The King of Curses

Chapter 34 Early Preparation
What level is Cen Dongsheng at now?

After all, he is an experienced reborn person. Even if he has not eaten pork in the past, he has seen pigs run. Therefore, unlike the current mainstream curse masters who are confused about their future destiny, he has a deep understanding of his own strength and a clear idea of ​​"how to become stronger".

According to the mainstream standard of judging based on the amount of true energy, he is probably a little stronger than the average B-grade spell-forbidden master, but only to a limited extent...

Don't get me wrong, "Tiger Demon Cloak" is certainly comparable to or even exceeds the level of general first-class curses, but strictly speaking, only those who have reached the "master" level - that is, those who have mastered the triple supernatural powers, can be considered a first-class curse master. Before that, they can only be regarded as reserves.

Therefore, taking the "Grade B" level as an example, there are actually two situations: one is the master of spells who has fully mastered the Grade B spells, and the other is the master of spells who has not fully mastered the Grade A spells.

As for who is stronger, it is difficult to say. It is generally believed that the latter has a greater chance of winning, but there is no overwhelming advantage.

Each level is measured by this standard. However, there will be an exception to this rule in one case.

That is a life ban.

"Some people have to work very hard to achieve breakthroughs, while others don't need to work hard at all..."

He sighed slightly.

It's impossible to say that I'm not envious. A master with a life ban is a master. He is indeed a born superior person among the group of curse masters. He can unlock the full version directly after awakening.

Take Sister Zhizhen as an example. She was born with a special life ban and can now be called a genuine "special curse master".

Compared with her future "Ancestor", the only difference between An Zhizhen's current skills and proficiency in "Tiankui Quanshou" is the amount of true Qi and proficiency - this gap may be huge depending on the individual, but she can fully use the terrifying power of "Tiankui Quanshou" to manipulate people's hearts without having to improve her "character" to unlock supernatural powers.

The so-called life ban is said to be a special curse, but it is more like an innate talent. Therefore, it does not need to be practiced step by step, but it is a natural process that will be mastered slowly as the owner uses it.

In fact, it was the same for Cen Dongsheng. His heavy life ban was activated immediately under the drive of instinct the moment he truly became aware of it. Before that, he had never had the opportunity to practice or cultivate it.

In addition, in the general classification of "A, B, C, and D", life bans are superior to curse bans in terms of hard power. For example, among the same A-level curse ban masters, those who master life bans are stronger than ordinary curse ban masters.

But once it rises to special grade, the situation will become different.

The curses that are rated as "special" are all forbidden forces that transcend the boundaries of history and reality, and they can disrupt the rules and natural destiny of all things.

Since both of them claim to have unreasonable and exaggerated strength, who will win and who will lose can only be known after they have met.

Therefore, Cen Dongsheng, who possesses the special forbidden seed, is indeed qualified to resist the control of "Tiankui Quanshou"; if it is the complete version, he can even confront it head-on.

The premise is that at that time, Sister Zhizhen was just a "special curse master"...

"Sister Zhizhen said that she hopes my dream is to become the strongest in the world, but as far as I can see in the future, the biggest obstacle on this road is actually herself."

Cen Dongsheng thought.

Reach the top of the world, the best person.

The so-called "ancestor" is a person who has mastered a number of special curses and forbidden spells, and who, relying on these unreasonable powers, breaks the unreasonable shackles of heaven, completely abandons "fate" and "fate", and becomes unreasonable from then on.

That concept was too transcendental and too far away for Cen Dongsheng.

"Let's not think about these things for now and focus on the present."

In short, if he wants to continue to become stronger, there are two paths in front of him:

Master the second and even third abilities of the Tiger Demon Power as soon as possible, reach the level of mastery, and become a true first-class curse master, which requires him to challenge more powerful ghosts;
Then, he had to gather the power of the three demons and obtain the complete version of the special curse... This depended more on luck. After all, the senior whose opportunity he had snatched away must have also wanted to realize his ambitions, but the other party had not been able to do so until his rebirth.

Cen Dongsheng knew roughly what the "devil" was, but precisely because he knew it, he found it difficult to deal with.

"Ghosts" is a general term. The supernatural threats that the masters of the law have to face are not only "ghosts" that people turn into after death, but also "monsters", that is, "weird and bizarre things"——

Some monsters have nothing to do with humans and are born naturally.

