A demonic practitioner followed his desires

The students were already in class, but Han Shuo and Jack had yet to begin their work for the day. After everyone else left one after another, the two went their separate ways to attend to their tasks.

Han Shuo finished cleaning the statues and felt the oppressive sensation in his chest gradually fade. He found a secluded spot where no one was around and opened his coarse cloth shirt. To his surprise, faint greenish-blue points of light were seeping from his chest. Enclosed by his demonic essence, Claude's pale greenish-blue battle aura seemed to be gradually draining from his chest in this way.

He let out a soft breath, feeling somewhat reassured. He silently reflected that the demonic essence produced by practicing the Demonic Cultivation Art really was miraculous. From what he had learned recently, knights also had a strict hierarchy, with a different color of battle aura for each rank: Apprentice Knight (pale blue), Junior Knight (deep blue), Intermediate Knight (pale greenish-blue), Advanced Knight (deep greenish-blue), Earth Knight (milky white), Sky Knight (silver), and Paladin (golden yellow).

Since Claude's battle aura was pale greenish-blue, he truly possessed the strength of an Intermediate Knight. A blow from an Intermediate Knight's battle aura would inevitably kill an ordinary person, without any chance of survival. Clearly, Han Shuo had survived without suffering any serious injury because he had practiced the Demonic Cultivation Art.

Feeling his demonic essence tightly enclosing the pale greenish-blue battle aura, Han Shuo sighed in relief, but he did not dare practice the Demonic Cultivation Art again. He feared that if his demonic essence flowed to another part of his body at his direction, the pale greenish-blue battle aura would be freed and suddenly erupt, damaging his internal organs.

Fortunately, as time passed, the demonic essence also gradually drifted out as points of light, which left Han Shuo less worried.

Since classes had already started, no one had come looking for Little Skeleton, who had hidden in the Garbage Dump earlier. This uproar might not die down so quickly, and it was broad daylight. Han Shuo did not dare order Little Skeleton back to the Supply Storeroom, lest someone notice him along the way.

That afternoon, inside the Darkness Department's Trial Ground.

Babylon Academy of Magic and Martial Arts had very comprehensive facilities. Each department had its own independent Trial Ground where students could test their magic. Inside were all sorts of testing devices, from Spirit Testing Stones for measuring Mental Power to Magic-Refining Equipment for testing the power of spells.

The Necromancy Department likewise had several spacious rooms where students could test their magic. Han Shuo was mopping the floors of its Trial Grounds when he suddenly saw some students from the Necromancy Department approaching.

Among them was Bark, who had not come to trouble him for quite some time. Bark's face was swollen and bruised, and he looked utterly miserable and disheveled. It appeared that Eileen and Lisa had already given him a beating. The moment he spotted Han Shuo mopping the floor, his face turned livid. His already hideous expression twisted even further, until his original features were almost unrecognizable.

Han Shuo secretly savored the sight, wearing an honest, foolish grin. He even hummed some unknown, cheerful tunes, gripping the mop and dragging it this way and that in different patterns.

"Damn you, Brian! When did you see that black Little Skeleton running from the direction of my room?" Bark roared, glaring at Han Shuo, his distorted face looking rather ferocious.

Looking utterly bewildered, Han Shuo raised his head, glanced at Bark, and gave him a foolish grin. Without answering at all, he hurried away, dragging the mop.

"Don't run! I won't let you off today!"

"Bark, how many times have I told you not to bully Brian? Would you even dare ignore what I say?" Fanny walked through the doorway and, seeing Bark about to chase Han Shuo, immediately planted her hands on her hips and snapped at him with a stern face.

"Teacher Fanny, look at my face! Lisa and Eileen beat me because Brian spread those rumors. Brian's the one bullying me!"

"Oh, I heard about what happened this morning too. Perhaps Brian was muddled and saw things wrong this morning. He's already in this state, so why are you holding it against him? Hmph, with your level of magic, you really couldn't summon such a powerful, peculiar Little Skeleton." At this point, Fanny murmured to herself, "Who summoned him, then? Even I'm curious! There are rumors going around outside that our Necromancy Department has made a major breakthrough in Necromancy and developed a spell that makes dark creatures unafraid of Light Department magic attacks."

Han Shuo reached a corner of the room and gazed from afar at the beautiful, captivating Fanny. Today, she had pinned her long, pale purple hair into a purple bun, leaving only a few stray purple wisps across her forehead. It made her look even more alluring and radiant, and Han Shuo silently admired her again and again.

"Brian, your Soul Pain should be over by now. You can help me practice with a zombie today. Come on, let's go to Trial Ground Number Three." Lisa, the little witch, glanced at Han Shuo in the corner and spoke haughtily.

"Lisa, practice is practice, but you mustn't attack him directly with a Wraith like last time." Hearing Lisa's words, Fanny worried that something might happen to Han Shuo and cautioned her.

"I know, Teacher Fanny!" Lisa answered casually, then headed toward Trial Ground Number Three.

Helping the students practice magic was one of a servant's duties to begin with. Besides, Han Shuo also wanted to find an opportunity for revenge, so he obediently put down his mop and walked toward Trial Ground Number Three.

