Way of the Devil
chapter-716-30041322

"Is this the legendary equipment, the Sorrowful Bracelet?"

In her bedroom, Lu Hongye's eyes were opened wide. She stared at the dark golden bracelet before her. She was awestruck.

"Yes…" said the golden lizard Nanni in a deep voice. "It's a secret treasure of the royals your mother left you before she passed away. It symbolizes freedom, love, and the final sad ending."

"A sad ending?" Lu Hongye's expression saddened slightly. Throughout these few days, she had learned about the former glory of the golden dragon royals with the guidance provided by the little lizard. She learned about their past and also the sorrows contained within that past.

"Your Highness Shar, I'll ask you again. Are you truly willing to accept the golden dragon royals' salvation and hope?" Nanni asked with a solemn expression.

The bracelet in her hand slowly shone with gold, translucent light.

Lu Hongye's expression grew more solemn as well. From the glow of the bracelet, she seemed to have seen the valiant fight to the death of the former golden dragon king and queen who led the Golden Dragon Tribe against the demons of hell.

"I'd like to try…"

"Pchht!"

A mass of dark golden runes in Nanni's hand rose slowly. Countless runes and golden threads shone within it. It resembled a flowing water and flowing light at the same time. It kept swirling and surging.

"Receive it… Use your courage and will."

Lu Hongye extended her hands slowly.

"I shall take on the golden dragon royals'—"

"Lu Hongye!"

"Bam!"

Her bedroom door was suddenly jolted. Rock powder dropped from the ceiling.

A loud roar which could be heard throughout the mansion suddenly erupted at her door.

"Your grade for your mid-term examination is only a C!"

"Bam!"

Lu Hongye barely had time to react. She turned to look, and saw her door being rammed open. Her father's muscles formed wriggling knots on his body. With a few steps, he strode into the room, pulled her hair, and brought her out.

"Aaah!"

She was forcibly dragged out of her room as she wailed.

"You dare play games before you're finished with your homework! Become a rebel, have we?"

"No! I won't do it anymore!"

"That's what you said every time! Looks like you're getting good at this!"

"Bang!"

"Ah!"

"Bang!"

"Aaaah!"

Shrill cries resounded throughout the mansion.

The residents who lived close by shut their windows and made no sound. The little lizard, who had just gone into hiding, could feel the pain by just listening to her screams.

Half an hour later…

"Don't let me catch you playing with those nonsensical things. If you can't even get a B next time, I'll pound you to death!" Lu Sheng put the metal rod away and slammed the door shut. He left with hurried footsteps.

"Pchht!"

At this moment, a mass of yellow radiance suddenly rose outside the window. It was Nanni.

"Hold on! I'll save you!" The little lizard hastily charged toward the room.

"Boom!"

The little lizard disappeared instantly.

A huge boulder rammed into it from below. The powerful force had brought her to some unknown place.

"Who f*cking dares to release fireworks before my house!? How many times have I said this, no fireworks near my house! Are you all f*cking imbeciles!?"

Lu Sheng's loud voice erupted from the upper floors.

The other residents did not make a sound. Nobody dared to make a sound.

Lu Hongye's face was ghastly pale. She leaned on the wall. Her sliver of hope that had just shown up was instantly destroyed.

"…I don't want to be a princess anymore… Huu… Just leave me alone, don't come to me anymore! I want to do my homework!" She buried her face in her own arms and wailed.

***

Somewhere near the mansion.

The masked maiden Misu swiftly pulled Nanni out from under the boulder.

"Nanni! Hang in there! Don't you die on me!" She hastily dropped some milky liquid onto the little lizard's mouth.

After a long while, the unconscious Nanni slowly came to.

"I… What… happened?" Nanni asked in a daze.

"You were knocked out cold," Misu said after gulping.

"Out cold? Me?" Nanni was stunned.

"You were hit by some rock. I've also just arrived. Weren't you supposed to be passing the bracelet to the princess?" Misu asked helplessly.

"Yes… That's right. I haven't given Her Highness Shar the bracelet!" Nanni immediately snapped to her senses. She quickly flew away from Misu's hands.

"It's best if you stay here for now… We should report this back. That Lu Sheng is clearly interfering with our contact with the princess!" Misu said with a straight face.

"You're right! We should report this!" Nanni said this through clenched teeth when she thought about this.

***

"Young people should be focus on their studies and sleep. Stop drooling while building castles in the skies! What good would castles in the skies give you? Can they feed you? I'm still hoping that you'll be taking care of this old man when you're older! With the way you are now, you won't even be able to pay for my meals in the future! Go back to your table and study!"

Lu Sheng slammed a palm onto the desk before Lu Hongye. The loud sound thundered throughout the room until her eardrums buzzed.

Lu Hongye's gaze was dull. Her brain was now blank and dazed from the loud sound.

Lu Sheng was trying to give her some mental education so that she would not waste her time on meaningless ventures. He wanted her to go back to studying and playing the harp.

"I'm telling you, when your old man was young, he's experienced many things! When I was at your age, I was already supporting a family business!"

Lu Sheng's spittle flew everywhere as he spoke. He wanted his daughter to know how dangerous the outside world was. The only person who loved her the most in this world was him, her father.