"Demon" is a kind of "monster", but this concept is also very unclear. Some demons are the fallen humans who were curse-casters, some demons are imagined by a group of people, fictional creatures born out of worship, belief, or even fear; sometimes, it is closer to the gods worshipped by the rural people.

These things are not easy to find and require the intelligence support of a large organization to discover them.

Fortunately, he has someone he can trust and rely on.

……

After leaving the community, Cen Dongsheng received a call from Sister Zhizhen, and he picked up the call immediately.

"Hey, Dongsheng, how are you? I hope I didn't disturb you."

"Yeah, the commission was just completed. It was a small fish."

"It's not a matter of strength. With your strength, Dongsheng, you can definitely easily deal with a ghost of that level. But, isn't the client a young girl? I even found her photo..."

"Really? Do you really care about this kind of thing?"

Cen Dongsheng thought it was funny at first, but felt horrified when he heard the second half of the sentence.

"Of course I was just joking. I really have no sense of humour."

He seemed to be able to imagine Sister Zhizhen on the other end of the phone puffing up her cheeks.

"Don't you think girls who are jealous of you are cute?"

"Maybe, but some people might find it troublesome. By the way, what you did just now wasn't troublesome, it was just neurosis."

"Oh, that's so rude!" Sister Zhizhen said, but she couldn't help laughing.

After the two chatted for a while, the other party brought up the serious matter: she invited Cen Dongsheng to visit a molecular neuroscience laboratory.

"The laboratory? Is it under your name, Sister Zhizhen?"

"Yes. Although not in name, at this stage, I don't want to be too conspicuous in the eyes of those who have ulterior motives, but I have 100% control over that place."

Cen Dongsheng was not surprised.

Since a few weeks ago, after Sister Zhizhen personally revealed to him that she was the mastermind behind the Tianxia Forum, she has shown him, as her "partner", several projects that were either in the preparation stage or had already yielded results.

Cen Dongsheng could see that some things... had probably been prepared before An Zhizhen awakened "Tiankui Quanshou", otherwise the efficiency would not be so exaggerated.

At that time, Sister Zhizhen certainly didn't know that one day she would gain the terrifying ability that was like cheating, but this did not prevent her from investing time and energy in an illusory dream that she didn't know when would come true.

Some things may really be destined -

Cen Dongsheng's initial reaction was shock. He didn't expect An Zhizhen had already prepared so much behind the scenes. In the end, he became a little numb.

"How about going for a visit?"

"Of course." He said, "I am still very concerned about what Sister Zhizhen is busy with and what she is passionate about."

He wasn't actually that interested, but after all, it was An Zhizhen who wanted to share it with him, and he had no reason to refuse.

"Then please look forward to it. Some things will surprise you. With your vision, Dongsheng, you will definitely be able to see the value in them."

An Zhizhen on the other end of the phone sounded very happy.

"When the time comes, I'll ask Yinlian to pick you up."

Yinlian... is that Kong Yinlian, a ghost fairy-type curse master who can use a variety of witchcraft.

Speaking of which, when he first saw Kong Yinlian, he felt that she looked a little familiar, but he could not remember who she was.

It was not until recently, after seeing her several times around An Zhizhen, that he realized:

The female curse master surnamed Kong was a member of the Secretariat of the Governing Bureau. Although he had never met her because of his low rank, he often met her at the door of the head office of the Exorcism Department, and sometimes she would come to convey the highest order from the director himself.

However, her future self will look slightly different from her present self. I heard that she will wrap herself in black gauze from face to neck, and dress like she is attending a funeral all day long. And it seems that because of the huge scar on her throat, she relies on mechanical devices to speak.

It sounds very unique. So when he first saw her in person, it was hard for Cen Dongsheng to associate that person with her.

Since the day of the showdown, she had been manipulated by Sister Zhizhen and became a loyal follower. An Zhizhen even explained this to him specifically.

Cen Dongsheng didn't care.

Since she has been obedient, she is not an enemy. In his opinion, Kong Yinlian is indeed a suitable object, and her future identity also proves this.

only……

"I think you did the right thing. For you, it's best if the person you bring with you is a woman," he said at the time.

And An Zhizhen's reaction to this was——

"Is Dongsheng jealous? So cute~"

Cen Dongsheng felt helpless about this, he was obviously very serious.

An Zhizhen's natural beauty and the "side effects" of the "Tian Kui Quan Shou" ability complement each other, making the charm she exudes dangerous and charming, as if it can corrupt people's hearts. Cen Dongsheng himself has a deep understanding of this.

