Chapter 139 (3): Standing Beneath the Dream Shattering Spear

"He has exceptional aptitude for the spear," Duan Xiyang replied

Aptitude for the spear?

Yan Nan was perplexed.

Are we talking about the same person?

"Are you sure the person you met was actually Night Demon?"

"Of course! He even showed me his message logs with Yin Shengong and your granddaughter. Did you think I'd just take his word for it and believe whatever he told me?"

"But isn't Night Demon a sword wielder? His signature techniques are Yin Shengong's Seven Blood Spirit Swords, and Beihan told me that he possesses exceptional aptitude in the sword. That's why I rewarded Yin Shengong with the sword manual for the more advanced Seven Blood Spirit Swords when he came to see me."

Duan Xiyang was also perplexed.

"How could he be a sword wielder? He was carrying a spear when I ran into him!"

"Beihan has been constantly nagging me for a piece of divine metal for Night Demon to forge a sword."

"Why would he forge a sword? The spear is his primary weapon! You think I, of all people, would misidentify someone's talent in the spear?"

Yan Nan scratched his head with a befuddled expression.

Of course there was no way that Duan Xiyang was wrong, so could it be that Yan Beihan was mistaken?

Yan Nan decided that this had to have been the case.

"Where do you see him in the future?"

Duan Xiyang considered the question for a moment before giving his response.

"I think he has a good chance of making it onto the Cloud Weapon Archive in twenty years."

He was about to say ten years, but amended his estimate after considering the lack of resources in the subsidiary churches.

Yan Nan was very much taken aback.

"Wouldn't that mean he would make it onto the Cloud Weapon Archive even younger than you did?"

"That's right, but it's yet to be seen whether he'll be able to grow into his full potential because he told me the reason he decided to pursue the spear is because he wants to defeat me!"

Yan Nan erupted into laughter upon seeing this.

"He then tried to convince me to take him as my disciple. What a delusional little brat!"

"Honestly, I don't think it's a bad idea for you to take on a disciple."

"If he becomes my disciple, then he'll never be able to surpass me."

Yan Nan was truly astonished now.

It seemed that Duan Xiyang truly held Night Demon in extremely high regard

On top of that, Night Demon had also drawn the attention of Dongfang Sansan, and with that in mind, Yan Nan had also become extremely interested in the young King.

"Right now, Night Demon's identity is top secret, so make sure you don't go telling anyone else about this."

"Who else would I tell? You make it sound like I'm some loose-lipped fool who can't be trusted with any secrets!"

Duan Xiyang was very disgruntled, and he tucked his communication jade away in a huff, ignoring Yan Nan's subsequent messages.

Night Demon was a very important part of Yan Nan's future plans, so he was truly worried that Duan Xiyang would reveal the secret of his identity to someone else.

However, Duan Xiyang was refusing to respond to his messages, so there was nothing that he could do.

***

Back at the Yan Manor, Yan Beihan was working her backside off in her spear training. She detested the spear, but she had no choice but to fully dedicate herself to her training. If she didn't master the spear, then the divine metal would continue to be withheld from her.

If she couldn't follow through on her promise to Night Demon, then there was a chance that he would defect to Chen Yin's camp, and that would be a very heavy blow to her reputation. At the very least, Ling Kong and the others were aware that she had been making efforts to win over Night Demon all this time.

Thus, failure to recruit Nigh Demon would negatively impact the confidence that her subordinates had in her.

In the middle of her spear training, she was suddenly called over by Yan Nan.

"What's going on, Grandpa?" she asked as she wiped the sweat from her brow.

"You told me last time that Night Demon is a sword wielder, right?"

"That's right. He used a saber as a decoy, but his true trump card is the sword, and he's an exceptional swordsman."

"What do you think of his swordsmanship?"

"I've seen him in battle, and I've also fought him directly before. His sword techniques aren't anything special, but his sword intent is not inferior to mine, and I would say that his sword aura is even superior to my own."

"So you intend to give him this piece of divine metal for him to forge a sword?"

"That is my intention, but it's up to him whether he wants to use it to forge a sword or a saber."

Yan Nan had heard everything he needed to hear. He was confident that Yan Beihan's appraisal was correct, but he was even more confident in Duan Xiyang's judgment.

