As prodigies from major clans, both of them possessed extremely sharp intuition when it came to gauging the latent potential of others.
At Fang Che's current rate of improvement, he clearly still had limitless latent potential to tap into. If they didn't know any better, they could've easily been fooled into thinking that Fang Che was from a first-tier clan!
How could someone like him possibly fall behind? It was a ridiculous notion!
"Also, it's not going to be easy to serve as the leader of our group. You have to simultaneously balance out all the clans and brothers, while also possessing an eye for the bigger picture. Additionally, you have to be able to look after your brothers, whether that be in terms of resources or information.
“I possess the intangible qualities, but I don't have any useful resources or information to share. If I continue to serve as the leader of this group, eventually, all of you will have to begin constantly supporting me with resources from your clans. Whenever resources come into the group, they'll inevitably have to be shared among everyone.
“It's only to be expected of the leader to share his resources with everyone else, but it would be a complete joke if the leader only ever benefitted from everyone else's resources. I don't have anything to give you guys, so I'm not going to be the leader of this group in the long run."
Everyone's expressions darkened slightly upon hearing this.
At the moment, Fang Che was the only one capable of commanding the respect of everyone in the group.
If someone else were to take his place, they would undoubtedly struggle.
"Also, there's something that you've all failed to consider. The five of you will be representing the academy in the World Academy Tournament, while I will be absent, and the impact of that cannot be understated. If any one of you wants to take my place, then use your power and charisma to win over everyone! From tomorrow onward, our sparring matches will no longer follow the same one-on-one format before.
“Instead, the five of you will be taking me on in battle. You guys can pretend that I'm a prodigy from another academy. Your team of five must become a cohesive unit as soon as possible. Otherwise, not only will you not win honor for the academy, you'll only be putting the academy and yourselves to shame! That's all I have to say, I'm going home now. I haven't been home in quite a few days."
With that, he stood up and turned to depart.
"Boss..." Yu Zhongge called out with a look of mixed emotions in his eyes.
Fang Che merely merely gave the five of them a parting wave before walking away.
At this point, it was already starting to get dark, and Fang Che quickly disappeared into the darkness.
Wu Zhibing's trio and the four instructors heaved a collective internal sigh as they looked on from the shadows.
They all knew that Fang Che had been prohibited from taking part in the tournament.
However, none of them had anticipated that Fang Che would cut himself out of the group in such a decisive fashion.
This was undoubtedly the best course of action to take, clarifying the situation to ensure that there was no doubt or confusion in anyone's mind on the future direction they were supposed to take.
Additionally, he had also ensured that Xie Gongping wouldn't end up with any psychological scars from this experience, essentially resolving all of the future problems that could arise all at once.
Finally, he had tied the five boys together in the greater pursuit for honor for the academy, and all of this had been executed splendidly.
However, the more competence and foresight he displayed, the more it felt like a massive waste for this group to be without such an exceptional leader.
Unbeknownst to them, Fang Che never had any intention of leading this group in the first place.
He walked a different path from everyone else, and if he were to serve as their leader, this group would be subjected to far more danger in the future than otherwise.
Furthermore, Fang Che's ties with the One Heart Church meant that a cloud of suspicions would be cast over everyone else, so their future development would be handicapped by their association with him.
Hence, this was the perfect opportunity for him to detach himself from the group and serve more of a mentorship role.
Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't interfere with the group's affairs, but he would retain sufficient authority to be able to command the group whenever he saw fit. That was the ideal outcome for him.
Everyone felt like Fang Che had been unfairly targeted, but Fang Che felt was a massive stroke of fortune.
Furthermore, the sympathy that everyone felt toward him in light of his "unfair treatment" would also be of benefit to him.
On the way back to the Virtue Manor, Fang Che sent a message to Yin Shengong.
"Pope Yin, Subordinate Night Demon reporting. I've made a full recovery, and on top of that, my spirit sense seems to have been enhanced, so you can rest assured. Right now, I'm already a sixth-rank Great Grandmaster, and I'll do my bet to reach the General tier as soon as possible! I'm feeling more and more confident now."
