Slaying Demons

Shi Yan memorized a few noteworthy competitors, returned the paper to Liu Wang, and after a bit more back-and-forth, left the school.

Biting the bullet and spending money on some fruit and two bottles of liquor, he headed toward his uncle's place.

His uncle had helped pay his tuition, so he needed to show some gratitude.

Bigui Residential Area.

Shi Yan slipped in with practiced ease.

It was an older neighborhood, but fully equipped, still a forest of steel.

Even under the sunlight, one could feel the cold, heavy weight of these metal-dominated buildings.

Since the Spiritual Revival began, Huaxia 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 demonic beasts appeared, attacking and devouring humans. Thermal weapons were too ineffective, and there were too many beasts, so people fell back step by step, sinking into chaos.

It wasn't until martial artists kept emerging and taking up the banner that the Era of Chaos ended. It was the martial artists who united, forming defense lines to fight the beasts.

Then, as the number of martial artists grew and they became stronger, they began building Great Cities to defend against demonic beasts—these were the Great Base Cities.

Only after the beasts were driven into the Mountains, Rivers, Lakes, and Seas, and to relieve pressure on the Great Base Cities, did they gradually split into many Small Base Cities.

The current Baiyun City was one of those Small Base Cities split off from Jiangnan Great Base City.

Sturdy buildings were one of the hallmarks of Small Base Cities, used to defend against demonic beasts.

With solid defensive fortifications, people's lives improved, and some even started keeping pets.

"Oh my, you dare kick my son!"

Just as he was heading toward his uncle's place, a sharp woman's voice reached Shi Yan's ears.

Shi Yan turned his head and spotted an argument in progress.

A heavily made-up, ornately dressed middle-aged woman was holding a small white dog, glaring at a middle-aged man across from her.

The middle-aged man, also wearing a look of anger, pointed at the woman.

"I don't care if this dog is your son or your grandson, it's wrong to pee on the car! And this isn't the first time!"

Shi Yan shifted his gaze and noticed a car behind the man, with clear urine stains on the tire.

Caught red-handed?

"What's the big deal about a little pee?"

The woman was already fuming, pointing back at the man.

"Are all men this petty? How much is your crappy car worth? Not even a hair on my son's head! The smell will fade in a bit, is it worth throwing such a fit?!"

"It is worth it!" The man's voice rose too. "I go out to work every day. Any beast's urine smell on my car could attract demonic beasts—you're putting me in danger!

And! If your dog has to pee everywhere, fine, but at least keep it on a leash when you take it out. What if it turns into a demonic beast?!"

"You—you're slandering me! My son has had his shots, he's a proper pet."

The woman, like someone stepping on a tail, blustered a couple of weak shouts before backing off, unwilling to engage the middle-aged man further.

The man wanted to say more, but was pulled back by people around him.

Those people kept muttering things like "It's a small matter, no need to get angry," and "Her family's well-off, you can't win against them."

Shi Yan, watching the drama on the sidelines, snorted through his nose, finding it a bit amusing. Even after transmigrating, he could still see scenes like this.

"Hm?"

Just as he was about to leave, Shi Yan's expression shifted.

His Spiritual Power, far beyond ordinary, caught a trace of an unusual fluctuation!

Not human... but demonic beast!

"Ah~"

As he thought this, the woman about to leave suddenly screamed.

Then she and the little dog in her arms were instantly separated, and everyone present saw blood spray from her neck.

They could faintly make out that a chunk of flesh had been bitten from the side of her neck.

Unfortunately, it had hit the carotid artery.

Unlike her earlier protective attitude toward the dog, she now stared at the dog pushed to the ground, her eyes full of terror.

"Woof!"

The white dog stared at the blood, its eyes instantly turning bloodshot. Then, under everyone's shocked gaze, its body began to swell.

Crack, crack, crack.

After a strange sound of bones, the dog's white fur fell off, and in a few breaths, it had turned into a calf-sized, hairless, blood-colored grotesque monster.

