Chapter 52 : Chapter 52
Chapter 52: Decisive and Ruthless
As soon as Lu Zhan returned to his doorway, he caught the aroma of suancai fish.
“Well, Wang Botao, I didn’t expect you to have this kind of skill.”
Lu Zhan teased him the moment he stepped inside.
“Brother Lu, your timing is perfect. This fish is just about ready.”
Wang Botao was wearing an apron, and he really did look the part. He had everything arranged properly, and he did not look any worse than the cooks outside.
Still, a full two hours had passed from the time Lu Zhan went out until now. In other words, this fish had taken two whole hours to finish stewing.
But that was normal too.
After all, this was the flesh of a Demon Beast at the second-realm Demon Acolyte stage. It made sense for it to need a longer time to cook. He had heard that by the fourth realm, Demon Beasts at the Demon Warrior level could no longer be cooked with ordinary fire at all.
That was also why Martial Artists called the first three realms the Mortal Realm. It meant they were still within the bounds of ordinary mortals.
“Brother Lu, you’re back. Why did you take so long just to get some air?”
Shangguan Ling looked a little surprised as he poured Lu Zhan a bowl of liquor.
“Try this. It’s top-grade Maotai. A real old national brand. One bottle costs more than ninety thousand. This is a fine liquor from my family’s collection.”
Lu Zhan took a sip. The taste was quite good. It really did prove one saying true: expensive things were expensive for a reason.
“I went out for some air and happened to do a little fishing along the way. I laid the bait this morning, but two rude bastards disturbed the water and scared off quite a few fish.”
In truth, Lu Zhan was not especially skilled at fishing, but he had baited the waters heavily.
If not for the Xu brothers, there would definitely have been far more people than this. By Lu Zhan’s estimate, at least thirty Martial Artists should have shown up tonight.
But after seeing what happened to the Xu brothers, many of the people lurking in the dark and itching to make a move had obediently settled down.
The moment Shangguan Ling heard that, he grew angry. He liked fishing too, and what he hated most was being disturbed while fishing.
“Which idiot was so blind as to ruin Brother Lu’s elegant pastime? Later, I’ll scatter even his ashes for him.”
Wang Botao carried the fish to the table.
Watching the two of them talk past each other, he was speechless.
“Come on, Brother Lu, taste my cooking...”
That night, the three of them ate and chatted until deep into the night.
Only after Wang Botao and the others left did Lu Zhan begin taking stock of what he had gained from this outing.
“System, open my status panel.”
Name: Lu Zhan
Identity: Demon-Subduing Guard
Realm: fifth level of the Aperture Opening Realm
Spirit Root: Mortal Spirit Root
Title: Decisive and Ruthless (equipped)
Spirit Weapon: Longevity Saber (Spirit Rank, Middle Grade), Sumeru Mark 1000 cubic meters
Martial Arts: Nine Heavens Breaking Fiend Art, Entering the Divine (Spirit Rank, Upper Grade); Iron-Slaying Saber Art, Entering the Divine (Mortal Rank, Upper Grade) ...
Fixed Talents:
Rare: Driving God, Windshadow Step, Never-Extinguishing Soulfire
Elite: Absolute Poison Spirit Body, Refining Stomach, Eyes of the Candle Dragon (Mythic)
Talent Fragments: 30
Inventory: Aperture Opening Pill x30, Four Symbols Mountain-Guarding Array x1, Marrow Cleansing Pill x1, Spirit-Gathering Pill x19
[Ding, detected that the fusion compatibility between Never-Extinguishing Soulfire and Eyes of the Candle Dragon is as high as 90%.]
[Do you wish to spend 50 Talent Fragments / 30,000 Slaughter Points to fuse them?]
[Please note: as the host’s realm increases, the difficulty of fusion will also rise, and the amount of Slaughter Points and Talent Fragments required will likewise increase.]
Lu Zhan was a little surprised. He had always cared a great deal about the talent [Never-Extinguishing Soulfire]. He had not expected its fusion compatibility with [Eyes of the Candle Dragon] to be this high.
This talent truly was extraordinary.
“No!”
Lu Zhan glanced at his Talent Fragments and Slaughter Points. He did not have enough.
Then he checked his title.
