Way of the Devil

Lin Family Court, Sleeping Moon City.

Lin Qiya, with his hands behind his back, calmly admired a painting of a farmer in a spring rain. His mouth tilted upward slightly, indicating he was in a good mood right now.

“Dad, we got the bastard from Wu Family. What do we do with him?” The third son of the Lin Family was still wrapped in bandages while he talked to his dad with a look of pure hatred on his face.

If it weren’t for his familial connection, he would have suffered a lot of pain at the hands of the Spring Sun Sect. Luckily, the person in charge of the capture was quite a greedy bastard, and agreed to release him. Of course, the Lin Family had to pay a significant sum for this “accident”.

“The Wu family still has some power; just look at that new disciple of the Spring Sun Sect. Wait and see if someone decides to bargain for his release. If not, you can handle the insignificant Wu Family yourself,” Lin Qiya said flatly.

“Of course. I have investigated this thoroughly; that Lu Sheng is nothing but a novice who was just admitted. There shouldn’t be any problem, since he wouldn’t dare provoke our family.”

“Don’t let that distract you from your proper duty in the family,” Lin Qiya ordered.

“You have nothing to worry about, Dad. I won’t let that bother me at all. If Second Brother had agreed to help, we would have gotten the bastard hiding in the Spring Sun Sect as well. How unfortunate.”

“Your second brother said he has some matters to take care of, but he is on his way back. You can talk to him yourself once he is here,” Lin Qiya said casually.

“Alright. If I get a chance… I have heard the Fifth Daughter of the Wu Family is quite the beauty…” Lin Qu licked his lips in anticipation as his eyes filled with lust.

“Creaaakkk.”

Suddenly, the door opened, and two tall, well-proportioned youth in close-fitting clothes walked in.

“Father, Third Brother, come greet my brother, Zhuo Tianyi.” The youth walking in front let out a laugh.

Lin Qiya and Lin Qu’s expressions lit up, and they both looked at the two newcomers.

The youth walking in front was, of course, the second son of the Lin Family. Lin Hui. Behind him followed a mild-mannered man dressed in white.

The man had a handsome face and long, pale fingers. A snow-white longsword hung on his waist; overall, he had a nice appearance.

“Second Brother!’

“Little Hui!”

The two men went up to greet them.

“Little Hui mentioned you quite often, Brother Tianyi.” Lin Qu greeted the man in white enthusiastically.

“Greetings, Uncle. You must be little Qu. Your brother mentioned you often. What gave you all those wounds?” The man in white nodded and looked at Lin Qu, a little surprised. He then promptly looked toward Lin Hui in question.

Lin Hui noticed this as well at this point. His expression sank as he looked at Lin Qu’s bandages.

“Dad, what happened? Little Qu was fine a while back.”

“This… is only a trivial matter; little Qu can handle it himself. Nothing but an accident.” Lin Qiya shook his head and smiled. “He was just ill prepared.”

“No matter, tell me anyways. As if there would be anyone around here who would have the courage to ignore the Lin Family?” A cruel light flashed across Lin Hui’s eyes.

Warily, Lin Qu recounted what had happened to him.

The group listened, and everyone laughed at the end.

“So, basically, you told Uncle Min to leave and then got beat up? That should teach you a lesson.” Lin Hui speechlessly rubbed his younger brother’s head after saying that.

“I was just careless at the time!” Lin Qu face reddened in embarrassment.

At this time, the sounds of hurried footsteps came from outside. A few sweaty and pale servants walked inside in a hurry.

“Master, there’s something wrong! That man… that man from the Spring Sun Sect is charging in here!!”

“Five of our best men couldn’t even hold him back, all of them were…!” The other person is obviously scared too, and his body was covered in blood.

“Huh?” Lin Qiya blinked. “And Uncle Min?”

“Uncle Min too…” The terrified servant shook his head repeatedly while kneeling on the floor.

Lin Qiya frowned slightly and looked toward his second son.

“Just in time. I happen to need a little exercise before I start resting.” The white-robed Zhuo Tianyi smiled, then tapped the sword on his waist.

“Sorry for the inconvenience, Brother Zhuo.” Lin Hui Smiled.

“No need to be so polite; this is only a trivial matter.” Zhuo Tianyi turned toward the door that the servants came through.

“In three crisp sounds, I return to my dream. In nine long laughs, I wake to the sky. Ahahahaha, behold my Sound of Surreal Sword…”

“Boom!!!”

The surrounding wall exploded with a boom, and the falling bricks and mortars landed directly on Zhuo Tianyi.

A piece of rock that weighed hundreds of kilograms slammed into Zhuo Tianyi’s waist like a cannonball. As the rock landed, the faint sound of bones cracking was audible.

Before Zhuo Tianyi could even react, his head had been smashed by a pile of rocks. He promptly fainted and was buried in the ground.

“…”

Lin Hui, his brother, and his father didn’t know how to react. Logically, someone as powerful as Zhuo Tianyi shouldn’t have been easily smashed unconscious by rocks, but the reality was that he was, and he was now under a pile of rocks. No one could even tell if he was dead or alive.

