Way of the Devil

“That’s not right!” Lu Sheng shook his head.

“If I can make up any concept I wish, I could very well go straight to ‘destroy the whole universe’, which is not at all realistic.” Lu Sheng knew that establishing a concept for Deep Blue as target was like using it as a super computer and giving it a task to complete. He himself then needed to collect all sorts of materials and algorithms to support it until it resulted in something.

But that didn’t mean he could choose any target he wanted.

It needed to be realistic to be eligible to be processed by Deep Blue. Otherwise…

‘Setting an unrealistic goal would require way too much data, and since Deep Blue isn’t an intelligent being, it would very likely be stuck in an infinite loop due to the harsh requirements of the goal. That can’t happen…’ Lu Sheng shook his head. ‘I need a concept that’s not too realistic or clear yet still with unlimited potential to be improved. That way, Deep Blue could infinitely approach the target, and even if it’s unachievable, it wouldn’t end with a scenario where it would get stuck at a certain stage.’

His eyes flashed as he rapidly thought about this.

‘ The data and materials I can collect this are mainly True Qi techniques, martial arts techniques, Devil techniques, and Secret Arts. The basis of all of them is, in truth, the concept of Yin Yang. Be it the Essence Qi that determines everything for True Qi techniques, or the martial arts’ way of turning food into essence, or the Devil techniques’ way of converting poison to energy, they are all the same—Yin Yang is at the core of every technique .’

At this point, Lu Sheng had a very wide range of knowledge of various families of techniques. Finding the common root between them was very easy for him.

‘ If Yang is existence, then Yin is nonexistence. Yin Yang, in reality, could be summed as such. But this concept is too philosophical, and far from enough to serve as a concept for the evolution. It must be lowered.

 ‘Yin as the earth, turbid and low. Yang as the sky, light and ascendant. The earth and the sky…’

Lu Sheng’s thoughts expanded out even more.

‘Be it True Qi, Inner Force, Devil Essence, Devil Qi, etc., they all represent the Yang side of things. They are all kinds of pure energy, while my Outer Way and physical body could represent the Yin side. They are all physical matters.

 ‘And so… this system should be able to include everything I have learned so far.’

Thought and ideas floated rapidly within Lu Sheng’s mind. He didn’t care if they were True Qi techniques, Inner Qi techniques, Devil techniques, or Secret Arts, and gathered everything he could use. Everything, regardless of where it came from, was gathered.

Soon, the various tabs on Deep Blue slowly disappeared. Be it Outer Way, True Qi techniques, Secret Arts…

Everything disappeared, and was instead replaced by one technique.

 ‘With Yin Yang as the concept behind it, this technique has an unlimited potential to evolve. I could also use Deep Blue as the forge, Mental Energy as the fire, and use the forge to consume materials to strengthen my body and mind. The Great Dao resulting from this has no limit, and should be named…

 ‘The Infinity Technique.’

Lu Sheng mentally decided.

“Hiss…”

Instantly, lines of new writing appeared on the Deep Blue window. The single technique was labeled “Infinity Technique.”

 ‘Infinity Technique makes use of both Yin and Yang, and should be initially separated into four tiers. The Mortal tier of ordinary humans to Divine Prime, the Bind tier from Bind level to Earth Prime or Snake level, followed by the Reach tier from Earth Prime to Weapon Master. And finally, the Spirit tier from Weapon Master to Devil Master or Holy Master.’

As Lu Sheng shaped his thoughts further, more and more writings about the Infinity Technique started to appear in the window.

The Mortal to Spirit tiers were basically a shadow copy of his experience so far. The Infinity Technique’s breakthrough would happen the exact same way he experienced breakthroughs.

In simpler terms, it was the culmination of Lu Sheng’s entire experience, cultivation, and breakthrough methods.

Unlike other techniques, the Infinity Technique could be improved infinitely. Even though there might not be much change at the moment, it solved the Ultimate Eight-Headed Devil Way’s biggest problem of not being able to be improved any further.

Lu Sheng clearly felt the various powers inside of him starting to integrate. They were no longer separated with clear boundaries.

The first four tiers of the Infinity Technique slowly appeared on the Cheating Device too. He could immediately see the more detailed levels within each level, as well as their real benefits and special effects.

“Alright… Now that I have decided on Infinity Technique, it is time to evolve it and see what happens next…” Lu Sheng’s gaze landed on the evolve button, and lightly pressed it with his mind.

“Puff.”

Deep Blue flashed, then returned to normal.

“The fourth tier of Infinity Technique includes body and spirit that are on par with Divine Weapons. Then the fifth tier is next.” Lu Sheng moved his concentration to the evolve button behind the Infinity Technique.

 ‘Infinity Technique, evolving to fifth tier.’

Lu Sheng felt a boom in his mind the moment he pressed the evolve button.

