Mastery of Dark Arts Achieved, I'll Help You Escape if Trouble Comes

The humanoid evil spirit seemed momentarily stunned by the radiant light and imposing aura.

But soon, it let out a series of eerie, grating laughs from its throat—sharp and piercing, as if trying to tear through eardrums.

Not only did it not retreat, but its figure flickered, enveloped in a foul black wind, as it lunged fiercely toward Xu Tun.

Its withered, claw-like hands gleamed with a cold, sinister light mid-air, aiming straight for Xu Tun’s throat with a vicious strike, intent on delivering a fatal blow.

"Seeking death!"

Xu Tun’s eyes narrowed as he let out a low growl before throwing a punch.

BOOM!!

Blazing Sun Fist!

"Kreee!!"

With a shrill scream, the humanoid evil spirit swiftly dissipated into black smoke, vanishing into the air.

Xu Tun flexed his fist, a trace of regret flashing in his eyes.

What a pity.

The complete Devouring Spirit Art could consume anything—even evil spirits.

But he only had the first half of the manual. Only by obtaining the second half and merging the two could it become the true Devouring Spirit Art!

In his past life, Xu Tun had naturally disdained such methods.

But now…

In this life, for the sake of revenge, he had to accelerate his cultivation.

So he had no choice but to resort to methods he once scorned.

Though, it was almost laughable.

The Devouring Spirit Art was nothing more than a twisted, demonic technique concocted by a minor sect in the Ancient Cang Realm.

Yet, after some research, he discovered that according to records from the Profound Heaven Realm cultivators online, countless so-called inheritors of the Devouring Spirit Demonic Art had appeared since their realm’s inception.

Most likely, like him, they only possessed half of the manual.

Ah…

Who knew where the other half was?

But…

Xu Tun’s gaze sharpened—this served as a reminder. If another inheritor of the demonic art appeared,

he would have to track them down, seize their manual, and see if it was the missing half he needed!

Though right now… he was broke. What if his strength wasn’t enough?

As he pondered—

"Th-thank you, handsome…"

A woman with tear-filled eyes looked up, her voice choked with sobs. "I’m Tao Tao, the eldest daughter of the Tao Family in Cloud Sky City."

"Come home with me. I’ll have my father reward you properly."

"I’ll give you as much money as you want."

Xu Tun froze.

Huh?

Just like that… it’s settled?

......

......

Meanwhile.

In the Scripture Pavilion.

Qin Luo watched Su Muwan, who was lazily sprawled across the desk, yawning. Clearing his throat, he said, "Young Mistress."

"At this point, we’ve already mastered the Bone-Corroding Yin Malice Art, the Bloodshadow Soul-Devouring Curse, the Phantom Demon Dream Technique, the Ghostflame Skyburning Art, the Siren’s Allure, the Corpse Puppetry Method, the Ghoul…"

After listing off dozens of demonic arts—any one of which would spark a frenzy if leaked outside—

Qin Luo finally shook his head in amazement.

Tsk tsk.

Unbelievable. Truly unbelievable.

How much time had even passed?

Qin Luo had genuinely witnessed what it meant to be a martial prodigy.

Any technique, no matter how complex, was mastered with just a glance.

What others might struggle to even comprehend, Su Muwan treated as simple as 1+1.

Just how monstrous was her comprehension?

Su Muwan stretched lazily, yawning. "Haaaaaa~~~~"

"Qin Luo, this is so boring. So, so boring."

"Studying is the worst."

"When can we go back?"

Qin Luo chuckled, scanning the Scripture Pavilion once more before replying, "Soon, Young Mistress. Only the forbidden arts section on the third floor remains."

"Once we’re done there, we’ll head back."

With that, Qin Luo used his shadow abilities to dart up to the third floor.

Unlike the first and second floors, however,

the third floor had only a single black box placed at its center.

Puzzled, Qin Luo opened the box, revealing a fragmented manual inside.

He picked it up and skimmed through it.

"Devouring… Demonic Art?"

Huh?

The Devouring Demonic Art?

Qin Luo blinked.

Wasn’t this the Devouring Demonic Art?

Why was it here?

Could it be…

Someone from the Supreme Profound Demon Sect had once been an inheritor too?

As expected of the sacred land for demonic cultivators.

But this was only half of it—clearly unusable as-is.

Well, might as well take it for now.

A moment later,

shadows swirled as Qin Luo returned to Su Muwan’s side.

Looking at the adorable young mistress, he couldn’t resist pinching her plump cheek. "Let’s go, Young Mistress."

"Hm?"

Su Muwan lifted her head, blinking. "Weren’t we supposed to study the forbidden arts on the third floor?"

"Can’t."

Qin Luo helplessly pulled out the fragmented manual. "Good news—it’s the Devouring Demonic Art."

"Bad news—it’s incomplete."

Hearing this, Su Muwan’s interest was piqued. She eagerly snatched it. "Let me see."

One second. Two seconds. Three seconds.

Su Muwan narrowed her eyes. "Hmm. It is a bit tricky."

"Right?"

Qin Luo reached to take it back. "Let’s go, Young Mistress. We’ve learned enough as it is."

"Hey, who said it was enough?"

Su Muwan grabbed Qin Luo’s hand, huffing. "This young mistress isn’t someone who gives up halfway."

"How would I know if I don’t try?"

Qin Luo was taken aback. "You’re not planning to…"

"Exactly."

