"Gasp!"
"Could the dead still feel pain?"
"Damn, why has my voice changed?"
A piercing pain awakened Wei Qing from the chaos.
He instinctively opened his mouth, only to be startled by the hoarse, unfamiliar voice that came out.
Just as uncertainty gripped him, fragments of memories surged into his mind like a tide.
It turned out that this body's original owner was the legitimate son of the Wei family in Great Zhou's Imperial City. His father, Wei Yuan, was a fifth-rank Earth-rank Warden of the Heavenly Realm Division.
Two months ago, Wei Yuan had mysteriously vanished while investigating the Black Lotus Cult.
Seizing the chance, his second aunt Liu Ru had struck. Not only had she driven the original owner into a side courtyard where the servants lived, she had also poisoned his food.
By the time the original owner realized it, the poison had already seeped into his bones and marrow.
In his previous life, Wei Qing had been an elite member of the Dragon Group and had encountered an explosion during a mission.
He had never expected that, upon opening his eyes again, he would have transmigrated into this Heavenly Origin Realm where demons ran rampant.
Ding! System activated.
A cold mechanical voice suddenly rang out in his mind.
A translucent system interface appeared before Wei Qing's eyes:
Host: Wei Qing Age: 16 Realm: Ninth-Rank Martial Artist (Intermediate) Spirit: 99 Strength: 62 Constitution: 59
Residual poison detected within host. One beginner gift package issued.
Claim it?
A system? A beginner gift package?
Wei Qing was slightly taken aback, then a sharp glint flashed through his eyes.
As a transmigrator, he knew all too well the value of a system—this would be his only support in this world where the weak were prey to the strong!
From the original owner's memories, he learned:
In the Heavenly Origin Realm, demons ran rampant while humanity barely clung to life.
Three hundred years ago, spiritual energy had erupted, demons had emerged, and humanity had nearly been wiped out.
Only after a century of bloody war, with corpses piled into mountains, had they barely managed to suppress the demons.
But now, the seals were weakening, demons were reviving, and troubled times were approaching!
In this cruel world, without strength, there was only one path: death!
"Claim!"
Without the slightest hesitation, he willed it, and the system interface unfolded before him...
Detoxification Pill ×1, Realm Advancement Card ×1, Profound-tier Cultivation Method "Flowing Cloud Slash" ×1, Soul Severing Blade ×1
Without a moment's delay, Wei Qing used them all!
The Detoxification Pill entered his mouth and turned into a cool medicinal force, instantly washing through his limbs and bones!
The residual poison in his body melted away in an instant like ice and snow meeting fire!
Immediately afterward—
Boom!
A majestic wave of heat suddenly erupted from his dantian!
The Realm Advancement Card took effect!
His tendons and bones crackled, his flesh and blood reformed!
Power surged like a raging tide. Wei Qing could clearly feel every inch of muscle and every bone in his body transforming!
"So this is... the power of an Eighth-Rank Martial Artist?"
He slowly clenched his fist. His knuckles cracked sharply, and a cold curve lifted at the corner of his mouth.
At this moment, his strength was at least ten times what it had been in his previous life!
Then, in the next instant—
Buzz!
A vast amount of experience from "Flowing Cloud Slash" flooded into his mind like a torrent!
The essence of blade techniques, combat experience, techniques of slaughter...
It was as though he had lived through a thousand bloody battles and ten thousand desperate fights!
The blade had already become a part of his body!
The system panel refreshed—
Host: Wei Qing Realm: Eighth-Rank Martial Artist (Intermediate) Spirit: 194 Strength: 164 Constitution: 162 Martial Skill: Flowing Cloud Slash (Mastery)
Wei Qing slowly opened his eyes, cold light in them sharp as blades!
"You're courting death!" A furious roar suddenly pierced through the coffin.
"Young Master Wushang, the eldest young master has already passed..." The old steward's voice carried false grief. Wei Qing's heart jolted.
Jun Wushang, the illegitimate son of Marquis Huaiyuan's Estate, had been the original owner's sworn friend.
If not for the original owner's help back then, this youth born of a maid would likely have long since died in the inner residence of the marquis's estate.
Now, he was already an Intern Warden of the Heavenly Realm Division.
The Heavenly Realm Division—the sharpest fang of Great Zhou's imperial authority!
It stood above the imperial court and answered only to the emperor himself.
