Chapter 146 (1): Long Time No See

With that, Xue Fuxiao pulled out a flying ship, which expanded rapidly in size to form a giant flying vessel that could hold four thousand to five thousand people.

This flying ship was far bigger and more impressive-looking than Yin Shengong's.

The cabin doors were opened, and the trio of Dongfang Sansan, Xue Fuxiao, and Bing Qianshan were the first to board, followed by everyone else.

After everyone had taken their assigned seats, the flying ship shuddered slightly, then steadily rose to an altitude of around a thousand feet.

From there, it began to accelerate while rapidly gaining height, rising up above cloud level in the blink of an eye before shooting forward like a streak of light.

Fang Che was seated with his eyes closed, experiencing the strange sensation of racing through the heavens, while Feng Xiangdong and the others were staring out the window with looks of curiosity and excitement on their faces.

"I traveled on a flying ship once when I was a kid," Feng Xiangdong said.

"I have as well, quite a few times, actually," Yu Zhongkuang said.

"Me too, but not after I turned six," Dongfang Zhe sighed. "My seniors said I hadn't made any contributions to my clan, so I had no right to travel by flying ship. I don't understand! Back when I was five years old or younger, I didn't have any contributions under my belt, either, and I was even more clueless, yet they let me travel by flying ship. In contrast, I was beginning to cultivate after I turned six, yet somehow, I get fewer privileges!"

This was pretty much everyone's experience with flying ships. All of them possessed good aptitude, so they were first born, their seniors were very fond of them and took them everywhere.

However, starting from a certain age, that privilege was taken away from them, and they had to earn the right to travel by flying ship.

"This must be your first time on a flying ship, right, Boss Fang? How does it feel?"

The question was asked with a hint of malice. Everyone was still holding a grudge against Fang Che for the lie about his non-existent sister-in-law, and it was even more infuriating to them that he was currently traveling with Fang Che by his side, as if they were on some type of honeymoon!

"I have something to report!" Fang Che immediately yelled. "These people are bullying me!"

Feng Xiangdong and Yu Zhongkuang immediately pounced on him like lightning before clamping a hand over his mouth as they implored, "Please be quiet! You're going to get all of us killed!"

With so many important figures onboard, everyone was terrified of making any missteps.

All of the other Kings were also looking at Fang Che with pitiable expressions, begging him to spare them.

"That's what you get for trying to target me!" Fang Che harrumphed. "You wanna try that again?"

"No! Please! We'll never do it again!"

***

Meanwhile, Dongfang Sansan was seated elsewhere on the flying ship as he said, "Our twenty-seven-man roster has already been sent to Yan Nan, but the final rosters of both sides are being kept secret to the rest of the continent, so there are many currently operating betting stations, with everyone placing bets on who they think will make the final roster."

"That's a good idea!"

"Indeed, it is. All of the local authorities overseeing the betting stations are making a killing."

"There must be supervision," Dongfang Sansan said. "There are huge sums of money at stake here, and they must be dedicated to the right causes, like improving infrastructure and building roads. If anyone dares to try and embezzle these funds, even a sum of over five taels of silver will be punishable by death!"

"This is indeed going to be a quick way to accumulate wealth, but there are most likely going to be some people going broke as well..."

"Gambling should only be a pastime that you invest a bit of disposable income into for fun. If someone goes broke from gambling, then they deserve it," Dongfang Sansan said. "It's about time that we announced the final rosters. From there, we'll set up betting stations for the top three finishers of the friendly matches. All procured funds are also to go to worthy causes. We must begin making preparations now for a prosperous future world rid of the demonic churches."

Everyone's eyes widened in shock upon hearing this, and their heart rates quickly began to spike.

"Master Nine, is victory already within our grasp?"

Never had Dongfang Sansan ever made such a concrete statement about a future world spared of the presence of the demonic churches.

"Not yet, but if everything goes according to plan, our chances of victory will increase to at least 50% in twenty years. If things don't go according to plan, then we'll have to prepare to dig in for the long haul, anywhere from a hundred years up to thousands of years. In any case, developing infrastructure and encouraging childbirth will be our top priorities going forward."

Everyone was ecstatic to hear this.

The Guardians had always had far more people than the Church of the Self-Righteous, but they had also always been lagging behind in terms of top-end power, placing them at a constant disadvantage.

However, Dongfang Sansan had just personally laid out a future in which their chances of victory would be elevated to at least 50%!

Even though they had to wait for twenty years, that was nothing compared with their long lifespans.

