Way of the Devil - Chapter 616

Chapter 616

The Ode Tower was wedged into the ancient grayish-yellow wall . It was surrounded by narrow alleys .

In the evening, the mixed red light of the setting sun shone in at an angle . Most of the alley was dyed red . Even the door’s frame was cast in a grayish-red hue .

Lu Sheng drew a deep breath . He swept his gaze to his side . A group of black rats was fighting over the scraps of discarded food beside the garbage dump . It seemed to be cleaned bones of some fish .

“Hiss, hiss . ”

The rats were scared by Lu Sheng’s gaze . They scurried away .

Lu Sheng retracted his gaze . He looked at the Ode Tower’s entrance before himself . Other than the door which served as the entrance, there was no other sign of the so-called Ode Tower being there .

“Are you going in? If you’re not, please make way . ” Just when Lu Sheng was observing his surroundings and wanted to carefully think how he should enter, a cold and hoarse female voice came from behind him .

Lu Sheng looked behind himself and saw a couple in different outfits .

The female dressed like an old maidservant of a noble family . She looked to be in her forties .

The male was a teenager at most . His short-sleeved blue tunic was adorned with sewn plum blossoms . He had a gender-neutral look, but was generally handsome . He seemed to be lethargic and ill at ease .

The two of them were standing behind Lu Sheng in single file .

“Be my guest . ” Lu Sheng stepped aside .

Anyone could enter the Ode Tower . There was no restriction based on age, status, or identity .

The old woman strode past Lu Sheng and passed through the Ode Tower’s entrance .

Then, the handsome boy hesitated slightly before the door before he gritted his teeth and stepped into it .

Lu Sheng was in no hurry to enter . He recalled the information he collected on the Ode Towers recently .

The inspections and trials in the Ode Towers were innumerable . No trial was ever repeated . The mechanism behind its operations was also unknown .

However, every Ode Tower had the same special characteristic . They were all capable of selecting talents with good potential, strong willpower, and moral values in line with Libra City .

Lu Sheng stood before the Ode Tower’s door and did not enter . He merely looked at the others who entered the tower .

The door on this side was only used for entry . The instant a person entered, fine black ripples could be seen emanating from within .

‘There’s no energy reaction or the rumble of any machinery… This Ode Tower… I don’t think it’s possible to deduce a pattern here…’ Lu Sheng saw that almost everyone had prepared themselves in various ways before stepping into the Ode Tower .

Some of them brought luggage of various sizes, while others traveled light . Some even brought an assortment of trinkets . There were also those who brought their companion beasts with them .

After observing the situation for more than four hours, Lu Sheng gained nothing . After giving it some thought, he stood up .

Lu Sheng walked toward the door .

The Ode Tower’s door was slightly taller than three meters and more than a meter wide . There were no patterns or symbols on the frame . Only a small row of script that resembled runes was inscribed on the lintel .

Lu Sheng check it and realized that it was not in the Language of E . However, it was also not in any language which he knew .

‘Since I can’t find a pattern, there’s no other way than giving it a try . ’

Lu Sheng placed a hand on the door post and took one step forward .

“Pcchht . ”

He felt as if he had just walked through a layer of soap bubbles when a thin, soft, and moist membrane slid across his skin .

There was a flash before Lu Sheng’s eyes, and he was already past the door’s frame .

The hubbub of the thriving streets instantly fell silent and vanished without a trace .

What appeared before him was an alley that looked exactly the same as the one he was standing in before he entered . The only difference was that there was not a single person in this alley .

The mottled gray coat remained on the walls to his sides . Some of the edges were even peeling off . The grayish-white inner layer was exposed .

Lu Sheng patted his own gray robe down . His current outfit was no different from those of the ordinary students on the streets .

His gray robe covered his knees, and he wore white trousers paired with brown boots . A dark blue sack was tied on his body and a black bottle gourd hung from his waist .

Having a bottle gourd as an accessory was the specialty of Libra City . It had the meaning of praying for safety and prosperity .

The only difference was that Lu Sheng had cut his own hair short . He seldom went around in short hair .

He stood in the alley and observed it for some time . Lu Sheng noticed that this alley seemed to have been around for quite some time .

He walked to the entrance of the alley and run his hand through the cuts on the wall .

They seemed to be the work of some sharp claws or fangs .

He seeped some of his Devil Qi into them, and found that the rate of erosion was very slow .

‘It’s been eroding for several thousand years, at least…’ Lu Sheng made a conclusion .

He exited the alley and arrived at an empty and spacious yet somehow messy street .

The shops which lined both sides of the street were deserted . From afar, through their respective windows, goods covered in a thick layer of dust could be seen still displayed on the shelves . Rubble was scattered along the floor . There was even some unidentifiable black powder .

“This place…” Lu Sheng had a slight frown . He had just arrived here from Libra City’s streets . This place was similar to the streets back there, but they seemed to have some unfamiliar ancient aura about them as well .

There were many details in the building’s structure that were different as well .

A blurry mist hung over the streets and a slight cold breeze blew through the area .

