Way of the Devil

 Shangyang Fei climbed out of the black embryo, naked. Her pale and pretty face showed a sliver of pain. Rebirth wasn’t an easy process. Even if there was the Spawn of the Devil Emperor to help her rebuild her body, the damage done to the spirit was not something that could be fixed so crudely.

She could be reborn at most three times. Otherwise, she would become a human-shaped worm that only knew how to eat and sleep.

“This is my second time…” Shangyang Fei lay in the slime, her whole body soft. She didn’t want to move.

She wasn’t sure whether Lu Sheng died at the last moment or not, but he must have been wounded by her self-destructing. Shangyang Fei was sure of it, even though she didn’t unleash the full power of Devil Emperor’s avatar. She lost despite possessing the powerful last resort that far surpassed a Devil Master in power.

But it wasn’t a useless endeavor. Lu Sheng, who destroyed the Devil Abyss, was somehow a Devil Master! Then that explosion must have wounded him severely.

That piece of information had been delivered to His Imperial Majesty Vera already.

“Look at that… how pitiful… Isn’t this the Master Divine Bell so favored by His Imperial Majesty? You couldn’t even protect your body and could only waste a rebirth.”

The voice of a laughing female came from nearby.

“Divine Sound…” Shangyang Fei’s expression turned cold, and she looked in the direction the sound came from. “What are you doing here? Laughing at me? Taking advantage of my failure?”

A seductive woman that only wore dark purple metal gears on three spots slowly walked out of the shadow.

The woman had long fiery, purple hair. Aside from her chest and lower body, there was not a single scrap of cloth present. Not even shoes.

Her body was constantly surrounded by scarlet fireballs as if she could spontaneously combust at any time.

“I don’t have time for that. Divine Bell, His Imperial Majesty was very angry at you for losing an avatar. He had assigned me to take care of this personally. If you have nothing else to do, you may cultivate on the Thousand Condor Mountain. Your body is too weak, so weak it couldn’t bear the full power of His Imperial Majesty.

“It’s laughable that you could only command ordinary Devil Master levels of power despite having His Imperial Majesty’s avatar, which is at the peak of Devil Master level.” Divine Sound laughed coldly. “If His Imperial Majesty didn’t say you had great potential and could break through to Devil Master level, you would have been thrown into the Worm Source as worm feed already!”

Shangyang Fei bit her lip, and didn’t say a word.

She did fail miserably because she’d heavily underestimated Lu Sheng’s power. She was the one that ended up suffering heavy casualties, and even lost the favor of His Imperial Majesty.

All because she’d underestimated Lu Sheng.

“So?” Shangyang Fei thought she knew why Divine Sound came to mock her.

“So, I, Divine Sound, will be personally responsible for this capture mission.” Divine Sound laughed coldly. A slim, long black tail coiled slowly behind her back.

“Then good fortune to you,” Shangyang Fei said flatly. Her mind was finally calm. She thought of Lu Sheng, who for some reason hid his true power for so long in both the Great Song and the Great Yin. She couldn’t imagine what he wanted that could require so much discretion.

She didn’t want to touch such a mysterious person now that Divine Sound willingly took the task.

“Everything I know is stored in the Inter-Dimension Department, go look at it if you want,” she explained. Also, a fair warning. This Lu Sheng is not as simple as you think he is. It’s better if you and your brother—”

“What I’m going to do is none of your concern,” Divine Bell very impolitely interrupted Shangyang Fei.

“Alright. I will await your victorious return and completion of His Imperial Majesty’s decree.” Shangyang Fei let out a faint smile.

“If you weren’t so crucial in breaking through the Great Song… Ha.” Divine Sound laughed coldly and turned into a ball of flame, then disappeared.

Shangyang Fei half lay amid the slime, her fingers unconsciously bringing up sticky strength. Yet she didn’t seem to care at all.

She had a feeling even Divine Sound herself wouldn’t be able to complete this task easily.

***

Thousand Sun Palace, Autumn Moon County.

Lu Sheng gradually landed. A lot of people were waiting below already. Sect Master Chen Jingzhi, along with several other leaders of Thousand Sun Sect, had been waiting in front of the palace for a long time.

Lu Sheng quickly descended, not trying to hide his tattered clothes at all.

