Brocade Guard

Great Zhou Dynasty.

Ping An County.

Cold!

Bone-piercing cold!

Pain!

Heart-rending pain!

Cold and pain intertwined, instead making Chen Fan a little clearer-headed. Then a flood of information poured into his mind.

Immortal dynasties, ten-thousand-year Aristocratic Clans, martial sects, Barbarian Race witchcraft, demons and monsters...

All manner of information surged into Chen Fan's mind at once, leaving his head swollen and splitting with pain, yet he rapidly absorbed it all.

Only after a long while did he fully digest these memories that had never belonged to him.

The good news was that he had transmigrated, becoming a Brocade Guard in the Great Zhou Dynasty with the same name as himself, finally eating the imperial grain he had dreamed of in his previous life.

The bad news was that he had been attacked by demonkin. Baleful Intent and demon poison had entered his body, leaving him gravely injured and with little time left to live!

This was simply awful!

He had just transmigrated, only to die!

Was he not the shame of all transmigrators?!

Suppressing the pain in his body, Chen Fan slowly opened his eyes. Suddenly, rows of blurry golden-red words appeared before him.

"Was this floaters, or was I hallucinating?"

He squeezed his eyes shut hard, then opened them again. The golden-red words became even clearer!

Name: Chen Fan

Realm: Divine Treasury Realm (First Trial: Skin Devil King)

Martial Arts: "Body Tempering Fist" (Minor Accomplishment), "Blade Draw Slash" (Minor Accomplishment)

By consuming lifespan, you may continuously deduce martial arts!

When remaining lifespan is less than one year, deduction cannot be performed!

Slaying demonkin allows you to steal their remaining lifespan to deduce martial arts!

Current remaining personal lifespan: Three days (70 years)

In current condition, lifespan cannot be consumed to deduce martial arts!

Note: Demonkin Lifespan cannot be converted into personal lifespan!

"Seventy years."

"Normally speaking, I should still have seventy years to live!"

"But now that I was attacked by demonkin, gravely injured, and had demonkin Baleful Intent invade my body and seep into my internal organs, along with demon poison assailing me, I only have three days left!"

"If I want to stay alive, I must raise my strength and use my own qi and blood to suppress the Baleful Intent and demon poison, allowing my body to steadily recover!"

"My Golden Finger lets me cultivate by burning lifespan. Since I can't burn my own life, then I'll burn the demonkin's life!"

"I will slay demonkin, steal their remaining lifespan, deduce my martial arts, push the 'Body Tempering Fist' and 'Blade Draw Slash' to their limits, raise my strength, and extend my life!"

Chen Fan thought to himself.

The "Body Tempering Fist" was a compulsory martial art for Brocade Guard members. Anyone who passed the assessment and joined the Brocade Guard could obtain it.

The name "Body Tempering Fist" sounded utterly commonplace, but it was the most universally applicable martial foundation technique created by the Great Zhou Founder. It was suitable for nearly every beginner in martial arts.

With this technique, one could cultivate to the very limit of the Divine Treasury Realm and break through the five great trials of that realm in one stroke: Skin Devil King, Bone Vajra, Sinew Bodhisattva, Blood Martial Saint, and Marrow Asura!

If one could cultivate to the peak Divine Treasury Realm, one would not be considered weak even among the Brocade Guard. At the very least, one could become a centurion, and might even accumulate enough merit to receive an exceptional promotion to Thousand-Household Commander!

As for the "Blade Draw Slash," Chen Fan had exchanged merit points for it after joining the Brocade Guard and taking part in several demonkin suppression campaigns.

The original owner's martial aptitude had not been poor. Coupled with his diligent cultivation, he had passed the assessment and joined the Brocade Guard at fifteen, then cultivated both martial arts to Minor Accomplishment in just one year.

Relying on these two martial arts, he had not been among the weaklings within the Ping An County Centurion Office.

Perhaps after a few more years, once his martial realm improved, he could become a Brocade Guard Squad Leader and command around ten men.

Unfortunately, earthenware jars were bound to break by the well, and generals could hardly avoid dying before the ranks. A sudden emergency patrol mission had led him to encounter an exceptionally formidable demonkin.

All five people traveling with him had died in battle, and the original owner had in fact died as well. That was why Chen Fan had transmigrated here!

"Doctor, how is Brother Chen Fan?"

A voice asked from outside the door.

