"Good," Bei Mingxin said as he closed his eyes. "As long as one of them can secure a top-three spot, we'll be able to carry out our plan, so that objective is of the utmost importance! This is the first Parasite Ascension Project since the founding of our nation, so its significance is not to be understated." "You'll be responsible for escorting me when I leave, and you can stay at the main church for some time before you return." "I'm worried that Yin Shengong will kill you during this time!" Bei Mingxin scoffed. "Also, you have to closely monitor the Generals under your command. You have to know which ones have bright futures ahead, which ones can be nurtured into your subordinates, and at the very least, you have to select five to ten candidates to take part in the pope selection trials. Those trials are of the utmost importance for us." "Isn't it a little too early for that?" "If you don't select candidates well in advance, you run the risk of being completely undermined by Yin Shengong, leaving you with no one to use. What are you going to do then?" "You're right, Uncle-master. I'll start making preparations as soon as I return." Fang Che returned home to an ecstatic Ye Meng. "Are you all better now, Young Master?" "I am," Fang Che replied with a smile. "Has anything happened during my absence?" "No, but Master Mu has been very worried about you." "Alright, I'll go pay him a visit." Mu Linyuan was just as ecstatic as Ye Meng to see Fang Che, but he disguised his joy behind a cold harrumph. "You sure kept me waiting!" A look of lingering fear appeared in Fang Che's eyes as he said, "I didn't know if I was going to be able to come back at all, Uncle-master Mu. Before I fell unconscious on the Path of Self-Inquisition, I felt my spirit sense being torn to shreds, and I didn't think I would be able to wake up." A cold gleam flashed through Mu Linyuan's eyes as he said, "I've been corresponding frequently with Pope Yin over the past few days, and we're doing everything in our power to find out which clan was the one that reported you. Once we find out, we'll make them pay!" Mu Linyuan had been truly furious and terrified over the past few days. If Fang Che were to die, then he would be completely trapped here. Given his current injuries, he wouldn't even be able to unleash 10% of his power, and he would be reduced to a sitting duck. Thankfully, the heavens had blessed him by returning Fang Che to his side. "It seems very strange. I haven't done anything out of line, and the Protectionists are clearly already aware of my ties with the One Heart Church, so why did they suddenly decide to target me? I was caught completely off guard!" "The Protectionists may not necessarily all be on the same united front. Their internal conflicts may not be as severe as in our main church, but there are bound to conflicting factions in all significant powers," Mu Linyuan explained. "What's your cultivation base right now?" "I'm at the sixth-rank Great Grandmaster tier, but I've fallen behind by quite a bit, given I was unconscious for six days." "It's fine, you can definitely make up for this setback just fine. I have to focus my attention back on my recovery now, so let's talk some other time." Sure enough, Mu Linyuan was beginning to tremble as his repressed injuries began to rear their ugly heads again. "Alright, I'll be taking my leave then, Uncle-master Mu." Fang Che emerged from the underground secret chamber, feeling quite pleased with the way that he had handled the situation. He had intentionally told Mu Linyuan about his lingering fears from the Path of Self-Inquisition, confident that he would pass on the message to Yin Shengong. This was bound to have a much better effect than if he were to directly open up to Yin Shengong himself. Furthermore, he could clearly sense that Yin Shengong's attitude toward him had changed in the wake of this ordeal. It seemed that Yin Shengong now cherished him much more after almost losing him, and on top of that, any shred of suspicions that he had harbored had been completely erased. All of the injustices that he had suffered on this side were seen as reassurances in the eyes of Yin Shengong. With that in mind, Fang Che was struck by a renewed sense of admiration for Dongfang Sansan. He had Yin Shengong wrapped around his finger, manipulating Yin Shengong's attitude and emotions to perfection. Essentially, Yin Shengong was like a puppet on strings, yet he was completely oblivious to the fact that he had already completely fallen under Dongfang Sansan's control. At the very least, Fang Che's safety had been ensured for the immediate future, and it was all thanks to Dongfang Sansan. Dongfang Sansan was like a masterful connoisseur presiding over a chessboard, while Yin Shengong was nothing more than a piece for Dongfang Sansan to move as he saw fit. The two of them simply weren't even on the same level. One was firmly in control, while the other was unwittingly being controlled. That night, Fang Che continued to expel baleful qi from the Formless Divine Jade. The tiny piece of jade seemed to contain a boundless galaxy of baleful qi, and Fang Che couldn't help but be astonished once again. According to Dongfang Sansan, the jade once belonged to Sun Wutian, but that was a name he had never heard before. He had decided that he would look into who this Dongfang Sansan was once he had some on his hands. The next day, Fang Che returned to his normal schedule, cultivating