Talisman Arts, Reaching the Minor Accomplishment Realm!

After finishing all this, he stood up. Lu Chen slammed the Hundred Refinements Saber, which he never let leave his side, onto the table.

Clang!

A clear, sharp blade cry, like a thunderclap, exploded through the deathly silent Corpse Handling Room!

That fierce saber intent instantly dropped the temperature of the entire room by several degrees!

Every Corpse Handler hiding in the shadows felt as if an invisible blade was pressed against their necks. They shuddered, not daring to breathe.

"Zhao Da Niu, Sun Monkey." Lu Chen's voice was calm, yet carried an unyielding authority.

"Your subordinate is here!" The two men immediately rushed in from outside the door and bowed to receive the order.

"Pass my command." Lu Chen's gaze slowly swept over the silent, trembling dark corners. "From today onward, all entry, distribution, and waste disposal of Demon Materials in the Corpse Handling Room will be handled by you two alone. No one is to hoard, skim, or sell them off. Every single account must be personally reviewed and signed by me."

"As for anyone who disobeys..."

He reached out a finger and lightly flicked the still-humming blade of the Hundred Refinements Saber.

"Behead."

One word, like ten-thousand-year-old ice, instantly extinguished any improper thoughts lingering in everyone's hearts.

"As for you all..." Lu Chen's gaze finally landed on Zhang Mazi's face, which was full of suspicion and unease. "Since you're so idle, you can clean this entire Corpse Handling Room, inside and out. I want to see not a single strand of hair on the floor before dark."

With that, ignoring the colorful expressions on everyone's faces, he picked up the troublesome stack of files, turned, and walked toward the Isolated Processing Room at the deepest part of the Corpse Handling Room.

"What... what does he mean by this?"

"He wants to handle all the high-risk corpses alone? Is he crazy?!"

Zhang Mazi stared at Lu Chen's disappearing back, his eyes filled with disbelief.

Inside the Isolated Processing Room, the Killing Intent was almost tangible.

A Sha corpse, its body a strange bronze color and covered in corpse spots and pus-filled blisters, lay quietly on the cold stone bed.

Its aura was far more vicious and domineering than any Sha corpse Lu Chen had dealt with before.

[Detected Secondary Mutated Sha Corpse. Contains thirty-five years of Demon Devil Lifespan.]

A satisfied smile appeared on Lu Chen's face.

This wasn't a deliberate hardship—it was a timely gift!

Without any hesitation, he drew the Hundred Refinements Saber and executed the perfected Demon Suppressing Saber Technique.

The blade's light was like a flowing ribbon, yet utterly silent.

The corpse skin, harder than steel, was as fragile as tofu before the [Sha Breaking] property.

Wherever the blade passed, all corpse poison and Killing Intent were instantly annihilated by that invisible force of destruction.

In the span of just one incense stick's time, this mutated Sha corpse—which would have required three veteran Corpse Handlers working together to handle—was cleaned up completely by Lu Chen, reduced to a pile of perfectly refined materials.

[Processed Secondary Mutated Sha Corpse. Obtained thirty-five years of Demon Devil Lifespan.]

He didn't pause but immediately moved to the next one...

When night fell, Lu Chen dragged his "weary" body out of the processing room.

Behind him was a cart loaded with all kinds of high-quality Demon Materials.

Outside, Zhang Mazi and the others had been waiting anxiously. They had expected to hear screams of failure or the roar of an erupting Sha aura.

But all they got was deathly silence.

When they saw that cart full of materials shimmering with spiritual light, everyone's eyes nearly popped out of their heads.

"This... this is impossible..." Zhang Mazi's lips trembled as he muttered to himself.

Lu Chen paid no attention to their shock. He simply tossed the ledger recording Foreman Wang's crimes at Zhang Mazi's feet.

"This is Wang Defa's account book. It has all your names in it."

Lu Chen's voice was like a cold wind from the deepest abyss.