After an hour of scolding and beatings, Lu Hongye walked out of the study with a dull expression.

She felt that she was stunned by the loud buzzing and the slamming of tables.

She could still hear old man Hank talking to her father when she went out of the study.

"…if you spare the rod, you'll spoil the child. Children should be beaten when they're disobedient. You don't get it, girls should be beaten all the more! She's just like a ball of dough. She has to be beaten so that she'll be able to withstand setbacks in the future! I'm telling you, if she weren't my daughter, I'd have removed the flesh from half of her body with a single lash of the whip! I can even enjoy the flesh with some booze!"

Interrupted shouts could still be heard from the study.

Lu Hongye shuddered. She jogged all the way back to her own bedroom.

"Your Highness…" In her bedroom, the masked maiden Misu looked at her with a pained expression. She seemed to be at a loss.

"It's… It's alright… It's been this way since I was a little girl, I'm used to this already… But I know that my father loves me." She raised her head and gave a slightly bitter smile. Although the left side of her face was swollen up, her smile was as pure as ever.

"This is domestic violence! Domestic violence, I tell you!" Misu could not suppress the flames of rage rising up within herself. This was a princess of the golden dragons! To think that she was beaten to this state by a seven-colored dragon!

"Don't worry. No matter how badly I'm beaten, I'll recover on the next day." Lu Hongye grinned.

"Boom!"

Suddenly, there was a loud bang on the iron gates downstairs. Lu Hongye hastily got up and rushed to the window. She saw her father storming out of the iron gates, get on a black carriage, and leave in the direction away from the city.

"He's finally gone. My father's gone to open up his shop!" She sighed heavily with relief.

"Your Highness… Let me heal your wounds…" Misu could not help but feel her heart being wrenched when she saw the swollen look oh Lu Hongye.

"It's alright." Lu Hongye waved her hand. "I'm telling you, this is all temporary. When my father's older, see that I won't go into mixed martial arts every day!"

When she finished, she seemed to have imagined her future scenario. With her hands on her waist, she threw her head back in laughter.

"…"

"Alright, I'll be doing my homework now. Go and look for Nanni. See if she's alright."

***

Inside the carriage.

"This bunch of maggots. They tried to put the bracelet containing the dragon king's spirit on Hongye! They're looking for trouble!"

Lu Sheng's expression was ghastly pale. A circle of black spiritual light surrounded him.

He was still digesting the Divinity he obtained in his underground chamber and the eaten 7th level's abyssal feudal lord. He barely had time to digest the feudal lord when he sensed that Hongye was in trouble, and he hastily charged out.

That was the scene he saw just now.

The bracelet which hosted the dragon king's spirit contained much of the former dragon king's wild fighting spirit. Once it was put on, Hongye, with the same bloodline, would have been instantly taken over by the fighting spirit. Her personality would change drastically, and she would gradually become the hybrid of Lu Hongye and the former dragon king.

This was the equivalent of having her soul corroded by the spirit within the bracelet!

"My Lord, should we…" a pitch-black monster with the body of a leopard and a face full of eyeballs whispered in a fierce tone.

Lu Sheng took a deep breath and calmed down. He muttered to himself for a while.

"Forget it. This isn't urgent. Just keep an eye on them for me. If they attempt it a second time, eat them all up!"

"Uh…"

This thousand-eyes black leopard was called Veston. He was a 4th level abyssal feudal lord whom Lu Sheng had unintentionally summoned.

However, unlike the other feudal lords, when he saw Lu Sheng gobble up feudal lords far more powerful than himself, he decisively fell to the ground and begged for mercy.

Then, he was put under the control of Lu Sheng's main body's flesh and blood. On top of that, he was gifted with many spirit-prompting threads. His strength was no longer suppressed in the main plane. He immediately became the most helpful lackey under Lu Sheng's command.

He was an abyssal feudal lord, after all. Even if he was weak, he would still be a demigod, at least.

Veston, in the legends passed down on the main plane, was known as the Starer. Any creature stared at by his 1000 eyes would be subject to terrifying attacks from his illusions.

If the creatures could not break free from the illusions, they would become Veston's slaves.

Lu Sheng had agreed to spare him precisely because of this.

The carriage moved forward slowly and went out the city gates in no time. It sped toward the east side of Dawn City.

Lu Sheng had embarked on this trip because of a sudden piece of information he obtained.

As the largest church in the area, First Light Church had imported a genuine lesser regalia recently. It was the Dawn Sword, Aglaxir.

They transported the Dawn Sword to Dawn City in order to brace it for the possible beast disaster that could be taking place soon.

Orcs lived in the vast plains to the north. Every few years, they would charge toward Dawn City's stronghold because of a famine. They intended to charge through the stronghold and loot the heartland of food and resources.

Hence, Dawn City was also the nation's most solid line of defense on the northernmost front.

Lu Sheng was interested in the lesser regalia, the Dawn Sword.

As an ancient lesser regalia with a long history, the Dawn Sword had played pivotal roles in the various battles against the orcs.

In order to increase the Dawn God's influence and spread the First Light Church's doctrines, the church would put the Dawn Sword on display within Dawn City for a while before they actually put the lesser regalia to use.