Chapter 116: The Divine Lord

It took a long while before Louis’s emotions settled.

He half-reclined on the seat, hand pressed to his forehead, looking like he had a headache.

Good news: part of the core inheritance has surfaced early.

Bad news: this place is fucking terrible.

In a world teeming with demons, if trouble strikes, the Civil Code won’t necessarily protect you.

“Better to rely on yourself than others—ultimately, you must strengthen yourself.”

Louis calmed himself; venting emotions only made him feel better internally—it helped nothing in solving the problem.

His consciousness began observing the contemplation map.

This contemplation map is the next-level cultivation technique—the essential requirement for manifesting the Yin Spirit.

The portion of core inheritance that surfaced early also showed him part of the path ahead: this lineage’s cultivation path is the Primordial Spirit Dao, revised and organized by the Divine Lord.

Qi Gong is merely Foundation Establishment; this process is sometimes called the Hundred-Day Foundation, meaning to lay the groundwork until internal Qi is perfected, when essence, energy, and spirit reach their peak and are ready for breakthrough.

At this point, the contemplation map is required—each map represents a secret technique, a true core secret.

Ordinary disciples would never possess such a contemplation map.

Even among different cultivation paths like Golden Core Dao or Qi Refinement Dao, disciples are similarly ranked.

The Primordial Spirit Dao, synthesized from the essence of Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism and refined by the Divine Lord, includes additional variations: the Buddhist White Bone Contemplation’s awakening, the Daoist Seven-Star Sword Contemplation’s cold detachment, and the Confucian ideal of harmony between ruler and subject.

After using this map to break through, if you wish to advance further, besides hard cultivation, there is an unharmed shortcut: establish a foundation, erect a divine statue, nurture trusted followers, take disciples, and expand influence.

In short—found a sect!

In ancient Huaxia, this practice was long-standing; those who achieved cultivation often left behind legacies—minor ones preserved in family altars, smaller ones as branch lineages within sects, major ones forming entirely new sects. Though these new sects could not rival great ones like Daoism or Buddhism, they were still not to be underestimated.

In folk society, such branch sects emerged endlessly—all the result of later generations seeking to establish legacies.

Once the foundation is established, as power grows and control over the sect and its teachings expands, the contemplation map becomes fully absorbed; the figures within transform into your own likeness. When a certain threshold is reached, the Yin Spirit becomes complete, shifts from Yin to Yang, and achieves the Yang Spirit.

As for the later stage—Yin-Yang unity forming the Primordial Spirit—it was not explained here; likely covered in later inheritances.

Thus, the next steps in cultivation are clear: perfect internal Qi, break through via contemplation, found a sect, then break through to Yang Spirit.

And now…

“Almost there.”

Feeling his internal Qi already half-full, Louis thought.

Especially with the ancient witchcraft—Devour Ghost—perfect to cultivate quickly and boost his base. As for ghosts, is this place lacking in them?

Louis glanced at the bundle in the corner.

It startled Alma, who had been staring straight ahead, only using her peripheral vision—she had lived long enough to see beyond the young.

In that glance, she clearly saw… greed?

Greed for souls?

Alma dared not dwell on it, forcing herself to stare straight ahead again.

The vehicle moved, gradually returning to the city.

…

After returning, everything was normal, except Louis carved out time for cultivation and adjusted his schedule to focus more on Devour Ghost.

As for Emma and the others, each had their own activities: Yulunca was doing something unknown, Maria and Madison practiced ice skating daily, while Emma was the most composed, diligently studying.

But Louis paid little attention to them—he had no interest unless it involved ghosts; he remained focused on cultivating Devour Ghost.

Also, the new base was nearly complete, but at Uncle Max’s urging, it was redesigned as a prison to facilitate future expansion and frequent transport of large items.

Actually, it suited him well: building a new base wasn’t just for safe cultivation—it was primarily to imprison the strange lifeforms he hunted for study. As for a prison…

In America, anything could be owned by capitalists—including prisons.

Time passed slowly, and before long, it was two days before the ice skating competition.

School gymnasium, ice rink.

Two graceful figures glided together on the rink, executing difficult maneuvers like elegant swans.

Of course, the most important thing was their beauty.

One had golden hair with a fiery style, the other black hair with a gloomy aura.

These contrasting temperaments combined to create an effect greater than the sum of their parts, evoking an illusion of angel and demon.

When the high-speed spin sequence ended and the two halted, the crowd erupted into thunderous applause.

