Obviously, this was probably because Qi Xing had spanked her.

It wasn't because Qi Xing had actually hurt her, but because he had seized the opportunity to give her a nickname while spanking her, rewriting their power dynamic through the act of [Naming], which symbolized [Dominance].

This aggressive act had clearly frightened Samael.

It stood to reason. Although Samael didn't view Qi Xing as an [Ant], she had always considered him [Inferior to Herself]. The Child of Fire was naturally superior to the Child of Earth, wasn't it?

Yet, this clay figure had actually pinned her down, spanked her, given her a nickname, and threatened to [Dominate] her… This probably left her feeling quite bewildered.

Originally, the devil being frightened and not daring to whisper or pester Qi Xing anymore seemed like a good thing for him.

However, seeing her acting evasive and refusing to engage in conversation now, Qi Xing felt a sense of… melancholy he hadn't even felt when he was alone in the past.

It was strange. Why?

Samael wasn't Qi Xing's friend or partner; she was even the source of this absurd world. Qi Xing should hate her! Qi Xing, where were your anger and sense of justice? Go on, hate her!

Yet, in reality, Qi Xing found it very hard to hate this silly Creator God. Perhaps it was because Sasa had given him quite a few hints and help during the critical moment of the battle against Romanie; or perhaps because Sasa and Qi Xing were the only two souls in this world who knew what the [Outside World] was like.

Elaine adored Qi Xing and trusted him absolutely. Qi Xing liked her very much too and was willing to trust her. However, whenever Qi Xing occasionally said things to complain about this world, Elaine couldn't understand him.

When an ordinary middle school teacher could actually lift the classroom desks with his [Thing]; when the liquid he sprayed was even more than the blood in a person's entire body—Elaine might think it was [Disgusting], but she didn't find it [Incomprehensible]. Because this situation fit their [Worldview].

Elaine trusted Qi Xing unconditionally, even if she couldn't understand his thoughts—this was definitely a form of love.

But when Qi Xing complained about the thinking and behavior of the people in this world, only the devil could engage with him.

He had gotten used to it over the past ten years, fine—but recently, having a Loli Evil God accompany him in banter, only for it to suddenly stop, made Qi Xing somewhat distressed.

What to do?

If he explained to this Loli Evil God, saying [Sorry, I shouldn't have spanked you, and I shouldn't have forced a nickname on you], would she be able to let it go and return to her original self? Probably not.

To use a metaphor, what Qi Xing had done was equivalent to suddenly pinning someone down, beating them up, doodling on their face, and then telling them, [It's fine, relax].

In such a situation, if he wanted to repair things or build a new relationship with Sasa, he probably needed more than just a pale apology… Actually, Qi Xing had already thought of a method. He hadn't implemented it in the past few days because he knew that after doing so, the devil would definitely find an opportunity to mock him, revert to that bratty girl persona, and annoy him… Sigh, oh well.

"Sasa."

Taking advantage of the fact that there was no one around, Qi Xing called out directly, "Miss Samael, could you come out for a moment?"

After a long while, a super-mini version of the Loli Evil God poked her head out from a cola cup nearby, looking at him warily: "What?" Honestly, the scene looked quite cute.

"Do you remember back at the Sistine Hall, when you asked me why I was particularly afraid of cuckoldry? Have I been cuckolded in this world over the past ten years?"

Qi Xing sighed as he said this, "Of course I haven't been cuckolded, but… do you want to hear something very ridiculous? And I need you to promise not to tell anyone else."

This finally piqued Sasa's curiosity a little.

"I promise, of course. Besides, there's no one else in this universe worthy of talking to me anyway."

"Then don't laugh too hard. Listen as I tell you slowly."

After pondering for a moment and organizing his words, Qi Xing began, "—In my past life, in a normal world, when I was in high school, I secretly played several eroge."

What are called eroge, of course, were things high school students shouldn't play.

That said, Qi Xing was a man after all, and he was naturally interested in lewd stuff. Moreover, the thought that these were games for adults gave him an inexplicable sense of excitement that stuck in his chest, making him start playing immediately.

"Pfft."

"I told you not to laugh. Anyway, when I first got into it, I obviously played the big titles. The first was the masterpiece by August, which left behind the classic cabbage-cutting meme after being adapted into an anime; the second was the even more famous one, the one where you fight for the Holy Grail with a gender-bent King Arthur—these aren't the point, actually. After all, they didn't have any cuckoldry. Although Liz didn't have a good ending, and there was no Illya route, overall, to be honest, they were all very interesting."

"And then?" Sasa's interest was finally piqued. "By the way, you really are a loli-con, aren't you?"

