◊  ◊

"I won"t." Shang Ke simply and clearly replied with two words to Max"s challenge before he turned back around to tidy up his things.

Max frowned, playing with his short sword as he watched the busy figure. Suddenly, he took out a silver coin from his pocket and swiftly shot it at Shang Ke"s leg.

Shang Ke"s body instinctively dodged it, but his reaction speed was too slow and he was still hit squarely.

His knees bent and he almost fell down. A bowl fell from his hands and impacted with the ground, immediately shattering.

Pupu became frightened and ran over to Shang Ke, tightly holding his leg as she glared at Max.

Max"s expression was strange as he looked at the small girl on Shang Ke"s leg, hesitant as he spoke, "Osari, you…" He didn"t expect that Osari had become so weak that he couldn"t even dodge a coin nowadays.

Shang Ke turned to look at him, and asked, "Do we have to fight?"

He spoke very calmly, and his impenetrable, dark eyes didn"t contain any shame or fear, as if he was asking an ordinary question.

On the other hand, Max didn"t know how to reply after being asked such a question.

"Captain Max Wey." At this moment, a person appeared before Shang Ke, lazily speaking, "If you"re really itching for a fight, then why don"t you fight me?"

"You"re…Kaiser?" Although Max had already graduated, he still somewhat paid attention to the new talents of Light Ode College. Kaiser"s quick double swords were already famous in the new generation.

"I didn"t expect that Captain Wey would know my name." A smile hung on Kaiser"s face, but his eyes were br.i.m.m.i.n.g with rage and killing intent.

Max looked at him, before looking at Shang Ke behind him and putting away his short sword, sneering, "Forget it, it"s not my style to bully the weak."

He then called for his companions and left.

"Shang Ke, are you alright?" Kaiser went to Shang Ke"s side and asked worriedly

"I"m fine." Shang Ke replied with a smile.

Kaiser hesitated for a moment, but ultimately could not hold back and asked, "Are you really Osari?"

"My name is now "Shang Ke"." Although he replied vaguely, he indirectly admitted his ident.i.ty.

Kaiser watched as he unsteadily walked away, sorrow flashing through his eyes.

When he had just started school, he heard about the school"s twin stars from years before. One was the deep and unmeasurable Tylor, while the other was Osari, whose talent had surpa.s.sed all. The two of them brought countless honors to the school in all sorts of compet.i.tions. When someone mentioned the college"s golden days, at least one of them would be named. During those four years, Light Ode College almost completely monopolized first place. Who knew just how many people idolized and worshipped the two of them.

However, the great Osari who had a bright future before him went missing after graduation. He reappeared five years later, but in such a condition. His strength was greatly lowered, he was no longer ill.u.s.trious, and he had even been caught by slave traders. Against someone who he had once easily won against, he no longer had the power to fight back.

Just how large of a sacrifice did this man make? Just how many years did he silently endure? Was absorbing the devil qi within others really worth it with himself as the price? The people invaded by devil qi were mostly either weak in willpower or sinister people. Was it really worth sacrificing himself to save their lives?

He originally had unmatchable talent, and a future that far surpa.s.sed everyone else"s. With his immense strength, he could have even become a group"s leader in the future, but now, he could only push a cart and scarcely make a living by selling lunch boxes. (Shang Ke: Correction, the profit I earn isn"t "scarce," so please don"t look down on my lunch boxes, alright?)

When Kaiser saw Osari being humiliated by Capital Max Wey, he felt an indescribable anger.

He hated how he couldn"t immediately rush out to tell everyone, "Osari is not a weakling. He is stronger than anyone!" However, he was afraid of bringing the other man trouble. After all, people were usually afraid of someone who had devil qi in their body. The way they handled people who were invaded was simple-if not cured, kill.

Kaiser wanted to open his mouth and ask him, "Do you really not care at all?"

But Shang Ke turned and smiled at him, saying, "Kaiser, let"s go back home."

