Rank 8 Monster Exterminator

As Chen Lin finished allocating points, the Basic Body Tempering Method rose from Level 2 to Level 3. Streams of faint warmth flowed through every pore of his body and into his limbs and bones, continuously increasing his physical strength and carrying him step by step from mortal to extraordinary.

Nourished by the warm currents, the soreness and pain in his flesh from a full day of slaughtering seemed to ease considerably, making Chen Lin unable to suppress a soft moan.

"Hiss~"

Glancing at the jade book, where his physical strength had risen from 62 → 70, a flicker of delight crossed Chen Lin's heart.

At that moment, he felt that obtaining the identity of a Demon Slayer Envoy in a month's time was as easy as taking something out of his pocket.

Time flew by.

More than twenty days quietly slipped away amid Chen Lin's painful yet joyful days.

With eight days remaining before the Demon Slayer Envoy examination, Chen Lin resigned from his butcher's job under Dong Wu's reluctant gaze and began preparing for the examination.

It was not that Chen Lin did not want to keep harvesting Slaughter Points at the slaughterhouse. Rather, with only eight days left, he not only needed to pass the War God Temple's entry examination, but also had to leave himself enough time to apply for the Demon Slayer Envoy examination eight days later.

Otherwise, if he delayed too long, not only would all his efforts during this period go down the drain, but if he wished to take the Demon Slayer Envoy examination again, he would have to wait another three years.

As for the plan of raising his strength through point allocation and then hunting demon beasts for money, it was not as though Chen Lin had never considered it.

Unfortunately, without the identity of a Demon Slayer Envoy, Chen Lin could forget about hunting demon beasts—he even had trouble traveling freely.

After all, demon beasts were everywhere in this world. For the safety of the people within its territory, the imperial court forbade martial artists who did not belong to the Four Great Powers, or who lacked the identity of a Demon Slayer Envoy, from entering and leaving the cities freely.

And the requirements for becoming a martial artist of the Four Great Powers were basically only a hair easier than passing the Demon Slayer Envoy examination.

Therefore, whether he became a martial artist of the Four Great Powers or obtained the identity of a Demon Slayer Envoy, Chen Lin could not avoid either path if he wanted the freedom to go out and hunt demon beasts.

Even if they were driven out to work on estates beyond the city walls, they would be watched every hour of the day. Unless he abandoned his family in this world, he had no choice but to remain on the estate and toil honestly.

After adding his last bit of Slaughter Points to the Basic Body Tempering Method, it rose from Level 3 to Level 5, and his physical strength reached 90.

In an instant, surging qi and blood emerged continuously from every part of his body, endlessly washing over his skin, flesh, tendons, and bones.

Soreness, numbness, swelling, and pain took turns crashing over him, twisting Chen Lin's face into a grimace. He wished he could smash himself unconscious at once.

As time passed, threads of greasy, murky brown liquid were continuously squeezed out through Chen Lin's pores.

An indescribable stench gradually filled Chen Lin's entire room.

After an unknown amount of time, Chen Lin, drenched in sweat, struggled to rise from the floor. He grabbed the water jug from the table and savagely gulped down a whole jug of cold water before finally having the leisure to inspect the data on the jade book.

[Host: Chen Lin]

[Realm: Early Martial Master]

[Soul: 25]

[True Qi: 0]

[Physical Strength: 100]

[Slaughter Points: 0]

[Techniques: Soul Strengthening Technique Level 1 (3/10), Basic Body Tempering Method Level 6 (1/60)]

[Martial Skills: Basic Swordplay Level 4 (1/40), Basic Movement Technique Level 4 (1/40)]

Compared with his physical data from a month ago, Chen Lin's strength had advanced by leaps and bounds.

At the same time, due to his explosive growth in strength during this period, the muscles and bones throughout his body had also undergone rather noticeable changes.

First was his innate martial talent. Because his strength had previously been unremarkable, and his usual nutrition had failed to keep up, his superior martial build—ape arms, wasp waist, and mantis legs—had developed exceptionally slowly.

