Intransigent Qi, Taowu

"Add points to Taowu!"

Lu Li did not hesitate. Drawing on his understanding as a veteran gamer, he made his decision.

In the game, each of the nine great demons could grant different traits to different cultivation arts. Wielding demonic power in a human body far surpassed ordinary martial arts.

[Demon Bestiary: Taowu (Lit)]

[Current Realm: Ordinary Person]

[Passive: Intransigent Qi]

[Intransigent Qi: Slightly increases endurance and strength, greatly increases defense]

The Mange Demon took Lu Li's punch head-on. Though its face bled, it had no intention of letting go. Instead, it shook its head, trying to tear off his arm.

But when it exerted force again, it was like a knife scraping across a steel plate. Lu Li's arm turned bronze at the surface, as hard as iron and steel.

Lu Li felt an icy current surge from his dantian and flow through his limbs and bones. The pain in his arm instantly vanished.

It was as if it had been blocked.

This was the passive ability of Taowu martial arts: Intransigent Qi!

Intransigent Qi could greatly boost defense in the game. Players with the Taowu bestiary had only one playstyle: bulldoze everything with muscle!

Unlike in the game, the demons in this world were far more formidable. Yet the game interface seemed unchanged. With Intransigent Qi empowering him, his bronze skin resembled a golden body. He could still feel everything, but the piercing pain was gone.

Lu Li knew nothing about martial arts, but with his pain gone, his courage naturally swelled.

He stepped forward, pinned the Mange Demon against the wall with his left arm, clenched his right hand into a fist, and smashed it viciously into the demon's face again.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Dull impacts rang out one after another.

Lu Li's fists fell like rain, relentlessly hammering the Mange Demon's face, striking the exact same spot every time.

Before long, the Mange Demon's eyeball burst like a crushed grape, black blood spraying everywhere. Its upper and lower jaws, clamped around Lu Li's arm, were forcibly shattered apart. Half its skull seemed crushed, and one side of its head caved in!

Howling in pain, the Mange Demon's limbs convulsed wildly. It broke free of Lu Li's hold, turned into a black blur, vaulted over the wall, and fled.

Lu Li bent over and gasped for breath. Sweat had soaked through his clothes. Watching the direction the Mange Demon had escaped in, he did not pursue it.

Though the Mange Demon was injured, it was still too fast. He could not catch it.

Having survived the disaster, Lu Li still felt lingering fear. The effects of demonic martial arts had far exceeded his expectations. It had saved his life.

"Intransigent inner qi... In the game, consuming Intransigent Qi could add special effects to martial arts. Offensive techniques gained armor-piercing, while body-tempering techniques gained a steel body."

Lu Li could not stop himself from recalling it.

The inner qi of demonic martial arts was calculated separately from that of ordinary martial arts.

Using an ordinary cultivation method to activate demonic martial arts could also grant the attributes of normal martial arts.

There was no conflict between the two.

Even all nine great demon bestiaries could be lit, and they would not clash. Instead, their traits could stack.

Lu Li looked at his bronze skin. With such an eye-catching color, he would surely attract attention if he went outside.

The moment that thought arose, the Intransigent Qi coating his arms immediately returned to his dantian, and his skin regained its original color.

The instant the Intransigent Qi receded, the pain returned as well.

Lu Li bared his teeth and hurriedly circulated the Intransigent Qi again. Only then did the pain fade once more.

This passive ability was controlled by his thoughts, and its flow took no more than an instant.

As Lu Li familiarized himself with the passive ability, the pressure in his heart quietly eased.

"With Intransigent Qi, ordinary low-level demons will no longer be my match. As long as I do not encounter tiger- or leopard-type demons like the ones I saw earlier, I should have no trouble protecting myself."

He did not linger. After resting briefly, he immediately headed toward the rear courtyard according to his memories.

With Intransigent Qi, he barely had the ability to protect himself against demons. But if he truly wanted to leave Cloud Province City, he still needed martial arts.

If he could obtain the Erosion Essence Scripture from Xiangliu martial arts, it would be of immense benefit.

A tempered body combined with a blood-draining, poison-absorbing cultivation art, immunity to pain, both offense and defense, and even damage reflection—he would definitely be able to establish himself in this martial world of the early version.

The rear courtyard was luxurious and grand, where the Liu Residence's family members lived. Rockeries, small ponds, pavilions, and terraces made for a pleasant view.

That was, if one ignored the bones scattered everywhere and the glaring bloodstains.

Cloud Province City had fallen. Even the Liu Residence, one of the city's foremost households, had not escaped disaster.

Lu Li hurried through the rear courtyard and soon found the abandoned shack from his memories.

The shack was where discarded firewood was piled. Covered in dried grass, it was where Liu Yueling had hidden and narrowly escaped this demon calamity, according to her memories.

The jade-green pendant that carried the Erosion Essence Scripture had also been obtained during this demon calamity.

Lu Li quickly reached the shack and removed the dried grass covering it. Then, amid the firewood, he saw a child with horn-shaped braids staring at him in terror.

Her little face was smudged with ash, but it was not hard to see that she would grow into a beauty.

This was Liu Yueling?

Lu Li found it hard to imagine that the girl before him was the Cold Moon Sword Hero of Five Manor Tower, who would one day roam the martial world and shake the land.

Then again, there were still over thirty years until the demon era. The number one expert on the Human Rankings in the future was currently just a six-year-old child.

The Erosion Essence Scripture was on her?

Screech!

A sharp gust of wind sounded!

A bloodstained little bell not far away was struck by a pebble, letting out a clear ring.

"Who?!"

Hearing the sound, Lu Li turned around warily. From the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a black shadow rapidly approaching.

The Mange Demon had come back?!

Intransigent Qi instantly spread through his entire body. The charging shadow carried a pungent stench. A rotten beast face, with ghastly white bones exposed beneath the flesh, opened its jaws and bit down.

Lu Li saw it clearly. This was not the Mange Demon, but a dog demon the size of a small calf. It was clearly even fiercer than the Mange Demon.

Screech! Screech!

Startled, Lu Li instinctively twisted aside and threw a punch at the dog demon's head.

But the dog demon was remarkably agile. It twisted its body in midair and bit down on Lu Li's left arm. Its sharp teeth failed to pierce his skin, instead producing a grating metallic screech.

With Intransigent Qi empowering him, it was as if Lu Li was covered in a layer of iron. The dog demon's attack did not harm him.

Bang!

Lu Li's blow landed on the dog demon as well, and it let out a howl.

Intransigent Qi did more than increase defense. It also increased endurance and strength. Compared to before, the force in Lu Li's body had already doubled.

"I'm too slow. I can only trade injury for injury and wear it to death!"

As his fist came down, the dog demon released him in pain and pulled back. A low growl rumbled in its throat, but it did not bite again immediately.

It circled around Lu Li, occasionally pouncing in to bite him. Whenever an attack failed, it swiftly withdrew.

Lu Li's expression darkened slightly. This was becoming troublesome.

This dog demon was intelligent. It knew how to kite him.

After several exchanges, although the dog demon could not break through his steel body, Lu Li could not hit it either under its constant harassment.

In the end, he was merely an ordinary person who had just lit up the interface. His reaction speed and mobility were clearly lacking.

Just as the dog demon lunged to bite again, Lu Li heard a cool female voice by his ear.

"On the right—throw a horizontal punch. Hit its waist and belly!"