Dawnless Sovereign-Chapter 123 (3): The Target is Night Demon!

Feng Yun's assessment of the situation had been very comprehensive and logically sound, making for a tough act to follow, and as a result, everyone else became even more reluctant to raise their hands.

After a long silence, Yan Nan decided that it was time to call upon a second name.

"What do you think, Chen Yun?"

Chen Yun didn't know what to say.

Feng Yun already said everything there is to be said, what do you want me to say now?

With no new insights to add, Chen Yun could only stand up with an awkward expression, then extended a respectful bow as he said, "I agree with Brother Feng Yun's assessment."

"Alright, you can sit back down."

Chen Yun's face was flushed with embarrassment as he sat down again. On two separate occasions over the course of the night thus far, he had come off decidedly second-best against Feng Yun.

"What do you think, Beihan?" Yan Nan asked.

Yan Beihan stood up and strode over to the chair in the center, then swept a sleeve through the air, conjuring up a gust of wind to sweep over the chair.

Still not content, she plopped a cushion down onto the chair, and only then did she finally take a seat.

Feng Yun could only shake his head with a wry smile, while everyone else was looking on with amusement.

Yan Beihan was certainly making no secret of her disdain for Feng Yun.

After finally taking her seat at the center of the room, Yan Beihan began, "Personally, I find Chief Strategist Dongfang's proposal very perplexing. As we all know, the three worlds are about to open up again soon, so it's completely superfluous arranging friendly matches at a time like this. Hence, there's definitely some ulterior motive at play here. Firstly, turning down this proposal is not an option.

“If we do that, word will spread across the entire continent that our younger generation is too afraid to accept the challenge. Not only would that be a hit on the reputation of our main church, it'll impact the confidence of our younger generation while boosting the morale of the enemy, and over time, that could have a very pronounced effect.

“I agree with Brother Feng Yun's assessment in that Chief Strategist Dongfang is most likely targeting the people who have come out of the recently concluded Parasite Ascension Project. Hence, we must ask the question of why Chief Strategist Dongfang is interested in us. I think he must regard us as a threat. Otherwise, there's no way he would've proposed these friendly matches so close to the opening of the three worlds.

“If that's the case, then who among us could be posing a sufficiently potent threat to draw Chief Strategist Dongfang's attention, while also remaining a mystery to him that he's keen to unravel? The two standout figures among us are Chen Yin and myself, but he's already familiar with both of us, so we are definitely not the ones that he's interested in.

“On top of that, due to our direct ties to two deputy popes, there's very little chance that the Guardians will directly target us. Given all of these factors, I think the answer is very obvious: Chief Strategist Dongfang's target is Night Demon!"

Everyone was momentarily stunned into silence as the dreaded name of Night Demon resurfaced before them.

Yan Nan clearly wasn't as familiar with Night Demon as everyone else present, and he asked, "What makes him so special?"

"During the recently concluded Parasite Ascension Project, Night Demon put on what was perhaps the most dominant display in history, securing the top spot by a landslide!" Yan Beihan explained. "However, the only thing that anyone really knows about Night Demon is that he's a member of the One Heart Church. Aside from that, we don't know his name, his exact position in the One Heart Church, nor do we even know what he truly looks like.

“After the Parasite Ascension Project, he completely vanished, so he's the biggest underlying threat to the Guardians among our younger generation. The likes of Feng Yun, Feng Yue, Feng Xing, Chen Yun, and Chen Yin are all known quantities to the Guardians, but Night Demon is a complete mystery to them. No one knows where he is, and no one knows when he could suddenly re-emerge to wreak havoc.

“In fact, Night Demon could already be dead by now, and none of us would even know it! If Night Demon is allowed to grow into his full potential, then he'll be an utter nightmare for the Guardians because Night Demon could be anyone! He could even infiltrate the Guardians or the Protectionists without anyone's knowledge, making it completely impossible to identify him as a potential threat until it's already too late.

“Right now, none of us have any idea what cultivation base Night Demon has reached after the Parasite Ascension Project. Chief Strategist Dongfang must've predicted that Night Demon has to have at least reached the Warlord tier, but as a member of a subsidiary church, he'll only have access to limited cultivation resources, so even at the very most, he won't have progressed above the Emperor tier during this time.