"Don't talk nonsense. Lolis are to be protected; I just like watching stories. What I'm really interested in is a good figure."

Although Qi Xing scoffed at this, he soon sighed again, "Then the third eroge, I played an action game in a cyberpunk setting where the protagonist was a hacker piloting a mech. One of the heroines on a route in the game was a very cute blonde loli hacker."

"I just said, this is an action game. The final boss fight on her route is extremely difficult, and if you lose once, you immediately get the bad ending. At first, the plot seems fine, but soon you see the blonde loli hacker in front of you, being [censored] by terrorists, and being alive and [censored] to death, her death was extremely tragic. The ending is the protagonist chasing the terrorist leader to avenge her, but he never wins."

"Hmm." Sasa raised an eyebrow. She already somewhat understood the significance of what Qi Xing was saying.

"The point is, this big-name game itself was quite good, and it wasn't a cuckoldry game. Anyway, in an action game, as long as your skill is sufficient and you win normally, it's originally a good ending where you protect everything."

It's really funny to say, maybe because he was still a high school student at the time. Although he had never actually been cuckolded, Qi Xing had still received quite a shock. Of course, he didn't confuse reality with the game, but it had at least influenced his future thinking—especially after transmigrating into this absurd, lewd world, even more so.

Strength is very important. Being strong is very important. As long as you can crush the enemy, the ending will be different. You can change the tragedy and reach a good ending.

This line of thinking must have influenced Qi Xing's thoughts after transmigrating to some extent—after all, this universe was already very much like a huge, absurd eroge.

"Pretty funny, right? Secretly playing eroge and giving yourself psychological trauma."

Qi Xing curled his lip, "But anyway, that's it—I want to be strong enough to kill all those kinds of villains, and protect the people I care about. The source of fear for this motivation is so ridiculous, I can't even tell Elaine; she probably wouldn't understand."

"It's incredible, I originally thought I would take this secret to the grave, but to think… ugh, I actually told the devil."

Qi Xing stopped there.

He had voluntarily handed a weapon that could be used to mock him to the devil. This left Sasa speechless for a moment.

"Ha… haha… Hahaha!"

So, the devil laughed.

"Hahaha! Hahaha!" To respond to Qi Xing's words, she laughed with all her might, clutching her stomach and rolling around, laughing until she seemed unable to catch her breath.

"Hehehe! You little idiot, you fell for it!"

After laughing, she puffed out her chest even more energetically than usual and loudly announced, "My attitude this week was all faked to trick you! I was just waiting for this reaction from you!"

From who knows where, mysterious sound effects played, and gorgeous lights suddenly lit up.

"What?!" Qi Xing immediately feigned great shock, "So I was tricked by you!"

"That's right! You were tricked by me! Stupidly exposing such a serious weakness to me!"

Sasa laughed with an evil expression, her hearty laughter filling the entire training room, as if mocking the whole world.

"I've actually been testing you these past few days. Seeing if you were suitable to be the king I've chosen. Now it seems you're still far off! Too green!"

"—So, let's just go back to how things were before."

She said it casually, as if all of this really were just a casual game.

But Qi Xing, of course, knew that things were not as simple as the devil said.

Because their story had already moved forward. After the spanking, the naming, and today's storytelling, they were ultimately different.

That sense of distant yet intimate tacit understanding, like an invisible thread, had already quietly woven itself between the two. Perhaps neither fully understood it, but something had indeed changed.

Since he had unburdened the past he had never mentioned to anyone, certain things were bound to change. It was like taking off a coat under the midsummer sun, only to discover that his soul had become so light.

Sasa probably knew this too, but she certainly wouldn't say it outright; she would only continue to mock him in her own way, attempting to cover up certain things she didn't want to delve into either.

"Hmph, fine, I'll give you this round, devil."

So Qi Xing also [Coldly Snorted], his eyes drifting to the ceiling of the training room, the corners of his mouth curling into a slight smile, tacitly playing along with her words.

"You really are a terrifying devil."

But this time, there was no repulsion in his tone.

The two shook hands, declaring that both had one win and one loss this time, so they were even. Therefore, from now on, the devil still needed to find ways to seduce the hero, and the hero also had to continue trying hard to resist her seduction.

Both tacitly agreed not to comment on whether this was a bit strange.

However, after Sasa slipped back into the shadow, she did indeed feel a bit happy today.

Hmm, maybe especially happy!

For some reason, Sasa felt she was much happier. It was a truly incredible feeling.

"Geez, this little idiot's quality is still too far off; to actually give in to me so easily, unqualified. Must hurry and make him into an excellent overlord!"

