Evil God Cultist

The next day.

Although he had gained the talent of a Blade Technique Grandmaster, that did not mean Chen Yu could grow stronger by lying around without putting in effort.

He still arrived at the Martial Arts Class first and began practicing the Thunder Extreme Saber.

Unlike before, he could now clearly sense his improvement with every swing. His mastery of the saber technique increased by the day.

What ordinary people might achieve after years of grueling practice could not compare to his two or three days of saber training.

"Ten days will be more than enough to push the Thunder Extreme Saber to the Proficient Stage!" Chen Yu was thrilled.

The visible progress made the time he spent practicing the saber seem to fly by, as though it passed in the blink of an eye.

However, a rather discordant voice suddenly rang out.

"Chen Yu, still as diligent as ever."

"Xiao Feng, your injuries healed pretty quickly." Chen Yu sheathed his saber, narrowed his eyes at the doorway, and chuckled.

After just one day, Xiao Feng had appeared again.

"Heh, not only do my injuries heal quickly..." As his words fell, Xiao Feng casually pulled a wooden saber from beside the door and flashed toward Chen Yu with a slash.

"This guy got stronger?" Chen Yu's pupils constricted. He immediately sensed that Xiao Feng's strength and speed had both risen by an entire level compared to the day before!

Not only that, even the Nine-Wave Blade Technique Xiao Feng specialized in seemed to have improved considerably.

Chen Yu swung his saber to block the first strike, then took a step back.

But immediately afterward, Xiao Feng's second strike came crashing down in rapid succession. Chen Yu instantly drew his saber and slashed at the point where Xiao Feng's force connected.

Although he blocked the second strike, Xiao Feng's greatly increased strength allowed him to link the third strike in an instant with just a breath.

If it had been before, Chen Yu might truly have fallen here.

But with the support of both [Elephant Legs] and [Ape Arms], his strength likewise surpassed the level of the Third Layer of Body Tempering.

And with [Strong Kidneys], he was brimming with vitality, his energy constantly at its peak!

Bang!

The wooden sabers collided with a dull thud. Both men staggered back several steps, evenly matched.

"Did I somehow open up his Ren and Du meridians for him?!" Chen Yu instantly felt that this was becoming troublesome.

Xiao Feng's current strength and speed were enough to rival an expert around the Body Tempering Realm Sixth Layer.

In just one day, his strength had increased so dramatically. Anyone unaware of the situation might think Xiao Feng had awakened a system too!

"Chen Yu, you aren't the only one getting stronger." Xiao Feng gave a sinister laugh and prepared to attack again.

However, at that moment, the sound of others talking suddenly came from outside the door.

Xiao Feng abruptly stopped moving and returned to his usual demeanor.

Meanwhile, Chen Yu stared fixedly at Xiao Feng, because a series of messages had suddenly appeared before his eyes:

[Battle complete. Talent copied successfully.]

[Copied Talent—Gluttonous Factor (Green)]

[Gluttonous Factor (Green): Greatly increases digestion and absorption efficiency.]

[Due to copying an Evil God Factor, [Thought Imprint (Gray)] has been adaptively generated.]

[Thought Imprint (Gray): Slightly resists mental erosion from Evil Gods, external forces, and the like.]

"Xiao Feng actually became an Evil God Cultist!"

At this point, how could Chen Yu possibly fail to see why Xiao Feng had suddenly grown stronger?

"No, he's no longer Xiao Feng."

Chen Yu suddenly realized.

The System Panel could only copy a person's talent once, and he had already copied Xiao Feng's [Ape Arms] talent.

Yet after fighting him now, he had copied another talent. That meant that in the System Panel's judgment, the current Xiao Feng was already another "person."

Perhaps his habitual patterns of thought were still Xiao Feng's, but his core had long since become someone else... or perhaps—a monster.

At that thought, deep wariness flashed through Chen Yu's eyes.

He did not make it too obvious and instead continued practicing his saber as if nothing had happened.

When Fang Xiong arrived at the Martial Arts Class, Chen Yu deliberately found a chance to speak with him alone.

"What? Are ten days not enough? How about I give you a few more?" Fang Xiong chuckled, assuming Chen Yu had realized how difficult it was to reach the Proficient Stage in a blade technique.

Chen Yu was in no mood to joke with Fang Xiong and went straight to the point.

"Teacher Fang, I suspect Xiao Feng has been bewitched by an Evil God and become an Evil God Cultist."

"I fought him this morning. His strength has skyrocketed, and that's obviously not normal."

Chen Yu could not tell Fang Xiong about the System Panel, and he had no evidence in hand, so he could only emphasize that it was his own suspicion.

"Xiao Feng became an Evil God Cultist?" Fang Xiong's gaze sharpened slightly. He then casually glanced at Xiao Feng, but saw nothing unusual.

