You Guys Sure Know How to Pretend

[You sacrificed thirty years of your lifespan to upgrade The Ox Demon Body Refinement Technique. Body Refinement Complete, Vitality Abundant. Your realm has stagnated due to improper methods.]

[Realm: Body Refinement Complete]

[Lifespan: Nineteen years, seven months]

Chen Xian lay with his eyes closed, scenes flashing through his mind. In just a moment, it felt as if he had experienced thirty years of wind and frost.

He couldn't see his own changes.

If he could, he would have seen his skin glowing like a red-hot iron, with golden patterns shimmering across it. His muscles, bones, and skin were as hard as steel.

With just a little effort, his body surged with energy like a tidal wave, his strength fierce and powerful.

He could probably kill an ox with a single punch.

But seeing that he only had nineteen years and seven months of lifespan left on the status panel, bitterness filled his heart.

Just then, the Wolf Demon approached him, a hint of confusion in its blood-red eyes.

It stared at Chen Xian for a moment, seeing his face flushed dark red from holding his breath, and paid him no mind.

Of course, even if Chen Xian hadn't died, he wouldn't have been a match for it.

It grabbed Chen Xian's ankle and began to drag him. Chen Xian seized the straight saber beside him. The blade scraped against the ground, emitting a 'chiz chiz' sound.

The Wolf Demon stopped, turning to snatch the straight saber from Chen Xian's hand and throw it away.

However, after a couple of tugs, it found it couldn't move.

"Dead, and still this stubborn?" the Wolf Demon rasped.

The next moment, its pupils constricted, and it let out a roar.

Its paw, as large as a fan and sharp, swiped towards Chen Xian's forehead.

Puchi!

Chen Xian forcefully deflected the incoming wolf paw with his saber, accompanied by a splash of blood.

Taking advantage of the Wolf Demon's howl of pain, he flipped over and thrust the saber, gripped tightly in both hands, towards the Wolf Demon's neck.

The Wolf Demon hadn't expected Chen Xian to have any strength left to resist.

With a poof, the straight saber pierced below the Wolf Demon's neck, and blood spurted out again.

Chen Xian roared, "Quick, help!"

Hearing the shout, Ding Chen, who was not far away, flipped over. However, to the astonishment of both Chen Xian and the Wolf Demon, four more people flipped over after Ding Chen, all charging forward with their sabers.

Damn it!

What a bunch of useless cowards!

Chen Xian had thought only Ding Chen, the head cook, had survived. It turned out there were four others who had been faking death!

All that sacrifice of fifty-one years of his lifespan had been for nothing.

Now, however, was not the time to dwell on that. Chen Xian gripped the saber handle tightly with both hands and pushed, trying to stab the Wolf Demon to death.

The long saber penetrated the Wolf Demon's body bit by bit, causing the creature to howl in pain.

At this moment, Ding Chen and the other four rushed forward, hacking and stabbing, all striking the Wolf Demon. However, their attacks were far less effective than Chen Xian's.

The five of them could only scratch its surface.

"Stab at the wounds!" Chen Xian roared, frustrated by these five idiots!

Hearing this, Ding Chen and the other four immediately reacted. They focused on the dried wounds on the Wolf Demon and attacked again.

However, the Wolf Demon did not resign itself to its fate.

Its thick wolf claws, reaching past its knees, swiped three of them away. They landed on the ground, spitting blood.

Ding Chen and another person thrust their sabers into the Wolf Demon's body, and blood began to gush out.

The three of them pushed hard, and the Wolf Demon, unable to withstand it, staggered backward with its massive body.

With a chiz, Chen Xian's long saber completely pierced through the Wolf Demon's body, and blood sprayed from its back.

The Wolf Demon made a final desperate lunge, roaring and swiping at Chen Xian and the other two.

Chen Xian, holding the saber in one hand, struck out with the Great Tablet Smashing Hand. The powerful force clashed head-on with the demon wolf, pushing them both back a step.

Ding Chen and the other person were swatted away by the Wolf Demon's claws. They landed on the ground, also spitting blood.

The five of them looked at Chen Xian with surprise. Chen Xian had been considered the weakest in the cookhouse.

Yet now, he was fighting so bravely, which was baffling.

Chen Xian had no time to concern himself with their astonished expressions. Gripping his straight saber, he unleashed the [Demon-Slaying Blade Technique] and hacked furiously at the Wolf Demon.

The heavily wounded Wolf Demon knew it couldn't escape, so it decided to take Chen Xian down with it, also counter-attacking ferociously.

Seeing this, Ding Chen and the other five charged forward again to help.