He made no mention of the hardships and perils that he had endured, as if this were purely a blessing that the academy had decided to bestow upon him.
It was unwise to complain when Yin Shengong was already aware of the adversity that he had endured. The more he complained, the more annoyed Yin Shengong would become. On the contrary, the more he brushed it off, the more impressed Yin Shengong would be.
Sure enough, Yin Shengong was very pleased with this message, and he immediately responded.
"You must've suffered a lot."
"Not really. I didn't even really feel anything. I just woke up to discover that my spirit sense had become far more powerful than before!"
"Clueless little bastard!" Yin Shengong chuckled under his breath. "You were unconscious for six days and almost ended up braindead!"
'Work hard in your cultivation, and make sure to look after Elder Mu well."
With that final message sent, Yin Shengong stowed his communication jade away, then made his way out of the room with his hands clasped behind his back.
He was doing his best to keep up a furious facade, but it clearly wasn't working.
"You seem to be in a good mood today, Pope Yin," Hou Fang remarked.
"Good mood my arse! Nothing's going right for me!" Yin Shengong raged.
"Correction: you seem to be in an exceptional mood, Pope Yin!" Hou Fang chuckled.
Yin Shengong immediately kicked Hou Fang away in annoyance.
Bei Mingxin was sunbathing with a hand clasped over his chest, and he remarked, "You seem very cheerful today, Pope Yin. What's gotten you in such a good mood?"
How is everyone able to see right through me? Do I not look furious right now?
What he failed to realize was just how much pressure Night Demon's condition had placed upon him.
Now that all of that pressure had suddenly disappeared, he felt as light as a feather, and despite his best efforts, he was simply unable to replicate the same sense of brooding fury that had felt over the past few days.
"You seem to be in much better condition as well, Master Bei," Yin Shengong remarked with a smile. "The fact that you're able to whittle away this spear intent so quickly clearly indicates that you've advanced in your cultivation base since your previous clash against Dong Changfeng."
A pleased smile appeared on Bei Mingxin's face as he said, "It also shows that Dong Changfeng is still yet to recover from his injuries. Once I've fully digested his spear intent, my cultivation base will be enhanced even further, and I'll surely be able to cut him down the next time we clash!"
"It's a shame that you need to keep your identity a secret, Master Bei. Otherwise, you would've made it onto the Cloud Weapon Archive long ago," Yin Shengong praised.
Bei Mingxin was silent for a moment, then said, "I've recovered adequately from my injuries, so I'll be going back in the next few days."
"What about the jade?" Yin Shengong asked.
"There's no need to search for it any longer," Bei Mingxin replied with a dark expression. "I've received word from the main church that it's already become bonded with another soul."
"That's a real shame," Yin Shengong sighed.
He then turned his gaze to Ren Zhongyuan, who was standing beside Bei Mingxin, and said, "Zhongyuan, focus on attending to Master Bei's needs. There's no need for you to concern yourself with our church's affairs for now. Also, I came across some Cloud Mist Roots recently. I know you like those things a lot, so I had them sent to your residence."
"Thank you, Pope Yin."
"No need to thank me, we've been brothers for centuries! I've prepared a small parting gift for you as well, Master Bei. Please take it with you when you leave."
"You have my thanks, Pope Yin."
"I have some things for Brother Liu as well," Yin Shengong sighed. "I've prepared some cultivation resources for his children, please pass those onto his family along with my sincerest condolences."
The three guards behind Bei Mingxin were very touched by this gesture, and they collectively expressed their gratitude to Yin Shengong.
Yin Shengong departed after extending a parting salute, and once he was out of earshot, Bei Mingxin sighed, "You have a very difficult task ahead of you, Zhongyuan."
"I have to give it a try," Ren Zhongyuan said.
"Yin Shengong is a very formidable opponent, but this upcoming Parasite Ascension Project will be your best opportunity to overthrow him," Bei Mingxin said. "Are you certain that you've rallied all of the Generals of the One Heart Church under your command?"