His smile was like a warm sun in winter. His eyes were bright and beautiful, without any sorrow. He was like a precious stone, gleaming with a glorious l.u.s.ter.

In that moment, the anger and resentment in Kaiser"s heart evaporated like water.

It is commonly said that "People who are pitied also have hateable aspects.." But a strong person does not need pity, because they will never lose their courage and hope.

"Hm, let"s go home," Kaiser replied as he smiled bashfully, his gaze warm as he held Pupu"s small hand and followed behind Shang Ke, slowly walking back.

One day, everyone will know just how strong this man is. His strength is not in his physical prowess, but in his spirit.

"I really can"t believe that that person was Osari, someone who was once equally famous with you." Quincy"s had an amazed expression as he wondered, "How did he turn out like this?"

Tylor leaned against the tree trunk, silently gazing at the departing figures.

Quincy once again spoke, "If it were me, I probably would never step a foot into King City, so that I don"t appear a fool."

Tylor glanced at him before starting to walk, going in another direction.

"Hey, wait!" Quincy did not take note of Tylor"s expression and continue to speak energetically, "By tomorrow, the whole school will probably know of this. The former genius has fallen. Who knows how many people will come out to watch…"

Like Quincy said, Osari"s ident.i.ty quickly spread. That Lunch Box Prince was actually Osari, the genius who had obtained many first places for the college.

This news created a sensation in the college, and the next day, many people flocked to the area, trying to get a look.

Shang Ke did not shut himself in the house after his ident.i.ty was exposed, but rather, he once again tripled the price of his lunch boxes and halved the quant.i.ty.

"He"s Osari? My older brother was a year younger than him, and would always talk about him."

"Did Osari really give up his faith?"

"This kind of person could be equally famous as Lord Tylor?"

Everyone pointed and poked at Shang Ke. Some were curious, some were excited, others sneered, and some even felt pleasure at seeing how the former talent had fallen.

Kaiser stood behind Shang Ke, truly confused at why someone who knew that he will be kicked while he"s down would still persevere and come to do business. Although Kaiser was not very well-off, he still had enough to raise two other people with enough to spare!

At this moment, a couple of youths walked to Shang Ke"s cart, and one with a buzz cut said in a peculiar tone, "Senior Osari, we have visited your stall so many times, and yet never realized your ident.i.ty. We apologize for our lack of manners."

While Shang Ke carved a fruit into a flower, he asked, "Are you buying a lunch box?"

"Yes, of course I"ll buy." The youth with a buzz cut proclaimed, "I"ll take all of your lunch boxes today."

"That"s a total of 213 gold coins, thank you for your patronage," Shang Ke replied without even raising his head.

The youth stared blankly, before asking, "213 gold coins? Why is it so expensive? You only sell a hundred lunch boxes every day, with each one being 25 silver coins. One hundred lunch boxes should only be 25 gold coins at most."

"The prices increased today, and each box is 75 silver coins."

"Then it should only be 75 gold coins in total."

"The additional 138 is the IQ fee."

"IQ fee?" The buzz cut boy stared at him blankly.

Shang Ke indifferently asked, "You"re a second year student at Light Ode College, right?"

"That"s right. How did you know?" The boy puffed out his chest and spoke with pride.

Shang Ke sighed and replied, "You"re wearing a blue-lined school uniform. Anyone with a regular IQ can tell, unless you"re only borrowing someone else"s uniform."

The surrounding students all roared with laughter.

The youth"s face turned red, and he flew into rage, "I just forgot that I was wearing my school uniform, what is there to make a fuss about?!"

Shang Ke smiled and once again spoke, "I also know your grades aren"t good. Oh, sorry, it should be said that they"re very bad."

"You investigated me?" His face was stunned.

Shang Ke sighed again, saying, "Tell me, do you think a person who failed six subjects in a row in a single semester is worthy of using my time to investigate?"

