After memorizing several noteworthy rivals, Shi Yan returned the paper to Liu Wang. After a few more exchanged pleasantries, he left the school.
Gritting his teeth over the expense, he bought some fruit and two bottles of baijiu, then hurried toward his uncle's home.
His uncle had helped pay his tuition, so he had to show his gratitude.
Bigui Residential Area.
Shi Yan entered with practiced familiarity.
This was a relatively old residential complex, but its facilities were complete, and it was still a forest of steel.
Even under the sunlight, one could still feel the coldness and heaviness of these metal-dominated buildings.
Since the Spiritual Revival, Huaxia Kingdom had gone through four stages: the Era of Chaos, the Defense Line Era, the Great Base City Era, and the Small Base City Era.
In the early days of the Spiritual Revival, countless demon beasts appeared, attacking and devouring humans. Thermal weapons were of little use, and there were too many demon beasts. In the end, humanity suffered defeat after defeat and sank into chaos.
Only when warriors continuously emerged and raised the banner high did the Era of Chaos come to an end. The warriors also united, forming defensive lines to fight the demon beasts.
Then, as warriors grew more numerous and stronger, they began building Great Cities to defend against demon beasts—the Great Base Cities.
Only after the demon beasts had been driven into the Mountains, Rivers, Lakes, and Seas did the Great Base Cities gradually split into many Small Base Cities to ease the pressure on them.
The Baiyun City where he currently lived was one of the Small Base Cities split off from Jiangnan Great Base City.
Sturdy buildings were one of the defining features of Small Base Cities, built to defend against demon beasts.
With solid defensive fortifications, people's lives had improved as well. Some had even begun keeping pets.
"Good heavens, you dared to kick my son!"
As Shi Yan headed toward his uncle's home, a shrill woman's voice reached his ears.
Shi Yan turned his head and discovered an argument in progress.
A heavily made-up, extravagantly dressed middle-aged woman held a small white dog in her arms and glared at a middle-aged man opposite her.
The middle-aged man was also furious, pointing at the woman.
"I don't care whether this dog is your son or your grandson. It's wrong for it to piss on my car. How many times has this been already?!"
Shi Yan's gaze shifted slightly, and he noticed a car behind the man, its tire bearing obvious traces of urine.
Caught red-handed?
"What's wrong with letting it pee a little?"
The woman was in the heat of her anger and pointed back at the man.
"Are all men as petty as you? How much is your wreck of a car even worth? It isn't worth a single hair on my son! The smell will disperse in a while. Is there any need to throw such a huge tantrum?!"
"There is!" The man raised his voice too. "I have to go out for work every day. The smell of any beast's urine on my car could attract demon beasts. You're putting me in danger!
"And another thing! It's bad enough that your dog pisses everywhere, but you don't even put it on a leash when you take it out. What if it turns into a demon beast?!"
"You—you're spitting blood! My son has already gotten his shots. He's a legitimate pet!"
As if someone had stepped on her tail, the woman shrieked twice with a fierce expression masking her inner weakness, then backed away, unwilling to deal with the middle-aged man any longer.
The man still wanted to say something, but the people beside him pulled him back.
They kept saying things like, "It's just a small matter, no need to get angry," and, "Her family is wealthy, you can't afford to fight them."
Shi Yan, who had been watching the show, snorted through his nose. He found it somewhat amusing. Even after transmigrating, he could still witness things like this.
"Hm?"
Just as he was about to leave, Shi Yan's expression changed.
His Spiritual Power, far beyond that of ordinary people, caught a strange fluctuation!
It did not belong to a human, but to... a demon beast!
"Ah~"
As he was thinking, the woman who had been preparing to leave suddenly screamed in the distance.
Then, she and the small dog in her arms abruptly separated. The people present immediately saw blood spray from her neck.
They could vaguely see that a chunk of flesh had been bitten off from the side of her neck.
Unfortunately, it had bitten through a major artery.
Unlike the expression she had worn while defending the dog moments ago, her eyes were now filled with terror as she looked at the dog that had been knocked to the ground.
"Woof!"
The white dog stared at the blood, its eyes instantly turning scarlet. Then, beneath everyone's shocked gaze, its body began to bulge continuously.
