"Fatty Huang!"

"Lu Xiaoyu!"

A fat man with a belly so large it nearly burst his clothes heard Lu Yu’s voice and roared with laughter.

Although Lu Yu had disguised his face, the fat man recognized him at a glance.

Lu Yu’s disguise skills couldn’t compare to Bai Yuan’s, but they were still good enough to pass for real.

Clearly, the fat man had his own unique way of recognizing people.

The fat man stood a full eight feet tall, and with his brutish face, anyone fighting him would be intimidated before the first blow was even thrown.

A murderous aura, unique to those in the military, made the man seem even more formidable.

Lu Yu, a cheeky grin on his face, hammered a fist into the fat man’s stomach.

The man called him Lu Xiaoyu, which was his childhood name. So, technically, he hadn’t lied to Bai Yuan.

"Fatty Huang, looks like you’ve been raking in the benefits."

Lu Yu’s punch landed on the fat man’s stomach, but it didn’t even ripple, let alone dent.

’What powerful Horizontal Training!’

Bai Yuan was startled by the sight.

Evidently, this fat man was also an expert from the army.

The Cultivation Techniques of the Lingzhou Army’s Martial Artists were vastly different from those of Sect Disciples. Besides not focusing on realms, they placed an extremely high demand on self-preservation and endurance.

After all, you only had one life; you couldn’t just trade it for an enemy’s every time.

If the army’s soldiers all fought with such reckless abandon, the Lingzhou Army would have been wiped out long ago.

That was why Martial Artists in the army preferred the path of Horizontal Training. The reason was simple: it made them tougher and able to take more punishment, allowing them to kill more enemies and earn military merit.

Old soldiers like Zhao Han all understood one truth: on the battlefield, surviving was more important than killing enemies.

Only greenhorn recruits who had never seen a battlefield would fight the enemy to the death like reckless hotheads.

A Martial Artist like Fatty Huang could withstand at least several more blows than a practitioner of the same rank.

On the battlefield, anyone who knew what was what would avoid provoking someone with his deceptively powerful build.

Lu Yu asked, "Is that technique really here?"

Fatty Huang gave a sly chuckle and nodded. "The intelligence is from the Lingzhou Army. It should be reliable."

All intelligence sent to the Lingzhou Army consisted of military reports, which required an extremely high degree of accuracy.

He was on good terms with a Lingzhou Army officer who received intelligence, and he had stolen this piece of information.

The Lingzhou Army’s discipline was extremely strict; leaking military intelligence was a capital offense.

In the entire Lingzhou Army, only Fatty Huang would dare to do something as audacious as stealing intelligence.

Because his backer was powerful enough.

He was the Lord Governor’s younger brother-in-law. It was that simple.

If he didn’t have someone powerful backing him, how would he dare engage in the shady business of leaking military intelligence?

As soon as he got the news, he immediately informed his good brother, Lu Yu. Of course, the main reason was that he couldn’t handle it alone; otherwise, he would have long since taken it all for himself.

Fatty Huang looked at Bai Yuan. "And this brother is?"

Bai Yuan replied, "Bai Yuan of the Divine Mansion Sect."

Since they were going to cooperate, there was naturally no need to hide his identity. Besides, Lu Yu already knew who he was, so concealing it was pointless.

A look of surprise appeared on Fatty Huang’s face, and he couldn’t help but size Bai Yuan up a few more times.

There weren’t many people in Huanglong Prefecture that he, Fatty Huang, remembered. In the younger generation, besides Murong Jiujiang, the only other one was Bai Yuan.

His feat of Blood Refining Killing Strength was an absolutely solid combat record, even in the Lingzhou Army.

Fatty Huang reached out a large hand and clapped Bai Yuan on the shoulder.

A faint film of energy covered his hand.

That single pat was powerful enough to kill an ox.

’Strength!’

Bai Yuan was shocked. This fat man before him wasn’t old, yet he was already an Entry-level Powerhouse.

The Lingzhou Army was truly a land of crouching tigers and hidden dragons.

When Fatty Huang saw that Bai Yuan hadn’t budged an inch from his pat, the smile on his face grew even brighter.

Everyone in the Lingzhou Army knew that he, Fatty Huang, liked to make friends. But in truth, he only liked to befriend those with sufficient strength. The rest were just fair-weather friends, part of a social charade.

