The Wicked System: Path of the Devourer Chapter 23 Godfather's Gospel

When he woke up again, it felt as though he had been asleep for an eternity.

Within the chaotic, pitch-black void, an enormous skull floated in the air, chuckling deeply. "You little brat, you really don't know your own limits. Do you have any idea what kind of people those ten thousand vengeful souls were? Each and every one was an unparalleled genius of their era! With your pathetic foundation, using their cultivation for so long absolutely overloaded your body."

Zhang Wenbin's consciousness floated before it. The skull looked far clearer than the last time he had seen it. "Dad, how is that not knowing my limits? Besides, I didn't even do much last night!"

"Whether traversing the vile path, walking the righteous orthodox route, or practicing minor side-arts... any cultivator who has achieved success went through grueling, hellish training! Their spirit, willpower, souls, and physical bodies have been tempered a thousand times over to reach the pinnacle of humanity! Operating that kind of power using your frail, unrefined mortal vessel naturally comes with an immense price!"

Zhang Wenbin's eyes went wide. "Is all that necessary, Dad? My body is far stronger than a normal person's!"

"Still just a 'normal person's' body, not the vessel of an entity that stood at the absolute zenith of the human realm. Therefore, you have a fatal flaw. You have never systematically cultivated! You possess earth-shattering power but absolutely zero understanding of the 'Return to Primal Origin' state! You know how to release power, but not how to retract it! This places a terrifying, unsustainable burden on both your body and your soul. That is a massive detriment!"

Clutching his head, Zhang Wenbin pleaded, "Dad, stop giving me a lecture. Can you put it simpler?"

"To put it simply: imagine you need to walk to a destination. That is a completely normal expenditure of energy. But instead, you are violently jogging in place while merely standing still! That is an utterly unnecessary expenditure, and naturally places an astronomical burden on you!"

"Take last night, for example. You only needed to manifest your divine abilities directly when it was time to take action. However, you maintained a state of projecting the divine abilities outward for the entire night! It's the equivalent of walking nonstop without rest for the entire night—do you really think you can shoulder that kind of burden?!"

"I see... I think I understand a bit now."

Realization dawned upon Zhang Wenbin. He spoke honestly, "But Dad, I absolutely loved that feeling of omnipotence! Everything was exposed before my eyes, and no matter what problem presented itself, I had countless ways to exterminate it! It truly felt incredible!"

"The abilities of ten thousand vengeful souls... what you caught a glimpse of was merely the tip of the iceberg."

The Godfather System sighed deeply. "Right now, you're just too weak. If you use too much power, your body will collapse, and your soul will be obliterated entirely."

As a seasoned victim of excessive web novel consumption, Zhang Wenbin grinned playfully. "Godfather, why don't you take me to find some heavenly treasures or spiritual herbs to eat? Once I eat them, I'll become far more powerful and can use more of those abilities! We can't have me getting exhausted to the level of a dying dog every single dawn."

"Heavenly treasures? You're a little too optimistic. These things definitely exist, but among the ten thousand vengeful souls, those who actually witnessed them can be counted on one hand. For example, that Nine-Tailed Fox is indeed an absolute goldmine of treasures."

"However, unless she willingly gives them to you while alive, killing her will cause every ounce of treasure on her body to dissipate into ash. Without the requisite destiny, encountering such entities is more of a curse than a blessing. If you run into the demons and monsters guarding these treasures, do you honestly think you can beat them in a fight?? Going there just means offering yourself up as fertilizer."

"You're kidding me!" Zhang Wenbin felt incredibly dejected.

In practically every classic Wuxia novel or modern web novel, the protagonist just haphazardly ate some random plant, and their cultivation instantly skyrocketed! Why, when it came to his turn, was this trope totally useless?

"You little brat, stop dreaming of reaching the heavens in a single bound. Encountering your father is already the luckiest thing that will ever happen to you. If your birth chart wasn't Extreme Pure Yang, you wouldn't possess the capacity to endure even this level of fortune."

Refusing to give up, Zhang Wenbin pressed, "Even with your help, I still have no way to obtain any heavenly treasures?"

"Son... if your father possessed his physical form, I certainly wouldn't fear them. With these abilities, I could absolutely dominate the entire globe without issue. The overarching problem is that you are simply too weak—you cannot fully unleash these powers. Delusionally seeking those spiritual treasures truly just guarantees your fate as prime fertilizer."

