Rise of the Demon God

"How is that possible? You have a special physique, which makes it impossible for you not to recognize the Red Spica Crystal. Also, how can another person get it right 36 times? Have you checked him?" Mu Fan's uncle asked him.

"It's a combination of luck and negligence, I guess. I was negligent and made a mistake while he was lucky and won. That's all there is to him. And yes, I checked thoroughly. He is a normal person," Mu Fan replied. 

"Also, this has been a good thing for our business. It proved our trustworthiness, and it motivated others to try harder to win. Instead of buying five or ten tokens, people are now buying fifty or hundred trying to be like him. I believe it has only been beneficial for us that someone like him ended up in our shop. As long as he leaves this continent safely, he would become a legend that will inspire even more people to gamble here as people would be sure that we don't harm anyone who wins even if they win tons," Mu Fan explained.

"True. It's a good stunt for publicity. I will listen to your advice," Mu Fan's uncle said as he dropped the matter.

****

Six days passed. It was just one more day before the ship would leave for the Light Heaven Continent.

Long Chen had only once left the hotel in these six days. He left the sect to go and meet Mu Fan. He went there to talk to him and get more information about the journey and things related to it that Mu Fan was more knowledgeable about.

Long Chen had also learned the skill he was trying to learn, and he had gained the ability to read people's thoughts as long as he focused on the person he wanted to read. If the criteria were fulfilled, he would be able to read their thoughts.

Long Chen tried to test this skill.

He stood up and glanced back. Mingyu was still cultivating, but Zhiqing was in a shower.

Long Chen walked towards the shower. He took his clothes off and entered it.

Zhiqing's back was facing him. He stepped forth and hugged her from behind.

"Good morning, love," Long Chen greeted her.

"Good Morning," Zhiqing greeted back as she turned back and kissed Long Chen.

"Think of a number between one to ten," Long Chen asked her.

'Why?' Zhiqing thought, but she didn't ask Long Chen.

"Alright," She said as she thought of a number.

Long Chen smiled as he could see that it was already working.

"What was the number that you thought?" he asked her.

"Seven," Zhiqing replied.

"Perfect," Long Chen smiled as he kissed her again.

'What is happening? Is everything alright?' Zhiqing wondered.

Long Chen released her lips.

"Nothing is happening. Everything's fine," he told her.

"What?" Zhiqing asked with a stunned look on her face. "Did you answer my thoughts?"

"Yeah. I learned a skill that lets me read the thoughts of others around him," Long Chen replied to her.

'Oh my god. That would be so embarrassing at night,' Zhiqing looked blankly at Long Chen.

"Don't worry. I won't use that on you girls," Long Chen answered her. He realized that it would be embarrassing to know that someone could read their thoughts. 

"It's a voluntary skill. I won't hear thoughts unless I wish for it, and I won't use it on my women. I was just testing," Long Chen answered her.

****

It was the seventh day, and the day of the departure.

Long Chen and his team left the hotel early in the morning and walked towards the Port.

They walked through the city and soon reached the long wall that prevented people from going to the bridge that was attached to the small island where the ships were parked.

There were three gates in the walls where guards were standing. They checked the tickets and only then allowed for people to pass through.

The line was long, but it was moving fast as the tickets were special. It didn't take much time to check them.

Long Chen and his friends soon passed through the entrance.

****

Mu Fan was sitting in his room, looking at the clock before him.

"They should've reached the ship by now. I wish I could go to a new place as well. It would be fun to go on a journey with friends," he muttered as he shook his head.

"Are you talking about someone you met?" a voice came from behind.

Mu Fan turned back only to find a young boy standing there.

The boy was wearing the twentieth token of appreciation of the Divine Heaven Sect.

"Master!" Mu Fan dropped down on his knees as he greeted the boy.

"How was your time without me? Did you slack off?" the boy asked with a subtle smile on his face.

"The progress has been good master. The skill that you gave me is improving daily," Mu Fan replied.

"Good. Don't disappoint me. Also, we would soon be leaving this place. There is nothing here for me," The boy said as he raised his head.

He disappeared into thin air.

*****

Long Chen and the others walked through the bridge and towards the island 

They were able to see a giant ship standing at the distance. The shop was so big that it could comfortably house tens of thousands of people.

Long Chen and the others reached the island. 

There were guards standing before the ship with a book on their hands. 

"Another checking. Aren't they being too strict?" Ji Shan asked Long Chen as he saw the checking happening at a distance.

"This is to ensure the safety of people. With this much checking, no one would dare to pretend to be someone else or steal other's tickets," Long Chen answered.

Soon, they reached the ship. It was Long Chen's turn to enter.

The guards asked him to show his ticket. Long Chen showed his ticket to the guard.

"Number 27261," the guard told another guard.

The second guard opened a book and turned pages until he found a specific page.

"Found it," he said as he stood near the first guard and showed him the page.

"Take off your mask," the guard said.

Long Chen activated the mask of mischief and took off the fake mask.

The guards matched the facial features to the description that was written on the page.

They asked his name and other details, and only after making sure that everything matched, they allowed him to enter.

Ji Shan, Mingyu and Zhiqing went through the same process before they were allowed inside.

They were led to the cabin that they were assigned. Each of them had a separate cabin.

"They gave us four cabins. Aren't two of them going to go to waste?" Ji Shan let out as he glanced at Long Chen.

"You can enjoy the extra rooms. The journey will be long. Live in a different room every night," Long Chen joked as he unlocked his room.

He entered his room. Ji Shan and the others also entered his room even though they had different rooms.

The attendant informed them that if they needed anything, they could ask the attendant that would be assigned for this block of the ship before he left.

Long Chen locked the door.

The cabin was a decent size. There was a king-size bed and two chairs there. The carpet was made from beast skin, and the walls were painted by professional painters.

"The room is decent, but now that we are here, let's focus on the plan. You said that we have two targets: the Light Heaven Continent and the Ghost Temple."

"The main problem is that we don't know the location of the Ghost Temple." Ji Shan let out.