Demon Beast Slaughter in Progress

Facing the old man's question, the Burly Man in Black said resentfully, "That kid's name is Chen Lin. Damn it, he's already with the War God Temple now."

"Eh? Why are you so angry?" The old man in white looked at the Burly Man in Black suspiciously.

"What the hell are those people at Nanqing City Martial Arts Academy doing?! They actually failed to recruit Chen Lin into the academy! When I get back, I'll definitely report them properly to the dean. An eighteen-year-old Martial Master, a martial artist with nine hundred pounds of strength, movement technique at the level of Entering the Hall and Reaching the Inner Chamber—so young, with such outstanding talent! They missed out on such a promising seedling. Those people at Nanqing City Martial Arts Academy should all be exiled to the Hundred Thousand Mountains to kill demons!" The Burly Man in Black's face flushed red as he cursed furiously.

"Old Huo, calm down, calm down. Good seedlings are hard to come by—there's nothing to be done about it," the old man in white said with a bitter smile, hurriedly trying to soothe him.

"No. I can't just stand by and watch a genius like this stray onto the wrong path. I have to pull him out of the mud!" The Burly Man in Black slapped fist into palm and declared loudly.

"Pull him out of the mud? What are you planning?" The old man in white froze upon hearing this.

"What else? Poach him, of course!" The Burly Man in Black widened his eyes. "Old Zhang, I'm telling you now—don't you dare compete with me."

"Uh! I won't, I won't. Our Merchant Alliance doesn't really care which faction a martial artist belongs to, so long as they accept the Merchant Alliance's missions!" The old man in white waved his hands repeatedly.

It was not that the old man in white was unmoved. He simply knew in his heart that his family could not afford the price of recruiting such a genius.

And if this genius martial artist were recruited by another family within the Merchant Alliance, it would bring no benefit whatsoever to his own family. On the contrary, it might even cause them considerable trouble.

That was why he could not be bothered to waste effort and gain nothing by taking the initiative to recruit such a genius.

"This Chen Lin is far stronger than the two promising seedlings that recently emerged from our Martial Arts Academy. Compared to Chen Lin, those two—Xu Tao and Chen Fan—aren't merely a little lacking. They're separated by a distance of a hundred and eight thousand miles!" The Burly Man in Black muttered with a look of utter disdain.

The old man in white could only smile bitterly.

Daylight had fully broken. Within the ruined fortress, in a dilapidated military camp, Chen Lin was being besieged by two Two-Tailed Cats and three Fox-Faced Dogs.

Ever since he had tried adding points to upgrade his movement technique again last night, he had experienced the tremendous convenience that superior movement technique brought in battle.

As he continuously added points to upgrade the Basic Movement Technique, the number of demon beasts he could hunt had risen from one to two, then three. The numbers steadily increased, and his efficiency in earning Slaughter Points directly multiplied several times over.

Seeing such an effect from raising his movement technique level made him somewhat eager to find out what kind of power it would display once he maxed out the Basic Movement Technique.

And as Chen Lin continued trying to use Slaughter Points to raise the level of the Basic Movement Technique, he astonishingly discovered that his control over his own body had improved enormously.

He could control his body to make the smallest movements and execute the most exquisite evasions. Every shift and dodge seemed as though it had been calculated by a computer, greatly enhancing his individual combat ability.

It made him suddenly realize that, in the future, he could use the time he would have spent honing his combat techniques to hunt for Slaughter Points instead.

After all, the insights gained from adding points to martial skills with Slaughter Points could completely save him from deliberately honing his combat techniques.

Only then did he truly understand just how heaven-defying his golden finger was.

"I slash~"

"I cleave~"

"I thrust~"

Chen Lin was as calm as a machine, making one precise movement after another. At times he advanced, at times he retreated; at times he slightly twisted his waist, at times he leaped... His every movement appeared effortless and unhurried, as though he were strolling through a courtyard.

"Roar~"

The several demon beasts, unable to land a hit on Chen Lin, let out furious, irritated roars.

As the injuries on their bodies accumulated, their emotions grew ever more violent, and their attacks became increasingly swift and fierce.

While Chen Lin was continuously evading the other demon beasts' attacks, another Two-Tailed Cat had appeared in the field at some unknown time.

This Two-Tailed Cat was like an assassin skilled in stealth, lightly slipping into Chen Lin's blind spot.

