the nerve to come to the winner, Fang Che, and say such shameless things. He's completely overturned my understanding of the world. As expected, a shameless person is invincible under heaven!"

"Exactly! What was that Da Qiangzi's name again? I forgot. He wrote me a love letter last month, and I was still considering it. Now that I've seen this, there's no need to consider it anymore. A person like that deserves to be single. He's utterly shameless!"

"Exactly! And that Long Bi—one look tells you he's ugly, yet he's still so shameless. He's lowered the limits of decency. Hmph, he deserves to be a lifelong bachelor."

"We have to tell all the girls about their true colors. We can't let them be deceived!"

"Absolutely, absolutely."

"..."

Fang Che enjoyed this meal immensely.

Dozens of beautiful women surrounded him, their laughter bright and their voices sweet as orioles.

Besides, the beauties had invited Fang Che to celebrate their victory in points, so he hadn't spent a single cent. That made the meal all the more satisfying.

"Fang Che, what you said today was satisfying, but you've offended quite a few people as well. You'll have to be careful at the martial academy from now on."

One of the beauties gave him a serious warning.

"No matter!"

Fang Che didn't take it to heart at all.

He had come specifically to offend people. Now that he had truly offended them, why should he worry? He had no such intention whatsoever! He was certain to suffer losses in the future, but... what was there to fear about suffering a little? He had even risked his life for the ultimate mission. Was he going to fear a few losses? Besides, the more he suffered, the more firmly established his position in the One Heart Sect would become!

Come on, losses!

Let me suffer them all!

Fang Che returned to his own large courtyard.

Overjoyed, he grabbed Night Dream's little cheek and laughed loudly. "Little Night Dream, your young master is the champion of the grand competition now!"

Night Dream's face immediately filled with delight. "Young master, really?"

"Of course it's real!"

"Young master, you're amazing!" Night Dream hurriedly began to flatter him.

After delivering the news, Fang Che immediately pulled a long face. "Your young master is already the champion, yet you aren't even a Martial Master. Don't you think you ought to feel ashamed?"

"Ah?" Night Dream looked utterly bewildered.

This fellow really was doglike! He had been announcing good news one moment, only to turn hostile the next! "What are you ah-ing about? Hurry up and cultivate!"

Fang Che rebuked angrily, "If you don't work harder, I'll whip you! And after whipping you, I'll sell you into a brothel!"

"I'm going right now..."

Night Dream turned and ran away in a flash.

As she ran, she cursed him inwardly. This Demonic Sect Villain really was no good—he was so annoying! She had just been flattering him, yet all she got in return was a scolding.

And besides... ever since she had followed Fang Che, every scolding had come without the slightest warning! One moment he was cheerful and amiable, and the next he would suddenly start! She really wanted to hit him!

Still, she should probably display the strength of the fifth layer of Warrior soon. The timing was about right.

With a whoosh,

Sun Yuan appeared in the courtyard like a wisp of smoke.

"I heard you won?"

Those four words made Fang Che freeze for a moment. "Master found out pretty quickly."

"Ha, hurry up and tell me about it."

Fang Che pondered as he recounted the battle in detail. "Since I killed Ximen Xuri on the first day, I could only use conciliation with Ding Ziran and become friends with him. That way, there'll still be plenty of room to maneuver in the future."

"Well done! You handled this beautifully." Sun Yuan was full of praise.

"As for Huo Churan, I originally wanted to use conciliation there too and make friends with him. But that fellow simply didn't know how to appreciate kindness. He couldn't accept the favor I offered, and before I knew it, I'd broken seven or eight-tenths of the bones in his body."

Fang Che put on a sinister expression and smiled. "But this way, one friendly and one hostile, both still offer opportunities to exploit and leverage. It all depends on how they're used. Hatred and friendship are both sharp weapons!"

Sun Yuan clapped his hands and laughed heartily. "Sinister enough. Now I'm truly at ease!"

"Master, what about my reward?" Fang Che reminded him.

"Don't worry, I haven't forgotten. I estimate the sect master is already laughing himself mad by now!"

Yin Shen Gong really was laughing himself mad.

"Cackle, cackle, cackle..."

Yin Shen Gong stood at the highest point of the One Heart Sect's headquarters and threw his head back in laughter, feeling the pent-up frustration in his chest swept away in an instant.

The humiliation and resentment he had endured when the mission failed, when the Three Sects had sent messages to ridicule him, were now venting out with multiplied force and exquisite satisfaction!

Pointing at the clouds, he shouted savagely, "Do you think you're worthy of laying your hands on this seed? Do you think you're worthy of coveting first place? Do you think you're worthy of even dreaming about the position of the number-one sect?!"

"Bah! Incompetent demonic fiends! Despicable and shameless wretches! Filthy, lewd trash! Nasty, sordid scum!"

"How does it feel? Aren't you bowing your heads and submitting under my arrangements? You were so tough, weren't you?!"

"Damn it, I gave you opportunities, but you useless bastards couldn't make use of them!"

His voice shook the sea of clouds, making it churn and surge in rolling waves.

Yet aside from Yin Shen Gong, no one heard him.