The other had been completely pulled into Shang Ke"s pace, as he asked, "How did you know I failed six subjects in a row?"

"You said it three days ago when you bought lunch boxes from me."

"Three days ago?" The corner of his mouth twitched. Something that a pa.s.senger said three days ago, could you not remember it so clearly?!

"The school has nine main subjects and you failed six of them immediately, you"re pretty amazing in your own way. Me taking some IQ fees from you isn"t undue, is it not?"

Everyone once again roared with laughter.

The man was so angered he was about to spit blood. The blond man beside him, seeing his friend being utterly defeated, tried to help. "Osari, you"ve fallen to this stage yourself, so what kind of qualifications do you have to mock others?"

Shang Ke took a look at the blond man, then looked at the girl next to him and asked, "You"re Kenly, right?"

"That"s right." The blond man smoothed his hair and raised an eyebrow, confidently saying, "I was born into n.o.bility and have excellent achievements. I"m afraid you can"t find a reason to mock me."

"Oh?" Shang Ke objected, "Then, what about your relationship problems?"

"Relationship problems?" Kenly"s expression changed slightly, and he subconsciously looked at the girl beside him.

Shang Ke smiled at that girl and said, "Your necklace is very pretty. Did Kenly give it to you?"

"Thank you, he did." The girl was momentarily blinded by Shang Ke"s smile and returned one.

Shang Ke continued, "Very uncoincidentally, I saw the same necklace on another girl."

Kenly spoke with disdain, "So what if the necklaces are similar? It"s not like the necklace is unique in this world."

"That"s right, it"s not unique." Shang Ke shrugged his shoulders and said, "But it"s quite regretful that your handiwork is so low quality. You left different declarations of love on the two necklaces, but the handwriting is the same. Your girlfriend"s necklace says "Thinking about you all the time", while the other girl"s has "Loving you all the time". I can"t help but notice, your vocabulary is really limited."

The girl stared at Kenly in disbelief, before forcefully pulling off the necklace and fiercely kicking him, leaving in a crossed mood.

"Sandy!" Kenly anxiously chased after her.

Shang Ke then shifted his gaze upon a couple of other people, who subconsciously took a step back. They didn"t dare to provoke him anymore, for fear that he would deal with their IQ fees.[1]

"Hahaha!" everyone laughed loudly.

But after laughing, they couldn"t help but secretly feel afraid. That necklace was so small, just what kind of eyesight and memory did one need to recognize it? Plus, there had been quite a bit of time since he saw, and she was a stranger he did not have any relations with. Just how did Osari remember it?

Shang Ke turned a deaf ear to all of the laughter, and tranquilly said, "Although my martial arts prowess isn"t good nowadays, my IQ and moral quality can leave you all behind a couple streets. Come back and lecture me after you get full marks on all subjects, alright?"

A moment later, he laid down his knife and slowly raised his head, his gaze brightly looking at everyone as he spoke, "Being uncouth and ignorant can give you a moment of satisfaction, but it can never make the strong surrender, or make the wise man bend his head."

After speaking, he gently placed down the fruit he had carved onto the table.

Everyone"s laughter gradually stopped as their gazes followed his slender fingers and fell onto the fruit.

In the few minutes they had been speaking, Shang Ke had carved the fruit into a blooming flower. The layers of petals unfolded into a dazzling sight. It was exquisite down to the finest details, and a faint fragrance diffused into the air, relaxing everyone"s hearts.

A king within flowers, that no one could overtake.

This was…the power of faith!

Although they could not feel the power of faith from him, he could attach his faith to an external item! It was so pure, so fresh, and so gorgeous.

Everyone looked at this simply dressed and smiling youth, and suddenly felt as though he was a tall mountain, deep and immeasurable. No one had the mind to scorn him.

This was the demeanor of a former genius! Even if his martial arts prowess was gone, his spirit was still as strong as before. Between his smiles was wisdom, and in his bearing was elegance.

