Way of the Devil

“Black Bone! Black Bone! Come out, quick! It’s time to search for the single-horned shadow dragon!” All of a sudden, the yellow werewolf’s shouts could be heard from the outside.

Lu Sheng was just about to start strengthening his body when he was interrupted. He stood up in a bout of helplessness.

‘Seems like I’ll have to deal with this issue first. I’ll take this opportunity to observe this world as well.’

“What’s the matter, Gold?”

This yellow werewolf’s name was Gold. Rumor had it that he knew that the humans and many other tribes liked gold, and hence thought fondly of the word. He wanted all the females to like him, and so he changed his name to Gold.

Gold ran into the earthen hut in a hurry.

“White Ash wants us to gather and not dally anymore. You’ve seen it as well, that poison dragon emissary wants us to find some shadow dragon.” He pulled on Lu Sheng and ran out, acting in a carefree manner as if he did not know what fear was.

Before this, Lu Sheng had not noticed it, but when he was pulled, Lu Sheng immediately felt that Gold’s strength was far greater than his own.

With him being forcibly pulled out, the two werewolves made their way out of the earthen hut. They quickly navigated through the village and reached the largest hut.

This earthen hut was different from the others. It was surrounded with dried black thorns, which were more symbolic than useful defensively. These dried thorns encircled the earthen hut and made it appear ceremonial.

The main door of the hut was wide open. The old werewolf White Ash sat at the side of the door.

“I’m sure everyone has heard what the emissary has said just now, right?”

“Yes, witch doctor…”

“That’s sending us to our deaths!”

“I, Iron Ridge, feel that this is unfair! We shouldn’t be doing a task such as this!”

“Are they out of their minds? Every single-horned shadow dragon is terrifyingly powerful. It’s not something that we can fight against!”

The group of werewolves howled furiously in a cacophony. However, the words they spouted were simple in meaning. It was clear that most of them were simple-minded individuals with overgrown muscles.

The witch doctor White Ash narrowed his eyes. Hints of helplessness and sadness showed through his eyes. He was already 76 years old. For a black werewolf, that was already an unimaginably advanced age. He had seen many tribes rise to prominence and fade to nothing.

The Mangrove Forest tribe had once been a great tribe with 1,000 members, but now…

He looked around at his dozen or so kinsmen. For a time, he was unsure what he should say to them.

After staying silent for some time, he slowly said, “We must all go this time. Otherwise, if the adult werewolves leave the village while the old and frail stayed back, our village will surely come under attack by other beasts.”

Everyone understood what he meant. They would also move out with the entire tribe occasionally before this. The habit of the werewolf tribe was to never change their way of life. They were nomadic hunters.

If their space for survival had not been overly suppressed, forcing them to occupy this small village abandoned by the humans, they would have left this dangerous land for greener pastures elsewhere long ago.

“Before we depart, bring all those who are wounded to me,” White Ash added in the end. Then, he turned around and walked into the earthen hut. The door was wide open, but there was no longer any sound from within.

“I’ll go!” A strong-looking, yellow-furred werewolf raised his chest and walked into the earthen hut.

He was called Steel Shield. He was the werewolf that had a scuffle with Black Bone, whom Lu Sheng had Arrived into.

Steel Shield walked toward the hut and flexed his arm about. His right arm was injured. He had lost some of his skin. The bloody mess seemed serious, but this was only a minor injury for the werewolves.

Lu Sheng stood at the periphery of the crowd. When Steel Shield walked out, flames of anger suddenly rose within him.

‘Is this the remaining anger left within this body? Don’t worry, I’ll handle this soon.’

He was entertaining his thoughts when the other werewolves went into the earthen hut and came out of it after a short while. He went in as well.

The interior of the hut was slightly dark. There was a slight moldy smell of the dried herbs.

The old werewolf White Ash bent his back and was fumbling about for something on a tattered shelf.

He saw Lu Sheng come in. He glanced at the wound on his head. The palm-length wound could even be seen through his black fur. Although the bleeding had stopped and the wound was even showing signs of healing, the size of the wound did not change much in such a short period of time.

“That’s a serious one. Black Bone, you shouldn’t confront Steel Shield in the future. He’s much stronger than you,” the old witch doctor muttered. “Such a big wound. I don’t think my herbs will be enough…”

“There won’t be a next time,” Lu Sheng replied softly. His voice was slightly deep. It sounded exceptionally solemn in the dark earthen hut.

White Ash was slightly stunned. However, he did not hesitate. He poured out a clump of sticky wax-colored substance from a chipped stone bowl with skilled movements. He scooped some with his paw and pressed it directly onto Lu Sheng’s head.

Lu Sheng resisted his strong urge to dodge, allowing the old werewolf to slather his wound with the substance.

A pungent smell kept attacking his nostrils.

At the same time, a faint, cooling sensation was slowly spreading from his wound to his limbs. He had a faint but extremely comfortable feeling.

Lu Sheng had intended to see just how skilled this witch doctor was in an attempt at understanding the intricacies of this world’s system. He would base his future adjustments on this new information.

It now appeared that his effort was not in vain. No medicinal herb would take effect this quickly. There had to be some secret behind this.

Lu Sheng opened his eyes and could see a faint grayish-white glow flickering in White Ash’s palm. The fur was obstructing his view.

“White Ash, what’s glowing on your palm?”

“You can see it?” White Ash was slightly stunned. A hint of shock and disbelief flashed across his old eyes.

“Mm-hm… It’s a white light, it’s pulsing,” Lu Sheng replied honestly.

White Ash’s slathering movements paused.

After a long while, he heaved a sigh.

“This is Frost Power, the symbol of our tribe. A remnant of our glorious past.” He lowered his hand and spread his right palm. A crescent mark was shining on his paw.

