First Monster Slaying, Monster Lifespan

As the last line of text ended, the darkness before Shen Lin's eyes shattered piece by piece, and his consciousness returned to reality.

"...I will let you die, without so much pain."

Only then did the Mantis Demon's voice fall.

The System's deduction gave Shen Lin a very peculiar feeling.

For a moment, he was somewhat dazed.

Countless martial insights flooded his mind, the pain gradually dissipated, and his bones, muscles, and internal organs were instantly reborn.

It was as if Shen Lin had truly spent forty-two years cultivating the Blood Battle Saber Technique, dedicating all his attention to practicing the saber technique, except for eating, drinking, and relieving himself.

At this moment, he could feel a warm current flowing slowly within his body along a specific trajectory.

Was this the Qi and Blood Force?

Feeling the seemingly inexhaustible strength within him, Shen Lin slowly stood up, his long saber casually pointing diagonally.

This simple movement caused the Mantis Demon opposite him to freeze.

It, which had been distracted, trembled, then abruptly raised a pair of Sickles to protect itself.

The remaining clothes and human skin on its body were all blasted away, revealing a two-meter-tall mantis covered in a hard carapace in its place.

It had revealed its optimal state.

"How is this possible!!!"

The Mantis Demon was shocked, unable to believe what it had just seen.

In the blink of an eye, the aura emanating from Shen Lin had changed.

The mortal it could have toyed with and slaughtered at will now exuded an unfathomable might.

What made the Mantis Demon tremble was the saber in his hand.

Although he held it casually, it made her feel an inescapable chill around her neck.

This guy...

The next moment, she finally felt the dense Qi and Blood Force emanating from Shen Lin's body.

"Impossible! You actually... Opening Meridians Realm!!!"

The Opening Meridians Realm was the realm reached after a Martial Artist, having condensed Qi and Blood, used Qi and Blood Force to break through blocked meridians.

In the entire Qiulin County, there were no more than five Martial Artists in the Opening Meridians Realm who were openly known.

Even the Black Bear Spirit behind her, who controlled most of the Yao Clan within Qiulin Mountain, was only at this level.

The Shen Lin before her was a Martial Artist in the Opening Meridians Realm who had broken through a complete meridian!

"You've been hiding your strength..."

The Mantis Demon's voice was no longer charming, but had become sinister.

Why did that guy Sun Zhi send someone like this...

Huh?

She seemed to realize something, her expression changed, and she looked up, scanning her surroundings quickly.

"Brother Bear was right! None of you humans can be trusted. After cooperating for so long, you've finally set your sights on me?"

She glared fiercely at Shen Lin, forcing out a sentence.

"Where is that Sun Zhi? Is he already waiting outside?"

Hearing this, Shen Lin's expression shifted, and he chuckled, "Guess?"

Beneath the Qiulin County's torture chamber were six squads, each with ten men.

And Sun Zhi was the leader of Shen Lin's squad, a genuine Martial Artist.

In recent years, this Head Constable had become quite famous in Qiulin County, having killed many monsters.

It was rumored that even the Demon Suppression Bureau in the provincial city had noticed this monster slayer.

Although he lost quite a few subordinates each time he slew a monster, he always brought back the monster's corpse, so he was credited rather than blamed.

Shen Lin and a few others had been assigned to his command as Constables just three months ago.

And now, through the Mantis Demon's words, Shen Lin had deduced some things.

Friends who often hunted monsters knew that hunting monsters was easy, but finding them was difficult.

Most monsters hid in deep mountains and dense forests. Qiulin County had limited manpower, making a thorough search of the mountains and seas impossible.

But if one cooperated with monsters, this problem would be solved.

The best people to know the whereabouts of monsters were their own kind.

His Head Constable Sun had likely made a deal with this Mantis Demon.

Periodically, he would provide strong, vigorous Constables for the Mantis Demon to feed on.

In return, the Mantis Demon would help Sun Zhi kill its own kind.

"Quite the demon slayer!"

