Chapter 2: Im Going Up in the World

Chapter 2: I'm Going Up in the World

Unicorn Dragon Horses were truly remarkable steeds, capable of covering up to 4,500 kilometers if they traveled for an entire day and night without rest.[1]

Furthermore, they ensured very smooth and stable travel even over rough terrain.

These Unicorn Dragon Horses were very large, and placed on each of their backs was a reclining chair, in front of which was a hardwood screen that kept out wind and dust.

The ride was so smooth that one could sleep their entire way to the White Cloud Prefecture.

𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

"What do you think of these horses, Brother Sun?" Wang Weihan asked with a wide smile.

Sun Yuan was speechless.

"Please look after Yun'er over the course of the journey," Wang Weihan said as he gestured for Sun Yuan to get on the horse.

Sun Yuan knew that he was essentially being kidnapped. Both of Wang Yun'er's guards were superior to him in cultivation base, so there was no way he would be able to get them off his tail and fulfill his assignment of protecting Night Demon.

Looking at Wang Weihan's smiling face, Sun Yuan felt a massive sense of dread and foreboding descend upon him.

He was trapped with nowhere to run.

***

Fang Che had reached the ninth-rank General tier.

Even he couldn't help but be stunned with the degree of enhancement that the Cloud Water Heavenly Fruit provided to his cultivation progression.

Furthermore, the spirit power in his dantian was gradually beginning to change.

He had intentionally delayed his latest breakthrough as by doing so, he was able to compress his spirit power, and he could sense that it was taking on a gaseous form in his dantian.

This phenomenon was made all the more prominent by the power of the Cloud Water Heavenly Fruit.

It had already been close to twenty days since he made a breakthrough to the eighth rank back in the Parasite Ascension Domain, and a thin layer of gaseous spirit qi had already accumulated in his dantian.

He had been doing his best to hold back, but his dantian felt so swollen from compressed spirit power that he had no choice but to make a breakthrough.

A door seemed to have opened up somewhere inside his body, and newfound instantly flooded through his meridians.

My power has only almost doubled. It's not that significant a jump.

Fang Che was a little disappointed.

I'll just have to keep compressing my spirit qi for now and strive to delay my breakthrough to the Lord tier until I've accumulated a lot more gaseous spirit qi in my dantian.

With his breakthrough complete, he decided that it was time to finally run an errand that he had been putting off, so he applied for a few days of leave with Li Changkong.

"Where are you going now?" Li Changkong asked.

"My maidservant accompanied me home last time, but I forgot to pick her up on the way back, and it's been a real pain having to look after myself, so I have to go fetch her," Fang Che explained.

"What a thoughtful young gentleman you are," Li Changkong scoffed in a speechless manner. "Get out of my sight! When you come back, you have to at least be able to endure ten attacks from me in a sparring match. Otherwise..."

His voice trailed off into a silent threat.

"If you want to beat me up, just say so," Fang Che groaned.

"By the way, now that you're here, there's something I have to tell you," Li Changkong said as a serious look appeared on his face. "Come with me."

Li Changkong led Fang Che to the foot of a tree, where there was no one else around.

"The Guardians have received word of what happened during the World Academy Tournament, and Master Zhao was very unhappy that our academy allowed you to appear at the tournament. Dean Gao was reprimanded, and despite his protests, a punishment has been assigned to the academy, but that's not something for you to worry about.

“There is, however, one more decision made by the Guardians that concerns you. In light of your past contributions, the Guardians have deemed it appropriate for you to begin working in the Hall of Protectionists right away."

Li Changkong heaved a long sigh here.

This was certainly unfair treatment.

Generally speaking, this special arrangement was only made for the most exceptional third-year students, yet Fang Che had to begin working as just a first-year student.

On the surface, this was an unprecedented privilege bestowed upon a top-tier prodigy, but Li Changkong knew that this was actually a curse disguised as a blessing.

The five years spent at warrior academy were crucial for the development of a young warrior, whereas once one began working in the Hall of Protectionists, they would have to deal with a bunch of pesky official duties that would take up much of their time, time that could be much better spent on cultivation or honing one's abilities.

Just like Wu Zhibing and the others, Fang Che would only be able to return to the academy whenever major events arose.

However, Wu Zhibing and the others had already accumulated enough over their time in the academy, whereas Fang Che had only been studying in the academy for a few months.

Furthermore, once he went to the Hall of Protectionists, Fang Che would be completely at the mercy of the Protectionists, allowing them to do with him as they pleased.