Madison leaned weakly against Maria, lost in bliss as everyone cheered—she thought, at this moment, how wonderful it must be to be a star, to be adored like this every day…

Could she try becoming a Hollywood star someday?

The thought vanished instantly. Madison leaned on Maria to catch her breath. “Maria, your technique is amazing now.”

She hadn’t learned ice skating before, but her physical condition was strong. Now, her skill lagged behind Maria’s—perhaps due to the other soul, Maria’s body coordination had become extraordinary, her skill skyrocketing.

Her physical condition had also fallen behind; after one routine, Madison was gasping for air, while Maria only breathed slightly harder.

Her figure skating was barely kept together by Maria’s guidance—if not for her, Madison would have been left far behind.

Now, Maria was more popular than she was.

Strong skill, dark beauty, movements exquisitely elegant—many students favored this type.

But she felt no jealousy; she only wanted fame from this competition. With Maria leading, they might even win the championship.

But not everyone thought like her.

At the opposite corner of the rink, Lily and her friends stood frozen on the ice, silently watching Maria and Madison receive cheers, their eyes filled with resentment—they had trained on the same rink, yet everyone acted as if only Maria existed, ignoring them entirely.

Especially Lily—her face darkened as if ready to drip water.

No one found this harder to accept than she did, because Maria was the green leaf she had brought in!

Now the green leaf had become the flower, threatening to overshadow her, the original blossom! What was this? Was she to become a joke?!

Her jealousy and resentment were overflowing.

“Lily, what do we do?”

“Yeah, if this keeps up, why even compete? Just hand her the championship.”

“Lily, you’re the one who brought her in…”

“Maybe we should find Xiao En and scare her into quitting.”

“….”

The girls took turns speaking—complaining, blaming, harboring dark thoughts…

Surprisingly, they convinced Lily. She thought she might approach Xiao En—but she didn’t want to just scare her; she wanted to go further.

Just then,

A girl suddenly ran over. “Hey, you’re Lily Collins, right?”

“I am. What do you want?” Lily’s tone was sharp—she was in a bad mood.

The girl’s expression cooled. “President Christina wants to see you. Student Council. That’s all.”

She turned and left immediately.

Hearing this, Lily regretted her tone—but the Student Council president? Why would she want to see her?

She knew who the president was, but they had no connection.

Still, though unsure of the purpose, Lily changed clothes and headed for the Student Council—better to leave than stay here and suffer.

Soon, she arrived at the Student Council.

Only one person was inside: President Christina.

As soon as she opened the door,

“Lily Collins. I know you—the figure skating prodigy who represented our school’s club in events and won awards. You’re our school’s most famous figure skater.”

Though unsure why the president was saying this, Lily couldn’t help smiling slightly—these were true, her glorious past achievements.

But the next second, Christina changed tone.

“But that was six months ago. Your progress has stalled since then. Many new skaters have joined the club—you must be under pressure.”

“I’ve heard that for the past month, a girl named Maria skates exceptionally well—the rink is packed daily, while you, once our strongest, have vanished…”

“President, if you came to humiliate me, you succeeded.” Lily said coldly, turning to leave.

The Student Council president was just a student.

She wasn’t afraid.

“No, you misunderstand,” Christina hurriedly said. “I only want to make a deal with you.”

“A deal?”

“Yes. A small one.”

Lily smiled and sat back down.

They talked for a long time—until an hour later, Lily finally left the room.

Watching Lily depart, Christina smiled. “Next, Nancy. Heh.”

Soon, the Student Council announced that to add mystery to the upcoming ice skating competition, the rink would be closed and repaired, with access restricted to outsiders.

A cloth was hung to block the view.

Under these conditions, more students and outsiders began eagerly anticipating the competition, and the school increased its attention.

Christina also began assigning frequent tasks to Nancy, whose duty as secretary was to coordinate communication.

And mistakes in the midst of busyness were inevitable.

As Christina implemented her second plan, Lily, the executor of her first plan, also began acting.

She immediately sought out her boyfriend, the school bully Xiao En.

She wanted him to find a few off-campus delinquents or his usual friends at school to go harass Maria.

But to her surprise, Xiao En refused.

"Sorry, Lily, I think that’s not right—and your skills are excellent; Maria could never surpass you."

Xiao En said this somewhat insincerely.

Lily saw right through Xiao En’s thoughts—this scoundrel who lusted after beauty!

She turned and walked away.

(End of Chapter)