Chapter 2: Ten Years? Ten in a Row!

In the interface, the number representing lifespan rapidly changed.

Thirty-four… twenty-one… thirteen…

Until it stopped at “one.”

The cultivation levels beneath the Demon-Slaying Blade Art also surged upward.

【You diligently practiced the Demon-Slaying Blade Art and broke through to Minor Mastery in the eighth year】

【You continued training and reached Major Mastery in the seventeenth year】

【At twenty-nine years, your Demon-Slaying Blade Art reached Perfection, finally achieving Full Completion】

【At thirty-three years, even after achieving Full Completion, you remained obsessed with this technique, as if gaining new insight—but the spark was too faint to successfully evolve…】

Demon-Slaying Blade Art (Full Completion)

…

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

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

His dorsal skin remained smooth; his long fingers moved with extraordinary agility.

More astonishingly, his body had not aged at all—instead, it was growing stronger and more powerful at an unimaginable speed.

It was as if Shen Yi had truly devoted thirty-three years to relentless blade practice, forsaken wine and lust, suppressed all distractions, and given his entire life to the knife in his hand.

…

Night fell dark and heavy; the courtyard lay silent.

The dog demon’s massive body hunched slightly as it approached the door, gripping the wall with one hand and thrusting its head inside.

Its pale yellow pupils regarded the people within with cold indifference.

Overwhelmed by the reeking stench of the beast, Old Liu pressed himself against the corner, his eyes rolling back, nearly fainting.

If facing Shen Yi’s back had given him the courage to grip his wooden stick, facing this dog’s head mere inches away left him unable to utter even a plea for mercy.

Fortunately, the demon’s gaze quickly shifted from him toward the younger girl, who looked tastier.

The dog demon didn’t even bother speaking—it simply extended its claw and curled its fingers slightly.

Paralyzed by terror, the girl stared blankly and took a step forward, watching as the demon’s sharp claws closed around her neck.

Suddenly, she felt a warm palm cover her wrist, halting her advance.

The girl trembled and looked down.

There on the ground, Shen Yi frowned slightly, staggered to his feet, brushed the dust off his clothes, and spoke in the same dismissive tone he’d used to shoo away flies: “Go away. Stand in the corner.”

“… ”

Feeling the claws tighten around her neck, the girl’s emotions shattered—she had no idea what Master Shen was babbling about.

Go where? How?

The dog demon’s lips curled into a vicious grin: “Traitorous beast, why the rush? You’re next.”

Under everyone’s gaze, a flash of silver streaked through the room—cold and blinding!

Shen Yi held the long blade slantwise; its gleaming surface faintly reflected his expressionless face.

A thin line of blood had appeared on the blade’s edge, gathering at the tip before dripping as a crimson bead.

Along with the blooddrop fell a sleek, muscular arm, its fur glistening.

“Aaaagh—”

In an instant, the room echoed with the dog demon’s agonized howl; it hadn’t even seen the blade’s path or when it had been drawn.

Freed from the claw’s grip, the girl stumbled backward toward the corner, curling into a terrified ball.

Through her blurred tears, the thin silhouette before her suddenly charged forward.

Like a monstrous wrathful god, its powerful arms spread wide, five fingers seizing the demon’s long neck fur, yanking it violently downward.

With overwhelming force, the demon screamed again as its mountainous body crashed to the ground.

Without giving it time to react, Shen Yi knelt on its head, raised both hands above his head, gripped the hilt vertically, and drove the blade straight down into its throat.

Splat!

Hot dog blood gushed forth, splattering Shen Yi’s face, adding a cruel edge to his handsome features.

…

Shen Yi stepped on the dog’s head and, with steady hands, pulled his blade free from the bloody flesh.

Though this was his first time slaying a demon, the killing motion felt as familiar as if he’d repeated it millions of times, etched into his instinct.

His body was drenched in blood, reeking of putrid stench.

He should have been shaken, vomiting uncontrollably—but his body remained unnervingly calm.

This was the Demon-Slaying Blade Art; killing demons was as ordinary as eating and drinking.

He withdrew his blade, stared into the dog demon’s unblinking eyes, and meticulously wiped the blade clean against its fur.

Neither the beast nor Shen Yi himself had expected the fight to end so quickly.

Thirty-three years of blade training had built up his strength to near the peak of human potential.

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

Their eyes held the same disbelief—but unlike before, their fear had deepened, and gratitude was nowhere to be found.

Shen Yi turned away, not caring.

After all, half an hour ago, he’d been trying to strip the girl’s clothes—how could they possibly trust him now?

They probably still thought Master Shen and the demon had turned on each other.

“… ”

He hung his blade, kicked aside the dog demon’s corpse, and stepped out into the courtyard.

“Master Shen… would you… ”

The Liu girl stared at her wrist, then lifted her filthy face and whispered cautiously: “Please… bandage your head wound first.”

At this, the old man’s eyes rolled back.

You idiot girl, why bring up the one thing you shouldn’t? Don’t you remember how that wound happened?

In the old man’s eyes, Master Shen was now ten times more terrifying than the dog demon.

Shen Yi halted slowly.

After a moment, he turned back and said: “Alright.”

He’d never done anything good in either life; if he finally did one thing and received no reaction at all, pretending not to care would be a lie.

No hero walks home alone.

Even if she won’t offer herself in return, at least she could give him a cup of warm water.

Shen Yi strode back to the bed and sat down; under the girl’s awkward ministrations, he shed his clothes. Old Liu, heart heavy, still moved swiftly to fetch a slightly cleaner cloth and wiped the blood from the back of Shen Yi’s head.

At that moment, the interface popped up.

A new message caught Shen Yi’s attention.

【Intelligent Dog Demon, not yet entered Initial Realm, total lifespan 175 years, remaining 63 years, absorbed】

【Current Martial Arts】

Bone-Breaking Grasp (Major Mastery)

Demon-Slaying Blade Art (Full Completion)

【Current Remaining Lifespan: One Year】

【Demon Lifespan: 63 Years】

【Demon Lifespan can be used to infuse martial arts, cannot be converted into personal lifespan】

“… ”

Shen Yi ordered the two to clean up the dog demon’s corpse, while he pondered this new development.

I have to say, the emptiness after spending money is truly tormenting.

Looking at his one-year lifespan, Shen Yi fell silent for a long while, then nearly slapped himself.

He could have achieved Full Completion of the Demon-Slaying Blade Art at twenty-nine years—why did he have to show off and waste four more?

Even if he felt no attachment to this world, even in a game, living a few more years was better.

“So, as long as I slay demons, I can use their remaining lifespan to fuel my martial arts?”

“An intelligent dog demon can live nearly two hundred years? That’s absurd.”

Shen Yi felt a flicker of surprise.

But then he remembered something else.

If demons can live this long, surely humans must have ways to extend their own lifespans?

If that were true, then the one carrying the sword and serving as constable should be that dog—not the human imperial court.

“Forget it. Thinking too much now won’t help.”

“Earlier, when I was refining the Demon-Slaying Blade Art, it mentioned a new breakthrough.”

With sixty-three years of demon lifespan in hand, Shen Yi suddenly felt as if he’d struck it rich overnight.

Try ten years first?

(End of Chapter)