Kaiser continued to stand behind Kaiser. He had originally been prepared to fight, but he simply didn"t even need to show his skills, as Shang Ke used just a few sentences to dissolve the crisis, and even receive an entire group of fans. His lunch boxes were sold at an even faster speed than before, until none were left.

Hidden in the forest, Tylor watched the youth that was surrounded by everyone with a bottomless gaze, and his heartbeat sped up a bit.

The Osari he once knew was like a sharp blade, and although strong, he did not have any depth. The current him, although physically weak, was like a polished pearl. After roaming, his brilliance had turned into a sharp spear, one that people could not take their eyes of off.

Just what did he experience to have such a heaven and earth rending change?

It was probably a method of improving oneself that a normal person couldn"t even imagine?

On the way back, Kaiser kept glancing toward Shang Ke every once in a while.

Shang Ke glanced back and spoke, "If you have something to say then say it."

"Heh, it"s nothing." Kaiser rubbed his nose, his eyes lit up with happiness. He was clearly in a great mood.

Shang Ke gave him a strange look, but he did not know why the other was acting crazy.

"Shang Ke," Kaiser suddenly moved close to Shang Ke"s ear and softly said, "let"s be a family in the future, alright?"

"Are we not one right already?" Shang Ke raised an eyebrow and continued, "You can give up, I am not planning to move out of your house."

"Haha." Kaiser suddenly hugged him and "pecked" his face many times, before running into the courtyard quickly while holding Pupu.

Shang Ke rubbed away the saliva on his face, cursing with a smile, "Nutjob."

Ever since that day, Shang Ke"s popularity quickly rose. Although many people still secretly mocked and ridiculed him, physical violence no longer happened. On one hand, it was because his personal charm had conquered numerous people. On the other hand, it was because Tylor and Kaiser has issued their own warnings.

Kaiser was easy to talk to, but if it was Tylor, no one would dare to scorn him.

As such, Shang Ke spent his days very comfortably. He sold lunch boxes, played with Pupu, and gossiped a bit…until seven days later, when an old man came by.

"Teacher Gamov." Shang Ke gave the old man a student"s bow.

Gamov was Osari"s esteemed teacher, and also the headmaster of the college.

He rubbed his beard before gently looking at Shang Ke and asking, "Osari, how long are you planning to sell lunch boxes?"

"Teachers means?" Shang Ke probingly asked.

"Come back with me to the school and be a guest lecturer for Light Ode College."

Surprise flashed through Shang Ke"s eyes. "Teacher, my strength is greatly diminished nowadays. How can I be qualified to be a guest lecturer?"

"The school doesn"t lack martial arts masters." Gamov faintly smiled, "What I want you to teach is knowledge, to spread culture and not fighting skills."

Shang Ke fell into contemplation.

Gamov once again spoke, "You were the most talented among all of my students. I believed so before, and I still believe it even now."

Shang Ke did not hesitate over Gamov"s proposal for long.

He gave him a deep bow and smiled, saying, "As long as teacher doesn"t fear that this student will hamper other"s progress, then this student would naturally be delighted to try."

"Haha." Gamov was in a great mood. With this exchange of dialogue, their many years of misunderstanding had finally been resolved.

Gamov looked at the youth before him, and felt both admiration and pity. He admired his mental state while pitying his strength. Although he did not know why Osari had become so weak, it did not influence his evaluation of him. On the contrary, he felt that the current Osari had the temperament of someone truly strong.

The news that Shang Ke would take up the post of guest lecturer quickly spread and caused a disturbance within the college. Half of the college supported the decision, and half was against it. They all wanted to see just what kind of show Osari would give them.

Tylor was the college"s glorious professor, while Osari was the college"s guest lecture. After five years, the school"s former "twin stars" had once again met.

Footnotes:

[1]IQ Fee, means he"ll question and mock their IQ.