"Your singular, only hope rests entirely with that Nine-Tailed Spirit Fox. Don't even think about demanding the spiritual treasures from her body! Handing them over would severely cripple her cultivation, so she will absolutely refuse. The only possible way is using her directly as a cauldron to allow yourself to be reborn and completely remolded."

"Godfather means... find her and rape her? Tie her up and force myself on her?" Zhang Wenbin's smile turned exceedingly sinister.

"Force yourself on her..." The Godfather System sounded profoundly speechless. "Son, could you possibly be any stupider? That is a Nine-Tailed Spirit Fox! Even if your father possessed his physical form, I wouldn't be able to defeat her! Let alone a half-baked amateur like you who cannot even output ten percent of our total power!"

"If it weren't for the primal predatory instinct of the Ancient Great Demon's soul, it would be virtually impossible to find someone capable of defeating her in the mortal realm! Any supposed 'Pinnacle of Humanity' would be swallowed in a single bite without chewing! Even if a genuine Immortal descended to the mortal realm, she possesses the power to duel them evenly!"

"Fuck! You aren't seriously trying to tell me I have to court her? Date her? Cultivate feelings with her?!"

Zhang Wenbin practically leaped into the air. "I don't have those kinds of dating skills! To beg for her help, I can't just kneel down to her and say: 'Great Aunt, I beg you, please let me fuck you!' That is way too fucking absurd!"

"The Fox Clan is pure and holy, yet exceptionally wanton and seductive. Once you find her, your father naturally has his own ways of negotiating with her. You won't be relegated to such humiliatingly subservient groveling."

Zhang Wenbin was genuinely impatient. He desperately wanted to experience exactly what sex with a woman felt like. If he truly had to chase this Nine-Tailed Fox and start a whole romance arc, not only was success an uncertainty, but what if they dated for years? When would it ever end?

At the thought, Zhang Wenbin couldn't help but smile bitterly. "Godfather, I don't possess such grand ambitions or prospects. Is there really no other way?"

Without utilizing a tone of 'disappointment that iron cannot turn to steel', the Godfather System sighed affectionately with the tone of a truly loving father. "My stupid son... as your father, I only ask for your safety. I do not demand that you achieve great prospects. But the fact of the matter is, as the System continues to develop—and as your greed exponentially multiplies after tasting the benefits—you are going to need more power and more capabilities."

"Humans are inherently creatures of insatiable greed. The entirety of technological advancement was propelled purely by laziness and greed! You must directly confront the wickedness residing in your own heart. Stop trying to convince yourself you could ever be satisfied with 'small wealth and safety.' The very reason you chose to use these occult skills to swindle and deceive is precisely because you crave more."

"You don't want to live in that rotting rental apartment anymore, constantly extorted by your landlord even over the electricity bill. You don't want to endure agonizing physical labor on a construction site, watching your boss drive luxury cars and hoard young mistresses."

"You don't want to smoke five-yuan cigarettes anymore, or meticulously calculate the loose change in your pocket just to afford the cheapest bowl of ramen, all while plagued by the humiliating anxiety that the shop owner looks down on you for not ordering extra meat..."

"You wander aimlessly without a home. You used to survive like an insignificant insect. Now that an opportunity has fallen into your lap—don't try to tell me you don't want to stand above all others and recklessly indulge every one of your seven emotions and six desires."

The Godfather System preached with earnest, profound sincerity. "All those high-sounding, righteous platitudes are nothing but lies. Disguising as a collective consciousness of ten thousand wicked souls, your father naturally knows exactly the unfathomable depths humanity's inherent cruelty can reach. From the moment you were born, this was your absolute destiny."

"How many people have truly 'transcended the mortal coil'? Throughout all of human history, they can be counted on one hand. The Buddha claims 'All sentient beings are equal.' Then why construct golden statues for Him? Why must believers grovel in worship when making requests? Why gather the incense offerings of the mortal realm? And why keep armies of Arhats and Furious Vajra warriors?"

"Everything is merely a grandly disguised, self-righteous excuse. For a good man to become a Buddha, he must endure eighty-one grueling tribulations! Yet, a wicked man can achieve Buddhahood simply by dropping his butcher's knife! Do you know why? It is purely because the wicked man holds the butcher's knife!"

"Even so, the ten thousand vengeful souls refuse to accept such hypocritical pacification! Because mankind's desires are infinite, boundless, and permanently impossible to satiate! The so-called 'contentment' is nothing but a self-deceptive excuse!"

"Dad... you're absolutely right."

