Way of the Devil

“I have heard of this name before. Jing Hong…. He changed his last name. Even though it’s pronounced the same, he obviously despises his family.” Tong Yi frowned. “Why would he appear here, though?”

“That’s the part we need to explain,” Department Head Cheng Xiao said solemnly. “This Jing Hong recently joined a mysterious organization known as Wasp. They don’t have many members, but every single one of them is a powerful extremist. We don’t know their goal nor their mission. The only thing we do know is that they occasionally appear in random places to complete certain baffling tasks. On top of that, they usually act on their whims, and completely ignore anyone that might be present.”

“Oh? Wasp?” Tong Yi frowned, and didn’t speak.

Lu Sheng, on the other hand, was thinking about the scene. Clearly, Jing Hong had unfortunately taken the blame for this one.

What surprised him was the familiar shape in the corner. Among everyone hidden in the corner, one of them looked like Li Shunxi, even if it was just their shape.

But with Lu Sheng’s memory and vision, he was basically certain that that was Li Shunxi, even if it was just a guess.

‘Li Shunxi could foresee the future. He was in the Great Song before, then came here for some reason. Why did he start mingling with Qiong Shang, and now this Jing Hong?’ Lu Sheng thought.

Agency Head Cheng Xiao continued, “Also, Wasp has committed similar crimes in other cities as well. It seemed to be related to the inner dispute within the Yuanguang Family, one of the three noble families.”

“Disputes within the Yuanguang Family?” Tong Yi repeated.

“Yes. Someone important within the Yuanguang Family passed away, and there were questions on how powers within the family should be reallocated, which caused the dispute. The suspect from Wasp was hired by one side within the family. They finally admitted to it recently,” Cheng Xiao explained.

“Interesting…” Lu Sheng laughed softly. Speaking of the Yuanguang Family, he naturally thought of the birth mother of his current body, Yuanguang Chexing. He didn’t have a good opinion of his mother and the Yuanguang Family. After all, it was impossible for him to feel any kind of belonging to a family that forced others to carry their children for them at the cost of their lives.

“It was truly a fierce fight. Because of this insurgency, the Yuanguang Family was shaken to its core, and even their ancestor, a Weapon Grandmaster, had to personally appear to contain the situation. I heard the one who came out on top was shockingly powerful. She was an outer family member that came back from an Outer World…” Cheng Xiao explained a bit more.

“Do you know her name? The one who won, that is,” Lu Sheng interjected. “Asking for a friend.”

“Uhh…” Cheng Xiao blanked out for a moment. He didn’t expect Lu Sheng to be interested. Luckily, he had a good memory, and quickly remembered the content of the report.

“Yuanguang Cheng. I have heard she was the black horse among hundreds of her sisters. She inherited one of the family’s three Divine Weapons, the Holy Sword of Dusk, along with two other people. She received the inheritance of the last family head, and inherited a horrifying amount of power, and is now one of the three interim family heads. She had basically joined the few people who stood atop of the Great Yin power hierarchy in one go.”

Lu Sheng instantly fell silent.

He had gathered information about the Yuanguang Family since moving to the Great Yin. He of course remembered Yuanguang Cheng. His birth mother was her daughter, after all.

“Holy Sword of Dusk… A Divine Intellect grade Divine Weapon… one of the biggest factors when it comes to the three noble families’ dominance.” Divine Lord Tong Yi sighed on the side. “The Holy Sword of Dusk had reached an unfathomable level the last time I saw it. It might not be as powerful as a Weapon Grandmaster… but the Weapon Master he chose must be on the same level as us.” [ED/N: Weapon Master can also mean weapon’s user/wielder.]

“That powerful?!” The red-faced Liu Qingyuan was shocked.

Tong Yi shook his head, and explained, “Indeed. A Weapon Master simply skipped every tier within Weapon Master level, and immediately broke through to become a Divine Lord. This is why the three noble families could dominate the top of the Great Yin for so long. Their Divine Weapons, through generations of sacrifices, have reached an indescribable level. Her sudden and drastic increase in power was obviously the work of the Divine Weapon. But that is the end of her path, I’m afraid. That’s the price for instant acquisition of power.”

“Still formidable…” Liu Qingyuan sighed. “I would happily accept that if it was me.”

“Let’s leave that for another time. We need to take care of this Jing Hong first. Even if we can’t capture him, we need to at least force him away,” Tong Yi concluded.

Everyone started to analyze the reports to determine where Jing Hong was the most likely to appear, but the most frequent topic was still about how to lure him out.

Lu Sheng listened quietly on the side, but his thoughts had long since drifted to another place.

***

The Yuanguang Family, the Great Yin Imperial Capital.

The tallest buildings in the Imperial Capital were the three towers. One of them was the Yuanguang Tower to the north.

The whole tower was 172 stories tall, while its spire was hidden among the clouds. Every floor was engraved with vast amounts of special luxuriant flower patterns. No humans or animals, only flowers of all kinds and colors.