Lu Sheng walked slowly up to a shop and peeked through its windows .

This seemed to be a bakery of sorts . Porcelain wares meant for pastry were arranged on the tables . There was even a metal board that resembled a menu .

‘What’s this test about? Bravery?’ Lu Sheng frowned slightly . He slowly walked into the shop .

“Who’s there?!” Suddenly, an anxious female voice came from the dark curtains in the shop .

Lu Sheng shifted his gaze in the direction of the voice . He did not sense anyone here with his spirit before . He did not expect to suddenly hear a voice .

There seemed to be something about this place that messed with his senses .

It was dark behind the grayish-black curtains . Even with Lu Sheng’s eyesight, he could not see anything .

“Who’s there?!” The female voice came again .

Lu Sheng was silent for a while . He eventually slowly said, “Do you need any help?”

The female was speaking in the Language of E with a slight accent . He could still understand her .

“Really? You can help me?” the female asked hastily .

“If it’s not too difficult, I think I can,” Lu Sheng said calmly .

The female was silent for some time . Then, she told him her request .

“This place… This city, it’s suddenly become like this one day . There was no warning . I was buying some flour for the shop at the mill when it happened . Alas…” The female started recounting the incident with intermittent sobs .

“My husband… When I came back, I suddenly noticed that he had undergone some peculiar changes .

“They were very strange changes that made me feel afraid!

“Hence, I’d like you to go to the city center and bring my husband, who’s hiding there, back to me . Please tell him, Nana… Nana is always waiting for him here… I don’t care what he’s become…” The female voice finished and slowly fell silent .

“I’ll bring him here . ” Lu Sheng narrowed his eyes . Then, he turned around and left .

He left the shop and glanced at the remaining shops . He reckoned that many of these shops offered similar experiences as well .

Lu Sheng calmed himself down . He had a vague feeling that this place was not built by Libra City . It was more possible that they had used this place as a location for their trials and tests .

As for the possible danger lurking in this place, Lu Sheng viewed it as the natural risks and price he would have to bear in order to obtain what he wanted .

Lu Sheng left the bakery and went straight through the streets toward the city center . After traversing several streets, he reached a small garden plaza .

Paths leading to the different streets surrounded the plaza . An immense black creature which shone with metallic luster stood in the center of the plaza .

This monster was waving its eight arms about . It turned its bald head in 360 degrees and looked around itself .

The monster had a human torso and a huge ball for a lower body . It moved by rolling the ball . Heavy rumbling sounds could be heard as the ball rolled .

Lu Sheng had just stepped into the plaza when he was noticed by this huge creature that was more than 10 meters tall .

This creature’s black lantern-like eyes swept toward him and became fixed on him .

“If you want to pass, you must answer my question…” The monster’s voice was as deep as thunder . It rumbled across the plaza .

“What’s the question?” Lu Sheng spread his spirit and prodded his surroundings carefully .

When his spirit came into contact with the gray mist, his spirit was immediately absorbed . The stone bricks on the road also seemed to possess the peculiar ability to interfere with his senses .

“Many come to answer my question, but few can give answers that satisfy me,” the monster said in a deep voice . “You have 50 breaths . If your answer does not satisfy me, I’ll eat you and await the next challenger . ”

“Understood . Ask away . ” Lu Sheng nodded .

He roughly understood what character this monster was playing . It must have been placed here on purpose as a mission that had to be solved by the challengers . It was one of the trials he had to face .

The monster shook its head .

“My question is: can you count how many arms I have?”

It flailed its long arms and released minute vibrating sounds . The arms danced in the air and whistled as they moved .

Lu Sheng counted carefully .

“Eight arms,” he answered seriously .

“Are you sure? Look again!” the monster asked .

Lu Sheng hesitated . He counted again .

“…Then… four arms?” He felt as if half of the monster’s eight arms were not arms .

“Are you really sure?” The monster flailed its arms much faster this time . Its six arms were slowly becoming transparent at the moment .

“Then… two?” Lu Sheng felt unsure again .

“Look again!” Two more arms suddenly sprouted from the monster’s body and it flailed them about as well .

“Fooh, fooh, fooh…”

The whistles of the arms moving through the air could be heard with higher frequencies .

“Four?”

“Look again?” Two more arms sprouted from the monster’s body .

“Six?”

“Look again?” Four more arms added themselves to the monster’s body and started flailing .

“10?” Lu Sheng was expressionless .

“Hahahaha . Sadly, you’ve answered—”

“Boom!”

A huge explosion sounded .

Lu Sheng struck out with a punch with lightning speed . In an instant, his arm penetrated the monster’s head . Cracks started spreading from his palm toward the monster’s body .

“Yes, I’ve answered correctly . ” Lu Sheng maintained his expression and slowly extracted his arm .

“Don’t ask such silly questions next time . ” He leapt forward lightly and dropped to the ground .

Black metallic scarps fell to the ground continuously . They made loud noises as they crashed onto the plaza’s floor .

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc . . ), Please let us know so we can fix it as soon as possible .

Note : Please download the sponsor's game to support us!