 ◊  ◊

 ◊  ◊

Headmaster Gamov prepared a temporary room to act as Shang Ke"s office. He had originally wanted to arrange housing for him, but was refused since Shang Ke had promised Kaiser before that he would live with him. Plus, in order to avoid mishaps, he didn"t want to stray too far from the "main character.".

The reason why Shang Ke agreed to become a guest lecturer was so that he could more easily publicize the way to seal the Devil"s Tree. However, so that people would believe his words, he also had to increase his status and reputation.

His memory far surpa.s.sed others, and coupled with the original"s knowledge, giving lessons to the freshmen should be fine.

When Tylor arrived, Shang Ke was preparing his lessons in the lounge. He saw him leaning against the window sill, his long hair flowing beside him. His legs were slightly raised, a.s.suming a comfortable posture while he drank tea and thumbed through a textbook. The afternoon sun shone on him, and he appeared like a lazy, carefree cat.

Tylor noticed that Shang Ke was flipping the pages very quickly turning a page about every three seconds. Tylor did not think that he was randomly flipping through the textbook, so the only possibility was that he could read extremely fast.

Shang Ke seemed to feel his gaze and raised his head, meeting a pair of blood-red eyes. To tell the truth, Shang Ke felt that red eyes were a bit scary, especially when they were on a grave and stern face.

"Apologies for the disturbance," Tylor said as he entered the lounge.

Shang Ke looked at him, asking, "Lord Tylor is looking for me?"

"Headmaster had me come to ask whether you needed any help in preparing your lessons?" Tylor made an excuse without any change in expression.

"No need." Shang Ke"s att.i.tude became distant. If he really was the man in his heart, then Shang Ke did not want to walk too close to him. At the very least, not when he was unable to determine whether he could survive.

Tylor walked until he was beside the other man and stared him in the eyes, asking, "You don"t like me?"

"As the one who was defeated by you, do you think I should like you?" Shang Ke raised an eyebrow, his chin also lifted slightly.

Tylor"s line of sight swept across his moist lips as he said, "Perhaps you disliked me before, but the current you does not necessarily dislike me."

"Oh? How are you so sure?" Shang Ke wore an attentive expression.

"There is no hate in your eyes." Tylor said with certainty.

Shang Ke frowned and suddenly used his fingers to raise the corner of his eyes, his face revealing an ominous light as he fiercely spoke, "How about this? Enough hate now?"

Tylor coldly stared at Shang Ke"s wacky expression, staying silent.

After Shang Ke made the face, he immediately regretted it! Just how stupid was he, playing around in front of Tylor when he was better off doing something else? What happened to his cold and elegant grandeur?

"You should continue preparing your lessons, I won"t disturb you." Tylor left the lounge right after speaking, leaving Shang Ke to panic by himself.

Tylor left the room and turned into a corridor before suddenly bursting into laughter.

"Cough." After just a moment, Tylor quickly returned to his grave and stern expression. However, Shang Ke"s wacky face was deeply engraved in his mind. His mood was very cheerful for the rest of the day.

Why did he never notice before that Osari was actually so cute?

Shang Ke"s first lecture was on the third day after he started guest lecturing. The content of his lecture was the devil qi and faith"s conditional relationship.

On this day, the cla.s.sroom had a full house, with many students even crowding outside the door.

Shang Ke"s mental stats were superb, so he was completely clueless on what it meant to have stage fright. Plus, he knew the contents of the textbooks by heart. Within the cla.s.sroom, pretty much no one could stump him. He could even tell them the page and line numbers of an answer in the textbook.

The first cla.s.s was very successful.

After cla.s.s, someone suddenly asked him, "Teacher, now that you"re a teacher, are you still going to sell lunchboxes in the future? I haven"t been able to eat it these past few days, and I just can"t get them out of my mind!"

Their words immediately gained everyone"s attention.

