Online Game: Evil Dragon Against The Heaven - 285

Tianri City.

Upon returning to Tianri City, Ye Tian Xie was nearly overwhelmed by the sudden wave of scorching heat, almost turning back on impulse. But remembering the purpose of his visit, he forced himself to endure. After inquiring about the whereabouts of Zuo Po Jun and Murong Qiu Shui, he headed directly toward them.

Their location was a wasteland situated between the northern edge of Tianri City and the ruined site of the Illusory Beast Clan. Due to the climate, the vegetation here had grown unusually lush. At a glance, only Zuo Po Jun and Murong Qiu Shui could be seen, working together to take down massive lizards.

Zuo Po Jun tanked the beasts while Murong Qiu Shui leisurely fired arrows from the rear, never missing a shot. Ever since Zuo Po Jun changed his class to 『Guardian Spirit』, not only had his defense further improved, but his attack had also significantly increased, greatly enhancing their combat efficiency.

Tropical Lizard: Level 20, HP: 940. A type of lizard that thrives in hot environments, agile in movement, and has a certain degree of fire resistance.

Innate Skills: None; Skills: None; Weaknesses: None.

Previously, as an ordinary shield warrior, Zuo Po Jun could only handle one monster at a time, at most two. Any more and he’d be forced to kite. But now, he stood firm with his shield raised, tanking three Tropical Lizards at once while dishing out steady damage. Although his DPS wasn’t as high as Murong Qiu Shui’s, it wasn’t far behind.

Murong Qiu Shui’s eyes were half-closed, his expression looking somewhat pained and highly reluctant. Yet even in such a lazy pose, each of his arrows still landed squarely between the lizards’ eyes, occasionally triggering a knockback effect.

Before long, the three lizards were effortlessly taken down. Ye Tian Xie walked over and asked in confusion, “Don’t you guys find it… unbearably painful to grind in a place like this?”

Training their willpower? Yeah, right.

“Sigh, we had no choice” Murong Qiu Shui said with a face full of grievance as he put down his bow. “Old Third and I explored half of Tianri City. Just when we were about to leave, we got hit with this damned quest. The reward is three attribute points… we really couldn’t resist the temptation. So here we are, killing 999 of these damned giant reptiles…”

“And 999 mantises and 999 baby firebirds..” Zuo Po Jun added. “The quests in Tianri City are generally for high-level players. This is the only one available at level 20. The requirements are a bit of a pain, but the difficulty isn’t too bad.”

“999 lizards, 999 mantises…” Ye Tian Xie was speechless. “Let me help you guys. It’s been a while since I last leveled up anyway.”

The time he spent traveling from Tianchen City to Tianri City, coupled with the days he had been unconscious, had allowed those behind him on the level rankings to catch up significantly. It was indeed time for him to find a suitable place to grind quietly.

“Hey! With Second Brother helping, we probably won’t even need half the time to finish this quest” Zuo Po Jun said excitedly.

“Wrong, it’s one-fifth of the time. Then we can finally leave this damned place.”

Zuo Po Jun: “…”

Ye Tian Xie joined Zuo Po Jun and Murong Qiu Shui’s party. He summoned Destiny’s Hour and casually tossed it at two freshly spawned lizards nearby.

-1092, -1099!

Undoubtedly, instant kill.

Zuo Po Jun’s eyes widened in shock. “Second Brother, it’s only been a few days… Your level hasn’t gone up, but why is your attack so much higher?”

“Mmm, my weapon leveled up” Ye Tian Xie replied casually, then rushed toward the distant Tropical Lizards. Any that entered his vision were instantly slain without resistance. These large lizards could barely struggle before collapsing. Watching as swathes of lizards dropped in seconds, Zuo Po Jun and Murong Qiu Shui could only stare, unable to even get a hit in.

Twenty minutes later…

【Ding… You have successfully defeated 999 Tropical Lizards. 

“Told you, it’d take less than one-fifth the time” Murong Qiu Shui pouted, wagging a finger. What was meant to be a two-hour grind had been shortened to just twenty minutes with Ye Tian Xie’s help.

“Alright, time to go kill those mantises you guys need” Ye Tian Xie said calmly as he walked back.

“The mantises are just over that way.”

The trio changed locations, heading toward the mantis territory. Along the way, Ye Tian Xie’s gaze constantly swept the surroundings, clearly looking out for any sign of 『Red Sheep』 .

“Dear Second Brother, is there a beautiful secret on your mind that you’d like to share with us?” Murong Qiu Shui had long noticed Ye Tian Xie’s distracted demeanor and asked in a careless tone.

Ye Tian Xie didn’t answer immediately. After pondering a moment, he asked, “Po Jun, Qiu Shui, have you heard of the 『Seven Deadly Sins』?”

“『Seven Deadly Sins』?” Zuo Po Jun was clearly caught off guard.

“Pride, envy, wrath, sloth, greed, gluttony, and lust… the seven original sins. All human sins stem from one or more of these” Murong Qiu Shui accurately recited them right after Zuo Po Jun.