This meant that Night Demon's word wasn't actually his ultimate trump card, and that he had been concealing his true power in his battle against Yan Beihan.

Unbeknownst to him, Fang Che hadn't actually begun his spear training during the Parasite Ascension Project, so he hadn't been withholding anything from Yan Beihan.

However, this misunderstanding only further elevated Yan Nan's opinion of him.

"Grandpa, when are you going to give me the divine metal?"

"I already told you! When you master your spear techniques!"

Yan Beihan gave a disgruntled harrumph before returning to her training.

Right at this moment, Aunt Hong returned from her trip to the southeast.

"I have something to report, Deputy Pope Yan."

***

Yan Nan stood with a contemplative expression as he examined the pair of bodies before him.

"Do you think the two groups of assassins are actually the same two people?" he asked.

"I wouldn't dare to make that assumption," Aunt Hong replied.

"Looks like there's a lot of unrest brewing in our church."

A cold gleam flashed through Yan Nan's eyes as he fished out his communication jade.

"Come back, Old Man Duan. I need you to do something for me."

It wasn't actually required for Duan Xiyang to personally carry out the task that he had in mind, but he wanted to take this opportunity to summon Duan Xiyang back to the main church. It was very dangerous that he was now aware of Night Demon's identity, and he had to give him a stern talking-to in person or assign him a task to keep him busy.

"I'll come back right after I've wrapped things up over here. What do you need me to do?"

"I want you to go and kill a few people from the Faceless Assassins Guild."

"They're very hard to find."

"I'm telling you to kill a few, not to find them."

"How many?"

"Keep killing until I tell you to stop!"

"Got it. In that case, I won't go back to the main church. I'll just start hunting them right away."

"Sure."

After sending Duan Xiyang after the Faceless Assassins Guild, Yan Nan summoned one of his subordinates and instructed, "Go and shake up all of the prominent clans of our main church. They've been getting a little too disobedient of late."

"To what extent should I shake them up?"

"Just keep going until I tell you to stop!"

After the subordinate departed to carry out his orders, Yan Nan sat down onto a chair and began gently drumming his fingers on the armrest with a menacing expression.

Looks like all of you have been too comfortable for too long, to the point that you no longer respect my authority. Let's see how long it'll take for the culprit to reveal themselves...

***

In the darkness of the night, Dong Chanfeng was standing before the cave on Spear Demon Mountain, practicing his spear techniques.

Even though the spear intent in the cave was already gone, he still had a habit of coming here to train.

Yang Luoyu had already come and gone.

Over the past few days, the two of them had been constantly drinking and sparring together.

In a few days, Dong Changfeng planned to venture deep into the mountains to consolidate his cultivation base in the wake of his recent breakthrough, and once he reemerged, it would be time for him to begin challenging his way up the Cloud Weapon Archive.

He didn't know when he would return from his journey, so he had arranged to meet Fang Che here on this night, intending to pass down everything he knew about the spear to the young prodigy who had claimed the One Strike Spear Demon's inheritance.

That way, if he were to fall to his demise while challenging his way up the Cloud Weapon Archive, at the very least, he would've been able to leave something behind.

All of a sudden, Dong Changfeng was overcome with a sense of immense peril, and he immediately sprang up into the sky, sweeping his Golden Serpent Spear through the air in a huge circle around him as he called out, "Who's there?!"

𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

A white-robed figure emerged from the darkness.

It was as if he had torn his way out of space to appear before Dong Changfeng, and held in his hand was a bleak white spear.

Even the tassel just below the spearhead was white.

In the instant that the white-robed figure appeared, it felt to Dong Changfeng as if the light of all of the celestial bodies abruptly faded, leaving behind only death and darkness.

The only faint glimmers of light that remained came from the white-robed figure's cold eyes and the tip of his spear.

"Duan Xiyang?!"

"I heard you received the inheritance of the One Strike Spear Demon, is that right, Dong Changfeng?" Duan Xiyang sneered.

"What of it?"

"You expect me to believe that the One Strike Spear Demon decided to make someone as pitiful as yourself his heir? Who are you covering for? Tell me!"