The numbers on the panel beside his remaining lifespan began changing at a dizzying speed.
Thirty-four... twenty-one... thirteen...
They finally stopped at "one."
The realm of the Demon-Subduing Blade Technique began increasing just as quickly.
[You practiced the Demon-Subduing Blade Technique diligently. In your eighth year, you broke through to minor mastery.]
[You continued practicing. In your seventeenth year, you broke through to great mastery.]
[In your twenty-ninth year, your Demon-Subduing Blade Technique reached the pinnacle, achieving perfection.]
[In your thirty-third year, even after perfecting the technique, you remained devoted to it and seemed to gain a new insight. But this Radiant Light was not clear enough, and you failed to bring it to fruition...]
Demon-Subduing Blade Technique (Perfection)
Shen Yi lay on the ground, his thoughts focused more on his right hand, the one gripping the blade.
He needed to confirm whether losing his lifespan had turned him into a withered old man or if he could keep his youthful appearance.
The skin on the back of his hand remained smooth, and his long fingers were as nimble as ever.
More astonishing still, his body hadn't aged. Instead, it was growing stronger and more powerful at an unimaginable speed.
It was as if Shen Yi had truly devoted himself to practicing the blade for thirty-three years, given up wine and women, put aside every distraction, and dedicated his whole life to the blade in his hand.
Night had fallen, and the courtyard lay silent.
The Dog Demon's massive body stooped slightly as it came to the door. It braced one hand against the wall and stuck its head into the room.
Its pale yellow eyes swept indifferently over everyone inside.
Overwhelmed by the rank stench of a beast, Old Man Liu pressed himself into the corner, his eyes rolling back until he was nearly unconscious.
When facing Shen Yi's back, he could still summon the courage to grip his wooden club. But with that dog's head so close, even the words to beg for mercy stuck in his throat.
Fortunately, the Dog Demon soon shifted its gaze from him to the little girl, who looked much more appetizing.
The Dog Demon couldn't even be bothered to speak. It calmly extended its clawed hand and beckoned with a curl of its fingers.
Frozen by terror, the little girl's eyes went blank. She took a dazed step toward it, watching as its razor-sharp claws closed around her neck.
Suddenly, she felt a warm palm cover her wrist, stopping her from taking another step.
Liu Girl shuddered and looked down.
Shen Yi was frowning slightly as he struggled to his feet. He brushed the dust from his clothes and, in the same tone he'd used earlier to shoo away flies, said softly, "Go away. Stay in the corner."
"..."
Feeling the claws tighten around her neck, the little girl broke down completely. She had no idea what nonsense Lord Shen was talking about.
Go where? How?
A vicious smile crept across the Dog Demon's face. "You treacherous beast. What's the hurry? You're next."
As everyone watched, a flash of silver suddenly streaked through the room, cold and blinding!
Shen Yi held the long blade at an angle. Its gleaming surface faintly reflected his expressionless face.
A thread of blood had appeared on the blade at some point. It gathered at the tip, then rolled off as a droplet.
Along with the blood fell a thick, sleek-furred arm.
"Aaagh—!"
In an instant, the room was filled with the Dog Demon's agonized howls. It hadn't even seen the blade's path—or when its opponent had drawn it.
Freed from the claw around her, the little girl staggered back toward the corner and curled up in terror.
Through her tear-blurred vision, she saw the thin figure before her suddenly charge forward.
Like a ferocious god of slaughter, Shen Yi spread his powerful arms, seized the long fur on the Dog Demon's neck, and slammed it down with all his might.
Under the force of that blow, the Dog Demon cried out in pain again, its hill-sized body crashing to the ground!
Giving it no chance to react, Shen Yi pinned its head down with one knee. He raised both hands over his head, gripped the hilt with the blade pointed straight down, and drove it viciously into the Dog Demon's throat.
Pfft!
Scalding dog's blood sprayed out, spattering Shen Yi's face and lending his handsome features a touch of savagery.
