Chapter 43: Provocation

During their previous correspondence, Fang Che had developed a decent grasp on Yin Shengong's aptitude.

His stance basically boiled down to: "You can do anything you like, as long as it benefits our One Heart Church, and it's even better if you beat down our competitors in the process!"

It seemed inexplicable. All of these churches fell under the umbrella of the Church of the Self-Righteous, so why were they constantly at each other's throats?

Essentially, they were like conflicting factions in an imperial court.

They all served the same ruler, but they were still constantly plotting against each other, trying to get ahead of the rest by any means necessary.

There was still a ruthless, competitive relationship as only by outcompeting others could one attain more power.

While it seemed like everyone in an imperial court worked together in harmony, beneath the surface, there were countless conflicts and sinister schemes at play, leading to the loss of countless lives.

Yin Shengong was one of the top figures in the One Heart Church, but he was definitely not at the very top as the one at the very top was definitely in the main church.

Yin Shengong's ideals and ethos definitely reflected those of whoever was above him. In other words, he wouldn't dare to do what he was doing without authorization from the powers above.

Fang Che had messaged Yin Shengong for permission to display ultimate loyalty and transparency to the latter, and in doing so, he was hoping to win Yin Shengong's trust.

Sure enough, Yin Shengong responded right away. "Explain."

"I can't stand that bastard! He can't beat me in a fight, but he's constantly taunting me! He's practically asking for it!"

Fang Che was intentionally making himself appear like a young and brash child who wore his heart on his sleeve, and upon seeing his message, Yin Shengong chuckled, "He's got quite the short temper!"

"There's no need to report such trivial matters."

"I was worried that I would cause trouble for you if I disabled him or beat him to death."

"You think I'm afraid of trouble?"

"Your brilliance and heroism are unmatched, Pope Yin! There is no one in this world that can come close to even matching the power that you wield in one of your fingers, and Subordinate Night Demon is truly in awe and admiration of your greatness!"

Fang Che was intentionally going overboard with his flattery to test how Yin Shengong felt about him.

Yin Shengong's response was direct and concise.

"Piss off!"

Fang Che stowed away his communication jade with a pleased expression, content in the knowledge that Yin Shengong clearly had a very positive impression of him.

In that case, I can be a bit more bold and blatant with my plan.

***

The next day, Fang Che attended his morning classes as usual, making sure to give Mo Ganyun his customary beating in between.

At this point, Mo Ganyun was already a seventh-rank Warrior Master, and Fang Che couldn't help but be amazed by the benefits that a powerful clan could provide.

At the moment, Mo Ganyun still hadn't reached the Grandmaster tier yet, so he was forbidden from using certain resources that could enhance one's cultivation base. Otherwise, his progress would've only been faster.

Even though he possessed the Boundless Sutra, once he reached the Grandmaster tier, there was inevitably going to be a period of time during which the prodigies from powerful clans would enjoy faster progress than him.

This period of time would span across the Grandmaster, General, Lord, Warlord, and King tiers. In fact, some prodigies from fifth-tier warrior clans and above would be likely to maintain this advantage over him even to the Emperor tier.

Only after reaching the Sovereign tier could Fang Che expect the tide to turn in his favor.

In other words, the biggest advantage held by prodigies from powerful clans compared with their less affluent counterparts lied in the Grandmaster, General, Lord, Warlord, and King tiers.

Those tiers were easy obstacles for them to overcome, while for the average person, it was often the case that an entire generation or even several generations worth of accumulation were required, just for one to have a sliver of a chance at reaching those heights.

Furthermore, the higher they climbed, the more danger they would find themselves in, and someone with insufficient backing could easily find themselves taking a hard fall from dizzying heights.

In contrast, those with the backing of powerful and wealthy clans were much better equipped to weather the storm.

An exceptional prodigy from a humble background was like a lone tree towering over all of the rest, with nothing around them able to provide shelter or a buffer against incoming storms.

"Let's go! You need to treat me to a meal!" Fang Che declared.

An exasperated look appeared on Mo Ganyun's face, but there was a sly gleam in his eyes as he asked, "When has it not been my treat? What reason are you going to use today?"

"What reason? What's your background, Brother Mo? I'm just some nobody from a ninth-tier clan, whereas you..."

"Alright! It's my treat!" Mo Ganyun hurriedly interjected to cut him off.

He knew the facetious spiel that Fang Che was about to launch into, and he really didn't want to hear it again.

However, internally, he was very pleased because through these interactions, he knew that Fang Che regarded him as a friend.

"Good boy!" Fang Che praised in a condescending manner.