Title Name: First Showing of One’s Edge → Decisive and Ruthless
Evaluation: The blade falls the moment the hand rises, judgment as firm as steel
Effect 1: Blade of Judgment
Attack power increases from 30% to 40%, and the power-enhancing effect on saber-type martial arts increases from 20% to 30%. When dealing damage to an enemy, there is a 5% chance to trigger the “Karma Severing” effect. Once triggered, the next attack will ignore the enemy’s defense.
Effect 2: Blood Debt Repaid in Blood
For every enemy killed, the amount of Slaughter Points gained increases by an additional 20%.
Effect 3: Soul-Shaking Killing Intent
Your killing intent can intimidate enemies and has a chance to plunge them into hallucinations. The weaker the target’s will, the lower their resistance, and the longer the hallucinations last. The more enemies you kill, the stronger your killing intent becomes, and the greater the chance of inducing hallucinations.
Lu Zhan gave it a look.
The title was extremely powerful, both in its own effects and in the rewards it provided.
By now, Lu Zhan felt that he could even test himself against a powerful Divine Sea Realm expert.
There was no helping it. The gap in realms simply could not keep up with the stacking buffs on Lu Zhan. Just look at how many buffs he had piled onto himself.
As for people in the same realm, Lu Zhan did not take them seriously at all.
Then Lu Zhan took out the martial art he had exchanged for at the Demon Extermination Bureau that morning, Nine Flash Steps of Thunder Shadow.
He had always felt that this martial art was no ordinary one.
[Detected Spirit Rank, Upper Grade martial art — Nine Flash Steps of Thunder Shadow. Do you wish to deduce it?]
“As expected, Commandant Zhao is truly generous. He directly gave me a Spirit Rank, Upper Grade martial art.”
“System, deduce it!”
[Ding! The Slaughter System is wholeheartedly at your service.]
[The host spends 1000 Slaughter Points to deduce — Nine Flash Steps of Thunder Shadow.]
[No resources helpful to cultivation have been detected. Entering the Unceasing Cultivation State...]
[In the first month, you search for places where lightning has struck. There, you sit cross-legged and circulate the mnemonic formula, absorbing the lingering might within the lightning and guiding the thin trace of thunder essence into the meridians in the soles of your feet. A numbing sensation spreads through your whole body, leaving you in unbearable misery.]
[And so, every time it rains, you head for places struck by lightning. Three months later, you finally manage to draw lightning into your feet. Your Nine Flash Steps of Thunder Shadow reaches Beginner (1%).]
...
[Continue spending 1000 Slaughter Points to deduce.]
[After reaching the Beginner stage in Nine Flash Steps of Thunder Shadow, you begin practicing from the footwork itself. With every step, you try to circulate thunder essence and guide it to erupt through the meridians in the soles of your feet. In that instant, you can feel a needle-pricking pain in those meridians, but your body is also driven onward by the thunder essence, becoming incomparably light.]
...
[Continue spending 1000 Slaughter Points to deduce.]
[Half a year later, you become increasingly skilled at guiding thunder essence. When pushing it with all your strength, you can already burst forth at a speed so fast that even afterimages are difficult to distinguish with the naked eye. However, wherever you pass, faint scorch marks are left behind.]
[On this day, thunder essence floods your feet. Your Nine Flash Steps of Thunder Shadow reaches Minor Mastery (10%).]
...
[Continue spending 1000 Slaughter Points to deduce.]
[After cultivating Nine Flash Steps of Thunder Shadow to Minor Mastery, you begin extending the opened meridians from your lower body throughout your entire body. Another half year later, after bitter training, you succeed.]
[At this moment, your whole body feels light, so light that it seems as though you might float up into the sky.]
[But there is always a force from the ground firmly binding you in place. You attempt to break through that restraint, but you fail. Even so, you still feel that Nine Flash Steps of Thunder Shadow has broken through into another realm.]
[On this day, through your diligent training, you achieve a body like flowing light. Your Nine Flash Steps of Thunder Shadow reaches Major Mastery (15%).]
[Insufficient Slaughter Points. Deduction ended.]
In the next instant, Lu Zhan felt as though liquid lightning had been poured into his entire body. Arcs of electricity flickered across his skin, while his meridians tingled and numbed all over, to the point of making him itch.
His whole body also felt absurdly light.
If not for the force from the ground being too powerful, Lu Zhan felt that he might even be able to fly.
“And this is only at the Major Mastery level. If it reached the Entering the Divine level... would I really be able to fly?”
Lu Zhan had already begun to look forward to it.