Way of the Devil

Panda Novel

“Phew…”

Lu Sheng sat on a pile of grass behind the carriage. He looked to the skies and sighed.

The weather was as fickle as a child’s expression. It was clear as far as the eyes could see just moments ago, but it was gloomy and dark now.

“Rumble…”

Thunder rumbled in the skies. It appeared as if it was going to rain.

“It’s time to take the pills again.”

Lu Sheng straightened up and sighed again. He was sick of the strawberry flavor.

He took out a black metal vial from his sack with familiar movements, and removed the cover and the cork. He jerked his head up and started gulping the medicine down his throat.

After he obtained a formula from Veron, he had hopped on a caravan headed toward Musk Mallow City. This was the third day.

He put the vial down, and could not stifle a burp. Currently, his body was already strong enough. He had to drink many vials of medicine just to improve once. The other option was for him to increase the concentration of the medicine.

He suddenly missed the vial of medicine which Veron had given to him before this. He had improved by two levels after he drank it. That was some good medicine.

The medicine which Lu Sheng concocted was a far cry from that. It was too diluted, so he had to drink 30 vials just to improve by one level. This was undoubtedly an extremely excruciating process for Lu Sheng.

‘Looks like I’ll have to concentrate the medicine after I get my hands on the formula. I’ll drink a concentration enough for hundreds of people. I don’t think there won’t be any improvement then.

‘Also, I’ll have to change the flavor.’ Lu Sheng threw away the empty vial in his hand with scorn. He had enough of strawberries.

This world was extremely boring for him. These medicines had no referential value at all. Pharmacology was not a field he was an expert in.

Also, even if he was familiar with pharmacology, the different worlds had different rules and basic patterns. He reckoned that these medicines would be useless in Great Yin, Devil World, or the World of Pain. He also reckoned that it would be difficult to imitate this world’s mode of strengthening.

Hence, he intended to swiftly settle Luo Sang’s karma and put an end to this Arrival.

‘I should take another nap. Sleeping is the best way to kill time.’ Lu Sheng looked upward and lay down on the pile of grass again. The scorching sun had dried the grass, and it now felt very comfortable lying on it. He rested his weight on the grass. Amidst some rustling sounds, he made a great dent in the rice straw pile.

“Don’t sleep now, kid. We’re almost there. We’re almost at Musk Mallow City.” The groom of the caravan, an old man with a short beard, smiled, and raised his voice at Lu Sheng from behind.

“Do you see that small hill? After we pass it, we’ll be in Musk Mallow City’s boundaries. We’ll be flanked by musk mallows, and the flowers will cover the hills and the mountainsides. It’s a beautiful sight to behold.”

“Is it? So we’re almost there, huh?” Lu Sheng sat up straight and looked toward the front of the carriage.

As the groom said, the not-so-even road was making a left bend. After traveling on the road for a while, a small hill could gradually be seen.

The caravan climbed the slope slowly and steadily. In no time, they were in the embrace of huge swathes of yellow and green plants.

All around them, as far as the eye could see, were yellow and green. It was as if they were in a green ocean.

These plants looked like ears of wheat, but with a small, light yellow flower at the tip. They swayed in the wind in the distance.

“Achoo!”

Someone among the caravan sneezed. The wind carried a huge amount of pollen with it.

The caravan slowed down, but continued moving forward. In no time, a massive fort with three peaks appeared before them.

The gray fort was surrounded by unguarded buildings and streets. Beyond that were acres of farmland. Everything here seemed to be surrounded by the sea of musk mallows.

“This place is really beautiful,” a girl on the caravan mused softly.

Lu Sheng, however, caught glimpses of seemingly scholarly old people among the musk mallow flowers. Leading a handful of young students, they seemed to be collecting something.

‘I hope that this trip will prove fruitful.’ He suddenly felt anticipation rise within his chest.

The caravan continued toward the outer fringe of the city. When a few guards came up to them for inspection, they stopped.

Lu Sheng underwent the inspection and entered Musk Mallow City. He had no trouble finding the Banba Academy with its three tall towers.

The most popular establishment in the entire Musk Mallow City was the Banba Academy. In truth, it was this academy that made Musk Mallow City what it was.

This was because the sea of musk mallows was planted by the Banba Academy. They were not naturally present here.

As time went by, the academy attracted more and more people. In addition to that, the academy itself had some strategic value. Hence, a garrison fort was built.

Lu Sheng hailed a few random passersby and asked for directions. He quickly found his way to the main entrance of Banba Academy, which was the size of a town itself.

He handed Veron’s letter of recommendation to the guard on duty. After Professor Kekeanda was informed, he was allowed to enter.

Lu Sheng did not spare any attention to the atmosphere or environment of the academy. He immediately went up a three-storied hexagonal building by a tower and found Kekeanda.

The two of them met in a cold and cheerless room, where various experimental apparatuses and ingredients were stored.

“I’m happy that Veron’s asking me for help. I thought that I would never have such a chance in this life. I’ve grown up with him, and he’s as much of a brother as he is a friend. So, just call me Anda.” The old professor’s hair was white. He appeared to be at least 60-70 years old.

