Dawnless Sovereign-Chapter 112 (3): Fang Ches Promotion

From there, the rest of the warriors from the Church of the Self-Righteous also departed, much to Xue Fuxiao's relief.

He was even more eager than the people from the Church of the Self-Righteous to avoid a battle.

If a full-blown battle were to break out, they would be sure to take this opportunity to cause as much destruction as possible, and that would spell yet another calamity for the seventeen southeastern prefectures.

The snow disaster followed by the volcanic eruptions had already taken an extremely heavy toll. If this region also had to endure a battle between some of the most powerful warriors on the entire continent, it would surely be too much to bear.

Hence, Xue Fuxiao was happy to allow the enemy to retreat unchallenged.

"Master Xue, I can take you to Xiao Tianshui," Water Ghost offered. "He told me to tell all of you to bring as many spatial rings as possible."

"You have my thanks," Xue Fuxiao replied.

He then turned to an old man beside him and said, "Let's go down together, Uncle Dongfang."

The old man he had spoken to was none other than Dongfang Sansan's father, Dongfang Chongming, and he immediately shook his head with a stoic expression as he refused, "I'm not going anywhere!"

"You're the only one who can do this," Xue Fuxiao implored with a fawning smile. "For someone of your abilities, I'm sure this is an easy task."

"You just want to use me for my hammer!" Dongfang Chongming raged. "You want me to smash my way down to the ore vein like some glorified miner! I'm not doing manual labor for anyone!"

"I'll get Sansan to speak to you," Xue Fuxiao said as he pulled out his communication jade.

Dongfang Chongming hurriedly reached out to stop him.

"Don't bother him over something so minor! Let him have a rest, for heaven's sake! When do you need me to go down with you?"

Everyone was very amused by his immediate drastic shift from reluctance to full cooperation.

They all knew that the only threat that ever worked against him was bringing up his precious son.

He was constantly worrying about his son's overbearing workload, and if it weren't for his own lackluster brainpower, he would've eagerly taken over his son's job.

Generally speaking, he would immediately cave as soon as Xue Fuxiao brought up Dongfang Sansan.

"I'm going back to the Frost Sword Sect," Gu Changhan said with a concerned expression. "I've been feeling very uneasy this entire time."

Xue Fuxiao's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this.

For warriors for caliber, feelings of unease were not to be disregarded as they were almost always omens of misfortune.

"Is there something wrong?" he asked.

"I can't help but wonder why Deputy Pope Yan took that glance at me right as he left," Gu Changhan replied, clearly feeling unsettled.

Everyone was very amused to hear this.

"Of course he would look at you! You're the only unfamiliar face here!"

"I don't think that's the reason," Gu Changhan said with a shake of his head. "In any case, I have to get back to my sect right away."

"Alright, I won't keep you any longer then, Brother Gu. Feel free to contact me if you need anything," Xue Fuxiao said.

Gu Changhan nodded in response, then hurriedly departed.

Following Gu Changhan's departure, everyone began the descent deep into the belly of the earth with Water Ghost leading the way.

Whenever they encountered any narrow areas that were impossible to pass through, a single hammer blow from Dongfang Chongming would be all it took to create a wide path.

Xue Fuxiao and the others didn't have to do anything but follow along and benefit from Dongfang Chongming's hard work.

Dongfang Chongming was grumbling under his breath the entire time, clearly very unhappy with the role that he had been forced to play, and he could only console himself with the thought that his efforts were taking some load off his son's shoulders.

It took them a long time to finally reach the ore vein, and Xiao Tianshui emerged to greet them.

"Why're you still around? Get out of here!" he snapped at the sight of Water Ghost, whose eyes instantly widened in shock and indignation.

I'm the one who led them down here! Now that my work is done, you're kicking me out?! What an ungrateful bastard you are!

"I'll be taking my leave then," he grumbled, having to fight to suppress his temper.

Xue Fuxiao handed him a vial of pills as he said, "Thanks for your hard work. May we meet again someday."

Water Ghost's indignation instantly turned to gratitude.

"Thank you, Master Xue!"

All in all, this had been quite a fruitful trip, netting him a vial of pills each from Yan Nan and Xue Fuxiao.

Even though his Yin Water Palace hadn't obtained any of the ore vein, he had personally benefitted immensely.

