Chapter 20: A Blessing in Disguise

Fan Tiantiao pondered deeply.

"Fang Che's case must be paid attention to once again. No matter how coincidental the opportunities, the fact that Yin Shen Palace personally attended his indoctrination into the sect is no small matter. He must have some extraordinary abilities; otherwise, the Yin Shen Palace wouldn't be so idle."

"Yes. If it were you or me, we might be interested in watching a genius test, but would you be interested in watching an ordinary martial artist's test?"

"No."

"Isn't that the point?"

"Another thing is, this message clearly shows that Fang Che has joined the Yixin Sect and has passed the indoctrination," Chen Ru Hai stated with conviction.

"Didn't we just talk about that?"

Fan Tiantiao sorted through the intelligence information and finally relaxed a bit, looking at Chen Ru Hai with a pained expression and said with some sympathy, "Old Chen, although I find you unpleasant, I still have to remind you."

"What?"

"If you have time, go visit Divine Doctor Meng to check your head. Seriously."

"Go f*ck your mother!"

...

A few days later.

At midnight.

Tiexue Palace, a thousand miles away from Bibo City, was attacked by the Yixin Sect.

Tiexue Palace was a power within the Guardian Alliance, always standing guard with the Guardian Hall to the north and south, maintaining peace in the region.

This time the Yixin Sect had planned for a long time and launched a major assault, deploying five Emperor Level masters and numerous King-level masters. Clearly, they aimed to attack with the force of thunder and uproot the "sticking nail" that was Tiexue Palace.

The Yin Sect Leader personally took command, amassing a large number of Yixin Sect masters who came in secret.

This operation had been planned for more than half a year and had finally begun.

But right from the start of the assault, they felt something was amiss.

At midnight.

With a wave of the Yin Sect Leader's hand.

Masters immediately launched an attack, entering Tiexue Palace from all directions.

With a loud bang, the gates of Tiexue Palace flew into the sky.

Walls collapsed instantly, crumbling into rubble.

Masked Yixin Sect masters, fierce as tigers and wolves, charged in.

A great roar echoed through the night sky.

"Kill!"

"Spare no one!"

A brutal battle erupted in an instant.

Blood almost immediately covered the ground.

With a long howl, countless figures rose from Tiexue Palace to meet the attackers.

Suddenly, the sound of howling, bells, shouts, the killing, and screams filled the air.

Tiexue Palace was in chaos at the beginning, and the casualties were significant; but as the people from inside Tiexue Palace rushed out, the battle became deadlocked.

Then the unexpected happened.

The two sides had not been fighting for more than a breath's time when suddenly, many figures of the Guardian Hall masters appeared from all directions.

They joined the battlefield without hesitation.

And the lineup was incredibly luxurious, instantly turning the tide with a counter-attack!

Despite the Yixin Sect's half-year preparation, they found themselves on the losing end.

Tiexue Palace immediately launched a counterattack.

In a coordinated effort, combatants fought furiously, encircling the enemy.

They nearly wrapped the Yixin Sect forces up like dumplings.

Left with no choice, the Yin Sect Leader and the three Great High Priests, who had been observing and commanding, had to personally intervene, holding off the Guardian masters, leading the remnants in a desperate breakout. Following a bloody battle, they escaped with their followers.

However, they suffered the loss of four King-level masters, over a dozen General Level masters, and no fewer than fifty Innate Grandmaster Level masters fell there.

The loss was a serious blow to their essence Qi.

The miracle was... The Yixin Sect, originally concentrating its superior forces to launch a surprise attack, ended up breaking out!

Though there's only one character difference between 'surprise attack' and 'break out'... Heck, they're not the same thing at all.

An occurrence that should not have happened just bizarrely took place.

Everyone had one thought: There must be a traitor!

Afterward, the Yin Sect Leader was furious: "Investigate! We must thoroughly investigate! There must have been a leak, otherwise, how could the Guardians have arrived so timely?!"

But no matter how much they searched, they found not a single clue.

At this time, a message came from an undercover agent within the Guardian Hall: The whole incident was sheer luck.

A super-level Demon Beast, a Fiery Flame Red Fox of legendary status, had been chased there, and the Southeast Guardian Hall Master had gathered a group of masters, including several Hall Masters, who were hunting the beast.

That day, the Fiery Flame Red Fox happened to be near Tiexue Palace.

Therefore, the Great Hall Master led all the masters to sneak up in preparation for the hunting when the Yixin Sect struck.

With no other choice, the Great Hall Master had to abandon the hunt for the Fiery Flame Red Fox to come to the aid of Tiexue Palace, only to encounter the Yixin Sect's action led by the Yin Sect Leader.

This turn of events was also a pleasant surprise to the Guardians.

They had unexpectedly confronted their main target; gosh, what a smooth operation, tsk tsk, absolutely beautiful.

They had successfully disrupted the Yixin Sect's operation, and it was an operation personally led and planned by the Yixin Sect Leader, the Yin Sect Leader.

It was an unexpected delight.

A tremendous victory that had not been seen in many years.

Now, the Guardian Hall was celebrating their success...

Though the Fiery Flame Red Fox had escaped, the ability to thwart that plan and kill so many of the Yixin Sect's masters was a victory beyond expectation. It was far better than capturing the Fiery Flame Red Fox.

Certainly worth celebrating.

When the Yin Sect Leader received this news, he was so angry that he saw black spots before his eyes, unable to utter a word as the breath was stuck in his chest.

Every high-ranking member of the Yixin Sect was at their wit's end.

