Chapter 161: One Man to Rise Above Them All

Fang Che could almost see his own reflection through Yan Beihan's wide, astonished eyes.

However, she then immediately composed herself as she demanded, "Follow me!"

"Follow you? For what?"

"I meant forge an alliance with me! I'll let all your past transgressions slide as long as you agree to become my ally. I can provide you with unmatched resources and opportunities. Given your aptitude and other qualities, your potential is limitless, but your development will be handicapped if you remain in your current position.

“If you follow me, no such ceiling will exist! You could even ascend to the top brass of the main church someday! No one else can provide you with an opportunity like this!"

Clearly, Yan Beihan had been won over by Fang Che following their repeated clashes.

"I had no plans of recruiting any allies during the Parasite Ascension Project, but I'm making an exception for you. I hope you won't squander this opportunity like a fool!"

Fang Che heaved a forlorn sigh.

"I really do want to forge an alliance with you. In fact, I raised this proposal myself when we first clashed in here. However, you're too late now."

A flash of realization appeared in Yan Beihan's eyes upon hearing this.

"Was it Ling Kong and his group?"

Fang Che nodded in response.

A cold look instantly appeared on Yan Beihan's face, and the killing intent that had just faded from her eyes immediately returned.

"In that case, you can die here!"

A burst of swordlight rose up into the heavens, and Fang Che felt as if he could see a snowy mountain rising up from the earth. On the summit of the snowy mountain was a red sun, which was giving off countless rays of light.

Fang Che cussed loudly to himself before springing back in retreat while defending himself with all his might.

Despite his best efforts, around a dozen gashes were still sliced into his body, all of which were bleeding profusely.

This attack from Yan Beihan was the most fearsome that Fang Che had faced in this lifetime.

Yan Beihan was astonished to see that Fang Che had survived her attack.

That was one of the nine sure-kill attacks taught to her by her grandfather, yet he had managed to endure it with just a few shallow wounds incurred.

A competitive gleam surfaced in Yan Beihan's eyes as she raised her sword once again, and Fang Che immediately turned and fled, rushing straight into the dense forest.

He zigzagged his way through the trees like a plume of smoke, covering a distance of over ten thousand feet in the blink of an eye.

A thunderous screeching sound rang out from behind him, and he didn't even have to turn around to look to feel the bone-chilling killing intent descending upon him like countless steel needles about to pierce into his back.

He fled with all his might, and all of the trees behind him were pulverized in rapid succession.

It was as if some type of horrific natural disaster had just torn its way through the forest.

Fang Che was using the trees as cover, but they were being felled like chopsticks.

Before long, Night Demon was nothing more than a black dot on the horizon several thousand feet away, leaving only a sporadic trail of blood behind.

Yan Beihan gave a cold harrumph before returning her sword to its scabbard.

***

Fang Che had gained a new hole in his calf. His shin bone remained unscathed, but it was still a very painful injury, nevertheless.

He had intentionally allowed himself to be struck.

Yan Beihan's killing intent wasn't that potent, so he intentionally took an attack from her right as he was about to get away.

It was a peaceful offering of sorts, allowing her to get back at him and vent some of her frustration.

The more he escaped unscathed, the more intent she would be on hunting him down, but now that she had gotten him once, much of her fury had abated.

Hence, this was a calculated sacrifice, one that Fang Che felt was very worthwhile.

Sure enough, Yan Beihan really did feel much less inclined to continue pursuing him.

After returning her sword to its scabbard, she ordered, "Come out!"

Ling Kong and the others immediately stumbled out of their hiding places.

"Mistress Yan!"

"Your powers are truly unmatched, Mistress Yan!"

"That was incredible! You made him run away like a tame dog!"

"Even now, my heart's still beating way too fast! I can't believe that Night Demon was so insolent and delusional that he dared to oppose you!"

"If we ever see him again, we'll be sure to beat him to a pulp on your behalf!"

Yan Beihan looked on with a cold expression at their desperate attempts at flattery, then finally sighed, "It's a real shame that he forged an alliance with the six of you."

Ling Kong and the others felt rather belittled upon hearing this, but they naturally didn't dare to voice their displeasure.

"That Night Demon possesses exceptional aptitude, and his mental fortitude is also top-notch," Yan Beihan continued. "Even if I continue pursuing him, my chances of actually killing him are very slim, and even if I could kill him, I wouldn't as that would be a massive waste. Hence, he's definitely going to make it out of here alive, and at the very least, he'll be sure to finish in the top three."

