Forge a path to success

"Hypnosis": The principle is unclear; we request an analysis from a think tank.

[Application approved, analysis complete]

"Burning Green": The power of the 235th Ambitious Demon "Besen," the Flame of Ambition. Related information has been transmitted.

"Hypnosis": No matching target found; suspected to be a ghostly interference attack initiated by the concept of contact.

The combat capability assessment of the tentatively named "Chu Hengkong" is higher than the average level of point mass 2.

"Chu Hengkong" is determined to be a singularity Z-3000-3.

The think tank was instructed to respond in accordance with the standards of Act Z-3000.

[Command received successfully]

Imperial truth endures forever.

The truth of the empire endures.

·

The next morning, outside the chapel.

Chu Hengkong stretched his muscles and bones, practicing his punches with slow, monotonous movements. His punches were slightly faster than yesterday, but there were no more explosive sounds coming from his body, making him appear more composed.

Vande sat on the doorstep, clutching a small piece of leftover pastry, occasionally rubbing its eyes with its tentacles, its gaze quite bewildered. Only after Chu Hengkong withdrew his breath attack did it raise a tentacle: "...Did I see wrong, or have you improved?"

"Your eyesight is fine."

"That doesn't make sense." Van der was dumbfounded. "Your spine is damaged, so you can't do bone strengthening exercises. How come you look like you're about to collapse today?"

Chu Hengkong tapped his fingers with the back of his rock-bladed sword, producing a crisp metallic sound as the blade struck his knuckles.

"The Qi-based bone-forging method focuses on the spine to gather Qi in the center of the body to complete a 'circulation,' thereby strengthening and enhancing the overall body's strength through repeated cycles," Chu Hengkong said. "If a full-body enhancement isn't possible, we can try localized gradual improvements. That's why I've modified the bone-forging method..."

“Oh,” Vande repeated, “you just messed around with this stuff that’s been around for thousands of years and modified it a bit.”

"Use external force to 'press' your will into your bones, and then use a secret method to train your qi separately. As long as the bones don't break, it will have a significant strengthening effect!" Chu Hengkong said excitedly. "I took the opportunity to try it a few times when I fought the Shadow Giant yesterday, and the effect was quite good. I trained 10 bones in one battle. It's just a pity that I couldn't keep up with the stamina towards the end, otherwise I would have taken a few more hits."

Van der's gaze was as if he were looking up at a genius with intellectual disabilities.

Have you considered the potential side effects of such reckless modifications?

"Not dying means everything is alright."

“Dude, I’m serious,” Van Der said earnestly. “You don’t have to do anything; just standing there is a living miracle.”

Chu Hengkong smiled, shook off his sweat, and put on his clothes. The high energy expenditure after the workout made him feel hungry, but his body was much stronger than yesterday. This was because after his tendons and bones were strengthened by his willpower, the surrounding muscles and internal organs would also increase in strength under the subtle influence.

According to his estimation, his partially enhanced body is now strong enough to ignore the attacks of ordinary Fallen Ones. Once his internal bones are mostly strengthened, his physical strength will be able to match Ji Huaisu's light shield.

I wonder if he will be able to withstand the Shadow Blade's slashes after mastering all of them?

Just imagining his partner's expression when that day actually came made him very happy. Even if it was just to see her make a fool of herself, he wanted to get back to Huilong City as soon as possible.

Chu Hengkong packed his things and headed inside the church. Brother Bernfar sat on a bench prepared for the faithful, still flipping through that old book. This book seemed to never leave his side; a line of small print on the cover read "Requiem for the Souls," seemingly the scripture he believed in.

The man sat upright, with a dignified appearance, and his black hair was neatly combed and well-groomed. Every time Chu Hengkong saw him, he felt that such a person was too talented to be a mere cultivator; his demeanor was more than qualified to be a priest.

When Bernhard saw him arrive, he silently closed his book: "Congratulations, Mr. Chu. Your skills have improved again."

Chu Hengkong looked directly into his eyes. Bernhard's eyes were gentle, but devoid of emotion.

“You’re not really happy for me,” he said bluntly.

“I apologize, I meant no harm. It’s just that my thinking is different from most people’s, and I don’t think that an increase in power is something to be happy about.” The monk smiled. “I’m offering my congratulations because I think you will be happy about it.”

