Sin Becomes a God

Chapter 3: The Dream of a Great Hero

As a competent leader, seeing an old comrade like Feng Xifan voluntarily take on such a dangerous and arduous mission as assassinating Ao Bai, how could he not prepare a modest feast to boost morale? Lu Renjia, who had never even tasted shark fin soup, was utterly stunned by the delicacies before him. Game from the mountains, swallows from the clouds, cattle and sheep from the land, and seafood from the depths of the ocean—all manner of rare wild animals appeared on the dining table. Just as Lu Renjia’s appetite was being whetted, a remark from Wu Sangui, the Prince of Pingxi, made the corners of Lu Renjia’s mouth twitch. “My dear generals, let us all raise our glasses and toast to Master Feng’s success in slaying the treacherous minister Ao Bai! Cheers!!!” “May Master Feng succeed at the first attempt!!!” Glancing at the hundreds of generals seated around the table, Lu Renjia wanted nothing more than to strangle that old bastard Wu Sangui. “Brother… I’m going on an assassination mission… Do you think I’m going on a fashion show…If you can plant spies in the imperial palace, do you really think Ao Bai is so stupid he wouldn’t have planted some spies in the Prince of Pingxi’s mansion? Sigh… The ancients truly didn’t lie to me… I’m not afraid of god-like enemies, but I’m terrified of teammates as clueless as pigs…” Lu Renjia said with regret. Filled with rage, Lu Renjia could only channel his grief and anger into his appetite, devouring the delicacies—which he’d only ever seen on TV—with gusto. This gluttonous eating style, as if he were a starving ghost reincarnated, stunned Wu Yingxiong. Watching Feng Xifan devour a massive bear paw, Wu Yingxiong was even more astonished. “Master has always taught me that martial artists must abstain from indulging in food… Why is he being so ravenous today?” Wu Sangui, meanwhile, nodded to himself. “Master Feng truly embodies the spirit of Jing Ke and Zuan Zhu from days of old. He’s prepared to risk his life for this prince…” With that thought, Wu Sangui stood up and took the initiative to serve Feng Xifan some food. “Master Feng… try this camel hump… this is donkey lip… and this flying dragon bird… Eat plenty… Fill your belly so you’ll be ready for the journey…” “Cough, cough, cough…” Lu Renjia, severely choked by Wu Sangui’s words, coughed violently, spraying a mouthful of minced meat all over Wu Yingxiong’s face. Wu Yingxiong shot Wu Sangui a resentful glance and complained, “Father… Could you say something more auspicious? Master is incredibly powerful; even if he goes head-to-head with Ao Bai, he still has a fifty percent chance of winning… We should be telling Master to eat more—if he doesn’t eat now, he might not get another chance later…” Watching this pair of idiots, Lu Renjia could only sigh—Wu Yingxiong really wasn’t the son of Old Wang next door. After they’d eaten and drunk their fill, Wu Sangui—the Prince of Pingxi—proved to be a true friend. He had everything perfectly arranged for Feng Xifan: 100,000 taels in silver notes, a thousand-li horse, and even travel permits and other necessary documents. Fortunately, Lu Renjia had inherited Feng Xifan’s memories; otherwise, the moment he mounted the horse, his true identity would have been exposed. He cracked the whip and galloped off with a roar, and Feng Xifan’s resounding voice carried on the wind: “Your Highness… just wait for Feng’s report of victory…” “What a true warrior…” Wu Yingxiong and Wu Sangui, father and son, were deeply moved. Although he had inherited Feng Xifan’s memories, Lu Renjia still couldn’t control this unfamiliar body with ease. The result of galloping wildly the whole way was, naturally, a sore behind from the jolt. “Damn… and they call this a ‘thousand-li horse’? With shock absorption this bad, a motorcycle would be more reliable…” Lu Renjia grumbled. The countdown displayed by the “Evil God System” that had appeared in his mind continued to tick away. As time ticked by second by second, Lu Renjia dared not waste a single moment. After racing for a full day and night and leaving the borders of Yunnan, Lu Renjia had no choice but to stop in front of a desolate, dilapidated temple. After all, even a motorcycle needs to be charged, right? Watching this “thousand-mile horse” idly munching on wild grass by the roadside as if no one were there, Lu Renjia was happy to take a breather. He sat on the stone steps at the temple gate and began eating his rations. Meanwhile, the six “Liuhe Children,” dressed like the Beijing Olympic Mascots, stood dumbly on either side of Lu