The longsaber flashed, its blade faintly spitting sharp radiance. It sliced through the Green Wolf demon's body with effortless ease, cutting it cleanly in two.
Blood shot skyward like a fountain, soaring several yards high before splashing in every direction. A cold, foul stench of blood filled the entire prison cell.
The two halves of the Green Wolf demon's body crashed heavily to the ground. Its life gradually faded as it stared at Lin Baichuan in disbelief and growled, "You... how could you possibly..."
Before it could finish, it lost all signs of life.
Lin Baichuan casually wiped the blood from his blade on the Green Wolf demon's corpse before sheathing it. With a cold laugh, he said, "Copper head, iron arms, tofu waist... You clearly don't understand the wisdom of Huaxia's ancestors..."
At the same time, a cold mechanical notification sounded in his sea of consciousness.
Congratulations, Host. You have obtained 10 Merit Points.
"Ten Merit Points. Sure enough... my guess was right. Killing demons can earn Merit Points. I just don't know what these Merit Points are specifically used for."
A sharp gleam flashed in Lin Baichuan's eyes. With a thought, he opened the Attribute Panel.
Name: Lin Baichuan
Identity: Demon Suppression Division Apprentice Demon Slayer
Cultivation: Ninth Rank
Cultivation Art: Golden Bell Shield (Level One, 12%+)
Martial Skill: Seven Kill Saber Art (Beginner, 7%+)
Merit Points: 10
It had changed. The Attribute Panel had changed. A plus sign had appeared behind both the cultivation art and martial skill. It seemed Merit Points were meant for adding points, directly improving cultivation arts and martial skills.
"I'll test the effect first."
With that thought, Lin Baichuan added 1 Merit Point to the Golden Bell Shield.
At once, a flash of golden light appeared. The percentage behind the Golden Bell Shield jumped directly from 12% to 32%.
At the same time, a vast force instantly merged into his body. Lin Baichuan could clearly feel every inch of his flesh and blood being tempered and strengthened. The skin over his entire body had noticeably tightened, while his physical strength had increased by nearly ten percent.
He had only just stepped into the Body Refinement Ninth Stage. His physical strength was roughly 1,200 jin, and this ten percent increase gave him another 120 jin in an instant. This was an absolute and unexpected delight.
"One Merit Point can raise the Golden Bell Shield by twenty percent. Doesn't that mean five points can raise it to the second level, allowing me to directly step into the middle stage of Ninth Rank Skin Refining?"
A sharp light flickered in Lin Baichuan's eyes. The excitement in his heart overflowed from his face, and he was so thrilled he nearly jumped on the spot.
The first realm of martial cultivation was the Flesh Grand Realm, divided into nine ranks.
They were Ninth Rank Skin Refining, Eighth Rank Bone Tempering, Seventh Rank Organ Forging, Sixth Rank Blood Refining, Fifth Rank Meridian Unlocking, Fourth Rank Aperture Opening, Third Rank Qi Gathering, Second Rank Qi Transforming, and First Rank Pill Condensing.
The Body Refinement Ninth Stage was also known among common folk as the Nine Heavens of Body Refinement. One rank, one heaven—it showed just how difficult cultivation was. Martial arts flourished in this world, and nearly everyone cultivated, yet among several hundred or even a thousand people, perhaps only one could attain a martial rank.
Only such martial cultivators could be considered qualified martial artists.
The first realm of martial cultivation was the Flesh Grand Realm.
Skin refinement meant tempering the skin and flesh throughout the body, strengthening one's physique and power. Yet the human body had its limits. Ten thousand jin of strength was the limit of human flesh. Under normal circumstances, most martial artists possessed at most three or four thousand jin of strength in the Skin Refinement Realm.
Anyone whose physical strength exceeded five thousand jin could be called a genius.
Reaching the human body's limit of ten thousand jin made one a peerless prodigy.
Perhaps one would emerge only among millions, or even tens of millions. Every one of them was an elite.
Moreover, the stronger a martial artist's physical strength in the Skin Refinement Realm, and the deeper their foundation, the harder it became to break through Ninth Rank Skin Refining and enter the Eighth Rank Bone Tempering Realm.
But that only applied to ordinary martial artists. True geniuses were not constrained by such rules.
