Way of the Devil

“My God…” Rui Xiong covered his face. He could not stand the sight. It was one thing for Zhuo Siqing to paint a naked female body, but he was a man, for crying out loud! Even his private parts were painted with extreme attention to detail…

Even Lu Sheng could not bring himself to look at the painting. He turned his face away.

Ai Lin was the only one left. Her face flushed red and her neck felt hot. Her hand was already reaching for the sturdy wooden chair beside her. The chair would find itself on Zhuo Siqing’s head any second now.

The inevitable confrontation erupted. Ai Lin was intent on giving Zhuo Siqing death by chair smash, but was rigorously held back by Rui Xiong.

Lu Sheng was speechless.

In truth, these so-called competitions were but little games for him.

Now that he had seen it with his own eyes, he learned that though there were certain parts of the event he could benefit from, it was still a general waste of his time.

He came to this world to spend his time gathering insights and raise his tier.

Ai Lin finally gave up her killing intent under Rui Xiong’s relentless implorations and Zhuo Siqing’s repeated apologies. However, they could not submit this painting for the competition.

Regardless of the quality of the painting, the theme of this work itself would have compelled every judge to give it negative marks. The only reasons why he was not chased out of the venue was because of his luck and abundance of friends.

“Swoosh. Swoosh.”

Lu Sheng walked up and added a few strokes to Zhuo Siqing’s painting. The painting on the canvas was blurred out. At the very least, the details of the three naked bodies were not as obvious now.

“Hey, hey, hey! This kid!” Zhuo Siqing was triggered. He wanted to stop him, but Lu Sheng kept him at bay with a single arm. Zhuo Siqing could not even move.

“My masterpiece!” Zhuo Siqing lamented loudly.

Lu Sheng returned the modified painting to its original spot. He had been slightly interested in paintings. When he experienced the mysterious phenomenon just now, his interest in paintings drawn by more skillful painters soared.

The expo began shortly. The works of the three-man teams were hung on the opposite wall of the compartments. The judges and members of the public would come to evaluate and cast their votes.

Lu Sheng decided to ignore Rui Xiong and the others. When they were discussing their works, Lu Sheng went away on his own. He walked throughout the hall and observed the paintings of the other contestants.

Many of the works here displayed a high level of pure skills. However, there were only three teams that were able to give him the impact and shock he felt before.

Rui Xiong’s team was one of them. There were two other teams, one of which was led by a cheerful teen with short green hair, and the other by a young master of a noble family with deep eyes.

One of them had the theme of harvesting sweat. The other’s team was of a teacher’s student finally becoming successful.

Lu Sheng scrutinized the paintings of the two teams. There were only one or two works which inspired awe.

It was a vague feeling, but Lu Sheng could feel some substantial change taking place within him when he was enjoying these works with special impact. It was as if he gained a deeper enlightenment about certain things.

The expo ended soon enough, and the votes were cast. Even if Lu Sheng made his move, the difference in the points was too huge. Zhuo Siqing got the fourth place.

In truth, only the top three spots had meaning. It did not matter if he won the fourth or fifth place. This was a consolation prize.

Although he merely won fourth place, Zhuo Siqing acted as if it was some grand festival. He returned home jubilantly and wanted to throw a big party. Naturally, Lu Sheng stopped him before he could actually do it. It took several days before he calmed down from his euphoric fit.

After returning home from the expo, Lu Sheng could not forget the wonderful sensation of having his spirit impacted by the paintings.

Although he was only in this world as a passerby, the main reason he chose this world was because of its time flow. If he could gain something useful for himself, he would not let it slip away from his grasp.

After returning from the expo, he was exceptionally interested in the painters who were able to produce works that could impact the spirit.

After coming up with a reason to go traveling which he told Zhuo Siqing, Lu Sheng went out and silently visited the exhibition hall. He obtained the names and addresses of the top three painters.

He made preparations to pay them a visit.

The painters who were capable of producing works such as those certainly had some extraordinary mental attributes.

****************

Outskirts of Yanrong Town. Bailin Mansion.

The cooling autumn breeze blew through the golden forest. A young boy with short blonde hair was clutching several paintbrushes. An assortment of paint basins with different sizes was placed all around him.

Before him was a painting of an elaphure running through a dark forest. 90% of the content was already painted.

“Keh, keh, keh…” The young boy suddenly lowered his head and started coughing.

His name was Jelian. He was the winner of the district’s art expo. He was a top painter who was regarded as a prodigy. Unfortunately, just when he was about to realize his ambitions in the painting world, a sudden chronic illness pulled him away from his future.

Currently, his hands would shake just by holding a paintbrush.

Hence, he had to clench the brush strongly to prevent his shaking hands from distorting the lines, which would then lose their original meaning.

“You drew this?”

Suddenly, a voice reached out to him from the depths of the forest.

A man with an unimaginably big and tall physique walked slowly out of the shadows and stopped beside Jelian.

