Jinyiwei

Great Zhou Dynasty.

Ping'an County.

Cold!

Bone-piercing cold!

Pain!

Agonizing pain!

The cold and pain tangled together, and somehow they brought Chen Fan back to his senses. Then a torrent of information flooded into his mind.

An imperishable dynasty, Millennial Noble Families, martial sects, the barbarian witching arts, demons and monsters...

All kinds of information poured into Chen Fan's mind at once, making his head swell and ache as if it were splitting apart. At the same time, he rapidly absorbed it all.

Only after a long while did he finally digest these memories that had never belonged to him.

The good news was that he had transmigrated, taking over the body of a Jinyiwei in the Great Zhou Dynasty who shared his name. He had landed the government job he'd dreamed of in his previous life.

The bad news was that a Demonic Creature had attacked him, and Baleful Intent and Demon Poison had entered his body. He was gravely injured and had little time left to live!

This was truly awful!

He'd only just transmigrated, and now he was going to die!

Could he be the most shameful transmigrator ever?!

Chen Fan endured the pain in his body and slowly opened his eyes. Suddenly, rows of blurry golden-red characters appeared before him.

"Is this floaters, or am I hallucinating?"

He squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again. The golden-red characters had become much clearer!

[Name: Chen Fan]

[Realm: Spirit Concealment Realm (First Gate: Skin Devil King)]

[Cultivation Methods: Body Tempering Fist (Minor Accomplishment), Draw Sword Slash (Minor Accomplishment)]

[Spend lifespan to continually derive martial arts!]

[Derivation is unavailable when lifespan is less than one year!]

[Slay Demonic Creatures to steal their remaining lifespan and derive martial arts!]

[Current remaining lifespan: three days (70 years)]

[Current condition does not allow lifespan to be spent on martial arts derivation!]

[Note: Demonic Creature lifespan cannot be converted into your own lifespan!]

"Seventy years."

"Under normal circumstances, I could've lived for another seventy years!"

"But now I've been attacked by a Demonic Creature and badly injured. On top of that, its Baleful Intent has entered my body and spread through my internal organs, while its Demon Poison is ravaging me. That's why I have only three days left!"

"If I want to survive, I have to raise my strength. I need to use my own vital energy to suppress the Baleful Intent and Demon Poison, and get my body back on the mend!"

"My Golden Finger lets me cultivate by spending lifespan. If I can't spend my own, then I'll spend a Demonic Creature's!"

"I have to slay Demonic Creatures and steal their remaining lifespan to derive martial arts. I'll push Body Tempering Fist and Draw Sword Slash to their limits, raise my strength, and extend my life!"

Chen Fan thought to himself.

Body Tempering Fist was a required martial art for Jinyiwei members. Anyone who passed the examination and joined the Jinyiwei received this martial art.

The name Body Tempering Fist sounded common as dirt, but it was the most broadly applicable martial arts foundation-building method created by the Great Zhou's founding emperor. It was suitable for practically every martial arts novice.

With this method, one could cultivate to the peak of the Spirit Concealment Realm, then break through all five of its gates in one fell swoop: Skin Devil King, Bone Vajra, Muscle Bodhisattva, Blood Martial Saint, and Marrow Asura!

If he reached the peak of the Spirit Concealment Realm, he wouldn't be considered weak among the Jinyiwei. He could at least become a Baihu, and with enough accumulated merit, he might even be promoted to Qianhu by special exception!

As for Draw Sword Slash, Chen Fan had exchanged Merit Points for it after taking part in several Demonic Creature extermination missions following his entry into the Jinyiwei.

His predecessor's martial aptitude wasn't too bad. Combined with his painstaking cultivation, he had passed the examination and joined the Jinyiwei at fifteen, then mastered both martial arts to the level of minor accomplishment in just one year.

With these two Cultivation Methods, he had been no weaker than the other Jinyiwei at the Ping'an County Baihu Office.

Perhaps in a few more years, after advancing his martial arts realm, he could become a Jinyiwei Xiaoqi Officer and command ten men.

Alas, a crock was bound to break over the well, and a general was bound to fall in battle. A sudden emergency patrol mission had brought him face-to-face with a fearsome Demonic Creature.

All five of his companions had died in battle. His predecessor had died too, and that was how Chen Fan had come to transmigrate into his body!

