Way of the Devil

‘With these structures as reference, I’ll need some time to create another set of unique system that’s suitable for me…’ Lu Sheng was feeling excited.

What this implied was clear.

In the Great Yin, his Eight-Headed Devil Art was limited by the limits of his constitution. He could not even put into words just how difficult it was for him to improve his strength.

After all, a human body’s structure was fixed. No matter how hard he trained, it was impossible to break away from the fundamentals of genes and cells. Even if he had a sliver of the Divine Weapon bloodline, it was the same.

However, if he could understand the meaning behind this stack of atlases, that would mean that he could perfectly build a body that would be the most suitable for him.

Then, he would not have any limits anymore.

Lu Sheng put the atlas away and nodded solemnly toward White Ash.

“I understand. Don’t worry, I’ll keep them well.”

White Ash wore a solemn expression and nodded his head as well.

“Go now. I’m sensing a great war coming.”

Lu Sheng had a thought. He turned around and walked out of the earthen hut.

‘Seems like I have another objective in this world: to collect a Divine Vein.’ He strode toward the earthen hut which he stayed in.

However, when he reached his own hut, he suddenly stopped in his tracks. He turned and walked toward another earthen hut.

The village was quite deserted. A dozen adult werewolves could not possibly occupy all the 20 or so huts here. The hut which Lu Sheng chose was in much better shape, and was bigger than the others.

When he walked up to the door, he found that it was open. The strong Steel Shield was taking an afternoon nap in the yard. His snores rose and fell.

Without hesitation, Lu Sheng sprinted, grabbed his long fur on his head, and hurled him toward the side of a well.

“Bam!”

Steel Shield was stunned from the impact, and his forehead bled instantly. He wailed loudly and attempted to slash Lu Sheng’s chest with his claws. However, his advance was easily parried.

“Dammit! Black Bone! It’s you! How did I not hear you come in?! You’re dead! You’re so dead! Just you wait, when I get my breath, I’ll give you the beating of your life!” Lu Sheng kept an iron grip on Steel Shield’s hair as he smashed his head onto the hard rock of the well.

After several consecutive raps, Steel Shield’s curses quickly drew the attention of many female werewolves and little werewolves outside.

“Father! No!” A little werewolf howled and tried to charge at Lu Sheng.

“No!” Another yellow werewolf caught him up and stopped him from getting closer.

The village was not big. Everyone noticed that an incident had occurred. They gathered around and looked on as Lu Sheng repeatedly slammed Steel Shield’s head into the well.

Other than the witch doctor White Ash, the other werewolves were already gathered here.

Lu Sheng swept his gaze across this pack of werewolves with the edge of his vision. Their repulsive appearance told him that they were all malnourished. Their fur hung loosely on their bodies, and most of them carried a foul smell. He wondered when was the last time they took a shower.

He could tell that Steel Shield was not a popular character around here. Hence, when he was being beaten up at this moment, nobody was willing to defend him.

Slowly, Steel Shield’s furious howls became cries and begs. In the beginning, his voice was full and strong. However, it was growing weaker now.

“Bam!”

He slammed Steel Shield’s head into the rock for the last time. Then, he let go and allowed Steel Shield’s limp body slide to the ground.

“I, Black Bone!” He raised his hand, his claws releasing faint white cold air. “I’m the only werewolf who has awakened the Frost Power in the Mangrove Forest tribe! I’ll become your king!”

Since time was short, he decided to cut through the tangled hemp with a quick sword.

The former wolf king stood among the crowd. He was a big and tall werewolf just like Steel Shield was. He stepped forward silently and walked up to Lu Sheng.

According to customs, the new wolf king had to defeat the old wolf king.

However, that was not a problem for Lu Sheng. This was because the former wolf king was the strong-looking werewolf whom he had struck down before.

“I admit that you’re stronger than I am. According to our customs, you’re the wolf king now.” The former wolf king tossed a black object toward Lu Sheng. Then, he turned around and left the village without a second glance. The current Mangrove Forest tribe was on the brink of destruction. Staying behind and leaving made not much of a difference.