Finally, Chen Xian's saber pierced the Wolf Demon's neck. The Wolf Demon let out an enraged howl, and its massive body toppled backward.

[Sacrificed the soul of a Lesser Demon. Gained 157 experience points.]

A flash of bloody light streaked across the Wolf Demon's body, followed by a line of faint blue text appearing before his eyes.

He took a careful look, his heart filled with excitement. He had gained 157 experience points, making the fifty-one years of his lifespan not entirely wasted.

"Chen Xian, you're something else!"

At this moment, the gruff voice of Ding Chen, the head cook, reached his ears.

Chen Xian turned his head to look. All five of them were injured. "You guys really know how to put on an act!"

Hearing this, Ding Chen gave a wry smile. "When faced with a situation like this, we have no choice but to pretend."

Another person chimed in, "Yeah, who would have thought this Wolf Demon wouldn't leave even after eating its fill?"

Chen Xian pouted and said nothing.

The remaining three spoke up, saying that they owed their lives to Chen Xian this time and that they would report him for a commendation back at the camp.

Upon hearing about the commendation, Chen Xian's eyes lit up slightly, and he looked at Ding Chen.

Ding Chen smiled and said, "We definitely have to report it. A commendation it is!"

Chen Xian nodded in satisfaction, glancing at the sky, which had already darkened.

Meanwhile, Ding Chen and the other five looked at their fallen comrades, their smiles turning to sorrow.

Afterward, everyone neatly arranged the bodies of their companions. They also searched for any dismembered parts and placed them on the cart carrying the Wolf Demon's corpse before starting to load the demon's body.

Originally six carts, now only three could be filled.

Two people pushed and pulled one cart back to the camp.

"Why are you back so late?"

The soldiers of the Ninth Battalion were waiting for dinner. With over a dozen people missing from cooking duties, hundreds of soldiers in the front army had to go hungry.

Ding Chen exchanged a few words with the officer who asked, and when the officer heard that a Wolf Demon had not been completely killed and had almost killed over a dozen men, his expression turned extremely grim.

He didn't pursue the responsibility of the six men any further, instead casting a glance at Chen Xian.

Back at the cookhouse camp, hundreds of people were busy preparing food.

In front of a small tent stood a man, the head cook, named Zhao Tong.

After inquiring about the situation from Ding Chen, his expression also turned grim.

At this moment, two cooks who were preparing food rushed over.

"Brother Ding, what's going on?" the two asked as they approached.

Chen Xian glanced at the two. From his memories, an army of 100,000 men had one camp of 10,000, with the cookhouse camp consisting of 300 people.

The 300 people were divided into ten teams, with thirty people per team.

The team leader was Zhao Tong, and below him were two assistant team leaders, each leading fifteen people, responsible for the meals of 500 men.

The two in front of him were cooks from Ding Chen's team. Ding Chen had not brought them along earlier, asking them to prepare the evening meal in the cookhouse camp first.

So, the two were very fortunate.

Upon seeing their deceased comrades, the two instantly understood, and their hearts became incredibly heavy.

Ding Chen didn't say anything. With people dying every day in front of Demon-Slaying Pass, they were already numb to it.

"Unload it."

After preparing dinner for the front army, Chen Xian and the other seven ate a casual meal and tidied up the belongings of their fallen comrades.

After informing the head cook Zhao Tong, they brought the bodies of their companions to the foot of Wumeng Mountain and buried them.

Chen Xian wasn't particularly saddened. He hadn't fully integrated yet, and according to his memories, it was common for the cookhouse camp, while clearing the battlefield, to encounter demons that weren't completely dead due to bad luck, leading to the annihilation of the entire unit.

Afterward, the eight of them pulled the Wolf Demon corpses that had not been fully transported back.

Night.

In front of the cookhouse camp.

Team leader Zhao Tong was practicing martial arts with another team of cooks.

Chen Xian and the other seven also joined them.

After practicing for a while, Chen Xian made an excuse to go to the latrine.

Of course, his real intention was to study the Demon-Slaying and Evil-Exterminating panel and improve his three martial arts.

[After one month of practicing blade techniques, your Demon-Slaying Blade Technique has reached Minor Accomplishment.]

Chen Xian's eyes flickered slightly. He had just added 1 experience point, and the panel indicated a month of arduous training.

This meant that 1 experience point was equivalent to one month of intense practice.

This was awesome!

After understanding this, Chen Xian no longer hesitated and began to rapidly improve his blade technique's realm.

[After ten months of practicing blade techniques, your Demon-Slaying Blade Technique has reached Minor Accomplishment.]

[After fifteen months of practicing blade techniques, your Demon-Slaying Blade Technique has reached Great Accomplishment.]