Shang Ke replied, "Whoever can get full marks in my cla.s.s, I will treat you to eat a great luxury meal."

"Oh yeah!" the students all cheered.

"A great luxury meal." After school, Tylor suddenly dropped by and calmly asked, "I don"t know if perhaps I would have the chance for it as well?"

"No." Shang Ke quickly left.

Tylor blindly followed him until they arrived at Kaiser"s home.

Kaiser had martial arts training at night, and would only return at midnight. Shang Ke went to the neighbor"s house to bring back the crying Pupu. The pitiful little girl thought she had been abandoned by her father, and held back her tears while waiting. When she saw that Shang Ke had came, she immediately hugged him and started to cry.

"Daddy, daddy…" She called out continuously, complaining to him.

"Good girl, didn"t I already tell you that I would come back home at night." Shang Ke rubbed Pupu"s head.

Pupu looked at him unhappily, wiping her tears and mucus on Shang Ke"s clothes.

Tylor stared at them for a while before finally asking, "You adopted her?"

Osari had only left for five years, so it was impossible for him to have a six to seven year old child.

"Hm." Shang Ke didn"t pay much attention to him and just nodded, then put Pupu down in order to prepare their dinner.

Pupu tightly held onto his clothes as she followed behind him.

Tylor leaned against the door as he quietly watched Shang Ke bustle around the kitchen. His face was as expressionless as a statue.

Pupu would turned her head to look at him every few seconds. As long as their eyes met, she would immediately hide behind Shang Ke, only revealing her watery large eyes as she sneaked peeks at him.

Tylor did not have a favorable impression of children, but he felt that Osari and this child gave off a comfortable feeling when they were together.

That night, Tylor ate deliciously at Shang Ke"s home, leaving behind ten coins and in a relaxed mood.

When Kaiser finished his training, he returned completely exhausted, only to find that there weren"t any leftovers…

Shang Ke"s carefree life started to develop a pattern. He would go to cla.s.s during the day, take care of Pupu during the night, feed their dog (Kaiser), and occasionally feed a wild animal (Tylor).

Time pa.s.sed in this manner until three months later, when the devil qi storm that Shang Ke had been waiting for finally broke out. The Devil"s Tree"s energy was usually very stable, but during special periods of time, it would break out in one or two devil qi storms, like a volcano erupting.

Their sizes varied, though this time was the biggest one in history. It covered almost one third of the continent, and countless people were invaded by the devil qi, causing riots to occur frequently and social order to fall into confusion. Normal devil qi would not take the initiative to invade a body, but that of a devil qi storm was different. Because the energy was too strong and the concentration too high, many innocent people were unable to escape.

The imperial capital, King City, was also in the range of the devil qi storm, and about one fifth of the population showed the signs of the initial stage of invasion.

All the clergy and doctors were gathered and separated into groups in order to treat different areas, focusing on treatment for those who were invaded.

However, with the number of people being invaded constantly increasing, the clergy and doctors simply could not get around to all of them, and finally, even the teachers and students were mobilized.

Kaiser was sent to the east area to be in charge of keeping order, and provide a.s.sistance in treatment. Because Shang Ke"s strength was weak, he was not a.s.signed an area, and stayed home to accompany Pupu.

However, they were not safe at home either, after their neighbor was suddenly invaded by the devil qi as well.

Luckily, their neighbor was a normal person, so Shang Ke did not require too much strength to help them by absorbing their devil qi, returning him to normal. But this one action caused others to come to him and request treatment.

This was was because after the neighbor was saved, he did his best to spread the news that Shang Ke was a very amazing healer, with a miraculous treatment method that did not cause pain. He thus became the first choice for anyone invaded by devil qi. As a result, during the following days people came to find Shang Ke. Even if they were not gravely invaded by devil qi, they would still come over to cause trouble.

Kaiser began to make time to help Shang Ke drive away the people who were looking for trouble.

