Chapter 2: Ten Years? Ten Consecutive Draws!

On the panel, the numbers for his lifespan began to change rapidly.

Thirty-four… twenty-one… thirteen…

Until it stopped at "one."

The realm behind the Demon-Slaying Saber Art likewise began to climb swiftly.

【You practiced the Demon-Slaying Saber Art bitterly, breaking through to minor accomplishment in the eighth year】

【You continued to practice, breaking through to major accomplishment in the seventeenth year】

【In the twenty-ninth year, your Demon-Slaying Saber Art attained the realm of perfection, finally reaching completion】

【In the thirty-third year, after reaching completion you remained enamored with this technique, as if you had gained a new insight, but this flash of inspiration was not vivid enough, and you failed to successfully evolve it…】

Demon-Slaying Saber Art (Completion)

……

Shen Yi lay on the ground, his thoughts more focused on his right hand gripping the saber.

He needed to confirm whether, after losing his lifespan, he had become a withered old man, or whether he could still maintain a youthful appearance.

He saw that the skin on the back of his hand was still smooth, and his slender five fingers were just as nimble.

What was even more astonishing was that his body had not only failed to age, but was instead becoming strong and powerful at an unimaginable speed.

It was as if Shen Yi had truly devotedly practiced the saber for thirty-three years, never touching wine or women, reining in every thought, dedicating his entire life to the saber in his hand.

……

The night was heavy, the courtyard Tianyan Siji.

The dog demon's massive body hunched slightly as it came to the door, braced a hand against the wall, and poked its head inside.

Its pale yellow pupils swept indifferently over the people in the room.

Overwhelmed by the beast's rank stench, Old Man Liu pressed himself against the corner, the whites of his eyes rolled back, nearly fainting.

If facing Shen Yi's back had still let him muster the courage to grip his wooden stick, then facing this dog head at such close range, he couldn't even squeeze out a plea for mercy past the lump in his throat.

Fortunately, the creature's gaze quickly moved off him, turning toward the little girl who looked more appetizing.

The dog demon didn't even bother to speak; it merely reached out a paw calmly and beckoned with a curl of its fingertips.

Under the crushing terror, the little girl's eyes went blank, and she woodenly stepped forward toward the opposite side, watching as the creature's sharp claws closed around her neck.

Suddenly, she felt a warm palm cover her wrist, pulling her back and stopping her advance.

Liu Yatou shuddered all over and looked down.

She saw Shen Yi on the ground, his brow slightly furrowed, staggering to his feet, dusting off his clothes, and in the same swatting-a-fly tone as before, he said softly, "Step back. Go stand in the corner."

"……"

Feeling the claws suddenly tighten around her neck, the little girl broke down completely, having no idea what nonsense Shen-shu was spouting.

How could she walk? Where could she go?

A savage grin crept across the dog demon's mouth: "Turncoat beast, what's the rush—you're next."

Under everyone's gaze, a streak of silver light suddenly swept through the room, cold and blinding!

Shen Yi held his long saber at a slant, the gleaming blade faintly reflecting his expressionless face.

No one knew when, but a thin line of blood had appeared on the blade, gathering at the tip and rolling off as a droplet of blood.

Falling along with the blood droplet was a sturdy foreleg with sleek, glossy fur.

"Aooo—"

In an instant, the room was filled with the dog demon's agonized howl; it hadn't even been able to make out the saber's path, or when the other had drawn it.

Freed from the claw's grip, the little girl stumbled backward toward the corner, curling up in terror.

In her tear-blurred vision, the thin back in front of her suddenly charged forward.

Like a fierce, malevolent war god, his powerful arm swept out, five fingers suddenly seizing the long fur on the dog demon's neck and slamming it viciously downward.

Under that overwhelming force, the dog demon cried out in pain again, its hill-like body crashing to the ground!

Giving it no chance to react, Shen Yi pinned the dog's head with one knee, raised both hands high above his head, gripping the hilt vertically, and drove the long saber brutally down toward its throat.

Thwack!

Scalding dog blood gushed out, splashing across Shen Yi's face, lending a few shades of viciousness to his handsome features.

……

Shen Yi stepped on the dog's head, his hands remarkably steady as he drew his saber back out of the flesh.

