The instructors were all talking at once.
Instructor Liu's face turned green.
He snorted angrily and followed Huo Churan.
Today had been a great humiliation.
Huo Churan walked with his head down, hair covering his face, silently moving alone, his expression growing more and more twisted.
His eyes became increasingly crazed.
He muttered to himself.
"I'm the one who got beaten, I'm the one who got bullied, it's my family who died, and yet I'm the one being punished!"
Huo Churan was about to explode.
He now had only one thing on his mind: kill Fang Che!
At any cost!
...
Mo Ganyun went off to work hard and strive for progress.
He was still one level away from the Grandmaster realm.
Currently, he was at the eighth rank of Martial Master.
To others, this was already a flying speed of progress; but compared to Fang Che, he was still two tiers lower.
He didn't dare to use elixirs to advance quickly. Since he started building his foundation from the womb, how could he use elixirs to fast-track his progress at this stage?
He felt stifled to the point of wanting to die.
...
Fang Che broke through to the Grandmaster realm and was sent home by Li Changkong to stabilize his spiritual consciousness. He was also given a bottle of Grandmaster-level Mind-Stabilizing Pills.
Fang Che took the pills home, and the first thing he did was send a message to Yin Shen Gong.
"Reporting to the Leader, I've already eliminated three minor Grandmasters from the Huo family."
Yin Shen Gong did not reply.
He already knew about this through Qian Sanjiang.
Qian Sanjiang's message was: "Leader, Night Devil is very cunning. I didn't even make a move, and he poisoned the three minor Grandmasters himself."
When Yin Shen Gong received Qian Sanjiang's message, he was amused for a while.
Sending people to protect was one thing.
But Night Devil solving his opponents without needing his protectors was another matter.
"This kid does have some ability."
So Yin Shen Gong was quite satisfied.
But by the time Fang Che's message arrived, Yin Shen Gong had already calmed down.
Now, seeing Fang Che's message, he didn't have the emotion to react.
When Fang Che saw there was no reply, he immediately sent another message.
"Reporting to the Leader, among the three families, the Huo family is almost crippled; the remaining one, the Ding family, Ding Jieran, is now becoming friends with me. It's a bit embarrassing to go too hard on him."
Indeed, Fang Che had always refrained from taking action against Ding Jieran.
Moreover, he had a different feeling towards Ding Jieran. He always felt that this kid wasn't too bad.
He seemed to be carrying a lot of burdens, with a sense of being coerced.
And in this situation, even if Yin Shen Gong didn't know now, he would definitely know in the future.
Because the One Heart Sect had secretly arranged for people to enter Baiyun Martial Academy, and Fang Che wasn't the only one. Just in this class, there were definitely several others.
And what about the second, third, fourth, and fifth classes?
What about the academy leadership?
So Fang Che simply confessed first to see what Yin Shen Gong would say.
Sure enough, Yin Shen Gong became interested immediately.
Ding Jieran was from the Night Devil Sect.
Making friends?
So he replied with a few words: "Try to bring him over. If not, destroy him."
Fang Che immediately smiled.
Passed.
Successfully, he shifted the concept of his actions: this was the Leader's intention! Not his own arbitrary decision.
The difference was significant.
This way, he could gradually make plans regarding Ding Jieran without worrying about being backstabbed. Because Yin Shen Gong had given clear instructions: try to bring him over. If not, destroy him.
Understand? This meant he could do whatever he wanted!
"Reporting to the Leader, subordinate Night Devil, broke through to Martial Grandmaster yesterday."
Fang Che then began to showcase himself.
Yin Shen Gong was indeed surprised.
This kid was only at the third rank of Martial Master when he first entered the academy. How long has it been, and he's already a Martial Grandmaster?
After thinking for a moment, he replied: "Make sure to solidify your foundation."
"Yes, subordinate Night Devil thanks the Leader for his concern. Subordinate is deeply grateful."
Yin Shen Gong didn't want to reply anymore.
"Leader, I plan to gather my academy colleagues using the identity of Night Devil Squad Leader."
Fang Che reported again.
But Yin Shen Gong stopped him: "Too early, not allowed! General rank!"
With your current strength, you can't accomplish anything, yet you're eager to be a leader?
Fang Che felt quite disappointed.
He originally planned to gather everyone together, then secretly identify their true identities based on their characteristics, and then throw them out one by one.
He would use the excuse of 'I was suspected, so I threw someone out to protect myself' to discard them at any time.
After all, they were all demon spawn, and he didn't feel the slightest bit of pity.
Now, the plan was canceled.
Well, not canceled, but postponed.
Since Yin Shen Gong didn't agree, Fang Che couldn't act now. Disobeying orders, no matter how minor, would provoke Yin Shen Gong's ruthless purging.
This old devil would never show any mercy.
But Yin Shen Gong was also clear: General rank!
Once at the General rank, he could do it.
General rank! — I must advance to it as soon as possible!
Fang Che made up his mind.
"Leader, the Three Saints and Heavenly God are probably going to make a move against me."
Fang Che continued to complain.
Yin Shen Gong grew impatient: "Already arranged!"
Fang Che felt reassured.
"As long as you've arranged it."
"Leader, subordinate Night Devil takes his leave."
Yin Shen Gong tossed the jade pendant aside, sighing with a bit of a headache.
This Night Devil, he's truly obedient, genuinely loyal, undoubtedly talented, and progressing quickly.
But he's a bit of a chatterbox.
Giving you a communication jade, allowing you to contact me, is a great reward.
But I didn't say you should report everything to me all the time.
At this rate, are you going to report even when you go to the bathroom?
Report everything?
Your loyalty is appreciated, but your contact frequency is even higher than the Deputy Leader's.