“You are very considerate of others.” Chu Hengkong nodded. “I want to ask you a question.”

Brother Bernfar laughed loudly: "Haha! If you are curious about the strange things happening in the town, please don't ask me. I came here to help people, and if I were to say more and upset the townspeople, it would go against my original intention. Mr. Chu, I wanted to take this opportunity to ask you not to investigate any further, just pretend you didn't notice anything."

The monk's smile faded, and he said seriously, "This town has no ill intentions towards you. Please do not further hurt their fragile dignity."

"it is good."

Chu Hengkong walked out of the church without saying another word. Van der scurried into his pocket, lamenting, "That guy's shrewd enough; after the riddle, he resorts to moral blackmail, you can't get a single word out of him..."

"The monk lent us the church to rest; we should grant him this small favor." Chu Hengkong shook his gauntlet. "Let's go, let's see the spoils."

Perhaps due to the heavy consumption of yesterday's battle, Chu Hengkong felt a persistent hunger, and ate a piece of fish before officially setting off. They found Qi Su's workshop with some difficulty, as the remains of the Shadow Giant from the previous night had been dismembered and dragged into the town by the townspeople. Large chunks of iron plates and strange, indescribable parts blocked the way, forcing Chu Hengkong to climb onto the rooftops and then squeeze through a window into the workshop.

When they entered, Qisu was working on the Shadow Giant's face with her short staff. She melted some metal and shaped it into a mold, creating a silver base shaped like a flower bud. Then, she carefully polished one of the Shadow Giant's eyes into a suitable-sized bead and encased it in the base. After some minor finishing touches, she obtained a flowing bead to complete the process, and a new rune bead was finished, as beautiful as a jewel.

Qi Su tiptoed and tapped Chu Hengkong's gauntlet to insert the new bead.

“Just find a dark spot and reach in,” she said confidently. “You’ll absolutely love it.”

Chu Hengkong casually pointed outside the door, where a slanted iron plate cast a long shadow. He had expected to summon a shadow blade or fire small shadow projectiles. But nothing appeared in his hand; he simply pointed in a different direction. He looked up and found himself standing beneath the iron plate.

"Teleportation?" Chu Hengkong exclaimed in surprise.

"It's not that convenient; it means you'll appear in the shadows nearby," Qi Su explained smugly. "How about that? Shouldn't that be helpful?"

The little girl looked at him expectantly, and Chu Hengkong nodded his thanks. Fan De, with a greedy grin, said, "Hehehe, can you make more! Look, there are still so many steel plates here..."

"Dream on! This is material to open the trend channel!" Qi Su smacked Fan De on the head with a stick, then turned to Chu Heng Kong, wanting to put on airs, but his tone was much gentler. "Once you've rested up, go take on the mission. There are still many things I need your help with. Hang in there a little longer, and once we have more materials, we can send you away."

Vande snapped, "What's wrong with you, little brat! Why are you treating me like this!"

Qi Su turned away with disdain: "I have nothing to say to a squid that only knows how to use dirty tricks."

"You brat, who are you calling lewd! Meow like a cat, you bastard!"

Qi Su scoffed: "Tch, as if anyone would actually care about you, meow."

The word "meow" that slipped out brought an eerie silence to the workshop, followed by a furious Qi Su slapping the eyeball with his cane. Chu Hengkong dragged the flailing Fan De out of the workshop, giving him a momentary feeling of being with a child.

When he arrived at the town square, he unsurprisingly found the wooden boards completely covered with notices once again. Xiang Fuzi stood beside the notice board, smiling wryly.

“With the Shadow Giant gone, there should be no more rivals for you on the grasslands. The townspeople are so excited that they've added some requests from Yingluo Mountain…” He shook his head repeatedly, “Alas! I’m really troubling you, brother.”

"It's alright, it's on the way anyway." Chu Hengkong flipped through the authorization forms one by one. "Are there any other routes to Yingluo Mountain?"

"Leaving the grassland and heading north, you'll see a dense forest. After passing through the forest and continuing east, you'll reach the foot of Yingluo Mountain. The large poisonous insect you killed earlier was one that lurked on the mountain path year-round."

Chu Hengkong simulated it in his mind and couldn't help but chuckle: "Isn't this just going in a big circle?"

