Way of the Devil

“Being weak is an original sin.” Lu Sheng did not waste his time on words. Without a change in expression, he continued bringing Incisor away from here.

The two rabbits crossed a dark grassy field and quickly found a habitable tree hollow.

It was a larger and wider tree hollow. It seemed to have been inhabited by some larger animal before, but it appeared abandoned now.

Weeds and shrubs grew lushly around it. The shrubs were dotted with red fruits.

Lu Sheng decided to stay here with Incisor.

After cultivating for another day, Lu Sheng was finally initiated in his Black Dragon Heart-crushing Mantra. This meant that he could rank up with the modifier directly.

“Hiss…”

Lu Sheng slowly drew a mark on the tree bark with his claw. He used the marks to count the days.

He took two steps backward and looked at the scratch marks on the tree bark. There were three of them.

This meant that it had been three days since they came to this new home.

Within these three days, he did a search in the surroundings. There was a black leopard, a lone wolf, a nest of fiery venomous scorpions, and a colony of termites.

Aside from the termites, the others were the natural enemies of rabbits.

“It’s almost time to begin.” Lu Sheng had Incisor guard the entrance from a hidden spot. He was to inform him at the slightest sign of trouble.

Lu Sheng sat cross-legged in the middle of the tree hollow.

“Deep Blue.”

The modifier popped up instantly. It hovered before him.

Lu Sheng’s gaze immediately fell onto the latest frame, the Black Dragon Heart-crushing Mantra. Before his Infinity Technique and spirit-prompting threads got accustomed to this world, his greatest key was to swiftly master the rabbit version of the Black Dragon Heart-crushing Mantra with this body’s structure.

“Black Dragon Heart-crushing Mantra. Initiated. (Special traits. Enhancement of basic strength, minimal. Enhancement of explosive strength, minimal.)”

“Let’s try to raise it by one level.” Lu Sheng pushed the modify button and focused.

“Raise Black Dragon Heart-crushing Mantra by one rank.”

“Hiss…”

The frame blurred instantly. It only sharpened after six seconds.

Lu Sheng swiftly felt warmth surging out of his body. The warmth flowed rapidly along his limbs and internal organs. He was feeling warm all over.

He raised his hand and saw the skin under his gray fur rising. His muscles were swiftly expanding and enlarging.

No…

His entire body was expanding swiftly.

Powerful surges of force entered his body wildly. For a rabbit, the increment of one rank in the Black Dragon Heart-crushing Mantra might have been too great.

Lu Sheng’s initial body size was only the size of a palm. At this moment, his skin and fur were shaking rapidly. Countless fleshy growths surfaced under his skin. They wriggled and expanded as they made his entire body swell up.

In a few short minutes, Lu Sheng’s body was one size larger. His skin had a tint of bloody red to it.

A pain wracked his insides. He felt as if he was about to explode.

‘I’ve just ranked up by one stage. I’ve merely stepped into the first stage formally, and this body can’t take it anymore?’ Lu Sheng had overestimated the constitution of a wild rabbit.

If he ranked up any more, he reckoned that this body would explode. In a bout of helplessness, Lu Sheng could only slow down. He had to allow this body to grow accustomed to this change before ranking up again.

He looked at the frame.

“Black Dragon Heart-crushing Mantra, stage one. (Special traits. Enhancement of basic strength, level one. Enhancement of explosive strength, level one. Enhancement of vigor, level one.)”

After confirming his own improvements, Lu Sheng started adapting to his body’s current condition.

He extended a claw and drew it across the air in front of himself. With these simple movements, half of his current strength was already at the level of going all out with his previous strength.

Then, he ran a few laps in the small enclosure within the tree hollow. He tried lifting some rocks as well as a test of strength.

‘I’m nearly three times stronger than I was before… My body is only one size larger. I’m slightly faster now, and my constitution is stronger as well. This vigor cultivation method truly possesses some great effects.’ Lu Sheng nodded satisfactorily.

Just when he was about to test his body…

“Hiss, hiss… Gugu…”

…Incisor was trying to alert him from outside the tree hollow.

“May I ask, is this the abode of the brother rabbit who killed Gray Rock?” The solemn voice of a rabbit floated slowly into the hollow.

This was Lu Sheng’s first time hearing such a complex sentence structure from a rabbit.

He had thought that Incisor’s simple-mindedness was the norm here.

When he heard the voice of this rabbit, he knew that this world seemed to be slightly different from the world he originally knew.

He put the skill formula away and hung his fur down. He merely appeared slightly better built than before. The change was not apparent.

Then, he calmed his vigor down and walked slowly out of the tree hollow.

As he expected, an unknown snow-white rabbit with a tuft of red fur was squatting outside the hollow’s entrance.

“Where are you from?” Lu Sheng looked at the newcomer calmly.

“Two… Two legs… standing straight?!” The instant this rabbit saw Lu Sheng, his eyes were clearly filled with shock.

There was only supposed to be wild breed in this forest. Hence, he never paid much attention when he usually passed by this place. However, he unintentionally saw the corpse of a venomous snake that had been devoured under a tree hollow.

When he got closer to look, he was surprised to find that it was the venomous snake, Gray Rock, which had hunted his grandfather before.

From the squirrels opposite the tree hollow, he learned that a gray rabbit had killed the venomous snake.

Shire was immediately shocked.

‘A rabbit killing a snake?! That’s a fantasy story!’

