The underground mine was dark and damp, and sunlight never reached it.
Jiang Yan wore a thin gray shirt. He and another man carried a stretcher, trudging along mechanically.
The mine's paths were uneven. Jiang Yan seemed to be staring intently at the ground, but in truth, his mind was elsewhere.
A month ago, he had been an ordinary medical student on Azure Planet, living a quiet, unremarkable life. Then, after an utterly ordinary night of drinking, his soul crossed into another world, and he found himself here.
After countless sleepless nights, he had finally accepted the truth with resignation. He really had crossed into another world.
Jiang Yan was currently in an iron mine near Guihua City, owned by the Dahe Gang. The miners came from all walks of life: some were idle men from nearby villages, but most were refugees who had fled from farther away.
The world was full of suffering. To stay alive, their former identities no longer mattered. They had only one identity now: miner.
The work was grueling, the pay barely worth mentioning, and accidents happened all the time. Yet countless people still came here to make a living, just to get a bite to eat.
In truth, mining in a place like this—one that resembled an ancient mine—was a deadly business. Accidents, illness, injuries, brawls, hunger... any of them could easily claim a living soul.
Though he lived in the mining district, Jiang Yan didn't have to dig every day. He had a special job: he was a corpse carrier.
The Dahe Gang's mine recruited workers almost every day, but people died almost every day, too. That was why the Corpse Carrying Squad existed: to transport the dead out of the mine.
"Jiang Yan, let's take a break."
Jiang Yan came back to himself and answered softly. The two men set down the stretcher and rested beside a large rock.
The man carrying the stretcher with him was named Ren Tao. He had dark skin and was short, with somewhat burly limbs—a contrast to Jiang Yan, who was tall but thin.
Ren Tao seemed in the mood to talk. "Quite a few people died last night. Do you know why, Jiang Yan?"
Jiang Yan shook his head.
Today's work was much heavier than usual. There really had been too many deaths.
They had worked together for a long time, so Ren Tao understood that Jiang Yan was a man of few words. He wasn't the least bit annoyed. Instead, he spoke in a hushed, fearful tone. "I heard... a Fierce Sha possessed someone last night and killed quite a few people."
Jiang Yan's brow furrowed, and he pressed his lips together.
"A Fierce Sha!" Jiang Yan murmured. So such a terrifying thing really does exist in this world? he thought silently.
When he had arrived in this world, he had immediately realized it wasn't the ancient past of Azure Planet, but another world altogether. The reason was that this place had martial artists said to be capable of moving mountains and overturning seas, as well as strange demons and monsters that plunged the world into chaos.
These weren't just legends or rumors. They were real. Ren Tao had said that his village had been destroyed by an unknown shadowy monster. He had crossed mountains and rivers and narrowly escaped death to flee here, while one group of companions after another had fallen along the way.
Ren Tao continued, "Luckily, the Dahe Gang had experts who killed that Fierce Sha."
Even so, quite a few people had died.
This was a world where martial arts reigned supreme, where everyone could become a dragon. From the idle chatter of the Dahe Gang members, Jiang Yan had learned that when martial artists reached the highest levels, smashing stone tablets and splitting rocks was child's play. They could even turn rivers upside down and overturn seas.
Ordinary people who first set foot on the path of martial arts were Martial Apprentices. Above them was the first major realm of martial arts, the Three Body-Refining Realms.
Above body refinement was the Innate realm.
The martial world was governed by rigid rules, and society by rigid hierarchies. Ordinary people had no chance of gaining great wealth or power. They could only live at the bottom of society.
"Huh, this one looks strange!"
Ren Tao suddenly sounded a little surprised.
Jiang Yan looked over. The stretcher they had set down wasn't level, and the gray cloth had slipped aside, exposing an exceptionally pale face.
The face was gaunt and wrinkled, as though every drop of blood and essence had been drained from the body.
That was what Ren Tao found strange, too.
But Jiang Yan glanced at it and paid it no more attention. He had rarely seen a body in such a state, but before crossing over, he had been a medical student, specializing in dissection.
It wasn't much to him.
After a while, the two had rested enough and prepared to continue. They had a lot of work today, and if they didn't finish, they would be punished.