Lin Baichuan had heard that the Demon Suppression Division in Cangwu County had once produced a peerless prodigy. Not only had he cultivated his physical strength to its limit, but his cultivation speed had also been astonishing. In three months, he crossed three ranks in succession, rising from an ordinary person straight to the sixth rank of Body Refinement and becoming a legend within Cangwu County's Demon Suppression Division.
Now, he could use Merit Points to directly improve his cultivation arts. In theory, as long as he had enough Merit Points, he could even break through to the sixth rank in a single day—perhaps even reach a higher realm.
Of course, that was only wishful thinking for now.
Setting aside how difficult Merit Points were to obtain—and how the amount required would surely grow greater the further he advanced—Merit Points did not directly raise his cultivation realm. They improved the cultivation arts he practiced, thereby enabling breakthroughs in cultivation.
In other words, without a cultivation art, even if he had enough Merit Points, he might not be able to improve his cultivation. And the Golden Bell Shield he was currently cultivating was merely a Mortal Grade Lower Body Tempering Art.
At most, it could help him cultivate to the peak of Skin Refinement. Even then, it could not raise his physical strength to the human body's limit; four or five thousand jin was likely the most it could achieve.
Naturally, Lin Baichuan was not satisfied with that. He was a man with cheats. If he could not raise his physical strength to the human limit, would that not disgrace the title of a cheater?
"Looks like, aside from obtaining more Merit Points, I'll also need enough Contribution Points to exchange for cultivation arts and martial skills of higher grades..."
Lin Baichuan muttered to himself, his expression incomparably solemn.
Within the Demon Suppression Division, as long as one had enough Contribution Points, one could exchange them for all sorts of cultivation arts, martial skills, and cultivation resources. Contribution Points were the internal currency of the Demon Suppression Division, and the most direct and efficient way to obtain them was by completing missions.
"Once I pass the assessment and receive my identity plaque, I can start taking missions to earn Contribution Points."
Lin Baichuan quietly thought to himself. Yet he did not linger. After glancing at the wolf demon's corpse on the ground, he turned and left the prison cell.
He did not continue adding points. He intended to return to his residence and study them carefully at leisure.
He returned the way he had come.
At the entrance, quite a few people had already emerged. Their states varied. Some wore delighted expressions, their eyes carrying Killing Intent and excitement. Others were pale-faced, and several were even vomiting nearby.
They had clearly all suffered aftereffects from killing demons.
"Baichuan, over here..."
Lin Baichuan had only just stepped out of the prison when he heard someone calling his name ahead.
It was Yang Zhan.
That fellow looked perfectly normal as he waved at Lin Baichuan.
Lin Baichuan smiled faintly at him, then respectfully handed his identity plaque to the female Demon Slayer Guard standing at the entrance. "My lady, I have fulfilled my mission!"
"Mm!"
The female Demon Slayer Guard took the identity plaque and brushed it with her hand. A flash of light immediately flickered across it, and a wisp of black qi emerged. Only then did she nod in satisfaction. "Very good. Congratulations on passing the assessment. From this moment onward, you are an official Demon Slayer Guard.
Within three days, your new identity plaque, as well as the Demon Slayer Guard's exclusive uniform and battle saber, will be delivered to you.
Go wait at the side first. Someone will take you to your new residence shortly."
"Yes, my lady."
After respectfully cupping his fists in salute, Lin Baichuan turned and walked toward Yang Zhan.
"So, Baichuan, how did it feel killing a demon for the first time?" Once Lin Baichuan came over, Yang Zhan hurriedly asked, "Did it scare you? Let me tell you, don't carry any psychological burden. My father always says, those who are not of our kind must have hearts unlike ours. Demons are not the same race as us at all. Just think of them as pigs, dogs, cattle, or sheep, and you won't feel any guilt when killing them."
"It was alright."
Lin Baichuan smiled slightly, though his gaze swiftly swept over the surroundings.
Out of a hundred Apprentice Demon Slayers, fewer than thirty had emerged so far. It looked like there would still be a long wait. After chatting idly with Yang Zhan for a while, he found an excuse and went alone to sit cross-legged in a patch of shade.
Since he could not leave anytime soon, he might as well properly study the uses of Merit Points.
"One Merit Point can increase the Golden Bell Shield by twenty percent. Let's see what it does for the Seven Kill Saber Art."
With that thought, Lin Baichuan opened the Attribute Panel within his sea of consciousness.
Then, without the slightest hesitation, he added 1 Merit Point to the Seven Kill Saber Art.
Before you continue