Time Difference, the Advantage Is Mine

Dark clouds gathered once more, blocking out the sunlight, and Cloud Province City sank back into gloom.

Near the gates of the Liu Residence, Lu Li carried Liu Yueling on his back and gripped a broadsword in one hand, moving with utmost caution as low demon roars continued to echo by his ears.

The ground trembled distinctly, tiny grains of sand and pebbles quivering as Lu Li's heart pounded along with them.

Whoosh!

A stone shot through the air and struck the muddy ground beside him, splattering mud everywhere.

Lu Li jolted in alarm. He knew this was the woman's warning. Tugging the straps behind him to secure Liu Yueling more tightly, he raised the broadsword and rushed out of the Liu Residence.

The moment he left the residence, he saw the Mange Demon's corpse lying in the street, its head severed from its neck as black blood streamed out.

"Dead? Did that woman kill it?"

This Mange Demon was the one that had attacked him earlier. Lu Li had no time to think and quickly ran toward the city gate.

The ruined streets and crisscrossing alleys were littered with demon corpses. Black blood had crusted over on the ground, while countless gnawed human remains lay scattered everywhere. The bloody sight was enough to make one retch.

Several figures kept flashing across the rooftops lining both sides of the street. Lu Li could only catch faint afterimages; the naked eye simply could not make out those martial artists' movements.

This was no low-martial world. This demon calamity was half man-made disaster and half natural catastrophe. Those martial artists clearly came from Five Manor Tower, Merging Cavern, and Shangling Cliff, disciples sent to gather demon materials.

Among the current version and even the next, these three major factions were not first-rate powers. They barely participated in the main storyline and were merely background fixtures.

Yet with just a glance, Lu Li saw one martial artist casually step onto a blue-tiled wall, causing the entire wall to explode as shattered stones flew in every direction.

They were nameless NPCs in the game, but to ordinary people, they were practically superhuman.

Lu Li looked around, then lowered his head and continued sprinting.

At the North City Gate, the gates stood wide open and there was no one around. The demons' roars behind him gradually faded.

After leaving the city, Lu Li's pupils contracted. Not far away, vast heaps of bones had been piled up, people who had died in all manner of ways stacked into small mountains of corpse pyramids.

Lu Li's heart sank. The sight struck him hard, and he fought down the urge to vomit as he recalled what he knew.

He knew these were all the work of Fortune Perch Tower.

Fortune Perch Tower was a martial arts faction near Cloud Province City. After Cloud Province City fell, Dragon Sparrow Sect went to Fortune Perch Tower and ordered them to seal off the martial artists within the city.

Moreover, Dragon Sparrow Sect had sent people to intercept the Jing Dynasty army. Otherwise, in an entire nation, it would not have taken a month to suppress a demon calamity on the scale of a citywide massacre.

Most people had not died in the demon calamity, but from Dragon Sparrow Sect fanning the flames.

Lu Li did not dare look at the corpses any longer. He only felt a suffocating resentment congealing in his chest.

When he had played the game, he had not felt much. Only upon truly seeing mountains of corpses piled into pyramids did he realize how cheap human lives were in this world.

And how little martial artists cared about them.

Lu Li kept running toward the Small Temple they had agreed upon.

Behind him, atop the city wall, the man in black took in the direction of his departure.

"A brat who could hide in the city without getting eaten by demons, and he seems to possess a toughened body. A little girl connected to Shuang Qiuyue, carrying a treasure too..."

Gao Fengxing glanced back at Shuang Qiuyue, who was moving through various parts of the city with the disciples of the three major factions, collecting demon corpses and remains.

"Heh..."

Gao Fengxing licked his lips, leaped down from the city wall, and turned into an afterimage as he chased after Lu Li!

Carrying Liu Yueling, Lu Li ran five or six kilometers into a barren mountain.

He felt as though his throat were about to catch fire, his heart pounding like a drum, while his ragged breaths sounded like an old broken bellows.

Though Liu Yueling was only six, she was not exactly light. If not for the Taowu Bestiary's enhancement, his original stamina would likely have left his legs weak before he even made it out of the city while carrying someone.

Feeling somewhat fatigued, Lu Li slowed down and looked back. Cloud Province City was now barely visible as a vague outline.