At the instant Chen Lin was struggling to evade the other demon beasts' combined assault, its body suddenly shot forward, pouncing toward Chen Lin's back.

Its bloody maw was aimed directly at Chen Lin's neck, clearly intending to bite through his throat in a single bite.

The fierce gust of wind behind him instantly drew Chen Lin's attention. A glance from the corner of his eye happened to catch the Two-Tailed Cat's movement behind him.

Judging the situation at hand, Chen Lin immediately pivoted on his toes and flashed sharply to the side.

"Fuck, I didn't dodge far enough!"

Looking at the bloody maw right before him, a trace of helplessness flashed through Chen Lin's eyes. Then, with a thought, his body was tugged by the treasured sword and eerily shifted another half meter sideways, narrowly evading the Two-Tailed Cat's sly and vicious strike by a hair's breadth.

After perfectly avoiding the Two-Tailed Cat's attack, Chen Lin could not help but sigh. "Against the combined assault of five demon beasts, level six Basic Movement Technique is quite useful, but once their numbers increase, it starts to fall short. If I want to fix that flaw, I'll have to keep adding points in the future."

Though he had just evaded the Two-Tailed Cat's attack quite skillfully, Chen Lin knew perfectly well that his complete escape had not relied entirely on his superb movement technique. He had also passively used Spirit Sense Power.

Because his dodge had not been perfect, in order to avoid injury, at the very last moment he had no choice but to use Spirit Sense Power to tug the sword, forcibly dragging his body out of the Two-Tailed Cat's attack range.

"Unfortunately, my use of Spirit Sense Power is still too crude. I can't apply it to living things—only inanimate objects. Otherwise, if I could directly restrict the demon beasts' movements, wouldn't I be slaughtering them with ease?"

After shaking his head and sighing somewhat discontentedly, a cold gleam flashed through Chen Lin's eyes. Empowered by Spirit Sense Power, the Deep Blue Sword in his hand was swung even more fiercely.

Caught off guard, the demon beasts immediately let out anguished, furious cries one after another.

Before long, six demon beast corpses lay on the ground.

[Slaughter Points +1.5]

[Slaughter Points +1.2]

[Slaughter Points +1.5]

[Slaughter Points +1.2]

...

After dealing with these demon beasts, Chen Lin did not waste another second where he stood. He swiftly harvested their right ears, flashed forward, and charged once more at the demon beasts beyond the military camp.

As time passed, Chen Lin's efficiency in slaughtering demon beasts grew higher and higher, and the Slaughter Points he gained increased accordingly.

When the sun gradually climbed to the exact center of the sky, Chen Lin murmured, "It's about time. This battle should end too!"

The moment his words fell, the six demon beasts before him were once again swiftly and efficiently cut down by his sword, empowered through Spirit Sense Power.

[Slaughter Points +1.2]

[Slaughter Points +1.5]

[Slaughter Points +1.2]

Looking at the Slaughter Points that had once again been credited to him, Chen Lin could not help but sigh inwardly. "This Demon Slayer Envoy assessment has brought me quite a harvest. Although my cultivation realm hasn't improved much, my strength has nearly multiplied several times over. It has also given me a new understanding of exploring my golden finger. I've absolutely struck it rich."

Clang~ Clang~ Clang~

A series of piercing gong sounds suddenly rang out above the ruined fortress.

"The Demon Slayer Envoy assessment is over!"

Chen Lin looked up at the arrow towers in the distance, from which the shrill gongs continued to ring. He immediately swung his sword, cut off the demon beast's right ear, and stuffed it into the bulging cloth bag at his waist. Without the slightest hesitation, he set off at once for the gathering point outside the fortress.

After all, if he delayed too long and failed to reach the temporary camp within the time it took an incense stick to burn, he would automatically lose his qualification to become a Demon Slayer Envoy.

On the way out, faced with the suddenly rampaging horde of demon beasts, Chen Lin's speed was not affected in the slightest due to his exceptional movement technique.

This only strengthened his resolve that, from now on, aside from adding points to the Basic Body Tempering Technique and the Soul Strengthening Technique, he also needed to keep up with adding points to the Basic Movement Technique and Basic Swordplay.

A well-rounded hexagonal warrior was the true path to kingship.

It could not be helped. The benefits after improving his movement technique were simply too obvious. He could not help but look forward to what kind of effects the other cultivation methods and martial skills would produce once they had been upgraded to a certain extent.