Afterward, the two of them really did return to their original state of communication.

That said, as soon as Elaine returned home, she immediately frowned, watching Sasa floating leisurely in the room, and after observing the two of them for a while, she immediately complained: "Mr. Qi, please don't casually get on good terms with the devil again."

This request was probably a bit difficult.

Volume 3: Shrine Maiden of the Black God

061: Thunder [Censored] Hero: Hero's Expedition

After the [Black Spartacus] incident, the second month.

Inside the courtyard outside the mansion, in a dense grove, sunlight was piercing through the layers of leaves, casting mottled light and shadows on the ground.

In this tranquility, however, an indescribable sense of oppression was spreading, making the world seem to hold its breath.

Qi Xing sat quietly in the forest, sat quietly in mid-air; an invisible force was holding him up, allowing him to float cross-legged in the forest, as if isolated from the world, yet also seeming to have become the core of this world. His strong, powerful muscles gleamed with a cold light under the sunlight, as indestructible as if cast from steel, every inch containing explosive power.

He was now sitting with his eyes closed, his expression calm, all killing intent and domineering aura completely gone, as if immersed in meditation, yet he still exuded an atmosphere of awe-inspiring authority. Even though he was silent and motionless at this moment, his whole person was like a sleeping ancient god of war, ready to awaken at any moment, capable of overturning the heavens and the earth with a wave of his hand.

Even the surrounding forest was affected by this oppressive feeling; leaves kept falling, and a layer of emerald green carpet of leaves had already accumulated on the ground, fluttering with the wind.

Within the tranquility hid ferocity; beneath the silence lay invisible destruction. He was like the strongest warrior in the world, settling his own power. And the moment he opened his eyes, perhaps a power that only gods could possess… would appear.

He wasn't even using a silver coin right now.

"Not bad. Your comprehension is indeed very good."

The Loli Evil God was floating back and forth over Qi Xing's head, holding an apple in her hand, occasionally taking a bite with a smile.

"Don't be constrained by the myth itself; the silver coin is, after all, just extracting the power of gods from the [Collective Unconscious]. It has nothing to do with the gods themselves, only with humanity's expectations of the gods."

What was going on?

Why was Qi Xing training so happily under the devil's guidance? Was he not afraid for his life?

Things were, of course, not as simple as they looked.

Since there hadn't been any opportunity to do [lewd] things this past month, and there was no immediate need to go out and slaughter evil, Qi Xing naturally just continued to train.

Training! Training makes me happy!

It wasn't about recklessly boosting the power of the silver coin without limit. It was about finding the upper and lower limits of power that could be pushed and controlled, and also finding a way to minimize the use of the silver coin, not to be constrained by the silver coin, and to let his [Martial Arts] and magic take the leading role in his power.

Romani Domingo might even be better at this than Qi Xing, after all, he had possessed the silver coin for at least four years. His Voodoo Pictographic Fist, although eventually beaten to a pulp by Qi Xing, was indeed very clever in its imagination, and very worthy of praise.

"Perhaps it is because you are a transmigrator—you came from the [Kingdom] Sefirot, which is devoid of magic, right? So your approach to cultivation is too close to Logos. Instead, it is far from Mythos. In other words, it is [lacking magical imagination]."

Truth be told, this was actually part of Qi Xing's previous stubbornness. Since he hated this world, he naturally wouldn't think in the absurd ways of this world, remaining relatively [Physical] and [Scientific].

"You are already very strong on the physical level—supersonic punches, not bad! But can a supersonic punch beat me? A light-speed punch can't beat me either. I can act within Planck time, I can really make you, Achilles, chase the tortoise, I can stuff you into Hilbert's Hotel, I can keep re-rolling your dice. You will never beat me by comparing physics alone."

"You've beaten me once or twice, not really relying on physics, but on loopholes in concepts."

"Since you don't like using my silver coin all day, and don't like using the power of [Dominion] casually, then go think, use your imagination, and figure out how to make your own martial arts more [Magical]."

"With your current aptitude and foundation, you will soon be able to grasp a deeper realm."

People who rely only on unique spells without thousands of tempered martial arts are hard to live long in this terrifying and absurd lewd world; it's easy to be defeated miserably due to the limitations of the techniques or by opponents mastering the weaknesses of the techniques;

but conversely, people who only have hard-trained martial arts but do not understand the mysteries of the divine laws, who lack imagination and inspiration, and are too rigid, will ultimately find it difficult to reach the final realm…

Sigh, to use a phrasing Sasa herself has used, it's actually: "Why can't martial arts be magic?"