Text kept appearing on the panel before Lin Jun.
You began painstakingly cultivating the Flowing Swallow Saber Technique. This saber art was an ordinary Mortal cultivation method, nothing special. You chose:
[1. Study diligently and train hard, rise at the rooster's crow, and believe perseverance will bring rewards (Consumes 20 experience)] [2. Even amid the ordinary, there may be a Grotto-Heaven. Perhaps this saber technique contains deeper mysteries (Consumes 50 experience)] [3. I am a favored child of Heaven; perhaps I can alter this cultivation method (Consumes 80 experience)]
Three options appeared before Lin Jun.
The simulation had begun.
Naturally, Lin Jun did not dare choose either of the latter two options. He only had 200 experience points in total, so he could not afford to squander them.
He chose the first.
[You studied diligently and trained hard, not daring to waste your days. Your saber technique improved.] [Your cultivation encountered an obstacle, and you could not advance a single inch. You felt that perhaps you should train differently. You chose:] [1. Continue studying diligently and training hard; dripping water can pierce stone (Consumes 20 experience)] [2. Why was this saber technique called Flowing Swallow? Perhaps it was worth investigating (Consumes 50 experience)] [3...]
The first option!
Lin Jun did not even look at the options below. Now was not the time to study cultivation methods; he needed to gain power in the shortest possible time.
Only after he had spent one hundred experience points did the text change.
[You held fast to your original resolve and diligently trained in the saber technique for thirty years. Your saber technique reached great mastery.] [Flowing Swallow Saber Technique (Perfected)]
Lin Jun was astonished to discover that his formerly frail body was growing stronger. Even his heartbeat had become exceptionally powerful.
His hands were no longer smooth, but covered in calluses—the hands of a true saber wielder.
The unfamiliar saber technique had become incomparably clear. Every move and stance had fused into his body.
Lin Jun was like a treasured saber drawn from its sheath, proclaiming its sharpness to the world.
The Snake Demon suddenly stopped and turned to give Lin Jun a strange look.
For some reason, her instincts told her that Lin Jun was brimming with danger.
Then the Snake Demon shook her head and sneered.
What danger could there be in a spoiled young master who had fainted from fright at the mere sight of her?
She stopped paying attention to Lin Jun and continued dragging him deeper inside.
Seeing this, Lin Jun used all of his remaining one hundred experience points for further practice.
He chose the first option every time.
[Faced with countless paths of cultivation, you remained steadfast, believing that the Heavenly Dao rewards diligence. You have now practiced the saber for sixty years. At this moment, no one in the world understands the Flowing Swallow Saber Technique better than you.] [Flowing Swallow Saber Technique (Transcendent Realm)]
The Transcendent Realm!
Even though his former self had been an ignorant wastrel, he still knew the basics of martial arts.
Beginner, Minor Accomplishment, Major Accomplishment, Perfected, Transcendent Realm.
The Transcendent Realm was the highest level of martial arts, a state one could encounter but never seek.
Once one reached this final realm, even the most ordinary cultivation method could unleash several times its normal power.
At this moment, Lin Jun resembled a plain saber battered full of chips on the battlefield—unremarkable and utterly inconspicuous.
Yet no one knew how many living beings that broken saber had slain.
That aura of exposed sharpness vanished in an instant, and the Snake Demon secretly nodded to herself.
It seemed she had been too tense lately. She had just laid eggs recently and had become overly sensitive.
Before long, the Snake Demon dragged Lin Jun into the depths of the cave.
An enormous stone bed stood before them, and atop it coiled a giant python six zhang long.
Large amounts of human bones and clothing lay around the edge of the stone bed.
"Madam, shouldn't such fine goods be saved until after the children are born? Why has Madam become so impatient?"
The giant python spoke in a human voice.
"Husband, this brat called you Madam. Why not eat him today?"
The Snake Demon tossed Lin Jun into the pile of human bones.
"We shall do as my wife says."
The giant python nodded, only to see Lin Jun rise from among the bones.
Among the pile were even skulls no larger than a palm.
The giant python looked at Lin Jun in confusion. There was not the slightest trace of fear in this human's eyes?
