Chapter 2 : Chapter 2
Chapter 2: Severing Karma, Not Men
“You little bastard, you actually dared to kill my brother!”
Zhang Tie’s eyes split with fury. In an instant, he drew the iron saber from his waist and charged straight at Lu Zhan.
“I’ll let you see what a martial artist really is today.”
“Now die!”
Lu Zhan gave a cold smile and said silently in his heart, “System, claim the Longevity Saber.”
In the next moment, the Longevity Saber appeared in his hand. As Lu Zhan gripped the saber, the icy killing intent in his heart surged like a rising tide.
“A martial artist?”
“You’re only at the Third Heaven of the Qi Condensation Realm. Is that really supposed to be impressive?”
Zhang Tie wanted to kill him. What a coincidence. Lu Zhan had no intention of sparing Zhang Tie either.
The two of them raised their blades and charged at each other at the same time.
Although they were both at the Third Heaven of the Qi Condensation Realm, Lu Zhan could clearly feel that whether in quantity or quality, his spiritual energy far surpassed the other man’s.
So this was a battle with no suspense at all.
Zhang Tie simply did not know it yet.
Lu Zhan merely gripped the saber and swung it.
Slash!
And then...
the battle was over.
Pfft!
The Longevity Saber cut through the iron saber, and at the same time, it severed the arm holding it.
“Ah!!!”
A shrill scream rang out.
“A spirit weapon!!! How could you possibly have a spirit weapon?”
Zhang Tie’s pupils contracted, and disbelief spread across his face.
And more than that...
this should not have been possible. When had Lu Zhan awakened? How had he silently become a martial artist at the Third Heaven of the Qi Condensation Realm?
After all, the only reason Zhang Tie had managed to awaken was because he had sucked Lu Zhan’s “blood” for a full six months.
The resources left behind by Lu Zhan’s father had basically all ended up in Zhang Tie’s stomach. How could Lu Zhan possibly have awakened?
It was over!
Back then, he had treated Lu Zhan like that...
The moment he remembered all the humiliation and bullying he had inflicted on Lu Zhan in the past, he could not help but shiver.
At that moment, fear spread wildly through the depths of his heart.
Run!!!
Without any hesitation, he clutched his severed arm and turned to flee. Unfortunately, before he could get far, Lu Zhan kicked him to the ground.
“Run. Go on, keep running. Come on! Tell me, how do you want to die? Should I flay you alive, or chop you into mince?”
Lu Zhan’s gaze was terrifyingly cold. Summer thunder rumbled overhead, illuminating that bewitchingly beautiful face of his, like a vicious ghost come to claim a life.
Boundless terror rose in Zhang Tie’s heart as he lay in the mud. He shook his head frantically.
“No!!! Don’t!!! I don’t want to die. Please, don’t kill me.”
“Lu Zhan, no, Brother Lu... Father Lu, I know I was wrong. I really know I was wrong. Please, give me one more chance to turn over a new leaf.”
Zhang Tie lay sprawled on the ground, crying miserably.
Faced with death head-on, the fear in his heart was magnified without limit, and his whole body turned cold.
A chill swiftly crawled from his spine through his entire body.
“You don’t know you were wrong. You only know that you’re about to die.” Lu Zhan’s expression remained indifferent, and a sneer curved his lips. “You want a chance? Fine. I’ll give you one more chance...”
A look of ecstatic relief washed over Zhang Tie’s face, as though he had survived a disaster. He dropped to his knees and kowtowed wildly.
“Thank you... Thank you, Brother Lu...”
Yet in the next moment, a miserable scream echoed through Peach Blossom Alley. Zhang Tie had already begun regretting why he had ever been born.
“Ah... no... don’t... Brother Lu... didn’t you say you’d give me another chance...? Why...?”
The screams gradually turned hoarse before finally fading into near silence. Bathed in blood from head to toe, Lu Zhan looked down coldly at the blurred stain of blood on the ground.
“Hmph. You really should thank me... After all, I gave you a chance to be reborn. I’m being more than generous to you.”
At the same time, the system’s voice rang out:
[ Ding. Congratulations, host. You have slain a martial artist at the Third Heaven of the Qi Condensation Realm. Reward: 330 Slaughter Points. ]
Looking at the system prompt, Lu Zhan calmly sheathed his saber.
For a moment, the bewitching red glow vanished without a trace, and the murderous aura ebbed away like the receding tide.
Along with it, the resentment he had felt toward Zhang Tie and Li Zhu also dissipated.
Lu Zhan carefully examined the Longevity Saber the system had rewarded him after his first kill.