Zhang Wenbin's eyes grew slightly red. Because Godfather's words had struck him perfectly. It was precisely the truth! Even though he hadn't yet completely conquered Qin Lan that very night, his dark desires had already begun extending their insidious reach directly toward her daughter.

Humanity was exactly like this. 'Content with small wealth and safety' was completely, utterly impossible...

"Dad... thank you!"

Zhang Wenbin had lived firmly at the absolute bottom of society. What kind of agonizing hardship and cruel injustice had he not suffered? At this moment, he genuinely wanted to cry. Because unlike everyone else, the Godfather System didn't lecture him from a self-righteous high ground. Everything he just said sounded utterly horrifying to the mainstream world, but it was unadulterated, unvarnished truth.

"It is good that you know, my foolish son."

The Godfather System continued softly, "The System is continually undergoing development. I do not definitively know what future tasks will look like. But I know one absolute truth: once you become powerful enough, you won't need to fear anything ever again."

"Once you are powerful enough, you will never casually collapse into complete exhaustion again, as you did tonight! Even in broad daylight, you'll be able to tap into at least half of your abilities! 'Powerful enough' means fully mastering an exponentially larger array of abilities belonging to the ten thousand vengeful souls, and even unlocking the primordial might of the Ancient Great Demon!"

"What your father gives you is fortune and opportunity. But in the end, you must make yourself sufficiently powerful! Powerful to the point where, even if I vanish one day, you can do absolutely whatever you desire!"

Hearing this, Zhang Wenbin was shocked. "Dad, stop spouting such bullshit! You are definitely going to be immortal! What the hell is 'vanishing'? Spit it out, spit it out!"

"Son... no one can predict the future..."

The topic had suddenly turned incredibly heavy. Zhang Wenbin didn't want to keep talking about it. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Fine, Dad! I'll listen to you, alright? But I actually have an idea! If heavenly treasures are totally hopeless, what about refining some pills or something?!"

"Alchemy?!"

"Exactly! According to the legends, if I successfully forge an elixir and eat it, my cultivation will permanently skyrocket! If this is the vile path, surely among those ten thousand vengeful souls, there are experts completely devoted to the way of alchemy!"

Zhang Wenbin secretly praised himself for being a sheer genius! This idea was fucking brilliant! If he successfully crafted an elixir and consumed it, his cultivation would wildly progress! If he managed that, what else left was there to worry about?!

Awkwardly enough, after a prolonged, crushing silence, the Godfather System finally said, "Among the ten thousand vengeful souls, there are indeed a considerable number of wicked Daoist masters completely proficient in alchemy. However... a large majority of them ultimately died specifically because they consumed those very pills. Drop this delusional vanity immediately."

"They died from eating the pills?!" Zhang Wenbin was dumbstruck.

"Alchemy is not the path of mortals. It is an unorthodox, fraudulent shortcut through which cultivators attempt to recklessly steal Heaven's secrets, ultimately failing spectacularly! According to orthodox Daoist traditions, alchemy belongs strictly to the Heavenly Immortals! It simply does not tolerate interference from you profane mortals."

"These formulas are intrinsically forbidden arts! Yet, some cultivators, fully knowing success is impossible, stubbornly attempt them anyway! They are all cultivators with massive reservoirs of cultivation. However, approaching their destined time for feather-ascension into immortality, they inevitably fall victim to their own incredibly mundane, mortal lusts. Some become terrified that their entire life of cultivation will ultimately amount to nothing!"

"Others succumb to laziness, yearning wildly for a shortcut. Genuine, profound Daoist masters look down on this so-called 'alchemy' with profound disdain! They wouldn't dare touch it."

The Godfather System sighed. "Its reputation is legendary, but the reality is only those hopelessly compromised by mundane greed and mortal temptations dare to touch it. This is exactly why your father told you that you must confront your own worldly desires head-on! In reality, the moment those individuals resort to alchemy, their entire lifetime of pristine cultivation is instantaneously completely destroyed."

"Trapped in their mortal vessels yet desperately pursuing the Grand Dao—it stems purely from the catastrophic desire born of the single word: 'Greed'."

Refusing to accept this completely, Zhang Wenbin chased for a final answer, "Dad, but I've heard that completing alchemical refinement is unbelievably overpowered! Like the Prince of Huainan, who 'achieved the Dao, and even his chickens and dogs ascended to Heaven'!"