The mark was grayish-white. It was giving off pulses of cold air. Wisps of white vapor continued to spread outward as well.

“In our tribe many years ago, there would be one tribesman in a hundred to awaken with this Frost Power. However, this can’t be done now. The tribe has not seen another tribesman awaken with this power for far too long.” The old witch doctor shook his head. “However, what good would it do even if a tribesman awakened this power? Even after turning into a frost wolf, we’ll never be a match for the Poison Dragon Pool.”

He tidied the fur on Lu Sheng’s head.

“Alright, off you go, Black Bone.”

“May I ask, how does one go about awakening this Frost Power?” Lu Sheng stood up and posed a final question.

As expected, this trip was not made in vain. Before this, Black Bone was too weak, which was why he’d never noticed the intriguing side of the witch doctor.

However, he was different.

White Ash furrowed his brows.

“It’s only possible to awaken this power when you’re at the crossroads between life and death and your potential is completely stimulated.”

His statement was of no help whatsoever.

Lu Sheng looked at the dying white radiance in White Ash’s palm. He made to leave.

“Black Bone, wait.” White Ash thought about it, and decided to explain the origin of the power. “If you really want to awaken this power, you should hone your determination in a fight to the death to push your body to its limits. I’ll give you this.”

He tossed a rag to Lu Sheng.

Lu Sheng caught it and gave it a glance. It was riddled with peculiar curving lines. In the middle of the dense lines, there was a peculiar symbol that resembled a deer’s hoofprint.

When Lu Sheng took a casual glance, he vaguely felt that this symbol had some layers to it. It was as if it was printed countless times on the same spot.

“Take this and contemplate on it. If you can imagine it, it means that you’d have mastered Frost Power. If you can’t, this object will disappear on its own after three days,” White Ash said calmly. “Oh, this is a small item I’ve made in my haste. Don’t even think of trading this for food with the other tribes.”

Lu Sheng gripped the rag and caressed the symbols on it. He immediately felt a chill run up from the tips of his claws.

The coldness was not very strong. It felt just like he was touching an ice cube.

He gripped the rag, turned around, and strode off.

“Actually, I’ve tested each of you when you were still little…” White Ash’s voice came from behind.

Lu Sheng paused.

‘Looks like this world isn’t as boring as I thought.’ When he learned about this world from Black Bone’s memories, he had thought that this was only an ordinary world that slightly surpassed the mortal realm.

However, it now seemed to him that this world was not as simple as he’d thought, since there was such a peculiar thing within a werewolf tribe.

He exited the earthen hut, and immediately saw the yellow werewolf Gold who was waiting for him nearby. However, there was another big and tall yellow werewolf that stood beside Gold. It was Steel Shield who had injured him before this.

“I need food!” Steel Shield seemed to be threatening Gold.

“I don’t have any! I gave you all of it.” Gold lowered his head helplessly.

“Not enough.” Steel Shield glanced at Lu Sheng.

“Hiss!”

He stuck out his tongue as if he was trying to scare him. He licked his lips.

“And you! If there’s still no food when I return, don’t even think of living a good life!”

After he finished, he turned around and left.

Lu Sheng looked on as he swiftly disappeared beside the village’s walls. He seemed to be getting ready to go out and search. The witch doctor’s words could not be opposed. Otherwise, their right to healing and shelter would be forfeited.

In a dangerous forest such as this one, the only result that awaited a werewolf with no shelter and recovery abilities would be to collapse in some unknown corner and be devoured by worms.

“Let’s go.” Lu Sheng patted Gold’s shoulder. Naturally, he would not be angered by such a feeble threat. The current urgent task at hand was to decipher the purported secret hidden within this rag.

As for the process, Lu Sheng decided to try as they walked.

“My meat… I’ll kill him sooner or later!” Gold complained. He felt wronged.

“Yes, yes.” Lu Sheng nodded noncommittally. He gripped the rag and carefully felt the coldness that came from it.

The more he felt it, the more familiar he found it to be.

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning flashed across his mind. Was this not similar to the pattern on his Mystic Water Divine Vein?

‘So that’s how it is…’ Lu Sheng felt more and more intrigued by the minute.

He was travelling with Gold. They were unlike the other werewolves—they had no loved ones to take care of. After discussing the path, the two of them sped in a northwesterly direction after they exited the village.

The poison dragon tribe told them to look for the single-horned shadow dragon, but that was not a being that could be easily found. Also, with the werewolves’ strength, it would be no different than serving it platters of food once they met it.

Hence, it was completely natural for them to show up for the work, but they would not exert themselves.

The two of them stepped on the soft ground cushioned by fallen leaves. They treated this as another patrol mission.

“Is it really alright for us to be moving this slowly?” Gold kept asking questions along the way.

“It’s alright, it’s alright.” Lu Sheng kept repeating the same answer. “Just listen to what I say, you don’t have to worry about anything else.”

“Oh…”

Lu Sheng wandered as if taking a stroll while he analyzed the cold air symbol on the rag with his spirit.

‘If I decrypt its structure with archaic divine script, then everything can be explained. This symbol… represents ice cold in the archaic divine script.’ Lu Sheng quickly understood what it meant.

‘Interesting. I immediately obtained the Mystic Water Divine Vein after attaining the late-stage Nascent Soul tier, and now I’ve obtained the Ice Cold Divine Vein from the beginning here. It seems like it’s both easy and difficult to get my hands on these divine veins.’

Lu Sheng narrowed his eyes within the dark and damp forest. He suddenly swung his claw and slashed at a tree snake that lunged at him.

Then, under Gold’s shocked stare, he passed the snake to him and made an inviting gesture.

Gold happily received the snake and started eating. He avoided the venomous fangs and the venom sac. Snake meat was still a delicious meal.