Renjia, looking like string puppets. Seeing the “Six Harmonies Boys’” outfits, Lu Renjia couldn’t help but complain, “They’re dressed just like Nezha, and each one’s carrying a hula hoop… This is way too out there. No way… When we pass a clothing store later, I’ll definitely have to get them all changed into something more normal…” The reason he’d brought these six Fuwa-like figures along was, on the one hand, to avoid arousing the suspicion of Wu Sangui and his son; on the other hand, Lu Renjia—having inherited Feng Xifan’s memories—knew that the “Six Harmonies Boys” were creatures Feng Xifan, the original owner of this body, had spent fifteen years crafting from a fragmentary ancient text titled *Combating Demonic Puppets*. These “Liuhe Tongzi,” born of the same mother, had their bodies tempered with various poisons by Feng Xifan from a young age. Although this diminished their intelligence, it endowed them with bodies as tough as bronze and iron; even the pain-sensing nerves in their bodies had been almost entirely eradicated by the corrosive effects of the various poisons. Refined through such an incredibly vicious method, the “Liuhe Tongzi” could no longer be considered human. Therefore, bringing the “Liuhe Tongzi” along not only meant he didn’t have to worry about these six betraying him, but also provided him with six fearless, pain-insensitive, formidable enforcers. Although he was a graduate of a third-rate vocational college, what young man in China doesn’t harbor a dream of becoming a martial arts hero? Suddenly finding himself among the most powerful figures in the world of Jin Yong’s *The Deer and the Cauldron*, even though Feng Xifan was the kind of man who would sell out everything for wealth and glory, Lu Renjia still felt a faint sense of excitement. Having trained in martial arts for forty years, his body had mastered various techniques to the point where they came as naturally as instinct. Based on Feng Xifan’s memories, Lu Renjia knew that in the world of the film adaptation of *The Deer and the Cauldron*, Feng Xifan did not wield a long sword, but rather two pudao, each weighing thirty jin, and his “Eight Desolations and Six Heavens Sword Technique” was exceptionally fierce. As for his internal cultivation technique, it was the self-created “Liuhe Divine Art.” As for why he created it himself, it was simply because, in Feng Xifan’s memory, his master had passed down his prized martial art, the “Blood-Coagulating Divine Claw,” to Chen Jinnan, but not to him, the senior disciple. Thus, Feng Xifan, filled with resentment, left the mountain and created the “Liuhe Divine Art” and the “Eight Desolations and Six Harmonies Sword Technique” on his own. Upon seeing Chen Jinnan pledge allegiance to Zheng Jing, Feng Xifan—who had long resented his master for passing on his prized martial art to Chen Jinnan—joined the ranks of Prince Pingxi, Wu Sangui, subtly signaling his intent to challenge Chen Jinnan. Fortunately, as far as he could recall, although Feng Xifan had been expelled from the sect due to his jealousy of Chen Jinnan, Chen Jinnan had not gone so far as to kill him, so their relationship had not yet completely broken down. “Thankfully, I haven’t completely severed ties with Chen Jinnan; otherwise, the plan to assassinate Ao Bai would be much more difficult…” Lu Renjia thought to himself. Setting down the rations in his hand, Lu Renjia slowly rose to his feet and gripped the two pudao, each weighing thirty jin. A sense of momentum—as if charging through an army of ten thousand to strike down a general’s head—arose within him. The *Eight Desolations and Six Heavens Sword Technique*, created by Feng Xifan, drew its name from the concept of “I alone am supreme in the Eight Desolations and Six Heavens.” The entire set of sword techniques consisted of only eight moves, each with six variations, totaling forty-eight forms. Incredibly, not a single move in the *Eight Desolations and Six Heavens Sword Technique* was defensive; every single one was a lethal strike designed to kill with a single blow. “Battling the Demon Hero in the Wild Mountains and Wilderness…” A deep, resonant voice called out the name of the first move of the *Eight Desolations and Six Heavens Sword Technique*. Two pudao blades, resembling the horns of a gazelle, swept out in two arcs. A force fifty times greater than that of an ordinary person erupted instantly, and the practitioner—a mid-tier first-class martial artist—released two crescent-shaped blade auras from his profound inner energy. Ten meters away, a withered tree as thick as a thigh was reduced to