Way of the Devil

‘Extreme activation… isn’t that the supposed Yang Qi?’ Lu Sheng thought. ‘In other words, my Yang Qi is now so strong that nothing else is a match for it.’

He thought for a moment, then bit hard on his finger and squeezed out a drop of thick dark-red blood.

With a splat, the drop of blood landed on the ground.

“Szzzzz…”

Lu Sheng stared dumbly in shock as the drop of blood expanded in a frenzy on the ground.

At first, it was merely the size of a fingernail when it landed on the ground.

A few breaths later, however, it had expanded to the size of a palm!

He waited as he watched the drop of blood corrode a large chunk of metal on the ground, forming a fist-sized pit. Finally, the cells reached their multiplication limit and finally stopped.

“It can even devour metal?” Lu Sheng pinched and held up the flesh-like object which was a mass of tissue formed by the drop of blood after it had consumed the metal.

This was the first time he saw a body capable of doing that.

Lu Sheng looked again at the bite wound on his finger. It had completely healed, with a new layer of greenish gray cuticle covering it.

“Rumble…”

Suddenly, Lu Sheng felt a very intense hunger rumbling in his stomach.

He quickly shrunk his body back into the ordinary looking Yin Extreme Mode again. Then, he immediately popped a condensed pill taken from a medicine box into his mouth.

It was a grain pill made of many types of food—sesame, peanuts, sugar, flour… etc. One pill could replace a meal, but was only the size of a walnut and so was very convenient.

He tidied up the mess in the sanctuary, changed into a set of fresh clothes, then walked out of the stone door.

“How long have I been in solitary confinement?” Lu Sheng breathed in deeply. The sun was bright outside; it was noon.

“In reply to Sect Master, it has been four hours,” a guard near him replied.

“Is Song Zhenguo here?”

“He has been waiting for a long time.”

Lu Sheng nodded and asked for someone to lead him there. On the way, he freshened himself up before meeting Song Zhenguo in the garden.

Winter plums were in full blossom in the garden. All over the garden were white petals, their fragrance wafting throughout the place.

Wearing a set of gray athletic robes, Song Zhenguo sat uneasily at a stone table in the garden.

He had been taken to such a splendid place abruptly. For someone who had seen the world like him, he immediately recognized that this was not a place that could belong to the average faction.

Although the person who had come to fetch him here came in Master Lu’s name, his heart remained unsettled as long as he did not see Lu Sheng.

“Zhenguo.” Lu Sheng strolled into the garden.

“Master Lu!” Song Zhenguo rose to his feet, his face finally relaxing. “I was getting worried, wondering who would bring me to this place. Turns out it really is Master Lu!” He had long since guessed that there was more than meets the eye to Lu Sheng, but little did he expect that he would be this impressive. Judging based on the attitude of the person who had come to fetch him, he could tell that Lu Sheng commanded extremely high standing and authority among them.

“How’s your body doing?” Lu Sheng sat down with him and watched as Song Zhenguo hurriedly poured wine for him.

“It’s strange to think of it. Ever since Master Lu’s precious instruction, your disciple immediately felt a vast improvement in my cultivation. Now I’ve consolidated the Initiation phase of Green Pine One Thought Formula.” Song Zhenguo was overjoyed.

“Give me your hand.” Lu Sheng checked his pulse. He injected a strand of inner Qi into his body to survey the situation inside.

Indeed, as he expected, Song Zhenguo seemed as if he had cultivated Green Pine One Thought Formula on the surface, but it was actually the strand of Aquarius Qi that he had previously injected into him.

But the strand of inner Qi has become significantly thicker, and it was impossible to tell them apart without close scrutiny. But anytime he wished to, he could take back that strand of inner Qi, wasting all of Song Zhenguo’s precious efforts and ruining even his constitution and foundation.

‘What a twisted skill…’ Lu Sheng exclaimed in his mind but remained impassive.

“You’ve made good progress. Next, you can practice some complementary skills. I’ve got a fist technique which doesn’t have any combat use but helps to temper and cultivate your Qi and blood. It’s called Pulse Channeling Fist. Learn it.”

Lu Sheng did not intend to raise Song Zhenguo’s strength artificially too drastically. He would rather let him continue building up his strength slowly and steadily.

As for his vendetta, Song Zhenguo’s foe was Scarlet District. Given his martial arts, however, even if he were to cultivate for an entire lifetime, he would not be match for even the weakest ghost in Scarlet District. So it was a totally lost cause.

Lu Sheng intended to have Song Zhenguo cultivate slowly and steadily. It would already be sufficient for him to be capable of escaping when he encountered an average ghost.

After teaching him the fist technique, Lu Sheng confirmed that his own Aquarius Qi could indeed upgrade and control others’ cultivation. That implied that the conditions were ripe for him to build up a death squad.

Lu Sheng had his men send Song Zhenguo back into the city. At the same time, he begun planning to raise up some people he could use.

As things were now, there wasn’t a single person in the entire Crimson Whale Sect who could lend him a helping hand when he met with real trouble.

“I need a secret force that’s powerful enough to protect my family and friends against even Bind-realm threats. This trip to Martial League will perhaps present opportunities. Divine Prime experts make a good choice.”

Martial League had taken in many Divine Prime experts to enlist their help against the Noble Families. But it was a pity that they could not hold their own and had to run and hide even when faced against Ashoka Manor.

This time, Lu Sheng would deal with the eyewitnesses from that day, collect enough manuals, and take in Martial League’s experts under his wing with the hopes of grooming them to become martial arts experts who could threaten even Bind realm beings.

