Someone from the Demon Suppressing Division?

"Since my lifespan increased..."

Lin Guanhuo looked at the System interface.

Then...

"Spend!"

"System!"

"Spend ten years of my lifespan to exchange for Draw Sword counts!"

Lin Guanhuo silently commanded, ruthless and decisive.

[Lifespan spent: ten years.]

[Draw Sword counts gained: 1000.]

[Remaining lifespan: twelve years.]

Looking at the prompt before him, Lin Guanhuo did not hesitate.

"Pour it all into the Precept Breaking Saber Art!"

[Draw Sword counts spent: 1000.]

Then Lin Guanhuo sat cross-legged on the ground.

At that moment, a little figure of light appeared in his mindscape.

The little figure looked exactly like Lin Guanhuo, seemingly the embodiment of his consciousness.

As the System poured the martial art into him,

the figure of light immediately began moving. He held a long saber in his hand.

He began to practice a set of saber moves that were brutally powerful and domineering.

Every strike carried tremendous force, every swing broad and sweeping.

Especially in each move, there was a bloodthirsty, murderous aura...

As the figure of light practiced each move, countless insights began to merge with Lin Guanhuo.

It was as if, without realizing it, Lin Guanhuo had practiced this saber art for many years; there was not the slightest trace of unfamiliarity.

After a long while,

Lin Guanhuo let out a soft breath and slowly opened his eyes.

"Phew..."

[Deduction complete]

[Precept Breaking Saber Art: Broken through to the fourth level, Great Slaughter!]

Looking at the words on the System interface, and feeling the tangible improvement in himself,

Lin Guanhuo's face lit up with delight!

He had broken through two levels in a row. His gains were substantial!

"The fourth level, Great Slaughter..."

This fourth-level saber art cast aside all flashy variations. It pursued nothing but the utmost strength and speed. One force could subdue ten techniques; one saber could shatter ten thousand arts!

By now, Lin Guanhuo had finally begun to understand the mysteries of the Precept Breaking Saber Art.

It was about discarding every flashy flourish.

Pursuing the purest slaughter, the Great Slaughter!

Now that he had forged his Copper Skin and officially become a Ranked Martial Artist,

with the fourth-level Precept Breaking Saber Art...

"Now, any Martial Artist below the fourth grade of Body Tempering—if they let me get close, one strike will kill them!"

"Even a fourth-grade Body Tempering Martial Artist would be crippled, if not killed, for daring to take this strike head-on!"

Two months ago, he had been a White Servant who could only collect the dead, bullied by anyone and everyone.

But now, across the hundred-mile territory around Blackwater County,

he, Lin Guanhuo, finally had the power to turn the table.

He raised his hand and looked at his skin, now glowing with healthy color. Understanding dawned in his heart.

"Martial Dao cultivation begins with body tempering."

"The first realm is Body Tempering: tempering the skin and flesh. Like me now, with Copper Skin perfected, blades and spears can scarcely penetrate."

"The second realm is Tendon Transformation: tempering the tendons, unleashing the force of thunder and moving like a galloping horse."

"The third realm is Bone Forging. That is true rebirth, bones heavy as iron and strength boundless."

Lin Guanhuo stood up and loosened his muscles.

In Blackwater County—or even across the whole of Kaiyang County—anyone who could cultivate to the Bone Forging Realm was a renowned master.

They wielded considerable influence and were truly great figures.

Yet in just two months, he had crossed the threshold that ordinary people might not pass in over a decade, stepping into the Body Tempering Realm.

For me, even the Bone Forging Realm isn't out of reach... Lin Guanhuo thought to himself.

Just then,

Knock, knock, knock, knock!!

A soft rapping suddenly came from outside the door.

Then a woman's voice called, "Brother Lin, are you in there?"

Lin Guanhuo opened the door. A girl of sixteen or seventeen stood outside.

She wore a pale green cloth dress. Though she wasn't a great beauty, she was still a pretty and pleasant-looking girl.

Lin Guanhuo vaguely remembered her. The girl was called Xiao Yue, a maid in the Front Courtyard of the Miscellaneous Room.

In the Main Courtyard of the Miscellaneous Room, filled with nothing but rough men, Xiao Yue was like a fresh flower planted beside a heap of cow dung.

Whenever they had nothing to do, quite a few White Servants liked to squat by the roadside, staring at her with eager eyes.