Yan Beihan couldn't help but heave a forlorn sigh.

In the beginning, she had no intention of recruiting any allies as she didn't think she would find anyone worthy, but Night Demon had managed to surprise her at every turn.

He was outrageously brazen, ruthless, and talented, but unfortunately, her lackeys had gotten to him first.

"Having said that, Night Demon is not going to be easy to control, so make sure to be careful around him," Yan Beihan warned.

Ling Kong and the others hurriedly nodded in response.

All of a sudden, Ling Kong's eyes lit up with a bright idea, and he said, "Mistress Wei, Night Demon may not be able to forge an alliance with you, but we can! That way, you'll have forged an alliance with Night Demon by association!"

Lu Yuan and the others nodded eagerly with excited looks on their faces.

If they could use this as an excuse to forge an alliance with Yan Beihan, then Night Demon would truly be their lucky star!

Their excitement and anticipation only grew when Yan Beihan fell into deep thought, mulling over the proposal instead of turning it down right away.

However, she ultimately shook her head as she said, "It's still too early. If Night Demon can become the pope of one of the subsidiary churches within ten years, then I'll consider your proposal."

"Thank you, Mistress Wei!"

"There's no need to thank me, thank yourselves for your good fortune. Find a place to hide until the end of the project. Make sure you don't get killed before then."

"We'll be sure to survive to the end, Mistress Yan!" Ling Kong promised in a confident manner.

Even after Yan Beihan was long gone, the six of them were still standing around with wide smiles on their faces.

"Brother Night Demon is truly a blessing from the heavens!"

"Don't get ahead of yourselves! Once we get out of here, we have to lend Night Demon our full support and make him into a pope within ten years at all costs! Remember that Night Demon is the one that Mistress Yan is interested in, not us!" Ling Kong warned.

"Understood!"

"Should we find Night Demon and help him kill more people?"

"There's no need for that," Ling Kong sighed. "He doesn't need us anymore. At this point, he's pretty much invincible in here unless he runs into Mistress Yan again. We just have to wait until the project ends and get out of here."

***

Fang Che raced through the forest in a wraith-like manner, steadily adding to his kill count.

He knew that there wasn't much time left, so he was trying to kill as many people as possible in the limited time remaining.

At this point, most of the remaining Generals in the Parasite Ascension Domain had hunkered down to wait for the project's conclusion. No one wanted to go out and continue risking their lives when the end was so tantalizingly close.

It would be a tragedy if they were to meet their demise right before the project's conclusion.

Hence, Fang Che was the only who was still tirelessly, diligently, and urgently searching for more people to kill.

The survival rate for those unfortunate enough to encounter him was extremely low, but as time passed, the rate at which Fang Che was able to accumulate kills steadily declined.

On the final day, he was barely able to add to his tally at all.

All of the remaining survivors had already found secure hiding spots.

On the morning of the final day, Fang Che was able to make a breakthrough to the eight-rank General tier, but to his disappointment, he was unable to find anyone to test his newfound power.

At this point, the baleful qi emanating from his body was so immense that he resembled a demon that had escaped from the depths of hell.

Everywhere that he passed through, all of the animals in the nearby vicinity instantly fell deathly silent. He was truly like a wraith in the night, moving in complete silence and silencing everything around him.

Finally, time was up, and a radiant gateway of light appeared.

It was the same gateway that everyone had entered through, but no one appeared before it.

It was as if there really wasn't even a single living soul left.

However, in the darkness of the shadows, countless people were hiding in complete stillness and silence, intently scrutinizing the gateway.

The gateway was their way out, but no one dared to move.

Everyone was waiting for that demon to leave first. Before that, it would be too dangerous to make a move.

Close to twenty minutes passed by before a demonic figure made his way out into the open, with suffocating baleful qi emanating from every single pore of his skin.

He left a trail of deathly silence in his wake.

He made his way to the gateway, appearing completely defenseless and complacent, then abruptly spun around to scour his surroundings with a piercing gaze.

To his disappointment, not a single person had tried to attack him while his back was turned.

All of a sudden, Yan Beihan appeared by his side with a speechless look on her face.

"Get out of here. None of them will come out until you're gone."

"Why?" Fang Che asked.

Why?

Yan Beihan couldn't help but burst into exasperated laughter at the question.

"You really don't know why? Think about how many people you've killed! Everyone's too scared to come out, that's why!"