The other werewolves observed this scene with dazed eyes. Only Gold was grinning without any care.

Lu Sheng took notice of all this. He swept his gaze across the remaining dozen adult werewolves again. When he saw that they did not express any opposition, he deemed that the succession was complete.

“Alright, from this moment on, everything will continue as before. Everyone. Please go back and continue to rest.” Lu Sheng immediately gave his first order.

The werewolves silently dispersed, and went back to their own homes.

It was only now that Lu Sheng had the time to look at the black object in his hands.

It was a piece of metal with a large ring symbol engraved on it. There was an opening under the ring where a row of letters was inscribed. However, they were too blurry to be intelligible.

“Mental Energy?” Lu Sheng studied it, and immediately felt that there was much Mental Energy on this item. There were about a few hundred units.

He had a thought. His main body quickly guided the Mental Energy through this host and absorbed it.

He put the metal piece away, and immediately returned to his own earthen hut. He started to scrutinize the stack of atlases which he had just obtained.

‘I’ll carry out my derivations according to the pathways indicated on this stack of atlases. This method of utilizing Frost Power and the Divine Vein’s structure is as if it was tailored for the werewolves.’

Lu Sheng took out the second atlas, the one after the frost werewolf stage. He caressed the veins on the atlas while being impressed.

“Deep Blue.”

The light blue interface surfaced. Lu Sheng focused his gaze on the Frost Power cultivation method.

As expected, the derivation button behind the frame had appeared naturally. It was apparent that the knowledge in his brain was capable of providing enough materials for Deep Blue to carry out the next derivation.

“Let’s begin, then. I’ll try it once.”

Lu Sheng focused his attention onto the Frost Power cultivation method. He quickly noticed two units of Mental Energy flow through his body and vanish in the blink of an eye.

His gaze stopped on the frame.

“Hiss…”

The frame suddenly blurred. Then, it swiftly regained clarity.

The contents of the new frame had changed.

“Frost Power atlas, frost werewolf strengthening, level two. (Special traits. Ice-cold strengthening, level two. Ice Claw, level two.)”

“Oh?” Lu Sheng was stunned. When he saw this, he vaguely thought of something else. However, the notion flashed across his mind, and he was not able to get ahold of it.

“Forget it. Let’s improve my strength first.”

He suppressed his emotions. This world was but a stepping stone. His main goal was to settle the karma as quickly as possible. Other matters could wait.

After waiting for his body to adjust to the new condition, Lu Sheng focused his gaze onto the frame again.

He began another round of improvement.

He had the protection of his Divine Lord’s spirit. Also, this was the proper power system in line with this world’s rules.

Two days passed by in the blink of an eye…

Lu Sheng’s earthen hut was a scene of snow-white coldness. A layer of frost covered the walls.

Lu Sheng sat in the center. His body was still the same as before. He focused his gaze on Deep Blue’s interface before himself. He did not even blink. The Cold Frost Divine Vein pulsed faintly in the center of his chest.

‘Is this the snow wolf king’s power?’ Lu Sheng felt strange.

He had the same feeling when he had just achieved the breakthrough and became a frost werewolf. He did not even know about the ice-cold strengthening and Ice Claw. They were skills that suddenly appeared.

Now, he had moved beyond being a frost wolf king…

“Again?”

He swept his arm, and two giant snow-white wolves which resembled three meters-tall calves immediately appeared before him.

‘Snow Wolf Summoning. I didn’t know any summoning art before this… I don’t even know the background of this art.’ Lu Sheng sat where he was with a frown. He stared at the two snow wolves before him. Their snow-white fur was moving amid the cold air. They appeared soft and pure.

In these two days, he had strengthened the frost werewolf stage to level 15. Then, he suddenly underwent a substantial change as a slight change immediately appeared in his body. His fur suddenly turned grayish white. Even the new fur on his body was snow-white in color.

As for his current status…

Lu Sheng stared at the Frost Power cultivation method’s frame with a frown.