Even intelligent breed such as them could only manage to evade their predators with better tactics. If it was about fighting with a venomous snake alone, it did not matter if it was an intelligent breed or a wild breed; it was impossible for them to win against a venomous snake which was more than 10 times their body length.

Hence, convinced that this rabbit was one of a kind, Shire began to risk his life in search of this formidable rabbit he had never heard of before.

Now, he finally found him.

Shire stared at Lu Sheng with highly excited and admiring eyes.

“May I ask, was it you who killed the venomous snake? May I know your name?”

Lu Sheng had never met a rabbit who spoke as clearly as this one did. This was an extremely difficult feat for the rabbits with their simple brains.

However, since his host’s wish was to build a peaceful forest, he had no intention of accomplishing the task alone.

When he saw such a rabbit showing up out of nowhere, Lu Sheng suddenly had a more wonderful idea.

He straightened his body slightly, and drily said, “My surname’s Lu. That snake? No, I didn’t kill it.”

“Huh?” Shire was stunned.

“It was fate. Fate has led him to the end of his life at that very moment… Although my hands are stained with blood, they were mere instruments of fate…” Lu Sheng said slowly.

“…”

“…”

Incisor and Shire were at a loss for words.

“Surely you’re not alone? How many rabbits are there in this tribe?” Lu Sheng asked again.

“There are… 60 tribesmen in total…” Shire suddenly thought of a possibility. It had something to do with a story he had seen on a mysterious tree bark.

Legend had it that an elderly of the rabbit tribe on his deathbed had mentioned that there was a rabbit tribe sage a long time ago. The sage led the wild breed to mimic the humans and brought them intellect. They learned to avoid danger, and hence increased in numbers.

The special trait of that sage was that he was capable of walking on two straight legs, just like the humans.

Now, he was looking at a rabbit who could walk with two straight legs.

“Could it be…” Shire could not help but grew excited. “You’re the sage of the legends?!”

“Sage?” Lu Sheng was stunned. He did not expect the rabbits here to be this interesting. He was surprised to learn that they had their own historical records.

It should be known that not every tribe could have their legends. Other than passing them down orally, they would have to pass them down in writing.

“No… I’m not a sage. I’m just here to bring you the guidance of fate…” Lu Sheng said drily.

“The guidance of fate?” Shire was stunned again.

“Phew!”

Just when he was looking stunned, a gray shadow suddenly shot past his right. A bloody wind shot toward Lu Sheng’s neck with blinding speed.

“Fate’s indication.” Lu Sheng took a step back. “This forest is destined to eat grass!”

“What do you mean?” Shire was slightly befuddled.

Lu Sheng struck out with his right paw with blinding speed. His muscles swiftly enlarged, and his fur stood on end. His vigor surged like a great river as he hurled a punch.

“Grass is the most nutritious substance in the world. Hence, all living things should eat grass.”

“Bam!”

His punch landed precisely on the side of the gray shadow like a guided missile. Gray air flow erupted violently alongside scattering gray fur.

The gray shadow wailed and reeled sideways. It crashed heavily into an old shrub.

Everything fell silent instantly.

Lu Sheng retracted his fist. His expression remained calm.

“Those who do not feed on grass are heathens.”

Shire’s and Incisor’s jaws dropped. Their mouths were open wider than the size of their faces…

This was because they saw what the repelled gray shadow was.

It was a gray lynx!

It was a lynx! A formidable creature that was bold enough to fight a leopard if it grew violent. Not even a leopard dared to provoke a crazed lynx.

Now, the gray lynx with a body size a dozen times larger than theirs was hit precisely on the side of its face. With a punch, it sprawled on the ground, unconscious. It was even having a nosebleed…

“Ugh…”

The lynx, Gray Shirt, had never felt so furious and ashamed before. He felt a searing pain on half of his head. He might even have a cracked bone…

He understood the wild rabbits. When they were backed into a corner, the strength they could unleash was something to behold. However, it was impossible for them to strike with this much of force.

However, his current wounds made him feel as if he was smacked head on by a leopard.

“Hurt… it hurts…”

“Have you two ever wondered…? If there are only herbivorous animals in this world, everything will be at peace.”

Lu Sheng spoke slowly and walked up to the lynx, Gray Shirt, of his own accord.

“The consumption of flesh is sinful. It is unforgivable!

“Now, tell me. Do you want to eat flesh… or grass?” He looked up and stared at the lynx silently.

“I’ll eat you!” The lynx hurled a furious swipe toward Lu Sheng.

“Bam!”

His sharp claws were firmly blocked by Lu Sheng.

“Foolish flesh eater. What is it that clouds your vision?”

“Bam!”

He landed another punch on the side of the lynx’s face.

The forceful impact resulted in a spray of blood which scattered all over the ground.

“You cannot imagine how nutritious grass is!” Lu Sheng went over and landed another combination of blows. The lynx had no way of fighting back.

Although his sharp claws could match the rabbit’s speed, there was a difference in their strength. Lu Sheng’s explosive strength was more powerful than his.

This was inconceivable!

“See that?! This is the strength from eating grass!” Lu Sheng lifted the lynx up and flung him away.

“Bam!”

The lynx crashed heavily into a tree trunk at the side. He spat blood and water from his mouth. He rolled onto the ground and finally lay there, motionless…

Shire and Incisor stared blankly from the side. They were at a complete loss as to what kind of expression they were supposed to have.