This made Lu Sheng remember Veron, who appeared to be a young man. He found it slightly difficult to believe that they were childhood friends.

“You know, those who frequently train can look younger. That’s an established theorem.” The old professor shrugged. “In truth, that fellow Veron is 72 years old.”

“Alright…” Lu Sheng smiled.

“Sit. I’ve read the letter. Your father has saved Veron, so you’re entitled to one request, which I will grant to the best of my abilities. Without going against my morals and will, I’ll help you with all I have,” Professor Anda said solemnly.

“I’ll get straight to the point, then.” Lu Sheng sat down and straightened his back. “I need all the formulas you have. You know which formulas I’m talking about.”

“Oh? Formulas?” Professor Anda was slightly stunned. “I can give you that, but, forgive me for being frank, if you don’t have the corresponding training methods, these medicines will be no different than potent poison. Are you sure you want them all?” He paused. “In truth, based on my research over many years, these medicines aren’t that special in themselves. Before this, they’re just ordinary poison. The main thing is the creation of the training methods. That’s what made these poisons useful. In other words, you can take any poison, create the corresponding training method, and you’ll be able to drink it without caution.”

“Oh?” Lu Sheng did not expect to hear this. “You’re saying that these medicines are actually ordinary poison?” He emphasized the word “ordinary”.

“According to my research, they are. Before the various styles have been established, these medicines were used as the imperial court’s secret medicine to poison others. It’s only over the course of years that they gained their current application. If you need it, I can give you the latest list which I’m working on. There are 181 poison formulas which contain stimulating and strengthening effects. As long as you have the training method, they can be the basis of a new style,” said the old professor calmly.

“However…” He suddenly paused as if he just remembered something. A hint of gloominess and weariness appeared in his eyes. “Could it be that you and Veron know each other… because of that place?”

“Can you give me all of the formulas?” Lu Sheng was momentarily stunned, but he quickly felt elated. However, when he heard the final question, his emotions calmed down as well. “Naturally, it’s because of that.”

Kekeanda’s brows furrowed. He stood up and rummaged through a drawer. He took out a thick pouch for documents from it. A huge pile of manuscripts was contained within the ox hide pouch.

He counted the sheets carefully, and handed a pile of them over to Lu Sheng. There seemed to be around a dozen sheets.

“Take these. There are a few formulas with ingredients difficult to find, but the others can easily be bought from an apothecary. The easterners usually have more complete stocks.”

“Thank you.” Lu Sheng received the manuscripts and took a look. The formulas were written in small, densely packed letters.

“I don’t know what you want that for, but you most probably want it to fight against those monsters.” Kekeanda rubbed his temple. “I’ve researched that place for 10 years, and specifically tracked down those monsters for another 20. Up until now, I haven’t been able to understand their existence. I can only wish you good fortune.”

“It’s alright.” Lu Sheng grinned. “You’ve helped me a lot.” He stood up. “I’ll be taking my leave, then.”

“Go. If you come back alive, can you come and stop by this place? I hope to obtain some detailed data,” Kekeanda said in a deep voice.

“We’ll see.” Lu Sheng nodded. He stood up, picked up the manuscripts, and walked out of the room.

When he was at the door, he suddenly saw a black statue beside the door at the edge of his sight.

“Eh? What’s this?” Lu Sheng stopped in his tracks.

The statue was as tall as a man. Its base was a black stone column, while the top was half a palm with fingers spread out toward the skies. What made Lu Sheng stop was that there seemed to be a complicated dark red vein in the general shape of a diamond on the back of the palm’s hand.

“Oh, that’s Misha, a Wicked God worshipped by small evil cults. He’s in charge of the border between life and death. He’s also the god of pain and joy,” Professor Kekeanda quickly explained.

“Misha?” Lu Sheng squinted his eyes. He memorized the mark on the back of this hand with his sight. The structure of this mark seemed similar to his Mystic Water Divine Vein.

“Yes, it’s an interesting deity. He appears to be a hand, but this is his entire body. His actual form is a monster in the shape of a human hand,” Professor Anda explained. “I’ve read about it in some ancient texts and felt that it has artistic value. So, I made a replica of it and used it as a decoration.”

“Mhm. It’s a neat piece of work.” Lu Sheng nodded. “Well then, I’ll be taking my leave now. Thank you so much for your help.”

“You’re welcome,” Professor Anda said with a smile.

Lu Sheng walked out the door and descended the stone stairs. He could not help but turn to look in the direction of Misha’s statue.

‘Looks like this world is becoming more interesting…’ A ripple spread out in his heart. Lu Sheng turned around and walked out of the academy.

Now, he needed to concoct the medicine and consume it in large amounts.

He had enough money. Before Luo Di left, he had left him enough money to live two lifetimes without having to worry about food or clothes.

It was apparent that Luo Di was making sure that Luo Sang would be able to continue living in the event that he died.

Lu Sheng remembered the directions to this place. He did not hop on a carriage, but walked along the road, and strode all the way back.

When there were still a few people around him, he restrained himself and went at a jog, covering three to four meters in a second.

When nobody was around him, he immediately accelerated and covered a hundred meters per second. He seemed to have shot past the road with a whistle.

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