Fu Chengyun was standing nearby with his head lowered and a look of mixed emotions on his face.

"Can you treat me as well, Mo Ganyun?" a classmate by the name of Wang Yunpeng asked in an eager manner. "I also come from a ninth-tier clan..."

"Piss off!" Mo Ganyun refused in a merciless manner. "I treat Fang Che because he always beats me in our sparring matches. If I surpass him someday, he'll have to treat me every day as well! Who are you to ask for free meals from me?"

Wang Yunpeng's face became flushed with embarrassment.

What the hell are you acting all high and mighty for? All you're doing is getting beat up every while providing free meals to your abuser!

Of course, he didn't dare to articulate these thoughts, and he could only scurry away with an awkward smile.

Given Mo Ganyun's background, everyone knew that he was not to be messed with, while Fang Che was clearly a level above them.

Even though they were in the same class, they were far from equal on the pecking order, and in the wake of the humiliation suffered by Fu Chengyun, no one dared to say anything.

Wang Yunpeng had also tried his luck just now, only to be mercilessly rejected, and that was most likely going to be the final instance of anyone bothering Fang Che and Mo Ganyun over their mealtime arrangement.

Mo Ganyun was quite pleased with this, while Fang Che was a little taken aback. It seemed that Mo Ganyun was definitely smarter than he let on.

***

On this day, Fang Che intentionally stalled a little before going to the cafeteria with Mo Ganyun, and sure enough, he ran into Huo Churan.

In the wake of the new student tournament, Huo Churan didn't want to see Fang Che, so he always intentionally cultivated an extra fifteen minutes in his classroom before going to the cafeteria.

Just the thought of seeing the likes of Fang Che, Ding Jieran, Qiu Yunshang, and Mo Ganyun was very repulsive to him.

There was someone else who had the same idea as him, and it was Wei Zihao.

Ever since Fang Che displayed his prodigious talents during the new student tournament, Wei Zihao had been kicking himself for hatching that plot to rob the former.

Hence, he had also been going out of his way to avoid Fang Che, but it seemed that fate had other ideas.

Fang Che entered the cafeteria in his signature gold-embroidered black cloak, while Mo Ganyun strode along beside him. In the face of Fang Che's grace and composure, Mo Ganyun was made to appear like a bodyguard, much to his dismay.

However, there was no helping it. Even though he was over a foot taller than Fang Che, he was still inevitably going to be outshone by the latter whenever they were together.

At the moment, there were very few people in the cafeteria as the initial lunch rush had already passed. The cafeteria was large enough to house five hundred people, yet there were only thirty to forty people left, and most of them were about to finish their meals.

Mo Ganyun swept his gaze across the cafeteria as if he were a ruler watching over his domain.

Huo Churan gave a cold harrumph as he lowered his head to continue eating, while Wei Zihao had practically buried his face in his bowl while praying to whatever gods above that Fang Che wouldn't see him.

Fang Che noticed that Wei Zihao had become even darker and thinner than before.

The dark complexion of his skin was very unnatural, and it was surely not the result of sun exposure.

Fang Che was very perplexed. It was clear that something wasn't quite right about Wei Zihao.

"Brother Wei! I didn't think you'd be here eating at this time! Aren't you normally squatting over the outhouse right about now?

All of the remaining diners in the cafeteria immediately stopped eating upon hearing this.

Why are you suddenly bringing up an outhouse while everyone's eating?!

In particular, a few female students were already overcome with a sense of nausea.

Wei Zihao forced a smile onto his face as he said, "Surely you jest, Brother Fang."

"Not at all! You've always been like this, haven't you? You're always shitting in the outhouse while everyone else is eating. We lived in the same city for so many years, so I know you better than anyone else here!"

All of the other diners had only just resumed eating, and they were forced to stop again.

Wei Zihao took an audible deep breath to suppress his building rage.

"Is that how you savor the smell of your own excrement every time you go to the outhouse? You really know how to enjoy the finer things in life, Brother Wei!"

Wei Zihao was unable to suppress his fury any longer, and he slammed the table as he rose to his feet. "Fang Che! What the hell do you want?!"

"I'm just trying to catch up with you! You can't even take a joke? What kind of uncultured swine slams the table like this?"

Huo Churan had remained silent this entire time, pretending not to have heard anything, but Fang Che wasn't about to let him off the hook.

He pointed into Huo Churan's bowl as he said, "Take a look at Brother Huo's food. It's just the right shade of yellow and the perfect consistency as well! How appetizing!"

Several female students rushed out of the cafeteria while dry-retching into their hands.