First Kill

The reason Lu Hao was so confident was that his cheat had finally arrived.

As everyone knew, the first law of transmigrators was that they always got a cheat. Whether it was a system or an old man living inside a ring, they were bound to have some sort of fortuitous encounter.

Without one, rising to prominence on their own merits would be far too difficult.

Just as the fusion of their souls was complete, Lu Hao discovered that he had a cheat.

With a thought, Lu Hao brought up a virtual panel before his eyes.

[Slaughter Point System]

[Host: Lu Hao]

[Vital Blood: 127/179 cal +]

[Spirit: 122/269 Hz +]

[Storage Space: 1 cubic meter]

[Slaughter Point: 0]

Looking at the numbers on the panel, Lu Hao saw that his Vital Blood had dropped because his recent attempt to break through had failed and cost him a considerable amount. But after taking a second-grade Healing Pill, it was slowly recovering.

He hadn't expected his spirit to reach 269 Hz. That was about as high as an ordinary third-grade martial artist's.

It seemed the fusion of their souls had increased his spirit.

When Lu Hao looked at the plus sign beside his Vital Blood, a notification appeared.

[Insufficient Slaughter Points]

Looking further down, he saw that Storage Space was exactly what it sounded like. In this world, though, it was a pretty rare thing.

At least on Earth, hardly anyone had storage equipment. The Outer Region of the Earth Caves probably had none, but the Forbidden Zones likely had plenty.

As for Slaughter Points, they seemed to be used to increase Vital Blood and spirit. Getting them was simple and straightforward: kill things.

With this panel, Lu Hao was confident he could contend with the Three Realms and see all the wonders from the original story for himself.

After testing the Storage Space a couple of times, Lu Hao got up and went to the washroom to take a shower. He was covered in blood, after all.

He didn't want his mother to worry when she came home that evening, so he needed to clean himself up. He also needed to clear his head. Even with the panel, he still had to rely on himself to become stronger.

Fang Ping's Wealth Value System was a safeguard left behind by the three Extreme Path Heavenly Emperors, and it didn't have any ill intentions.

But what about his own Slaughter Point System?

Where had it come from?

Did it have ill intentions?

As Lu Hao showered, he mulled over these questions. The Three Realms was full of schemers, and so many people had made their moves that it was impossible to know who was whose pawn.

Take King Huai, that servant who had changed masters seven times. He'd served seven different factions, and it was impossible to tell what was going on with him now.

The more Lu Hao thought about it, the more his head hurt. He'd already lost half his spirit, and thinking about the complicated relationships in the Three Realms made his head feel like it was about to explode.

Lu Hao shook his head and stopped thinking about it. Whatever the situation in the Three Realms, if anyone tried to stop him from living a good life, he'd just beat them to death. Once he killed all those schemers, whatever they were plotting would come to nothing.

After his shower, Lu Hao stood in front of the mirror and took a look.

Mm, still a handsome young man.

He was a little darker than he had been in his previous life, thanks to his martial arts training.

Lu Hao returned to the training room, cleaned up all the traces he had left behind, then got ready to head out. He needed to test how the system calculated Slaughter Points.

Only then could he make proper plans.

He stepped out onto the street, where the crowds bustled just like in his previous life.

As Lu Hao walked among them, it almost felt like he hadn't transmigrated at all.

The streets rang with the clamor of hawkers and customers haggling. This was the Human Realm, with all its bustle and bustle.

These people had no idea the Earth Caves existed. They only knew that martial artists held high status, not why. They didn't know that martial artists were currently fighting in the Earth Caves.

Would the streets still be this lively after the Earth Caves were made public?

As he walked through the crowds, Lu Hao couldn't help thinking about it.

He shook his head, put those thoughts aside, and headed for a slaughterhouse in Beiding District.

He'd already tried quite a few things before leaving home.

After sacrificing an anthill and three bugs, he had confirmed that killing them didn't earn him any Slaughter Points. So he could only try his luck at a slaughterhouse.

He hoped the animals there would provide Slaughter Points. Otherwise, Lu Hao had no idea how he was supposed to improve.

Should he go kill Evil Cult martial artists or criminals now?

Lu Hao knew his own limits. Aside from having a strong spirit, he was just an ordinary quasi-martial artist.

He was even less prepared to fight enemies. He'd had to work up his courage just to go to the slaughterhouse. After all, he wouldn't be dealing with ants and bugs there, but large animals.

Half an hour later, Lu Hao arrived at the entrance to a slaughterhouse. After contacting the owner, he made up a story about being a poor student who needed a part-time job to afford the next semester's tuition, and got himself inside.

It wasn't long before someone came over.

"You're Lu Hao?"

A middle-aged man in his forties asked him.

"Yes, I'm Lu Hao, boss."

"You want to work part-time at the slaughterhouse?"

"Yes, boss. My family can't afford next semester's tuition anymore, so I came here looking for a part-time job to pay for my studies in the second half of the year."

The slaughterhouse owner didn't think much of it. Students came by to work part-time from time to time. He looked Lu Hao over and said, "Come in and give it a try. We'll see if you can bring yourself to do it. Just so we're clear, today is a trial shift. If you can't stick it out, you won't get paid."

"Okay, I understand."

Lu Hao agreed, then followed the owner into the factory.

As soon as he entered, a heavy stench of blood hit him, mingled with the foul smell of the animals and disinfectant.

Lu Hao didn't say anything. He'd made his way through the world alone in his previous life; what hadn't he seen? He wrinkled his nose.

The owner, watching Lu Hao from the side, nodded silently. Only someone who could put up with the smell had any chance of sticking around.

Slaughterhouse workers weren't paid much to begin with, and given the conditions, few people were willing to work there. If this kid could stick it out, that would be good.

"Old Wu, we've got a new guy. Show him the ropes."

The slaughterhouse owner walked over to a middle-aged man who was in the middle of slaughtering a pig.

"Sure thing, boss."

The man, Old Wu, sized up Lu Hao, then began explaining the job. They were responsible for putting down the animals that were brought in, and slaughtered about a hundred a day.

If Lu Hao came in every afternoon, his pay would be cut in half, and he'd only have to slaughter half as many.

With Old Wu's guidance, Lu Hao quickly got the hang of it.

"Come on, Little Lu. This one's yours. Be decisive. Don't be scared."

Old Wu pointed to a pig that had just been brought in.

Lu Hao looked at the pig in front of him, then at the knife in his hand. He'd already steeled himself as best he could, but now that it was time to act, he was still nervous.

Whatever.

Lu Hao squeezed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth.

He gripped the knife and plunged it in.

A shriek rang out. Lu Hao opened his eyes. The knife had gone all the way in, and the pig's cries were gradually fading.

Lu Hao twisted the handle. A stream of blood flowed down the groove in the blade into the basin Old Wu had prepared.

But Lu Hao's attention was elsewhere. Just then, a message had appeared on the panel.

[Enemy killed. Slaughter Points +2]

His Slaughter Points had increased. It seemed going to the slaughterhouse had been the right call. Only killing large animals like this worked.

Lu Hao immediately snapped out of his nervousness and began dreaming up a story: he would lie low in the slaughterhouse for three years, then return as the Dragon King.