The demon assault on the city had been caused by demonic qi originating from the waters of White River, which flowed from Kunniu Mountain over a hundred miles away.

Cloud Province City was the first city along White River, and the wild beasts in the surrounding mountains and forests had become demons after drinking water tainted with demonic qi.

Cloud Province City had therefore borne the brunt of it.

However, this was not yet the beginning of the demon version.

The demon version would not truly begin for another thirty years, at minimum.

This demon calamity was merely the result of the Mirage Demon on Kunniu Mountain briefly awakening and leaking demonic qi. After a month, the demonic qi would dissipate, and the demons would gradually vanish as well.

Lu Li sorted through his thoughts.

This was still the initial martial arts world version. The six nations were in turmoil, and the appearance of the Heavenly Profound Divine Weapons had stirred upheaval throughout the martial world.

The Heavenly Profound Divine Weapons in this version were extraordinary, and they were not merely powerful weapons.

There were eight divine weapons in total. The Heaven-Burning Departure Fire Sword, first on the Divine Weapon Ranking, could unleash sword qi like thunder and inverted fire, evaporating lakes and boiling seas with a single strike. The second-ranked Blood-Containing Jade Moon Saber could, beneath the reflection of its blade light, reduce man and beast alike to white bones where they stood...

These divine weapons had all been forged by ancient sages and endured for tens of thousands of years.

In game terms, they were SSS-rank items. Though they would gradually decline in later versions, during the initial martial arts version, they were unquestionably priceless treasures.

In the background storyline, some factions had stirred the winds and clouds, seeking to seize divine weapons and contend for supremacy under heaven.

The martial arts of this version lacked the enhancement effects of the Demon Martial Path. To raise one's cultivation, one could only train honestly.

"Though I haven't entered the Meridian-Unblocking Realm yet, with Poison Blood Hand and the Erosion Essence Scripture, my starting pace definitely won't be slow!"

Thoughts swirled through Lu Li's mind. In the current version, even if he possessed demonic martial arts and foreknowledge, he could not contend for those Heavenly Profound Divine Weapons amid the chaos without sufficient strength.

Still, Lu Li was not particularly eager for divine weapons. They were basically torches—whoever held one would have to face endless slaughter and conflict.

The Demon Compendium, on the other hand, gave him martial arts a full version ahead. If all nine Demon Compendiums were lit up, he would not fear even the Heavenly Profound Divine Weapons.

Besides, divine weapons were merely items and could hardly be held by anyone forever, whereas the attributes accumulated through the Demon Compendium were his own.

"Mm, to light up the Demon Compendium, I first need to gather and come into contact with Demon Tokens... Emerald Jade is Xiangliu's token. As for the rest..."

Lu Li pondered. Qiongqi in the Southern Wasteland, Kui on Thunderclap Sacred Mountain, Fu Zhu in Heavenly Lake River...

As far as he knew, at this point in time, the tokens of those demons were all still unclaimed.

"Tch... Thinking about it, I really have a huge advantage!"

A spark of heat rose in Lu Li's heart, and bold ambition surged within him.

"Every opportunity under heaven shall fall into my grasp!"

After fantasizing for a while, Lu Li thought of Shuang Qiuyue. Even now, he still could not determine that woman's attitude toward him.

From their brief interaction, she truly seemed rather moody and unpredictable.

But Lu Li did not care. He had felt this deeply when playing the game before—people of the martial world were all like this. Being a little unhinged was perfectly normal.

"She needed my help to bring Liu Yueling out. My strength definitely poses no threat to her, so she might turn on me afterward. I need to prepare for the worst. I should either run away directly or leave once I take Liu Yueling to the Earthen Temple."

The thought flashed through Lu Li's mind as he looked back. Shuang Qiuyue was clearly still clearing out demons in the city.

"Hmm?"

Just as he was about to leave, a fierce gust of force struck at him. A sharp pain suddenly stabbed between Lu Li's brows in warning. From the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a black shadow, and his heart jolted.

Almost instinctively, he spun around, staggered a step backward, and raised both arms to block.

Bang!

A tremendous force erupted. Intransigent Qi circulated through Lu Li's body, accompanied by a screech like clashing weapons, and he was sent flying backward.

"A person who hasn't even reached the Meridian-Unblocking Realm can train body-hardening martial arts to such a level? Interesting!"