Special Training

After Songpa finished speaking, the room fell silent for several seconds.

Then a young man sitting beside Cheng Sheng muttered,

"It wasn't easy getting a chance to join, so wouldn't quitting now make us fucking idiots...

"Where's the pen? Do we need to sign and press a bloody fingerprint or something?"

Songpa ignored him and continued looking at Cheng Sheng and the other man. Naturally, neither of them was going to quit either.

That concluded the formalities. Songpa nodded with a hint of satisfaction and stood up. "You can take the rules home and read them at your leisure. Next, the gym will arrange a half-month introductory training course for the three of you. Go home and pack, then meet at the gym tomorrow morning..."

Special training...

Cheng Sheng's eyes flickered. Just then, the young man who had spoken before piped up again. "Wait, I have another question!"

"Go ahead."

"The tattoo."

The young man gazed eagerly at the crocodile tattoo on Songpa's chest, the mark of the Black Killing Boxing Gym. "When are you arranging our tattoos? I'd like to take a bath beforehand and give myself a good scrub..."

"..."

Songpa was a little speechless at the guy too. After a moment's thought, he said, "You won't be qualified to have the Black Killing Totem tattooed on you until you become core disciples of the gym. There is one thing I do need to remind you of.

"You're only formal disciples for now, which means you're qualified to receive the advanced teachings of Black Killing Style boxing. If you perform poorly in the coming days, you could still be eliminated..."

With that, Songpa turned and left, leaving Cheng Sheng and the other two in the room.

A woman with her shoulders and left arm exposed walked in and set several pieces of green banana leaf before them, with snacks like mango sticky rice and banana pancakes on them.

"Eliminated? Who's he trying to fool? They only recruited three people after all these years. If they eliminate anyone, there really won't be anyone left."

The young man who had been the most "active" earlier picked up a piece of green papaya dipped in chili powder from the table and tossed it into his mouth. Before he had finished speaking, he saw that Cheng Sheng and the other man had already stood up to leave. Neither had any intention of staying for a chat...

When Cheng Sheng came out through the doors of the gym's inner hall, Badan and Song Cai were still waiting for him.

After his fight with Zhou Wenye, both men's attitudes toward him had changed somewhat.

Badan was noticeably more eager to please him, and more in awe of him; Song Cai's feelings were more complicated. He seemed to want to talk to Cheng Sheng, but didn't know what to say.

Cheng Sheng took the bus back with Song Cai. After a brief farewell, he returned home.

As usual, he first bathed and changed his clothes, then went into his bedroom, shut the door, and thought back over everything that had happened that day.

Although he had run into the "unexpected" Zhou Wenye, things had worked out well in the end. He had ultimately passed the assessment without a hitch.

I wonder if Zhou Wenye will retaliate?

Cheng Sheng recalled the look Zhou Wenye had given him as he left, as well as his arrogant, face-conscious personality. He thought it was very likely.

If he really dares to come after me, I'll sacrifice him!

A ruthless thought suddenly arose in Cheng Sheng's mind.

He wasn't someone without a temper, or he wouldn't have dared to hit Zhou Wenye so hard during the assessment. Perhaps it was because he had performed two sacrifices and absorbed power from demons of the Abyss, leaving him affected in some small way without realizing it. He felt that his own temperament had grown colder and more ruthless.

Of course, that's only if I'm strong enough. I need to start preparing for the third sacrifice as soon as possible...

Right, I almost forgot about that!

After he became a formal disciple, the gym had refunded him seven thousand in tuition and registration fees, and there was also the five-thousand monthly allowance. That meant Cheng Sheng now had more than ten thousand Nan Currency at his disposal.

That should have been enough to buy a crocodile to use as the third sacrifice.

He immediately took out his phone and called the Balai City breeding farm again. After he offered to pay extra, the person on the other end sounded noticeably more willing, saying they needed to check this month's orders first and telling him to wait for word.

If they're telling me to wait, there's hope!

After hanging up, Cheng Sheng let out a long breath of relief.

Although the crocodiles raised on breeding farms for the dinner table and leather factories were generally crossbreeds selected for their relatively "docile" temperaments, and couldn't compare with the top predator species in the wild in either size or other respects,

They're still crocodiles, at least. They're compatible with the martial arts of the Black Killing Style, and their quality as sacrifices is bound to be much better than a goat's or a sparrow's...

Cheng Sheng felt that a warlock's cultivation was like rolling a snowball. Early on, he would sacrifice whatever he could get. Once the snowball got rolling and he was strong enough, what kind of sacrifice wouldn't he be able to get?...

Cheng Sheng lay in bed, letting his thoughts wander, and drifted off to sleep.

By the time he woke up, it was completely dark outside. There was nobody home, and the house was just as dark.

Cheng Sheng got up and threw together something to eat, then took the time to call his mother, Wu Li, and tell her about the gym's special training. Naturally, Wu Li was worried, but the travel agency had been so busy lately that she couldn't get away at all. She could only remind Cheng Sheng over and over to take good care of himself while he was away...

That evening, he read the Black Book as usual. Cheng Sheng could now just barely manage to "read" everything on the first page.

But there was still no sign of the second page opening.

According to the Black Book, to open the second page, Cheng Sheng needed to continually strengthen his Primordial Mark, complete his cultivation in the first stage, "Forbidden Apprentice," and advance to a warlock's second realm, "Demon Summoner."

Can I only truly summon demons to help me fight once I reach the second stage?

To strengthen the Primordial Mark, I need to offer special, precious sacrifices...

Sacrifices! Sacrifices!

In the end, it all comes down to sacrifices!

Cheng Sheng sighed softly, closed the Black Book, and buried himself in the covers.

The next day, Cheng Sheng arrived at the gym early with a large hiking backpack.

Inside were several pairs of underwear, a few changes of clothes, some toiletries, his phone and charger, and the like.

He thought he had arrived early enough, but to his surprise, he was still the last one there. The other two he had met yesterday were already waiting outside the gym.

The two were at opposite extremes when it came to packing. One had brought several large suitcases, while the other carried only a small, flat bag over his shoulder. There was no telling what he could have fit inside it.

"You're here."

Besides the two of them, Sulai was there too.

Today, Sulai wore an old dark-blue denim shirt and loose black trousers. She had taken off the red wraps she often wore around her hands, and looked like a Nantu beauty from an ordinary family.

"Now that everyone's here, let's set off."

"The introductory training isn't at the gym?"

Cheng Sheng blinked, a little surprised.

"Of course not."

Sulai's next words made the eyes of Cheng Sheng and the others brighten slightly.

"The training is somewhere else. I'll be with you the entire next half month."

Compared with Songpa and Sha Lie, having Sulai instruct them couldn't have been better.

A beauty like Sulai would have been a pleasure to look at even if she were just around them every day, let alone living with them for half a month. Just thinking about it made him look forward to it.

A diesel-powered three-wheeler was parked outside the gym. Sulai told the three men to load their luggage into the cargo bed and climb in themselves.

Cheng Sheng didn't see anyone else around. It looked as though Sulai would be driving them herself.

"Have you had breakfast?"

Just before they set off, Sulai suddenly turned around and asked the three men sitting in the cargo bed.

When all three answered that they had, Sulai smiled and said nothing, simply starting the vehicle up at once.

Soon enough, Cheng Sheng and the other two learned... why Sulai had asked.