Proficient Use of the System

Lu Chen picked up the brush beside him and wrote his name and the list of materials in the registry.

Clerk Chen seemed to catch the scent of blood wafting from the bundle and cast another glance at it.

He rose slowly, ambled over, and untied a corner of the oilcloth.

The next moment, a rare flicker of surprise passed through his murky eyes.

Beneath the oilcloth, the pelt of the Vengeful Fox lay intact, without a single unnecessary tear, its edges cut as smooth as a mirror.

The pigeon-egg-sized Demon Core was lustrous and round, its spiritual light restrained, clearly extracted perfectly before the demonic aura had fully dissipated.

This... is this the skill of a newcomer?

Clerk Chen lifted his head, his turbid gaze settling back on Lu Chen, scrutinizing him carefully for a few extra moments.

Lu Chen's heart tightened, but he kept his face calm and respectful, allowing himself to be examined.

After a long pause, Clerk Chen withdrew his gaze, said nothing, only grunted vaguely, then sat back down in his chair, picked up his wine flask, and took a drink, as if nothing had happened.

Lu Chen finished the registration, bowed respectfully, and turned to leave.

Behind him, Clerk Chen squinted, watching his retreating figure, drained the last of the murky wine from his cup, and curled his lips into an unreadable smirk.

Back in the cold, damp Corpse Handling Room, Lu Chen bolted the stone door shut behind him.

At last, he was alone.

Lu Chen sat cross-legged on the icy stone bed, eagerly sinking his mind into his thoughts and summoning the ancient system panel.

Code
[Host: Lu Chen]
[Remaining Lifespan: 1 year]
[Demon Devil Lifespan: 78 years]
[Martial Art: Demon Suppressing Saber Technique (Grandmaster)]
[Realm: Early Mortal Bone]

Staring at his meager one year of remaining life, Lu Chen's heart couldn't help but twitch.

All that consumption, and I'm only at Early Mortal Bone.

The mortal martial path: Mortal Bone, Bone Forging, Meridian Opening, Innate, Divine Ability, Dharma Form, Longevity, Reincarnation, Transcendence.

The world's demons: Unranked Spirit Monsters, Ranked Demon Beasts/Demons, Great Demons, Demon Emperor, Cataclysmic Ancient Devil, World-Ending Source Anomaly.

His gaze fell on the system's function explanations.

[Demon Devil Lifespan] can be used for: 1. Infusing martial arts; 2. Repairing one's own lifespan deficit; 3. (Locked)

Infusing martial arts would let him grow strong fast.

But if he lost his life, what use was strength?

"System, repair my own lifespan deficit." Lu Chen didn't hesitate, voicing the command in his mind.

[Consume Demon Devil Lifespan to replenish your own lifespan? Exchange ratio is 1:1.]

"Yes."

[Please select the amount of lifespan to replenish.]

Lu Chen thought it over. Burning twenty-two years of life had turned him from an ordinary man with no strength to a grandmaster of the saber technique.

So restoring his lifespan to the twenty-three years he'd had when he first crossed over should be a relatively safe number.

It would ensure he had enough years to handle emergencies without wasting too much of the precious Demon Devil Lifespan resource.

"Replenish twenty-two years."

[Command confirmed. Consuming 22 years of Demon Devil Lifespan. Self-lifespan +22 years.]

The moment the words fell, an indescribably warm current surged from the Bronze Tome, instantly flowing through Lu Chen's limbs and bones, penetrating every cell, even the depths of his soul.

The faint, barely perceptible weakness and depletion that had lingered in his body from the forced life-burning and the assault of the evil spirit were now completely soothed and filled.

His spirit was unprecedentedly vibrant, his body restored to its peak state, even surpassing it.

It was a solid, reassuring feeling of life force growing vigorous and abundant once more.

Lu Chen let out a long, slow breath, feeling every pore on his body open wide.

He looked at the panel again.

