Dawnless Sovereign-Chapter 131 (2): Backed Into A Corner

"You asked me why I wasn't sent to take part in the Parasite Ascension Project. Originally, I had been granted the opportunity, but fate had stolen it away from me," Starlight continued with a forlorn sigh.

"How so?" Feng Xing asked.

"For the children of our Gold Weed Hall, we are mostly fed Five Spirit Parasites at around ten years of age. Of course, a lot of us die, and only the survivors are put through further training and development. The one responsible for overseeing our development at the time was Deputy Pope Ren Zhongyuan."

A flash of recognition appeared in Feng Xing's eyes at the mention of the name.

"Those of us who were deemed to possess good aptitude were hand-selected by Deputy Pope Ren and taken away, and I was one of the first to be selected among my peers."

A look of realization began to appear in Feng Xing's eyes.

The conflict between Yin Shengong and Ren Zhongyuan had created quite a stir, even turning a few of the deputy popes of the main church on each other, so Feng Xing was aware of what had happened.

At the very least, he was aware of some of the measures that Ren Zhongyuan had taken to undermine Yin Shengong's position in the One Heart Church, one of which was seize full control of the Generals to be sent to the Parasite Ascension Project.

"I continued to train and develop under Deputy Pope Ren, and when the previous edition of the Parasite Ascension Project came around, I was a sixth-rank Great Grandmaster, which worked out perfectly on the timeline because I still had three years to develop in preparation for the next Parasite Ascension Project.

"Deputy Pope Ren had very high hopes for me, and he gave me a lot of cultivation resources to help me reach the General tier. I made my breakthrough to become a General half a year after the conclusion of the previous Parasite Ascension Project. Three years later, I was at the pinnacle of the seventh-rank General tier, and I was eagerly looking forward to taking part in the Parasite Ascension Project."

"Ren Zhongyuan was the one calling the shots at the time, wasn't he? Why didn't he send you?" Feng Xing asked.

"Deputy Pope Ren fully intended to send me, but things simply didn't work out," Fang Che sighed. "Have you heard about what happened to the previous iteration of our One Heart Church's White Cloud Prefecture branch helm? It was completely destroyed right on the cusp of the Parasite Ascension Project."

Feng Xing had indeed heard of this. In fact, he had even heard that Yin Shengong had intentionally gotten rid of the branch helm in order to strike back at Ren Zhongyuan, and when Ren Zhongyuan confronted him about it, he took advantage of the opportunity to kill one a hall master, who was one of Ren Zhongyuan's most trusted subordinates.

"I was at the branch helm at the time. I was able to escape with my life, but I sustained very severe injuries, so severe that I could barely even walk, and there was no way I could recover in time for the Parasite Ascension Project."

Fang Che heaved a bleak sigh here, then continued, "My only chance at making something out of myself had slipped away right before my very eyes. I had never felt so frustrated and distraught before, but at the end of it all, I had to resign myself to my fate. This was supposed to have been the biggest opportunity of my life. I suppose some would say that I was fortunate to have been able to escape from the branch helm alive, but at the time, I certainly didn't feel myself fortunate.

"There was no way that I could've recovered in time, but I was still holding out hope, and it's the hope that kills you. Every single day that I spent in recovery leading up the Parasite Ascension Project felt like torture, but on the day the Parasite Ascension Project began, when all hope was lost, I suddenly felt this sense of release, like none of it had anything to do with me anymore.

"I came to realize that from that point onward, my only option was to work harder than everyone else, and even then, I may not be able to reach the same heights as others. Ironically, I began healing much faster from my injuries after I came to terms with my reality. It was like my resignation to my fate had finally allowed my body to relax and recover. Even more ironically, I made a full recovery on the day that the Parasite Ascension Project ended."

A bleak and heartbroken smile had appeared on Fang Che's face as he spoke, and even Feng Xing couldn't help but feel terrible for him.

"Even then, I still didn't give up hope," Fang Che continued. "I thought I could simply suppress my cultivation base for three years and take part in the next Parasite Ascension Project, but right after the edition of the Parasite Ascension Project that I missed, Pope Yin turned on Deputy Pope Ren, killing all of his subordinates in our church.

"I only survived because I wasn't at the headquarters at the time, and I was also perceived as a non-threat, seeing as I was only a mere General. I may have survived, but my past association with Deputy Pope Ren meant that I would never fully have Pope Yin's trust. How I wish you were right, Young Master Xing. How I wish I could be Night Demon!"

