Way of the Devil

Lu Sheng scanned the boxes. Soon, he found a description for this stone slate in one of the last few boxes.

“Unknown knife marks: non-entry level. Special effects: Unknown.”

“All unknown…” Lu Sheng sighed. The cheating device could only change inner arts that were above entry level and physical arts only after he found out the cultivation and future realms.

But apart from these few knife slashes, there was nothing else on it…

He stood up and imagined holding a knife. He tried to imitate the moves that would have led to these strikes.

But no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t find anything special about these cuts.

Lu Sheng practiced the knife moves as he absorbed true essence. Soon, four hours passed.

After he left the Secret Area, he rested for the night. The next day, he wandered around his yard, then returned to the Secret Area at night to try to understand the stone slate. Slowly, he made some progress. All the strikes on the stone slate seemed to be slashed out from one angle. No matter what strength or angle you looked at them from, they were all from the same position.

Also, there wasn’t any True Qi, Devil Qi, Inner Qi, or any type of other Qi. It seemed to be made purely with a knife.

Time passed by quickly. Soon, over ten days had passed.

A few more people came to live in the condo. Two of them were the red dress girl and black jade scholar who came in with him.

They said hi to Lu Sheng, and then moved into their own rooms.

The girl was called Dan Junya. She didn’t really talk to Lu Sheng, but seemed to know the scholar very well. They ran outside every day without wearing their Thousand Sun Sect robes.

The scholar was called Chen Daoning. He was pretty chill and talked to Lu Sheng a few times, but only made basic introductions.

After a few more days, Lu Sheng finally understood the rules of the inner quarters through staying here and contacting Zhang Songhui.

One condo could hold up to ten people. After it filled up, a teacher would then be assigned to them for questions and any other problems.

Of course, the assigned teacher would take away some of the rent from the condo as his own.

There were 99 condos, but not all of them were full.

The inner quarters of the Thousand Sun Sect didn’t have too many people. It was relatively quiet. Apart from the entrances, exits, and cafeteria, one couldn’t even see others.

Lu Sheng spent all his time on understanding the stone slate. From the beginning, his goal was to break through to become a Devil Lord. Otherwise, he didn’t care whether he joined the Thousand Sun Sect or not.

But after ten more days, he still couldn’t figure anything out. Su Ningfei hadn’t returned, either. Lu Sheng didn’t know where she went.

With no other options, Lu Sheng decided to go try the effects of the True Essence Tower. This cost money, just like housing.

He started to think about ways to earn Devil Gold.

But at this time, Su Ningfei returned unexpectedly.

***

Secret Area, the underground cave.

“Do you still remember what you’ve promised me?” Su Ningfei sat on a amethyst throne. She rested her head on her hand as if she was tired.

“Yes.” Lu Sheng sat not far in front of her on the ground, trying to understand the stone slate. Hearing her questions, Lu Sheng answered without lifting his head.

“I want you to enter a competition. It starts in five days. Almost every talented disciple will attend. The three sects will pick three prodigies to enter the Divine Dao Palace and get a chance to receive the Weapon Commander’s teaching in person. I already submitted an application for you. Go there and find a girl who looks similar to me.

“They might alter their appearances, but that’s up to you. I only want results,” Su Ningfei said darkly. “After you complete it, I’ll teach you how to understand the slate.”

“If I figure out the stone slate, how much of a chance do I have with breaking through?” Lu Sheng frowned.

“I don’t know. But a regular Divine Weapon Master who understands this stone slate at their prime will have at least a thirty percent chance,” Su Ningfei replied.

“Thirty percent… deal.” This wasn’t low. Lu Sheng nodded and stood up.

It was hard to break through to a Divine or Devil Lord. Su Ningfei gave him an answer of thirty percent without knowing about his cheating device. If she did, this thirty percent would probably be even higher.

As long as there was a way, not matter how small the chance, Lu Sheng could change it to a hundred percent with his cheating device.

“The competition is completely fought with shadows. What I mean by shadows is taking a part of the body’s and soul’s strength and transferring it to another place and enlarge it to its normal size for use. The actual body will be stored somewhere else,” Su Ningfei explained. “All the disciples attending will be from the three sects. Apart from the top three, other ranks will also have prizes. If you find that girl, bring her out. You can do whatever you want to anyone who stands in your way. Remember, bring her here.”

“I understand…” Lu Sheng didn’t bother to ask what that girl’s relationship with Su Ningfei was. It wasn’t something he was supposed to know, anyways.

Soon, four hours passed. Lu Sheng slowly backed out and left the Secret Area.

Five days later, in the morning, he brought all his stuff with him and ran to the hexagonal crystal at the entrance.

There was already a crowd gathered around it. What surprised Lu Sheng was that Wang Yunlong was also there. Apparently, other people from Autumn Moon City also made it into the inner quarters.

Objectively, this person was both talented and strong. He only lacked in control. Along with his mysterious identity, it wouldn’t be hard for him to get in with a little money.

But Lu Sheng wasn’t looking for him. He was looking for Zhang Songhui, whom he had become friends with.

Soon, he found Zhang Songhui chatting with some other people at a corner of the hexagonal crystal.

“Brother Zhang.” Lu Sheng hurried over. He glanced at the two people the other was talking to. One was a mature older-looking girl with long hair and a green shirt, and the other one was a younger boy in a white shirt, standing beside her.