in the spirit qi gravity cultivation chambers before sparring with Mo Ganyun and the others. According to the rules of the academy, the cultivation costs incurred by Mo Ganyun and the others leading up to the World Academy Tournament would be fully covered by the academy. This included the costs of using the spirit qi gravity cultivation chambers and the cultivation resources that they consumed. Fang Che was not going to take part in the tournament, so he would not be granted the same benefits. Mo Ganyun and the others were very much opposed to this preferential treatment, but Fang Che didn't mind. "I'm not taking part in the tournament, so the academy has to put its foot down and establish clear boundaries. If they make an exception for me, what if everyone else tries to get free stuff from the academy as well? Having said that, that does piss me off, so I've decided that I'm not going to go easy in our sparring matches from now on!" True to his word, Fang Che administered a brutal, one-sided beating, only stopping once his five opponents were completely spent, both in stamina and spirit power. Ever since his awakening, he had become an even more formidable combatant, and there was constantly a faint baleful aura around him. It was only a subtle difference, but it granted him a significant edge in battle. "You seem to have a great deal of baleful qi in your body, Boss," Yu Zhongge remarked. "If you had to endure what I did, you'd end up with some baleful qi as well," Fang Che replied, and everyone fell silent upon hearing this. Indeed, Fang Che had been screwed over and almost reduced to a braindead vegetable, yet even now, he still didn't know who was to blame or what he had done to deserve this. Anyone in his shoes would've been full of resentment, particularly when this unfair treatment had come off the back of all of those significant contributions that he had made. He should've been lauded as a hero, yet all he had received was a slap to the face, and he had more reason than anyone to feel resentful. "I need your sympathy! Get up and fight!" Fang Che snapped. Once again, everyone was beaten comprehensively. Fang Che began verbally goading them in order to get the best out of them, and for their next battle was the most fiercely contested one yet. With Fang Che going all-out, their five-man team was at a slight disadvantage, but they rose to the occasion, and in the end, the battle concluded in a tie, with all six of them too tired to even lift a finger. After taking a short break, they returned to the spirit qi gravity cultivation chambers. Over the next few days, Li Changkong and the others also took part in the sparring matches, but to their astonishment, their mentorship was far less effective than Fang Che's. The four of them had to hold back in battle, while Mo Ganyun and the others also weren't as motivated, knowing that they had no chance against the instructors, so the battles felt flat and uninspired. In contrast, Fang Che was a target that all of them were aiming for, and that ignited their competitive fire, allowing them to tap into more of their latent potential. In light of this discovery, it seemed like even more of a pity that Fang Che wouldn't be able to take part in the World Academy Tournament. Of course, Li Changkong and the others were unaware that there was no way Fang Che could've taken part in the tournament in the first place as its timing coincided with that of the Parasite Ascension Project. For Fang Che, the latter was far more important than the former. Hence, the academy's decision to bar him from taking part in the World Academy Tournament had actually come as quite a relief to him, and he was even more astonished by Dongfang Sansan's foresight when he realized that all of this had been orchestrated in advance. After the recent turmoil, the White Cloud Prefecture welcomed a period of peace and stability. All of the demonic church forces in the prefecture had suffered heavy blows in the wake of the jade search incident, so they were all laying low. This suited Fang Che just fine as he had to focus all of his attention and efforts on progressing in his cultivation in preparation for the Parasite Ascension Project. "Pope Yin, I have reached the seventh-rank Great Grandmaster tier." "Pope Yin, I have reached the eighth-rank Great Grandmaster tier." "Pope Yin, I have reached the ninth-rank Great Grandmaster tier." Finally, a month later... "Pope Yin, Subordinate Night Demon reporting. I have successfully reached the General tier." Yin Shengong was ecstatic with this news. Recently, his luck seemed to have turned. Bei Mingxin was gone, Ren Zhongyuan was yet to return, and Guan Shandu had also departed after recovering from his injuries. Over the past month, Yin Shengong had been working tirelessly to clean up the One Heart Church, and while a single month wasn't enough for him to eradicate all of Ren Zhongyuan's forces, he had certainly made significant progress in the endeavor. At the very least, on the surface, the One Heart Church had been unified once again. Furthermore, Yin Shengong had also taken in a few small subsidiary clans during this time, slowly rebuilding his forces in the White Cloud Prefecture. It had been a very productive and peaceful period for Yin Shengong, and the news of Night Demon's breakthrough to the General tier served as a cherry on top of an already delectable cake. Once rock bottom was struck, the only way to go was up!