Yin Shengong recovered all of the parting gifts that he had given to Ren Zhongyuan, then set things up to make it appear as if Ren Zhongyuan's trio had been killed by the Guardians.
"We couldn't have killed Ren Zhongyuan in our One Heart Church," Yin Shengong said. "With everything set up to make it appear as if the Guardians were responsible, Bei Mingxin won't be able to link his death back to us even if he suspects foul play."
"Indeed. Your foresight is unmatched as usual, Pope Yin."
Yin Shengong was very pleased with himself, but he had barely returned to the One Heart Church when news of the power struggle that had resulted in his assassination of Ren Zhongyuan began spreading like wildfire.
"How the fuck did word get out so quickly?!"
He had only just killed Ren Zhongyuan, and the entire world already knew!
It didn't take Yin Shengong long to realize that the Guardians had most likely been keeping an eye on him this entire ti, and they were prepared well in advance for his attempt at shifting the bla.
Essentially, he had been dancing on the palm of their hand.
Dongfang Sansan was the only one that could've made such flawless preparations, and the thought of Dongfang Sansan scrutinizing him instantly had him breaking out into a cold sweat.
I have to move the headquarters right away! It's too dangerous here!
As the sly old fox that he was, Yin Shengong had naturally prepared more than one candidate headquarters location.
That very sa night, the entire One Heart Church was evacuated, leaving only the lowest-level church mbers behind to create the illusion that the One Heart Church was still based there.
This facade was kept up for three days, following which the old headquarters was burned to the ground, leaving only hundreds of bodies behind in the charred wreckage.
From an outsider perspective, it looked as if the One Heart Church had been decimated.
The Guardians monitoring the One Heart Church headquarters didn't dare to get too close, so they didn't realize anything was amiss until the headquarters erupted into flas in the night.
By the ti they rushed onto the scene, everyone was already gone, and they imdiately reported the matter to Dongfang Sansan.
Dongfang Sansan was rather impressed with Yin Shengong's decisiveness, but unbeknownst to the latter, there was nowhere that he could truly hide.
***
The move to the new headquarters had only just been completed when Yin Shengong received word that the clans of the main church were planning to target Night Demon.
"How could they do this?! It's against the rules to take any retaliative asures after the Parasite Ascension Project! Are they trying to rebel?!"
He hurriedly pulled out his communication jade to contact the deputy popes.
However, he was inford that deputy popes Chen Gu and Xiang Beidou had both gone into seclusion.
Yin Shengong set down his communication jade with a grim expression.
Clearly, the consequences of the One Heart Church incident were so far-reaching that even the two deputy popes had been implicated.
With the deputy popes out of reach, there was no way that he could ensure Night Demon's safety, and he was desperately trying to co up with a plan.
"Looks like I'll have to send one of you to accompany Night Demon at all tis," Yin Shengong said in a concerned manner. "The clans from the main church may not do anything in the imdiate future, but the subsidiary churches are definitely going to be targeting Night Demon."
He was just about to send one of the elders to Night Demon's side when he received an order from the main church.
"In light of recent events, the One Heart Church is to undergo a process of overhaul. All mbers are to return to the church and remain there until further notice!"
Clearly, the main church was very unhappy with the One Heart Church, and certain changes were going to be made.
Anyone who dared to go against these orders and leave the church during this ti would be seen as a traitor to the main church.
At the sa ti, this order tipped Yin Shengong off to sothing else.
Hold on, they've clearly done this to deprive Night Demon of protection... This outco must've been caused by the people seeking vengeance against Night Demon! I have to get Sun Yuan to co back and go to the White Cloud Prefecture right away!
Yin Shengong's reaction was very swift.
At the mont, Sun Yuan was the only one that he could count on outside of the One Heart Church.
***
After the injection of divine power, Sun Yuan had made a breakthrough to the Emperor tier.
This was naturally very much worthy of celebration, but his foundation was still rather unstable, and he was also unaccustod to his newfound power.
For acclimation purposes, the main church arranged a training program in which all those who made breakthroughs as a result of divine power injection fought in sparring matches to find their bearings.
At this point, Sun Yuan had already grown much more accustod to his power.
On this day, he was paid a visit by an unexpected guest, naly a King from the Wang Clan of the main church that had also received an injection of divine power.
Among the group of divine power recipients, Wang Weibing was very arrogant and had eyes for no one else.
