Way of the Devil

The second day in the morning, as Lu Sheng was meditating, he heard footsteps at the door and knew it was He Xiangzi trying to sneak out again.

After all, she was a good fighter. Even if she couldn’t beat other first seats, she could still beat other people.

Lu Sheng didn’t know what she was trying to do, and didn’t care what she did. Even if she got in trouble, he could still get her back here. Since the league wouldn’t let anyone kill, she wouldn’t be in danger.

Lu Sheng continued to meditate for a bit. He finished his daily meditation of the Ultimate Crimson Nine Furies Skill and the Aquarius Qi, then got up and went to eat breakfast.

Breakfast was crystal dumplings and spiced duck feet prepared by the servants.

Lu Sheng sat down, poured himself a glass of water, and slowly started to eat the duck feet.

He had already planned his position last night—he only had to show enough skill to stabilize his rank, and he would be satisfied.

And Lu Sheng planned to stop his rank at the sixth vein.

Li Du was at fourth vein, if he and his junior sister worked together, only the people at the top tier of the fourth vein might have had a chance of beating them.

And the first seats of the rest of the lower three grades were only at the fifth vein, only a very few of them have reached the sixth vein. After all, having someone at the sixth vein as the first seat was only common in the middle three grades.

Only displaying ability of someone at a sixth vein would not only stabilize the ranking of the school but also not cause too much of a ruckus.

‘But, what should a sixth vein’s black membrane strength be like? Maybe I can base it off of Zhang Kongning’s level when I use it…’ Lu Sheng planned this carefully in his head.

Suddenly, the door flew open and a shadow rushed in… It was He Xiangzi!

She was missing an ear and there was a hole in her right leg through which he could see what was behind her. She was lying on the ground, her body covered with blood.

Li Sheng sighed helplessly, then quickly got up and rushed to her.

“Are you ok, Senior Apprentice Sister? Didn’t you go to get information from other leagues? What happened to you?”

Lu Sheng helped He Xiangzi sit up quickly.

“I’m fine… I… I didn’t lose…” she squeezed out with a smile, only to completely pass out afterwards.

Lu Sheng sighed, then moved her to the bed closest to the yard.

Afterwards, he quickly gave her some medicine. Only when he saw the wound slowly healing on its own did he finally feel relieved.

Lu Sheng went back to the front and looked at the crowd outside.

‘Looks like I need to show them who’s boss, otherwise, anyone can come cause chaos.’

Lu Sheng thought back to how Zhang Kongning controlled his black membrane. Soon, black Qi started to come out of his body and formed a black membrane. Lu Sheng quickly adjusted the level of the membrane, which soon started to become thinner—the black Qi inside was 10% of the original one.

‘I think this level should be good for now. It’s pretty similar to Zhang Kongning’s membrane.’ Lu Sheng was very satisfied with his adjustment.

Lu Sheng finished his preparations and looked at the sky. It was still early, not even noon yet.

‘Good timing, I can hurry up a bit and will be back in time for lunch,’ he thought to himself, and slowly walked to the Grace Garden.

As soon as Lu Sheng opened the front door, he sensed a tense atmosphere among all those present.

The Sun Genesis Sect, the Ice Valley, and the Yellow Sand Sword School were all here. They comprised three of the five sects here in this district.

Everyone divided into three groups and gathered in the center of the street, facing each other.

The street was very wide and big, enough to contain dozens of people.

People from the Sun Genesis Sect were very powerful; the leader was a very strong man, and had two maces in his hands. Very obviously, he was their first seat: Huang Sicheng.

The Ice Valley’s first seat Li Xiuying was holding a broken sword with some blood on his body; obviously, his situation wasn’t that good.

The first seat of the Yellow Sand Sword School seemed to be a noble young master. He was handsome, with long hair trailing over his shoulders and a thin, long sword in his hand. Behind him, there were six strong men wearing bamboo hats.

The three sects’ members gathered here because, obviously, there was some fighting earlier.

