Lu Chen picked up the brush beside him and wrote his name and the details of the materials in the register.
Clerk Chen seemed to catch the smell of blood wafting from the bundle and glanced at it again.
He rose unhurriedly and walked over to untie one corner of the oiled cloth.
The next moment, a rare flicker of surprise crossed his murky eyes.
Inside the cloth, the Vengeful Fox's pelt was completely intact, without a single unnecessary tear. Its edges had been cut as smoothly as a mirror.
The Demon Core, no bigger than a pigeon's egg, was round and lustrous, its spiritual light subdued. It had clearly been extracted perfectly before the demonic aura could completely dissipate.
This... This was the handiwork of a newcomer?
Clerk Chen raised his head. His murky gaze settled on Lu Chen again, and he examined him closely for a couple of moments.
Lu Chen's heart tightened, but he kept his expression calm and respectful, letting the other man look him over.
After a long while, Clerk Chen finally looked away. He said nothing, only grunted vaguely before sitting back down and taking a sip from his wine jug, as though nothing had happened.
Lu Chen finished registering the materials, bowed, and turned to leave.
Behind him, Clerk Chen narrowed his eyes as he watched Lu Chen's retreating figure. He drained the turbid wine in his cup, the corner of his mouth curling into an inscrutable smile.
Back in the cold, damp Corpse Handling Room, Lu Chen bolted the stone door behind him.
At last, he was alone.
Lu Chen sat cross-legged on the icy stone bed, eager to sink his mind into his consciousness and summon the ancient System Panel.
[Host: Lu Chen] [Remaining Lifespan: 1 year] [Demon Devil Lifespan: 78 years] [Martial Art: Demon Suppressing Saber Technique (Mastered)] [Realm: Early Mortal Bone]
At the sight of his remaining lifespan—only one year—Lu Chen's heart gave an involuntary spasm.
The cost was so great, yet he had only reached Early Mortal Bone.
The martial path of this world was: Mortal Bone, Bone Forging, Meridian Opening, Xiantian, Divine Ability, Dharma Form, Longevity, Reincarnation, and Transcendence.
The demons and devils of the world were: ungraded Spirit Monsters, graded demon beasts and demons, Great Demons, Demon Emperors, Cataclysmic Ancient Devils, and World-Ending Source Anomalies.
His gaze fell on the explanation of the system's functions.
[Demon Devil Lifespan] can be used to: 1. Infuse martial arts; 2. Restore lost Personal Lifespan; 3. (Locked)
Infusing martial arts could make him stronger in no time.
But what good was strength if he was dead?
"System, restore my lost Personal Lifespan." Lu Chen barely hesitated before repeating the command in his mind.
[Would you like to consume Demon Devil Lifespan to restore Personal Lifespan? Exchange rate: 1:1]
"Yes."
[Please select the number of years to restore.]
Lu Chen thought it over. By burning twenty-two years of his life, he had gone from an ordinary man who couldn't even truss a chicken to a master of the saber.
So, restoring his lifespan to the twenty-three years he'd had when he first transmigrated seemed a relatively safe choice.
That would give him enough years to deal with unforeseen circumstances without excessively consuming the precious resource that was Demon Devil Lifespan.
"Restore twenty-two years."
[Command confirmed. Consuming 22 years of Demon Devil Lifespan. Personal Lifespan +22 years.]
The instant the words sounded, an indescribably warm current surged out of the Bronze Tome from nowhere. It swept through Lu Chen's limbs and bones, penetrating every cell in his body and reaching even the depths of his soul.
The faint, imperceptible weakness and depletion left in his body by burning his lifespan and being struck by the evil spirit were completely soothed and replenished.
His mind had never felt so clear, and his body had returned to its peak condition—better, even.
It was the solid feeling of his vitality swelling and brimming anew.
Lu Chen let out a long breath, feeling the pores all over his body open.
He looked at the panel again.