Each person felt as though they had an old bitterness stuck in their throat, unable to spit it out or swallow it.

Damn it, is it really that bad?!

Such a massive loss had nearly crippled us.

And you're telling me this is a coincidence?!

"Something's still not right!"

Mu Lin Yuan, with his unique identity, was also wearing a mask during the meeting, but one hand was covering the hole in his head, his eyes dark with simmering rage.

He had been struck in the head by a certain Hall Master during their breakout attempt, creating a gaping hole right on the spot.

Had it not been for Yin Shen Palace arriving just in time, he would have likely been lying in his eternal rest.

Such a loss was unheard of in many years, and Mu Lin Yuan was utterly furious.

"That Tiexue Palace was clearly well-prepared too; all their experts were gathered from the beginning. Otherwise, how could there not have been a single slip-up?"

"It's a coincidence," the lips of the Yin Shen Palace twitched as they said, "This was planned long ago. On that day, Tiexue Palace had the most people because the Tiexue Palace Lord's son was getting married. They were discussing the wedding every day, as well as the safety of fetching the bride and the ceremonial matters."

"Our operation was precisely timed to wipe them out on the joyous occasion of the old bastard's son's wedding, when they were all gathered together, so we could capture them all in one fell swoop," Yin Shen Palace continued.

"Just that coincidental?" Mu Lin Yuan was completely flabbergasted.

"Ah..." The crowd felt deflated like a punctured balloon, their faces twisted in conflict.

Yin Shen Palace's expression was grim as they said, "This time, our Sect has lost face. The Yemo Sect, San Sheng Sect, Mingguang Sect, and Heavenly God Sect have all sent us messages of consolation. And the fellows from a few other sects haven't gotten the news yet. But sooner or later, it will arrive."

"Condolences!"

Everyone was on the verge of exploding with somber anger.

Are these condolences? This is mockery!

This is downright schadenfreude!

"The letter from the Yemo Sect said they congratulate Yin Sect Leader for the long-planned grand victory and offer a toast from afar to celebrate your triumph!" Yin Shen Palace slammed the table and said sternly, "I can't afford to lose this face!"

It wasn't just Yin Shen Palace who couldn't afford to lose face; all members of the Yixin Sect couldn't afford it either!

Everyone was about to erupt in fury!

"This is intolerable! Absolutely intolerable!"

Hou Fang's thigh wrapped in bloodstained white cloth, was panting angrily, the mask on his face puffing in and out.

Yin Shen Palace's eyes flickered before saying, "The rest of you may leave."

Then only Mu Lin Yuan and two other elders remained.

Once the room had quieted,

Yin Shen Palace spoke sinisterly, "If I remember correctly, didn't the Yemo and San Sheng once mention they had a genius prepared to go undercover into the Guardian Martial Academy?"

"There was such a matter!"

Mu Lin Yuan's eyes lit up.

Yin Shen Palace's gaze turned icy, "Why should we be the ones losing face for them to mock? Who is stronger than who? Besides, at this critical moment, if we suffer one defeat and their seeds win the championship, they will be two steps ahead of us... hmph... hurry up and investigate those seeds' names!"

"What does the Sect Leader imply?" Qian Sanjiang asked.

"They have geniuses, do we not have our own?"

Yin Shen Palace bellowed, "Once we know their names, send word to the Yemo to intercept them at any cost. They must not win the championship!"

He declared fiercely, "Tell Yemo, complete this mission, and I will add another two hundred Contribution Value!"

Mu Lin Yuan was momentarily stunned, then recalled that Yemo was the yet-to-be-activated nickname of that genius Fang Che they had just met.

His face twitched as he realized that the Sect Leader had directly assigned the name of the Yemo Sect to Fang Che.

Just how much resentment did the Sect Leader have towards the Yemo Sect?

"Cough, if Yemo completes this mission, the Contribution Value will already be seven hundred. According to the rules within our sect, seven hundred Contribution Values is already enough to qualify for the position of team captain."

"A captain for him, and so what?"

Qian Sanjiang said, "In dealing with geniuses, we have to break the mold. Who knows, in a few decades, the achievements of Yemo... hehe, might even reflect well on us."

"Then it's settled!"

"It's settled!"

"Hurry up and investigate!"

"Alright!"

"Provide Yemo with some Cultivation resources, some Heavenly Treasures that can boost Cultivation, and tell him that this is a do-or-die mission; success is the only option and failure is not an option!"

...

Fang Che was immersed in his Cultivation, completely unaware that because he had sold out Yin Shen Palace, a wave of good fortune was coming his way.

He was now behind closed doors, devoted to Cultivation.

That day, Fang Qianyi went to negotiate with the Fang Family and Fang Zhenghang about acquiring houses, as she felt that the small courtyard she had set apart was becoming a bit cramped now that Fang Che was training.

She wanted to annex the three neighboring courtyards.

But since those three courtyards were already inhabited, Fang Qianyi went to discuss how to create a more comfortable training environment for her son.

Ye Meng was feeling melancholic.

Being an undercover agent beside Fang Che had been too easy; the intelligence she gathered previously didn't even require much thought.

But in the last few days, she found both good and bad aspects. The advantage was its ease, but the downside was... Fang Che didn't leave the house at all.

Go out, will you?

Go out and handle your business, so I can follow and get more intelligence.

Why don't you leave anymore?

That afternoon,

After five or six days without a meeting, Sun Yuan entered Fang Che's house, dusty from the road.

Sun Daowang had brought a new mission!