Vast amounts of Mental Energy were absorbed into the mysterious area within his chest. Deep Blue was like a monster whose anger could not be quelled, and rapidly feasted on the Mental Energy Lu Sheng worked so hard to get.

100… 200… 300… 500… 1000… 2000… 3000…

3,800!

The terrifying rate at which Mental Energy was used started to slow down when there were only about 1,000 or so units left.

Lu Sheng was shocked too. Though he’d known his established goal would exhaust a large amount of Mental Energy, he hadn’t expected it to be this much.

 ‘Body and spirit that surpasses Divine Weapon or Devil Blade… Even evolving to one level past Holy Master required nearly 4,000 units of Mental Energy…’ Lu Sheng took a deep breath in disbelief. Even then, the Mental Energy continued to deplete, showing no signs of stopping.

He finally understood why Holy Masters and Devil Masters only worked for worldly powers. The amount of resources they needed was simply not something normal powers could handle.

The Mental Energy continued to deplete, and the window for the Infinity Technique was still blurry.

Lu Sheng waited patiently. It wasn’t even clear whether his current experience and knowledge was enough for Deep Blue to evolve the Infinity Technique into something that could surpass Divine Weapons and Devil Blades.

Time passed bit by bit.

After half an hour, the window of the Infinity Technique finally cleared. Lu Sheng was ecstatic, and looked at it.

 ‘Infinity Technique: Fifth Tier: Collection tier first level: Water. Special Effect: Reforging of Devil Body, Infinity Outer Way…’ The Ultimate Eight-Headed Devil Way from before had been included, along with the Clear Void Earth Stomp Technique, Ultimate Crimson Nine Furies Technique, etc.

“Collection?” Lu Sheng moved his gaze, and his mind was instantly flooded with a vast amount of information.

Deep Blue concluded that the key to future evolution was consuming Divine Weapons or Devil Blades! The first step was only an introduction. To cultivate to completion, he also had to consume a water-type Divine Weapon of at least Golden Leaf grade.

Clearly, Deep Blue took into account the benefit of eating Immortal Radiance.

“That was only done in a moment of rage, I didn’t expect…” Lu Sheng smiled wearily. Somehow, that was the way Deep Blue came up with it.

He didn’t know how other Weapon Grandmasters achieved their breakthroughs, but there was no question that consuming Divine Weapons to strengthen oneself was more akin to the way of other Divine Weapons and Devil Blades.

“Oh, well… Let’s see what happens next.” Lu Sheng had to rely on Deep Blue for most of his achievements, and could only trust in the result of its calculations.

‘I tried to create moves with unrealistic concepts before. That’s how Death of Stars was created. Unfortunate. If I had had this much understanding, it would have saved me a lot of time.’

Lu Sheng raised his hand and saw a faint pattern emerging on his skin. At first glance, it seemed to be a natural part of his skin, but in reality, it contained a mysterious complexity.

It was like the patterns formed on weapons that had been forged with patience.

‘The Infinity Technique’s fifth tier represents Weapon Grandmasters that have surpassed Holy Master level, separated into six levels. Since it’s named Collection, its goal must be to consume a set amount of Divine Weapons and Devil Blades. Once that’s done, I can break through to the next level provided that I have enough Mental Energy… This Infinity Technique… is truly terrifyingly powerful!’ Lu Sheng exclaimed in his head.

Even though his actual power didn’t improve very much, his goal had now become clear. So did his plan for his future.

He closed his eyes for a moment, then puffed out a plume of smoke.

Three different colors swirled among the smoke—white, gold, and black. The colors slowly integrated with each other, and slowly turned into a chilling silver color.

As they finished their integration, they went back to Lu Sheng’s body through his nose. That indicated the integration of Inner Qi liquid, Devil Essence, and True Qi within his body. The new form of energy could easily emulate any of the three energies’ properties. Or, more accurately, it simultaneously possessed all three energies’ properties, and could power True Qi techniques, Devil techniques, and Inner Force techniques.

 ‘Integrating all and replacing all. This energy represents the Yang part of Infinity Technique, and should be named Yang Essence.’

Countless amounts of Yang Essence started to rapidly integrate the energy inside of him, be it Inner Qi liquid, True Qi, or Devil Essence, the moment he entered the first level of Collection tier. In a moment, everything had been consumed and transformed into silver Yang Essence.

Lu Sheng raised his right hand and slightly shook his index finger, releasing a sliver of Yang Essence.

The silver Yang Essence instantly turned into the golden True Qi of the Thousand Sun Sect, then transformed into a swirl of black Devil Essence, and finally into the pure white Inner Qi liquid.

The three systems had been completely absorbed.

 ‘It is done… Now, I just need to collect Divine Weapons and Devil Blades, as well as read enough records to prepare for the next evolution.’

Lu Sheng finally had a clear understanding of his future.