[As your protector, Lu Zhong is loyal to both his family and you. Since he promised to keep it a secret, he shouldn't leak it.]
[You instructed Lu Zhong to thoroughly destroy the "mastermind's" body to prevent any accidents, and then questioned him about the protagonist of the Destiny, Ye Chen.]
[After dealing with the "mastermind," you also remembered the Destiny's chosen one who was being hunted down at the beginning.]
[Hearing your question, Lu Zhong looked somewhat ashamed, explaining that Ye Chen had many hidden secrets and was capable of unleashing many powerful trump cards. He hadn't been able to decapitate him, only severing one of his arms and managing to steal some items.]
[Lu Zhong took out Ye Chen's severed arm and a blood-soaked storage bag from his storage ring.]
[You raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised. On one hand, you were surprised that Lu Zhong had managed to leave Ye Chen's hand behind and even steal a storage bag. On the other hand, the fact that Ye Chen, only at the fourth level of divine abilities, could escape from Lu Zhong, a seventh-level saint, showed just how terrifying the "old man" on his body was.]
[You took Ye Chen's severed arm, and after thinking for a moment, decided not to destroy it, but instead placed it in your storage ring. This world is full of strange and mysterious techniques, and even curses. This severed arm will surely be of great use in the future.]
[You opened the blood-soaked storage bag and found numerous cultivation pills and rare spiritual materials inside, clearly one of the opportunities Ye Chen had collected over the years. In a corner of the bag was an ancient black token, depicting a ferocious beast with a single horn and a hideous face.]
[You examined the beast token for a long time, unable to discern its origin, but knowing it was collected by Ye Chen, the protagonist of destiny, it must be extraordinary. You put it away, intending to have the Lu family investigate.]
[Those cultivation resources came at just the right time, perfect for your use. You had Lu Zhong drive you away, returning to a private villa in the heart of Shanghai to recuperate and prepare to cultivate intensively to gain greater strength.]
[...]
[You entered the secret room inside the villa, leaving Lu Zhong to guard outside. You began consuming pills, preparing to cultivate. You pondered for a while, looking at the [Primordial Dragon Elephant Scripture] and the [Thousand Shadows Demon Art], ultimately choosing to cultivate the [Thousand Shadows Demon Art], this eerie demonic art, first.]
"This time, the villain simulator version of me is rather cautious. I don't even fully trust the Lu family, and I haven't directly demanded martial arts techniques from them."
"Is it because you suspect there's someone behind it all within the Lu family, or perhaps you don't want to leave too many traces?"
Lu Qian was somewhat surprised, instantly guessing the thought.
That's right, he'd only been in Shanghai for half a month before being ambushed.
Being cautious is normal.
The [Primordial Dragon Elephant Scripture], a Celestial-level technique, leans towards physical defense, lacking corresponding combat skills and escape techniques.
Unless one condenses the corresponding "divine power" when breaking through to the fourth realm of divine abilities.
Right now, he's like a warrior with a huge health bar but no skills.
His only remaining ability is the blue talent "Get Out of There," which serves as his survival skill.
The [Thousand Shadows Demon Art], a bizarre and evil demonic art, allows for endless transformations, enabling the user to become a demonic shadow and change their appearance, thus compensating for some of their weaknesses.
Furthermore, the previous "mastermind" was only at the sixth level of the Transcendent Realm, yet they nearly escaped from Lu Zhong's grasp using the [Thousand Shadows Demon Art], demonstrating its terrifying life-saving capabilities.
Lu Qian strongly suspected that if his protector, Lu Zhong, hadn't been hiding on the ground and suddenly unleashed a powerful attack, catching the opponent off guard and severely injuring them, they might not have been able to capture them.
If one could master it, coupled with the blue talent [Slippery Foot], it might have a chance to rival a certain Celestial Venerable known for his escape skills.
[Based on certain considerations, you chose the [Thousand Shadows Demon Art]. You discovered that this evil demonic art possesses terrifying potential, seemingly created by a demonic overlord above the Celestial Realm. It contains various evil and mysterious techniques, but only the first half is available, at most reaching the Celestial Realm. The latter half has been torn away.]
[You begin to study the enlarged copy of the book written by Lu Zhongshu in your hand, but soon you frown, realizing you can't understand it at all. The cultivation text is a mixture of ancient demonic and divine scripts.]
[Soon, an hour passes, and you still have no clue, becoming increasingly anxious. Your brow is almost knitted into a knot. Suddenly, a calm, cool aura surges from your spine, spreading to your mind. You feel drowsy and begin to drift into a special state.]
[In your vision, the characters on the [Thousand Shadow Demon Art] in your hand begin to transform into tadpoles, floating and swimming, frantically surging into your brow's divine palace.]
[You have successfully cultivated the [Thousand Shadow Demon Art], and incredibly quickly at that, instantly entering the first level and gaining the ability of "Demonic Shadow Clone."]
[...]
"Is it the [Supreme Emperor Bone] that's working?!"
Lu Qian's pupils contracted; he hadn't expected the mysterious "Supreme Emperor Bone" to possess such miraculous effects.
It could actually ignore the threshold of cultivation techniques, forcibly achieving success and quickly mastering the basics.
It was simply terrifying.
Furthermore, it also possessed the ability to accelerate cultivation.
This was far more powerful than those so-called "golden fingers" (cheat codes).
[On Day One, you have reached the peak of the first level of the [Thousand Shadow Demon Art], capable of condensing nine "Demonic Shadow Clones," possessing one-tenth of the main body's combat power.]
[You felt a sudden emptiness; a "hunger" began to emanate from the "Supreme Emperor Bone" within your body. Unconsciously, you took out Ye Chen's storage bag, retrieved bottles of pills and rare herbs, and stuffed them into your mouth...]
[Such a terrifying dosage would be too much even for those at the Mountain and River Realm or the Transcendent Realm, who would dare to take it lightly for fear of exploding and dying. But the "Supreme Emperor Bone" within you unleashed a terrifying devouring power, absorbing all the energy...]
[Your cultivation speed of the [Thousand Shadow Demon Art] began to skyrocket...]
[....]
[The next day, you broke through to the second level of the [Thousand Shadow Demon Art], gaining a new ability: shadow manipulation. You can control your own shadow to immobilize a target.]
[....]
[On the third day, you broke through the third level of the [Thousand Shadows Demon Art], gaining a new ability: Body Shadow Transformation, allowing you to briefly transform your body into a shadow.]
[...]
[On the fourth day, you broke through the fourth level of the [Thousand Shadows Demon Art], condensing the demonic divine power: "Shadow Mimicry." When you come into contact with a target's shadow, you can transform into its appearance, and your aura will also become identical.]
[...]
"Absorbing special energy, increasing the level of your technique... Are you sure you're called [Supreme Emperor Bone], and not [Deep Blue]?"
Lu Qian stared at the scenes unfolding in the [Villain Simulator] with an absurd expression.
Good heavens, even a rocket wouldn't be this fast!
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