“Second Brother, why are you asking this?” Zuo Po Jun inquired.

“I was thinking… if someone were to embody all seven sins, what would they become…”

“They’d become a devil!” Zuo Po Jun cut in immediately.

“A devil?” Ye Tian Xie stopped walking and turned to look at Zuo Po Jun.

“Uh…” Seeing Ye Tian Xie react so strongly, Zuo Po Jun scratched his head awkwardly. “Second Brother, I just blurted it out. If, as Old Fourth said, the Seven Deadly Sins are the roots of all evil, then if someone commits them all, of course they’d become an inhuman devil.”

“Ah… as expected, intelligence and body weight are usually inversely proportional” Murong Qiu Shui glanced up and down at Zuo Po Jun with disdain.

“You damn girly freak! What’s that supposed to mean?!” Zuo Po Jun bristled with anger.

“The Seven Deadly Sins… rather than calling them sins of man, it’s more accurate to call them humanity’s seven forbidden instincts. They reside within every human being. Committing these sins, which coexist with human nature—how can that be called inhuman?” Murong Qiu Shui shook his head slowly.

“Old Fourth, I don’t get what you’re saying. Are you saying everyone commits the Seven Deadly Sins?”

“Isn’t that obvious?”

“…”

“Fine” Murong Qiu Shui sighed and began slowly, “Pride, envy, wrath, sloth, greed, gluttony, and lust… Dear Third Brother, have you ever been proud? As far as I know, your arrogance in front of those useless rich kids is known throughout Jinghua City. If I say you frequently commit the first of the Seven Deadly Sins—pride—do you dare deny it?”

“Uh…” Zuo Po Jun had no rebuttal. In front of those who earned his respect, he lowered himself and tried to align with them. But toward those clearly inferior to him, he always acted arrogantly. The arrogance and temper of the Zuo Family’s eldest son had long been infamous—but then again, he was the eldest son of the Zuo Family. He had the qualifications to be proud.

“Then, dear Third Brother, tell me—since birth until now, have you ever envied anyone? It’s a simple question. Answer me… and please don’t say you haven’t. If you insist that you’ve never envied anyone… tsk tsk, after today, you’ll become the holiest and noblest angel in my heart!”

Zuo Po Jun’s face darkened. He muttered, “Envy… of course I’ve felt it.”

“Very good. Then, dear Third Brother, you’ve committed the second of the Seven Deadly Sins—envy.”

Zuo Po Jun: “…”

“The third sin—wrath. Well, I think I don’t even need to ask. In the beautiful Jinghua City, you could throw a stone and hit someone who’s suffered your wrath—or even a beating. I still vividly remember you glaring with bloodshot eyes, swinging those basin-sized fists and pummeling someone… OH! Truly sinful. This is the third sin you often commit—wrath.”

“…” Zuo Po Jun was speechless. Though he acted like a gentle giant around Ye Tian Xie, his temper in Jinghua City was legendary. Beating people up was practically routine. That’s why so many rich or noble brats trembled when they saw him and treaded carefully.

“Sloth… dear Third Brother, if I’m not mistaken, this morning—no, at exactly 10:47:38 AM—you finally got out of bed… OH! If that doesn’t count as sloth, then who in the world could still be called lazy? And look at your body, that flab would make a mother pig want to slam into a tree in shame… Who dares say that wasn’t caused by sloth?”

“…” Zuo Po Jun gritted his teeth, desperately suppressing the urge to smash Murong Qiu Shui into the ground.

“Greed… sigh…” Murong Qiu Shui suddenly let out a deep sigh, his face filled with sorrow. “I still remember… back when I was four and that chubby boy was five… It was the first snow of 2185, slightly later than the year before..”

“Stop stop stop! Don’t say another word… I admit it! I’m greedy, okay?!” Zuo Po Jun nearly jumped up and lunged to cover his mouth, then turned to Ye Tian Xie with an awkward, foolish smile.

Ye Tian Xie: “…”

“Bingo! Since dear Third Brother has admitted it, I won’t mention how you stole thirty-seven of my chocolates and took Big Sis’s skirt… then strutted down the street with the chocolates in hand and her skirt on.” Murong Qiu Shui nodded understandingly.

Zuo Po Jun’s face turned bright red, like a certain part of a baboon.

“Gluttony… Third Brother, can you tell me how that great belly of yours came to be? OH… Second Brother, you might not know—his appetite is four times mine! Even here, he has thirty more buns in his backpack than I do… And last time, after leaving your house, Second Brother, not only did he eat all the fruit on the plate, he even sneakily took ten more…” Murong Qiu Shui said with an exaggerated expression.

Ye Tian Xie: “…”

“Ahem… ahem, Second Brother, those crystal fruits were really tasty, so I just… I just…” Zuo Po Jun grinned sheepishly, wishing dearly that he could sew Murong Qiu Shui’s mouth shut.