“This is why he stipulated the Warlord, King, and Emperor tiers as the cultivation tiers of interest, because Night Demon must be in one of these tiers. If we send Night Demon to take part in these matches, then he'll be exposed to Chief Strategist Dongfang, and he'll surely be hunted down and killed not long after the friendly matches are over. I think Chief Strategist Dongfang's primary objective for this proposal is to kill Night Demon."

Yan Nan nodded in response with a thoughtful expression. He recalled that Dongfang Sansan had indeed mentioned Night Demon in his letter, but it seemed to have only been on a very casual basis.

He immediately dug out the original letter, and sure enough, it contained a sentence that read: "There are also many prodigies in your subsidiary churches, such as Night Demon..."

Yan Nan instantly felt enlightened.

***

Chen Yun was rather skeptical of Yan Beihan's analysis.

"Your theory appears sound, but do you understand who Dongfang Sansan is? How could someone in such a lofty position possibly be personally plotting against Night Demon? Surely you're holding Night Demon in far too high regard! You're going to get him killed if you keep praising him to the moon!"

"You'll have to find him before you can kill him!" Yan Beihan scoffed in a cold voice.

She then turned to Yan Nan as she continued, "In any case, those are my thoughts. I believe Night Demon is most definitely Chief Strategist Dongfang's target!"

This was a very subjective analysis, and on top of that, she had brought up Night Demon as a talking point for her own personal objectives.

She had asked her grandfather for a piece of divine metal to give to Night Demon, but Yan Nan had been stalling this entire time, and her patience was wearing thinner and thinner by the day.

She had promised Night Demon a piece of divine metal, yet she hadn't been able to follow through on her promise even after so long, and that felt utterly embarrassing for her.

In light of this, she hadn't even sent any messages to Night Demon recently because she was simply too embarrassed.

However, despite the subjective nature of Yan Beihan's assessment, Yan Nan felt like she had struck the nail right on the head.

"Not bad, Beihan. You can return to your seat now. And uh... for your input, I shall reward you with a piece of divine metal and two Golden Vein Fruits, but you'll only receive the divine metal once you've become more proficient in your spear techniques."

Yan Beihan was ecstatic, and she practically danced her way back to her chair, while everyone else looked on in flabbergasted astonishment.

They had always known that Yan Nan adored her granddaughter, but never had they imagined that he would so blatantly abuse his power for her benefit in front of so many people!

"Chen Yin, you also took part in the Parasite Ascension Project. What are your thoughts?" Yan Nan asked.

"My thoughts are the same as Beihan's. I also believe Night Demon is Chief Strategist Dongfang's primary, if not sole target!"

"Alright, you can also have a Golden Vein Fruit," Yan Nan replied with a nod.

He had been rewarded a Golden Vein Fruit for no real input!

"Thank you, Senior Yan!"

Feng Yun raised his cup to Chen Yin with a benevolent smile as he praised, "You truly are a brilliant young man, Chen Yin. Allow me to raise a toast to you."

Chen Yin hurriedly put on a fawning smile before downing his cup of wine, but deep down, he wanted nothing more than to draw his saber and hack Feng Yun to death!

Sure enough, Chen Yun was once again staring daggers directly into his face, and Chen Yin could only heave an internal forlorn sigh.

***

At this point, Yan Nan was already mostly convinced that Night Demon was indeed the answer.

Yan Beihan's assessment may have been subjective, but Chen Yin's definitely wasn't, and he wouldn't agree with her just to appease her.

Even though Chen Yin was very young, he was extraordinarily shrewd and observant, and Yan Nan trusted his judgment more than Yan Beihan's.

With that in mind, he was feeling very pleased.

I've seen through your plan, Dongfang Sansan!

Even though he had already formed his conclusion on the matter, he still asked for input from a few more people, including the likes of Bai Ye and Wu Di, and he rewarded them all after hearing what they had to say.

Seeing no point in remaining here any longer, he declared, "Alright, I'm going now. Tonight belongs to the young people, and I've already overstayed my welcome."

"Not at all, Senior Yan!" Feng Yun said as he rose to his feet. "It's truly an honor for all of us to be in your presence, and we collectively implore you to have a drink with us before you leave."

Everyone immediately stood up to echo Feng Yun's sentiment.

"Fine. If I'm so popular, then I'll have one last drink before I go," Yan Nan chuckled, and everyone was ecstatic.

"Tonight's wine is particularly sweet," Yan Nan remarked after downing his drink, then abruptly vanished from the spot.