Demonic Soul-Devouring Rat, Long Wuhui's Gratification (Seeking Monthly Tickets~)

Li Qiming stood on the arena.

His brows were tightly furrowed.

Just a moment ago, the instant Wu Tianlong's head exploded, a scream that did not belong to him had rung out, extremely faint, right beside his ear.

"Squeak—"

The sound was incredibly strange, not something a human could produce.

Li Qiming kicked the headless corpse away.

[Corpse looting triggered entries]

[1. Soul-Devouring Rat: Demon identity/Rare.]

[2. Elite Disciple: Identity/Rare.]

Due to the difference in cultivation realms, only two entries had dropped.

Furthermore, both entries were actually "identities"!

"What the hell is a Soul-Devouring Rat..."

Li Qiming narrowed his eyes, a sense of foreboding washing over him.

He focused his gaze:

[1. Soul-Devouring Rat: Demon identity/Rare]

[Soul-Devouring Rat: You will disguise and transform into a Soul-Devouring Rat (Minor Demon). The Soul-Devouring Rat excels at parasitizing human bodies. After burrowing into the body, it consumes a portion of the host's brain, becoming a part of the brain itself, thereby controlling the host's body, thoughts, and behavior... eventually merging with the host to coexist as a parasite, though the host will rarely have thoughts of their own again.]

Li Qiming's pupils constricted.

It was a demon!

This Soul-Devouring Rat was truly terrifying.

It would gnaw on a person's brain and then disguise itself as the brain to achieve parasitism and control.

It was equivalent to directly becoming a human!

Treating a person as its puppet!

The human body became nothing more than a vessel to sustain it!

The methods of this demon were truly horrifying!

At the thought of a rat gnawing inside his own brain, Li Qiming couldn't help but feel his entire body go numb; it was utterly repulsive.

Looking at the remains of Wu Tianlong on the ground, he fell into a deep silence for a moment.

In other words, Wu Tianlong's brain had long since been consumed by the Soul-Devouring Rat.

He had become a puppet.

This was hard to judge!

Li Qiming looked at the second entry.

[2. Elite Disciple: Identity/Rare.]

[Elite Disciple: Incarnate as the Dragon Roar Martial Hall elite disciple, "Pseudo-Chief Elite Disciple," "Pseudo-First Person Under the True Disciples," Wu Tianlong.]

"Why was I still able to drop Wu Tianlong's identity entry?"

Li Qiming had tested it before; if a corpse had been dead for more than seven days, no entries would drop.

That meant... even though Wu Tianlong had his brain consumed by the Soul-Devouring Rat, he wasn't actually fully dead?

Throughout the entire process of being consumed, controlled, and becoming a demon puppet, was Wu Tianlong conscious?

Watching himself slowly descend into the abyss as a rat parasitized him, yet being unable to do anything...

Becoming a puppet, yet still alive?

Just thinking about it made Li Qiming feel a chill run down his spine.

The conduct of this demon was certainly worthy of the name.

Li Qiming suddenly noticed a white-furred rat corpse in the corner of the arena.

It must have been blown out when the head exploded.

He couldn't help but walk over to examine it closely.

This Soul-Devouring Rat was small, only half the size of a fist.

The Soul-Devouring Rat itself had no combat power; it relied entirely on parasitizing a host.

He poked the demon corpse with his blade.

[Looting corpse triggered entries]

[1. One year of blood energy: Blood energy attack power / Rare]

[2. Gnawing incisors: Talent / Rare]

Li Qiming did not expect that the corpse of a demon could trigger entries.

After looking closely, the second entry, Gnawing incisors, actually made his front teeth grow longer, allowing him to bite through steel.

He didn't want this talent even if it were given to him for free.

However, the one year of blood energy could be saved for later; he would just add it once he broke through to the Bone Refining realm.

Swish.

Several figures suddenly appeared beside Li Qilong.

"A juvenile Soul-Devouring Rat?" The hall master, Long Wuhui, stared at the white rat carcass on the ground, his brows furrowed tightly.

He glanced at Li Qiming again.

"Qiming, it is fortunate that you took action to kill the Soul-Devouring Rat, otherwise the future consequences would have been endless!"

Even Long Wuhui had a look of lingering fear on his face.

