第1章 陆离,妖魔武道面板

In Cloud Province City, dark clouds hung like a curtain overhead, and the air carried a stifling stench of blood.

The wide streets were strewn with broken walls, ruined buildings, and scattered limbs. A wild dog covered in oozing sores had its head lowered as it wolfed down a corpse, its tail held low as though it were watching its surroundings warily.

Lu Li hid inside a cabinet in the tavern across the street, watching the scene outside through a crack.

"Cloud Province City has fallen... Isn't this the background menu from the original version of the game Martial World?"

Memories surfaced in Lu Li's mind, and his heart sank slightly.

The scene before him felt overwhelmingly familiar. If nothing unexpected had happened, this was precisely the world of Martial World, the game he had played for twenty full years.

Martial World was a computer game that had suddenly appeared on Blue Planet.

The game offered an extremely high degree of freedom, and its versions had continued to update over time.

Demon martial arts, Blood-and-Qi Martial Arts, True Qi Martial Path, Astral Martial Arts... As a veteran player, Lu Li knew everything about them. He had even heard rumors that further updates would expand into Wilderness Martial Arts and Mythological Martial Arts.

Later on, the game had become too realistic, making the player experience terrible, and it gradually fell into obscurity.

Only old diehards like Lu Li had persisted. Not long ago, on a whim, he had cleared every major storyline and side quest from more than ten versions.

Then a wave of drowsiness had overwhelmed him, and Lu Li had fallen asleep.

But when he woke again, he found himself in this world, even wearing the exact same pajamas.

The Jianghu martial arts version was the initial version. Its main storyline revolved around the various factions fighting over Heavenly Mandate Divine Weapons. The fall of Cloud Province City was merely one of the background stories for the following demon version.

"Cloud Province City was plagued by demons for roughly seven days. The prefectural city became a land of blood and bones, and the imperial court's army wouldn't arrive to suppress the demons until twelve days later."

Memories flowed through his mind, and sweat beaded on Lu Li's forehead.

He had no way to determine which day this was.

But the fatal problem was that demons were currently wandering the city.

Thud, thud.

Heavy footsteps approached. The wild dog gnawing on the corpse suddenly let out a miserable howl, and a calf-like demon sprang out and bit through its neck in one snap.

"The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it. Don't tell me another demon will show up in the next second?"

Lu Li swallowed, not daring to move at all as he tried to slow his breathing.

"According to the game's settings, during the day, these demons are only slightly stronger than ordinary people, and sunlight weakens them..."

The demons' weaknesses surfaced in Lu Li's mind. Adrenaline surged through him, and his eyes flickered constantly.

He did not act rashly. The game and reality were clearly two completely different things; he had no intention of trying a sliding kick on them.

Boom!

Just then, several chaotic sounds erupted outside, mixed with piercing roars.

Lu Li looked over. Through the gap in the cabinet, he saw two more demons with rotting bodies pounce toward the wild dog's corpse.

The three demons immediately began tearing into one another.

The wolf-shaped demon reared up and swung its foreclaws. The air split with a sharp whistle as the calf-like demon was sent flying, smashing into an earthen alley wall and blasting half the wall and the houses behind it into fragments.

The bear-shaped demon lunged forward fiercely, shattering the bluestone pavement into a spiderweb of cracks and smashing a hardwood pillar apart with one blow.

Lu Li's scalp went numb as he watched.

If even one of those attacks landed on him, he might be lucky enough to die quickly.

In the Jianghu martial arts version, martial arts cultivation was divided into three major realms: Meridian Opening, Qi Solidification, and Divine Intent.

In the Meridian Opening realm, martial artists cultivated and opened their meridians. The human body possessed twelve hidden meridians, and each one opened granted a hundred catties of strength. Once all twelve hidden meridians were opened, one could possess nearly ten thousand catties of force.

Yet even someone who had reached the peak of Meridian Opening was only considered a second-rate expert in the martial world.

Demons were stronger than beasts, but to martial artists, they were merely somewhat troublesome beasts. To ordinary people, however, they were deadly natural disasters.

Martial arts. He had to step onto the martial path!

Lu Li clenched his fists in secret, rapidly searching his memories for information related to Cloud Province City.

"Cloud Province City was only background lore and had nothing to do with the main story. But after the demon version went live, there was a character side quest involving a survivor from Cloud Province City. Completing it rewarded an Erosion Essence Scripture related to Xiangliu."

Lu Li remembered that storyline because of the Erosion Essence Scripture.

The demon Xiangliu was one of the major bosses in the next version. It had nine heads, a serpent's body, and belonged to the highly venomous kind. Wherever it passed became a poisonous swamp, and its vitality was exceptionally tenacious.

The Erosion Essence Scripture was one of the cultivation methods for Xiangliu's martial arts in the following demon version.

After cultivating the Erosion Essence Scripture, one could refine the body into nine orifices. The nine orifices could store blood and poison, allowing one to drink blood to heal wounds and absorb poison to increase one's cultivation. So long as the nine orifices remained intact, the body would not die.

Xiangliu's martial arts lineage was also known as the blood-drinking, immortal, damage-reflection style.