“Oh? Someone from the Prime Devil Sect again?” That noble young master saw Lu Sheng came out and smiled. “The Prime Devil Sect defeated the Alternate Cave Sect, then they should be good.”

Lu Sheng glanced at the women from the Ice Valley and saw Yue Shengya, who kept on giving him meaningful glances, apparently trying to make him go back.

However, since he had made this trip to solve the ranking issue, obviously, he wouldn’t return easily.

He looked around and cast his eyes upon the young master from the Yellow Sand Sword School.

“Whatever, I choose you.”

“Ha?” The smile on his face was stagnant. “What did you just say…?”

Lu Sheng was too lazy to talk nonsense, why should he say so much to these four or five vein characters? If they weren’t satisfied, then he had just one word for them: FIGHT!

He strode toward the Yellow Sand Sword School.

“Is this kid crazy?” The noble young master looked at him with a strange look and took a step back. “Jianyi, you try him.”

“Yes, sir!” one of the guys behind him responded in a loud voice and stepped forward to meet Lu Sheng.

From the gate of the Grace Garden to the place where the Yellow Sand Sword School was stationed, there was a total distance of less than a hundred steps.

The fighter quickly welcomed Lu Sheng.

He suddenly drew the sword on his back which went into his hand like lightning.

“Secret Art: Mad Sand!”

“Swish!”

The spiked blade suddenly turned into a large yellow light, falling towards Lu Sheng like blasting rain.

The pointed tip of the sword shined like a jewel spot under the light. There was even a faint yellow glow. It was not just a simple sword rain.

“Hoo…”

Lu Sheng gently opened his mouth and blew out black Qi. The Devil Qi from the Karmaless Ghost Face Mantra slowly spread in the air.

“Clang… clang… clang…”

Many sword tips fell on Lu Sheng, but all of them were blocked by the black membrane. The rainy sword shadow stirred up a shower of sparks.

“This is!!?” That fighter’s eyes opened wide. He didn’t believe that he couldn’t even pierce Lu Sheng’s black membrane.

His secret arts were focused on speed; this, plus the sharp yellow sand sword, were enough to make any opponent fear. But now….

“He Xiangzi, pay attention, this is how you use the Karmaless Ghost Face Mantra…” Lu Sheng said suddenly.

His hands were relaxed and unobstructed. They didn’t hit the man in a bamboo hat, just simply brushed against his body.

But it was at this instant that a rope-like strand of Devil Qi rapidly attached itself to the body of the man in a bamboo hat, just like a living being.

At some unknown point in time, He Xiangzi appeared at the front door of the Prime Devil Sect, walking out on her own and leaning against the door to watch this scene.

Upon hearing the voice of Lu Sheng, He Xiangzi looked nervous and opened her mouth, but didn’t say anything.

At this time, Lu Sheng and the man in a bamboo hat brushed past each other.

The man in a bamboo hat who was at first completely alright took a few steps forward, and was about to turn around to give chase. However, his face suddenly became black and he started coughing violently.

“Cough, cough, cough!”

He bent down and collapsed to the ground, coughing loudly. A mouthful of blood came out of his mouth.

“The Prime Devil Sect’s poisonous Devil Qi?” The noble young master looked gloomy. “Let me try him myself.” He slowly drew his sword and walked up to Lu Sheng.

“Secret Art: Sandstorm!” He took a few steps forward, accelerating with each step, yet he did not actually close in on Lu Sheng. He suddenly took out his sword, which likewise turned into a bright yellow light, but was nevertheless much bigger and more ferocious than the one of the man in a bamboo hat from before. Attacking like bursting rain drops, it went straight for Lu Sheng’s weak spots.

Wherever the sword light reached, all flowers and plants were instantly twisted and broken into pieces, turning yellow and dehydrated, just as if they were swept by a true sandstorm; even the moisture within them was drained.

After passing the men in bamboo hats, Lu Sheng continued to walk towards the noble young master.

