Blood and New Life

Blood.

Rain.

Mud.

The icy rain mixed with warm blood, washing over Chen Chen's cheeks. He lay in a pile of rotting leaves, his lungs like a worn-out bellows, each breath a tearing pain.

Three ribs were broken, and the bone in his left arm had pierced his flesh, exposed to the air, gleaming a ghastly white.

But he couldn't stop.

Behind him lay hell.

Several hours ago, Qingyang City's Chen Family was engulfed in flames.

His father, who had always treated him with kindness, had his chest pierced by a black iron spear and nailed to the ancestral hall's plaque. His father's last glance at him held no fear, only a roar with all his might: "Chen'er, live on!"

Mother, uncles, brothers, sisters... familiar faces, blurred into bloody hues amidst the clash of blades.

The Wang Family!

That name, like a steel needle dipped in poison, pierced Chen Chen's mind, each character dripping blood.

"Hey, that brat is up ahead! Don't let him get away!"

Arrogant shouts echoed from behind, accompanied by the crackling sound of branches being stepped on, growing closer.

It was the Wang Family's guards.

Chen Chen bit down so hard on his back molars that he swallowed the blood and saliva in his mouth along with the rain. He used his only intact right hand to push himself up, his body crawling forward with difficulty in the mud, every inch of movement like being flayed alive.

He couldn't die here.

He wanted revenge!

This thought, like a tiny flame burning in a pool of blood, was his only support at the moment.

His vision began to blur, the coldness of blood loss and the excruciating pain in his body washing over his taut nerves in waves.

Just as his consciousness was about to fade, a dark shadow shot out from the nearby bushes like lightning, carrying a foul wind, aiming straight for his throat.

A Demonic Beast!

Chen Chen's pupils contracted sharply, survival instinct overriding everything else. He didn't even have time to see what it was before he rolled on the ground, narrowly dodging the fatal blow.

The dark shadow landed, letting out a low growl.

It was a black cat, slightly larger than a hound. Its fur was pitch black, only its four paws gleaming with a metallic luster. Its pair of emerald vertical pupils shone like will-o'-the-wisps in the dim forest.

A First-Order Demonic Beast, a Shadow Cat.

Known for its speed and sharp claws, it was a common predator on the outskirts of the Black Wind Mountain Range.

"Beast, get lost!"

Chen Chen roared, his voice hoarse.

The Shadow Cat clearly saw this gravely injured human as an easy meal. It arched its back, emitting a threatening rumble from its throat, its hind leg muscles bulging, preparing for its next attack.

The shadow of death loomed, so real.

A glint of madness flashed in Chen Chen's eyes.

He didn't want to be killed by the pursuers, and he certainly didn't want to become food for a Demonic Beast!

The moment the Shadow Cat pounced again, he didn't retreat. Instead, he used all his strength, twisting his body, aiming the broken bone protruding from his flesh at the charging shadow!

Using his own body as a blade!

This was the only way he could think of to attack.

"Thwack!"

A dull thud of metal piercing flesh.

The Shadow Cat's charge was too fast, it never expected this dying prey to counterattack in such a brutal manner. It hit the bone spur precisely. The sharp broken bone pierced directly through its lower jaw, impaling its entire skull.

"Meeeow--"

A piercing scream cut short.

The Shadow Cat's body convulsed violently twice, warm blood spraying all over Chen Chen's face.

The intense pain made Chen Chen's vision go black, almost causing him to pass out.

However, at this very moment, a cold, emotionless mechanical voice sounded directly in his mind.

[Ding! Detected Host's first kill. God of Slaughter System officially activated!]

[Name: Chen Chen] [Realm: None (Mortal)] [Cultivation Method: None] [Martial Skill: None] [Cultivation Points: 0]

Chen Chen's mind went blank with a buzzing sound.

What was that? A hallucination?

[Ding! Killed a First-Order Demonic Beast, Shadow Cat. Gained 1 Cultivation Point!]

[Cultivation Points: 1]

[Do you wish to consume 1 Cultivation Point to partially restore injuries?]

This time, the voice was even clearer.

Chen Chen's eyes snapped open. He could "see" a faint blue panel, visible only to him, floating before his eyes.

What... is this?

"The kid's over there!"

The sound of his pursuers was already close.

No time to think. The instinct for survival made his choice.

Heal!

He roared in his mind.

[Cultivation Points -1, commencing restoration...]

A stream of warmth surged from within him, like a dry riverbed welcoming the spring flood. The warmth flowed towards his most severe injury—his severed left arm.

Under Chen Chen's horrified gaze, the bone protruding from flesh and skin slowly retracted back into his body at a visible speed. Muscle, meridians, and skin wriggled and healed as if alive.

In just three breaths, the gruesome wound was reduced to a shallow bloodstain.

Although the broken bone wasn't completely reconnected, the heart-wrenching pain had lessened by more than half!

This... this isn't a hallucination!

It's real!

Chen Chen's heart pounded wildly, not from fear, but from the ecstasy and shock of surviving a desperate situation!

Killing... makes me stronger?

Killing... grants Cultivation Points?

His gaze slowly shifted from the dead Shadow Cat to the direction of the approaching voices.

Two burly men in Wang Family guard uniforms had pushed through the bushes and appeared about ten meters away.

They saw Chen Chen and the dead Shadow Cat on the ground. They were stunned for a moment, then their faces broke into cruel smiles.

"Heh, what a loser. To be pushed this far by a mere Shadow Cat," the scar-faced guard on the left spat contemptuously.

"Stop wasting time, Li San. Let's finish him off quickly and take his head back for the reward. The second steward said he wanted him alive, just break his limbs. But it looks like he's already half-dead anyway," the One-Eyed Dragon on the right licked his lips, his eyes glinting with cruelty.

They advanced step by step, their steel knives reflecting a chilling light in the dimness.

In their eyes, Chen Chen was a fish on a chopping block, ready to be slaughtered.

They didn't notice the youth, who should have been on his deathbed, slowly pushing himself up from the mud.

Chen Chen lowered his head, rainwater sliding down his black hair, obscuring his eyes.

His left hand, though still weak, could move slightly.

In his mind, the system's cold voice and his father's dying roar intertwined.

Survive!

Avenge!

He raised his head, his eyes shining eerily in the rain. The despair and fear from before were gone, replaced by a chilling... greed.

Like a starving wolf on the verge of death, spotting prey delivered to its doorstep.

"One... two..."

He whispered in a hoarse voice.

"Kid, what are you muttering about?" Scar-face Li San frowned, a strange sense of unease rising in his heart.

Chen Chen grinned.

The smile, on his blood-stained face, looked incredibly eerie and ferocious.

"I was wondering how many Cultivation Points I'd get for killing you."