Chapter 89: Pope Yin, I've Run Out of Points

"That depends on how high your expectations for Night Demon are, Pope Yin," Mu Linyuan said.

"What do you mean by that?"

"If you have the highest of hopes for him, then ideally, you'll hold off from giving him anything to enhance his cultivation base until he reaches at least the King tier. That way, he'll have such a solid launching pad that there's a very good chance he'll make it onto the Cloud Weapon Archive after reaching the Sovereign tier."

"Continued," Yin Shengong prompted.

"If you don't have very high hopes for him and want to prioritize rapid growth above all else, then there are ways for us to get him to the General tier in just two months or even a month and a half. The stability of his foundation will be compromised, but given his aptitude, he should still be able to reach the Sovereign tier with no problems."

"We can't do that," Yin Shengong immediately said with a shake of his head. "That would be far too shortsighted of us."

Yin Shengong had very high hopes for Night Demon, particularly after his recent breakthrough to the Great Grandmaster tier, but how much he was willing to invest in Night Demon depended on the latter's degree of loyalty to him.

If Night Demon were only going to become a second Ren Zhongyuan, then it would be better to destroy him now than have him flourish.

"No matter how exceptional his aptitude is, he has to have gone all-out to make such impressive progress in just a month. It seems like he really has been working a lot harder since our visit."

With that in mind, Yin Shengong pulled out his communication jade and sent Night Demon a message.

"Very good. What reward would you like?"

***

Fang Che immediately perked up upon seeing Yin Shengong's reply.

It was a very simple and concise message, but it had to be mulled over carefully.

If he were careless with his answer, then his life could be on the line.

Yin Shengong was renowned for his unpredictable mood swings, and Fang Che knew that there was definitely more to the message than met the eye.

What does he want from me?

Fang Che's mind was racing. Yin Shengong has been forced to turn to be me because he has no one else to use, given the internal unrest in the One Heart Church.

Hence, what he needs the most right now from me is a display of loyalty!

With that in mind, Fang Che carefully formulated a response before sending it to Yin Shengong.

"Subordinate Night Demon does not wish for any reward. You have already done more for me than I could ever ask for, and even though I'm still young, I know the importance of gratitude. All I want is to repay you and be of use to you. Last time, I was hesitant to accept the mission you came to me with because I wasn't confident in my ability to reach the General tier in time.

“However, I was determined to give it a try in order to repay you, and I've been giving it my all. Every single day, I've been spending eight hours in the spirit qi gravity cultivation chambers, and reaching the General tier as soon as possible is the only thing on my mind. I have always felt very embarrassed and guilty over my inability to repay you, and now that the opportunity has arisen, I am determined to fulfill my orders, even if it costs me my life!

“If my best efforts are still not enough for me to reach the desired goal, then I've resolved myself to get there even if I have to inflate my own cultivation base through the use of pills. I was fortunate enough to have been able to reach the Great Grandmaster tier, but I still have no confidence in my ability to reach the General tier within two months.

“Right now, all I can do is dedicate myself fully to my cultivation, but rest assured, I will reach the General tier in the time allotted to me no matter what means I must resort to! Perhaps I will look back with regret, but right now, my resolve is ironclad! In my heart, you are like a master and a father figure.

“I am ecstatic to be able to share some of your burden, and I've also been benefitting immensely from this period of rapid growth, so do not be concerned for me."

***

As Yin Shengong read through Fang Che's long message, a gradually widening smile began to appear on his face.

He could sense the depth of Night Demon's emotions through his words, and this was the exact type of young and naive loyalty and gratitude that he wanted to see.

Fang Che's intentions were very clear. He would reach the General tier within the allotted timeframe no matter what was required to do so, even if it meant compromising his own future by inflating his cultivation base through the use of pills.

Furthermore, he was very much aware of the repercussions of taking such extreme measures, and he had even candidly stated that he may regret such a decision in the future, but he had also made it clear that his resolve far outweighed his consternation.

Yin Shengong set down his communication jade with a faint smile as he declared, "We cannot compromise Night Demon's future for short-term gains! I would rather have him not take part in the Parasite Ascension Project than inflate his cultivation base through the use of pills!"

Even though Yin Shengong was repeating the same assertion as before, Mu Linyuan could clearly tell that there had definitely been a shift in his attitude.

It seemed that something had strengthened his resolve.

"Go and select around a dozen natural treasures best suited to enhancing the cultivation foundation of Great Grandmasters and deliver them to Night Demon. He's already told us that he's run out of cultivation resources, so we have to help him out. Otherwise, it would make our One Heart Church look very stingy."

