Soul Devouring Hand

Black energy spread from Lu Chen's left arm toward his body.

"Backlash? It was already backlashing the moment it appeared."

Faced with such a scene, Lu Chen was not particularly surprised. Demon God energy had never been anything good.

Fortunately, Lu Chen had guessed correctly. This world was too far from Arad Continent. Although experience points had simulated the aura of a Demon God, there was no will of a Demon God within it, making the ghostly energy much easier to handle.

However, just as Lu Chen prepared to mobilize his Blood Qi and suppress the ghostly energy—

A sudden stir arose in his mind. An overwhelming presence burst forth from within it, carrying the oppressive might of a colossal dragon and the bearing of a king.

Under that presence, the disturbance in Lu Chen's left arm instantly fell silent.

"This is... Conqueror's Haki. It can actually suppress the violent ghostly energy."

Looking at his left hand, which he could command as easily as his own limbs, Lu Chen was somewhat dumbfounded. He had thought there would be a fierce struggle.

Only after a long while did Lu Chen let out a sigh.

"As expected of a Gold-tier skill."

Lu Chen's Barbarian King Bloodline was powerful. It had given him a formidable body, and whenever he advanced as a Barbarian Blood Warrior, it granted him even more attributes.

Because of that performance, Lu Chen had always paid close attention to the Barbarian King Bloodline and somewhat neglected the other Gold-tier skill, Conqueror's Haki.

But now, Lu Chen understood. Not a single Gold-tier skill was weak.

"The Barbarian King Bloodline strengthens the body, and that is easy to perceive. Conqueror's Haki, meanwhile, enhances the mind, will, and bearing. At the same time, it strengthens resistance against invasions by abnormal consciousness."

"Looks like I won't need to worry about abnormal wills affecting me in the future."

"Hmm, I wonder whether activating Conqueror's Haki back then could have broken that Broken Bowl's control over me."

The thought arose in Lu Chen's mind, but he quickly shook his head.

"Difficult. That Broken Bowl probably did not control me through the mind. Otherwise, Conqueror's Haki would have reacted long ago. It should be some kind of rule-based ability."

"The waters of this world run deep. I still need to be careful."

Thinking this, Lu Chen picked up the earthenware jar beside him and drank deeply from it.

This advancement had cost Lu Chen quite a bit, but he was no longer the same as before. His nearly fifty points of Constitution filled his body with energy.

Thus, although the system drew upon Lu Chen's life essence whenever he advanced—and drew quite a lot each time—

Lu Chen could now endure it. Every advancement merely left him weakened rather than making his body grow gaunt.

Of course, the emptiness within his body after advancing still had to be replenished with energy.

But this was already very good. At the very least, Lu Chen no longer needed to hug an earthenware jar and drink while advancing.

He could replenish his nutrients after advancing.

Of course, regardless of anything else, nutrients had to be replenished. Otherwise, Lu Chen would remain weak indefinitely.

Very quickly, Lu Chen drained four of the seven earthenware jars in one go. Only then did he feel strength filling his body again.

Looking at the four empty jars, Lu Chen wore a trace of helplessness on his face.

"Sigh, one jar used to be enough to replenish my energy, but now I need four. Sure enough, the stronger I become, the greater my consumption. I can't slack off when it comes to replenishing food."

However, Lu Chen quickly cast aside that slight displeasure. Compared with his own consumption, he cared more about the growth of his strength.

Lowering his head to look at his black-red left hand, Lu Chen was very satisfied.

"From now on, I'll be relying on you to deal with evil spirits."

Though he had yet to fight an evil spirit or inspect the Demon Hand's attributes, Lu Chen was absolutely certain that the Demon Hand could harm evil spirits.

"Most evil spirits are merely things like ghosts and vicious specters. Yet what infected my left hand was a Demon God standing at the pinnacle of souls. If a Demon Hand infected by such an existence could not deal with evil spirits, that would be the biggest joke of all."

