Reward for First Kill

"What did you say?"

Scar-faced Li San acted as if he had heard the greatest joke in the world, the flesh on his face twitching.

One-Eyed Dragon burst into laughter, his voice filled with disdain and cruelty. "Kid, did you hurt your brain? You want to kill us? Try again in your next life!"

Before he finished speaking, he stomped his foot, his body like a leopard's as he lunged at Chen Chen.

The steel saber in his hand cut through the air with a sharp whistling sound, aimed directly at Chen Chen's head.

He wanted to teach this ignorant brat a lesson first, by cutting off one of his ears.

Facing this ferocious strike, Chen Chen's body tensed to the extreme.

He had no cultivation, and his body had only just begun to recover. A direct confrontation would mean certain death.

But he possessed something the Wang Family guards lacked—a soul from another world, and a heart tempered by profound hatred, calm to a terrifying degree.

The instant One-Eyed Dragon lunged, Chen Chen's gaze wasn't fixed on the saber, but on the ground beneath the attacker's feet.

Muddy, slippery, and a thick tree root half-hidden by rotten leaves.

Now!

Instead of retreating, Chen Chen advanced, stumbling towards One-Eyed Dragon's left side.

To One-Eyed Dragon, this movement looked like the desperate struggle of someone terrified out of their wits.

"You're asking for death!"

He sneered, his saber strike becoming even faster.

However, the foot he used to charge forward landed heavily on the slippery, muddy ground.

His foot slipped!

One-Eyed Dragon instantly lost his balance, his entire body tilting forward.

This minor mistake might not have mattered normally, but in a life-or-death struggle, it was fatal.

Chen Chen had been waiting for this very opportunity!

As he fell to the ground, his right hand lightning-fast grabbed the Shadow Cat's stiff corpse from the ground and, with all his might, flung it upwards!

"Whoosh!"

The Shadow Cat's corpse, carrying a foul stench, slammed squarely into One-Eyed Dragon's face as he lost his balance.

"Ugh!"

One-Eyed Dragon saw darkness before his eyes, a strong smell of blood rushing into his nostrils, his vision completely obscured.

A fatal opening!

Chen Chen's eyes flashed with murderous intent!

His body spun low to the ground, like a viper, and his right hand scooped up the steel saber One-Eyed Dragon had dropped beside him due to his imbalance.

The hilt felt cold in his grip.

Without any hesitation, he used all the strength he could muster from that 1 point of cultivation, and thrust the steel saber upwards from below, deep into One-Eyed Dragon's abdomen!

"Squelch!"

The sound of the blade entering flesh was chillingly clear.

"Er..."

The Shadow Cat's corpse slid off One-Eyed Dragon's face, revealing a face contorted in agony and disbelief.

He looked down at the hilt protruding from his blood-soaked abdomen, a gurgling sound coming from his throat. He seemed to want to say something, but only managed to spit out a mouthful of bloody foam.

[Ding! Killed a Body Tempering First Layer martial artist, gained Cultivation Points +10!]

A cold, mechanical voice, like heavenly music, rang out in Chen Chen's mind.

A warm current, ten times stronger than before, exploded within his body!

This warm current was no longer a trickle, but a surging river!

It washed over Chen Chen's limbs and bones, mending his fractured bones and nourishing his parched meridians.

"Crack!"

A faint crisp sound came from his left arm. Wrapped in the warm current, the broken bones were forcibly rejoining!

His severely injured body, in this instant, regained nearly thirty percent of its strength!

All of this happened in the blink of an eye.

Scar-faced Li San, on the other side, was completely stunned by the sudden turn of events.

His companion, who had the upper hand a second ago, was now clutching his stomach, kneeling on the ground, his life force rapidly draining away.

And the young man who should have been prey was now standing up slowly, holding a saber, his aura completely different from before!

"You... you..." Li San's voice, for the first time, carried a hint of terror.

This was no longer a young master from a noble family who couldn't even lift a chicken!

