Way of the Devil

The clothes the girl wore were very old, and her posture looked stiff despite being straight. She was completely silent.

If Lu Sheng didn’t see her with his eyes, he wouldn’t even notice a person stood there.

As he walked down the stairs, he suddenly noticed that the medal Shizi Xing gifted him was shining a faint gray light.

He walked to the end of the stairs and brushed shoulders with the girl. The girl’s face couldn’t be seen clearly, so Lu Sheng continued on his way to the next flight of stairs.

“Whoosh…”

Suddenly, a breeze blew by, and Lu Sheng blanked out for a second. Goosebumps rose on his neck as he turned abruptly. But, there was nothing else behind his back. The girl still stood in place with her back turned to him as she stared out the window.

Lu Sheng continued down the building with uncertainty. He didn’t know what the matter was today, but he usually didn’t see anyone in the building. Only rarely would an Evil Art Master or Mirror Spirit Master who worked for Shizi Xing come here to see her, like him.

But now.

As he set foot on the second floor, he immediately saw that the door to a nearby room was open. A balding middle-aged man sat inside the room. He wore a long-sleeved shirt and pants, and sat on a bench with his back to the door. He was muttering something under his breath as if he was praying, but his tone was filled with a strange terror.

Lu Sheng couldn’t discern what the guy was praying about.

Still, that didn’t prevent him from sensing the emotion he conveyed. It was a mix of extreme fear, pain, and panic.

“Ignore them, they aren’t human, Evil Art Masters, nor Mirror Spirit Masters. Neither are they beings from Other Worlds. Just don’t talk, chat, or come in contact with them.” Shizi Xing sent her voice from a distance.

Uncertainty flashed across Lu Sheng’s eyes, but since Shizi Xing didn’t explain, he didn’t bother to ask.

He’d only just gained the trust of Shizi Xing, a trust that was very fragile, and of unknown depth.

As he continued on his way down, Lu Sheng didn’t encounter any other anomalies. He glanced at the medal on his chest again when he exited the building. The gray light had disappeared.

After a few thoughts, Lu Sheng willed himself to leave. His body disappeared in place, and when he opened his eyes again, he was back in the secret chamber within the palace.

The medal was still on his chest.

He sat with a straight back in place, trying to carefully calm his mind.

‘If the Origin Power is an evolution of Law, then if I use Mental Energy to endlessly improve my Yin Flame Death Blaze, could I force it to a level that’s even higher than Origin Power?‘ Lu Sheng’s thoughts moved rapidly. ‘With how powerful Deep Blue is, that might actually be possible.’

He still felt that the Deep Blue Cheating Device was like a kind of supercomputer based on his existing knowledge. As long as it was provided with enough Mental Energy, it could evolve any system he knew indefinitely.

He lightly stroked the surface of the black and white medal. Even though it was Shizi Xing’s reward, he had no intention of using it.

There were too many secrets hidden in the World of Pain, and everything that came from there needed to be treated with caution before its nature was completely understood by him.

After sitting there for a while, he ultimately stood up.

There was really one person he could go to for help in the entire Great Yin—Divine Lord Tong Sheng 1.

Lu Sheng had gathered information about Divine Lord Tong Sheng’s grandson before, and it was indeed true that the two of them were similar. Not just appearance-wise, but also in temperment.

He, too, chose a path that focused on strengthening his physical body. By integrating the strength of a powerful demon, after several fortunate incidents, he had become extremely powerful, even almost reaching the Divine Lord level. But, at the last crucial moment, he was ambushed by a mysterious person, and then disappeared without a trace.

For his most beloved and most talented grandson, Tong Sheng pulled all his connections and favors, even going so far as to beg for assistance from Weapon Grandmasters, but to no avail.

He even withdrew from the world for decades before recovering from that incident.

“Divine Lord Tong Sheng is about to leave. I must take this chance to ask him about a way to understand the Origin Power.” That was Lu Sheng’s plan.

He’d only met Tong Sheng by chance, but now that he needed someone to tell him about Origin Power, he realized this elderly man was his only option.

In the Great Yin, his official master Qian Du, Su Ningfei, couldn’t be trusted. She didn’t even explain the cultivation method after Divine Lord, clearly being cautious of Lu Sheng.

Lu Sheng took a deep breath, and took off the medal Shizi Xing had given him, wrapped it in Yang Essence, and put it in a secret compartment before opening the door.

“You completed your cultivation, Prefectural Sect Master?” The Thousand Sun Sect disciple guarding the door greeted him respectfully.

“Where is Senior Tong Sheng right now?”

“Playing chess with the sect master in Baiwang Pavilion.”

“Take me there.”

The disciple didn’t dare delay, and immediately led Lu Sheng toward the Baiwang Pavilion.

The Thousand Sun Palace was filled with returning disciples by then. There were many newly recruited novices, and all had the energetic spirit of youths. Of course, there were also little prodigies who had high opinions of themselves mixed in.

But no matter who they were, their eyes were filled with admiration and respect as they recognized the pattern on Lu Sheng’s robes.

