Chapter 353: Compensating

Chapter 353: Compensating

When Carlin arrived at Lily’s side, he saw her stab a small sword into her own palm. The small sword looked like an accessory, but its shape was easily recognizable. It was clearly the Magic Sword Apophis. In that instant, Carlin felt his heart turn cold. That thing looked like no good at all. What would happen if it pierced her hand?

Something bad was bound to happen.

So, under Carlin’s watchful gaze, he saw the small sword disappear into Lily’s palm. Then, Lily stood there blankly, staring at her own hands. Carlin, who had almost rushed forward, immediately pulled back and observed the situation. It didn’t seem to have gotten much worse. Lily appeared to be fine as well… No, what the heck was that aura she was giving off?!

“I feel like I’ve lived for decades for nothing,” Carlin muttered bitterly as he looked up at the sky. The aura emanating from Lily was no less than… no, it was even stronger than his own. This aura also carried a sharpness to it. It must have been brought on by that small sword. This was a heavy blow to Carlin.

The Cultists’ methods of growing stronger were truly unreasonable. As long as they received the Evil God’s blessing, they could instantly turn their fortunes around and become powerful in terms of strength. Even if their actual combat abilities weren’t strong, as long as they didn’t encounter enemies of the same level, they could crush their way through effortlessly.

He just didn’t understand what kind of existence Lily was to receive such a massive “blessing” from the Demonic Sword Evil God all at once. And, to make matters worse, that aura quickly receded. Power gained through such rapid means usually had poor control. It was basically like carrying a flashing beacon wherever you went.

If one had enough control over their own power, this wouldn’t happen.

After accepting the Demonic Sword Evil God’s power, Lily stood there on the spot, staring at her hands in a daze for a long time. Only then did her unfocused eyes slowly regain clarity. She moved her fingers in confusion, and a wisp of Battle Qi appeared on her fingertips. It wasn’t in a state of being squeezed out; it was genuinely under her control. She didn’t even have to squeeze it out; it was simply the result of a single thought.

“Do I… have a soul now?”

Lily murmured in bewilderment. Without a soul, controlling her power in this way had been an impossibility. Yet now, it had become a reality. Did this mean that the most important thing she had been missing… had been restored?

Additionally, she could feel another immense power lurking within her body. This power was spread throughout her entire being. It couldn’t be used directly; instead, it had to fuse with her own blood to unleash its true effect. This was the Blood Essence possessed by the Demon Sword Cultists.

“Huh? Does it have this effect too?” Zheng Yichen, who had been observing secretly, also looked down at his own claws, which could never be cleaned or bleached no matter how hard he tried. The Battle Qi Lily was releasing now was in a controlled state—not squeezed out and only usable for attacks. This change made Zheng Yichen immediately think of the related reason.

A soul?

“Tsk, I’ll have to give her a thorough checkup when she gets back.”

Putting down her hands, Lily hurried towards Kaja. She had been away without permission for so long. If she didn’t hurry back, something bad would happen… The Academy valued its top students greatly. Being absent for a day or two would only earn her a scolding, but if it went on longer, the Academy would launch an investigation.

Carlin glanced back at the Town and suppressed the thought of leaking information about that place. After all, he was already on the Witch’s side now. Having another Cultist to watch over didn’t matter much. Besides, she was a Demon Sword Cultist, which was far better than ordinary Cultists. Even if her identity were exposed, she wouldn’t be reduced to being chased by everyone.

In the Tavern, the Black-robed Man lightly tapped his fingers on the table. After a moment, he pulled off the hood that had been concealing his face, keeping it in shadow. His face, now revealed, appeared withered. If Zheng Yichen had been there, he might have recognized him—he was one of the strongest among the Cultists who had once surrounded him.

At this moment, one of his eyes had turned sky-blue. This eye exuded a sinister gleam. Through this mutated eye, he could see a faint, silent purple shadow in front of him.

In a deep gorge, a figure stared at a body lying on a mysterious set of Rune Patterns. The runes emitted a faint, eerie glow. Under the influence of some power, the body at the center of the runes continuously improved. Just as his eyes twitched slightly, the entire body abruptly twisted violently, shattering into fragments. Only a grey, statue-like “small figure” remained.

A long silence fell over the deep gorge.

After a while, a cold snort echoed through the gorge. Small creatures living in the gorge stiffened in unison at the sound, falling silent and lifeless.

