Inside the Cave

Cold and shivering...

Lin Jun slowly woke up, looking at the dim everything around him.

Damp soil reeking of decay, large boulders covered in moss and crawling with unknown grubs, and a Shattered Realm human skull still trailing bloody strings.

Along with the lingering stench of blood.

This was a cave, seemingly manually fashioned into a prison cell, the wooden cell door covered in thorns.

Everything inside this cave was so unfamiliar, yet so real.

Even the inexplicably extra memories in his mind felt so real.

Lin Jun finally confirmed that he had transmigrated.

Not to say his predecessor's background reached the heavens, but at least there were influential people backing him. His maternal uncle, specifically to have him take over his position, had sent him to a place as safe as Green Forest County to build up seniority and pad his merits.

Right now, he was just three months away from being able to go back. How could he have suddenly died?

Lin Jun gazed at his surroundings, beginning to search for answers within the unfamiliar memories.

Soon, he found the reason.

"Demons."

This world resembling an ancient dynasty had demons in existence, and he had been captured by fiends.

Then came another question: though his predecessor was a ruffian rogue who bullied the weak all day and neglected proper work, acting as arrogant and overbearing as a beast, he was not someone devoid of a sense of depth.

How could someone with a fair bit of self-awareness have been captured by monsters?

Lin Jun could not puzzle it out. Chiefly, his body hurt fiercely, preventing him from concentrating on finding answers in the unfamiliar memories.

Only then did he notice that the cave did not just hold him, but also a few people so thin they were reduced to skin and bones.

These people wore hemp garments, their eyes turbid and devoid of spirit, looking like walking corpses.

Lin Jun counted them; there were six people. Among them, only a single child of five or six years old could still open his eyes and look at Lin Jun with curiosity. The innocence in those eyes was completely out of place in this gloomy environment.

"Master Lin, do you want to eat?"

An old peasant tremblingly extended his hand, upon which lay some insects Lin Jun could not recognize, along with a small amount of moss.

This was the rare food available here—fiends certainly wouldn't give them food.

"Hehe, starve to death. Not a single bite for you."

The old peasant suddenly withdrew his hand, and Lin Jun actually caught a hint of malicious pleasure in his eyes.

"To die together with scum like you, heaven really has eyes."

Lin Jun shook his head. His predecessor's notoriety was such that even when they were all about to be eaten by fiends, the man still harbored a grudge.

Seeing that Lin Jun had no reaction, the old peasant did not say much else, only silently pinching the insects in his hand to death before forcefully shoving them into the child's mouth.

Eating them would make you sick for a bit at most, but not eating meant starving to death.

Being able to live a little longer was still better.

Lin Jun forced his concentration, seeming to finally recall something.

It appeared he had been thrown into this fiend cave by someone. At that time, that person seemed to still be one of his subordinates?

Just as Lin Jun was pondering, something miraculous appeared before his eyes.

Lin Jun patted his face and rubbed his eyes again.

A panel composed of text appeared before him.

[Killing demons grants corresponding experience; higher demon levels yield more experience] [Consuming experience allows deductive simulation and self-enhancement] [Current Experience: 200] Current Martial Arts: [Secular Martial Arts: Seven-Star Step (Novice)] [Secular Martial Arts: Flowing Swallow Saber Technique (Great Accomplishment)]

Was this a system?

Lin Jun understood in an instant, the panic in his heart diminishing quite a bit.

Fortunately, he still had a chance to survive.

Lin Jun had no intention of taking the blame for the sins his predecessor sowed. If he had just transmigrated and died right away, that would truly be damned annoying.

According to the memories in his mind, his predecessor used to be a diligent and studious sort, and that Great Accomplishment-tier Flowing Swallow Saber Technique was the best proof.

Yet the blow of losing both parents was simply too great, causing him to fall into irrecoverable decline from then on and turn into a lazy creature who loved ease.

His maternal uncle tried countless times to get Lin Jun to pull himself together, but unfortunately none of those attempts succeeded. Left with no choice, his uncle could only plot a post for Lin Jun, take over his own position, and send him here to build seniority and merit.

Sadly, what his uncle did not know was that the predecessor's diligence and studiousness were all put on. He was inherently a person lacking in genuine learning, and those martial arts were merely forced upon him by his parents. Once his parents died and no one restrained him, his true nature was exposed.

Consuming experience to deduce and enhance martial arts was truly a bit difficult for Lin Jun right now.

After all, his current physique was far from capable of slaying demons, let alone outrunning even a farm woman.

Furthermore, where did those two hundred experience points come from? Lin Jun remembered that his previous self had never killed a single demon.

No, he remembered now; he actually had killed one.

His uncle had once specifically had Lin Jun slaughter a captive horse demon, hoping to use that to pad Lin Jun's achievements, though it was quickly discovered and his uncle was punished for it as a result.

Consequently, his uncle had no choice but to send Lin Jun to Green Forest County to keep farming achievements by a different method.

Those two hundred experience points presumably came from that.

Just as Lin Jun was pondering, a three-zhang-long Azure-Scaled Serpent slowly crawled in from outside the cave.

Before Lin Jun's eyes, it transformed into a human woman.

Except that this woman still had a human lower body, while from the neck up she possessed a massive snake head.

She was still flicking her tongue.

Lin Jun's hair stood on end and his scalp tingled.

This was the first time he had ever seen a living demon, and the fear, as if he had encountered a natural predator, left his entire body rigid.

"I didn't expect that right after waking up, a big meal would deliver itself to my doorstep. On behalf of my husband, I thank the young master."

The snake head revealed a smile, making Lin Jun's heart skip half a beat.

The Snake Demon swept her greedy gaze back and forth over Lin Jun, a look that made her eager to swallow Lin Jun alive.

"The young master is exceptionally handsome, looking far more delicious than these old bones. My husband will surely love your flesh and blood, hehe. Truly, I thank the heavens that such fine food has fallen into my manor of its own accord."

"However, according to your human sayings, the best dish should be saved for last. Little master, your turn will come next time, oh."

The Snake Demon's head was practically resting against Lin Jun's chin, and a stench mixing the smell of rotting corpses, fermented mud, and an indescribable bloody odor rushed straight into Lin Jun's nose.

How could Lin Jun endure this compound stench? His stomach churned wildly and his face turned ashen.

The Snake Demon raised her hand, ignoring Lin Jun's abnormality, and slowly walked toward the child.

Seeing the source of the stench move away from him, Lin Jun let out a long breath. That thick stench had almost made Lin Jun vomit.

"Little master, am I that smelly?"

Lin Jun's face turned ashen once more as the Snake Demon reappeared before his eyes before he even knew it.

He actually sensed anger on that snake face.

A tremendous force kicked Lin Jun flying, and he was sent crashing straight into a cave wall by a single kick.

Pfft!

This body was already frail to begin with, and this kick directly caused Lin Jun to spit out a mouthful of fresh blood.

Damn it, a snake actually cared whether it smelled bad or not!

"Since you're in such a rush to die, then get in here!"

The Snake Demon dropped all pretense and completely exposed her true nature.

She came before Lin Jun, dragged Lin Jun's body, and walked deeper into the cave.

The old farmers seemed already accustomed to the scene before them and closed their eyes in unison.

Not a single person dragged into the cave by that Snake Demon had ever returned alive.

Only that child blankly stared in the direction where Lin Jun had been dragged away.

Lin Jun was badly battered by the jagged rocks of the cave, and a surge of anger flared in his heart.

Since when was he, this terrifying upright ape, someone a mere snake could bully?

Add points!

Lin Jun directly poured all two hundred experience points into simulating the Flowing Swallow Saber Technique.