Li Qiming was somewhat confused; how could this Soul-Devouring Rat make even the hall master take it so seriously?

Seeming to notice Li Qiming's confusion.

The Blue-Robed Elder, Chu Weiying, who was standing to the side, slowly explained: "This Soul-Devouring Rat is still a minor demon. If it had been given more time to be nourished by blood energy and allowed to mature, the consequences would have been unimaginable!"

"Once a Soul-Devouring Rat reaches adulthood, it will lay eggs. By controlling a host and having them make physical contact with those around them, it will parasitize the young eggs onto the other party!"

"One spreads to ten, ten to a hundred..."

"Historically, the appearance of a Soul-Devouring Rat has often signified the arrival of a terrifying disaster capable of causing millions of deaths."

"The slaughter of cities and the destruction of villages would be considered fortunate!"

Li Qiming felt a chill in his heart as he listened.

Had he unknowingly prevented such a massive disaster?

In his previous life, the plague in medieval Europe, the Black Death, had caused sixty percent of the population to perish, taking three hundred years to recover.

Not to mention that these were demons!

The disaster would only be even more powerful!

But he still felt that something was not quite right.

If humans were so easy to kill and the conditions for survival were so difficult.

Shouldn't humanity have gone extinct in this world long ago?

Seeming to see through his doubts.

On the other side, the Brown-Robed Elder, Jiang Daoming, explained: "In fact, every city has a presence that deals with demons. Two thousand years ago, the Great Yan Dynasty was established and began training Artificers. Artificers master a skill called the Qi Gazing Technique, which can detect the presence of demons."

"However, the Qi Gazing Technique also requires a special talent of the eyes; ordinary people can never learn it."

"But, through years of cultivation, the Great Yan Dynasty has stationed a Demon Suppression Division in every city, equipped with an Artificer."

"Dragon Spring City also has an Artificer. Previously, the Artificer used the Qi Gazing Technique to monitor the city, so any demonic mischief would be immediately detected and targeted!"

"That is why they could never stir up any major trouble!"

"But..."

Speaking of this, Jiang Daoming's tone became somewhat hesitant.

He seemed unsure whether he should speak.

He glanced at the hall master, Long Wuhui.

Long Wuhui pondered for a moment.

He ordered the crowd below the ring: "There is nothing else, you may all disperse."

Naturally, no one dared to disobey his words.

After everyone had left.

Long Wuhui said to Li Qiming: "Two days ago, a large number of demons suddenly appeared to cause trouble at Dragon Tooth Mountain, fifty miles away, slaughtering one city and over a dozen villages and towns."

"The Demon Catcher of the Demon Suppression Division invited me and the two elders, as well as your seven senior disciples, to go and slay the demons."

"As martial artists of the righteous path, we were naturally duty-bound!"

"Our ancestor, Long Yingtian, established the ancestral teachings: to slay demons and save the common people from fire and water is the foundation of our martial artists."

"It is just that... among that group of demons, there was a Tiger-Headed Great Demon. Although I have already beheaded it, I was also injured, and the Artificer from the Demon Suppression Division was particularly severely wounded."

"Therefore, during this period, the Artificer has been unable to perform the Qi Gazing Technique to monitor and protect Dragon Spring City."

"That is how this minor demon, the Soul-Devouring Rat, was able to take advantage of the loophole!"

"I never expected that it would have already come to cause trouble in my Dragon Roar Martial Hall!"

"These demons are simply lawless!"

Long Wuhui was so angry that his beard was trembling.

However, looking at Li Qiming, the old man couldn't help but nod, feeling very gratified.

"It is fortunate that your Senior Brother Shen did not misjudge you. Thankfully, you, Qiming, stepped in to slay the demon; otherwise, the consequences would have been unthinkable!"

"As a reward, go to the Weapon Hall and choose one suitable weapon for free. Go to the second floor of the Scripture Pavilion and choose one second-rate martial art for free. Additionally, I grant you 1000 contribution points!"

The old man was very satisfied with Li Qiming's performance and directly announced the rewards.

"Many thanks, Master!" Li Qiming was overjoyed. He hadn't expected that killing Wu Tianlong would lead to such a good thing.

He had truly struck gold!