"Chen Yu, you can't make accusations carelessly. Just because you suddenly had an Aperture Opening doesn't mean Xiao Feng can't."

Fang Xiong shook his head in reminder.

There were plenty of late bloomers in this world who suddenly had an Aperture Opening. If everyone who changed was suspected, society would have descended into chaos long ago.

If one had to say it, Chen Yu's recent performance was the truly astonishing one. What did Xiao Feng's little change amount to?

"It's true. There's something wrong with Xiao Feng." Chen Yu's voice gradually lowered, but he also knew that without evidence, it would be difficult to convince anyone.

"Don't overthink it." Fang Xiong patted Chen Yu's shoulder and comforted him. "No matter what, I'll keep an eye on Xiao Feng these next few days. You just focus on training."

With that, Fang Xiong turned and left.

Throughout the entire day, Chen Yu remained distracted. He kept feeling that Xiao Feng being bewitched by an Evil God was probably related to him.

Now that Xiao Feng had become an Evil God Cultist, under the inertia of his former thoughts, there was no guarantee he would not come after Chen Yu.

If he found some Evil God Cultists to ambush Chen Yu with him, Chen Yu's current strength would barely be enough to protect himself.

At that thought, Chen Yu took out his Terminal and quietly sent a report to the Enforcement Bureau.

Yet by the time school ended that afternoon, no one from the Enforcement Bureau had come to take Xiao Feng away.

Clearly, without relevant evidence, the Enforcement Bureau had not paid attention to Chen Yu's report.

Or perhaps they already knew, but like Fang Xiong, the Enforcement Bureau had failed to spot anything unusual about Xiao Feng.

After all, Xiao Feng had only become an Evil God Cultist within the past day or two.

In the worst-case scenario, there might even be Evil God Cultists within the Enforcement Bureau itself. Chen Yu's message could have vanished without a trace, perhaps even alerting the enemy.

After school, Chen Yu glanced at Xiao Feng, who turned to look at Chen Yu at the same time.

Their gazes met, and a smile appeared on Xiao Feng's face.

But no matter how Chen Yu looked at it, that smile felt strange.

"This guy might really make a move against me." Chen Yu's heart sank.

He did not linger. He quickly left the school and, following information he had seen online the day before, found a shop that sold weapons.

"I want a saber. The sharper, the better. Around ten thousand Red Radiance Coins."

Chen Yu quickly told the clerk what he wanted.

The clerk nodded and soon brought out three battle sabers, placing them before Chen Yu and introducing them one by one.

"This saber is called Blood Chant. It's the most expensive, but its quality is also the best. It costs thirteen thousand Red Radiance Coins..."

"I'll take this one!" A trace of impatience appeared on Chen Yu's face. He did not waste time choosing and directly bought Blood Chant.

At this point, the ten thousand Red Radiance Coins he had just earned from the Heroic Martial Arts Hall, along with the three thousand-plus in savings he had on him, were all spent.

Money was worthless if he was not alive to spend it.

"Coming right up!" Seeing how readily Chen Yu paid, the clerk was overjoyed and immediately wrapped up Blood Chant.

Chen Yu took Blood Chant and hurried away.

Night fell.

For once, Chen Yu did not train. Instead, he clutched Blood Chant tightly and remained alert to every movement around him, afraid that Xiao Feng would burst in with a group of Evil God Cultists at any moment.

Thinking of the countless horrific tragedies caused by Evil God Cultists in the news, Chen Yu did not dare let down his guard in the slightest. His mind was stretched taut.

"Evil God Cultists are no longer human. Who knows what they might do?"

"Xiao Feng probably already hated me to the bone. Even after falling into becoming an Evil God Cultist, he'll most likely still target me."

Yet even until the early hours of the morning, the surroundings remained completely quiet.

But Chen Yu did not dare sleep.

He was afraid that once he fell asleep, he would never wake up again.

Yet deep down, he also knew that if this continued, he would sooner or later suffer a mental breakdown.

"Xiao Feng... Evil God Cultists..."

Chen Yu was afraid!

He was so afraid that he trembled, so afraid that he could not sleep. He had even forgotten all about challenging the martial arts hall.

After finally awakening the System Panel's ability to copy talents, after finally seeing some progress on the path of martial arts, after finally gaining hope of stepping into the Sea of Stars!

If he died at the hands of an Evil God Cultist just like this, he would never accept it!

Creak—

Chen Yu suddenly threw open his door and walked outside.

"There are only thieves who steal for a thousand days; there's no one who guards against thieves for a thousand days."

"Since an Evil God Cultist has already set his sights on me, rather than wait passively, I might as well make the first move..."

"...and kill him!"