Chapter 23

Powerful strength can solve problems, true. But even the most powerful strength must be applied with specific techniques. Otherwise, it would just become a brain-dead Evil God floating in Qi Xing's shadow.

"You rely too much on the Evil Eye," Qi Xing said indifferently to the female exorcist. "The ratio of kung fu to magic and supernatural abilities should be 7:3, otherwise you won't last long before crashing."

"K-kung fu?" Rep-Man's cryptic words only made Katarina more frightened and at a loss.

"This absurd world is ruthless and twisted," Qi Xing answered solemnly. "You cannot rely on supernatural abilities. Only by fully training your self and your body can you withstand various schemes and plots, and force this world to become reasonable."

"Don't listen to his nonsense," Elaine quickly interjected to explain. "However, [Master Leipu] isn't wrong; almost no top-tier exorcists rely solely on magic and supernatural abilities."

Most top-tier exorcists deal with cannon fodder using blades, weapons, and firearms, only using magic and supernatural abilities as a trump card when facing strong enemies. After all, no one has an infinite mana bar; wasting mana on clearing trash makes it very easy to fall into the enemy's trap of a war of attrition.

However, while everyone uses blades and firearms quite a bit, there aren't many who actually use their fists like Qi Xing. After all, no matter how much one trains, blades and guns are generally stronger than fists…

"Kung fu??" Unfortunately, the female exorcist could not digest Qi Xing's high-level theory. The look she gave Qi Xing was still filled only with fear and incomprehension, lacking the enthusiasm and worship of a Magical Girl.

It couldn't be helped. Qi Xing couldn't be bothered to say more.

"Anyway, once we're done interrogating this person, we'll send you back. I've already notified the [Association]."

Elaine was better at handling these things, comforting the victim and telling her to go further away to put on more clothes and drink some hot tea. Qi Xing walked toward the gang member.

"Now, I am going to interrogate you."

Before the words had even faded, Qi Xing had already reached out and grabbed the top of the other man's head.

In an instant, the not-so-stupid gang member understood immediately that not only his life and death, but even the pain of every single one of his cells was now in the hands of [Rep-Man]. His face twisted in endless terror.

This was a very correct reaction.

Electric light began to dance between Qi Xing's five fingers.

The initial current felt like a stream of scalding water suddenly injected into his skin, like hundreds of hot needle tips stabbing into his flesh at once.

However, this was far from the worst part.

Don't forget that this gang leader had three hundred times the sensitivity.

What followed was excruciating pain. In an instant, the current hijacked the gang leader's entire body, forcing every single muscle to contract with shocking force.

For a moment, it was as if every muscle was individually locked by invisible chains; he tried to struggle, but it was useless because every one of his muscles was controlled by the current. He wanted to reach out and scratch the box next to him, but his fingernails could only claw randomly at the ground, breaking and oozing blood.

A scream that didn't sound human erupted from his throat, yet the pain of his tearing vocal cords could not be stopped.

His bladder lost control, and warm urine flowed down his legs. His bones also emitted an unbearable creaking sound, his spine bending into an unnatural arc as if it would snap in the next second.

Even the beating of his heart was seized by the current, as if gripped by an invisible, giant hand of lightning, suffocating him like drowning. In an instant, only buzzing noise remained in his mind, his thoughts completely submerged by the pain. The world before his eyes became blurry, with blinding spots of light and darkness alternating, as if his consciousness were being pulled into the abyss.

It hurts! This pain surpassed everything!

There is nothing more terrifying than every one of your muscles refusing to obey you, all betraying your brain!

This was an excruciating pain that ordinary people would never taste, a pain that did not belong to this world.

It was also the fear of losing control, the ultimate despair of losing grasp of one's own life.

Soon his memories began to blur, and he didn't know how long he had been tortured. Time lost its meaning, leaving only endless pain. He began to doubt whether he was still alive; perhaps he was already dead and being punished in hell.

When he finally came back to his senses from the long, agonizing pain, he discovered that Qi Xing was holding a stopwatch in his other hand—only five seconds had actually passed. The bold gang leader finally collapsed completely.

Qi Xing's interrogations were always this efficient. And this was only an insignificant part of his torture and interrogation techniques.

While operating all of this, there was not even a hint of cruel or vicious pleasure in his eyes, only a faint reflection of the person he was supposed to interrogate and kill.

"Who are you?" Qi Xing asked first.

"I am the fourth son of the Galiano family… Caesar…" The leader's lips trembled, a vague whimper, until he finally managed to say these words, his voice hoarse.

The Galiano family of Rome? Good. Qi Xing nodded to Elaine not far away, letting her write it down.