Jiang Yan reached out his left hand and gently covered the man's eyes, closing them for him. "Rest in peace," he murmured.
Something unexpected happened.
As Jiang Yan watched in astonishment, a stream of gray-black vapor flew out of the man's body, circled once, and swooped onto Jiang Yan's left hand.
A chill passed through him. The gray-black vapor flowed into his hand like water into the sea and disappeared.
The next moment, a mechanical electronic voice rang out.
"Weird Value absorbed. Martial Arts Modifier activated. Welcome to the Martial Arts Modifier!"
A translucent, pale-green panel appeared:
Character: Jiang Yan Martial Arts: None Weird Value: 1
A mysterious sensation passed through him, and Jiang Yan instantly understood how to use the Martial Arts Modifier.
He could spend Weird Value to raise the level of his martial arts.
An indescribable rush of joy filled his heart, but Jiang Yan kept it tightly under control. Without showing anything, he closed the dead man's eyes, covered him with the gray cloth, and lifted the stretcher.
This world had martial artists who could split the heavens, but it also had demons and monsters that ran rampant. This was no longer the peaceful, tranquil Azure Planet.
He remembered how he had envied people when he first heard of martial artists who transcended the ordinary—and how terrified he had been when he learned of the countless demons and monsters.
Now, Jiang Yan felt nothing but calm. He had a premonition that the Martial Arts Modifier would be his lifeline in this chaotic world.
"Weird Value?" Jiang Yan recalled how the dead man had looked and concluded, He definitely didn't die a normal death...
He was even different from every corpse Jiang Yan had handled before.
Jiang Yan had carried away plenty of the dead, but never once had he gained Weird Value or activated the Martial Arts Modifier like he had today.
He had a feeling that the dead he was handling today were no ordinary corpses.
Deep in the cave, past a long, narrow passageway, lay a somewhat larger cavern. Bodies were piled up haphazardly all over the place.
This time, Jiang Yan was paying attention, and he immediately spotted the difference.
Aside from the kind of "special" corpses he had carried earlier, most of them were "ordinary" bodies.
He knew very well that ordinary corpses couldn't increase his Weird Value, so he headed straight for the "special" ones.
He would touch one and test whether it could increase his Weird Value. If it could, he would investigate the cause of these corpses down to the root. Then he would have a steady, long-term source of Weird Value.
He walked up to a withered, human-shaped corpse and reached out. A stream of gray-black vapor flew out and merged into his left hand.
His hand felt ice-cold, and the Martial Arts Modifier panel appeared again.
Weird Value: 2
Before he could turn around, a cold, stern voice rang out. "You've never seen someone possessed by a 'Sha' before?"
"After being possessed by a Fierce Sha, every drop of blood and essence in the body gets drained away. The victim loses all reason and becomes a monster that knows nothing but slaughter."
Jiang Yan turned around. A burly, square-faced man stood beside him.
The man was named Lu Yi, the captain of the Corpse Carrying Squad. Jiang Yan was technically his subordinate.
"So this is what it looks like to be possessed by a 'Sha.'"
He had been here for over a month. Though he lived in a mining district cut off from the outside world, the miner-slaves came from all over, and he had already learned plenty about the world.
Supernatural forces truly existed here. Among them were the Fierce Sha, Severe Sha, and Blood Sha. They were said to be born from boundless resentment, malice, and other negative forces. They spread terror and fed on the blood, essence, and souls of the Human Race.
Whenever a Sha appeared, people were sure to die in the mine.
But this was the first time he had ever encountered anything like this firsthand. Looking at the shriveled corpse before him and its twisted face, Jiang Yan pressed his lips together, feeling a little afraid.
There was so little safety in this world.
Fortunately, he now had the Martial Arts Modifier, his cheat. At that moment, Jiang Yan felt a certain emotion again. It was hope!
A bold yet terrifying thought took shape—a suspicion he wanted to reject, but couldn't help believing. If Weird Value came from corpses drained of their blood and essence by a Sha, then the true source of Weird Value must be the Sha itself!
To grow stronger, to get Weird Value, he might really have to face a terrifying, supernatural being like a "Sha" one day.
As he stood lost in thought, a large hand smacked down hard on his shoulder.
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