However, many people liked to suck up to him as he was from a prominent clan from the main church.
Sun Yuan wanted to do the sa, but even sucking up to Wang Weibing was a privilege that was beyond him.
Hence, it ca as a huge surprise when Wang Weibing approached him to extend an invitation.
"Care to join for a drink at the Spring Breeze Pavilion tonight, Brother Sun?"
"?"
Sun Yuan was completely flabbergasted.
Wang Weibing nodded in confirmation, and Sun Yuan hurriedly said, "That would be my honor! It's my treat tonight."
"What're you talking about?" Wang Weibing protested in a displeased manner. "We're in the main church, not your One Heart Church, I can't let you pay! I wanted to introduce you to two of my cousins. They always tell that I'll never make friends with my terrible personality, so please put in a good word for , Brother Sun."
"Of course! My pleasure," Sun Yuan replied.
That night, Sun Yuan sat in a booth in the Spring Breeze Pavilion with Wang Weibing and his two cousins, feeling as if he were in a dream.
Both of Wang Weibing's cousins were high-rank Sovereigns, yet they treated him with warm hospitality as if he were an equal.
Sun Yuan was very quick to drink at every toast that was raised, eagerly displaying his intentions to befriend his hosts.
The trio from the Wang Clan wore warm smiles on their faces, but deep down, they held nothing but derision for Sun Yuan.
In their eyes, he was nothing more than a piece of trash that had only just barely managed a breakthrough to the Emperor tier thanks to divine power injection.
After a few drinks, one of Wang Weibing's cousins, Wang Weixue, said with a smile, "There's sothing I'd like to ask you about, Brother Sun."
"Go right ahead!" Sun Yuan prompted as he imdiately gave Wang Weixue his full attention.
"Relax! We're friends here, not superior and subordinate!" Wang Weixue jibed. "Do you know of a Night Demon in your One Heart Church, Brother Sun?"
The trio was smiling as amicably as ever, but all three of them were scrutinizing Sun Yuan intently to gauge his reaction to their question.
"Night Demon?"
Sun Yuan was so caught off guard by this question that his expression completely stiffened before he had a chance to modulate his own reaction.
"Sounds familiar..."
He knew that he wouldn't be able to get away with denying his knowledge of Night Demon after that reaction, so he gave as ambiguous a response as he could.
Wang Weihan was the eldest of the Wang Clan trio, and Sun Yuan's reaction didn't slip his notice.
"Judging from your reaction, you seem to be more familiar with this Night Demon than you're letting on, Brother Sun. Let's all have another drink!"
Sun Yuan reciprocated the toast, but his mind was already elsewhere.
Why did he suddenly ntion Night Demon? What has he done to have attracted the attention of the main church?
"Brother Sun, you only recently ca out of seclusion, so you may not be aware that Night Demon has really made a na for himself of late," Wang Weihan said. "It's no exaggeration to say that he's a household na in our main church right now, and I wanted to see if you could tell more about him."
"What has he done to beco so well-known?" Sun Yuan asked.
"Night Demon took part in the Parasite Ascension Project and secured the top spot!" Wang Weihan declared. "This is the first-ever Parasite Ascension Project since the founding of our nation, so it bears special significance. Night Demon's future is truly imasurable!"
Sun Yuan was astonished to hear this.
"Parasite Ascension Project? Isn't that sothing that’s only for Generals? How could Night Demon have possibly taken part?"
Wang Weihan and Wang Weixue faltered slightly upon hearing this, then exchanged a aningful glance with one one another.
"Why do you sound so surprised, Brother Sun?"
Sun Yuan felt as if his brain had turned to mush.
He knew that he had misspoken, and he hurriedly tried to make ands as he replied, "I do know of a Night Demon from our church, but he's nowhere near the General tier, so there must be a mistake. If I recall correctly, he was still only a Warrior Master the last ti I saw him."
"How long ago was that?"
"Less than half a year ago."
"Prodigies always walk unique paths, do they not?"
The Wang Clan trio suppressed their astonishnt at this revelation as they continued to share drinks with Sun Yuan.
"Brother Sun, our Wang Clan would like to ask for a favor from you," Wang Weihan said. "As I'm sure you're aware, clans like ours are constantly on the lookout for bright talents. Night Demon is still quite a young man, so I presu he's still not yet married, right?"
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