“Different opponents need different approaches. Like this type. You can fine-tune the way you attack, constantly manipulating the Devil Qi from behind his body in order to enter it via a gap.

Of course, the corrosion of the black membrane wouldn’t be so quick, which means you need sufficiently flexible movements to avoid attacks whilst you buy time.

Regarding your movements, you have to be able to dodge at any time. You must consider the surroundings and the environment; there are many restrictions.

The best method is to stall for time and wear off the other party’s black membrane.”

Lu Sheng walked up to the large sandstorm, and slapped it suddenly.

His entire arm seemed to disappear instantaneously as it was engulfed within the sword light.

“Bang!!”

A loud sound echoed for a moment.

All traces of the sword light disappeared; the noble young master disappeared too, leaving behind only a large hole in the side wall.

Lu Sheng pulled back his hand.

“But, that’s of course a method for you. I don’t need to think that much.”

“…” He Xiangzi’s mouth was wide open, but she couldn’t say anything. She could only blankly stare at this scene.

The members of the other two sects were absolutely silent for a moment.

Among the people of the Ice Valley, Yue Shengya covered her mouth with her hand and barely held back a scream of shock.

Both the first seat of the Ice Valley and the first seat of the Sun Genesis Sect were silent. Both of them were thinking about what would’ve happened if they had been in that position. If that slap came towards them, what would happen?

The rest of the disciples finally understood what had happened. The buzzing sounds gradually grew louder. Fearful and awe-inspiring stares fell upon Lu Sheng. No one among them would’ve survived the strength and speed from that slap.

“Young Master!!!” The people of Yellow Sand Sword School chased through the round hole. In a flash, they were gone except for two of them.

The two men in bamboo hats who remained behind seemed to be seniors; one of them kept staring wide-eyed at Lu Sheng.

“The Yellow Sand Sword School admits defeat!” The other side cupped their fists respectfully towards Lu Sheng, then turned around to follow others away.

“Therefore, in this world, there is no weak secret art—only people who don’t know how to use it.” Lu Sheng looked calmly at He Xiangzi.

“The Prime Devil Sect’s secret arts are rumored to be very weak, but in my hands, they are the strongest!”

When He Xiangzi heard this, her blood churned and she even shook with excitement.

“Senior Apprentice Brother…”

***

House of Shangyang.

The martyr day.

“I said this before, this is the last time.” The fragile face of Shangyang Fei at this time was ugly, and her hand was even gently touching the machete.

“We also said that with the transfer of the 72 judges, I had the right to intervene.”

In the crimson caves, there was a seat in the middle of a sword furnace. On the ground, inside a disk-shaped formation, there were sitting three old men whose hair was all red.

“But, you all are waiting for those key moments to intervene!” Shangyang Fei felt an irresistible anger that could erupt at any moment constantly squeezing in her chest.

In the red sword furnace, the flames were constantly beating and burning, and the high temperature filled every inch of space there.

It was so hot here that if ordinary people breathed in the air here, their lungs would be destroyed instantly. Having someone stay here for a long time was just impossible.

This was one of the core caves of the Shangyang Family, and one of the best places to melt divine weapon fragments. At the same time, it was also the place of residence of the three grand elders of the Shangyang Family.

However, the hot air here was not as hot as the scalding rage within Shangyang Fei’s stomach.

“We weren’t waiting here to intervene. But, don’t tell me we should just sit and watch you mobilize the judges to go to the Lin Family and die? Do you know how much damage it would cause?” one of the elders said slowly.

“Shangyang Fei, you have to understand that the family’s nurture and hope for you are not something that excuses your unbridled behavior.”

Shangyang Fei slowly gripped the handle.

“Go back. This place is a place for suppression, and not somewhere you should stay,” an elder said.

Shangyang Fei never thought that, at this moment, she’d hate the so-called old immortal monsters of these families so much.

‘The times are changing, the world is changing, the Great Song… It’s changing, but you guys…’

She was expressionless as she turned to walk silently toward the exit.

Perhaps the Shangyang Family required a complete transformation.