From afar, it looked as if the tower was covered in a dense garden of flowers, and one could even smell the faint fragrance of flowers if the wind blew from the right direction.

Occasionally, the formation would be activated, and crystalline ‘pollen’ would scatter.

On the 99th floor, Yuanguang Cheng held a golden scepter, and looked down on the whole Imperial Capital with her back slightly bent.

“Cough…”

She coughed lightly, and the maid standing nearby quickly walked up to pat her back.

Yuanguang Cheng’s ancient face showed a sliver of exhaustion and weariness. Even the magnificent Great Yin Capital didn’t impress her one bit.

“Mother, what do you wish from your daughters?” two girls asked behind them.

Yuanguang Cheng turned slowly, and looked at Yuanguang Yu and Yuanguang Chexing, who were curtseying on one knee.

“We are finally done with this nonsense. Even though the ancestor didn’t blame us, we still must remain vigilant. Her care shouldn’t be mistaken as forgiveness, nor should we feel in the right in this matter,” she warned in a low voice.

“Your daughter will be very careful,” both girls responded.

“Long Fo has passed away. Make sure his heirs are treated well. As for mother… No, she should be called Yuanguang Juanhuan… She should be convicted for her attempt to ally with the family’s enemies and go against the family’s interests. These are all orders from the ancestor,” Yuanguang Cheng commanded.

“We have settled all of Lord Long Fo’s heirs into the family. As for grandmother’s body—”

“Deal with it according to the family laws,” Yuanguang Cheng interrupted Yuanguang Yu. “With our current withering numbers, you must summon all the Burning Heirs scattered outside to fill our ranks. They are still the blood of our family, after all. It wouldn’t do to expose them outside for too long.”

Yuanguang Yu and Yuanguang Chexing’s eyes brightened instantly.

Though Yuanguang Cheng had many daughters, they were the only two she truly trusted with the most important tasks. That alone showed how special both of them were.

As for summoning the scattered family, it made sense considering how thousands had died during the insurgency, leaving an enormous gap. Many of the main branch members, who were few to begin with, also died. It was a prime opportunity to fill the spots with their own sons and daughters.

“Organize the list of all Burning Heirs near the Great Yin, and send people to summon them one by one. The rest I shouldn’t need to teach you, right?” Yuanguang Cheng said flatly. “I can’t hold the Holy Sword of Dusk for long… I’m old… and tired… Master Holy Sword is not content being bound to an old woman like me. He needs a younger and stronger spirit.

“Your daughters understand…” Yuanguang Yu and Yuanguang Chexing finally understood their mother. She was planning another inheritance…

The point of gathering all of the family’s blood was to choose a stronger spirit to inherit the Holy Sword of Dusk.

***

Heavenly Plain County, Moling Prefecture.

Everything seemed very colorful as light was reflected off the wide expanse of rising hills. A breeze blew by, and the grass and leaves on the ground danced with it, shifting the whole color scheme. The scene was beautiful.

It was noon, and the sun shone brightly overhead.

In the Valley of Colorful Cloak outside of the Heavenly Plain County, Divine Lord Tong Yi and Lu Sheng were walking up to the hill to the right of the valley.

Both admired the colorful and flowing scenery below them, and took in the faint fragrance of grass and flowers, feeling calm and refreshed.

“I seem to remember a story about this Valley of Colorful Cloak.” Lu Sheng had read many books since settling down in Moling Prefecture. “According to legend, a seven-colored female phoenix landed here because of a thunderstorm, and was forced to take off its feather cloak since it was too wet. Yet, the legendary Weapon Grandmaster Jiu Sheng happened to pass by, and had the sudden urge to catch the seven-colored phoenix as his mount. The phoenix was so scared it flew away, not even picking up the cloak, which then fused into the land, and created this magnificent scenery.”

Divine Lord Tong Yi laughed slightly, and explained, “A wonderful story if it was true. Unfortunately, it’s fake. As far as I know, Weapon Grandmaster Jiu Sheng had never come here. He was active in the north of Great Yin.”

Lu Sheng stopped awkwardly, and promptly remembered that Weapon Grandmasters and legends were maybe not so mysterious to this elderly man beside him. A sudden surreal feeling washed over him as he realized he still thought of those stories as legends.

“In truth… this might be embarrassing, but I thought of my grandson that fell because of an accident when I first saw you.” Divine Lord Tong Yi suddenly sighed. “Especially when you smiled…”

Lu Sheng was surprised, then calmed down, not knowing how to respond.

“But he was far less accomplished. Don’t mind me, Divine Lord Lu. If I guessed correctly, you aren’t even 200 years old yet, right?” Divine Lord Tong Yi asked softly.

“True.” Lu Sheng nodded. Of course he couldn’t say his actual age. A 20-year-old Divine Lord… No one would believe him. Even if someone did, it would spell a disaster for him.

“Hence, some things might seem strange at times. But don’t worry, Divine Lord Lu, I know that sometimes, things can be…” Divine Lord Tong Yi stopped halfway, not knowing how to explain it himself, and could only shake his head with a smile.