A mess of gray and white gravel lay on the ground, and at this time, a man in turquoise robes walked into the hole in the wall while holding a knife.

“I thought I heard someone reciting poetry?” The man’s face was calm, looking like any other youth. Except for his eyes—they were void of emotions, yet deep and mysterious. They gave the impression that everything they saw was the same. On top of all that, their stare was so sharp that it felt like it could pierce through souls.

“Is this the Lin Family?” The man surveyed his surrounding and quickly fixed his gaze on Lin Hui.

“It’s him!!!” one of the servants screamed in terror. He stepped back rapidly and fell on his butt, his body shaking violently as he pointed at Lu Sheng.

Not only him—the rest of the servants holding weapons behind the wall also didn’t dare approach him.

Lin Hui licked his lips. Who would have though Brother Zhuo would fall in such a hilarious manner. He was going to have a good laugh about this later on.

“What a bunch of useless trash! Get out of my way!!” He pushed aside the servants blocking the path and unsheathed the giant knife behind his back, striding toward Lu Sheng.

His muscles tensed as he approach. Activating his True Qi, the back of his hand turned into a shade of dark purple.

“The Black Light of the Moon’s Shadow, Unparalleled!!”

“Rinngggg!”

A light like that of a full moon’s instantly bloomed in front of Lin Hui as he struck out with his knife, heading directly toward Lu Sheng’s head.

This knife strike was powerful enough to chop anything in half through a wall. Lin Hui tested this multiple times, and it was one of his favorite starting strokes.

What appeared to be the most dangerous was the light shining like a full moon, but, in reality, what was the most dangerous was a thin black line hidden underneath.

And the most important point was that no matter which one of the two his opponent tried to block, they would have to cover to critical spots on both the upper and lower body.

There couldn’t be any delay at all, and both had to be dealt with at the same time. If his opponent was even a bit slower on either side, the faster side would transfer all its strength to the slower side to enhance the attack.

It was quite a deceptive move, appearing grand and fair on the surface, yet it hid trick after trick that could deceive even the most careful enemy underneath.

Lin Qiya and his son Lin Qu, who were on the side, relaxed a little once they saw this. They had seen the power of this move before—it once cut both a horse and its rider hiding behind it in half. If it was dodged, then everything would be fine, but if it hit…

“Nameless skill number 1.”

Suddenly, a calm voice came from the gleam of the blade.

Then, everyone saw a leg swiping out from the light, aimed directly at Lin Hui’s chest.

“Bam!!”

His ribs made a cracking sound, while his chest sunk. His body was bent by the force of the kick and flew backward, forcing him to drop his knife. A mouthful of blood surged out of his mouth.

As all this was happening, Lin Hui couldn’t believe it… he lost??

He somehow lost in this tiny countryside location??!!

His thoughts were stuck on the calm face of that man.

‘How did he dodge my knife strike?’

He didn’t know. He only saw a leg—a leg that came toward him at a really, really fast speed, and at an angle that went through a crack in the light that he never knew existed. Then, he lost. He still felt as if he was lost in the clouds… before a horrifying force landed on his chest.

“Bamm! Boom!!”

Lin Hui flew back like a cannonball, smashing into the main hall of the Lin Family. The sound of breaking furniture followed.

Lin Qiya and his son’s mouths opened wide, with their cheers stuck in their throats. All they could do was stare at the man.

“I’m Lu Sheng. Who’s the third son of the Lin Family?” Lu Sheng swung the knife in his hand.

“You… you…!!” Lin Qu’s voice was so shaky he couldn’t finish his sentence. His face was deathly pale, and his legs were shaking. He felt as if all the bones had been stolen from his body; if it weren’t for his father, Lin Qiya, supporting him, he probably would have fallen to the ground already.

“Esteemed… Esteemed Master Lu… Do you know who the two men you just injured are?” Lin Qiya finally showed his experience. Forcibly calming himself, he ignored the fleeing servants and guards and focused his attention on Lu Sheng.

“I don’t care who they are. Where is the man from the Wu Family? Release him, then both of you lose a hand—only then will we be even.” Lu Sheng frowned.

“You…!!” Lin Qiya’s eyes widened. He never thought a disciple who was just accepted into the inner part of the Spring Sun Sect would be so audacious.

“Master Lu, my son is an inner disciple of the Moon Shadow Sect. Of course, you are an inner sect disciple too, but that Master Zhuo is the only grandson of the Moon Shadow Sect’s fourth elder.”

“What moon shadow or sun shadow, I don’t understand what you are saying. Hurry up and release the prisoner and break your hand. Don’t make me do it myself, or else I might accidently kill a couple of people. Consider yourself warned,” Lu Sheng said impatiently.

Lin Qiya’s whole body shook from anger, and he nearly spat up blood. The Moon Shadow Sect was as famous as the Spring Sun Sect, but this person…

“Hahahaha! Such audacity! Young man, even Lin Chongyang wouldn’t dare say that to my face.”

Suddenly, a hoarse voice called out from afar.