Slay demons!
Suppress evil spirits!
Watch over all under heaven!
Once one entered the Heavenly Realm Division, life and death were left to fate!
Either tread upon heaps of corpses and climb upward, becoming an even stronger Guardian Envoy!
Or die during a mission, perhaps leaving not even a corpse behind!
There was no third path!
And to offend the Heavenly Realm Division?
Even death would be mercy!
Even if one was merely an intern Prison Warden, once the Ink Blade at his waist left its sheath—
Even a sitting Minister would have to retreat three paces!
It was precisely because of this that Marquis Huaiyuan, who had once regarded Jun Wushang as an ant, now did not even dare breathe too loudly.
He had even humbled himself repeatedly, hoping to acknowledge this son again.
But Jun Wushang had never looked back!
At noon, Liu Ru had received word that Wei Qing's cousin Wei Lin was about to replace Wei Qing in his Intern Warden position in the Heavenly Realm Division.
Together with the resources and connections Wei Yuan had left behind...
At this moment, the old steward no longer regarded Jun Wushang, this Intern Warden, as worthy of notice.
Unfortunately—
He did not know that...
Jun Wushang was no longer an intern Prison Warden!
He was—
A full-fledged Guardian Envoy!
Just today, Jun Wushang had passed the final assessment!
At dusk three days ago, Wei Qing had still patted his close friend on the shoulder and laughed. "Once you're officially promoted, I'll treat you at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion!"
But today—
When Jun Wushang wore the Ink Jade Token at his waist and formally accepted his appointment as a Guardian Envoy...
What awaited him was the dreadful news of his close friend's sudden death!
At that moment, the appointment document in his hand had been crushed to pieces!
Slap!
After the crisp slap, half the old steward's face instantly swelled with purple bruises.
"Spouting your mother's stinking bullshit!"
Jun Wushang grabbed the old steward by the collar, his voice wrapped in towering killing intent. "Open your dog eyes and look carefully!"
An Ink Jade Token was slammed onto the coffin. The six blood-red seal characters, "Heavenly Realm Division Guardian Envoy," stabbed painfully at the eyes.
"According to Article Seven of the Heavenly Realm Law!"
"Whenever a Guardian Envoy dies suddenly, the identity must be verified by the division's coroner and recorded with the Punishment Hall before burial may proceed!"
"Who allowed you to bypass the rules of the Heavenly Realm Division and handle a Guardian Envoy's corpse in private?"
"Whoever dares stop me today—"
The cold gleam of Jun Wushang's Ink Blade surged. Its edge drew a line of blood against the old steward's Adam's apple.
"I'll let him have a taste of Thousand Blade Prison!"
The old steward trembled violently. A pool of foul-smelling liquid suddenly spread from beneath his trouser legs. "Lord Guardian Envoy, spare me! This old servant will immediately..."
Before he could finish, Jun Wushang struck the coffin lid with a backhanded palm.
Boom!
The three-inch-thick cypress coffin lid exploded into splinters that filled the air. Amid the fluttering debris, a corpse pale as paper suddenly—
Opened its eyes!
"Yo—"
A lazy, drawn-out voice came from within the coffin, sounding especially eerie in the deathly silent Mourning Hall.
Jun Wushang's powerful body shook, then he burst into earth-shaking laughter. "Hahahaha! I knew it! How could a guy like you possibly die so easily?"
"G-Ghost!"
The old steward's face turned the color of gold paper, his legs shaking like sieves.
He clearly remembered—two days ago, he had personally checked for breath. That body had been cold and stiff, without the slightest pulse!
But now...
"Noisy."
Jun Wushang's figure flashed, and he appeared before the old steward. A kick to the chest sent him flying.
Bang!
The old steward's body flew backward like a cannonball, smashing spiderweb cracks into the wall before sliding to the ground.
"Let out one more howl, and I'll let you really see a ghost."
"Wushang, why waste words on a dog slave who betrayed his master?"
Wei Qing's right hand had already settled on the hilt of the Soul Severing Blade.
Swish—
A blood-red blade glow tore through the Mourning Hall. A head flew high into the air, and the old steward's terrified expression froze on his face forever.
Strangely—
A wisp of scarlet mist poured from the severed neck and bored into Wei Qing's body like a living thing.
Ding! Early Ninth-Rank Martial Artist slain Strength +5, Constitution +4
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