***

In the wake of Water Ghost's departure, Xiao Tianshui dragged Xue Fuxiao away to the side, then whispered, "There's been a little... mishap."

"What kind of mishap?"

"Come and take a look for yourself."

Xiao Tianshui led Xue Fuxiao around the corner to reveal the four unconscious young men.

"What's going on here?" Xue Fuxiao asked with a stunned expression.

"It wasn't that the Amethyst Soul hadn't taken shape. Instead, what happened is that these four somehow managed to get here before me, and they absorbed the Amethyst Soul together..."

"That's insane! How did they even manage to survive?!" Xue Fuxiao exclaimed.

"Who knows?" Xiao Tianshui shrugged.

"Which side are they on?"

"They're on our side. That one's from the Yu Clan, that one's from the Jing Clan, the big one with the red headband is from the Mo Clan, and that one's from the Qiu Clan."

"I have to report this to Sansan right away," Xue Fuxiao said with a grim expression.

Meanwhile, Dongfang Chongming had already commenced his work, smashing down large chunks of ore with his hammer while the others loaded the ore into their spatial rings.

"Hold on a second!" Xue Fuxiao hurriedly interrupted. "Let me secure this Amethyst Soul first. It may be in a very feeble state right now, but it'll definitely be of benefit to Sansan."

With that, Xue Fuxiao quickly used a secret technique to secure the Amethyst Soul.

Even though there was barely any of it left, it could definitely still nourish Dongfang Sansan's soul, so it had to be secured.

Meanwhile, a response from Dongfang Sansan had already arrived on his communication jade.

"Make sure the events that transpired in the ore vein and the names of those four remain strictly confidential! Relay this order to everyone with knowledge of what happened! Excavate the ore vein as quickly as possible, then get those four to the Guardian headquarters right away!"

Not only was Dongfang Sansan not infuriated or dismayed by this news, he was ecstatic! In fact, in his eyes, this was an even better outcome than if he had been able to devour the Amethyst Soul himself.

This event, among other recent ones, represented a shift in fortune, and that, in turn, was a symbol of hope!

Fortune was a very abstract and intangible concept, but it truly existed in every single person, organization, and nation.

Even though this was a blessing that had befallen Yu Zhongge and his companions, in Dongfang Sansan's eyes, this was a sign that the fortunes of the Guardians were turning for the better because these four young men belonged to the Guardians!

Yan Nan had plotted for so long to obtain this Amethyst Soul, only to have the spoils intercepted out of the blue by these four young men, and the massive Amethyst Ore vein had also fallen into the hands of the Guardians.

Was this not a turn in fortune?

Tears of excitement began to well up in Dongfang Sansan's eyes at this thought.

For so many years, he had watched in despair as the blessings of fate and fortune their their back on the Guardians in preference for the Church of the Self-Righteous, but the scales were finally tilting in the opposite direction!

The young prodigies of the Church of the Self-Righteous had always been a major concern for Dongfang Sansan. In particular, the prodigies that had arisen in the Church of the Self-Righteous in recent times were becoming more and more exceptional, displaying more and more potential.

In contrast, no particularly exceptional talents had emerged among the younger generation of the Guardians, but that had finally changed. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

The thought of four super prodigies with the potential to match or even surpass the likes of Xue Fuxiao and Duan Xiyang had Dongfang Sansan brimming with excitement, and that wasn't even to mention the unprecedented undercover agent that was Fang Che!

Right now, I have to maintain the status quo and ensure that the state of the world doesn't worsen any further before they grow into their full potential, even if it means making some compromises to the Church of the Self-Righteous.

For the first time in countless years, there was a spring in Dongfang Sansan's step, and the spark of hope that had only recently been ignited in his heart was beginning to grow into a flame.

Out of the past thousands of years, this was the year that had been filled with the most joy and encouragement for Dongfang Sansan.

Once I destroy the Church of the Self-Righteous, I'm going to rest for at least a year, no, six months... Actually, make it three months... Maybe a week is more realistic. In those seven days, I'm going to do nothing but sleep! No one is allowed to disturb me for any reason!

Dongfang Sansan was very much looking forward to this tantalizing reward at the end of the tunnel.

Who could've possibly imagined that the biggest wish of one of the most brilliant and powerful men on the continent would be to have a good sleep in a peaceful world?

Just the mere thought was enough to fill him with joy and satisfaction.