However, Shang Ke, a professional at courting death, upheld his holy mother principles of "sacrifice and devotion" and refused no one, absorbing the devil qi without pause. When Kaiser finally noticed something was wrong, Shang Ke was holding his breath as he absorbed the last bit of devil qi from another invaded person.

"Shang Ke, enough!" Kaiser agitatedly shouted.

At this moment, Tylor just so happened to have came over with several clergies. When they saw the devil qi winding around Shang Ke"s body and surroundings, with one of his hands tightly grabbing another person"s wrist, it looked like he was about to "commit a violent crime." One clergyman didn"t even think, and raised his staff to smash Shang Ke"s head.

"Stop!" Kaiser and Tylor both shouted, but they were unable to stop him in time, and could only watch as the clergyman smashed Shang Ke into the ground.

Shang Ke only felt a pain at the back of his head, exclaiming "This is bad!" in his mind. He had thought of many possible ways for him to die in this world, but the only one he didn"t antic.i.p.ate was being hit on the head by someone. This kind of death was not graceful at all!

His consciousness blurred, and he soon fell into darkness.

"Shang Ke." Kaiser and Tylor both exclaimed as they rushed to him. They were just about to help him up when the clergy on the side immediately stopped them, warning, "Don"t touch him. He"s already at the advanced stage of invasion, he can"t be cured."

"You understand nothing!" Kaiser cursed at him in a rage.

The clergy was initially stupefied for a few seconds, before immediately reacting and speaking unhappily, "Although I understand your feelings, this is my duty. Any people found at the advanced stage of invasion must immediately be dealt with."

"He is not a person in the advanced stage of invasion, he"s saving people!" Kaiser saw Shang Ke lying motionless on the ground, his long hair spread around him as blood slowly seeped out from his head, like a b.l.o.o.d.y flower blooming. Kaiser felt fear grip his heart, and he almost didn"t dare to go forward to confirm his condition.

"Saving people?" The clergy coldly snorted, "Are you joking?"

"You can f.u.c.king go take a look yourself!" Kaiser roared at him, pointing in another direction.

Everyone followed his finger to the person who Shang Ke had been holding onto. They had already returned to normal and was staring blankly at everyone. When he saw Shang Ke on the ground, he couldn"t help but ask, "What happened to Teacher Shang Ke?"

"He wanted to harm you just now," the clergy said.

"Who said that?" The man spoke in a rage, "He saved my daughter, and just now he saved me."

"Saved you? How is that possible?" The clergy said in disbelief, "He"s invaded by devil qi."

"He"s not, it was me," the man continued to explain, "He absorbed all the devil qi from my body."

His words stupefied everyone. When they looked back at Shang Ke, they noticed that his hand was still holding onto the man"s. The devil qi on his body did not show any sign of leaking outward, but instead, it was gradually blending into him.

"What is going on?" Tylor could see that something strange was going on, and turned around to look at Kaiser.

Kaiser very carefully helped Shang Ke up. He no longer had his former smile as he gloomily asked, "Do you all know why the former Osari, whose strength was so outstanding, could become the now physically weak Shang Ke? It"s because he used his own body as a vessel to absorb other"s devil qi into himself, and then used his own will to suppress it."

Shock flashed through Tylor"s eyes.

The others also had expressions of disbelief.

"Shang Ke saved countless people, and endured the immense pain everyday. But even so, he still did not give up his reason for existence. And now, he has died in your hands!" Kaiser angrily glared at the clergy that attacked him, his eyes full of tears.

When he heard him say "died", Tylor"s heart suddenly contracted, and he felt a strange pain in his chest, along with a stab of pain at his temple.

That clergy"s back turned cold at the look Kaiser was giving to him, but he still retorted, "I have never heard of any normal person taking the initiative to absorb devil qi into their own body. There are only two possible consequences for such an action: they either go crazy and die, or fall and become a devil apostle.