Seeing Shen Lin's mocking expression, the Mantis Demon froze for a moment before instantly realizing.

This guy wasn't related to Sun Zhi?

That meant she was only facing him alone.

There was still a chance to escape!

The moment this thought surfaced, she acted.

With a swish, the carapace on her back opened, revealing wings as thin as cicada wings.

Breaking through the house to escape had cost too much time.

She planned to fly straight up, break through the roof, and rely on her short-term flight ability to escape.

Her reaction was swift, starting her move almost instantly.

But Shen Lin was faster.

A cold glint flashed, and the Steel Saber lightly grazed her delicate wings.

Thin wing fragments fluttered to the ground. Shen Lin, who had been in front of the bed moments ago, had somehow appeared behind the Mantis Demon.

He twirled the long saber in his hand and grinned, "My dear, why the rush to leave? It's our wedding night, it's too late to break the engagement now."

His teasing words were met with a pair of mantis blades.

Originally, the Mantis Demon had great confidence in the lethality of her forelimbs. After all, she had hunted countless Constables and demons with them over the years.

She had even killed Martial Artists who had cultivated Qi and Blood Force.

However, she lacked her usual confidence now.

Her aura alone was weaker.

After all, this was a Martial Artist of the Opening Meridians Realm.

As expected, Shen Lin merely flicked his wrist, and the Steel Saber in his hand drew a beautiful arc, precisely slicing through the Mantis Demon's joints.

Her sharp forelimbs instantly fell to the ground.

"Ahhhhh!"

The intense pain from the severed limbs caused the Mantis Demon to let out a piercing shriek.

Losing all reason, the Mantis Demon understood she had no chance of escape and lunged at Shen Lin with a scream.

With a thwack, as Shen Lin dodged to the side, he lightly swung his long saber, severing one of the Mantis Demon's hind legs.

The room was filled with crashing sounds.

That was the Mantis Demon, driven mad, overturning furniture.

Interspersed with the crashing were thwack sounds – Shen Lin dismembering it one limb at a time.

Before long, silence fell upon the room.

The Mantis Demon, reduced to only its upper body, lay on the ground. It watched Shen Lin walk slowly towards it, its voice filled with despair.

"Don't... no... spare me... spare..."

Facing its pleas, Shen Lin's expression turned cold. He said softly, "Those withered bones in your courtyard, when they were as humble and desperate for survival as you are now, what was their reward?"

Then, before it could say more, Shen Lin stomped down.

Splat!

Its triangular head burst like a watermelon, splattering black and green gore everywhere.

Shen Lin recoiled his foot with disgust and rubbed it on the ground.

The first battle since his transmigration was over.

The process wasn't exactly full of twists and turns.

After all, the outcome was already decided once Shen Lin spent forty-two years of his lifespan to perfect the Blood Battle Saber Technique.

Although the Mantis Demon was powerful, its strength was only equivalent to a Martial Artist who had achieved great success in the Blood Battle Saber Technique.

There was a whole realm between them.

It was just that Shen Lin was a little annoyed. He could have perfected the Blood Battle Saber Technique with twenty-eight years of lifespan, but for safety, he had only left himself one year.

While he had survived the immediate crisis, having only one year left wasn't exactly a good thing.

Although the perfected Blood Battle Saber Technique had increased his combat power, it hadn't increased his lifespan at all.

He could only hope to find other cultivation methods later that could extend his life.

Just as Shen Lin let out a long sigh and withdrew his thoughts, the System panel popped up.

A new message caught Shen Lin's attention.

[Killed an enlightened Mantis Demon, did not enter Xiantian Realm, lifespan +150 years, remaining lifespan 72 years, absorption complete.]

[Shen Lin]

[Mastered Martial Arts: Blood Battle Saber Technique (Mastered)]

[Mastered Cultivation Method: None]

[Remaining Lifespan: 1 Year]

[Demonic Beast Lifespan: 72 Years]

[Can consume lifespan to deduce cultivation methods and martial arts, and gain improvements.]

[Demonic beast lifespan cannot be converted to personal lifespan.]