Su Muwan hopped off the desk, flipping open the fragmented manual. "This young mistress is going to deduce the first half herself!"

"So!"

She turned to Qin Luo, batting her eyes. "Qin Luo, go home and grab me a bag of chips. I think better when I’m snacking."

Qin Luo smiled. "Understood, Young Mistress. But don’t push yourself too hard."

"Hmph! As if a mere Qin Luo gets to tell me what to do! The Devouring Demonic Art? Please. It’s not like I’ve never seen it in my past life."

"Now hurry up and fetch those chips—and feed them to me!"

"As you wish, Young Mistress."

......

......

Time passed.

"Crunch~ crunch~"

Su Muwan stared intently at the fragmented manual, absentmindedly chewing on the chips Qin Luo fed her.

Qin Luo glanced between her and the empty chip bag.

He wanted to tell her to stop straining her mind—

it pained him to see her like this.

But…

seeing her so unusually focused, he couldn’t bring himself to interrupt.

Meanwhile, Su Muwan kept reconstructing the Devouring Demonic Art’s complete framework in her mind.

To her, mastering a technique was like solving a puzzle—find the right pieces, and it would come together.

But…

Something was missing. One crucial piece.

Su Muwan closed her eyes, scattering and reassembling the mental puzzle again and again.

No… What was the core of the Devouring Demonic Art?

"Is it the sequence of devouring… or the nodes of spiritual energy conversion…"

She muttered to herself, her thoughts lost in a fog.

Then, a spark of inspiration struck.

She recalled an ancient breathing technique she’d once encountered—one with an incredibly precise rhythm for absorbing external spiritual energy.

"Could it be… that the Devouring Demonic Art also requires a specific rhythm when absorbing energy?"

Su Muwan’s eyes snapped open, alight with excitement.

Without explaining to Qin Luo, she immediately began simulating the energy flow in her body, following her new hypothesis.

At first, she drew in the sparse spiritual energy around her with extreme slowness, as if coaxed by a gentle breeze. Then, the rhythm abruptly quickened, and the energy surged like a rushing current, converging violently before suddenly pausing—allowing the energy to briefly condense and compress at key meridian points.

This cycle repeated, and with each revolution, Su Muwan could feel something different within herself.

When the final rhythm aligned perfectly, a profound violet radiance shimmered around Su Muwan’s body. The light danced like ethereal flames, coursing wildly through her meridians.

In the next instant, a flash of deep violet flickered in Su Muwan’s eyes—the unmistakable sign that the Devouring Spirit Art had been fully mastered.

With a graceful wave of her hand, a tremendous suction erupted from her palm, as if an invisible maw had opened wide, sweeping outward in all directions.

Boom!

In an instant, the shelves of the scripture pavilion trembled. The pages of the ancient manuals flipped on their own, and then—strands of light tore free from the texts, transforming into pure spiritual energy that surged toward Su Muwan like a raging tide.

The techniques that had once held the wisdom and cultivation of generations of demonic sect masters now became nourishment for her.

Dazzling light, obscure runes, and vast spiritual power poured ceaselessly into her body. Her hair whipped wildly, her robes fluttering as if caught in a storm. The pressure radiating from her grew heavier, as unfathomable as an abyss.

As the devouring continued, violent winds howled through the scripture pavilion, toppling shelves and scattering ancient texts. Many could not withstand the turbulent spiritual energy and crumbled into dust, dispersing into the air.

Yet Su Muwan remained unmoved. She tilted her head back, absorbing everything with abandon, her face alight with exhilaration.

With each technique she consumed, the spiritual energy within her grew denser, purer—as if she were undergoing a complete rebirth.

After what felt like an eternity, when the last wisp of energy was drawn into her body, Su Muwan descended lightly to the ground and exhaled a slow, steady breath.

Now, her skin glowed like polished jade, her eyes deep as the endless cosmos. A faint, shimmering aura enveloped her, giving her an otherworldly grace—yet also an intimidating sharpness and dominance that made it hard to meet her gaze.

A smug smile curled at her lips.

"From this day forth, every technique in this world shall be mine to wield."

Then—

She threw herself into Qin Luo’s arms, beaming. "I did it! I told you I could!"

"Qin Luo, did you see?"

Tilting her head up, she grinned at his slightly stunned expression. "I don’t need your protection anymore. In fact, I should be the one protecting you, Qin Luo."

"I’m amazing too, right?"

"So you don’t have to shoulder everything alone. You can rely on me a little, you know."

Hearing her words—her pride, yet also her hopeful expectation for his praise—Qin Luo couldn’t help but laugh.

So that was it.

There was only one reason Su Muwan had pushed herself so hard.

She didn’t want him to leave her behind in his battle against fate...

"Muwan..."

Qin Luo murmured her name as he pulled her into his embrace. "I really, really love you."

Pressed against his chest, Su Muwan’s cheeks flushed. She pursed her lips and gave a soft, defiant hum. "Then I’ll love you even more than you love me."

Then—

"Oh, Luo Luo."

She looked up at him, eyes sparkling with excitement. "I really want to test how strong I am now. Let’s fight!"

Fight?

Qin Luo blinked. They were in the Profound Demon Sect.

Fighting...

A thought seemed to strike him, and his lips curved into a smirk. "Then let’s cause some chaos."

"If things go wrong, I’ll just whisk you away."

"Yay!"