He did not believe that someone could suppress such dense devil qi with just willpower and faith.

At this moment, a clergyman returned from outside, his expression strange as he reported, "Sir, I led a couple people around to check the vicinity, but did not find a single person who needs treatment."

"None? Did someone report false information?"

"About that…" the man who had just been cured began to speak, "I"m sorry, I think this is what happened. We originally had around a dozen people who were invaded. Some cases were serious and some were light, but we were all cured by Teacher Shang Ke. It was three days ago when we sent the news. If it weren"t for Teacher Shang Ke, then by the time you guys came, we probably would already be in a great mess."

"You said there were a dozen of you, but he only used three days to cure all of you?" The clergy could hardly believe it. In other words, this man, in three days, had absorbed a dozen of people"s devil qi. If it were a normal person, they would have long gone crazy. There was actually someone in this world that would use such a self-sacrificing method of saving others? Just how strong must his willpower and faith be?

"Daddy." Pupu walked out from a corner and crouched by Shang Ke. She grabbed his ice-cold hand and carefully called to him, "Daddy, daddy."

Shang Ke laid in Kaiser"s arms. The devil qi had already been completely absorbed into his body. He had a serene appearance, his complexion white and his lips a lovely scarlet, like an aristolochia flower blooming at midnight.

"Daddy, daddy."

In the quiet room, only Pupu"s anxious calls could be heard.

Kaiser placed his ear against Shang Ke"s chest, but he could only feel the lingering warmth, which held no heartbeat.

His shoulders slackened and he started to sob. He did not dare to accept this reality. How could such a cheerful, kind, and strong person die just like this?

Tylor had a gloomy complexion and he raged at the clergy beside him, "What are you still standing around for? Hurry up and save him!"

At his words, everyone returned to their senses and ran over in a fl.u.s.ter to save him.

However, just when they had rushed over, they saw Shang Ke suddenly cough and revive from his state of suspended animation.

Kaiser was wild with joy as he hugged him. Pupu also threw herself into Shang Ke"s arms.

Tylor heaved a long sigh of relief as he felt the haze in his heart scatter and his heartbeat return to normal.

In fact, Shang Ke had truly been on the verge of death, and his soul had already left his body. He had originally thought that this mission was destined to be a failure, but then he suddenly remembered how in the first world, when his body was frozen and he was just a soul, he returned to life when he touched his body. He hypothesized that, so long as his soul returned to his body quickly, he could revive himself.

As such, he tried it and returned smoothly. As for what happened after he died, he did not have the energy to understand.

Anyway, his real purpose had already been achieved, which was to make everyone believe that willpower and faith could suppress devil qi, and that this was the only way to seal the Devil"s Tree…

By the time Shang Ke woke up again, it was afternoon on the next day.

He looked around him and saw that he was in a luxuriously decorated bedroom. Pupu was lying by his side, holding his sleeve and sleeping sweetly.

Shang Ke sat up, only to feel sore and weak all over, and his mind dizzy.

He laid back down, staying as motionless as a corpse.

"You"re awake," he suddenly heard a familiar voice from the side.

Shang Ke turned around, only to see Tylor wearing han clothing, standing ramrod straight by his bedside. He stared steadily at him.

"Tylor? Where am I?" Shang Ke used a hoa.r.s.e voice to ask.

"My mansion," Tylor answered.

"Why am I here? Where"s Kaiser?"

"He"s fine, you"re staying at my mansion for now, until the situation outside has stabilized." Tylor placated him, "The devil qi storm will pa.s.s by soon."

"Why do I have to live in your mansion?" Shang Ke continued to ask.

"Safety."

Shang Ke spoke, "…Being protected by the rival who defeated me, how am I supposed to feel safe?"

"We don"t have to be rivals."

"Then what are we supposed to be?"

"Friends, comrades, or perhaps…" Tylor seriously stated, "lovers."

 ◊  ◊