"Hmm, not bad for one night. You've barely managed to catch up to my speed."
Jiang Lin nodded, acknowledging Little Black's strength.
Seeing that Jiang Lin wasn't shocked by its talent, Little Black found it strange.
'What is a level 3 loser who didn't even start until he was fifteen doing putting on airs here?'
"Ignorant of the world's scale! Next, I'll let you witness the meaning of heritage and talent!"
Little Black mocked him again.
"Watch me surpass three years of your effort within a single month."
Jiang Lin didn't reply. Instead, he packed his things to head to school.
"Wait, take me with you. I need to keep an eye on you to prevent you from running off to the Temple and doing something detrimental to me."
At this, Jiang Lin looked puzzled.
"You're the evil god I'm teaching, and I'm the Pope. Why would I harm you?
"If the people at the Temple found out I was a member of a secret cult, my head would be on the chopping block too."
Hearing Jiang Lin say this, Little Black was quite satisfied.
"As long as you know. Keep your identity well hidden. Once you die and this bullshit secret cult disbands, I'll go back."
"By the way, it's been so long, and I still don't know your name."
"How could a mere mortal like you be worthy of knowing this deity's name?"
"Then I'll just call you Little Black."
The black cat fell silent for a moment.
"Fine... just call me Lilith."
Jiang Lin heard the name and then stared at the black cat for a long time.
"Can I take back that question, Little Black?"
"Damn it!"
Little Black hissed at Jiang Lin.
Jiang Lin ignored Little Black and turned to walk out the door.
Little Black—Lilith—followed closely behind him as they left.
"Remember to feed me."
"So, why does a grand evil god need to mooch meals at someone else's house?"
Little Black remained silent.
Seeing that he couldn't get an answer, Jiang Lin felt it was rather dull.
......
"Boss, three meat buns."
After receiving breakfast, Jiang Lin handed one meat bun to Little Black, who was perched on his shoulder.
"Thanks."
Thus, a rather strange scene appeared on the street.
A handsome young man walked with a black cat on his shoulder, and the cat was human-like, holding a matching meat bun and munching on it voraciously.
Jiang Lin noticed a line of ants foraging by the roadside.
They were lined up neatly, swarming densely around a scrap of food that had fallen on the ground.
"Do you see? To me, you are like these ants. I throw a scrap of unwanted food, and you swarm it hungrily."
Seeing Jiang Lin look at the ants, Little Black spoke with a haughty tone.
"Killing you would only take a single thought, but the desire to toy with you is what keeps you alive."
Jiang Lin ignored Little Black's trash talk. Instead, he stepped down, twisting his sole against the ground.
"? What are you doing? They were just foraging peacefully. Why did you step on them?"
Little Black couldn't understand.
'Isn't this guy a paladin? Why does he have such Malicious Fun??'
"Ants chew on wood, damage buildings, and are pests," Jiang Lin replied succinctly.
This answer made Little Black fall into thought. It seemed to make some sense; after all, for a righteous and kind existence like a paladin, doing small things to eliminate pests for the people was likely a habit.
"Good, you aren't a bleeding heart. Unfortunately, you're a paladin. Without the mindset of a saint, it'll be hard for you to increase your strength quickly.
"But only termites chew wood, right? Are ordinary ants on the roadside also pests?? Hey, answer me!"
Jiang Lin looked at the system rewards, quite satisfied, and quickened his pace to school.
He would claim the rewards once he arrived.
Claiming them on the road would be too strange if he didn't hide it well; it was easy to attract attention. It was better to wait for the quiet environment of the school.
......
Arriving at the classroom, Jiang Lin was surprised to see his desk-mate, the simp, already in his seat, busy grinding through practice problems.
'Did this guy finally see the light?'
Jiang Lin sat down as well.
"Hey, Jiang Lin, what's with the cat on your shoulder?"
The student in the seat in front of him leaned over.
"This? I found it by the road. It seemed quite intelligent, so I took it home. Then, when I went out this morning, it kept clinging to me, wanting to come along. I had no choice but to bring it,"
Jiang Lin explained.
"What are you saying, kid?! How dare you speak that way about the noble Lady Lilith?!"
Little Black hissed at Jiang Lin.
"Wow, it really does look cute. Can I pet it?"
As he spoke, the student in front reached out toward Little Black.
Little Black's fur immediately stood on end, and it hissed fiercely at him.
Seeing Little Black like this, the student felt a bit disappointed.
"It seems it doesn't like me very much."
Jiang Lin nodded.
"Yeah, first impressions are very important. Little Black didn't like you at first sight, just like she didn't like you back then.
"Although you can work hard later to change your image in her heart, you can't compare to someone like me, who had a perfect image in her heart from the start.
"The order of feelings determines the possibility of love. Some people walk into her heart with a gentle touch, while others linger outside the door, begging, and can never enter..."
The front student's hand froze in mid-air.
Little Black was confused.
"What on earth are you mumbling about, kid?"
【Devil's Whisper. With just one sentence, you've broken three people's defenses. You truly are the chosen demon lord】
【Reward obtained: mental power +1000】
'I wonder who else's defenses broke...'
Since he was already at school, Jiang Lin didn't hesitate and chose to claim the reward immediately.
A familiar pain stimulated his mind as Jiang Lin's mental power grew explosively.
【mental power: 1300 → 2300】
The darkness before his eyes vanished, and Jiang Lin re-experienced his strengthened mental power.
The increase in mental power made his control over his own strength even more formidable.
At the same time, he could use magic-based skills that required magic essence more recklessly.
'Unfortunately, the only magic-like skills I know are Low-level Healing and Low-level Strengthening. I don't have other skills to consume my mental power.'
'I should put learning magic-type skills on the agenda.'
Jiang Lin made a silent decision.
Then, he claimed the other two system rewards together.
【stamina: 3500 → 4500】
【Low-level Strengthening (Entry) → (superlative)】
His physical fitness received a massive boost, now growing to more than twice what it was at the start. Jiang Lin felt like he could kill a bull with a single punch.
And after Low-level Strengthening reached superlative, the consumption during use decreased. Meanwhile, the casting wind-up and recovery were controlled within fractions of a second; in battles at his current level, it was basically negligible.
Furthermore, upon reaching superlative, Low-level Strengthening allowed for more specific reinforcement. Not only could he strengthen his entire body, but he could also reinforce specific localized tissues.
To this, Jiang Lin had a bold idea...
......
Morning theory classes passed quickly. Jiang Lin still chose not to listen today, instead meditating in place to practice his breathing technique.
Meanwhile, Jiang Lin took the time to familiarize himself with his strengthened body.
There were only five days left until the mid-term exam. Jiang Lin wanted to see if he could raise his level to 4 before then.
Seeing Jiang Lin still working so hard, the surrounding classmates were very surprised. Only a few who were also in the swordsmanship class yesterday guessed the reason.
His deeds from yesterday had already spread through the class, leaving everyone shocked and confused.
"Hey, Old Jiang, I heard you reached level 3?"
When class ended, Jiang Lin's desk-mate, the simp, put down the test papers he'd been grinding all morning and asked.
"Yeah, what about it?" Jiang Lin nodded.
"Nothing. I saw you've been practicing your breathing technique for the past two days; it turns out you've tasted the sweetness of leveling up.
"But it took you three years to reach level 3. Trying to reach level 5 in the next 70 days is almost impossible. So I suggest you find a way out early, so you don't starve later because you have no money for food."
The simp said.
"Leave the business of becoming an adventurer to me.
"Once I become a great adventurer, I'll go find a few beautiful princesses to be your wives."
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