"Cannot be saved!"

"No hope!"

"Wait for death!"

Another, elderly voice replied.

Chen Fan: "???"

I... I think I can still be saved!

"His external injuries are not that serious, and his sinews and bones are all intact. But the fatal part is that he encountered a Five-Colored Toad greater demon. This demon is incomparably poisonous, and its Demonkin Force is filled with extremely yin Baleful Intent."

"The demon poison and yin Baleful Intent have tangled into Yin Sha Poison, invading his internal organs. Within three days, this Yin Sha Poison will corrode his entire body, and he will die."

"With this old man's medical skill, I truly have no means to turn the tide!"

The elderly voice added.

"Then could you prescribe some medicine, so Brother Chen Fan can leave peacefully?"

The first voice asked again.

Having accepted the original owner's memories, Chen Fan recognized that voice. It belonged to his immediate superior, Brocade Guard Squad Leader Wang Chao.

Wang Chao had recruited him into the Brocade Guard. Over the past year, Wang Chao had looked after him in many ways and could be considered the original owner's benefactor.

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Chen Fan coughed forcefully twice. Wang Chao heard him from outside, immediately opened the door, and hurried to Chen Fan's bedside, asking anxiously,

"Brother Chen Fan, how do you feel?"

Wang Chao was broad and powerfully built, with a leopard's head, ringed eyes, a swallow's brow, tiger whiskers, and a wild beard flying across his face. He looked fierce and evil, but anyone who spent time with him would know that he merely looked vicious; his heart was exceedingly kind.

Through the original owner's memories, Chen Fan knew that he had no one to rely on in Ping An County. No father, no mother, no home to return to—he was an orphan raised on the meals of a hundred households. It did suit the lot of a transmigrator.

Thus, the original owner now lived at the Brocade Guard Precinct and would ultimately die within this precinct as well.

"Chief Wang, I heard everything you said. My life is already nearing its end."

"Our Great Zhou Brocade Guard oversees Aristocratic Clans and sects, slays demons and monsters, rides in fresh clothes and spirited steeds, wears brocade robes, lets Embroidered Spring Blades gleam against the snow, and acts by special imperial authority. How majestic!"

"If Chief Wang had not taken pity on me back then, I, Chen Fan, might still be a thug and beggar in Ping An County."

"To have known Chief Wang and joined the Brocade Guard in this life, I can die without regrets."

"But knowing that I am about to die still leaves some regret in my heart."

"I joined the Brocade Guard a year ago. Though I have taken part in several missions to suppress demonkin, I have never personally slain one."

"Ever since joining the Brocade Guard, I have taken slaying demons and eliminating evil as my duty. Yet before dying at a demonkin's hands, I have never slain a demonkin myself. It is truly one of life's greatest regrets."

"Chief Wang, before I die, I wish to personally kill a demonkin. Can my wish be fulfilled?"

Chen Fan looked at Wang Chao pitifully, nearly begging as he spoke.

"This..."

Wang Chao hesitated, wanting to speak but stopping himself.

The Brocade Guard's primary duties indeed included overseeing Aristocratic Clans and sects, slaying demons and monsters—but note, slaying them, not capturing them alive.

Moreover, what demonkin that had awakened its intelligence could be easy to deal with? Where was he supposed to find a demonkin for Chen Fan to kill at a time like this?

And looking at Chen Fan's condition, he probably could not even lift a Hundred-Refined Embroidered Spring Blade, much less kill a tough-skinned, thick-fleshed monster.

"Young man, you likely have trouble even walking right now. Even if Lord Wang truly captured demonkin for you, how would you kill them?"

At that moment, the thin doctor with white hair and beard came before Chen Fan with his medicine chest on his back and asked.

"Doctor, may I ask if you can help me fulfill my final wish?"

Chen Fan looked at Shen Qing, the finest physician at Ping An County's Hall of Universal Aid, and asked in a low voice.

"Yes!"

"I can brew you a potent medicine. After drinking it, it can suppress the Yin Sha Poison in your body for twelve hours. During those twelve hours, I can ensure that you are no different from an ordinary person."

"After twelve hours, once the medicine's effects fade, the Yin Sha Poison will erupt completely. At that time, you will die and vanish from this world!"

"Do you dare drink it?"

Shen Qing looked at Chen Fan and asked.

"I dare!"

"What is there not to dare?"

Chen Fan answered with unwavering resolve.