They would be overjoyed for half a day just to exchange a few words with her.

"Miss Xiao Yue? What is it?" Lin Guanhuo asked.

"Well..."

Xiao Yue had originally come to deliver a message.

But the moment the door opened and she got a clear look at Lin Guanhuo, she froze.

What...

What was going on??

They hadn't seen each other in just a few days, but this Lin Guanhuo...

How had he gotten so handsome??

The last time Xiao Yue had seen him, Lin Guanhuo had been thin and sallow, looking like a sickly wreck.

But now...

The young man stood before her, his expression calm.

An air of unfathomable depth washed over her. Xiao Yue's heart inexplicably began to beat faster, and her cheeks turned a little red.

"Th-that..."

Realizing she had lost her composure and had been staring at Lin Guanhuo,

"B-Brother Lin..."

Xiao Yue stammered, instinctively avoiding Lin Guanhuo's gaze. "B-Brother Lin... Foreman Wang wants you to come over. He said there's something to arrange in the Front Courtyard."

"Foreman Wang?"

A flicker of surprise crossed Lin Guanhuo's eyes.

Wang Bai was the top man in the Main Courtyard of the Miscellaneous Room, an official through and through.

He usually kept to himself and rarely paid any attention to lowly White Servants like them. Why had he suddenly summoned Lin Guanhuo today?

"All right. I'll go now."

Lin Guanhuo nodded without asking anything more.

He returned to his room, tidied his clothes, then followed Xiao Yue toward the Front Courtyard.

A short while later,

Lin Guanhuo followed Xiao Yue to the front hall courtyard.

"Brother Lin, we're here. Everyone's inside." Xiao Yue pointed inside, then left.

This was where the Foremen of the Miscellaneous Room usually spent their time.

It was much cleaner, with blue bricks underfoot and several pine and cypress trees growing there.

At that moment, around a dozen people stood in the Front Courtyard. They were all young and strong, in their twenties or thirties.

Xu Dadao and Li Hu, whom Lin Guanhuo knew, were among them. They, too, looked completely bewildered.

On the steps of the main hall, two chairs had been set out, with two men seated on them.

Lin Guanhuo knew one of them: Wang Bai, the head Foreman of the Miscellaneous Room.

He was the leader of their group.

Zhao Sihai, the Deputy Foreman who usually threw his weight around in the Main Courtyard of the Miscellaneous Room, was there too. But in front of the head Foreman, Zhao Sihai was as obedient as a dog.

He bent at the waist, his face full of ingratiating smiles. "Sir, is the tea too hot? I can bring you another cup."

"No need. Refill Official Chen's tea first."

Wang Bai waved a hand casually.

Zhao Sihai poured another cup of tea for the other man, showing him the same utmost respect.

Only then did Lin Guanhuo notice the man sitting beside Wang Bai.

He wore black and was rather handsome, with an imposing presence.

He held a long sword, and a powerful bloodlust radiated from him.

Only someone who had spent years fighting Demons could possess such a bloodthirsty aura. He was clearly a ruthless character.

The most eye-catching thing was the palm-sized bronze badge hanging at his waist.

A hideous beast's head was carved into it, making it impossible to miss.

"Someone from the Demon Suppressing Division?"

At this, Lin Guanhuo's brows knitted slightly.

If he was from the Demon Suppressing Division,

then there was an eight-in-ten chance this summons would bring trouble...

Even Wang Bai, who usually thought highly of himself, was treating this Martial Artist with great respect.

Now, he set down his teacup, turned toward the man, and asked courteously, "Official Chen, do you think these men are enough?"

The Martial Artist known as Official Chen coldly swept his gaze over the dozen or so people in the courtyard.

Finally, he gave a slight nod and said, "They look a little thin, but they're young and have some strength. Fine, these will do."

"Good."

Wang Bai nodded, then rose to his feet unhurriedly.

He cleared his throat and looked at the people below the steps. "Listen up!"

"I've called you here today to give you young men a chance to make some money."

Wang Bai pointed to Official Chen beside him and spoke in a ringing voice. "Official Chen is going to the Ruined temple on South Mountain today to take care of something. He needs a few extra hands."

"It's nothing strenuous. You'll be carrying corpses—Demonic Beast corpses!"

"If the job gets done, each of you will receive one tael of silver!"