The Godfather System replied evenly, "When those Daoists refined pills, the better ones used things like tofu and croton seeds—it wouldn't kill you. But some, driven frantic for instant success, used items like mercury, arsenic, or lead! The slightest miscalculation, and they died on the spot!"

"Never mind then!" Zhang Wenbin instantaneously aborted the idea.

No wonder ancients praised the heaven-shaking power of consuming an elixir. If you actually consumed that horrific mixture of poison and managed not to immediately drop dead, you were clearly exceptionally overpowered! Whether an ordinary person consuming them achieved feathery ascension to immortality was highly debatable... but they certainly 'ascended' to the next world!

"Son, there is absolutely no need to rush. Reaching heaven in a single bound rarely, if ever, occurs in our world. Wait until your father thoroughly devours all those reluctant, resistant vengeful souls, and acquires the assistance of the Ancient Great Demon's soul. Then, there will be absolutely nothing left in the universe for you to fear!"

"Your father must enter a state of deep meditation. Remember: those who travel the vile path must avoid acting openly beneath the blue sky and bright sun. Otherwise, you will exert double the effort for half the result, which holds absolutely no benefit for you."

In his daze, the blurry skull faded entirely back into the pitch-black void. Zhang Wenbin finally awoke. Upon waking, he immediately realized he was sprawled entirely on the floor.

Pushing himself up, he felt unbearable aching radiating from every muscle. Furthermore, he was so ravenously hungry his chest felt permanently pressed against his spine. He possessed entirely zero strength. Godfather System was right—the expenditure and burden was unimaginably massive. With a body currently at the absolute peak of its youthful prime, he could work relentlessly at a construction site all day without sleep and never feel this incredibly exhausted.

Finally mustering a tiny fraction of strength, Zhang Wenbin crawled laboriously onto the bed, pulled the covers entirely over his head, and fell back into a coma-like sleep.

Honestly, the Godfather System was also breaking its own heart trying to guide him! Persistently and compassionately analyzing all the pros and cons directly for him. That feeling of being attentively cared for and profoundly protected allowed Zhang Wenbin to sleep with unparalleled peace of mind.

Though a very weird thought also struck his mind. Weren't they always claiming 'paternal love moistens like a silent spring rain'? The Godfather System was lecturing with such incredible sincerity and excessive patience... it actually sounded more like a nagging, fiercely protective old mother.

At dusk, Lin Guoxiong stood completely alone in the hotel hallway, waiting obediently by the room's entrance.

He was growing increasingly anxious, constantly checking his watch and glancing frantically out the window. Outside, the sun was actively setting, washing everything in a twilight glow.

Yang Qiang arrived in a rush. Seeing him, he was momentarily stunned. "Boss Lin! Why are you standing out here?"

"I'm waiting for the Master to wake up!"

Yang Qiang chuckled obsequiously. "Boss Lin truly has zero pretentiousness. This hotel belongs to you, so you must have a master keycard! Even if you don't enter directly, you could just ring the doorbell. Standing here and waiting like this... it's a bit humiliating if someone catches sight of you."

I have a terrible temper when I wake up... if you wake me up, I'll turn this place into a mass grave.

Recalling those terrifying words sent an arctic shudder directly down Lin Guoxiong's spine. Pulling out an omni-keycard, he immediately offered it over. "Yang Qiang, if you have an urgent matter, you can open the door yourself. I'm perfectly fine waiting out here."

"Not urgent, not urgent..." As an incredibly shrewd operator, Yang Xiong obviously didn't dare to take the card.

One was constantly terrified that his family's Feng Shui layout would be obliterated, while the other was perpetually terrified his own life was doomed. Two figures capable of summoning wind and rain across Binhai City were currently standing there as meek, perfectly obedient as primary schoolers waiting for a teacher to invite them into the office.

Yang Qiang asked curiously, "Boss Lin, did Uncle Chen leave you with any final instructions?"

"Serve him honestly and attentively, and send him off with absolute reverence."

While the two men were speaking in hushed tones, Yang Qiang's phone suddenly rang. The sharp trill echoing down the massive, empty hallway violently startled both of them.

"Master! You're awake! This lowly one is waiting directly outside your door!"

Lin Guoxiong had originally wanted to scold him for keeping his ringer volume so high. But the moment Yang Qiang answered the phone, he instantly slammed his mouth shut.

Starved to the point of complete weakness, Zhang Wenbin was still sprawled flat across the bed. Yawning with absolutely zero energy, he said, "Oh, alright. I'm coming out. I'm starving to death; we need to get something to eat immediately."

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