But thinking about it, Fang Che really has no one else to report to besides me: Sun Yuan was sent to Xinchu by me.
Yin Shen Gong pondered, smiled bitterly, then suddenly froze: Deputy Leader?!
Hmm?
Right, why has the Deputy Leader been reporting to me so infrequently lately?
His eyebrows furrowed, and his heart trembled!
Yin Shen Gong looked at the communication jade he just used to talk to Fang Che and suddenly sat up in alarm!
A chill rose in his heart.
Something's wrong!
The Deputy Leader...
Yin Shen Gong slowly sat down, his face showing an extremely sinister expression, and began to review all the events in his mind.
He realized that the frequency of the Deputy Leader's reports had been decreasing since two years ago.
And two years ago, the Deputy Leader Ren Zhongyuan just happened to break through to the seventh level of the Monarch realm?
Three years ago, Ren Zhongyuan's backer was promoted to a higher position?
Yin Shen Gong's face grew increasingly grim.
Something about this situation didn't feel right.
He immediately sent a message, summoning Mu Linyuan to come over.
While waiting, Yin Shen Gong paced back and forth in the grand hall, constantly thinking.
How likely is this?
Since becoming the Leader, he had always tightly controlled power for many years.
The Punishment Hall, finances, the combat divisions, those responsible for infiltration, those responsible for development... he had always maintained tight control.
He had initially cleaned out a batch and replaced them with his own people.
But in recent years, since nothing had happened for hundreds of years, he had indeed become somewhat complacent.
Could it be possible that someone had been turned?
If so, who?
Yin Shen Gong pondered repeatedly.
Suddenly, he realized that Night Devil's frequent messages had triggered such a high level of vigilance in him, revealing his own mistakes.
A tremendous sense of crisis!
The more he thought about it, the stranger it seemed.
"This kid, he has a bit of a lucky star's aura."
Then he began to think: "Deputy Leader Ren Zhongyuan has increased his strength rapidly in recent years, and his influence has gradually expanded. I've held sole power for so many years and have indeed become quite complacent in recent years, unwilling to be bothered, and have delegated too much power to him."
"This was a mistake, a negligence."
"It cannot be tolerated."
"And this name, it reveals ambition. Ren Zhongyuan, hmph, there's an old saying: 'He who controls Zhongyuan controls the world.' Does this kid intend to dominate the Zhongyuan region?"
"My One Heart Sect, in the headquarters' position, isn't it equivalent to Zhongyuan?"
Yin Shen Gong's thoughts scattered.
The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed.
When Mu Linyuan arrived, he only saw Yin Shen Gong radiating a chilling aura, his face covered with dark clouds.
The murderous intent was almost palpable.
"Leader?"
Mu Linyuan, as the chief consecrator of the One Heart Sect, naturally had extraordinary cultivation, and he was absolutely loyal to Yin Shen Gong.
Back when Yin Shen Gong was not yet the Leader, the two already had a deep friendship.
Mu Linyuan knew Yin Shen Gong well.
Seeing him like this, he knew something big had happened and couldn't help but feel uneasy. Looking around, he noticed that even the personal guards were not present.
The entire grand hall had only him and Yin Shen Gong! This made him even more anxious.
As soon as Mu Linyuan spoke, Yin Shen Gong immediately turned his head.
His sinister gaze landed directly on Mu Linyuan's face, staring for a long while without saying a word.
There was even a hint of scrutiny in his eyes.
Then he withdrew his gaze and smiled: "Old Mu, sit."
From the previous sinister demeanor, he suddenly turned amiable and kind.
Mu Linyuan grew even more nervous, sitting down with only half his buttocks on the seat, feeling that the atmosphere was incredibly eerie.
"Leader, please instruct me."
"Nothing, just wanted to chat."
Yin Shen Gong was holding a purple crystal seal, lightly playing with it, with a look of reminiscence on his face. He said, "Do you remember the last time we got drunk? It was with the Deputy Leader, at the main altar. You gave me this purple crystal cold jade seal that can calm the mind. I found it today and suddenly thought of you, so I wanted to chat. Hehe, reminisce about old times."
Mu Linyuan was extremely tense, immediately picking out three key words.
Deputy Leader.
Main Altar.
Drunk.
He didn't believe for a second that Yin Shen Gong would suddenly want to chat with him out of the blue.
"Yes, and with us was Deputy Head of the Law Enforcement Hall at the main altar, Lord Bei Mingxin. Leader, you have a great memory," Mu Linyuan chuckled.
"Hmm, why did Bei Mingxin invite us for drinks back then?" Yin Shen Gong asked, seemingly puzzled.
"I remember it was when Deputy Leader Ren was appointed... it should be for that. Lord Bei hosted a banquet to celebrate and also hinted for you to take care of Deputy Leader Ren. Strictly speaking, it was to pave the way for Deputy Leader Ren," Mu Linyuan replied, gradually understanding the situation.
Yin Shen Gong laughed heartily, "At that time, Bei Mingxin was still the Deputy Head of the Law Enforcement Hall at the headquarters. I recall, about three years ago, he became the Head of the Law Enforcement Hall, right?"
"Yes, Lord Bei was promoted," Mu Linyuan answered fluently, but he was becoming increasingly nervous inside.
"Hmm, promoted... promoted indeed," Yin Shen Gong smiled faintly, his voice carrying an indescribable tone.
He then fell silent for a moment.
Mu Linyuan felt his throat go dry and couldn't help but swallow.
The word "promoted" seemed to have touched a sensitive nerve with the Leader.
What is he trying to say? Promotion?
What does it mean that Ren Zhongyuan's backer was promoted?
Suddenly, Mu Linyuan felt a chill down his spine.
...
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