Through Song Zhenguo, he discovered that he could boost the cultivation base of these experts simply by injecting Aquarius Qi into them. What he was unsure of, however, was the extent of the upgrade.

“Get Xu Chui to come here,” Lu Sheng instructed after some thought.

“Yes, sir!”

Before long, Xu Chui arrived at the garden and knelt on one knee before Lu Sheng.

“Greetings to Sect Master.”

“Come with me.” Lu Sheng took him out of the garden and sped along till they reached a martial arts arena.

At the same time, he gave orders that no one was to enter and disturb them.

“Ah Chui. How long have you been stuck at the edge of Intent Proficiency?” Lu Sheng stood in front of the wooden window with his back to Xu Chui, gazing into the distance.

An inky black and greenish reef rose up from the river in the distance, with many boats docked against it. Many anglers sat on the reef, fishing.

White seagulls called out as they flew past the reef. The surface of the river rippled under the wind.

In the waters near the Crimson Whale, some disciples wearing only shorts bobbed up and down the icy river, training through swimming.

“It’s been three years…” Xu Chui replied respectfully.

To Crimson Whale Sect, Lu Sheng’s presence was akin to the original Zhen Family’s backing. Singlehanded, he suppressed the insolence of the supernatural in the entire Northern Lands. The safety of tens of thousands in the sect depended entirely on the tall young man before him.

That was why he revered Lu Sheng.

“You’re thirty-six this year. How many three years does one have to waste in life?” Lu Sheng said calmly as he retracted his gaze and fixed it upon Xu Chui.

“Xu Chui knows, too… but, the step ahead remains… remains…” A look of defeat surfaced on Xu Chui’s face.

“If there’s an opportunity for you to break into Intent Proficiency and obtain its strength, but leaves you with no options except to rely on me henceforth, what would your decision be?” Lu Sheng’s voice was deep.

Xu Chui fell into a silent daze.

The struggle was written all over his face. His hand on his saber hilt tightened its grip till his knuckles turned white.

After a while…

He breathed out slowly.

“Ah Chui… is willing!”

Lu Sheng turned around completely and faced him squarely.

“I can give you a breakthrough in your cultivation through some methods. But… such a breakthrough will render it forever impossible for you to ever make a move against me.

It’s not poison, and doesn’t require any regular antidote. But your cultivation shall from now on forever be dependent on me,” Lu Sheng explained carefully.

“That would be your subordinate’s honor!” Xu Chui said with full conviction.

Lu Sheng was taken aback, then immediately reminded himself that this was not Earth.

People here were not as complicated and scheming. Loyalty was a respected virtue here.

People would even die for their cause. Mercenary fighters would even die for the dukes and princes who employed them to repay their favor.

Such instances did not appear only in the world of novels.

Seeing the resolve and worship in Xu Chui’s eyes, Lu Sheng suddenly thought of the massive weight and authority he held sway over the sect now.

“I hope you’ll never regret this,” he whispered.

Xu Chui moved one step forward and knelt down on one knee.

“Absolutely never!”

Lu Sheng gazed intently at him in silence for a while.

“You’re just one step away in your inner Qi cultivation. You’ve been stuck only because you lack a certain vigor after being stagnant this stage for too long; your Qi has become dull. Today, let me help you make that leap!”

Xu Chui lifted his head in bafflement.

Just as he was pondering Lu Sheng’s words, he saw Lu Sheng’s figure shooting towards him in a blur, leaving a series of afterimages behind him.

“Unlimited Heaven and Earth, Yin Yang Jade Crane!”

“SWISH!”

A large hand like jade landed on his forehead at a speed that, unfathomably, was fast yet slow at the same time.

In that instant, a massive wave of pure inner Qi gushed into his body. Xu Chui inflated like a balloon.

His skin, muscles, organs were engorged and in excruciating pain. Out of his control, he yelled. But at the thought that this was his Sect Master imparting his cultivation to him, he bit the bullet and endured the pain.

Lu Sheng’s right hand had expanded slightly. Traces of light-red aura radiated off his body. It was the defensive blood web cast by Ultimate Crimson Nine Furies Skill automatically.

Red Qi encircled and danced around the two of them.

With a swish, he lifted Xu Chui up into the air, leaving him spinning rapidly in mid-air.

“BOOM!”

A palm strike.

Lu Sheng’s right palm landed dead in the center of Xu Chui’s chest.

Yin Yang Jade Crane Aquarius Qi gushed madly into his body. Xu Chui grit his teeth in insane pain. The muscles all over his body began distorting and shivering. Faint spots of blood emerged on the surface of his skin.

Even a little bit of Lu Sheng’s several-hundred-years-old cultivation injected into his body was too much for it to bear.

Even Lu Sheng himself had upgraded to where he was presently one step at a time. Each time after an upgrade, he would wait till he had acclimatized to it before proceeding with the next upgrade.

The imparting of such large amounts of inner Qi was unprecedented.

As the large volume of inner Qi poured into him, Xu Chui’s muscles began to distort and mutate.

Blood-red tumors began popping up on his chest, each about the size of a fingernail. Before long, the blood tumors were densely packed on his chest, occupying an area the size of a palm.

Then, two blood-colored lines extended from the tumors towards Xu Chui’s arms.

A strength that was many times stronger than he previously had been boasting was churning in his body.

The two of them froze in the arena. As if his chest had been glued to Lu Sheng’s palm, Xu Chui hovered in mid-air in front of Lu Sheng without budging.

Countless wisps of red smoke encircled the two of them.