With that thought, Lu Chen opened the system panel and examined his current attributes.

Host: Lu Chen

Age: 15

Level: 20

Class: Level 5 Swordsman / Level 5 Barbarian Blood Warrior

Experience Points: 322

Skills

Savage Bull Force (Bronze)

Direct Perception E (Bronze)

Blood Boiling (Bronze)

Master Swordsmanship Proficiency (Silver)

Fatal Blow (Silver)

Conqueror's Haki (Gold)

Barbarian King Bloodline (Gold)

Demon Hand (Black)

Description: An arm infected by Demon God Power. The host may use this palm to attack enemies in a soul state. Enemies struck by this palm will also suffer soul damage.

Passive Skills: Demon God Aura +50, Soul Touch

Active Skills: Soul Devouring Hand, Ghost Slash

Soul Devouring Hand: Grabs an enemy in front and absorbs their Blood Qi. Releasing the absorbed Blood Qi deals physical damage to the enemy and increases the caster's strength. This skill can grab souls.

Ghost Slash: Summons Demon God Power onto a weapon and unleashes a powerful dark-attribute attack forward.

"It comes with two active skills. A Mythic ability."

Looking at Soul Devouring Hand and Ghost Slash, Lu Chen understood that the Demon Hand had already reached the level of a Mythic ability.

However, Mythic skills were rainbow-colored, while this one was black. That meant the skill before him was taboo; frequent use could easily bring backlash.

"True Mythic skills don't carry so many hidden dangers. What a pity."

"Still, I should be content. Right now, both Soul Devouring Hand and Ghost Slash can deal damage to evil spirits, and they don't even consume my own Blood Qi."

Lu Chen was very satisfied with the Demon Hand. As long as Conqueror's Haki could continually suppress the will within it, he could use the Demon Hand without restraint.

Besides his skills, after Lu Chen's Barbarian Blood Warrior level increased, his basic attributes had also risen greatly.

Strength +34, Agility +13, Constitution +49, Blood Qi +29.

Bearing +10, Will +20, Pressure +10, Perception +5.

Rage +10, Demon God Power +50, Sharpness +3, Longsword Mastery +20, Basic Swordsmanship +20.

"Constitution has reached 49. Just one more point and it will break through 50. Not bad."

Lu Chen had endured several dangerous situations by relying on his Constitution, so he now valued it greatly.

The higher his Constitution, the safer Lu Chen felt.

Very quickly, Lu Chen finished understanding everything gained from this advancement within his sea of consciousness.

Then, without hesitation, he picked up the iron sword in his hand and rose once more.

"Evil spirits, I'm back."

"My lord, you're going again?"

"How about waiting for today and going tomorrow instead?"

Lu Chen's miserable state when he had returned from outside had frightened the two Barbarians. Neither wanted him to go again.

Lu Chen merely smiled at that.

"There's no time for me to wait, and I'm in my best condition right now."

Even Lu Chen felt some concern over the dangers outside, but no matter how afraid he was inside, he still intended to go hunting.

"The system may be good, but if I want to become strong, I still have to hunt evil spirits and gain experience points."

"Besides, danger is relative. As long as I am strong enough, a danger capable of destroying a village will be like a spring breeze to me, unable to cause me any harm."

Refusing to rest, Lu Chen strode toward the outskirts of the village.

Of course, Lu Chen truly was fine at this moment. When he had returned from outside, he had looked miserable, and even his internal organs had suffered severe injuries. But his nearly fifty points of Constitution were no mere decoration.

After several jars of medicinal soup, coupled with his body's own restorative abilities, Lu Chen's internal injuries had now completely healed.

Therefore, when he went out now, he truly was at his physical peak.

However, just as Lu Chen prepared to set out, another horn suddenly sounded in the distance.

Hearing the sound from afar, Lu Chen understood what had happened without the two Barbarians needing to say anything.

"Another evil spirit has entered the Totem Pillar's range."

"Why have so many evil spirits been breaking into the village these past two days?"