“I didn’t think that the Ghost Head, Jelian Dre, would be willing to stay holed up in an isolated and unknown town this far out. What a joke.”

“Who are you?”

Jelian’s expression froze. He looked at the newcomer. Alertness crept across his face.

“Me? I’m just a person who likes painting,” said Lu Sheng in a flat tone.

He had learned much about this prodigy with his psychological guidance art.

He could not use his other skills in this world, but he could still use his psychological guidance art. Although it was slightly weakened because of the rules, it was still enough to get the job done.

“A person who likes paintings? What do you want?” Jelian was calm again. He was a person on his deathbed. He could now stay calm no matter how dangerous the situation was.

Lu Sheng stared at the brilliant spirit of the person before himself. He could not imagine how such an inferior world could produce such a powerful and pure spirit.

If this person had been born in Great Yin or other cultivating worlds, he would have certainly been a super genius who was one in a million.

Even in such an inferior world, he was able to cultivate his spirit to the Weapon Master’s tier on his own.

If he was given the platform, who knew how far he would be able to go.

“I feel sorry for you,” Lu Sheng started slowly. “I’m sure not many among the finalists of God’s Eye can match your talent. However, because of your condition, you have no choice but to hole up here for the rest of your life.”

“If that’s all you have to say, can you leave now? I want to rest,” Jelian immediately cut Lu Sheng short.

“I can heal you,” said Lu Sheng directly.

Jelian was slightly stunned. Then, he smiled. “Do you know what kind of illness I’m having?”

“Myolysis,” Lu Sheng said drily. This was a completely incurable sickness of this world.

“Then, you…” Jelian was stunned.

“Because I need your strength.” Since Lu Sheng came to this world, he would not follow the prescribed order and waste his time.

He wanted to establish his foundations quickly, and then absorb the essences of this world so that he could truly be improved.

Jelia gritted his teeth. He wanted to retort, but this person had a certain assuring air about him which made him lose the intention to debate with him. This strange feeling, coupled with a formidable pressure, left him no other choice but to believe in the person’s words.

“How do you want me to help you? If you can really heal me, my power is yours,” Jelian promised earnestly.

“That’s simple. I want you to help me complete a painting.”

Lu Sheng smiled.

*********************

Several months later.

While Zhuo Siqing was still enjoying himself by joining expos and competitions, rumors about a mysterious organization called the Silver Hand were starting to circulate in the painting world.

This organization spread its influence quickly. Several central cities had already been overcome by its members.

Even the evil painters, who were deemed the most dangerous individuals in the painting world, were like young babies compared to the Silver Hand.

Every single member of the Silver Hand was the most dangerous and powerful painters of the dark painting world once.

Some of their paintings could induce disasters of varying degrees. Some of them could influence emotions, while some of them could control a person’s mind.

Some of them could even trigger physiological diseases which ended in death.

Their strength had been extremely powerful to begin with. However, after joining the Silver Hand, it was as if their powers instantly rose by several magnitudes overnight. They were now practically undefeatable.

Within the federal nations, the great states were slowly conquered by the Silver Hand. The members of the Silver Hand grew. Even though they only recruited experts, eventually, most of the area in the entire federation was occupied by the Silver Hand’s members.

The high-ranking federal officers and generals attempted to stem this ill influence, but their efforts were futile.

Within the Silver Hand, those with the title of silver painters were too powerful. Anyone or anything that stood in their way was destroyed with their supernatural ability to control the spirit.

At this moment, a rumor started spreading in the black market.

It was said that the rise of the Silver Hand was due to a painting. It was a peculiar and mysterious work which contained powerful supernatural abilities.

The painting itself was defective. However, the leader of the Silver Hand mended it, giving it the power to inspire awe in anyone who saw it.

There were even rumors mentioning that if the painting could be completely mended, the person would possess a mighty power surpassing that of the Silver Hand. The person could even rob them of the immense power that they had already possessed.

The rumors gained traction. In no time, the rumors finally reached the upper echelons of the World God’s Eye Organization.

….

Muduo Sea. A mansion in the center of the barren island.

“Is this the devil painting which is said to have helped the Silver Hand rise to prominence?”

Osiris’s chiseled face appeared serene and handsome under the shine of the setting sun. There was a certain sense of solemnity about him that was difficult to put into words.

He had been awarded the title of God’s Eye for three consecutive years. He was also the leader behind the scenes for God’s Eye. He was the most powerful painter in the world.

His color layers were deemed the master of the skies. In every God’s Eye competition, he was the decision maker among the judges.

Currently, a slightly chaotic and messy dark painting was presented before him.

There was a huge wheel structure on the canvas. Huge empty parts were left on the wheel structure so that another person could fill in the void.

“It’s said that if this painting is correctly mended and placed in a special location, the painter will be able to obtain unimaginable power.” A girl with long platinum hair in white form-fitting suit stood beside him in the room.