"I'm giving you a chance. Cough up everything he embezzled over the years, principal and interest, and put it into the department's treasury. Then each of you go to the Punishment Hall and take thirty lashes."

"Do that, and the past is wiped clean. Fail to do it..."

He reached out a finger and lightly flicked the still-humming blade of the Hundred Refinements Saber.

"Behead."

One word, like ten-thousand-year-old ice, shattered the last shreds of luck and resentment in everyone's hearts.

Zhang Mazi trembled violently. His old face, which had still held a trace of unwillingness and venom, was now filled with nothing but boundless terror.

With a thud, he fell to his knees, clutching the ledger tightly to his chest, and began kowtowing frantically.

"Mercy, My Lord! Mercy, Lord Lu! We... we'll do as you say! We'll go right now! Right now!"

Seeing this, the others snapped out of their daze as well. They scrambled and crawled to kneel on the ground, their pleas for mercy and confessions filling the air.

Lu Chen didn't spare them another glance. He turned and walked back into his new, pristine Steward's office.

The door slammed shut with a heavy thud.

Lu Chen sat calmly behind the desk, laying the Hundred Refinements Saber across his knees as he closed his eyes to regulate his breath.

Foreman Wang was dead, but the Ghost Face Mask he had worn before his death was even more troubling.

"System." Lu Chen sank his mind into his consciousness.

[Host: Lu Chen]

[Current remaining personal lifespan: 45 years]

[Remaining Demon Devil lifespan: 455 years]

[Martial Arts:]

[Ten Thousand Year Black Tortoise Art (Great Completion)]

[Demon Suppressing Saber Technique (Perfection)]

[Shadow Demon Trace Steps (Minor Completion)]

[Talisman Artistry (Beginner)]

[Traits: Eye of Delusion Breaking (Beginner), Water Sha Affinity (Beginner), Soul Devour (Beginner), Mimicry (Beginner)]

Four hundred and fifty-five years of Demon Devil lifespan!

This was a fortune vast enough to drive any cultivator in Nanling Prefecture to madness!

Lu Chen's gaze fell upon that newly acquired Talisman Artistry skill, still at the beginner level.

In the Anle Duke's Mansion, a single small Sun Flame Talisman had dealt massive damage to that registered-grade Demon Painting, giving him a brand-new understanding of the power of talisman arts.

This would be his strongest hidden card, second only to his saber technique.

"System, pour all Demon Devil lifespan into Talisman Artistry!"

[Command confirmed. Remaining Demon Devil lifespan: 455 years. Beginning infusion into Talisman Artistry...]

The silver-white tome blazed with brilliant light!

[You expend fifty years of lifespan, immersing yourself in a world of wind and thunder, day and night observing the birth and destruction of the All-Heaven Divine Thunder Talisman. Your soul, torn and reassembled countless times, barely grasps a shred of the essence of Lightning Magic talismans.]

[You expend one hundred years of lifespan, turning instead to comprehend the ethereal drift and piercing sharpness of the Unfettered Wind Formless Talisman. You begin to understand what it means to "drive a talisman with qi" and "wind amplifies thunder's might." Your Talisman Artistry reaches Minor Completion.]

[You expend one hundred and fifty years of lifespan in endless deduction, attempting to fuse the two utterly different forces of wind and thunder. Countless failures, countless explosions—your soul is nearly annihilated by the violent energy...]

[You expend the final one hundred and fifty-five years of lifespan. On the edge between life and death, you finally seize a spark of insight! You succeed in drawing, upon talisman paper, the first rune imbued with the power of wind and thunder!]

[Deduction successful!]

[Talisman Artistry has reached the Minor Completion realm!]

[Congratulations, Host. From the Divine Firmament Induction Chapter, you have comprehended a new talisman—Wind Thunder Spell-Breaking Talisman (Yellow Grade, Middle Rank)!]