Chen Jingzhi and the crowd’s expressions changed as they saw that. There was an immense sound that came from the wilderness in Autumn Moon County, and according to the information released by Turquoise Conch Agency, it was due to a battle between two powerful masters. It seemed very likely that Senior Lu Sheng, who had hidden his identity, was one of the parties responsible.

“I am Chen Jingzhi.”

“I am Wan Fang (Jiao Quanjiang)[ED/N: The brackets and stuff inside were already in the raws]. We respectfully greet Senior Lu.”

Everyone hurriedly bowed with lowered heads. Within the three major sects, one’s cultivation was the sole factor determining of power and influence. Chen Jingzhi was only at Earth Prime level, and as such had to greet the disciple of Qian Du by his title.

“No need for formalities.” Lu Sheng landed steadily before the statue in the middle. Soon, elders and disciples handed him new robes.

Lu Sheng threw them on and finally covered his tattered clothes.

“The people of my Lu Family, along with the others under my command, have arrived in Autumn Moon County. I would appreciate it if you people could pay some special attention to them,” he commanded with a smile. “Also, have you informed the Turquoise Conch Agency of me eliminating a Devil spy after a fierce battle?”

“I have.” Chen Jingzhi nodded.

“No need to be so polite, Sect Master Chen. You took special care of me even back when I didn’t expose my identity. You can call me by my name,” Lu Sheng said directly to Chen Jingzhi.

“I wouldn’t dare.” Chen Jingzhi laughed wearily. He wanted to laugh when he thought back to how he bragged about the benefits of the prefectural level branch to this master in front of him.

“No need to say more, Sect Master Chen.” Lu Sheng waved his hand. “Also, I need a quiet chamber to rest. Please prepare some food as well.”

“Please follow me, Senior,” the vice sect master on the side politely asked.

Chen Jingzhi could talk to him like that, but that didn’t mean the rest of them could. He’d placed great importance on Lu Sheng even before the latter revealed his identity, and didn’t mistreat him at all. On top of that, his background was also more powerful than most.

The rest of them didn’t have any of those. After all, Lu Sheng was her disciple. What if he also inherited her temper?

By then, everyone who was present would suffer. It was important to remember the current main sect master was her brother, both from the Other World.

Lu Sheng followed the vice sect master deep into the palace and started to heal his wounds in a secluded stone chamber.

He did improve the tier of the Ultimate Eight-Headed Devil Way, but that was done by force in a moment of epiphany.

The Ultimate Eight-Headed Devil Way achieved a breakthrough when he achieved the Holy Master level, which also fundamentally modified and evolved his physical body.

This fundamental modification basically had no limit, and under the simulation of the powerful spirit of a Holy Master, his body was constantly being improved.

But all that required an immense amount of power that was soon depleted. It had slowed down to the point of depending on the tiny amount of Essence Qi Lu Sheng absorbed every day.

Until he met Shangyang Fei.

The Devil Emperor Avatar she’d brought with her released mass amounts of pure Devil Essence when she self-destructed, which instantly filled the energy needed for Lu Sheng to evolve. The Ultimate Eight-Headed Devil Way continued to evolve at a rapid rate. After that, through the Cheating Device, he used Mental Energy to increase the speed even further. That way, the change happened to his body at an even faster rate.

He entered the secret chamber.

Most of the wounds on Lu Sheng had healed. The only thing left was a piece of a token buried into his left chest.

“That is all. Elder Yun, you may leave. Please inform my family I will be back soon.” Lu Sheng sat in the secret chamber and closed his eyes to start cultivating.

“Of course!” The one leading the way was an old acquaintance—Yun Wanfei of the Yun Family.

She was the one that gifted Lu Sheng Duanmu Wwan back then as a token of friendship, which was why she was allowed to be so close to Lu Sheng.

Even now, Yun Wanfei hadn’t processed the entire situation yet. How did a direct disciple, after a single trip to the Prefecture Capital, turn into a senior that the even the sect master needed to greet?

As everyone left the secret chamber, Lu Sheng released vast amounts of shapeless Devil Qi with a wave of his hand and sealed the walls all around him.

He finally let out a long sigh of relief.

“That made me rich!” Lu Sheng’s eyes were red. Thousands of units of Mental Energy! How much could he evolve his True Qi techniques?