[Host: Lu Chen] [Current Remaining Personal Lifespan: 23 years] [Remaining Demon Devil Lifespan: 56 years] [Martial Art: Demon Suppressing Saber Technique (Mastered)]
The immediate crisis had been averted, and he had a preliminary grasp of how to use his cheat.
At last, Lu Chen's taut nerves had a moment to catch their breath.
But he knew this was only the beginning.
Foreman Wang's greed, and a world overrun with demons and devils—
A mastered Demon Suppressing Saber Technique was nowhere near enough.
Mastering the Demon Suppressing Saber Technique had given Lu Chen the confidence to slay an evil spirit with a single slash, but confidence was all it gave him.
The Demon Suppressing Saber Technique was a killing art, a method of dismemberment.
It sought to kill with one strike, with every blade finding its mark.
But its shortcomings were just as obvious: it offered almost no footwork or evasive maneuvers, and lacked the stamina for a prolonged fight.
Yesterday, he had slain the newly born Vengeful Fox evil spirit by catching it off guard.
If he encountered a slightly more troublesome opponent or got surrounded, he might not even get the chance to make a second strike.
"Martial arts... I need more martial arts." Sitting cross-legged on the cold stone bed, Lu Chen rapidly pieced together the fragmented memories of his predecessor.
As corpse handlers, those at the very bottom of the Demon Suppression Division were lowly and shunned by everyone.
But it seemed the work wasn't without its advantages.
He dug up a hazy memory from the back of his mind.
Every time corpse handlers handed over processed demon materials, they received a tiny bit of credit.
Once they accumulated enough, they could apparently go to the Division's Discarded Techniques Pavilion and exchange it for some rudimentary, forgotten techniques or medicinal powders for healing and improving circulation.
Most of those techniques were incomplete. Practicing them took twice the effort for half the results and could even lead to cultivation deviation. The Division's true martial artists had long since discarded them, leaving them to gather dust—nothing more than a faint, illusory hope for low-ranking workers like them.
But to Lu Chen, who had a system, this was nothing short of a forgotten treasure trove!
Having made up his mind, Lu Chen stood, straightened his old clothes, washed pale with age, and pushed open the stone door again.
This time, he didn't hesitate in the slightest. He went straight to Foreman Wang's office.
The office was not far from the Corpse Handling Room, but it was much cleaner and brighter.
Foreman Wang sat with one leg crossed over the other, sipping fragrant tea as he leafed through an illustrated book and hummed an unknown tune, looking thoroughly at ease.
"Foreman Wang." Lu Chen stopped at the doorway and bowed slightly, adopting a deeply deferential posture.
"Hmm?" Foreman Wang raised his eyelids. Seeing that it was Lu Chen, he frowned and said impatiently, "What is it now? Didn't I tell you to put the materials in storage?"
"Reporting to you, Foreman Wang." Lu Chen's voice carried a deliberately cultivated weakness and hesitation. "Yesterday, your subordinate... Yesterday, I was lucky enough to gain some insight and forced myself to act. Though I got the job done, afterward I felt my qi and blood churning and my body terribly depleted. Then your slap today made me feel... as if my foundations were unstable."
As he spoke, he let a bitter smile appear at just the right moment. "I've been thinking that having moves without a solid foundation won't get me far. So I'm taking the liberty of asking you: does the Division have... any basic methods for strengthening the body, so I can build up my physique? Also, my footwork is terribly clumsy. If I could learn some basic movement technique, I'd be better able to serve you in the future, Foreman Wang."
Foreman Wang was taken aback. Then, as if he'd heard the funniest joke in the world, he burst into mocking laughter.
"Ha ha ha ha! Body-strengthening techniques? Basic movement skills? Lu Chen, Lu Chen, you've got some nerve!"
He set down his teacup and looked Lu Chen up and down, his contempt utterly undisguised. "Who do you think you are? One of those Captain officials on the training grounds? You're a lowly corpse handler, and you want to learn martial arts?"