Chapter 25: Trouble for the One Heart Church

Yin Shengong's blood instantly ran cold as the reality of his situation dawned on him.

With so many Lords and Warlords sent down to support the other churches, how was the One Heart Church supposed to complete its mission?

All of the churches were in competition with one another, so as soon as the One Heart Church successfully constructed a branch helm, it would surely be immediately destroyed!

Furthermore, it was clear that the main church was specifically targeting the One Heart Church.

The One Heart Church headquarters was still in the midst of its forced lockdown, and this was only further compounding Yin Shengong's woes.

He immediately contacted his connections in the main church. "What is the meaning of this, Master Mei?"

"Why ask a question you already know the answer to, Pope Yin?"

"I don't understand, Master Mei! Our One Heart Church is being blatantly targeted!"

"Do you really need me to spell it out for you?"

"Please enlighten me, Master Mei."

Master Mei was part of the faction in the main church that Yin Shengong was tied to, and he was one of the only people that Yin Shengong could turn to in the main church for help.

"Your One Heart Church, and specifically Night Demons, has gone too far this time. Far too many Generals from the main church have perished during the Parasite Ascension Project. What you have to understand is that the majority of the Generals chosen to take part in the Parasite Ascension Projection from the main church are direct lineal descendants of their respective clans.

“Only by passing through the Parasite Ascension Project will they earn themselves the potential to climb higher up the official hierarchy and elevate their clans with them. However, over a thousand of them perished during the Parasite Ascension Project! Do you know what this number entails? It means that at least several hundred clans from the main church have lost direct lineal descendants that they've placed extremely high hopes in.

“Many of them are sons or daughters of clan leaders, and there are simply too many disgruntled clans to be denied. You've handled the pressure well up to this point and managed to keep Night Demon hidden, but those clans will only continue to send people to search for him. Hence, Master Yan decided to give them what they wanted. As opposed to prohibiting these clans from sending people after Night Demon, knowing that they'll go against his orders anyway, he has sent all of them to the White Cloud Prefecture at once.

“Each clan is entitled to send several of their descendants, both direct and branch lineal descendants, down to the southeastern path for so-called work experience. The contributions that they make will earn them merit points, and at the end of it all, the parasite god of our main church will assign everyone a certain number of contacts that their Five Spirit Parasites can store based on the number of merit points they've earned.

“Essentially, it's like an alternative Parasite Ascension Project designed to compensate the clans for their losses. However, this mission applies to all of the clans of the main church, which means that even the clans that didn't suffer any casualties during the Parasite Ascension Project can take advantage of this opportunity. Night Demon has simply killed too many people and made too many enemies.

“If he had only killed Generals from a few clans, the situation would be much easier to iron out, but he's killed almost all of the Generals from every small and medium-sized clan of the main church! If something wasn't done to compensate and console these clans, then their collective discontentment would've caused major trouble. Does that paint a clear enough picture for you?"

𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"Yes, I understand, Master Mei, but these people are clearly targeting Night Demon and our One Heart Church!"

"Of course! Night Demon and your One Heart Church are the primary culprits responsible for all those casualties, so the clans of the deceased Generals are naturally going to help the other churches target your One Heart Church. As for the other clans, they don't want to make any enemies by helping the One Heart Church, so they've all joined the other factions as well.

“There was no stipulation in the mission against joining the One Heart Church, this is simply how things turned out. However, in order to maintain some semblance of fairness, it was stipulated that only Lords and Warlords can take part in this mission. Any clan discovered to have broken this rule would immediately have their right to take part in the mission rescinded.

“This rule was put into place by Deputy Pope Chen in spite of widespread objection. During the Parasite Ascension Project, everyone had been on equal footing, so it's only fair that no one at or above the King tier is sent after Night Demon. If the One Heart Church falls back down to the third rank, everyone will feel somewhat vindicated, even if Night Demon isn't killed."

"And what if Night Demon

is

killed?"

"Then that's just a case of bad luck for your One Heart Church."

"This is bullshit!" Yin Shengong roared as he sprang to his feet. "Work experience mission my arse! Just call the mission 'Let's all kill Night Demon, even though he did nothing wrong!'"