Its jagged, sharp teeth and blood-red eyes all signaled one thing—this was a ferocious demonic beast!

"A demonic beast!"

Several people nearby screamed in terror and fled in panic.

Meanwhile, he mentally cursed the dog's owner to the eighteenth generation of their ancestors.

That dog hadn't been vaccinated—otherwise, it wouldn't have turned into a demon beast!

The dog owner also screamed, clutching her neck as she ran toward the security booth.

Unfortunately, the blood was too obvious. The demon beast of a dog wasn't about to let her go.

With a single leap, it sank its teeth into the woman's arm.

Rip.

The woman's arm tore like paper, ripped clean off in one go.

She fell, her terror deepening, screaming for help.

At the same time.

Shi Yan nearby had finished preparing.

He poured all his Martial Virtue Points into Vitality.

[Name: Shi Yan]

[Realm: First-Order Warrior]

[Ability: Southern Bright Blazing Fire (SSS-Class)]

[Vitality: 21 Cal]

[Spirit: 11 Hz]

[Martial Arts: Thrusting Punch (Beginner)]

[Martial Virtue Points: 0]

This was his first time dealing with a demon beast. To be safe, he dumped everything into Vitality.

But the ratio was a bit stingy—a thousand Martial Virtue Points only added ten points of Vitality.

Just as the dog demon lunged at the woman on the ground, Shi Yan's fist slammed into its head.

The dog's head burst apart like a smashed watermelon.

[Killed Level 1 Sharp-Toothed Dog Demon. Eliminated a menace for the people. Martial Virtue Points +3]

The system's prompt rang out in his mind.

So fighting was the only way to earn Martial Virtue Points?

Shi Yan shook his fist, a flicker of pain crossing his face.

He hadn't expected a freshly evolved Level 1 demon's skull to be this hard.

It nearly broke his bones.

Killing demon beasts—better to use a weapon...

"Ah~"

The dog demon exploded, and the woman on the ground screamed again, then looked at Shi Yan.

"What are you standing there for? Why aren't you saving me!"

"?"

Shi Yan frowned. Was this bossy tone supposed to be a plea for help?

"Sorry, I need to go home and take in the laundry."

Shi Yan picked up the bags of fruit from the ground and turned to leave.

With her injuries, whether he saved her or not, she'd die anyway. Besides, he sensed two auras rushing toward this spot—they didn't need him.

As the woman's cries grew weaker, Shi Yan twisted and turned through the alleys until he finally reached his uncle's door.

Setting down the large bags in his hands, he was about to knock when he heard a woman's angry voice from inside:

"Gu Guoping, Gu Guoping! Thirty thousand yuan isn't money? How could you be so foolish!"

"It's twenty thousand. The registration fee is only twenty thousand!"

Gu Guoping's voice rose, tinged with irritation as he emphasized the point.

But the woman wasn't letting it go. She flared up again.

"I know it's twenty thousand! The other ten thousand is for funeral expenses! Do you think the Martial Arts Examination is a joke? Or do you think that little bit of Biological Ignite can help a demon beast with cupping therapy?"

"Zhang Shufen, that's enough. He's my sister's son!"

"Fine, fine, fine! Gu Guoping, you dare yell at me now?" The woman's voice grew louder. "Let me ask you—is our son not a son? He's taking the Martial Arts Examination too! Wouldn't it be better to give that money to him for Body Tempering Medicine?"

"Say no more. I've already transferred the money!"

"You! Fine, fine, fine! So now you act first and ask later!"

At that, a loud door-slamming sound came from inside, shaking dust loose from the door in front of Shi Yan.

Shi Yan felt awkward. Gu Guoping had been so quick to hand over the money, but it turned out he had to bear so much pressure behind the scenes.

He'd have to repay this money as soon as possible.

Taking a few deep breaths, he stepped forward and knocked on the door.