Hearing Jiang Lin's question, Little Black, who was in his hands, froze for a moment.
"Huh? How can you communicate with me, kid?"
Normally, no living being could understand its thoughts as an evil god, so it hadn't bothered to conceal its intent.
Consequently, Jiang Lin, who was somehow able to communicate with it, had overheard its inner voice.
Now, however, it had retracted its intent, only allowing Jiang Lin to hear what it wanted him to hear.
At the same time, as it looked at the paladin before it, it discovered a strange connection between them.
This was...
A link between an evil god and a cultist?!
And it was an equal link with the Pope of a secret cult!!
Little Black’s feline eyes widened to the size of saucers.
Was... was a secret cult actually established?
It looked on in utter disbelief.
One had to understand that such a link didn't just appear for any random evil god or secret cult.
Only a secret cult with sufficient power, scale, and history—one that had been recognized by the world's will—would manifest such a link between its followers and an evil god.
For meow's sake, it had spent years of hard work trying to figure things out, yet its secret cult had been destroyed before it was even officially established.
And this kid had just opened his mouth and established a secret cult recognized by the world's will?
This surpassed everything it knew about this world.
An immense confusion was written all over Little Black's tiny face.
"Answer me first. What exactly is your situation?" Jiang Lin asked back.
"Aren't you already aware? My Pope."
Little Black broke free from Jiang Lin's hands and jumped onto the table in front of him, looking at him with eyes full of majesty.
"I am an incarnation of an evil god!"
After a moment of silence, Jiang Lin voiced his doubt: "If you're an evil god, why did you come to my house to scrounge for food?"
Little Black also fell silent for a moment before changing the subject. "Did you not know I was an evil god before this?"
Jiang Lin countered, "Would anyone think a cat that comes to their house to beg for food is an incarnation of an evil god?"
"Then why did you establish a secret cult with me?" Little Black stared at Jiang Lin.
"Because I want to be the Pope."
Jiang Lin answered without even blinking, while simultaneously showing Little Black the title he had just acquired.
Seeing Jiang Lin's glaring title of "Pope of one of the Four Great Secret Cults," Little Black finally remembered the crappy name Jiang Lin had given the cult—one of the Four Great Secret Cults...
Then what did that make it? The evil god of one of the Four Great Secret Cults?
In the realm of evil gods, this was something it would never dare to do. If it had proclaimed itself such a thing, it would likely have been devoured as a snack by the four actual evil gods—Plague, Fear, Pain, and Pleasure—the very next second.
As for the idea of changing its fate from the scum of the evil god to surpassing the four great ones, it didn't even dare to dream of it.
Furthermore, why did he have a title??
Didn't he just say a random sentence? How was this fair?
Seeing Little Black's silence, Jiang Lin continued, "So, why did you run to my house to scrounge for food?"
Little Black remained silent.
Seeing that Little Black wasn't talking, Jiang Lin thought of the destroyed secret cult that his swordsmanship teacher, Monsa, had mentioned.
"Are you the evil god worshipped by that secret cult the Temple wiped out a few days ago?"
Little Black glanced at Jiang Lin and continued to stay silent.
"Uh oh, did you go mute? Or was I just hallucinating earlier?" Jiang Lin rubbed his chin.
A vein popped on Little Black's forehead.
"You're too weak right now, and your talent is complete garbage. At most, I'll play along with you for a few decades. Once you die of old age, this joke of a secret cult will dissolve, and I'll find a way to return my consciousness to my main body."
It wasn't that Little Black didn't want to just finish Jiang Lin off and flee to the territory of the demonic beasts to find a way to return its consciousness.
However, because of the equal link, it could not harm him in any way.
Unless it got lucky and the boy died in some freak accident.
Otherwise, this link would persist, and the title "Evil God of one of the Four Great Secret Cults" would follow it forever.
If it returned with this title and was discovered by other evil gods, the consequences would be unimaginably miserable.
Hearing Little Black's words, Jiang Lin had a rough guess about this Haji-Evil's situation.
It was likely a pathetic, weak little evil god whose consciousness was currently trapped and couldn't return, and due to the title's effect, it couldn't harm him.
So, it could only wait for him to die of old age.
"Then I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed. Because the person standing before you is about to become a world-renowned genius, a paladin who strikes terror into the hearts of demons. It's impossible for me to fall after only a few short decades."
Jiang Lin spoke with a straight face.
"You? Give me a break. Don't you have any idea how much you're worth?" Little Black said disdainfully.
"Geniuses operate on a level an evil god like you wouldn't understand," Jiang Lin sighed, shaking his head.
"By the way, I saw the title says I can perform equivalent exchange with you. What can you trade me?"
Hearing this, Little Black felt a spark of interest.
"Ahem, because this place is so remote, I cannot directly link with my main body. So, if you want to trade with me, you either have to take me to the territory of the demonic beasts or set up a corresponding ritual circle according to my requirements.
"You only need to sacrifice a bit of someone else's soul or flesh to me, and I can grant you infinite power! Your whimsical dream of being a genius wouldn't be impossible then!!"
As it spoke, Little Black's voice took on a hint of seduction.
However, Jiang Lin merely nodded, seemingly indifferent.
"I see."
After saying that, he tossed Little Black aside and began practicing 【Basic Swordsmanship】 on his own.
His nerve reflex speed had just been boosted not long ago, and he had been distracted by Little Black's odd behavior before he could get used to his current physical capabilities.
Right now, everything around him appeared to be in half-speed. If he didn't adjust in time, it would take a heavy toll on his mental power.
This was likely why the system hadn't issued the reward for doubling his nerve reflex speed yet.
He practiced 【Basic Swordsmanship】 over and over, letting his mind adapt to his strengthened body.
Seeing that Jiang Lin ignored it after getting the information he wanted, Little Black felt quite disappointed.
But then again, the boy was a paladin; he shouldn't be bowing to dark forces like itself, let alone sacrificing souls.
...
After some time, Jiang Lin finally fully adapted to his strengthened body.
The world had returned to its original appearance in his eyes, and his reaction speed would only automatically ramp up to maximum intensity when needed.
Thus, he put down the spare wooden sword.
Then, he sat cross-legged and skillfully circulated his breathing technique, absorbing the magic essence between heaven and earth into his body.
From his perspective, drop after drop of liquid magic essence dripped into the small bowl inside him, causing the liquid level to rise at a speed visible to the naked eye.
This was a speed he had never experienced in the past three years.
Consequently, the sensation left him intoxicated, and he became completely immersed in the practice of his breathing technique, losing all track of time.
Rate on N.U.