When Qi Xing had free time, he would stop by and make this Mafia family disappear. Damn it! Even if a supernatural powerhouse didn't know how to play politics or manage systems, could he not even walk over there and physically make a Mafia that trafficked slaves, prostitutes, and toyed with lewd evil magic disappear from the face of the earth? What would happen after wiping them out? Would other criminal organizations come to fill the gap? Who gives a damn! Can't that be handled later?

"Why did you know I was in Japan these past two days, and why were you [focusing] on this?" Qi Xing asked again.

"It, it was my friend who told me, asking me to pay attention to the movements of top experts from the Church and the [Association]…" Caesar answered stutteringly, "It was also him who asked me to help deliver a container, bypassing the police and [Association] inspections… I don't know what's inside."

Qi Xing frowned. "What friend? Who?" Caesar did not answer this question.

Suddenly, his eyes widened, his pupils contracted rapidly, and the skin all over his body turned pale at a speed visible to the naked eye. It was as if all his blood had been drained by an invisible force.

"Save… save me…" He struggled hard, trying to call for help, but only let out a hoarse whimper from his throat, struggling to squeeze out a few words from between his teeth.

Everything happened extremely fast.

Before Elaine could react, Qi Xing had already reached out and firmly pinned Caesar down. But he saw a strange black vein appear on Caesar's neck, like a venomous snake moving under the skin, slowly crawling toward his face.

His eyeballs began to bulge, and a trace of dark black blood seeped from the corners of his mouth. Immediately after, an indescribable, nauseating, and rotten odor began to permeate the air of the entire warehouse.

His skin began to crack as if ignited, and black liquid oozed from the fissures, emitting a strong, foul stench. His mouth opened to its limit, and a low wail came from his throat, not sounding like a human, but more like a beast.

Qi Xing grabbed Caesar's head and quickly channeled his true energy—but he immediately realized that this was not poison, nor was it even ordinary magic.

It was something deeply embedded, lurking in Caesar's blood, flesh, and bones, something already deeply rooted.

The true energy he poured into Caesar's body only allowed Caesar enough time to tilt his head back and scream a strange name: "Black Spartacus!"

As soon as the words fell, Caesar's body suddenly stiffened. The black veins erupted from his heart as the center, spreading rapidly like ink on paper, until it covered his entire body. With a dull thud, he collapsed to the ground, his eyes hollow and unfocused, his life completely gone.

Black blood flowed from the corners of his mouth, dripping onto the ground and making a hissing sound, as if it were corroding the floor.

Cold sweat slid down Elaine's neck. Qi Xing was watching the black bloodstain slowly spreading on the ground. In that bloodstain, a hideous face vaguely appeared, a strange mask; one side of the mask was laughing, while the other was crying. It seemed both like mockery and a warning.

After a moment, Qi Xing finally asked: "Silenced? What the hell is this?" He didn't know what kind of evil magic this was, but he knew Elaine probably did.

He noticed that Elaine's expression and complexion were not very good. Her fingertips were trembling slightly, but she quickly clenched them into a fist, letting her nails prick her palms. The dim, yellow light of the warehouse cast uneven shadows on her face, hiding the flicker of fear in her eyes. All of this happened in an instant. After that moment, her expression returned to calm, as indifferent as usual, seemingly not caring at all.

She explained: "This is a Voodoo-style curse."

Voodoo, Vodun, Vodou—these three are essentially the same word, originating from a West African language, meaning [Gods] or [Spirits].

The famous Voodoo religion is a primitive religion originating in West Africa that blends ancestor worship, animism, and spiritualism, somewhat like Shamanism. It is still the state religion of many African countries and is also prevalent in Central and South America, the Caribbean, and the Southern United States.

"Italy has Voodoo sorcerers of this level?" Qi Xing was finally a little surprised. "But it could also be someone who ran in from outside, which is why they got them to help smuggle things…"

This [friend] had clearly cast a spell inside Caesar's body in advance. Once the keywords were detected, it would trigger and curse him to death.

[Black Spartacus]… Hmm, a name I've never heard of.

Elaine glanced at Qi Xing, the meaning obvious—what now?

Qi Xing thought for a moment and shrugged: "Nothing. First, submit the report to the [Association] and see how they react. Anyway, it probably isn't a big case."

He was a world-class righteous expert, not a regular detective.

It sounds a bit cruel, but whenever Qi Xing personally handles an incident, it's either because he's patrolling around and happens to find bad guys causing trouble and kills them offhand, like today or last time saving the Magical Girl; or because things have already blown up and the [Association] comes to ask for help, like the cruise ship a few days ago. Just a Voodoo sorcerer cursing a Mafia cadre to death is most likely a minor matter of criminals fighting each other. If it's just a minor matter, Qi Xing has neither the time nor the interest to deal with it. He's not a general who cleans toilets; does he have to do every trivial, petty thing himself?