“Junior Apprentice Brother Lu! We were waiting for you.” Zhang Songhui walked up with the two people. “These are Xie Yusheng and Xie Yuqiong. They’re also here for the competition.”

“Junior Apprentice Brother Lu, are you sure you want to enter this competition?” Zhang Songhui asked again seriously. “Maybe you don’t understand. Although you enter with an alternative form, if something happens inside, it still reflects on your body outside. You could get hurt badly. If your soul gets hurt, it will reflect on your actual soul too. It’s not as safe as you think.”

“I know.” Lu Sheng nodded. “Senior Apprentice Brother Zhang, please help me sign up. The process is a little complicated. How much is it?”

“Ten Devil Gold. Same for all three of you, I’ll help you get through all five steps and take you directly to the transfer location. The spot is right here on this square. Someone will ignite a transfer talisman.” Zhang Gaohui nodded. “The destination on the other side is the Other World. Some of the locals will also enter. Be careful.”

After settling the price, Lu Sheng stood to the side with the other two people, waiting for the transfer for the competition.

As time passed, less and less people remained on the square. At the end, only twenty or so were left. They were probably all waiting for the competition.

After registering the three on the crystal, he left to register them elsewhere.

After about an hour, Zhang Songhui returned with more news.

“After another hour, at noon, someone will come and take all competitors to the Other World for the competition.”

“An hour… are they coming from the Other World?” the girl, Xie Yuqiong, whispered.

“Yes. You guys should be familiar with the place. It’s the Black Ink Temple.” Zhang Songhui nodded.

“Black Ink Temple…” Suddenly, Lu Sheng felt someone looking at him. He glanced in the direction the gaze came from, but only saw a bunch of strangers walk by.

After a little bit, two indigo figures flew over and landed lightly in the center of the square. They were two elders from the Thousand Suns Sect. They both had long beards, and their expressions were serious. Elder badges were hung around their waists.

“Is everyone here?” one of the elders spoke loudly. “Start breaking the barrier. After you transfer over, there will be managers and elders from the three sects in Moling to hand out maps of resting spots. During the competition, there will be safe places in every sect. Everyone is allowed to return and rest whenever they want.”

“Ignite the Barrier Breaking Stone, the area being the entire square. Every disciple who isn’t participating must leave now,” the other elder spoke.

“I’m leaving. Be careful,” Zhang Songhui whispered. He accepted their money and flew away.

“Start.” After everyone else left, the entire square turned golden. Everyone was covered in a gold light and vanished.

***

Black Ink Temple.

There was already a good amount of people on the old, deserted field within the temple. Three differently colored flags stood on three different corners, separating the entire field into three sections. They left out a region in the center on purpose for transfer.

“Hiss…”

Suddenly, golden light appeared on the vacant lot.

“It’s the Gold Sun Sect.”

“You mean the Thousand Sun Sect.”

“Gold Sun Sect is so much more descriptive. Everyone there is hella rich.”

People near the Spirit Bind Sect flag joked.

A few people from the Thousand Sun Sect Flag ran over to the golden light and waited for it to disappear quietly.

The light vanished, revealing the thirty or so people from the Thousand Sun Sect in Moling Prefecture. Most were solemn, although a few were excited.

The thirty of them formed a circle. Lu Sheng was at the back. He looked around at his surroundings.

Under the Spirit Bind Sect flag, a group of people who had just transferred over were also huddling together.

As soon as Long Jiu landed, he looked toward the Youyin Sect. Immediately, his gaze focused on a sharp girl that also just transferred.

He tightened his grip on his golden hammer, his expression becoming fierce.

“That bi*ch is finally here. Chen Yuedu, I will take revenge for that last sword strike!”

A few other Spirit Bind Sect disciples also glared at the girl from the Youyin Sect.

“Oh?” Suddenly, a disciple looked toward the Thousand Sun Sect curiously. “Senior Apprentice Brother Long, the little fella from the Thousand Sun Sect that the elder mentioned is also here.”

“Fella from the Thousand Suns Sect?” Long Jiu temporarily moved his gaze to see where his junior apprentice brother was pointing. He immediately saw Lu Sheng, who was walking slowly.

“I’ll help elder collect some rent, then.” He laughed. “Or tell the Song man to add some more money. If they want us not to bother him, they need to pay more.” He knew all the three sects from the Moling Prefecture had the same transfer spot. Only when the strongest were determined could they advance to other regions and continue fighting. All the disciples from the entire Great Yin would be judged before the three top people were chosen.

Lu Sheng felt someone looking at him, so he also looked toward the Spirit Bind Sect.

He saw his master’s mission as very important. He was greatly lacking in soul department, so if he could break through to Devil Lord from the stone slate, maybe he could get rid of this weakness completely.

Before he came here, he’d already decided he would find the girl his master wanted.

‘Since my master already said that she would be in this competition, then I will find her no matter what.’

Lu Sheng scanned the Spirit Bind Sect carefully.

‘To prevent her from escaping, I must find a point where everyone has to pass through and guard that path.

‘To prevent her from disguising herself, I will beat up everyone who passes through and then examine them carefully.’

That seemed like a lot of work. Lu Sheng frowned.

He took one last glance at the Spirit Bind Sect. He already decided to start at the resting place for the three sects.

‘Pray… pray I can find whom I need to find before that.’