“Yingluo Mountain is steep and difficult to climb, and it is constantly plagued by falling rocks. There is no other way.” Xiangfuzi’s eyes were full of expectation. “Brother, you are exceptionally brave and a true hero of the world. If you could hunt more powerful beasts, you might even be able to take down that mountain fox demon in one fell swoop!”

Chu Hengkong nodded: "Killing the demon fox should allow us to set off."

Xiang Fuzi smiled mysteriously: "By then, we should have enough material, and we will certainly be able to help you escape!"

"Alright." Chu Hengkong tore off a stack of authorization forms and walked out of the town, exuding an indescribable air of triumph. The townspeople watched his retreating figure, their eyes filled with approval.

"give it to me!"

·

"No..." Chu Hengkong reached out his hand tremblingly, "I'm going to die..."

Van der broke down in disbelief: "Hey! Can't you be a little more composed?! Who was that, brimming with confidence just half an hour ago saying 'Leave it to me'?!"

Chu Hengkong crawled towards the town's exit like a worm: "This battle was not my fault..."

"What war?! You only went out for half an hour!"

Fan De jumped up and down on Chu Hengkong's head in anger, while Chu Hengkong remained silent, stiff and slumped on the ground. One of his fingers pointed firmly ahead, as if pointing to a vague and illusory hope.

"Someone come help! Oh my god! I can't move it!"

Seeing that the man wouldn't move, Vande had no choice but to use his short tentacles to shove him up, dragging Chu Hengkong back to the town like a salted fish. Qi Su, who arrived upon hearing the news, looked horrified, utterly incredulous: "You... what happened to you?!"

With his last ounce of strength, Chu Hengkong rolled over, and an indescribable, terrifying sound emanated from his body, like a ferocious beast roaring from within a human shell. Vande pointed his tentacle at someone's head and said in a flat, emotionless voice:

"He starved to death."

Chapter 79 The Resolve to Associate with the Devil

"Haha, haha, hahahaha!" Brother Bernfar burst into laughter. "This is truly something! To meet such an unexpected fate in such an unexpected situation is beyond words!"

Chu Hengkong lay sprawled on the ground like a stranded squid, only occasionally twitching weakly to indicate he was still breathing. Qi Su covered his face with his hands, his voice devoid of any life: "Could you... perhaps find some food for this squid...?"

"According to our principles, I shouldn't do anything to a dying person," the monk said, laughing. "But... haha! It's hard to say he deserves to die... I'll just try fishing! Hopefully, he can hold on until a fish bites, hahaha!"

The monk, fishing rod in hand, strode out the door, his cheerful laughter echoing in the distance. Qi Su sat in a chair, poking the nearly lifeless squid with his short staff: "So what exactly happened? That big fish was enough to feed you for at least three days, why are you still hungry?"

Beside Chu Hengkong lay several fish bones resembling tree branches, the last traces left by the large eel. He had devoured all the remaining fish meat with astonishing speed before the cultivator laughed and left, yet he still couldn't get up from the ground, only managing a little more strength to struggle.

Vande stood on his head, his eyes filled with an indescribable emptiness: "Little girl, have you ever heard of Qi-based bone forging techniques?"

Qi Su was puzzled: "In my memory, it's a basic skill for the 'walkers' of Longquan Township..."

“Yes, yes, the very foundation. A secret method for strengthening the entire skeletal system with intention and energy, emphasizing circulation and balance. This method hasn't changed much since it was created by the Misty Fate Master, because martial arts practitioners are very self-aware, knowing they aren't any smarter than their ancestors.” Fan De's voice was flat. “However, here, there's a peerless genius who's been tinkering with and practicing this bone-forging method. With his groundbreaking thinking, he's come up with a brilliant idea: forging bones one by one without focusing on overall circulation. The result is—”

Qi Su stared at the silent squid on the ground as if it were an idiot.

“His body balance has been completely disrupted, and his energy consumption has increased dramatically in order to maintain activity within his existing deformed structure,” Van der said. “Simply put, he is now starving to death from his own body.”

Qi Su let out a childish wail: "Idiot! There's an idiot here!!"

"Eat something..." Chu Hengkong squeezed out the words through gritted teeth, "Even soil... will do..."