He and Lu Yu had become best friends not just because they were two peas in a pod.

Although Lu Yu had yet to break through to the Entry-level, he knew Lu Yu was merely suppressing his realm and that his true combat power was already on par with an Entry-level Powerhouse.

After this test, Fatty Huang had confirmed that Bai Yuan was qualified to be his friend.

He wore a sleazy grin.

"Brother Bai, why don’t you return to Ling Province with us tomorrow? We can go and have a taste of the Imperial Music Office together."

The so-called Imperial Music Office was actually the place that managed official courtesans.

In Xuan Yang, when an official committed a crime and had his assets seized, aside from those dragged to the Meridian Gate for execution, the men were conscripted into the army, and the female family members were naturally sent to the Imperial Music Office to become official courtesans.

Before their families fell, most of the women in the Imperial Music Office had been young ladies from Official Families, so their quality was far superior to that of common brothels.

It was said that the Imperial Music Office in Ling Province even housed the wife and daughter of the previous Lord Governor, whose assets had been seized. This was what most piqued a man’s interest.

But the Imperial Music Office wasn’t a place one could enter just with money. Those who could go were all people of prominent status.

Fatty Huang was trying to rope Bai Yuan in by forging one of the classic bonds between men.

"Next time for sure."

Bai Yuan neither agreed nor refused.

Whether it was Lu Yu or this Fatty Huang, he hadn’t yet figured out their true backgrounds. Rushing off to Ling Province would only put him at a disadvantage.

"Let’s go. I can’t wait any longer."

Lu Yu urged them on.

A Cultivation Technique that could bring the dead back to life—of course he was tempted.

However, the Celestial Heart Sect had always hidden this technique extremely well, so very few people knew its secrets.

...

Outside Sanhua Town was a small hill.

The locals called it Little Stone Ridge.

On Little Stone Ridge stood a temple. It wasn’t large, but it was very popular, with people coming up the hill to pray every day.

"This is the Celestial Heart Sect hideout you were talking about?"

Lu Yu looked suspiciously at Fatty Huang.

No matter how he looked at it, this was just an ordinary temple.

Besides, the Celestial Heart Sect actually worshipped a Demon God. Competing with Buddha for worshippers seemed bizarre no matter how you looked at it.

"This is it, I’m absolutely certain. The old Monk in the temple is a Celestial Heart Sect Altar Master."

Fatty Huang pointed to a benevolent-looking old Monk who was giving guidance to the devout worshippers.

Seeing Fatty Huang so certain, Lu Yu said no more.

The Buddhist and Daoist Families were very powerful in Xuan Yang, but they had almost no influence in the Northern Territory. The Lingzhou Army had razed countless temples and Daoist Temples.

He figured Buddha wouldn’t blame them for destroying a Celestial Heart Sect hideout disguised as a temple.

They didn’t rush to act, instead observing patiently from a distance.

...

「Deep in the night.」

Hongfa Temple on Little Stone Ridge finally saw off its last wave of worshippers.

A young Monk clasped his hands together, offered a gentle smile to an old woman from Sanhua Town, and recited, "Amitabha Buddha."

After the old woman was a good distance away, the young Monk prepared to lock the temple’s wooden doors.

But just as the doors were about to close—

A young man suddenly rushed in.

Though the young Monk felt a flash of anger, he remained patient.

"Benefactor, our fated time for today has ended. Perhaps you could return tomorrow."

The young man laughed. "Lord Buddha is an immortal. He doesn’t need to sleep. I’ll just offer some incense, kowtow a couple of times, and leave. I’m sure the Buddha will bless me with a wife who has a big butt and is good for bearing children."

The young Monk couldn’t help but frown.

This young man kept calling him ’Lord Buddha’.

’Is that any way to address the Buddha?’

’And an immortal?!’

’Blessings to find a wife...’

The young Monk felt a headache coming on. He had seen many worshippers like this youth before, and they generally did not receive the Buddha’s blessing.

"Very well."

The young Monk didn’t want any trouble. If the young man just wanted to offer incense, he would let him.

He led the young man to the prayer hall.

A large, golden Buddha sat majestically in the center of the hall.

It was, of course, just gold-lacquered. Hongfa Temple didn’t have enough donation money for a statue made of pure gold.

When the young man heard that a stick of incense cost three copper coins, he skipped that step entirely, knelt on the floor, and kowtowed three times. THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.

