Chapter 147 (3): This is Night Demon?

"Are all of your representatives for these friendly matches from the main church?" Dongfang Sansan asked, seemingly in a nonchalant fashion.

"There are some from the subsidiary churches as well," Yan Nan replied while subtly observing Dongfang Sansan's expression.

"I see," Dongfang Sansan mused before falling silent.

Shortly thereafter, the first Warlord tier battle concluded, and the Guardians came out on top.

The spectators in the Church of the Self-Righteous section were all looking on with dark expressions. A defeat in the first battle was not a good sign for things to come. Right at this moment, an enraged voice rang out from the stands.

"Just you wait until we get home, you disgraceful little shit!"

The defeated church disciple instantly turned as pale as a sheet.

However, the Guardians lost the next two battles, and the two defeated prodigies trudged back to join their comrades with sullen and embarrassed expressions, while several of the spectators in the Guardians section looked on with anger and disappointment.

Clearly, these two were also in for a beating.

The three matches all concluded very quickly. Even though these were friendly matches, everyone was going all-out. With the four supremely powerful referees overseeing proceedings, there was no real risk of inadvertent casualties.

The fourth match commenced, and once again, the representative of the Church of the Self-Righteous held a clear advantage.

Dongfang Sansan only took a brief glance at the battle before returning his attention to a piece of yellow wood that he was playing with in his hand.

Before long, a string of seven battles had concluded, with the Guardians securing three victories and suffering four losses.

The battles had been quite fierce and hotly contested, but Xue Fuxiao and the others were having to suppress yawns.

For warriors of their caliber, spectating battles like these could just about put them to sleep.

However, this was nothing short of a visual spectacle, one that they would surely remember for years to come!

All of these Warlord tier prodigies had displayed combat prowess roughly on par with that of the average fourth or fifth-rank King, and some could even match up against the average seventh or eighth-rank King.

Given their combat prowess, battle experience, ages, and backgrounds, it was clear that all of them had very bright futures ahead as long as they didn't suffer premature deaths.

As the eighth battle was about to commence, Chen Gu sat up ever so slightly, while Yan Nan's disinterested facade remained unchanged.

However, Dongfang Sansan was clearly intrigued.

The representative for the Church of the Self-Righteous for this battle was a young man called Mu Feng, and he had come from the church's southeastern headquarters.

He had just taken part in the Parasite Ascension Project the previous year, and he was currently a ninth-rank Warlord who specialized in the sword.

His opponent was also a ninth-rank Warlord, but Mu Feng made short work of him with his incredible combat prowess and domineering battle style, ending the battle in just three attacks.

"Very impressive!" Dongfang Sansan praised. "To think that even a prodigy of this caliber wasn't able to make a name for himself in the Parasite Ascension Project... Your church truly is teeming with talent!"

"I don't really pay much attention to the juniors of the subsidiary churches," Yan Nan said in an indifferent manner. "Besides, his cultivation base is still far too low at the moment, so who knows what will become of him in the future? There are still far too many trials and tribulations that he must endure before he can come anywhere near to reaching the top, so we'll just have to wait and see."

"It's already very impressive that he's such a capable warrior at such a young age," Dongfang Sansan praised with a smile. "Furthermore, I can tell that he's been constantly consolidating his foundation, rather than sacrificing long-term potential for short-term gain."

"Let's see if he'll claim the top spot in the end," Yan Nan mused with a faint smile.

"Our prodigies are no match for him. It looks like it'll be our loss in the Warlord tier," Dongfang Sansan sighed.

"It's fine. Setbacks are a part of life. Better to suffer them young than be dealt a brutal reality check later down the line."

"Indeed," Dongfang Sansan replied. "It seems like not many of the prodigies from the Parasite Ascension Project have made an appearance."

"What are you plotting, Dongfang?" Yan Nan scoffed. "All nine of our Warlord tier representatives came out of the recent Parasite Ascension Project! How is that too little?"

"What I'm saying is that there are surely superior prodigies, such as Yan Beihan. Why isn't she on any of the rosters?"

"She has already reached the Emperor and won't be taking part in these friendly matches."

"I see. Your granddaughter is truly an exceptional talent, Deputy Pope Yan!"

"She's not the only one. Most of the top few prodigies to have come out of the Parasite Ascension Project have also already reached the Emperor tier."

"Is that so? That's even more impressive then."

The first round of Warlord tier battles finally concluded, and the Church of the Self-Righteous had come out firmly on top, securing six victories and three losses.

In the second round, the remaining three Guardian representatives were to duke it out against the remaining six enemy prodigies.

After the second round, only a single Guardian prodigy remained, and he was defeated in the first battle of the third round.