Code
[Host: Lu Chen]
[Current Self Remaining Lifespan: 23 years]
[Demon Devil Remaining Lifespan: 56 years]
[Martial Art: Demon Suppressing Saber Technique (Grandmaster)]

The immediate crisis had passed, and the method for using his golden finger was now preliminarily clear.

Lu Chen's taut nerves finally had a chance to catch their breath.

But he also understood that this was merely the beginning.

Foreman Wang's greed, and this world overrun with demons.

Relying solely on a mastered Demon Suppressing Saber Technique was far from enough.

Mastering the Demon Suppressing Saber Technique had given Lu Chen the confidence to slay evil spirits in a single stroke, but that was all it was—confidence.

The Demon Suppressing Saber Technique was a killing art, a method of dismemberment.

It pursued a single lethal blow, a strike that must land.

But its drawbacks were equally obvious—it had almost no footwork or evasive maneuvers, and it sorely lacked the endurance for prolonged combat.

Yesterday's slaying of the newborn Vengeful Fox spirit had relied on the advantage of surprise.

If he encountered a slightly more troublesome opponent, or found himself surrounded, he probably wouldn't even have a chance to land a second strike.

"Techniques... I need more techniques." Lu Chen sat cross-legged on the cold stone bed, his mind rapidly sorting through the fragmented memories of his predecessor.

As a Corpse Handler, the lowest existence in the Demon Suppression Division, his status was base, and everyone avoided him.

But it seemed there were some benefits, after all.

From a corner of his memory, he dug out a vague impression.

Every time a Corpse Handler turned in processed Demon Materials, a paltry amount of contribution was recorded.

These contributions, once accumulated to a certain level, could apparently be used at the division's Discarded Techniques Pavilion to exchange for some crude, neglected techniques, or medicinal powders for healing and invigorating the blood.

Most of those techniques were incomplete, their cultivation yielding half the results with twice the effort, and even carrying the risk of qi deviation. They had long been abandoned by the division's true martial artists, left to gather dust, serving merely as a faint, illusory hope for the lowliest workers.

But for Lu Chen, who possessed a system, this was nothing less than a forgotten treasure trove!

Having made up his mind, Lu Chen stood up, straightened his faded, washed-out old clothes, and pushed open the stone door again.

This time, without any hesitation, he headed straight for Foreman Wang's Steward's office.

The Steward's office was not far from the Corpse Handling Room, but it was much cleaner and brighter.

Foreman Wang was lounging with his legs crossed, sipping fragrant tea while flipping through a picture book, humming an unknown tune, utterly at ease.

"Foreman Wang." Lu Chen stopped at the door, bowing slightly, keeping his posture extremely low.

"Hm?" Foreman Wang lifted his eyelids, saw it was Lu Chen, frowned, and said impatiently, "What is it now? Didn't I tell you to take the materials to the storeroom?"

"Reporting to Foreman Wang." Lu Chen's voice carried a deliberately crafted weakness and hesitation. "Your subordinate... yesterday, by a stroke of luck, had a sudden insight and forced an action. Though I completed the task, afterward I felt my blood qi churning and my body severely depleted. That slap you gave me today only made me feel... my foundation is unstable."

As he spoke, he let out a perfectly timed bitter smile. "Your subordinate figures that having only the moves without a solid base won't get me far. So I've taken the liberty to ask you—does the division have any... basic methods for strengthening the body and health, so I can train my physique to be sturdier? Also, my footwork is truly clumsy. If there were a basic movement technique, I could serve you, Foreman Wang, even better in the future."

Foreman Wang listened, paused for a moment, then burst into derisive laughter as if he'd heard the funniest joke in the world.

"Hahahaha! Body-strengthening techniques? Basic movement techniques? Lu Chen, Lu Chen, you've got some nerve!"

He set down his teacup, looking Lu Chen up and down, his eyes dripping with undisguised contempt. "Who do you think you are? One of the Captains from the training grounds? A lowly corpse-handler, and you want to learn martial arts?"