Mu Linyuan was rather amused to hear this.

You don't care about what he thinks of the One Heart Church, you just don't want yourself to look stingy in his eyes!

Throughout all these years, he had never seen Yin Shengong display such favoritism to any seeded prodigy, so Night Demon was certainly an anomaly in this regard.

***

𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Before long, Fang Che had received another large batch of natural treasures, and just like last time, he used a bit for himself, gave a bit to Ye Meng, and saved the majority for Fang Qingyun.

He had already given Fang Qingyun quite a bit of cultivation resources up to this point, but seeing as Fang Qingyun was out on a mission right now, he would just have to save it for him.

These natural treasures were useful for him as well, but they barely had any effect on him due to the influence of the Boundless Sutra.

At the moment, only the natural treasures that he had never eaten before had any noticeable enhancement effect on his body.

***

A full week passed before Fang Che sent Yin Shengong another message.

"Pope Yin, Subordinate Night Demon reporting. I've run out of merit points, so I'm no longer able to access the spirit qi gravity cultivation chambers. Right now, I'm at the third-rank Great Grandmaster tier, and I need some more accolades..."

"Of course you'd run out of merit points! You're practically living in the cultivation chambers!" Yin Shengong scoffed in amusement.

However, this was indeed a problem.

The only shortcuts to cultivation that could still maintain the integrity of one's foundation were the spirit qi gravity cultivation chambers of White Cloud Warrior Academy, as well as several cultivation secret areas and trial spaces of other academies, all of which were either extremely dangerous, painful, or both.

Reaching the third rank in just a week was already an unheard-of rate of progress, but his progress would definitely be slowed if he couldn't access the cultivation chambers.

With that in mind, Yin Shengong began pondering ways to feed Night Demon more merit points.

It was a very strange feeling.

I'm the pope of the One Heart Church, yet here I am, pondering how to make contributions to White Cloud Warrior Academy and the Protectionists!

However, it had to be done.

Even with Night Demon's extraordinary aptitude, there was no way he would be able to reach the General tier without access to the spirit qi gravity cultivation chambers. That would make it far too risky for him to take part in the Parasite Ascension Project, and if Ren Zhongyuan's subordinates were to secure good results in the project, then his status would be elevated in the hearts of the main church's higher-ups.

The more Ren Zhongyuan's status was elevated, the more of a threat he would pose.

All of a sudden, Yin Shengong was struck by a flash of inspiration.

Should I just wipe out our church's branch helm in the White Cloud Prefecture?

That helm was firmly under Ren Zhongyuan's control, and all of the people stationed there were his subordinates, so it would eventually have to be eradicated anyway.

This was a problem that had caused frequent headaches for Yin Shengong of late. Ren Zhongyuan had been serving as deputy pope for over two hundred years, and his forces were spread throughout all parts of the church.

Yin Shengong was originally planning to eliminate Ren Zhongyuan first before replacing all of the helmsmasters. After all, these were all part of the One Heart Church's forces, and it would be a huge waste to eradicate them all.

There was definitely going to be resistance, but at the very least, the branch helms would be preserved.

However, he had changed his mind now.

A cruel gleam flashed through his eyes as he arrived at this decision.

They're all Ren Zhongyuan's people, so I may as well sacrifice them all for Night Demon's benefit. After that, I'll just send people to reconstruct the branch helm on the White Cloud Continent. Or should I just assign it to Night Demon? No, it's still too early for that, but he should be ready to take on the responsibility once he returns from the Parasite Ascension Project.

By eradicating the branch helm, he would be able to gauge Ren Zhongyuan's reaction, and he was hoping that he could goad Ren Zhongyuan into making a move.

After making up his mind, he immediately summoned Mu Linyuan.

"There's something I need you to do for me, Old Man Mu."

"How may I be of service, Pope Yin?"

"The main church has ordered us to cause widespread chaos and bloodshed all over the continent, and I feel like we haven't done enough for that cause."

"So... What do you suggest?" Mu Linyuan asked in a puzzled manner.

Recently, the One Heart Church had been wreaking havoc and bloodshed everywhere, assassinating countless officials from various nations and destroying countless villages.

The Hall of Protectionists was doing its best to minimize the damage, but the results were rather lackluster.

The One Heart Church had already been praised by the main church for its efforts, yet somehow, this still wasn't enough?

"What's the point in causing disruptions in small cities? Go to the branch helm in the White Cloud Prefecture and relay an order for me. Instruct them to break the White Cloud Lake dam to cause a flood, then take advantage of the ensuing chaos to assassinate Prefectural Overseer Fan Anmin."