Whirlwind Wind Steps

Qingshi County, a dingy alley.

Chen Guan, clad in tattered clothes, stood tall, gazing at a series of small characters before him, a look of pleasant surprise flashing in his eyes.

He hadn't expected that his desperate struggle against death would unexpectedly unlock the true usage of his Golden Finger.

By slaying Demons, he could obtain Demon Lifespan, continuously upgrading his Martial Arts and abilities.

However, this also meant that the force behind the assassins was colluding with Demons.

It was a pity that Demon Lifespan could only be used for upgrades and not to extend one's own life.

This put Chen Guan, who only had one year of Lifespan left, under immense pressure.

"Protect the young lady!"

Swish, swish, swish.

At this moment, over a dozen martial artists swiftly entered the alley, instantly forming a protective circle around Qin Yanran.

These were clearly the reinforcements from the Qin Family that the long-robed guards had summoned by burning talismans earlier.

All these martial artists possessed steady footwork and deep, profound auras.

More than ten pairs of sharp eyes were fixed intently on Chen Guan, as if they would strike like lightning at the slightest disturbance.

"Uncle Tai, quickly check on Ah Qi and Ah Ba's injuries."

Qin Yanran had regained her composure. First, she ordered someone to tend to the injured long-robed guards. Then, she approached Chen Guan with her retinue of martial artists and bowed gracefully.

"I am Qin Yanran of the Qin Family. Thank you, young hero, for your timely intervention!"

Chen Guan replied calmly, "It was nothing, no need for thanks."

He hadn't originally intended to save Qin Yanran; it was only because the black-clothed assassins had gone too far that he fought for his life.

Qin Yanran said solemnly, "An act of saving a life is no small matter. I implore you, young hero, to accompany me to the Qin Manor. I will host a banquet in your honor and reward you handsomely!"

Chen Guan pondered for a moment before refusing, "You gave me date cakes, and I saved your life. We are even."

As the saying goes, "He who has eaten another's food is beholden to him." It would be difficult to refuse if Qin Yanran invited him to become a guest elder of the Qin Manor during the banquet. Chen Guan, with his Golden Finger, had no desire to be under anyone's patronage.

Afterward, Chen Guan turned to leave.

Qin Yanran showed a hint of disappointment but quickly took a bank note worth a hundred taels of silver from her sleeve and offered it to Chen Guan with both hands.

"Young hero, please wait. This is a small token of my appreciation. Please accept it!"

Chen Guan glanced at Qin Yanran. He had to admit that this woman was quite perceptive. He was indeed in urgent need of a hundred taels to establish himself.

He accepted the bank note calmly. As if recalling something, he pointed at the six black-clothed corpses on the ground.

"Right, if the authorities or those behind them investigate, I do not wish to reveal my identity. Miss Qin, you understand what I mean, don't you?"

The force behind the assassins was colluding with Demons, and their ambitions were undoubtedly vast. Chen Guan did not want to get entangled in such disputes.

Qin Yanran understood immediately and promised, "Young hero, rest assured. My Qin Family will take responsibility for today's events and guarantee that you will not be implicated."

Chen Guan nodded and said no more, turning to walk out of the alley.

As he left, he noticed a Martial Arts Manual protruding from the chest of one of the slain assassins and casually picked it up, tucking it into his embrace.

Qin Yanran watched his receding figure, lost in thought.

Drunken Immortal Residence.

This was the most renowned restaurant in Qingshi County. Legend had it that its chefs had trained in the Imperial Capital, and their exquisite culinary skills could make even celestial beings linger.

At this moment, at a window seat on the third floor of the Drunken Immortal Residence.

Chen Guan was devouring a table full of delicacies with gusto, gnawing on a braised pork knuckle with one hand and tearing into a beggar's chicken leg with the other, completely disregarding his image.

He was starving to begin with, and after upgrading his Martial Arts, his energy consumption had been immense. His stomach growled as if it could swallow a whole ox.

While eating, Chen Guan was not idle; he was studying his system.