He had refused everyone's company when coming here. This was the first restricted area!

He hadn't even brought Mu Linyuan! "Hahahahaha..."

Another burst of wild laughter rang out.

Then his expression turned savage. "You want to suppress me? Keep dreaming your ancestors' thousand-year dream!"

"What a Night Demon! This sect master is extremely satisfied! Cackle, cackle, cackle!..."

"Reward him!"

At the same time,

the news from Night Dream had also been sent out.

The message signed "Shadow" last time had already caused an uproar within the upper echelons of the Guardians.

Moreover, Shadow had sent several messages, and every one of them had been extremely valuable.

Shadow had even thwarted a major operation by a high-ranking member of the One Heart Sect, preserving the strength of Iron Blood Fortress, the lower-level stronghold of the Guardians Alliance.

The communications secret of the Sole True Sect counted as a major achievement, and exposing the Ximen Family this time also counted as another major achievement.

A deeply entrenched family like that would cause immense and devastating destruction to its city once it began to act.

Now that their identity had been discovered in advance, preparations could naturally be made ahead of time. It was equivalent to saving the lives of tens or even hundreds of thousands of civilians!

That was a tremendous achievement! Thus, after deliberation, the Dark Department prepared to raise Shadow's rank.

It was just about enough to qualify as Grade C. They were merely considering how to raise the rank and what reward to give.

But there was no rush for now. She still needed to continue her undercover work...

There was also the matter of notifying White Cloud Martial Academy about the identity of the Ximen Family. Two instructors there were still waiting to be dealt with.

If their own people were punished because of the Demonic Sect, wouldn't that mean causing grief to one's own side while delighting one's enemies?

"Send a secret letter to Shan Zhang Gao Qingyu of White Cloud Martial Academy."

When Fan Tiantiao heard that Fang Che had taken first place in the grand competition, he was left with a splitting headache.

Fang Che had really taken first place in the White Cloud Martial Academy's grand competition! The champion.

Not only had he obtained a large number of high-grade pills and points, but it was also easy to imagine that White Cloud Martial Academy would vigorously cultivate him in the future, directing resources toward him.

But the problem was... Fang Che was a member of the One Heart Sect.

Wouldn't that mean cultivating an opponent?

If he reported it, wouldn't he have to reveal that Shadow was the maid beside Fang Che? Otherwise, how could he convince the higher-ups?

But... that was precisely the problem. The moment one more person learned Shadow's identity, the danger increased by one degree! If, just hypothetically... an enemy spy discovered this information, then this channel through which Fang Che could continue plucking wool for a long time would inevitably be severed!

The One Heart Sect might even make other arrangements immediately.

Therefore, Shadow's identity could not be exposed.

Then how could Fang Che be exposed separately?

At the very least, they had to prevent White Cloud Martial Academy from making its resource bias toward him too obvious.

After thinking it over again and again,

Fan Tiantiao couldn't make up his mind, so he went to consult Chen Ruhai.

Chen Ruhai offered a suggestion: In White Cloud Martial Academy, I have an old superior. If I could trust only one person in my entire life, it would be him.

His name is Huang Yifan.

He is a Vice President of White Cloud Martial Academy and also a high-ranking member of the Guardians. He belongs to the backbone of the Guardians and can communicate directly with the highest level.

Fan Tiantiao immediately set off.

He wanted the legendary Vice President Huang to make the decision.

Huang Yifan was extremely annoyed.

Because even now, he still hadn't made up his mind and had no certainty whatsoever whether Fang Che was or wasn't Shadow.

"What use am I?"

Huang Yifan tugged at his hair. "What exactly do you want me to do?"

Fan Tiantiao: "..."

From that tone, he suddenly felt as though Chen Ruhai had put on a different skin and taken a seat in front of him.

He carefully glanced down at Huang Yifan's feet. It seemed he hadn't taken off his shoes.

There wasn't any particularly strong odor either.

Only then did he relax somewhat and say, "According to our plan, this matter is meant to be carried out over the long term. We need to develop this channel over the long term, so we absolutely require White Cloud Martial Academy's cooperation. And the only person at White Cloud Martial Academy we can trust is you. After all, this matter is simply too important."

He paused, then emphasized his tone. "If Fang Che continues to be this talented, then Shadow may be the first—and only—undercover agent in all these years to successfully infiltrate the upper echelons of the Sole True Sect!"

Huang Yifan rolled his eyes. "On one hand, you want him to remain talented, rise higher, and steal more intelligence. On the other hand, you want to reduce the resources directed toward him to avoid aiding the enemy... What exactly are you trying to do?"

Fan Tiantiao was speechless. "This... this is why we're asking you, Elder, to make the decision."

"This old man only knows how to fight. I don't know how to make decisions!" Huang Yifan said with great composure.

Fan Tiantiao nearly spat blood.

Were they even talking about the same thing?

Why couldn't this old man understand what he meant?

Night Dream's codename among the Guardians was something I came up with on a whim: Shadow. Everyone, help me think of a better one. I'll change it if there's a good suggestion. The person whose suggestion is adopted will receive one autographed book. It'll be sent out today.