How interesting.
He wanted to see what this human would do.
He would treat it as entertainment before the meal.
Lin Jun pulled out a saber of unknown ownership from the human remains. Blood still stained its blade.
Under the Snake Demon's watchful gaze, a streak of silver flashed.
Lin Jun gripped the plain saber and cleaved the coiled giant python in two from bottom to top!
Blood sprayed out in great torrents, dyeing half of Lin Jun's clothes red with foul-smelling snake blood.
He looked like a god of slaughter.
"Husband!"
The change had come too quickly for the Snake Demon to react.
Lin Jun drew back his plain saber and hurled it directly at the Snake Demon.
The plain saber transformed into a silver swallow and swooped toward the Snake Demon, striking her squarely in the chest.
The tremendous force sent the Snake Demon flying with the incoming saber, pinning her entire body to the wall.
A snake's tenacious vitality kept her alive. The Snake Demon gripped the saber with both hands, about to pull it free.
Seeing this, Lin Jun rushed over, grabbed the hilt with one hand, and wrenched the saber out.
Before the Snake Demon could react, he slashed through her neck in a single stroke.
The headless Snake Demon convulsed on the ground for a while before finally falling still. Her human form faded away, and she became a green snake.
The entire killing sequence flowed like drifting clouds and running water, without a single superfluous movement.
He was like an old saber master, his saber technique already an instinct.
This was the Flowing Swallow Saber Technique at the Transcendent Realm. Even though it was merely a Mortal martial art, once it reached the Transcendent Realm, it possessed the power to slay demons.
Looking at the two snake corpses on the ground, Lin Jun cut off a chunk of meat, shouldered the plain saber, and headed out of the cave.
Fear? Terror?
Lin Jun felt none of that. Instead, an indescribable exhilaration filled his heart.
He had merely killed two snakes.
In the simulation, he had practiced the saber for sixty years. His heart had long become as cold as his blade.
After taking only a few steps, he saw those people locked behind the cell doors.
A little light seemed to return to the old farmers' clouded eyes as they stared blankly at Lin Jun.
In their memories, no one had ever come back out from within.
At that moment, Lin Jun cleaved open the cell door with one stroke and tossed the snake meat before them.
"Eat. Once you have strength, you can travel."
The old farmers stared blankly at Lin Jun, the fear in their hearts swallowed up by another emotion.
An indescribable shock.
He had killed the Snake Demon?
Seeing that they did not react, Lin Jun ignored them and began making a fire by himself.
His former self's vile reputation had spread far and wide, and Lin Jun had never expected to change others' impression of him in a short time.
Before long, the fire was burning. Lin Jun used his saber to prop up the snake meat and began roasting it.
One by one, the people watched Lin Jun from the corners of their eyes, unable to understand why Master Lin, normally so arrogant and overbearing, had changed so completely today.
"Big brother... I'll help you."
The child trembled as he walked toward Lin Jun.
The sight frightened the old farmers out of their wits.
"Sure."
Lin Jun used his saber to divide the snake meat into several strips, skewered them on branches, and handed several skewers to the child.
Before long, the meat was cooked, and Lin Jun began eating by himself.
The snake meat was delicious and tender. Even without seasoning, its natural flavor alone made it exceptionally tasty.
The old farmers could no longer endure the fragrance wafting from the snake meat and began eating as though they had smashed the pot and broken the jars.
Once they started, they could not stop.
"Big brother, it's delicious."
The child had been poor all his life and had never eaten anything so delicious.
"Then eat more."
Lin Jun patted the child's head and revealed an indulgent smile.
Seeing this, the old farmer's eyes nearly popped out of his head.
Was this really that detested "Master Lin"?
Lin Jun told several more jokes, making the child giggle, then began examining the changed panel.
[Slain Mortal male Snake Demon; gained 200 experience] [Slain Mortal female Snake Demon; gained 180 experience] [Current experience: 380] Current martial arts: [Mortal martial art: Seven-Star Step (Beginner)] [Mortal martial art: Flowing Swallow Saber Technique (Transcendent Realm)]
Before you continue