His system panel had undergone some changes:

[Host: Chen Guan]
[Lifespan: One Year]
[Demon Lifespan: Seventy-five Years]
[Martial Arts: Novice Realm Pecking Sparrow Strength (Mortal Grade High Rank), requires 0/50 Years Lifespan to upgrade to the next realm]

Chen Guan looked at the seventy-five years of Demon Lifespan on the panel, his mood lifting.

If this were used to upgrade Martial Arts, his strength could be rapidly elevated another notch.

Then, Chen Guan took out the Martial Arts Manual he had obtained from the Demon assassin from his chest.

The four characters Clear Wind Footwork were written on the yellow cover.

A line of small system text floated beside it.

[Clear Wind Footwork (Mortal Grade Low Rank), can be learned by consuming one year of Lifespan]

In this chaotic world, being able to escape was the best strategy if one couldn't win. This footwork was clearly something he urgently needed at the moment.

He decisively chose to learn, silently chanting in his heart, "Learn and upgrade Clear Wind Footwork."

[Demon Lifespan reduced by one year, Clear Wind Footwork learned]

[Demons reduced by forty-five years, Clear Wind Footwork upgraded to Minor Accomplishment, Major Accomplishment... Breakthrough to Extreme Realm, forming a wind array within a ten-foot radius when executing the footwork]

[Clear Wind Footwork upgraded to Whirlwind Wind Steps, Martial Arts quality upgraded to Mortal Grade Medium Rank, inheriting the power of the Extreme Realm]

A series of pleasant notification sounds echoed in his ears. Chen Guan's body trembled, and a series of crackling sounds came from his spine. He felt refreshed all over.

He looked at his current system panel with satisfaction.

[Host: Chen Guan]

[Lifespan: One year]

[Demon Lifespan: Twenty-nine years]

[Martial Arts: Introductory Realm Pecking Sparrow Strength (Mortal Grade High Rank), requires 0/50 years of Lifespan to upgrade to the next realm]

[Martial Arts: Introductory Realm Whirlwind Wind Steps (Mortal Grade Medium Rank), requires 0/30 years of Lifespan to upgrade to the next realm]

"The top priority is to obtain an Internal Cultivation Method to improve my realm and recover Lifespan."

Chen Guan tilted his head back and drank a large bowl of fine wine, his thoughts racing.

In this world, besides cultivating Martial Arts to improve their strength, martial artists could also cultivate Internal Cultivation Methods to enhance their martial arts realm and extend their lifespan.

The martial arts realms could be divided into nine stages: Blood Forging, Bone Quenching, Dragon Tendon, Marrow Condensing, Houtian, Xiantian, Grandmaster, Great Grandmaster, and Martial Venerable.

Each major realm could be further divided into one to nine layers from low to high, with significant differences in strength between each layer.

Because of this, Internal Cultivation Methods were even rarer than Martial Arts, and ordinary people could not find them anywhere.

Just as Chen Guan finished his meal and was leaning by the window, contemplating how to obtain an Internal Cultivation Method, a group of arrogant young masters dressed in brocade robes arrived on the third floor, laughing boisterously.

These young masters were surrounding a middle-aged man dressed in a dark purple narrow-sleeved robe, with a Dragon-shaped Profound Jade at his waist and Cloud Pattern Official Boots on his feet.

"What beggar is this, daring to eat at the Drunken Immortal Residence! Get out quickly, don't taint the esteemed adult's eyes!"

Suddenly, one of the handsome young masters in brocade robes noticed Chen Guan, who was covered in mud and wearing tattered clothes by the window, and said with disgust.

Chen Guan glanced up at him indifferently. Instead, his gaze slightly sharpened when he saw the Dragon-shaped Profound Jade at the middle-aged man's waist.

The Yan Kingdom had a history of eight hundred years. If there was any force that had stood for eight hundred years without falling, it could only be the Demon Suppressing Division, which belonged to the royal family.

The Demon Suppressing Division was dedicated to slaying demons and eliminating evil, and punishing traitors!

Within the court, they could supervise officials of the third rank and above. Outside the court, they could execute first and report later, killing officials below the third rank. Their power was immense!

And wearing a Dragon-shaped Profound Jade was the exclusive symbol of a Demon Suppressing Guard!

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