The night pressed down like a wet shroud.
Jiang Xun sat alone beneath the half-collapsed awning of what had once been a tea shop. The shattered porcelain and charred scrollwork gave no hint of warmth now. Only ashes remained—of drinks once poured, of conversations once shared. He pulled his cloak tighter, blood-soaked and smoky as it was, and stared at the now-fading corpse of the Bonefiend.
It had taken seven strikes to kill. Three clean wounds, two glancing blows, one desperation slash, and a final stab that nearly cost him his footing. His left arm still burned where the creature's claws had torn through skin, muscle, and pride.
But he was alive.
[Demon Slain – Lesser Bonefiend]
+1 Demon Essence acquired.
+2% Mastery – Ironblood Saber Arts
+1% Body Tempering Progress
Essence stored: 1/10 (Basic Condensation)
That was the message that greeted him once the thing had died, dissolving into smoke and oily black blood. The Bonefiend's death wasn't clean—it screeched, spasmed, then burst apart in a splash of dark light, like a candle snuffed by its own fire.
The system hadn't lied. He was growing—however slowly.
He focused now on the next message the system had left behind. One he hadn't opened until the adrenaline faded and the ache settled deep into his bones.
[Essence Condensation – Stage I]
Demon Essence can be refined within the host's body to stimulate advancement in physical cultivation.
Current Body Cultivation: Initiate Tier – Unrefined Meridian Path (Stage 1 of 9)
Progress toward breakthrough: 6%
"Unrefined Meridian Path…" Jiang Xun muttered aloud.
He remembered similar terms in the martial arts novels he used to read. In those stories, cultivation followed spiritual paths—internal energy, chi rivers, or meridians. But this body, and this world, followed the martial path of the flesh.
It was the body that held the key to power here. Strength through hardship. Growth through pain.
He reached into his robe's inner pocket, pulling out a scrap of dried meat he'd salvaged from the house ruins earlier. It was hard as wood and tasted like smoke, but it kept his stomach from turning inside out.
Each breath was painful. The wound on his forearm still leaked, but he'd tightly bound it with torn cloth. The saber sat across his knees, stained with demon blood and grit, but its weight felt reassuring now.
He stared at it for a long time.
He needed to train. Needed to understand this style—not just swing wildly and hope the system compensated.
But first… he needed a place to rest.
...
The village—if it could still be called that—had little left. The demons had passed through like fire, leaving charred bones and sagging rooftops in their wake. But not everything was gone.
By torchlight, Jiang Xun found a cellar beneath a shattered grain house. The stairs creaked under his weight, and he nearly fell when one snapped in half. But below, it was dry. Cold, but dry.
He moved slowly, painfully, down into the gloom. A broken cot sat in the corner, half-covered in moldy sacks. He pushed them aside and collapsed, feeling every bruise and cut begin to throb in unison.
For a moment, silence.
Then the system pulsed again.
You have sustained significant physical damage.
Suggestion: Apply Demon Essence to recovery process?
[Use 1 Demon Essence to accelerate tissue regeneration and reduce fatigue]?
[Yes] / [No]
Jiang Xun hovered a finger in the air, just an inch from the glowing "Yes."
He hesitated. One essence. Just one. Would it be better to save it for a breakthrough? Or—
He coughed blood into his hand.
"…Screw it. Yes."
The moment he accepted, a heat bloomed inside his body. Not the soothing warmth of medicine—but a burning, biting fire that crawled through his veins and marrow. His muscles seized. His vision blackened at the edges.
He clenched his teeth, barely stopping a scream. It felt like something was chewing through his body, knitting muscle with needles, rewiring nerves with barbed wire.
And then—just as suddenly—it was gone.
His breath came easier. The pain ebbed, fading to a dull throb. He flexed his arm, and though it still ached, the wound had closed. Cracked skin had sealed. Strength returned, not in a flood, but enough to sit straight again.
[Demon Essence Used – Recovery Successful]
Remaining Essence: 0
He wiped his face, half from sweat, half from disbelief. "It's not magic," he muttered. "It's biology. Regeneration. The body cultivates… by consuming the enemy."
...
Morning came like a whisper.
Gray light filtered through the half-collapsed entrance above. Jiang Xun rose slowly, gathering his things. His body felt sore, like he'd been beaten by a dozen men. But it was a good kind of sore.
He climbed back to the surface.
From the rise near the edge of the village, he saw the road winding off toward the mist-cloaked foothills. In the distance, half-hidden among dead trees, stood the outline of a watchtower. Just one among many that once guarded the borders of this land.
A sign of order—now abandoned.
He would head there next.
But before that…
He stood in the clearing behind the tea house, saber in hand.
"Ironblood Saber Arts. Let's try this again."
He began to practice. Slowly, with focus. Each motion, deliberate. Each strike, refined by memory and the growing whisper of instinct.
The system flickered with every step.
17%... 17.4%... 18%...
New Insight Gained: "Hammering Step – Momentum Build-up Technique"
Description: When advancing with three consecutive strikes, gain +1 to striking force on fourth blow.
He smiled, breathing hard, sweat dripping down his brow.
This world was brutal.
But it could be learned.
He had time. He had grit. And now… he had purpose.
Tomorrow, he would leave this village of ashes.
Tomorrow, he would begin the hunt in earnest.