"If it makes you feel any better, there aren't that many Warlords taking part."

"Does that make any difference? Night Demon is only General! You're telling me it's fair to send thousands of Lords and Warlords after him all at once?"

"What do you expect them to do? Send a few thousand Generals after Night Demon so he can eat them for breakfast?"

Yin Shengong had a response for that.

He had never felt so powerless and frustrated before.

Night Demon had helped him hold onto his position of pope, but it seemed that his own life was about to be forfeit soon.

"To be honest with you, even the overhaul and lockdown that's been imposed upon your one Heart Church was part of the plan. If your One Heart Church decided to protect Night Demon at all cost, then a full-blown war between all of the subsidiary churches of the southeastern path could ensue, and that would pose a massive headache for the main church.

“Hence, all of your church's most powerful warriors are being forced to remain in the headquarters so no one can protect Night Demon."

"All this for Night Demon? Isn't this going too far?"

"There were also some other factors taken into consideration, but I can't speculate on what those could be. Apparently, this was a joint decision made by four deputy popes, so things are not as simple as they appear on the surface."

A sense of despair was beginning to set in for Yin Shengong.

"Doesn't that mean our One Heart Church's fall back down to the third rank is already set in stone?"

In reality, he wasn't particularly concerned about Night Demon's safety.

Given how well-concealed his identity was, he could easily survive this ordeal as long as he didn't go out seeking trouble.

However, it seemed that the One Heart Church was about to lose its newfound second-rank status.

"Not necessarily. As long as you manage to successfully construct five branch helms, you can still hold onto your status as a second-rank church. Even if you can't complete that quota, there's still a chance you'll be able to retain your status if one of the branch helms that you construct is particularly impressive.

“The real concern is that all fifteen groups that you sent out could be completely decimated. If that happens, then your One Heart Church will have no hope of holding onto its second-rank status."

This was indeed a very real concern.

"Don't be so down in the dumps, Pope Yin. Everyone can see Night Demon's potential, so just endure this ordeal for now. Once Night Demon begins to fulfill his full potential, your One Heart Church will quickly regain everything it's about to lose with interest!"

Yin Shengong's eyes instantly lit up at this message.

"Thank you, Master Mei! Your words of encouragement prove invaluable in this trying time."

***

Immediately after ending his correspondence with Master Mei, Yin Shengong called upon his three elders and informed them of the latest developments.

A concerned look instantly appeared on Mu Linyuan's face.

"The timing couldn't be worse! I just visited Night Demon with instructions for him to reconstruct the branch helm, and he's raring to go. If he gets into a conflict with the people sent down from the main church, he could easily end up dead even if they don't know he's Night Demon!"

"You're right, I have to tell him to go into hiding right away," Yin Shengong said in a grim manner.

"He's definitely going to ask why," Mu Linyuan sighed. "If you don't tell him, he'll try to find out for himself and place himself in even more danger, but if you

do

tell him, I'm worried he'll actively go seeking out the people sent down from the main church in a fit of anger. Hence, I think it's better to just do nothing at all. Let him endure some hardships and give up on his own. The more we do now, the worse the potential outcome."

"That's true."

The four of them weren't able to come up with any good solutions to this predicament, and the most frustrating thing was that all of their most powerful warriors were trapped in the confines of the headquarters.

In the end, the four of them could only heave a collective sigh.

***

Such a big move from the Church of the Self-Righteous was naturally immediately met with a response from the Guardians.

Zhao Shanhe had just received an order from the headquarters: "Any attempts made by the demonic churches to establish their forces in the southeast must be met with swift and forceful retaliation. In particular, do not allow them to reclaim a foothold in the White Cloud Prefecture!"

He then received a private message from Dongfang Sansan: "Those who do particularly well in this mission will have a chance to be inducted into the Guardians."

"Understood!"

Meanwhile, Xue Fuxiao was reading the latest reports as he mused, "What is the Church of the Self-Righteous up to? What are they doing sending all of these little runts to their deaths?"

"You think he's sending them to their deaths? You think Yan Nan made this move so that we can kill all of these people?" Dongfang Sansan asked.