Crack, crack, crack.
After a series of cracking bones, the little dog's white fur fell away. Within a few breaths, it transformed into a ferocious, hairless, blood-colored monster the size of a calf.
Its interlocking sharp teeth and blood-red eyes all foretold one thing: this was a savage demon beast!
"There's a demon beast!"
The people nearby shouted in terror and fled in every direction, scrambling about like headless flies.
At the same time, they cursed the dog's owner's ancestors for eighteen generations.
That dog had never received any shots. Otherwise, it would not have turned into a demon beast!
The dog's owner screamed as well, clutching her neck and running toward the security booth.
Unfortunately, the blood was far too conspicuous, and the dog that had become a demon beast would not let her go.
With a single leap, it bit down on the woman's arm.
Rip.
The woman's arm was like papier-mâché, torn off in one go.
The woman fell to the ground, becoming even more terrified as she screamed for help.
At the same time.
Shi Yan was ready as well.
He added all his Martial Virtue Points to his Blood Vitality.
[Name: Shi Yan] [Realm: First-Order Warrior] [Ability: Southern Bright Blazing Fire (SSS-Class)] [Blood Vitality: 21 cards] [Spiritual Power: 11 hertz] [Martial Arts: Thrusting Punch (Beginner)] [Martial Virtue Points: 0]
This was also his first time dealing with a demon beast. To be safe, he had put everything into Blood Vitality.
The conversion ratio was just a little low—one thousand Martial Virtue Points only added ten points of Blood Vitality.
Just as the dog demon pounced toward the woman on the ground, Shi Yan's fist smashed into its head.
The dog's head burst apart like an exploding watermelon.
[You have slain a Level 1 Sharp-Toothed Dog Demon. You have eliminated harm for the people. Martial Virtue Points +3.]
The system prompt sounded in his mind.
Could he only gain Martial Virtue Points through fighting?
Shi Yan shook his fist, a flicker of pain passing over his face.
He had not expected the skull of a newly evolved Level 1 demon beast to be so hard.
It had nearly fractured his bones.
It was better to equip weapons when killing demon beasts...
"Ah~"
After the dog demon was blown apart, the woman on the ground screamed again, then looked at Shi Yan.
"What are you standing there for? Hurry up and save me!"
"?"
Shi Yan frowned. Was that high-handed attitude supposed to be asking for help?
"Sorry, I need to go home and bring in the laundry."
Shi Yan picked up the bags of fruit from the ground, turned, and left.
Whether he saved the woman or not, she would die from those injuries. Besides, he had sensed two auras hurrying this way, so there was no need for him.
As the woman's cries grew weaker and weaker, Shi Yan wound through several turns and finally arrived at his uncle's door.
He put down the several large bags in his hands. Just as he was about to knock, he heard an angry woman's voice from inside.
"Gu Guoping, Gu Guoping! Is thirty thousand yuan not money? How could you be so muddleheaded!"
"It was twenty thousand. The registration fee was only twenty thousand!"
Gu Guoping raised his voice slightly, emphasizing it with some irritation.
But the woman had no intention of letting him off and flared up again.
"I know it was twenty thousand. The other ten thousand was funeral money! Is the Martial Arts Examination child's play? Or do you think that bit of Biological Ignite can help demon beasts get a cupping treatment?"
"Zhang Shufen, enough! He's my elder sister's son!"
"Fine, fine, fine! Gu Guoping, you even dare to yell at me now!" The woman roared even louder. "Then let me ask you: isn't our son your son? He's participating in the Martial Arts Examination too. Wouldn't it be better to use that money to buy him Body Tempering Medicine?"
"Say no more. I've already transferred the money!"
"You! Fine, fine, fine! You've even learned to act first and report later!"
At that point, a fierce door slam suddenly sounded from inside, shaking loose dust from the door before Shi Yan.
Shi Yan felt awkward. Gu Guoping had given him the money so readily, but he had not expected him to bear such immense pressure behind the scenes.
It seemed he had to repay this money as quickly as possible.
After taking several deep breaths, he finally stepped forward and knocked on the door.
Before you continue