Chapter Five: Battle, The Golden Finger Awakens

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The burly Ox, following behind Yang Xuan, noticed that everyone was still in shock and hurriedly added, “Why are you all still standing there? Hurry and take Master Qian down to be treated!”

Glancing at the unconscious Yang Qian, the corner of Ox’s mouth twitched. For a moment, he had thought Yang Xuan was going to kill Yang Qian. Fortunately, Yang Xuan had shown restraint and merely taught him a lesson.

However, judging by Yang Qian’s current state, that earlier collision had clearly not been light. It was obvious that Master Qian would need several days to recover.

At this moment, two guards and a maid finally snapped out of their daze and hurriedly carried Yang Qian away.

Once Yang Qian had been taken away, Yang Xuan had no desire to linger in this place and began to head out. After a few steps, he suddenly paused, turning to look at a member of the demon race in a nearby cell, who was glaring at him with furious eyes, and he fell into thought.

“Second Master, what are you—” Ox asked in confusion, looking at Yang Xuan.

“What do you think, if I were to kill a few demons, would there be any consequences?” Yang Xuan mused aloud.

Ever since receiving the Innate Merit Coin, Yang Xuan had been pondering how to obtain merit, but had yet to find a clue.

Now, seeing these demons, he suddenly realized something.

In the mythologies of his previous life, merit was the reward from heaven and earth for those who performed deeds of great virtue.

And in the books of the human race, demons often represented evil.

Thus, did it not follow that if he slew these demons, he would be performing a meritorious deed in the eyes of heaven and earth?

Although in “Cultivation” races were not the dividing line between good and evil, what did it matter to try? After all, these demons were criminals; their deaths would be of little consequence.

So, he voiced his desire to kill the demons.

“I understand now, Second Master! You want to use these demons to practice your spells, right? Don’t worry, demon soldiers are of little value—unless too many die, the master of the house rarely intervenes,” Ox said, patting his chest, convinced he had grasped Yang Xuan’s intent.

Yang Xuan smiled and said, “Exactly. I just broke through to Foundation Establishment and still don’t fully understand my own strength. Bring a few demons to the training ground—I want to test my spells.”

Since Ox had provided him with a suitable excuse, Yang Xuan gladly accepted it.

Before leaving, he nodded in satisfaction at Ox. “You’ve done well.”

This sudden approval made Ox beam with joy, his wide mouth splitting into a foolish grin.

“You there! Bring out two demon soldiers—the young master needs them!” As soon as Yang Xuan left, Ox barked out orders to his men.

…

The Yang Family’s training ground.

This was where the Yang clan drilled their Dao soldiers; at this moment, many cultivators were practicing martial arts here.

“Young Master Xuan!”

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“Second Master!”

Seeing Yang Xuan arrive, many immediately stopped what they were doing and greeted him respectfully.

Yang Xuan nodded in response, then found an open area to wait.

In no time, Ox and several dungeon guards arrived, escorting a few demon soldiers.

Their arrival at once drew the attention of the Dao soldiers training nearby, who began gathering around Yang Xuan’s position.

To these Dao soldiers, actual cultivators were a rare sight, and upon hearing that Yang Xuan was going to experiment with spells on demon soldiers, they all looked on with interest.

Yang Xuan paid no attention to these onlookers, instead focusing on the five demons that had been brought.

It was easy to tell from their appearance that all belonged to the wolf tribe—each one tall and powerful, with a wolf’s head atop a human body, covered in tawny-yellow fur.

Perhaps due to their suffering while imprisoned, their bodies were covered with scars and wounds.

“Arm them with armor and weapons,” Yang Xuan ordered after a few glances, losing interest. These demons were no different from those he’d seen in the game, except that reality made them look much fiercer.

Since the pretense was to test spells, the show had to be played out fully—there was no point in killing unarmed demons.

Thus, Yang Xuan ordered that they be given armor and weapons.

Using weapons to augment one’s strength was not a privilege exclusive to the human race—the other races did the same.

Just like these demon soldiers, who had worn armor and carried weapons before their imprisonment.

“Roar… Human, you court death!” As soon as the armor and weapons were put on, Ox and the others quickly retreated, then released the restraints on the demons.

The moment the restraints were undone, the demons’ entire bearing changed.

If they had appeared merely fierce before, they now seemed bloodthirsty and wild.

With a furious roar, the wolf-headed, human-bodied demons grabbed their weapons and charged savagely at Yang Xuan.

That bloodthirsty aura made Yang Xuan momentarily dazed.

In the game, he had seen beings far more powerful than these demons, but the intimidating presence they now exuded was something he’d never felt before—it caught him off guard.

“Damn it! Ox, if anything happens to Young Master Xuan, not even ten deaths could redeem you!”

“Hurry! Save the young master!”

Seeing the demons about to pounce on Yang Xuan, the onlooking Dao soldiers’ faces changed dramatically; some cursed, while one rushed forward.

At that moment, Yang Xuan finally snapped out of his stupor.

Forming a spell with both hands, a shield of flame materialized out of thin air before him.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

With four successive impacts, the shield of mana rippled, as if on the verge of shattering, but in the end, it withstood the assault.

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“Stay back!” Yang Xuan, still shaken, glanced at the demons opposite him and immediately stopped the Dao soldiers from coming to his aid.

If at first, he had merely wanted to test how to obtain merit, now he was truly intent on actual combat.

He had grown up on Mount Huangfeng, and though he had some battle experience, since inheriting Yang Xuan’s memories, that experience had become less instinctive.

If he didn’t want to panic the next time he faced an enemy, he needed to quickly adapt to his new strength.

“Go!” he commanded.

Patting the Spiritfire Gourd at his waist, the gourd flew into the air.

He cast a spell on it, and the green gourd instantly turned pure white, spewing forth a torrent of white fire.

“Ah… ah…”

“Huh… so weak!”

The white flames poured from the gourd’s mouth, straight onto the wolf demons, and in an instant—like oil meeting fire—the flames spread rapidly across their bodies.

Under the fire, the wolf demons shrieked in agony.

A few breaths later, the once-mighty wolf demons were reduced to heaps of ash.

Looking at the piles of ash on the ground, then at the gourd, Yang Xuan felt both exhilarated and speechless.

He was thrilled at how powerful he was.

And speechless at how weak these demon soldiers were; he hadn’t even gone all out, and they’d already been wiped out.

But on reflection, it made sense—these demons were only equivalent to Qi-Condensation demon soldiers, while he was now a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Even a casual strike was beyond what an ordinary Qi-Condensation opponent could withstand.

Just as Yang Xuan was lost in thought, five pea-sized, ethereal golden lights suddenly flew from the wolf demons’ remains and sank into Yang Xuan’s body. Absorbed by the Innate Merit Coin within him, they coalesced above the coin into a faintly visible golden copper coin.

At the same time, a stream of information surged from the Innate Merit Coin.

Host: Yang Xuan

Race: Human

Spiritual Roots: Fire (53/100), Metal (32/100), Earth (15/100)

Cultivation Technique: Flowing Flame Crimson Fire Formula

Spells: Fireball (Proficient), Blazing Flame Blade (Not Initiated), Crimson Fire Shield (Initiated), Body Control Technique (Proficient), Golden Light Technique (Initiated)

Divine Ability: Explosive Meteor (Not Initiated)

Merit: 0.1

Along with this information, a spell called Qi-Seeking Technique was transmitted into his mind.