Way of the Devil

“Are you the one Iron Tower is looking for?” Lu Sheng guessed with a frown.

“I don’t know,” the girl replied casually. She combed her hair with her free hand, and inserted it into her pocket.

“If you’re not coming, the door’s going to close.” She removed her index finger from the open button.

“Let it.” Lu Sheng’s tone was cold.

The elevator’s doors slowly closed.

The girl leaned back on the metal board. Her head was angled upward as if she was resting.

Through the slit between the elevator doors, Lu Sheng caught a glimpse of the shining dark gold ring on her finger. It seemed to be the Core Ring one used to control armors.

These rings enabled the controller to have their armor follow them around at a distance. Usually, only those with Authenticated Armors would wear it.

It was apparent that this girl brought a real armor with her.

He had wanted to enter the elevator. However, when he was about to move forward, he suddenly smelled blood. It was very similar to the scent he picked up on the rooftop.

Also, the girl was giving off a faint yet peculiar threatening aura.

‘As expected, this world is slightly dangerous.’ As he stood outside the elevator, Lu Sheng decided to get his hands on his own Authenticated Armor as soon as possible.

Otherwise, it would be difficult for him to have sufficient means to protect himself. He had no intention of being forced to unleash his main body so soon after his Arrival and be deported by the World’s laws.

‘I’ll raise my Harmonizing Power to the limits tonight. Then, I’ll find a way to earn income and buy my own armor.’

Both Iron Tower and the eye-patch girl seemed to have powerful Harmonizing Power compared to him. Iron Tower was only slightly more powerful than he was, but the girl was much stronger.

The key was that without an Authenticated Armor, his only means of combat was his own body. That would definitely not be an advantageous situation for him.

Lu Sheng waited for a short while in front of the elevator. Then, he turned around and went down the stairs.

When he returned to his own room and closed his door, he heard Iron Tower coming down the stairs and entering his own room.

The heavy slam of his door clearly demonstrated the fury Iron Tower was feeling.

Lu Sheng removed his jacket and went to take a shower in the shower room. After wearing a fresh set of clothes, he lay down on his bed and relaxed his body.

“Deep Blue.”

The light blue frame appeared and hovered before him.

Lu Sheng pushed the modify button with familiar movements.

“Improve Iron Man’s Three Gears.”

The frame immediately flashed and quickly blurred.

After a few days of adjustments, Lu Sheng’s Weapon Grandmaster spirit had healed all the hidden injuries of this body. The seal on his Yang Essence’s healing powers was also loosened somewhat. With it, he made up for the various shortcomings of this body.

Now, his constitution was no longer as weak as four days ago.

After a few days of training, he had built an extremely firm foundation for this body.

The reason why Lu Sheng waited for a few days before continuing improving himself was to prevent his foundations from crumbling.

Although he could improve his Harmonizing Power to a high level in a short time, it was not in line with his original plans.

What he wanted was not a simple and crude improvement; he wanted firm, steady steps of improvement.

His Harmonizing Power quickly reached Average Level Four from Average Level Three. His Iron Man’s Three Gears had also reached the second gear, level four.

Lu Sheng felt his own body. This time, it did not seem to be under any pressure. It was clear that Jorin’s constitution had been too weak before, impeding his improvements.

Even though it felt extremely easy, he still chose to improve his levels stepwise. He wanted to prevent this body from becoming unable to adapt with it if he improved too quickly.

In truth, he could choose to raise his status by two or three levels at a time. However, Lu Sheng’s preference for stability made him chose the safer way.

‘I can’t be too rash. Let’s take one step at a time.’ Lu Sheng stared at the frame that blurred again.

The frame quickly clarified again.

“Iron Man’s Three Gears, second gear, level five.” His Harmonizing Power was also raised. It was now Average Level Five.

What followed was a series of easy breakthroughs. He reached the third gear, level one, while his Harmonizing Power reached Excellent Level One.

The Excellent rank was the limit which the elites could reach. The usual tests categorized Harmonizing Powers at the Excellent rank as the human body’s limit.

In this alone, Lu Sheng had surpassed 99% of the academy’s students. His Harmonizing Power was already at an extremely high level.

He reckoned that the Harmonizing Power of the female student he met in the elevator was also at the rank of Excellent Level One.

Excellent Level One and Two were already the limit of what a human body could achieve. The Levels Three to Five after this were more of a theoretical concept.

However, a Harmonizing Power at this level was already sufficient. Even if he grew stronger and his Harmonizing Power was raised higher, effectively enabling him to master thicker armors, there was a limit to a person’s strength. He would not be able to carry too heavy a burden. Hence, the rank of Excellent Level One was the most reasonable status to be in.

Lu Sheng felt his own condition at the moment. His body never felt better. He was filled with vigor, and his strength had improved steadily.

“It seems that my body is getting used to this well. Let’s continue.”

“Iron Man’s Three Gears, third gear, level two.”

“Iron Man’s Three Gears, third gear, level three.”

“Iron Man’s Three Gears, third gear, level four.”

…

…

…

“Iron Man’s Three Gears, 1326th gear, level two.”

“Iron Man’s Three Gears, 1326th gear, level three.”

Lu Sheng lay on his bed. He felt that his Harmonizing Power had spread to a kilometer by now.

‘This should be enough for now.’ He slowly stopped investing in his Harmonizing Power. At this stage, all he had to do was to derive and strengthen himself according to the Iron Man’s Three Gears’ method. He had spent 1,000 Mental Energy units and got good results.

