As Lu Chen's thoughts settled, the number representing his lifespan on the system panel began to flicker wildly.
Twenty-three... fifteen... seven...
At last, the number came to a steady stop at "one."
At the same time, the prompts concerning the [Demon Suppressing Saber Technique] refreshed like a cascading waterfall.
[You spent five years of your lifespan. After countless saber swings, you finally mastered the basics of the Demon Suppressing Saber Technique and successfully entered the discipline.] [You spent eight years of your lifespan, focusing without distraction. Your saber technique grew ever more proficient, and you gained keen insight into the weaknesses of demon and devil bodies, reaching the Minor Mastery Realm.] [You spent nine years of your lifespan. Amidst dull repetition, you grasped the true meaning of the saber technique. Every strike drew blood, and a single slash could sever a demon or devil's meridians. The Demon Suppressing Saber Technique had reached Great Mastery!] [Demon Suppressing Saber Technique (Great Mastery)] [Realm reached: Early Mortal Bone Stage]
A full twenty-two years!
Countless insights into swinging, cleaving, and parrying, along with muscle memories, surged into Lu Chen's mind and every limb like floodwaters bursting through a breached dam.
His body, which had been somewhat slender from lack of exercise, swiftly grew firm and powerful in an utterly astonishing way.
The skin on the back of his hand remained pale, but the sinews and bones beneath it seemed to have been tempered through a thousand trials, brimming with explosive strength.
Especially the right hand gripping the saber: its fingers were long, its knuckles distinct, and its grip as steady as bedrock.
It felt as though he really had spent twenty-two years practicing his saber technique without distraction in this gloomy Corpse Handling Room, keeping company with demon and devil corpses!
All of this sounded like a long process, but in truth, it had taken no more than an instant.
The Fox-faced Evil Spirit, formed from Demonic Sha and resentment, had already pounced to within a foot of Lu Chen's face!
Its icy aura nearly froze his blood, while its pair of crimson, ghostly lights shone with the greed and glee of a being about to seize a new body.
It seemed to already see this young body becoming its plaything as it returned to the world of the living.
Yet what greeted it was a streak of cold light, fast beyond measure!
Clang!
Lu Chen didn't even rise. He remained seated cross-legged on the stone bed.
He simply pulled a Boning Knife used to dismember demon corpses from the tool rack beside him and swung it backhanded.
The motion was plain and simple, without the slightest excess.
The blade passed with pinpoint precision through the center of that contorted fox face.
"Eeeee—"
A shriek sharp enough to pierce eardrums thundered through the Corpse Handling Room!
The fox face, formed from black qi, was split in two by that single stroke. The halves roiled violently like smoke, yet could not come together again.
The two points of crimson, ghostly light flickered wildly, filled with incredulous terror.
The Demon Suppressing Saber Technique had been created precisely to counter demons, devils, and evil spirits.
With a single strike, evil spirits scattered!
"This strike! Twenty-two years of skill! Let's see if you can take it!"
Lu Chen's gaze was icy. He gave his opponent no chance to catch its breath.
His wrist turned, and the Boning Knife slashed out again like a silver lightning bolt.
This time, an invisible, keen force clung to the blade—the "Demon Suppressing Qi" that could only just be summoned after cultivating the Demon Suppressing Saber Technique to Great Mastery!
Pfft!
Under this strike, the black qi split in two was like snow and ice scorched by the Blazing Sun. It hissed and swiftly melted away.
Before the fox face vanished completely, its twisted features held nothing but boundless venom and unwillingness.
Only after finishing all this did Lu Chen let out a long breath of stale air.
He looked down at the still-sharp Boning Knife in his hand, then at his slightly trembling palm.
It was clearly his first time killing an evil spirit, yet he was as practiced as if he had done it thousands upon thousands of times.
The powerful confidence brought by the muscle memory coursing through his body quickly suppressed the lingering fear and agitation in his heart.
So this was... what power felt like.
Lu Chen stood and limbered up. He felt as though he had inexhaustible energy.
He carefully wiped the Boning Knife clean on the fur of the Vengeful Fox's corpse, then returned it to the tool rack.
Fortunately, this evil spirit had only just formed from Demonic Sha and hadn't yet taken shape. Otherwise, his twenty-two years of lifespan might not have been enough.
Just then, the Bronze Tome appeared before his eyes once more.
A new line of golden text made Lu Chen's eyes widen instantly.
[Slain Vengeful Fox evil spirit, ungraded. Total lifespan: 120 years. Remaining lifespan: 78 years. Absorption complete.] [Demon Devil Lifespan detected. It can be used to infuse martial arts or restore your own depleted lifespan.] [Current Personal Lifespan: one year] [Demon Devil Lifespan: seventy-eight years]
"..."
Lu Chen's heart raced against his will.
The life-for-power mode even had a way to renew the subscription?!
He forced down his elation and carefully studied the changes on the panel.
Demon Devil Lifespan could replace his own lifespan when used to deduce martial arts.
It could also... restore his depleted lifespan?
In other words, as long as he killed enough demons and devils, he could not only improve his martial arts without limit, but even achieve... immortality?
Longevity!
The thought crashed through Lu Chen's mind like a bolt of thunder.
In his previous life, he had achieved nothing and died young.
In this life, he had thought he would repeat the same fate, perhaps living an even more miserable one.
"Phew..."
Lu Chen walked over to the fox corpse. Looking into its eyes, still open in death, he sincerely said, "Thank you."
Whether this evil spirit or its true body, both counted as benefactors to him.
He covered it with the white cloth again, but his gaze fell on his sole remaining year of lifespan.
It felt like guarding a mountain of gold while having only a single copper coin in his pocket. He couldn't feel at ease.
He picked up his tools. The Demon Suppressing Saber Technique at Great Mastery wasn't merely a means of killing; it also contained a profound understanding of demon and devil bodies.
Now, as he applied his Proficient Level dissection skills, he worked several times faster than before.
Removing the Demon Core, skinning the fox, separating the sinews and bones...
The entire process flowed like water, a pleasure to behold.
By the time he had neatly sorted all the materials into separate piles, only the time it took an incense stick to burn had passed.
Lu Chen wiped his hands and looked at his handiwork, nodding with satisfaction.
Just then, the stone door opened again.
"You... you actually finished processing it?"
Foreman Wang's gaze swept back and forth between the neatly arranged materials and Lu Chen. The shock on his face gradually turned to gloom.
He had thought the boy was as good as dead. He had even picked out a replacement.
He hadn't expected the other man not only to survive, but to process the Vengeful Fox corpse, still thick with Killing Intent, so quickly and cleanly.
There had to be something fishy about this!