While the Raphael in Backlund slept soundly in his apartment, the Raphael in the Western Continent was diligently cultivating the Demon Source Scripture in a secret chamber at a Branch Headquarters of the Dark Hut.
He-or rather, they-had discovered that whenever one of them comprehended a subtle aspect of the Demon Source Scripture, the other understood it as well.
Moreover, when one cultivated the Demon Source Scripture, the other could also feel his power growing, effectively giving them "double" the cultivation speed.
Of course, the most remarkable thing was that although the Raphael in Backlund had practiced the Wolf Fang Art and the Raphael in the Dark Hut Branch Headquarters' secret chamber had not, their mastery of it remained identical.
In other words, experience could also grow at "double" the rate.
The Raphael in the secret chamber immersed himself in meditation. After an unknown length of time, he opened his eyes with a flicker of delight.
He could clearly feel that his mind had grown a little stronger.
The more Raphael cultivated the Demon Source Scripture, the more he admired the wisdom of this world's cultivators. Once someone gained the recognition of the True Lord's Jade Body and underwent Magic Power Infusion, they were effectively a Beyonder—or rather, a boon recipient.
Either way, they could sense the existence of spirituality, though in the world where the Dark Hut existed, it was called spiritual qi.
Cultivating the Demon Source Scripture meant using spirituality to constantly temper one's physique. The scripture called this "Absorb the Qi of Heaven and Earth."
This differed from the powerful physique granted by a Beyonder characteristic. It strengthened one's inherent vitality and made the body more resilient. Most importantly, it improved control over one's Beyonder abilities and spirituality.
The move Raphael had used earlier to deliberately punch holes in the Zombie's body was a result of cultivating the Demon Source Scripture. By comparison, this was more like internal cultivation, while the Wolf Fang Art provided combat moves.
It was precisely because Raphael could now instantly concentrate some of the spirituality within his body, briefly amplifying the effects of his Beyonder abilities in one specific area, that he could break through the Zombie's defenses.
Otherwise, an ordinary Werewolf could only inflict meaningful damage on a Zombie by attacking its eyes and a few vulnerable vital spots.
Another effect of the Demon Source Scripture was using spiritual qi to continually train one's "mental essence." Translated into the mysticism knowledge Raphael had acquired, this meant using spirituality to continually temper one's spirit body.
The spirit body was like an iron rod, and mobilizing spirituality was like working it against a grindstone. Except, rather than becoming smaller with grinding, the spirit body grew larger.
The stronger the spirit body, the stronger the mind, and the more easily one could resist the distortion, chaos, and madness brought on by Beyonder powers.
Through cultivating the Demon Source Scripture, Raphael could already clearly feel that his spirit body had grown much stronger.
Feeling refreshed, he walked a few laps around the secret chamber before Chen Qingzhi came to visit again.
Although Raphael, the Otherworldly Demon Lord, no longer had to live in a cage, he was effectively under house arrest in the secret chamber.
Chen Qingzhi took care to remain courteous, lest he offend this Demon Lord.
Thus, he visited every day and answered whatever questions the Otherworldly Demon Lord asked, withholding nothing he knew.
Since Raphael's recent questions had all concerned everyday matters, Chen Qingzhi had not even proposed trading information with the Demon Lord.
Today, after bowing to Raphael, Chen Qingzhi smiled and said, "Demon Lord, our founding master invites you to the Headquarters for a talk. I've already sent people to make preparations. We can leave the day after tomorrow."
Chen Qingzhi's founding master was Demon Lord Xuanyin of the Dark Hut, who was actually a Beyonder who had consumed a Sequence 2 characteristic and still retained most of his sanity.
Demon Lord Xuanyin had been in a very poor state recently. But after trying the method Raphael, the Otherworldly Demon Lord, had suggested, his condition had stopped deteriorating. If he continued using it, he might even improve somewhat.
The method Raphael had proposed was, in fact, the Acting Method.
The cultivators of this world predominantly belonged to the Qi Sect. The renowned orthodox schools regarded the Blood Sect's method of advancing by consuming Beyonder characteristics as an evil, heretical practice.
Moreover, they distinguished levels of strength using only a few simple cultivation realms, so they had no potion names, much less an Acting Method.
Raphael had also previously traded the name and formula of the Criminal pathway's Sequence 9 potion for a wealth of information about this world.
Through experimentation, Chen Qingzhi had confirmed that the formula the Otherworldly Demon Lord possessed offered Blood Sect disciples a relatively safe way to advance.
Together, these two things naturally drew Demon Lord Xuanyin's attention. Uneasy about leaving the Otherworldly Demon Lord at a Branch Headquarters, Demon Lord Xuanyin hurriedly instructed Chen Qingzhi to send him to the Headquarters while few people still knew of his existence.
Demon Lord Xuanyin would also send people to meet them.
Raphael could hardly object to Chen Qingzhi's arrangements. He merely replied coolly, "All right."
In truth, both of them knew perfectly well that the Otherworldly Demon Lord was too weak. Otherwise, he would never have submitted to a mere Branch Headquarters leader's arrangements.
Of course, neither could say such a thing aloud.
Northern Continent, Loen, Backlund.
Raphael slept until early the next morning. After getting up, he yawned and looked at himself in the mirror. At last, he looked fully rested.
He bought a quick breakfast and ate on his way to the Mafia's headquarters. As soon as he entered, he sent a subordinate to inform Wagner, the Furniture Merchant, that there would be an operation that evening.
Afterward, he received people seeking help as usual, only listening to Carter's reports on his investigation into the Stinger Gang when he had time.
Raphael decided to move against the Stinger Gang that very night.
At a previous gang gathering, Raphael had met the Stinger Gang's boss. The man was a Sequence 8 with two Sequence 9 subordinates.
For Raphael, killing them would be easy.
Tonight, he intended to deploy the Mafia's elite and make sure every core member of the Stinger Gang was wiped out.
As for whether the Feysac embassy backing the Stinger Gang would retaliate, Raphael was not particularly worried. War was about to begin, and the Feysac embassy would soon be placed under tight restrictions.
Raphael did not know why he knew these things, but they were clear in his memory.
At first, he had thought this was an advantage granted by the White Jade Orb, but later he had felt that did not quite fit.
There was too much jumbled nonsense in his head, and he could not be bothered to delve into it.
Toward evening, Wagner, the Furniture Merchant, arrived as agreed. The Mafia's important members had already assembled in separate groups and set out in batches.
Only a few core members knew about that night's operation. To prevent any leaks, they would disclose the details only after arriving at the Stinger Gang's headquarters and the homes of several important members.
Raphael took Wagner and a few subordinates by carriage to the home of Kent, the Stinger Gang's boss, intending to deal with this Sequence 8 himself.
After nightfall, the raid began. Several Mafia members smoothly shot dead a few of Kent's bodyguards and battered open the front door.
In Kent's living room, besides the Stinger Gang's boss, there was another man with his hat brim pulled low. Raphael briefly examined him with the ability granted by the White Jade Orb and immediately sucked in a sharp breath. This man was actually a Sequence 6!
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