Way of the Devil

“Where have you been, Yingying? Did you meet with some danger? Why didn’t you tell me?! Do you know how worried I was for you?” Scarlet District Mistress hurried as she let go of umbrella girl and caressed her long hair.

“I… I… was captured by… the black-robed man… who destroyed the headquarters. After that he… asked me… some questions, then released… me back,” umbrella girl replied softly.

“Black-robed man? Do you know his identity?” Scarlet District Mistress asked coldly as a murderous glint flashed across her eyes.

Umbrella girl shook her head lightly.

“It’s alright. We’ll slowly investigate. Sooner or later, we’ll find some leads. Once I find out who he is, I’ll swallow him alive!” Scarlet District Mistress declared.

“Let’s… go home…” Umbrella girl’s mind was in a mess. Although she had come back, she dared not speak about that web-like structure in her. She was worried that her sister would not be able to deal with it and yet would discover that it was Lu Sheng’s handiwork.

Scarlet District Mistress pulled her body close to herself.

“I won’t leave you anymore in the future. I promise!” For the sake of Scarlet Dragon Tribulation, she had pursued them. Although all she managed to seize was a shard of it, it was already a major boost to her strength. Add to that the cultivation skills on that book… All she needed to do now was to find a place to go into solitary confinement without stepping out for a hundred years.

“Let’s find a place to live together and ignore the mess outside. What say you, Yingying?”

Umbrella girl responded with a “mm”, but her mind was on the web in her body.

“Oh yes, it’s good timing that you’re back. I’m still not good at rebuilding Scarlet District. I think it’s better for you to take command. And I’ve got to count on you to remake those red lanterns.” Scarlet District Mistress laughed in embarrassment.

“Leave it to… Yingying…” Umbrella girl nodded.

“Oh, and… I’m preparing to pay Martial League a visit. I’ve found their temporary base. They change the location every once in a while… They’re good at running, so I’ve gotta get there before they run again.” Scarlet District Mistress’ face turned dark. “It just so happens that that Officiator from Ashoka Manor disappeared while investigating Martial League. If I’m not wrong, the same person who killed the Officiator is the very one who destroyed my headquarters. As long as I find the killer of the Officiator, I’ll find the culprit who did this to my base.”

“Sis District Mistress… is wise indeed…” Umbrella girl flashed her a sweet, meek smile.

“When the time comes, you just rest at home. No… you better come with me. You’re too weak now, you need protection.” Scarlet District Mistress pinched Yingying’s cheeks lightly.

“Mm… Yingying will listen… to you.”

***

The Crimson Whale.

“To Martial League?” Lu Sheng gently tore the black slip of paper in his hand. Made of some unknown material, the paper was black throughout. The words, on the other hand, were written in white.

Thin bits of paper floated down from the gap between his fingers, turning into black smoke and dispersing in the wind before they landed on the group.

That was umbrella girl’s secret message for him.

‘Rather troublesome… many people in Martial League know that I was the one who killed the Ashoka Manor Emissaries. They might very possibly deduce that I was the culprit.

Although killing the Emissaries does not necessarily equal killing the Officiator, I’ll still be investigated nonetheless.’

Given his identity and backing, even if he was discovered to have killed the Emissaries, Ashoka Manor would at most try to assassinate him in the dark. They would not dare to do anything to him in the open. Because Lu Sheng could always bite his teeth and deny it. Unless he had been caught red-handed, there was no way to pin it down on him.

He, Lu Sheng, was not a random cultivator without any background. Neither was he one of those Exorcists who were too weak to be worth mentioning. He had decent strength and was valued by Shangyang Jiuli whose Shangyang Family far outstripped Ashoka Manor in power. Even Ashoka Manor’s Manor Lord did not dare to offend Shangyang Jiuli, who did not have a position like his. Rather, he treated her as a peer.

‘Martial League, Martial League…’ Lu Sheng stood up and paced about. ‘I’m still in my incubation phase right now. My strength is not yet at the level of the Manor Lord; there’s still a gap between me and Ye Moling or Scarlet District Mistress. It’s not wise for me to face them head-on.

Who knows how long this incubation will take? Even a top-notch prodigy like Shangyang Jiuli was stuck in between Bind and Snake realm for many years. I doubt my breakthrough will happen anytime soon.

In that case…’ Lu Sheng began strategizing.

Against ghosts, demons, and Noblemen, his only weapon that could inflict damage on them was his Yang-attribute inner Qi. And perhaps now his Yin-attribute inner Qi as well.

Only inner Qi could hurt these beings which have surpassed nature. Hard body skills could only bolster his physical body. No matter how strong, how fast, how explosive, how lightning-quick, their only effect was to tank blows.

Of course, hard body skills could resist supernatural attacks and lethal poison. That was unmatched by inner Qi.

‘Since I can’t use inner Qi on a massive scale now, I’ll focus my Yin Qi on hard body skills. The stronger my physical body is, the better it is for my inner Qi in the future. Sooner or later, I’ll have to invest Yin Qi in it,’ Lu Sheng decided.

“Men,” he rose.

Two guards quickly entered.

“Greetings to Sect Master!”

“Bring me Song Zhenguo. Oh, and prepare my luggage,” Lu Sheng instructed, then left the study for his sanctuary.

‘I need to settle this beforehand. Once the investigation reaches Martial League, Scarlet District Mistress and Ashoka Manor’s attention will surely be redirected towards me.’