They could afford to wait even several thousand years, as long as the light of victory was on the other side of the tunnel!

***

Dongfang Sansan closed his eyes and spoke no further.

He had already said enough to ignite the flame of hope in everyone's hearts, and this sense of hope and excitement would quickly infect everyone.

As for whether his bold prediction would even travel into the ears of Yan Nan, that wasn't a concern for him.

As long as Xue Fuxiao wasn't a mole, everything would be fine.

Given Xue Fuxiao's lackluster intelligence, it would've been nothing short of a miracle if he had remained unexposed as an undercover agent all this time.

With that in mind, Dongfang Sansan turned to Xue Fuxiao with an amused smile.

Xue Fuxiao was very much taken aback.

Why's he smiling at me? Is he expressing some form of approval? What have I done recently to deserve this? Oh, I scared away Duan Xiyang and saved Dong Changfeng's life! That's a major contribution!

With that in mind, a smug grin appeared on his face.

"What're you smiling about, Brother Xue?" Bing Qianshan asked.

"I'm smiling at how ugly you are!" Xue Fuxiao snapped, still holding a grudge against Bing Qianshan for teaming up with Yang Luoyu to tease him about Xue Wanshi.

"Just you wait, Xue Fuxiao!" Bing Qianshan grumbled. "Once we touch down, I'm getting my payback!"

He had to wait for touchdown first because there was nowhere to run on the flying ship.

***

Meanwhile, Yan Nan had received the final rosters from the Guardians, and he was looking through them with a pleased smile.

"Looks like our King tier prodigies will have some stiff competition. There's one each from the Feng, Yu, and Xue Clans, one from the Dongfang Clan, and one each from the Luoo, Tan, Chu, and Meng Clans. The only one who hasn't come from a major clan is Fang Che."

A gleeful look appeared on his face at the mention of Fang Che.

"Be careful with your reactions, Brother Yan," Chen Gu cautioned. "Otherwise, Dongfang Sansan is going to be suspicious."

"Don't worry, I'll be careful. I believe it's time to have a chat with Dongfang Sansan about the rewards and up the stakes even further."

"Wouldn't that make our intentions too obvious?" Bi Changkong asked.

"We've constantly been coming off second-best over the years, and even with that Amethyst Ore vein from last time, the majority of it was claimed by Dongfang Sansan, so I'm sure he won't suspect a thing if I up the stakes to try and make a big gamble."

"What happens after that?"

"It'll be up to the will of the heavens. If Fang Che has what it takes, then let him come out on top, but if he falls short, then it simply wasn't meant to be. If he wins, then he'll surely be rewarded handsomely by the Guardians and also attract the attention of their higher-ups. On the surface, his victory will be our loss, but in reality, it'll be a victory for us anyway. If he loses, then the morale of our young prodigies will receive a boost, so it's a win-win situation for us."

"Sounds like a brilliant plan, Brother Yan! I'd say you're really not far off, even compared with Dongfang Sansan!"

Chen Gu and Bi Changhong weren't ones to suck up to Yan Nan, but they were genuinely impressed here.

This was not unfounded praise. While Yan Nan was certainly inferior to Dongfang Sansan, he was still one of the most brilliant tacticians under the heavens, and the fact that the Church of the Self-Righteous had managed to hold its own against the Guardians for tens of thousands of years under his leadership was sufficient testament to his abilities.

The world was too fixated on Dongfang Sansan's brilliance to see just how impressive a feat it was that Yan Nan was able to keep up with him.

It took two to tango, and it could be said that Dongfang Sansan's rivalry with Yan Nan was what truly brought his brilliance to the forefront.

However, Yan Nan was very self-aware, and he shook his head as he sighed, "Dongfang is an unmatched tactician. I cannot even allow the slightest bit of complacency to set in when I'm dealing with him. Otherwise, I'm bound to suffer a heavy loss. The utmost care must be taken when trying to dismantle any ploy hatched by him."

"It's time, Grandpa," Yan Beihan declared as she entered the room.

"Let's set off then. Make sure to go a little slower along the way to Dongfang Sansan has to wait for me."

"Are you not worried that Dongfang Sansan will have an ambush prepared for us if we turn up too late?"

The deputy popes erupted into laughter at the idea.

Yan Nan, Bi Changhong, Chen Gu, Yu Hanyan, Xiang Beidou, and Duan Xiyang were all going to be traveling together on this occasion, and there was no ambush under the heavens capable of keeping all six of them.

Regardless of how terrible the situation became, they could always leave anytime they pleased.