Upon returning to the Academy, Lily naturally faced some questioning. On her way back, she had already prepared her story, and it was easy to deal with. After all, it wasn’t uncommon for students to occasionally leave the Academy without saying anything. A day or two wouldn’t attract much attention.

Back in her room, Lily quickly took out the Magic Weapon Summoning Book. Zheng Yichen’s Projection emerged from the book. After examining Lily for a moment, he placed his hand on her small head. Soon, he lightly raised his eyebrows. He had definitely overthought the soul matter. Lily’s body was still in its original state.

However, a significant portion of the Demonic Sword Evil God’s power scattered within her body was concentrated in her brain. “Use your Battle Qi,” he said.

Lily nodded and mobilized the Battle Qi within her body. Zheng Yichen frowned slightly. Although this expression wasn’t easily noticeable on a dragon’s face, when Lily used her Battle Qi, the Evil God’s power within her body also fluctuated… Could it be that after his own power assimilated the Evil God’s power, the infused power had reacted with Lily’s body again, causing it to function similarly to a soul?

After thinking for a moment, he took out his Magical Grimoire and flipped through it. He found a mental magic spell—not very strong, just a slight Mental Shock. It could easily knock out ordinary people, and for Professionals, it would at most cause a brief moment of dizziness without any serious side effects.

“How does it feel?”

“Huh? I don’t feel anything,” Lily replied, confused.

“Oh… The mental magic still has no effect. It must be that the Evil God’s power is substituting for a soul, but it’s not a real soul. Hmm, like a pacemaker or a hearing aid? Well, that analogy isn’t quite right…”

Seeing Zheng Yichen start muttering to himself again, Lily was no longer surprised. Seeing that he would likely ponder for a long time, Lily opened the Magic Weapon Summoning Book and entered the Trading Zone. She clicked on a favorited Online Store. The owner of this store was likely an Alchemist, one related to the Life Domain. Therefore, this store always sold some strange and unusual items. The reason Lily had favorited this store was that it sold blood…

Blood from various Magical Beasts. Although they weren’t particularly powerful Magical Beasts, the variety was comprehensive. Moreover, the blood processed by the seller had a long shelf life, and the Life Force contained within wouldn’t dissipate too quickly. It was very popular among Lily and the many Demon Sword Cultists. The seller was clearly smart, seizing the opportunity by dealing in blood.

Even though this blood couldn’t increase the Demon Sword Cultists’ strength, after some battles where they suffered losses, buying a couple of bottles to absorb was much more economical than using Magic Potions to accelerate blood recovery, wasn’t it?

As for Lily, she treated this blood as a beverage. Improvement? The Life Force in these blood samples was well-preserved, but compared to the blood she absorbed from living creatures, it still lacked something… a lot, actually.

Zheng Yichen snapped out of his thoughts, stimulated by a faint smell of blood. As a dragon, and a top-tier creature at the apex of the food chain in this world, dragons’ bodies were highly evolved. Their eyes were large but protected by a membrane tougher than tempered glass. Their Scales were thick yet sensitive. Their nostrils were large… cough, and their sense of smell was exceptionally sharp. Their sense of taste was even more remarkable. Even a grain of salt placed in his mouth wouldn’t go unnoticed due to the size of his mouth.

“Want some Dragon Blood beverage?” Zheng Yichen asked, glancing at the transparent bag in Lily’s hand. Hmm… bags like these had already been developed in the Otherworld. There was no need for Zheng Yichen to innovate. Drinking blood was a necessary action due to Lily’s Corpse Puppet constitution. Compared to chewing raw meat, simply drinking blood seemed much more “elegant.” Besides, she had bought this blood; it wasn’t obtained through indiscriminate killing…

“No!” Lily refused outright.

“…Others would kill for that,” Zheng Yichen clicked his tongue and reached out to pat her head. “Alright, that portion of the Demonic Sword power is substituting for your missing soul. As long as this power exists, you can use your own power normally. As for other situations, remember to tell me later.”

From the looks of it, the Demonic Sword Evil God’s power had compensated for Lily’s shortcomings. But would the Demonic Sword Evil God be so kind as to make up for her defects?

Huh? Could it be that the Demonic Sword Evil God was trying to bribe him? Zheng Yichen thought seriously. That seemed possible. After all, the Demonic Sword Evil God had been operating independently in the outside world without even greeting its Boss. Was it regretting its actions now and trying to make up for its past mistakes?

Did it think this one gesture would make him let it off the hook? Zheng Yichen thought the matter was far too simple!

And yet, he was actually tempted by it…