After entering the sanctuary, he sat cross-legged and stilled himself.

‘Deep Blue.’

The light blue Modifier screen emerged.

Lu Sheng looked at the now-much-neater rows. Although he had returned the three treasures when he had released umbrella girl, he had already sucked them clean of Yin Qi. Because of that, he now had twenty units of Yin Qi. Add to that the Yin Qi he acquired in Scarlet District from the swarm of ghosts and Anomalies, and the gross amount of Yin Qi he carried on him right now was an unprecedented eighty units!

The moment he launched the Modifier, a dialogue box popped up.

‘Begin martial arts extrapolation?’

‘Yes,’ Lu Sheng confirmed, his mind focusing on Yang Extreme Dao’s row.

‘Ever since stepping into the Nobleman circle, I’ve been facing increasing risks of having my cover blown. I need to upgrade myself as fast as possible before they notice me.’ He clicked resolutely on the button behind Yang Extreme Dao.

Instantly, a large amount of Yin Qi rapidly disappeared from within him, as if swallowed by some black hole.

Szzzzzzzz!

Without warning, Lu Sheng’s typical Yin Extreme Mode body ballooned, bursting his clothes. Like releasing a highly compressed matter, large amounts of muscles and greenish gray skin were pushed out of his body, turning him into a five-meter tall titan.

Fortunately, the sanctuary had been built tall due to considerations for weapons. Though it was called a sanctuary, it could practically be termed a mini-dojo. Hence, it could contain even Lu Sheng with his present height.

“That’s comfortable… finally my body’s no longer bound…” Lu Sheng flexed and stretched his body. Right now, he looked just like a fat man with an extremely bulky upper body but two short and stout legs, which looked barely enough to prop him up but sorely inadequate to support his explosive speed.

His greenish gray skin had turned into a layer somewhat like armor. Two horns of flesh protruded from his temples, one on each side. Because his skin was not flesh-colored to begin with, his horns of flesh looked like hard bull horns.

Most obvious, however, were the two giant masses of muscle on his back, behind his arms. One look at it was enough to tell that they were auxiliary muscles that supported the arms when they exerted force. The muscles on that spot on ordinary people were not as exaggerated as Lu Sheng’s, which were essentially two giant balls of muscles.

“Hoo…”

Lu Sheng breathed out at length.

‘Actually, Yang Extreme Mode is the true form of my body. It is the mode in which my muscles are completely released.

Yin Extreme Mode and my ordinary mode are the result of forcibly compressing my body using hard body skills that have body shrinking effects. It is not the usual form of my body.’ Lu Sheng stretched his palms, feeling the unobstructed flow of Qi and blood in him.

Yin Qi was still being depleted at rapid rate. Presently, approximately over thirty units had been expended. Lu Sheng began to feel a piercing pain in his back.

“Argh…”

He arched his back. Copious amounts of sweat poured out through his pores.

Lu Sheng moved to the hidden drawer, grabbed his water bag and emptied it into his mouth. A large volume of water entered him, replacing the water lost just now.

Time passed. Finally, the depletion of Yin Qi came to an end. The whole process expended about forty units in total.

Lu Sheng felt the pain in his back growing in intensity as his back arched further. It felt like something was trying to burst out from his back.

“RIP!”

Just then, a white bone spike burst out of his back.

It was pencil straight and razor-sharp. Under the glow of fire, it shone with a white glint.

With the first bone spike came the second, then the third…

Gradually, ten pale white bone spikes had burst out of Lu Sheng’s back, each straight and sharp as sword.

The ten bone spikes formed a circle on Lu Sheng’s back, like a radioactive disk.

The center of the dish was his fatal spot, right at the heart of his back. It had been shielded by an extremely hard piece of black bone. This was the bone out of which the ten bone spikes extended in all directions.

Presently, Lu Sheng looked like a giant monster carrying a white bone dish on its back. His face and neck have lost all discernible shape. A band of thick black cuticle had grown around his cheeks, shielding his facial features like a helmet.

‘It’s stopped…’

After god-knows-how-long, Lu Sheng straightened his body slowly. The pain in his back was finally gone.

He reached behind him and caressed the bone spikes. The razor-sharp edge of the bone spikes was longer even than his body.

He looked again at his own status on the Modifier.

‘Yang Extreme Dao: Grade Two Yang Extreme Mode formed. Special Effect(s): Amplified Strength Level Nine, Reinforced Defence Level Seven, Anti-Tremor Level Six, Scorch Level Two…’

‘All special effects have been upgraded by one level on average. Forty units of Yin Qi… the price-performance ratio is too low…’ Lu Sheng frowned.

It had not been easy for him to acquire so much Yin Qi. And yet, he was back to square one now.

But, before long, he got to the last special effect. This newly-added special effect immediately made him feel that those forty units of Yin Qi had been worth the while.

‘Special Effect(s): Fiery Blood.’

When Lu Sheng’s mind hovered over it, he quickly got the explanation of its detailed effects.

‘Extreme activation. Makes the cells and blood more aggressive in devouring, enabling them to resist almost all viruses and germs. Due to their extraordinarily high activation, they possess extremely high resistance against toxins and poison. If injected into or ingested by other living organisms, they will induce severe repelling effects.

Simultaneously, this special effect will induce activation effects on inner Qi.’