It was absurdly overpowered.

That character was called Liu Yueling. According to her memories, she had survived only because she hid inside an abandoned shack in the rear courtyard of the Liu Residence.

And the item containing the Erosion Essence Scripture was on Liu Yueling!

Roar! Roar!

Frenzied growls continued to ring out. The blue-brick houses within and outside the street kept collapsing under the aftershocks of battle, kicking up clouds of dust.

The tavern swayed from the impact, looking as though it might collapse at any moment.

Lu Li's heart pounded wildly. He was terrified that the tavern would collapse from one careless blow and bury him alive.

Fortunately, the battle between the three demons did not last long. After several brutal exchanges, the street had become a complete mess, filled with foul black blood. Only the wolf-shaped demon remained, licking its wounds as it feasted on the beast corpse and scattered limbs.

The dark clouds gradually dispersed, and the great sun emerged in the sky, casting dazzling golden light across the street.

The sounds of tearing flesh stopped abruptly.

A burst of even more hurried movement followed. When Lu Li looked again, only several indistinct chunks of flesh remained on the street.

The demons that had just fought one another to the death for flesh and blood immediately abandoned the bodies and fled the moment the sun appeared.

"These demons are more terrifying than they were in the game, but they're also more afraid of sunlight."

Lu Li silently noted this and realized that an opportunity had arrived.

The tavern cabinet was only a little taller than a person and offered poor concealment. If a demon entered the tavern, he would certainly die.

He still had to go to the Liu Residence!

The Liu Residence stood in the northern part of the city. Judging the direction from the sun's movement, Lu Li quickly left the tavern and ran north.

Along the way, white bones littered the ground. Blood had congealed on the stone pavement, mixed with black, and the pungent stench made Lu Li's eyes ache.

In the game, it had been nothing more than a brief line of background description. But experiencing it in reality brought an impact far too immense.

Lu Li felt a heavy pressure gathering in his chest. He gritted his teeth, his desire to survive occupying his every thought as he ran without pause.

Before long, he saw a large estate, its plaque carved with two striking characters: Liu Residence.

The vermilion gates of the Liu Residence were tightly shut, but blood trailed beneath them.

Alarm rose in Lu Li's heart. His gaze shifted, and he decisively entered through a side gate in the nearby alley.

The wall by the side gate was not very high. He found a relatively low section, climbed it in a few steps, and vaulted into the rear courtyard.

When Bai Yan had first grinded for the Erosion Essence Scripture, he had become very familiar with the Liu Residence's layout in the game. As Lu Li made his way through it, he found that the terrain was indeed almost exactly as he remembered.

After turning left and right through the estate, Lu Li suddenly felt his heart tighten as he passed a side room. A foul, bloody stench drifted through the air.

It was like the breath of some wild beast.

What was that?!

Lu Li abruptly turned toward the side room. Its door was half-open, revealing a pair of blood-red eyes.

A Mange Demon, one of the lowest-ranking demon creatures. In the game, it had been a beginner monster.

Clearly, this Mange Demon had been hiding inside the side room to avoid sunlight. The room was situated beside the corridor, where the sunlight could not reach.

The moment man and demon met eyes, the Mange Demon turned into a black blur and pounced at him, moving too quickly for the naked eye to follow.

Lu Li instinctively raised an arm to block.

The Mange Demon bit down on his left arm. Its sharp teeth sank into flesh, and searing pain struck him instantly!

"Fuck!"

Lu Li's heart hammered in his chest as adrenaline flooded through him. His face reddened as he staggered back several steps, then threw a punch at the Mange Demon's eye.

The punch landed solidly on the Mange Demon's face, striking its eye and nose. Foul black blood sprayed everywhere.

Hm?

The instant his fist connected, a translucent panel appeared before Lu Li's eyes.

[You have inflicted minor damage on the Mange Demon...]

[Version calibration in progress...]

[Current version: Demon Martial Arts]

[Player: Lu Li]

[Sequence: 001 (Unique)]

[Realm: Ordinary Person]

[Cultivation Method: None]

[Martial Arts: None]

[Demon Compendium: Yet to be unlocked]

The game interface!

Lu Li's pupils constricted sharply as he keenly realized that this interface did not seem to belong to this era.

In Martial World, every version update had added new gameplay while retaining the foundation of the original game.

In the initial version, players had only possessed a basic interface that displayed martial arts proficiency.

But in the Demon Martial Arts version, a unique Demon Compendium had been added!

Every player could choose a demon martial arts route. Releasing any martial arts technique or cultivating any method would grant characteristics unique to demons.

Moreover, the Demon Compendium was not limited to unlocking only one path. It was possible to unlock them all.

"Demon Compendium!"

As the thought arose in Lu Li's mind, illustrations of nine great demons immediately appeared before him.

[Xiangliu]

[Bi Fang]

[Kui]

[Qiongqi]

[Taowu]

[Fu Zhu]

[Nine-Tails]

[Dark Turtle]

[Bo]

Beneath the nine demon illustrations, an icon reading "Unlocks Available: 1" slowly lit up.