"Bruno needs some training resources," Nell said before leaving. "You can give him some of your current tasks. Let him get used to it."
"No problem," Elena replied.
After Nell left, Bruno asked eagerly, "Elena, what should I do?"
Elena smiled lightly. "I won't be as annoying as Mr. Nell. Here, I'll give you a list. Go get the money back for me."
"What?" Bruno was a bit shocked. "That's it?"
Elena said, "What else? Or do you think it's hard?"
Bruno blinked. Getting money wasn't hard at all. In fact, he thought it was easy.
"You got a problem?" Elena frowned slightly.
Bruno laughed nervously. "No problem."
Elena nodded. "Give me your Sky Messenger. I'll send the list to you in a minute."
"Okay," Bruno handed over his Sky Messenger.
This world had something like a technological revolution, and it was the change in alchemy.
After three transformations, alchemy had turned into a monstrous form, covering areas like machines, biology, and energy.
It was similar to the science world Bruno came from before he transmigrated.
And this Sky Messenger was a kind of phone, like device in alchemy tech, allowing people to communicate with each other.
Elena shook her hair and said, "I'm going to rest. You pervert. See you tomorrow."
She left carelessly, and the room was left with only Bruno.
"What the heck is going on?" Bruno sighed. He felt like he was in a dream now.
From a fallen noble to a disciple in a martial arts school, everything was so new.
Before, under his parents' protection, he had never seen the dark side of Bloom City. Now, this picture was slowly unfolding before him.
The Gaston Martial Arts School he joined was also part of the dark side.
Bruno rubbed his temples and muttered, "What kind of world is this?"
The devil god was treated as a god, and the real god was called a devil. A cult had different branches. Martial arts schools controlled most of the power. The Heavenly Gang didn't seem easy to mess with either.
The young man couldn't figure it out. He shook his head and decided not to think about it anymore. He went home.
Hornes Castle.
"Master," a loyal servant bowed and greeted his master.
Bruno looked at Fabian, whose back was getting more bent. He said gently, "No need to go out and meet me anymore. Can I really get lost in my own manor?"
"Master, this is what I should do," Fabian straightened his chest, his face shining with pride, as if taking care of him was a big honor.
"Whatever you want," Bruno shrugged.
The two walked into the castle. Bruno handed over the communicator, and a list popped up on the screen.
"What is this?" Fabian was shocked. He stared at the small box in Bruno's hands.
Bruno said seriously, "Go get the money from the people on this list. The amounts are all listed."
Fabian's eyes widened. "Where did this come from?"
"It's a task from the martial arts school," Bruno said plainly. "I can take ten percent of the money I get."
"Is there such a good deal?" Fabian was stunned.
In Bloom City, the Gaston Martial Arts School was famous. Just saying the name of the school was enough to make the people on the list pay up.
This wasn't just giving money away?
Bruno asked, "Can you do it?"
"Sure," Fabian stood up straight. "I'll finish the job. Not a single penny will be missing."
As the house manager, Fabian knew exactly what needed to be done. He was the one who did the things the master didn't want to do himself.
Bruno nodded. He had full trust in Fabian's ability.
This was a friend of his father's, someone who was trusted.
He had come back for this reason. Bruno wouldn't waste his time collecting debts. His only job now was to train, get stronger, and figure out what was going on with him.
Training. That was all.
The next day, Bruno arrived at the martial arts school early.
Elena was different today. She was serious instead of her usual rough self. "Mr. Nell is waiting for you," she said.
Bruno's heart jumped. He followed Elena upstairs and into a room.
Nell sat at the head of the table. His eyes shone with power, like a god had come down to earth.
"Mr. Nell," Bruno instinctively dropped to his knees.
Nell said seriously, "Today you've joined The Infernal Cult. Are you not happy about it?"
"No, I'm happy," Bruno said, lowering his head. His heart was shocked. What the hell was The Infernal Cult?
That name sounded really weird.
Was The Divine Sun Sutra the holy book of The Infernal Cult?
What a strange combination.
Nell's face grew even more serious. His voice was filled with power as he said, "Then let the baptism begin."
The baptism was simple.
Elena brought over a basin of water. Nell took a few drops with his hand and sprinkled them on Bruno.
Black smoke came from Bruno's body, but it didn't hurt him at all. Instead, he felt his mind was clearer, like the fog in his head had lifted.
Then Nell started chanting, saying words in an ancient language that Bruno couldn't understand.
"Done," Nell said. His divine light faded, and he smiled.
Elena went back to her usual lively self. She laughed, "Bruno, you're now the youngest disciple in the cult."
Bruno slowly got to his feet and said, "Mr. Nell."
Nell was very pleased. He looked a little sentimental and said, "It's a shame we're not in the original temple. When I have time, I'll take you to Atdo City and do the ceremony again. I'll invite some old guys to be witnesses."
Atdo City was a few hundred kilometers from Bloom City, but Bloom City was a small town, while Atdo City was a medium-sized city.
The Kingdom of Anlaine had only seven medium-sized cities, and Atdo City was one of them.
"The statue of the founder of the cult won't be worshiped now. We'll do it when we get to Atdo City," Nell added, then tapped Bruno's head three times. "Now I'll teach you the classic of the cult, The Divine Sun Sutra."
Boom!
A powerful wave rushed through Bruno's head, like a big river washing over his body.
Bruno instinctively raised his hands to cover his head and body, but when he opened his eyes again, he was in a hellish scene.
But there was something different.
The hellish scene was also beautiful.
Snow mountains, a big sun. The sun shone on the snow, and the mountains looked like gold. Bruno stood at the bottom of the mountain, small like an ant.
"This..." Bruno didn't understand.
Nell explained, "You might be confused. Our meditation technique is called The Ten Thousand Hells, and the name of the cult is The Infernal Cult. But why are we practicing The Divine Sun Sutra?"
That was the young man's question.
"But you should know, our Meditation Technique, The Ten Thousand Hells, doesn't mean we should stay in hell. It means we should look at death and find life. We see the cycle of birth and death, the natural rise and fall. That's why the classic of the cult is like this. We practice the energy of life, but what we see is death."
Nell's voice was low, a little unclear.
Bruno felt it.
The sun became brighter and brighter. The hot light shone down, and his body felt like it was melting. He instinctively wanted to move closer to the mountain, but as soon as he got near, the cold from the mountain almost froze him.
It was a real dilemma.
This beautiful scene brought him despair and pain. When he practiced The Ten Thousand Hells, he felt pain and despair, but it gave him hope for life.
Nell said, "This is what we practice. Meditation Technique observes death, and we understand life. The training method looks at life, and we understand death. When the two are together, you'll understand why birth and death are in a cycle. Watch closely. The first volume of the text is given to you in this divine realm."
So the spiritual illusion is called a divine realm.
Bruno suddenly understood, but he pretended to listen carefully.
As Nell read, Bruno tried to push those old-style words into his mind. He just couldn't understand a thing.
It was too hard.
His intelligence was too low. That's why he couldn't become a Warlock-Warrior without the Book of All Things.
But now he was a genius.
Bruno had to act like he understood everything, like he was completely lost in it.
After Nell finished explaining, he left casually, leaving the new disciple to meditate.
Meditate? What the hell!
Bruno looked bitter. Damn it, this was so hard!
But he had the contract.
Practicing? What the hell!
Contract, activate!