After crossing a major portion of the palace and passing through a little archway, the two arrived at a delicate pavilion surrounded by colorful blooming flowers.

Divine Lord Tong Sheng and Sect Master Chen Jingzhi were sitting across each other, playing Weapon Chess, a special game similar to land battle chess 1but more advanced.

Seeing Lu Sheng, Divine Lord Tong Sheng’s face instantly lit up.

“Ah, you are here, Lu Sheng. Come, come, come, I was going to talk about the case with you, but you were cultivating in seclusion. I didn’t want to bother you, and came here to play chess with Chen Jingzhi. Great that you came by yourself.”

He messed up the board with a swipe of his hand, and hurriedly stood up to greet Lu Sheng.

Cheng Jingzhi, his hand still holding the piece that was about to win him the game, sat speechlessly in place. When he saw Lu Sheng, he, too, shook his head and stood up.

“Since Divine Lord Lu is here, I will leave for now.” He reorganized the chess board, and hurriedly left.

Lu Sheng didn’t know how to feel after seeing his senior’s obvious attempt at cheating, either.

But he came here to ask Tong Sheng about Origin Power with a sincere motive.

The two sat down in the pavilion, and Lu Sheng described his problem.

“Origin power?” Divine Lord Tong Sheng blanked out. “Right, it’s about time you learn about that.” He held up the cup of tea on the table, and took a sip.

“This question should really be for your master, and not me.”

Lu Sheng laughed bitterly. “Senior… Me and my master Su Ningfei… You must have heard about it too, but our relationship isn’t as smooth as people imagine.”

“I understand your position.” Tong Sheng saw Lu Sheng’s files before. Entering the Thousand Sun Sect by hiding his power, he was lucky they didn’t suspect him of any ill intent, and learning about the central secret of Origin Power of the Thousand Sun Sect was basically impossible. At least not before they learned about Lu Sheng’s true intentions.

“I can’t teach you the Origin Law. The three major sects and families all have their own Origin Law that could lead directly to the source of their power. Those are the secrets reserved for the innermost circle, not something I could give away.” Divine Lord Tong Sheng thought about it before he continued, “But if you agree to help this old man with something, I could point you to a direction where you could learn the Origin Law.”

“A direction for the Origin Law?” Lu Sheng took a deep breath. “What does that include?”

Tong Sheng smiled slightly. “The three major sects and families all have their own secret Origin Law, but that doesn’t mean those are the only six that exist in this world.”

Lu Sheng immediately understood.

“I agree, as long as it doesn’t go too much against my wishes.” He agreed immediately.

“Rest assured… It’s only a small favor.” Tong Sheng shook his head, and laughed as he saw the cautious expression on Lu Sheng’s face. “You really need to be more trusting sometimes.”

“Senior is right….” Lu Sheng didn’t really know how to respond to that.

***

Half a month later, in Plain County of Feizhi Province.

Li Shunxi sat in a noodle booth, staring at a bowl of noodle soup.

There was nothing in the soup. All the noodles had been eaten, but the soup was strangely clear, almost like a mirror.

“Elder Xu, I’m back.” He held up the bowl of noodle soup, and rubbed his dry eyes, still not seeing anything. “The Nine Order Algorithm of the Mysterious Heaven is too obscure… I can’t even begin to understand it without several months of effort.”

The noodle booth was run by a blind old man. His hand spun the dough expertly, pulling it into thin noodles.

The old man had a fit body that looked strong, but it lacked any kind of human aura, just as if it was a puppet that stood there instead of a living being.

When he heard Li Shunxi mention that he would need at least several months to begin to understand the algorithm, his hands that were pulling the noodles paused.

“It’s been several months already since I brought you to the Great Yin, right?” he asked mildly. Strangely, his voice was tightly constrained in a several meter radius, making sure only the two of them could hear it.

Li Shunxi nodded. “Yes, it’s been several months.”

“The Great Song is hopeless. To remedy this situation, we must start with Great Yin. The key to this board of the Great Yin is… in the Great Yin Capital,” the old man said in a low voice.

He put down the dough, turned, and stared at the young man that always looked promising to him.

“You could understand the algorithm in several months? Then, if your performance is satisfactory, you will be the future Three Essence Nine Tower Earth Sage. One-third of the Three Sacred Gates’ power in the Great Yin will be under your control.”

Li Shunxi was surprised, then shot up from the shock.

“Elder Xu… What are you…?!”

“Show your true strength. If you can satisfy me, you’ll be bound to become the third Sage King of Three Sacred Gates.”

The old man’s eyes looked calm, but it was mixed in with cold, kindness, sadness, and a sliver of weariness.

Li Shunxi was set to this road from the start. No matter how hard he struggled, the result would be the same.

He was destined to stand in the peak position of the Three Sacred Gates, just like how he was destined for the Jade Divine Weapon.

Footnotes:

[ED/N: Sorry, there actually was a mistake. Tong Sheng is how Tong Yi’s name should be read.]

[ED/N: Land battle chess is apparently similar to Stratego, whatever game it is.]

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