Feng Xing's brows were furrowed tightly in deep thought.

Even though he still had some doubts, he was now mostly convinced that he had been incorrect in his assumption that Starlight and Night Demon were one and the same.

"No, this still doesn't make sense," Feng Xing suddenly said. "How could you have possibly been appointed as the helmsmaster of the White Cloud Prefecture branch helm if you had those ties to Ren Zhongyuan in the past?"

Fang Che heaved a forlorn sigh, then replied, "After the Parasite Ascension Project, I did everything in my power to appease and pledge my loyalty to Pope Yin. At the time, I was one of the few One Heart Church members left in the White Cloud Prefecture. To this day, I still don't know why, but shortly before the Parasite Ascension Project, all of us received orders to gather as many pieces of jade as we could in accordance with a certain set of specifications.

"The Protectionists took advantage of this to expose and capture a huge number of church members, and the entire prefecture had turned into a power vacuum. On top of that, I was actually appointed helmsmaster around half a month before everyone was sent down from the main church, so my appointment had nothing to do with that."

"Is that so?"

This was clearly news to Feng Xing, and he was confident that Starlight wasn't lying to him about this because verifying his claim would be a very simple matter, and if he were lying, then his deceit would be far too easy to expose.

"At the time, Pope Yin ordered me to rebuild the White Cloud Prefecture branch helm from scratch, but at the time, he didn't send me a single subordinate or ally! Even now, he still hasn't sent anyone to assist me. You can easily verify this for yourself."

Feng Xing was astonished to hear this.

However, once again, he didn't doubt the authenticity of Starlight's claims as they were far too easily verifiable for him to dare fabricate such lies.

"Just a few days ago, with the assessment from the main church looming, Pope Yin came to personally visit the branch helm, and as he departed, he asked me if I would be willing to hand over my position of helmsmaster to someone else."

Feng Xing was furious on Starlight's behalf.

"How could he do that? You built this place single-handedly from nothing! He can't just replace you now that all the hard work has been done! What did you tell him?"

"I told him that I'm willing to follow whatever arrangement he deems appropriate," Fang Che replied in a numb and expressionless manner.

Feng Xing could only heave a sympathetic sigh.

Any refusal on his part would've likely spelled instant death at Yin Shengong's hands, so he had no choice but to comply.

"Just a couple of months ago, I asked in passing if Master Nigth Demon was still in the White Cloud Prefecture at the moment. That very same night, Night Demon came to my branch helm while I was absent and killed ten of my escorts, then sliced open their bodies to examine their dantians and brains to assess his own swordsmanship. Upon his departure, he said that he was helping me by getting rid of insubordinate members of my branch helm, and that I should be grateful to him.

"This is my branch helm! I built this place up from nothing, yet he simply waltzes in here and kills ten of my most capable subordinates, and that's not even to mention that they're all from the main church! The only saving grace was that I wasn't there at the time. Otherwise, he would've thoroughly humiliated me in front of all of my subordinates and completely shattered my authority over them!

"I'm no match for him in battle, so I would've had to allow him to kill my subordinates as he pleased and told him that I was grateful to him for looking out for me!"

Thick veins were bulging on Fang Che's forehead as he struggled to contain his fury and indignation.

After a long silence, he finally managed to compose himself, and he lowered his head in shame as he said, "My apologies, Young Master Xing. My emotions got the better of me just now."

Feng Xing gave him a sympathetic nod as he sighed, "Things have certainly not been easy for you."

He then pulled out his communication jade and sent out a brief message.

In the blink of an eye, one of the five shopkeepers who had accompanied him here appeared under the pergola in a wraith-like fashion.

"I want you to find out when Helmsmaster Starlight began his tenure in the White Cloud Prefecture and how he started the branch helm, then report back to me with your findings," Feng Xing ordered.

"Yes, Young Master Xing."

The shopkeeper instantly vanished from the spot.

"I must admit that you've convinced me, Starlight," Feng Xing said as he turned his gaze back to Fang Che. "It seems that I've made a misjudgment. I felt like there were too many overlapping elements between the two of you to be a coincidence, but now that you've told me your story, I now see that I was mistaken."

A hesitant look appeared on Fang Che's face as he said, "I've actually always suspected that there could be a reason for this."

"What do you mean?" Feng Xing asked.