The Church of the Self-Righteous still had three remaining prodigies, and after battling among themselves, the order for the top three spots was decided, with Mu Feng unsurprisingly coming out on top.

His sword was incredibly vicious and sharp, and he possessed an absurd amount of battle experience for someone so young. Furthermore, it was clear that he had been holding back all the way to the very end, and no one was surprised by this outcome.

𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Clearly, Mu Feng was simply leagues ahead of his competition, and his battle style reminded many people of one particular person, namely Night Demon.

He was just as ruthless, domineering, and bloodthirsty, and after this dominant performance, he was surely earmarked for great things.

"This Mu Feng is a very impressive young man. I'm going to have to make a profile on him," Dongfang Sansan mused.

"Maybe you don't have to," Yan Nan remarked. "Maybe you already have a profile on him."

"Are you trying to tell me that he's Night Demon?" Dongfang Sansan asked.

"To be honest with you, I never cared enough to find out Night Demon's true identity, but I feel like this Mu Feng may just be him," Yan Nan mused.

"Do you think I'd believe that?" Dongfang Sansan chuckled.

"You don't believe me?"

"In any case, setting up a new profile isn't all that difficult for me. Just as you said, it's still too early to predict what these young prodigies will be able to make of themselves in the future, and it's yet to be seen whether they'll even survive to reach their full potential. Quite frankly, even if Mu Feng really is Night Demon, I don't have much interest in him."

Yan Nan merely chuckled and offered no response, but internally, he was rolling his eyes at Dongfang Sansan's blatant lie.

Many people from both sides had become very curious about Mu Feng, wondering what his background was and where he had come from.

How had a prodigy of his caliber remained completely undiscovered up to this point?

"Have any of you heard of this guy? Where did he come from?"

"You haven't heard of him, either? This is my first time hearing the name as well."

"He's taken part in the Parasite Ascension Project? That doesn't make any sense! How did he fail to secure a place in the top ten finishers?"

"Maybe he underperformed."

"I suppose. Maybe he took a more cautious approach and didn't rack up enough kills."

"In any case, he's a real prodigy!"

"Anyone know which clan he's from?"

"I have no clue."

"Me, neither, but we gotta keep a close eye on him from now on. If the opportunity presents itself, we should try and get to know him."

"It might be crazy of me to say this, but is it possible that Mu Feng is Night Demon? Night Demon has a lot of enemies right now, so maybe he's taking part in these friendly matches under a false alias?"

"You know what? Now that I think about it, I feel like there's a resemblance there!"

Some of the high-ranking figures among the Guardians were eavesdropping on the conversations in the enemy camp, and they were immediately intrigued at the mention of Night Demon.

"Congratulations on obtaining a small spirit crystal ore vein, Deputy Pope Yan," Dongfang Sansan said with a faint smile.

"Such a measly reward is not worthy of your congratulations," Yan Nan scoffed.

"Measly it may be, but it's still a spoil of war, nevertheless. I'll get some people to prepare the documentation, and when the time comes, you can send people to mine the ore vein. Rest assured, you won't encounter any opposition."

"Sure. It's always a pleasure being able to take resources from Guardian territory."

Dongfang Sansan merely smiled and offered no response, and both of them fell silent as they awaited the commencement of the King tier battles.

Yan Nan sat back in his chair until he was in a semi-reclined position, and he said, "It's been quite wearisome fighting against you for all these years, Dongfang. Now that I finally have some free time on my hands, I feel like taking a rest. The sun is bright and warm, and it's perfect weather for a nap."

With that, he closed his eyes, seemingly completely uninterested in the upcoming King tier battles.

"I'm afraid I can't join you. There are several Kings that I've had my eyes on for some time, and I have to take a closer look at them."

In contrast with Yan Nan's lackadaisical posture, Dongfang Sansan sat up a little straighter, making no effort to conceal his interest in the King tier battles.

In particular, he was intently scrutinizing the King tier representatives of the Church of the Self-Righteous.

Yan Nan heaved an internal sigh upon seeing this.

As expected, he was unable to fool Dongfang Sansan, who had clearly already managed to figure out that the King tier battles were the ones that were most worthy of his attention.

What a shame. No matter how much intelligence and foresight you possess, you could never guess that the person you're looking for is in your own camp as opposed to ours.

"Master, the King tier matches are about to start soon."

Fang Che was making sure to keep Yin Shengong updated.

"Make sure to claim the top spot! This battle will be extremely important for your future, so make sure you don't take it lightly!"

Yin Shengong's response was instantaneous, and it was clear that he had been anxiously awaiting this update from Night Demon.

"Rest assured, Master, I'll crush the competition!"