The young Monk saw the youth finish kowtowing.

"Benefactor, please leave now."

He was ready to close the doors and see his guest out.

But then he heard the young man suddenly ask, "I was just thinking, by doing this, aren’t you offending both the Buddha... and the Demon God?"

When the young Monk heard the youth speak the words "Demon God," his expression changed drastically.

His once-clasped palms suddenly struck out at the young man. He was an expert at the Strong Organ Pass!

The young man snorted coldly.

He flung out a handful of cyan powder, which landed all over the young Monk.

The young Monk let out a blood-curdling scream and, in a matter of moments, melted into a pool of viscous fluid.

The young man shook his head.

’If Bai Yuan had done it, he probably would have done a better job. My poison techniques are still so much worse than his.’

That’s right, the young man was none other than Lu Yu.

Just as the young Monk melted into fluid, two other young men—one fat, one thin—walked into the prayer hall.

"This old Monk has some skill."

Fatty Huang was carrying the temple’s old abbot, who was also the Altar Master of this Celestial Heart Sect hideout.

This old Monk was very strong. If it had just been Fatty Huang alone, the Monk might have actually escaped.

Fortunately, Bai Yuan had intervened, using his exquisitely skillful hidden weapons to seal off the old Monk’s escape route, allowing Fatty Huang to shatter every bone in his body.

Lu Yu crouched down, smiling at the old Monk. "Hand over the secret technique of rejuvenation, and I’ll give you a quick death."

"In your dreams."

The old Monk said in a barely audible voice.

"Still got some backbone, huh?"

Lu Yu scoffed.

He didn’t waste any more words. With a heave of his right arm, he ripped off both of the old Monk’s arms—a truly vicious act.

Lu Yu said, "I happen to have learned some of the thirty-eight great tortures of Xuan Yang. Today is a perfect opportunity to practice on you."

「Two hours later.」

Lu Yu walked out of the prayer hall, perfectly satisfied. Not even the old Monk’s bones remained.

Bai Yuan had watched the entire process of Lu Yu’s torture.

’Excessively brutal, but lacking in finesse.’

’From the perspective of someone who had practiced so many Cultivation Techniques, there was still a lot of room for improvement.’

Fortunately, the old Monk had finally handed over the Rejuvenation Skill.

Lu Yu gazed at the Cultivation Technique in his hand, which was titled "Demon Soul Technique," the smile on his lips widening.

’A second life... Doesn’t this mean I can be as reckless as I want from now on?’

The three of them left the temple and decided to hide out in Sanhua Town to study the Demon Soul Technique.

But the more the three of them understood, the less they smiled.

"If you’re revived with this Cultivation Technique, can you really still be considered yourself?"

Fatty Huang couldn’t help but ask.

This was what Bai Yuan and Lu Yu were thinking as well.

They finally understood why the Xuanyang Royal Family remained indifferent to a technique as overpowered as the Celestial Heart Sect’s Demon Soul Technique. They had assumed it was because the sect was hidden too deeply, but now they knew the real reason.

Practicing the Demon Soul Technique was not complicated. It involved two steps: first, worshipping the Demon God, and second, Refining a Vessel.

During their sacrificial rites, Celestial Heart Sect disciples had to offer their memories to the Demon God without reservation. It was similar to how, in Bai Yuan’s previous life, people stored memories in the cloud. Then, once the original body died, the Demon God would project those memories into a prepared vessel.

Even a hardened killer like Fatty Huang found such a method to be evil.

They also finally understood why the Xuanyang Royal Family hadn’t learned the Demon Soul Technique. The very first step—worshipping a Demon God—was something they would never do.

At least, not openly.

’Could it be that a Demon God really exists?’

The question arose in all three of their minds at the same time.

This method was exactly like sacrificing oneself to a demon in the storybooks.

All three fell silent.

Because they couldn’t be sure that after sacrificing their soul to the Demon God, the self that was reborn would still be them.

As for the vessel... that was also extremely evil.

One needed to plant a demon seed in a child at the age of three, when their consciousness first awakened. Then, every three years, the child had to be soaked in the blood of those who had died unjustly. Only after the child came of age could they become a true vessel.

In other words, it took at least seventeen years—far too long a time to invest.

All in all, this resurrection method was not as useful as Bai Yuan and the others had imagined.