Currently, the frame could no longer be considered the Frost Power’s frame. The term had changed.

“Frost Power Atlas, frost wolf king. (Special traits. Extreme cold strengthening, level one. Snow Wolf Summoning, level one. Ice Roar, level one.)”

‘It seems that there’s a limit to the frequency I can unleash my art in this world with.’ Lu Sheng looked at the two huge snow wolves again.

He wanted to unleash Snow Wolf Summoning again, but found that he could not. The faint little connection which he felt while summoning was completely severed now.

After half an hour, the two snow wolves disappeared on their own.

‘There’s a time limit as well?’ Lu Sheng touched his chin. He felt as if his stamina had been consumed. ‘So, it consumes my endurance and stamina?’

‘It feels as if someone has set the rules. This world… is really…’ Lu Sheng was feeling intrigued.

His body had improved too much at the moment. He needed time to get used to it and cultivate. Hence, he retracted the cold air for now, and stood up amid the ice. Then, he walked slowly out of his hut.

As he expected, the witch doctor White Ash was sitting cross-legged nearby, waiting for him.

When White Ash saw Lu Sheng walking out of the hut, his initial expression of anxiousness was replaced with a stunned look the instant he saw Lu Sheng. Then, as if he had been hit by something, he stayed static, and suddenly sprang to his feet with excitement.

“You’ve succeeded! Good heavens! Frost wolf king! What am I seeing?! Frost wolf king! You’re a frost wolf king! Hahahaha! There’s finally hope for our frost wolf tribe!”

White Ash saw the Divine Vein’s glow on Lu Sheng’s body. As they were both controllers of Frost Power, he immediately sensed the immense ice-cold power within Lu Sheng which far surpassed his own.

Tears streaked across his face as he danced with joy. The other old werewolves who had lived long enough were also shaking with excitement.

The younger werewolves had no idea what was happening. However, they noticed that Lu Sheng’s aura was completely different from an ordinary werewolf’s when he walked out of his hut. They also noticed the earthen hut behind him that was covered in frost.

Although they did not understand what went on behind the scenes, they knew that the new wolf king was more powerful.

“Auurrrr!”

Suddenly, a female werewolf howled toward the skies.

As if infected, the other werewolves raised their heads and howled as well.

The group of werewolves howled toward the heavens for a long while.

After the initial feeling of excitement, a chilly aura quickly closed in on them from afar.

Outside the village, a black shadow was projected from above. It quickly flew into the village and circled slowly around Lu Sheng.

“Congratulations, new frost wolf king. Finally, there’s another comrade of the feudal lord rank in this vast forest. I am greatly elated with this fact.” A gentle and calm voice came from above.

“Four-winged iron eagle king!” Lu Sheng immediately recognized his identity via a search of Black Bone’s memories.

This king of the four-winged iron eagles would not even care about the Mangrove Forest werewolf tribe during other days. If the poison dragon tribe did not intimidate them, a small tribe such as theirs would have been hunted and killed off by her tribesmen.

Lu Sheng looked up, and said coldly, “This is the territory of the frost wolf tribe. You’re not welcome here, iron eagle king.”

They were natural enemies to begin with. Since he was here to settle the karma, he would most probably not treat the visitor kindly.

The iron eagle king gave a clear cry and a chuckle. Then, she flew away from the village and soon vanished.

With the departure of the iron eagle king, the werewolves in the village, White Ash included, sighed with relief.

However, another voice came from afar.

“A feudal lord-ranked wolf king has appeared among the frost wolf tribe again? You’ve awakened at a bad time… However, I still have to congratulate you.” Far away, a colossal rhinoceros with a height of more than five meters stood. It glanced in their direction through the yellow smoke. Then, it turned around and returned to its own territory.

“Land dragon rhinoceros king…” White Ash muttered. These were formidable beings that the poison dragon emissary could only shiver in fear in front of. Currently, they were coming here of their own volition to congratulate their king.

Fear, worry, and a great pride roiled in White Ash’s heart.