"Doctor, how is Brother Chen Fan?"

A voice sounded from outside the door.

"Can't be saved!"

"He's beyond help!"

"Just wait for him to die!"

Another, aged voice replied.

Chen Fan: "???"

I... I think there's still time to save me!

"His external injuries aren't all that serious, and his bones and sinews are intact. But the trouble is, he encountered a Five-Colored Toad Great Demon. That creature's poison is fearsome, and its demonic power is filled with extreme Yin Sha Qi."

"The Demon Poison and Yin Sha Qi have coiled together into Yin Sha Poison and invaded his internal organs. In less than three days, it'll corrode his entire body and kill him."

"With this old man's medical skills, there's truly nothing I can do!"

The aged voice added.

"Could you at least prescribe some medicine, so Brother Chen Fan can pass away peacefully?"

The first voice asked again.

Chen Fan had inherited his predecessor's memories and recognized the voice. It belonged to his immediate superior, the Jinyiwei Xiaoqi Officer Wang Chao.

Wang Chao had recruited him into the Jinyiwei, and over the past year had looked after him in many ways. He could be considered his predecessor's benefactor.

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Chen Fan coughed forcefully a couple of times. Wang Chao heard him from outside, immediately opened the door, and hurried to his bedside. He asked anxiously:

"Brother Chen Fan, how are you feeling?"

Wang Chao was tall and imposing, with a leopard's head, round eyes, swallow-like brows, and tiger whiskers. His wild beard bristled across his face, making him look ferocious. But after spending time with him, you'd learn that although he looked fierce, he had a kind heart.

From his predecessor's memories, Chen Fan knew he had no one in Ping'an County: no father, no mother, no home. He was an orphan who'd grown up eating at the tables of kind strangers—a background that suited his transmigrator identity to a tee.

So his predecessor now lived at the Jinyiwei Baihu Office Barracks, and he was destined to die there too.

"Wang Tou, I heard what you said. I don't have long to live."

"We Great Zhou Jinyiwei keep the noble families and sects in check, slay demons and monsters, and ride in fine clothes and fine steeds. We wear splendid embroidered robes, our Embroidered Spring Blades gleam like snow, and we wield the emperor's special authority. What a fearsome show of power!"

"If Wang Tou hadn't taken pity on me back then, I might still be a street urchin begging in Ping'an County."

"I'm glad I got to know you and join the Jinyiwei in this life. I can die without regrets."

"But the thought that I'm about to die still leaves me with some regrets."

"I've been in the Jinyiwei for a year and taken part in several missions to exterminate Demonic Creatures, but I've never personally killed one."

"Ever since joining the Jinyiwei, I've made slaying demons and exorcising monsters my duty. I never imagined I'd die at their hands without having killed a single one. That's the greatest regret of my life."

"Wang Tou, before I die, I want to personally slay a Demonic Creature once. Could you grant my dying wish?"

Chen Fan looked at Wang Chao pitifully and asked almost pleadingly.

"Well..."

Wang Chao hesitated.

The Jinyiwei's main task was indeed to keep the noble families and sects in check and slay demons and monsters. But note the word slay—not capture alive.

Besides, any Demonic Creature that had awakened its intelligence was far from easy to handle. Where was he supposed to find one for Chen Fan to kill?

And from the looks of him, Chen Fan probably couldn't even lift his Hundred Refinements Embroidered Spring Blade. How could he hope to slay a thick-skinned, tough-bodied monster?

"Young man, you can barely walk right now. Even if Lord Wang really did bring you a Demonic Creature, how would you kill it?"

The thin, white-haired doctor had now come to stand in front of Chen Fan, his medicine chest on his back. He asked the question.

"Doctor, may I ask if you can help me fulfill my dying wish?"

Chen Fan looked at Shen Qing, the best doctor at Ping'an County's Jishitang, and asked in a firm voice.

"I can!"

"I can brew you a powerful medicine. After you drink it, it'll suppress the Yin Sha Poison in your body for twelve hours. For those twelve hours, I can keep you as good as any ordinary person."

"Once the twelve hours are up and the medicine wears off, the Yin Sha Poison will erupt completely. By then, your life will be over!"

"Do you dare drink it?"

Shen Qing looked at Chen Fan and asked.

"I do!"

"What's there to be afraid of?"

Chen Fan replied without the slightest hesitation.