Merely several hundred units of Mental Energy were enough to evolve the Star Moving Knife Mantra to a point that it improved his mind to the Holy Master level. Even if these “several hundred units” were only an opportunity, it still indicated it could push an ordinary human to a new level.

“Lu Sheng… can you tell me what all these are?” Suddenly, an elderly voice came from within the Wei River Sword. “Why did that woman want to kill you? And the Devil Abyss? Did you really destroy the Devil Abyss? And released that person?”

“You should be glad I’m not a very greedy person. Otherwise, you, along with Immortal Radiance, wouldn’t even be enough for a mouthful,” Lu Sheng said in a very straightforward manner.

“I have never seen… seen you in that form before…” The Wei River Sword noticed Lu Sheng’s calm tone and a slight smile on his face, immediately knowing that it was a last resort he had for a long time.

“Just treat it like my last resort. The rest is none of your concern,” Lu Sheng said casually.

He wasn’t that close with the Wei River Sword.

“Power even an Evil Weapon couldn’t resist…” The Wei River Sword had his theory already, but didn’t dare give it any more thought.

Lu Sheng, on the other hand, didn’t care at all. The most important thing for him was to completely heal all his wounds and to convert all the Mental Energy into actual power.

The Devil Emperor Vera had his eyes on him already, and he also knew about the Devil Abyss. Probably because of the Ancient Devil Carfe that escaped. There was a deep animosity between the two after Lu Sheng tried to eat him.

To Carfe, Lu Sheng destroyed his territory, murdered his troops, and destroyed the seal that Devil Emperor Vera commanded him to protect. All these incidents indicated the deadly grudge that existed between the two.

‘It is basically impossible for the Devil Emperor to come himself. The Weapon Masters of the Human World wouldn’t allow it. Besides, if the top-tier forces of the Human World could be eliminated so easily, the war would have been long lost. All the Devil World would need to do is send assassins.’ Lu Sheng evened his breathing and controlled his body to enter a tranquil state.

‘Since the Star Moving Knife Mantra could improve the spirit, that means the more rudimentary a technique is, the more options it has when it evolves.

‘I also have a wide range of knowledge on martial arts as well as a deep enough understanding of them. Evolving these kinds of rudimentary techniques fits me perfectly.’ Lu Sheng summoned Deep Blue and looked down the list of martial arts moves he had learned one by one.

“The more rudimentary, the better…” He went straight for the basic hard body skills from the beginning.

The Ultimate Eight-Headed Devil Way had reached a peak, and couldn’t be evolved anymore. After the last improvement, he could feel that his body was full. His whole being was like a balloon that was about to explode—the energy stored inside had reached a limit.

‘The Ultimate Eight-Headed Devil Way has its concept based on the eight Prime Devil Sect techniques, but even the strongest among them at its limit merely grants immunity to the elements, or hardness of Divine Weapons. That was the limit of the Prime Devil Sect, the limit of their imagination.

‘Now, I have reached the level they could only imagine. I could basically be called the Prime Devil, using the utmost title for a Devil. But even at such a level, in the Great Yin, in Humans and Devils’ World, I’m still below Weapon Masters. Actually, I haven’t even reached the peak of Holy Master level yet.’

Lu Sheng thought about this.

“What’s stronger than a Divine Weapon in this world?” For the natives of this world, Divine Weapons could fly in the sky and dive underground, move mountains and boil seas. For them, the power of Divine Weapons and Devil Blades was limitless. Divine Weapons and Devil Blades meant power because they were the strongest there were.

But Lu Sheng came from Earth, and knew that Divine Weapons or Devil Blades were merely special weapons that possessed minds of their own.

Since the Deep Blue Cheating Device evolved based on concepts, and could evolve a rudimentary technique to a horrifying level…

‘Then… why can’t I create a technique on my own, one that could hold this world in its grasp? Concept… concept… Isn’t that just a matter of imagination?’ Lu Sheng’s heart jumped. His thoughts opened up like he had pierced through a piece of bamboo.

‘With any concept as base, my experience, martial arts cultivation, and knowledge as content, Mental Energy as fuel to power the evolution… That is how Deep Blue should be used…’ Lu Sheng understood for the first time how powerful his Cheating Device was.

It was simply its limitless ability to evolve.

He immediately started to think of all the theoretical scenarios he learnt about on Earth.

‘Explosion of supernova, collision of galaxies, black holes, antimatter explosions, dimensional destruction…’