With one foot on the Dog Demon's head, Shen Yi steadily drew his blade from the flesh.
It was clearly his first time killing a demon, yet the movements felt as if he'd repeated them ten million times, etched deep into his instincts.
His body was soaked in blood, and the reek made his stomach turn.
He should have been shaken and vomiting, but his body remained inexplicably calm.
This was the Demon-Subduing Blade Technique. Slaying demons was as ordinary as eating and drinking.
He drew his blade and stared into the Dog Demon's unseeing eyes, carefully wiping the steel clean against its fur.
Neither this beast nor Shen Yi himself had expected the fight to end so quickly.
After thirty-three years of practice, the strength accumulated in his body had nearly reached the limits of an ordinary person.
When he finished, Shen Yi looked back at the father and daughter in the corner.
Their eyes were both filled with disbelief. Yet compared to before, there was only more fear in them—not a trace of gratitude.
Shen Yi looked away, not taking it to heart.
After all, half an hour ago, he'd been tearing at the little girl's clothes. How could she really trust him now?
They probably still thought Lord Shen had fallen out with the demon.
"..."
He hung up his blade, kicked the Dog Demon's corpse aside, and strode out into the courtyard.
"Lord Shen... would you..."
Liu Girl glanced at the wrist he'd just held, then lifted her dirty face and asked timidly, "Let me bandage the wound on your head first?"
At that, the old man's eyes nearly rolled back.
That foolish girl—why bring up the one thing they shouldn't? Had she forgotten how he got that wound?
In the old man's eyes, Shen Yi was now ten times more terrifying than the Dog Demon!
Shen Yi slowly stopped.
After a moment, he turned back. "All right."
He hadn't done a single good deed in either of his two lives. After finally doing one, he'd be lying if he said he didn't care whether anyone noticed.
A hero shouldn't have to walk home alone.
He wasn't asking her to pledge herself to him. At the very least, she could offer him a cup of warm water to soothe his throat.
Shen Yi swaggered back to the bed and sat down. With the skinny girl's clumsy help, he took off his clothes. Old Man Liu felt a pang of sorrow, but briskly dug out a relatively clean strip of cloth and used it to wipe the blood from the back of Shen Yi's head.
Just then, the panel popped up.
A new notification caught Shen Yi's attention.
[Awakened Dog Demon, not yet at the Initial Realm, total lifespan: 175 years, remaining lifespan: 63 years. Absorption complete.]
[Current Martial Arts]
Bone-Piercing Grappling Hand (Great Mastery)
Demon-Subduing Blade Technique (Perfection)
[Current Remaining Lifespan: 1 year]
[Monster Lifespan: 63 years]
[Monster lifespan can be used to infuse martial arts, but cannot be converted into your own lifespan.]
"..."
Shen Yi sent the two of them to deal with the Dog Demon's corpse while he examined this new development.
He had to admit, the hollow feeling after spending so much on upgrades was pretty agonizing.
Staring at the single year of lifespan he had left, Shen Yi fell silent for a long while, then suddenly wanted to slap himself.
The Demon-Subduing Blade Technique could have reached perfection in twenty-nine years, but he'd just had to show off and waste four more.
Even if he didn't feel any attachment to this world, even a game was more fun when you could play it for a few extra years.
"So, as long as I slay demons and exterminate evil, I can use their remaining lifespan to replace my own and deduce martial arts?"
"A single awakened Dog Demon can live for nearly two hundred years? That's ridiculous."
Shen Yi was a little astonished.
Then another thought occurred to him.
If demons could live that long, was there really no way for humans to extend their lifespan?
If that were the case, then the one wearing the official uniform and carrying a blade ought to be that dog, not the human court.
"Forget it. There's no point thinking about all that now."
"When I was deducing the Demon-Subduing Blade Technique just now, I think the panel mentioned new progress."
Shen Yi now had sixty-three years of monster lifespan in hand, giving him the strange feeling that he'd gotten rich overnight.
How about trying ten years first?
Before you continue