As soon as Han Shuo entered the Trial Ground, there was a click as Lisa shut its door, indicating that she wanted to use it alone. Standing smugly behind the door, she stared at Han Shuo and said, "Let's see where you can run today."

Immediately after saying this, Lisa raised both hands and began chanting a spell. "Fallen Zombie Warrior, heed the summons of the dark emissary and reveal your presence."

A dark greenish-blue Zombie Warrior with hard muscles suddenly appeared in response to the incantation, gripping a thick wooden club.

Zombie Warriors were a rank above Skeleton Warriors. They were not rotting corpses; their muscles were firm and hard, and they moved faster and possessed greater strength than Skeleton Warriors. Only Junior Mages could summon them. Magic Apprentices like Bark were utterly incapable of doing so.

Once summoned, these dark creatures could attack enemies according to their summoner's mental commands. However, low-ranking dark creatures were generally of very low intelligence and could only perform the simplest attacks. To bring out a dark creature's greatest offensive power, the summoner had to keep controlling him with Mental Power, making him carry out various complex attacks according to the summoner's wishes.

However, learning to control dark creatures effectively with Mental Power required repeated practice before one could get the knack. Thus, the Necromancy Department's servants became practice targets. Until now, Lisa and the others had only used servants to practice controlling Skeleton Warriors' attacks. This time, however, Lisa had summoned a Zombie Warrior, making her ill intentions quite plain.

Seeing that Lisa had summoned not a Skeleton Warrior but a stronger, higher-ranking Zombie Warrior, Han Shuo was instantly dumbfounded. He cursed Lisa dozens of times inwardly and immediately backed away several steps, fully alert.

"Heehee, Brian, I've noticed you've been running faster lately, and you seem much stronger too. Using a Skeleton Warrior to practice with you would be looking down on you far too much. Today, you can help a future Necromancy Archmage practice controlling a Zombie Warrior better."

Lisa's pretty face was flushed, and her bright eyes held a devilish gleam of ill intent. Even as she spoke, she had already directed the Zombie Warrior to charge at Han Shuo.

Holding his thick wooden club, the Zombie Warrior ran toward Han Shuo under the little witch Lisa's control, grunting with each step. He was quite fast, reaching Han Shuo in an instant and swinging the thick club down at his head.

The club was thicker than Han Shuo's arm, and the Zombie Warrior was immensely strong. If that blow landed, Han Shuo would lose half his life even if he survived.

As the thick club descended toward his head, Han Shuo felt no fear whatsoever. Instead, for some unknown reason, he felt a faint, bloodthirsty excitement. This sensation struck him as very strange, as though both his body and mind yearned for battle.

Suddenly, Han Shuo narrowed his eyes. The idiocy on his face vanished at once, replaced by a sharp glint in his eyes. His left leg abruptly straightened, sending his body a meter to the right.

Thud! The Zombie Warrior's thick club slammed into the hard floor where Han Shuo had just stood, producing a dull sound.

"Huh!" Lisa, who was controlling the Zombie Warrior, suddenly cried out in surprise. For that fleeting instant, Han Shuo's whole bearing seemed to have changed drastically, making her heart tremble. She had never seen that expression or that look in his eyes before, and her astonishment had drawn a soft exclamation from her.

Afterward, Lisa forgot to give the zombie further commands. Instead, she rubbed her eyes somewhat nervously and stared intently at Han Shuo again.

Now Han Shuo wore an utterly idiotic expression. He seemed instinctively afraid of the Zombie Warrior, shrinking back timidly as he dodged. No matter how she looked at him, he looked like an idiot.

My eyes must have been playing tricks on me. How could that damned Brian possibly... how could he have-that sort of presence, that look in his eyes? Lisa thought. Then she snorted coldly and began concentrating her Mental Power again, making the Zombie Warrior chase Han Shuo.

The Zombie Warrior continued chasing Han Shuo back and forth. Although he no longer displayed the bearing and gaze that had startled Lisa, he always managed to escape the thick club at the critical moment. This stirred Lisa's competitive spirit and excitement, and she put even more effort into controlling the Zombie Warrior's pursuit. She thought gleefully, Who would have thought that after Brian went mad, he would run faster and seem so much sturdier too?

As Han Shuo was chased, at some point a fierce desire to take revenge on Lisa suddenly arose within him. The moment it surfaced, his reason told him that he should not and could not do so, and he tried desperately to suppress it. Yet, for some unknown reason, he simply could not quell the thought.

Moreover, as the Zombie Warrior grew increasingly nimble and chased him faster and faster, Han Shuo's desire for revenge grew stronger and stronger. A demonic practitioner followed his desires... a demonic practitioner followed his desires... A fragment of memory suddenly flooded Han Shuo's mind. In that instant, he seemed to grasp the true essence of practicing the Demonic Cultivation Art. Then the words "a demonic practitioner followed his desires" seemed to become a voice, echoing ceaselessly through his mind.

Finally, Han Shuo let out a low growl. With his body hunched and his head lowered, he abruptly changed the direction in which he had been dodging and shot toward Lisa.