Although his hard work at the slaughterhouse had earned him no silver, Chen Lin had brought home plenty of scraps of meat and bones.

Dong Wu turned a blind eye to Chen Lin's bold behavior. After all, Chen Lin worked quickly and did plenty of work without asking for wages. In Dong Wu's eyes, taking some scraps like minced meat and bones was only fair and proper, not excessive in the slightest.

With his growing strength and proper nutrition, Chen Lin had not only grown much taller during this period, but his muscles had also changed noticeably along with his increasing power.

His body, as though carved by knives and hewn by axes, was sharply defined enough to make even Chen Lin himself dizzy with excitement.

Aside from the Basic Body Tempering Method, Chen Lin had also allocated plenty of points to Basic Swordplay and the Basic Movement Technique during this time.

After all, simply increasing strength and speed was not enough without means of attacking and evading.

Besides requirements for one's realm, the Demon Slayer Envoy examination also tested actual combat ability.

Only by passing both could one become a true Demon Slayer Envoy.

Only after scrubbing himself thoroughly did Chen Lin dare step out of his home.

It was still early, and he planned to visit the Lieyang Martial Arts School to familiarize himself with his rapidly increased strength.

The streets in the morning were sparsely populated, since dawn had only just broken. Chen Lin moved quickly and soon arrived at the Lieyang Martial Arts School in the southern part of the city.

Nanqing City had four martial arts schools, each located at one of the four corners of the Inner City. They were both the Inner City's first line of defense and the Outer City's final line of defense.

"Clip-clop, clip-clop~~"

The moment Chen Lin arrived at the entrance of the Lieyang Martial Arts School, he heard an exceptionally rhythmic sound of hoofbeats behind him.

Turning around, he saw a tall white horse, snow-white from head to hoof, strolling unhurriedly in his direction.

Staring at the horse's flame-like hooves, Chen Lin could not help drawing in a sharp breath. "A Crimson Flame White Horse! The finest of steeds among Good Steeds."

He had memories of this horse. It had been the previous owner of this body's dream horse, one he had dreamed of owning even in his sleep.

"Damn! A Crimson Flame White Horse! What great figure has returned to the city this time?"

"That horse looks incredible. Too bad you can't buy one even if you have money!"

"Once I become a Martial Master, I'm definitely joining the War God Temple! For no other reason than to qualify to own a Crimson Flame White Horse!"

The martial arts students warming up in the Lieyang Martial Arts School's training grounds were drawn back outside by the cries of surprise at the entrance.

Under everyone's fervent gazes, the black-robed martial artist riding the Crimson Flame White Horse reined in his mount and stopped before the Lieyang Martial Arts School.

His gaze casually swept over the excited martial arts students. It paused briefly on Chen Lin before he said nothing and entered the martial arts school directly.

"A Rank 8 Monster Exterminator from the War God Temple!" Seeing the two crimson-gold copper coins hanging at his waist, Chen Lin's eyes lit up.

As a relatively loose organization of martial artists, the War God Temple had, besides a martial artist's own realm, a ranking system similar to that of the Demon Slayer Envoys.

This ranking considered not only the strength of the temple's members, but also the quantity and quality of the missions they completed, before assigning an overall rating.

One crimson-gold copper coin represented a Rank 9 Demon Purifier, most of whom were Martial Master-level martial artists.

Two crimson-gold copper coins represented a Rank 8 Monster Exterminator, most of whom were Martial Grandmaster-level martial artists.

And so on. Rank 7 Demon Purifiers were generally Martial King-level martial artists, while Rank 6 Demon Purifiers were generally Martial Emperor-level martial artists...

The gaze of that Martial Grandmaster-level martial artist had been tremendously oppressive. Just one glance from him made Chen Lin's scalp tingle, as though in the eyes of such a martial artist, someone with strength like his was nothing more than grass and straw.

That indifference toward life sent a chill through Chen Lin's heart.

Suppressing his thoughts, Chen Lin suddenly grew curious. Who was this man, and what had he come to the Lieyang Martial Arts School for?