However, the improvement in Harmonizing Power would only translate to having a greater ability to refine his senses of his surroundings while he donned his armor. There were no other substantial changes. This made Lu Sheng feel slightly disappointed.

‘Now, it’s time for me to search for a suitable armor.’ He stood up from the bed and looked at the skies outside the window.

His powerful Harmonizing Power’s range gave him extremely sharp senses in a one-kilometer-radius. The sounds of insects, the wind, the breathing and turning sounds of the sleeping students, the churn of flowing water, even the vibrations of a mosquito’s wings far away reached his ears.

‘This Harmonizing Power is like purely sensory power. However, this also increases my reaction speed, making me nimbler.

‘Well then, it’s time for me to think of a way to obtain a good Authenticated Armor.’ Lu Sheng sat cross-legged on his bed. His mind-blowingly expansive Harmonizing Power was like a formless tendril. With him as the center, it slowly swam and rocked outward in an area of a kilometer.

Every movement in this area was reflected in his heart.

After lying down for a while, his expression suddenly had a slight change. He slowly got up.

Trained in martial arts, this move was a piece of cake for him. However, his posture did not seem too balanced.

‘This body is lagging behind the control of my will. Perhaps the duration of training is too short. I should train in two pure combat techniques.’

Lu Sheng did a quick search in his memories. He found the most suitable combat method for himself in no time.

“Fickle 1008 Plum-folding Hands.”

He had seen this pure physical art in the Scarlet Whale Sect’s storeroom, and had committed it to his memory.

However, it was purely a technique-based skill formula and also a pure physical art, hence Lu Sheng’s dislike for it. That was why he’d merely treated it as a way to increase his own knowledge of the martial arts when he memorized it.

He never would have thought that it would come in handy now.

With a thought, Lu Sheng immediately saw a new frame appearing on Deep Blue’s interface.

“Fickle 1008 Plum-folding Hand. Uninitiated (Five levels in total).”

‘With my current body’s quality, I should be able to raise my status to Full-mastery in one go.’ Lu Sheng gave it some thought and stared at the frame of this physical art.

“Raise Fickle 1008 Plum-folding Hand by five levels.”

The frame blurred. A few seconds later, it regained clarity again. This process was repeated five times.

Lu Sheng felt two units of Mental Energy disappear from his main body, merging with this body.

Then, his arms, shoulders, chest, back, and the rest of his body slowly heated up. His body temperature seemed to be rising steadily.

He quickly directed the flow of his Yang Essence to these parts of his body. This was in preparation to heal any parts of his body that would be damaged due to the swift improvements.

This sensation lasted for a dozen minutes before slowing down and coming to a stop.

With the light in his room, Lu Sheng raised his hands and tore a thin layer of semi-transparent skin from the surface of his body.

After shedding the skin, his arms became translucent as jade, slender and soft. The lines of his muscles could not be seen. His arms were more perfect than a lady’s.

“Not bad.” Lu Sheng clenched his fists with satisfaction. He felt that his upper body was able to keep up with the operation of his Harmonizing Power already.

He swiftly got to his feet and wore his jacket. Then, he went out the door.

It was in the dead of night, and the corridor was deserted. The air was cold with a slight, chilly breeze.

Lu Sheng closed his eyes. He quickly locked onto the location of his target. Then, he started going down the stairs.

He entered the elevator, taking care to avoid the surveillance cameras, and walked out of the dormitory building along the blind spots.

A biting cold wind blew outside the building. Silhouettes of the trees swayed and rustled in the air.

He kept moving forward along the shadow between the buildings. With his Harmonizing Power’s senses, he could even pick up the buzz of electricity of the cameras. Thus, Lu Sheng avoided the surveillance cameras easily enough.

He had raised his Harmonizing Power to a mind-blowing state. He deserved the title of a monster in this world.

He walked past the living quarters and the cafeteria. He quickly closed on to the basketball court near the teaching blocks. He saw a middle-aged man with short white hair standing by the wire fence. His hands were on the fence as he peered through it.

A brown-haired girl knelt by his feet. The girl was pressing on her abdomen, while blood flowed continuously out of her mouth.

The two of them seemed to be having some sort of conversation. However, they were mainly speaking in some dialect. Lu Sheng could not understand them.

Lu Sheng stood in the shadows. He looked on silently as the girl struggled to speak her final words. The girl’s body eventually grew cold as all life evaporated from her.

The white-haired man turned to look at the girl. He remained motionless for a long while.

She was his eldest daughter. She was also a sad girl that had vowed to kill him. Among his 50 children, he had the highest hopes for this daughter of his. Alas, she was a disappointment in the end.

“You’ve lost to love and friendship. In mere three years, you’ve fallen to this lowly state. What a shame…” He stroked his daughter’s long hair.

“You’ve forgotten that emotions are the greatest hindrance for our tribe. After having emotions, your blade is no longer as sharp as it once was…”

He was the third best assassin of the Bai Family, a tribe of assassins. He was also the top Starlight assassin of the world. When he discovered that his daughter had sunk into love, he decided to deal with her as the family would have.

“An assassin should not have love… We can only possess extreme skills after giving up on everything else. That’s the only way… not to be completely engulfed by the eternal darkness…” A hint of deep sadness flashed across Bai Shi’s eyes.