This was clearly his first time slaying a demon, yet the motions of killing seemed as if they had been repeated thousands upon thousands of times, deeply etched into his instincts.

His whole body was drenched in sticky blood, along with a sickening stench.

He should have been shaken to his core, vomiting nonstop, but his body was calm to an incomprehensible degree.

This was the Demon-Slaying Saber Art—slaughtering demons was as ordinary as eating and drinking.

He drew his saber, stared into the dog demon's eyes that had died without closure, and carefully wiped the blade clean on its fur.

Not to mention this beast—even Shen Yi himself hadn't expected the fight to end so quickly.

Thirty-three years of saber practice had let him accumulate strength throughout his entire body, nearly reaching the peak of what a mortal could achieve.

After finishing all this, Shen Yi turned to look at the father and daughter in the corner.

He saw that their eyes were likewise filled with disbelief, but compared to before, there was only deeper fear, and nothing that could be called gratitude.

Shen Yi withdrew his gaze, not really taking it to heart.

After all, an hour ago, he had still been stripping the little girl's clothes—how could they possibly truly trust him?

He guessed the two of them still thought Shen-shu and the demon had simply turned on each other.

"……"

He hung his saber back in place, kicked aside the dog demon's corpse, and strode out into the courtyard.

"Master Shen... would you like to..."

The Liu family's girl looked at her own wrist, which had just been gripped, then suddenly raised her dirty little face and said carefully, "Let's bandage the wound on your head first."

Hearing this, the old man's eyes went black.

This silly girl — why poke at the one thing that hurts most? Don't forget how that wound got there in the first place.

In the old man's eyes, the current Master Shen was ten times more terrifying than that dog demon!

Shen Yi slowly came to a halt.

After a moment, he turned back and said, "Very well."

Combined, his two lifetimes had never done much good. Now that he'd finally done one decent thing, if there were not even the slightest reaction, to say he didn't care would be a lie.

There was no sense in letting a knight-errant walk home on his own.

Failing that, at least give him a cup of hot water to wet his throat.

Shen Yi swaggered back to the bedside and sat down. Under the skinny girl's clumsy ministrations, he took off his clothes. Old Liu felt miserable inside, but his hands were deft as he rummaged out a relatively clean strip of cloth and began wiping the blood from the back of Shen Yi's head.

Just then, a panel popped up.

An unfamiliar notification caught Shen Yi's attention.

【Intelligence-Awakened Dog Demon, has not yet entered the initial realm, total lifespan 175 years, remaining 63 years, absorption complete】

【Current Martial Arts】

Penetrating Bone Grappling Hand (Great Completion)

Demon-Subduing Saber Art (Perfection)

【Current Remaining Lifespan: 1 year】

【Demonic Lifespan: 63 years】

【Demonic lifespan may be used to infuse martial arts; it cannot be converted into one's own lifespan】

"..."

Shen Yi directed the two of them to clean up the dog demon's corpse, while he himself mulled over this new thing.

Honestly, the hollow feeling after spending big really was quite torturous.

Staring at the mere one year of lifespan left, Shen Yi was silent for a long while, then suddenly felt like giving himself a slap.

It would have taken only twenty-nine years to bring the Demon-Subduing Saber Art to Perfection — but no, he had to show off, wasting four more years.

Even though he felt no real sense of belonging to this world, even if it were just a game, being able to play a few more years would still be better.

"So, as long as I slay demons and monsters, I can use their remaining lifespan in place of my own to deduce martial arts?"

"A single intelligence-awakened dog demon can live close to two hundred years — that's way too exaggerated."

Shen Yi was mildly astonished.

But then another thought struck him.

If demonic creatures could live so long, surely ordinary people had some way to extend their lifespan too?

If not, then the ones wearing official sashes and carrying sabers should be that dog right now — how could the human imperial court possibly still be in charge?

"Enough, no use thinking so far ahead."

"When I was deducing the Demon-Subduing Saber Art earlier, it seemed to mention some new progress."

Shen Yi now held sixty-three years of demonic lifespan in hand, and for some reason had the illusion of having gotten rich overnight.

Let's try ten years first to test the waters?

(End of chapter)