dust under the onslaught of the fierce blade energy. Seeing that his strike possessed such immense power, an exhilarated Lu Renjia could no longer hold back. Feng Xifan had devoted twenty years to perfecting this self-created “Eight Desolations and Six Heavens Sword Technique,” and every move had become a natural reflex of his body. “Surrounded on All Sides, Yet I Reign Supreme”—the second move was even more ferocious. He wielded the two pudao in his hands with such mastery that not even the wind could penetrate nor water dampen them, as wave after wave of biting gale-force winds scattered in all directions like indiscriminate strikes, leaving furrows two chi deep in the ground. “To kill, one need only touch the ground with one’s head!” “Whether as a marquis or a chancellor, I reign supreme!” “When I cleave the heavens and earth, Mount Tai shifts!” “Sever the sun and moon, and the sea will flow backward!” “With a blade in hand, what have I to fear?” “Two icy blades—who dares challenge them!” As the “Eight Wastes and Six Heavens Sword Technique” was unleashed in its entirety, the weed-choked ground looked as if it had been plowed by an ox; even the stone pillars at the temple gate were cleaved in two by the fierce sword energy. After all, the owner of this body, Feng Xifan, was a mid-tier martial artist of the first rank, possessing strength fifty times that of an ordinary person and speed forty-five times greater. Watching his astonishing destructive power, Lu Renjia was ecstatic. “I’ve hit the jackpot… Damn it! Once I take out Ao Bai, I’ll gain fifty percent of Feng Xifan’s power… Hahahaha, once I have fifty percent of Feng Xifan’s power, who in the real world will be my match? Hmph! By then, I’ll just carry two kitchen knives whenever I go out—anyone who doesn’t agree, step forward!!!” His frenzied roar echoed across the wilderness. Fortunately, the “Liuhe Tongzi” had long since been reduced by Feng Xifan to an unconscious puppet. Otherwise, witnessing Feng Xifan’s current state of madness, anyone would likely assume this martial arts master had completely lost his mind. As the saying goes, “Either you explode in silence, or you perish in silence.” In the real world, Lu Renjia was nothing more than a small fry among the vast army of the unemployed. In the capital city, where employment pressure was staggering, he was a tiny, insignificant outsider whom anyone could bully. But with the help of that baffling “Evil God System,” Lu Renjia—through soul-travel—had somehow found himself in the world of the film adaptation of *The Deer and the Cauldron*. Feng Xifan was, after all, the foremost martial artist under the command of Wu Sangui, the Prince of Pingxi. Having briefly tasted the feeling of being revered, Lu Renjia could no longer let go of it. Just then, the cold voice of the “Evil God System” suddenly echoed in Lu Renjia’s mind. “Congratulations, Qualified One, on your spiritual advancement. You have received one mysterious gift package. May the Qualified One, Lu Renjia, continue to excel on the path of evil.” A white gift box popped up in the “Evil God System” dialog box, which featured a white skull emblem. Seeing the “Evil God System” interface again, Lu Renjia couldn’t help but feel incredibly excited. When he noticed that the options below the dialog box—“My Friends,” “Guild,” “Lifestyle Services,” “Trading Platform,” and “Space Wallet”—were still grayed out, he thought to himself, “Could it be that someone else has obtained the ‘Evil God System’ just like me? Never mind—I’ll just check what goodies are in the beginner’s gift pack first…” Eager to find out, he clicked open the beginner’s gift pack, and the four golden characters “Talk Out of Turn” shone brightly. Below them was a description. “The deceptive skill ‘Talk Out of Turn’ allows the target to firmly believe whatever you say. Usable three times; effective only within this micro-world. Duration: 99 days.” Upon reading this description, Lu Renjia let out three wild laughs. “Hahahaha… This is like a dream come true! I was actually worried about how to gain Chen Jinnan’s trust, but now that I have the ‘Bluster’ skill, forget Chen Jinnan—I could even get the Holy Maiden of the Divine Dragon Sect to help me… Hahahaha… Aobai! Congratulations on being lucky enough to become my first stepping stone!!!” Unbeknownst to him, under the influence of the “Evil God System,” Lu Renjia—who had been a virtuous man for a hundred lifetimes—was quietly transforming. As the saying goes, great virtue can be great evil; when a kind person commits evil, they are often more terrifying than a villain.