The hilt of the saber was adorned with red skulls, exuding a sinister aura, while the sheath was carved with blooming green lotuses, sacred and elegant.
The overall design of the saber seemed contradictory at first glance, yet the elements blended together perfectly.
It gave off a holy aura.
And on the hilt, two lines of text were actually engraved:
“Sever karma, not men; deliver from tribulation, not the heart.”
“Hahaha, what a fine saber!”
It was obvious that Lu Zhan could not bear to put it down.
Afterward, he dealt with the scene a little, and then his figure disappeared from Peach Blossom Alley.
At present, the most urgent matter was to get his hands on cultivation resources first. Looking at it that way, joining a major power was undoubtedly the better option.
On the way back, Lu Zhan kept thinking things over while also continuing to digest the memories in his mind.
“Forget it. I’ll just go take the apprentice Demon Exterminator exam directly.”
If he remembered correctly, the Demon Extermination Bureau’s examination would be held in a few days. Great Xia had no shortage of major factions, but the strongest among them was the Demon Extermination Bureau.
When he returned to Room 605, Guanjiang Residential Complex, he took out his key and opened the door with a click. Only then did Lu Zhan truly understand what it meant for a home to be stripped bare.
In the living room, aside from a table and a sofa, nothing else remained.
“Well, whatever. Bread will come eventually. For now, I should take a bath first. I just got caught in the rain, and I’m soaked through.”
After washing up, he shook his damp hair dry, then sat by the bed and looked toward the pill on the table.
The pill was perfectly round and flawless, pitch-black in color, with a strong herbal scent.
This was the Qi Condensation Pill.
It was also one of the cultivation resources he had received from the Demon Extermination Bureau.
“System, consume Slaughter Points and raise my realm!” Lu Zhan tipped his head back and swallowed the pill.
[ Ding! The Slaughter System is wholeheartedly at your service. The host consumes 430 Slaughter Points and begins cultivation. ]
[ A Qi Condensation Pill has been detected. Cultivation efficiency increased by 10%. Entering an unceasing cultivation state... ]
[ Cultivation complete. This cultivation session has opened 2 Primary Meridians in total. ]
[ Current realm: Fourth Heaven of the Qi Condensation Realm. ]
“Hmm? I originally thought 430 Slaughter Points would be enough for me to break through to the Fifth Heaven of the Qi Condensation Realm, but I only reached the Fourth Heaven.”
“Based on that, I can infer that the farther I go, the more Slaughter Points I’ll need.”
Lu Zhan looked at the system and made his guess.
Afterward, he checked the title the system had rewarded him with. Things had been too urgent before, so he had not had time to look at it. Now was the perfect chance to see what this so-called title actually did.
[ Title: First Showing of One’s Edge (Equipped) ]
[ Evaluation: The blade has tasted blood, and its sharpness has begun to show. ]
[ Effect 1: Sharp Edge ]
Attack power permanently increased by 30%. The power of saber-type martial arts is additionally increased by 20%.
[ Effect 2: Resonance of Killing Intent ]
When dealing damage to an enemy, there is a 1% chance to trigger the “Karma Severing” effect. Once triggered, the next attack will ignore the enemy’s defense.
[ Effect 3: Blood Debt Repaid in Blood ]
For every enemy slain, the amount of Slaughter Points gained is additionally increased by 10%.
Looking at the title’s effects, Lu Zhan’s eyes lit up. This title was actually excellent.
No wonder Zhang Tie, who had been at the same realm as him, had been killed in a single strike.
With this title alone, it could probably put him above eighty percent of martial artists at the same realm, right?
Lu Zhan tested out his strength all the way until deep into the night.
Only when drowsiness overtook him did he stop.
He turned off the lights and was about to collapse into bed when something jabbed him.
“Ow, what is this?”
Lu Zhan reached down and felt around. It was a token, and a martial technique manual—《Iron-Slaying Saber Art》.
Presumably, his bargain-bin father had left them behind.
The instant Lu Zhan touched the token, the system panel lit up.
[ Demon Extermination Bureau Token detected. The identity section is now activated, and the mission module has been unlocked. ]
[ Mission Name: Join a Faction ]
[ Mission Description: Pass the examination within 3 days and formally join the Demon Extermination Bureau. ]
[ Mission Reward: Talent—Strength of Nine Oxen and Two Tigers ]
“Oh? It actually triggered a system mission. That works out perfectly, since I was already planning to take the Demon Extermination Bureau exam.”
“That’s basically a free talent for nothing. Beautiful.”
Lu Zhan yawned.
“Time to sleep.”
With a casual motion, he closed the personal panel and drifted into a deep sleep.