After safely sending the female exorcist Katarina back, Qi Xing and Elaine returned to Rome to rest.

He had traveled all the way from Japan to Rome today, of course, for a reason.

The [Association] had sent an official letter to Qi Xing this morning, asking him to return to Rome for a meeting—it wasn't to cause trouble for Qi Xing himself. They probably didn't have the guts—in fact, they were very likely scared by Qi Xing.

They were probably looking to talk to Qi Xing about the silver coin of Judas, and of course, about Samael.

027: The Powerhouse Mind.

Qi Xing's home was not in this world.

This absurd quagmire of butter was never his homeland.

For the past ten years, he had basically been wandering around the world, and after becoming [Master Leipu], he had been putting out fires everywhere in response to the [Association]'s calls for help, having even less of a place that could be called [home].

However, Sister Elaine knew that such a habit was definitely not good for the mental health of a hero—or a veteran.

Therefore, she had helped Qi Xing rent a private mansion in Rome for the long term, capable of meeting the living, training, and daily needs of two or even more people. Although it was only a three-story building, it already contained a library, an armory, and various training equipment. The villa also came with a small private chapel outside.

It was absolutely safe, private, and quiet. The security functions were perfect and it even came with exorcism effects. Usually, only volunteer nuns from the Roman Church would come regularly to clean.

The last time he came was four months ago. Qi Xing didn't really consider this place home, but when he walked through the door and his feet stepped on the carpet, he still felt a little melancholy.

Samael's shadow crawled out from his shadow, looked around, and frowned: "[The Worlds Strongest Man] lives in this kind of boring house?"

It was no wonder she complained. The entrance hall was surrounded by smooth, bare stone, and there were no paintings or decorations in the house. There were no statues or sculptures, nor were there crossed hanging weapons or embroidered tapestries. The only wall decoration was the [Medal of Saint Benedict] that Elaine had hung on the wall above the stairs opposite the front door: a Latin cross, with the vertical bar inscribed in Latin [The Holy Cross be my light], and the horizontal bar inscribed [May the dragon never be my overlord]. The edge of the medal also had the prayer [Begone, Satan].

This was the core exorcism prayer of Christianity, also known as the exorcism medal. In essence, it was the supernatural protective amulet for this place. A real Satan, evil dragon, and overlord of this world, seeing it, naturally curled her lips in displeasure.

"I don't like luxurious decorations. It's fully functional here, isn't that good enough?" Qi Xing said calmly.

"Really?" The Loli Evil God glanced at the nun who was busy working behind them, noncommittally.

Elaine was busy moving Qi Xing's and her luggage back to their respective rooms, throwing some clothes into the wash, and then entering the kitchen to make him dinner.

It was already a bit late today, and Elaine wasn't some super robot maid, so of course, she couldn't immediately make a full-course meal for Qi Xing—but soon, the scent of butter and garlic wafted from the kitchen.

In the frying pan on the stove, a golden chicken leg could be seen being pan-fried in butter until golden, locking in the juices and sizzling. The chicken skin was fried until crispy, the fat slowly oozing out and merging with the butter at the bottom of the pan. A few cloves of garlic and a few sprigs of fresh thyme rolled in the oil, emitting an enticing aroma.

This was the pan-seared chicken leg with butter garlic sauce made by Elaine. The chicken meat was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, juices overflowing when cut, drizzled with a spoonful of sauce made from the chicken's drippings, white wine, and cream, the aroma intoxicating.

The side dish was smooth mashed potatoes, topped with a little chopped parsley. A piece of slightly crispy toasted French bread was used to dip into the sauce, bringing the deliciousness of this dish to the extreme, simple yet exquisite.

Qi Xing used a fork to cut off a piece of golden chicken, and upon the first bite, he experienced the tenderness and juiciness of the chicken, slightly glowing with the sweetness of butter. The embellishment of garlic and herbs was just right, neither overwhelming the main flavor nor failing to leave an endless aftertaste in every bite. Truly delicious!

The Loli Evil God just floated by the side, coldly watching Qi Xing eat, watching Elaine busy herself for him.

She had already discovered a very obvious point to complain about, but she didn't intend to tell him yet—dear Qi Xing, haven't you noticed that having an exorcist nun busy herself cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, managing household chores, writing work reports, and acting as a secretary for you, allowing you to do nothing but train and kill enemies… this is already a greater luxury than any decoration?

It was just that the number of people was a bit small.

The devil thought thoughtfully, planning how big a harem she should design for her chosen king in the future, and how many maids he would need; after all, a true supreme powerhouse, an emperor of the earth, should rightfully need a new batch of virgins to bathe with him every day, right? Actually, that wasn't the point either.