"Eating dirt won't fill your stomach!!" Qi Su covered his face. "Oh no... Brother Bern is incredibly slow; he might not be back for a whole day..."

Xiang Fuzi, who was watching the commotion, also started to panic: "Is something really going to happen?"

Chu Heng had no words to express his suffering, for he was truly exhausted. The naive and simple townspeople hadn't yet realized that this was a literal life-or-death situation. Hunger and weakness are always the words closest to death, and in the perilous wilderness, starving to death was never a fantasy.

In this desolate, godforsaken place, hunger was a crisis more terrifying than any beast. Chu Hengkong had been carefully managing his calorie intake and stockpiling food, but the side effects came on suddenly and unexpectedly. Right now, he felt his consciousness fading, just like when he was severely injured, and even the sounds around him were becoming fragmented…

Are there any mushrooms left?

"Everyone, quickly find something to eat! Even if it's dirty, it'll do!"

"Fish skin rope is edible!"

"Okay, first stuff the rope into his mouth!"

"Ugh! What is this filthy thing...?" Xiang Fuzi's voice was full of disgust.

“Scholar, let go! That’s a precious thing, pulled from a demon… Ah, I’ve got it… Girl, come here…”

"Get a hat ready?"

Whispers and murmurs filled the air; the content of their discussion was incomprehensible. Chu Hengkong forced himself to bite into the fish skin rope, the leathery contraption disappearing as if burned after entering his stomach. He finally had a little strength left to move. He forced himself to blink and noticed that Fan De was furtively fiddling with a hat. It seemed he was stuffing something into the hat.

"Chu Hengkong, at this critical moment of life and death, there's no time to hold back," Fan De said seriously. "I'll ask you a question, and if you answer, roll your eyes."

Hurry up and tell me, or I'll starve to death.

"...Do you have the courage to side with the devil?"

Chu Hengkong rolled his eyes frantically.

“Fine!” Van der’s tone became impassioned. “Then wear it! For your life!”

Chu Hengkong forced his eyes open and vaguely saw a strange, elongated outline. It was a constantly writhing, yellowish-brown substance, resembling a baguette that was having an epileptic fit, yet it also possessed a living, breathing quality…

When Chu Hengkong saw the truth of this thing, even his face turned extremely pale and terrible, ten times, or even a hundred times, worse than the most miserable starving ghost!

"..."

Their eyes met in silent contemplation, one filled with sorrow, the other with compassion. Qi Su, lurking in the corner, emitted soft, intermittent laughter, adding a profound sense of tragedy to this fateful scene. Meanwhile, the rumbling of hunger in his stomach tolled like a death knell, forcing Chu Hengkong to make that decision… that decision he could not defy…

Five minutes later, Xiangfuzi ran into the church carrying a small basket.

"I've gathered some mushrooms and plant roots; you might find them useful in an emergency... Brother?"

Xiang Fuzi rubbed his eyes, but for a moment he couldn't find any trace of the starving ghost. At the same time, he noticed another strange thing: not only was the church empty, but three pews were also missing.

Xiang Fuzi felt a chill run down his spine. He heard a clicking sound coming from the backyard, like some rodent gnawing on the tables and chairs. He tiptoed to the backyard and saw a familiar figure sitting among a pile of broken wood. The green coat and silver tentacles—that figure was undoubtedly Chu Hengkong. But his head was strangely "swollen," and he was groping among the wood, seemingly doing something...

Xiang Fuzi rubbed his eyes. He noticed that Chu Hengkong was holding a whole piece of wood splinter with his tentacles. The splinter was close to his chin, just like…

"...Brother, brother?"

Xiang Fuzi took a step back, and Chu Hengkong immediately stood up. His bloated head grew longer and longer as he rose, reaching a full meter in height. The head was a striking yellow, its skin incredibly moist, and it swayed left and right with Chu Hengkong's movements, displaying astonishing elasticity. Xiang Fuzi suddenly felt the head looked very familiar, and he immediately realized its true form.

It was a wriggling, lifelike creature with two big, sticky eyes...

eel!

Chu Hengkong, sporting a long, eel-like head, turned around, his large eyes gleaming with an eerie light. He gave a thumbs-up and issued a resolute shout to Xiang Fuzi:

"eel!"