This is a devil wearing a human skin!

Chen Chen did not answer him.

He drew his steel saber, warm blood dripping down the blade, splashing into small blood flowers on the muddy ground.

He could clearly feel that his strength, speed, and reaction time had all improved qualitatively.

This was... the power of Cultivation Points!

This was... the reward for killing!

He raised his eyes, his gaze falling on Li San.

That look was cold, indifferent, as if he were looking at a walking number.

A walking "+10".

"It's your turn."

Chen Chen's voice was hoarse, but carried an undeniable pronouncement.

"Madman! You madman!"

Li San was completely terrified by Chen Chen's gaze. He no longer had any of his previous arrogance and cruelty, and turned to run.

But as soon as he turned, he felt a chill on the back of his neck.

A figure, like a phantom, appeared silently behind him.

Too fast!

Li San's pupils contracted to the extreme. He desperately wanted to turn his head, wanted to raise the saber in his hand to block.

But it was too late.

Chen Chen's figure had almost merged with the darkness. After killing the One-Eyed Dragon and gaining 10 Cultivation Points, his speed had far surpassed that of a Body Tempering First Layer martial artist!

A cold blade edge, without any flourish, cleanly sliced across Li San's throat.

"Chii!"

Blood gushed out like a fountain.

Li San's body froze in place. He clutched his neck, his eyes filled with despair and regret.

He couldn't understand why, in just one encounter, the two of them, both Body Tempering First Layer martial artists, were killed by a useless young master who couldn't even lift a chicken.

[Ding! Killed a Body Tempering First Layer martial artist, gained Cultivation Points +10!]

Another warm current surged into his body.

Chen Chen's body was strengthened again, his injuries almost healed, and his strength climbed once more.

He could feel the Blood Essence surging within him, as if something was about to break through the earth.

[Cultivation Points: 20]

[Detected that the host has accumulated enough cultivation, do you wish to consume 20 Cultivation Points to break through to the Body Tempering First Layer?]

Breakthrough?

Chen Chen took a deep breath, suppressing the excitement in his heart.

He glanced at the two corpses on the ground, then at his blood-stained hands.

There was no disgust, no discomfort.

Only a sense of satisfaction from revenge, and an infinite craving for power.

From the moment the Chen Family was annihilated, the former pampered and ignorant young master of the Chen Family was already dead.

What remained alive was a devil that existed solely for revenge.

"Breakthrough!"

He chanted silently in his heart.

[Cultivation Points -20, initiating breakthrough...]

Boom!

An unprecedentedly powerful force exploded within his body!

His bones creaked and cracked, as if being reforged. Muscle fibers were torn and reassembled, becoming tougher. His blood flowed like mercury, filled with explosive power.

Chen Chen couldn't help but let out a low roar. A visible white wave of energy spread out from him, shaking off fallen leaves and rainwater from the ground.

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for successfully breaking through to the Body Tempering First Layer!]

[Name: Chen Chen] [Realm: Body Tempering First Layer] [Cultivation Method: None] [Martial Skill: None] [Cultivation Points: 0]

Chen Chen slowly opened his palm and clenched it tightly.

"Bang!"

A dull explosion echoed in the air.

He could clearly feel that the power contained within his body was several times stronger than before!

This was the world of martial artists!

This was the feeling of power!

His gaze swept coldly over the two corpses, and he began to search them for anything they might have.

Soon, he found a money pouch on their persons, containing over a dozen taels of silver, some dried rations, and a bottle of wound medicine.

Though not much, for him right now, it was a lifesaver.

The rain gradually lessened.

Chen Chen looked up towards Qingyang City, his eyes as deep as a tranquil pool.

The Wang Family!

This was only the beginning.

He would kill everyone involved in the destruction of his clan; he would make the Wang Family pay their blood debt!

But that wasn't enough.

He needed greater strength, more Cultivation Points.

He turned his gaze towards the depths of the Black Wind Mountain Range, a place fraught with danger, yet also brimming with "opportunity."