Even if she has the power to manipulate people's hearts and is not afraid of betrayal, the risk in this regard is as low as possible. If you are a female and your sexual orientation is heterosexual, you don't have to worry too much about this issue.

"Okay, no problem, I'll agree."

But no matter how he explained, this woman just wanted to understand it in a strange way...

All in all, since Sister Zhizhen often sent her to do work, he and Kong Yinlian were half-acquaintances.

"I thought you would change to another follower."

Cen Dongsheng said.

"The first forum member gathering of 'Youshan Ghost Story' was a great success, wasn't it? There should be quite a few suitable subordinates."

"I can't help it. I'm a nostalgic person. Besides, although her abilities are not that strong, they are very comprehensive. She used to be a mercenary and has a lot of connections in the circle. She's smart and doesn't talk too much... It's really easy to use her."

"I see. Thank you for your hard work."

"Haha, I think she must like me as her boss very much, right? After all, I was the one who helped her improve her abilities."

That’s hard to say, Cen Dongsheng thought.

"Then, tell me what you asked me to do."

Upon hearing this, Cen Dongsheng immediately became alert.

"Is there any harvest so soon?"

"Harvest...it depends on your idea, Dongsheng."

An Zhizhen smiled happily.

"What you hope most is to find the whereabouts of the 'demon', right?"

"Yes. There is knowledge about 'demons'..."

"I know, thank you for sharing. I have to say, this is a supernatural existence that is more bizarre than a 'ghost', and it has aroused my strong curiosity."

"They are harder to find than regular ghosts."

“But it’s not without trace.”

An Zhizhen analyzed.

"If ghosts exist in paranormal stories on forums, victims' calls for help and posts, then the existence of 'demons' is more secretive and long-lasting. We need to look for those rural legends passed down by word of mouth. Their existence may be hidden in the weird rumors that have been circulating in a certain place for decades."

That's right. Cen Dongsheng thought that investigators who were specifically responsible for tracking down the whereabouts of the "devil" often had to go to the local area in person, read historical archives, early newspapers and local chronicles, visit local elders, interview and record, and look for clues in piles of old papers and nursery rhymes.

It's a bit like sociological field research, which involves a certain amount of luck.

It's not surprising that Sister Zhizhen could think of this, after all, it's her. But anyway...

“It takes time and manpower,” he said.

"I know. I have already arranged it. In the future, we may set up a special group or organization to be responsible for the investigation. I am very interested in the existence of the 'devil', so please rest assured."

Then, An Zhizhen changed the subject.

"However, although there is no clue about the whereabouts of the 'demon' for the time being, 'ghosts' are still quite common. They have become more and more serious recently. Just as you said, Dongsheng, this world is about to undergo earth-shaking changes... Now is the night before the great changes."

"Any goal?"

"Well, there's a little problem."

Cen Dongsheng had just asked casually, but he didn't expect to hear this answer. His expression became serious.

"Is there a 'haunted house'? Right in the city?"

"It's suspected to be a haunted house, and it happened in a school in the city center. After the news was exposed, the forum was in an uproar. It is one of the topics that the curse masters are concerned about recently."

she says.

"Besides, it happened in Tianhai City. Many people think that if this incident becomes too serious, it might be impossible to conceal it."

Is it really serious to this extent?

Cen Dongsheng frowned. In his memory, no major event that could cause panic and sensation among ordinary people had ever happened in Tianhai City in this era... at least not until the end of this year.

Was it solved and then concealed afterwards? Or was it some kind of change that I didn't understand?

"I'll check the forum later."

"I have more detailed first-hand intelligence. Let's talk about it tonight."

"night?"

"Yes. Ah, Dongsheng, I told you the day before yesterday that I would come to your house tonight. You didn't forget, did you?"

The woman opposite her began to sound resentful.

A drop of sweat immediately dripped down Cen Dongsheng's forehead.

"Of course not! Uh, I remember it clearly, I prepared it all tonight! In fact, I'm quite good at cooking."

"Oh, no need to be so formal. Given our relationship, there's no need to prepare anything. But I didn't expect to be able to taste Dongsheng's cooking. It's really exciting."

Trust your ghost.

Cen Dongsheng listened to Sister Zhizhen's voice suddenly become high-spirited, and couldn't help but sigh secretly, thinking that he might not have time to practice after returning later...

You really need to prepare well.

(End of this chapter)