Hence, the decision was vehemently opposed by Gao Qingyu.

Fang Che had saved the honor of the academy and even received a brocade banner of praise from the new dean of Celestial Being Warrior Academy.

Gao Qingyu praised Fang Che to the high heavens, insisting that Fang Che was the best student that he had ever seen, and that such an arrangement would be an egregious mistreatment of such a bright prospect, but the Guardians refused to budge.

Unfortunately, White Cloud Warrior Academy was a subsidiary entity to the Guardians, so they had to follow orders.

Li Changkong felt as if a dagger had been driven into his heart.

"Take this trip back home as an opportunity to relax. There's no need to hurry back," Lio Changkong said as he patted Fang Che on the shoulder. "Once you get back, the other instructors and I will begin giving you some private lessons."

A surge of warmth instantly welled up in Fang Che's heart upon hearing this.

Li Changkong and the others knew nothing, yet their first instinct was to protect their student.

They believed that their student wasn't a bad person, and they were doing everything in their power to soften the blow of the unfair treatment imposed upon him.

How hurtful would it be to the instructors if they were to find out someday that I'm a demonic church member, at least on the surface?

Fang Che shuddered internally at the thought.

***

After parting ways, Fang Che paid a visit to Old Man Shen.

He had already been holding onto those pieces of divine power essence for quite some time, but he wasn't able to think of an excuse to present it to Old Man Shen.

Old Man Shen had told him in the past that this was something only the Church of the Self-Righteous had, so Fang Che didn't know how to give it to him.

Just a simple question of "where did you get this from?" would leave him completely stumped.

He was beginning to wish that Dongfang Sansan had left him with a way to contact him. The best way to give Old Man Shen the divine power essence would be to give it to Dongfang Sansan, then have him pass it on.

However, at the same time, Fang Che knew that being given a communication jade by the Guardians would put him at massive risk of exposure. The communication jade used by Guardians were tethered to the user's soul, and it was unavoidable for one to give off soul fluctuations during its usage.

All members of the demonic churches were familiar with these soul fluctuations, and Dongfang Sansan had obviously deemed it too much of a risk to assign Fang Che with a communication jade.

Right at this moment, Old Man Shen's voice rang out from inside.

"What're you doing wandering around outside my door with your face puckered up like a prune? Hurry up and get in here!"

Fang Che discarded his train of thought and made his way inside, deciding that he would just have to keep holding onto the divine power essence for now.

If he were to bring it out now without being able to provide a satisfactory explanation for how he had obtained it, there was no way Old Man Shen would be willing to use it.

After stepping inside, he set down the jars of wine that he had brought with him, then told Old Man Shen about his imminent trip back home.

"How come you've always been absent recently?" Old Man Shen asked.

"I'll be absent even more from now on," Fang Che said with a smile. "Look after yourself, Elder Shen, I'm joining the work force. I'll be sure to kill a bunch of demonic church members and get you a piece of divine power essence!"

Old Man Shen's expression instantly stiffened upon hearing this.

"You're joining the work force? What do you mean by that?"

"In light of the merit points I've accumulated, the Hall of Protectionists has deemed it appropriate for me to join their ranks in advance," Fang Che explained. "I'll be working with the Protectionists from now on."

Old Man Shen was stunned to hear this, and only after a long silence did he ask, "Who told you this?"

"Instructor Li."

A look of seething fury instantly appeared in Old Man Shen's eyes, but instead of erupting into a fit, he seemed to have gone into a contemplative daze.

His face then gradually fell, and in that instant, it was as if he had aged decades.

After another long silence, he said, "Make sure to spend some good time with your family. Once you start working, you won't be able to visit them much."

"I will."

"I heard that you have a fine maidservant. Bring her around to show me sometime. You're at the age where you should be thinking about starting a family. If she's a good fit for you, then I'm happy to play matchmaker for you two."

"I have no intentions of starting a family yet," Fang Che said in a bashful manner.

"Go on now. Make sure to bring her around, you hear me?" Old Man Shen insisted.

"I will. Look after yourself, Elder Shen. I've already arranged for the wine shop to deliver you four jars of wine a month. Drinking any more than that would be harmful to the body."

"I don't need your wine! You think I'm just some drunk old man that you placate with a few jars of wine a month?! Get out of my sight!" Old Man Shen snapped as tears began to well up in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that!" Fang Che hurriedly apologized, but Old Man Shen refused to listen and kicked him out in an enraged fit.

1. Roughly 2,800 miles. ☜