1: Butcher's Knife and Skill Points

Night. The rain poured down like a waterfall.

The booming thunder seemed ready to shatter the pitch-black firmament.

Pale lightning tore through the night, briefly illuminating a corner of the Black Stone City slums, and also illuminating this cage that felt like an Asura field.

Fierce Tiger Gang backyard, dungeon.

This was a dark corner that sunlight could never reach, the air filled with sickening smells of blood, urine, and the stench of rotting, fermenting corpses.

The walls were perpetually seeping with black water, the color of despair mixed with death.

"Move faster! Scrub these 'two-legged sheep' clean. Lord Ghost Face is coming to enjoy a blood meal tonight!"

A rough, booming roar exploded, accompanied by the dull sound of a leather whip striking flesh, and faint, almost inaudible groans.

Here, humans were no longer humans, but livestock known as "two-legged sheep."

In the deepest part of the dungeon, Gu Yang huddled in a damp, cold corner, his hemp clothes already soaked through with cold sweat, clinging tightly to his back and bringing a bone-chilling cold.

His eyes were bloodshot, staring fixedly at the half-open iron door, his nails dug deep into the flesh of his palms, blood dripping from between his fingers, yet he seemed unable to feel the pain.

It had been three days since his Transmigration.

These three days felt like an entire century.

He had seen with his own eyes the old man from his previous life, who had his leg broken for stealing a bun, dragged out alive to be fed to the Gang leader's vicious dogs.

He had heard with his own ears the young girl in the next cell go from screaming to silence, only to have a perfectly skinned human hide thrown out in the end.

This world had no law, no morality, no warmth.

There was only naked, undisguised survival of the fittest.

Demons ate people to Cultivate, Gangs acted as accomplices to tigers, and a Mortal like him without background or strength was just meat on the chopping block, the late-night snack for that mysterious "Lord Ghost Face" tonight.

"Gu Yang! It's your turn, get out here!"

The iron door was kicked open violently, slamming against the stone wall with a harsh, loud noise, shaking down a layer of dust.

A burly man with a face full of flesh and exuding the aura of a slaughterhouse walked in.

He was bare-chested, with a ferocious tiger descending the mountain tattooed on his chest, holding a wide-backed boning knife that was still dripping blood in his hand.

This man was called Butcher Wang, an executioner for the Fierce Tiger Gang's punishment hall. In the past few days, no fewer than ten people had died at his hands, each one bled out by him bit by bit, while he hummed little tunes and praised the brightness of the blood.

Gu Yang slowly stood up; his legs were a bit numb from the long squat, but he still tried his best to straighten his spine.

His heart was beating violently in his chest, as if it wanted to shatter his ribs and jump out. Blood surged in his vessels, as if burning.

Fear?

Of course he felt it. Facing such a cold-blooded murderer, who wouldn't be afraid?

But beneath this extreme fear, what surged deep within Gu Yang's heart was more of a violent rage to tear everything apart and destroy everything!

That was the madness of a trapped beast, wanting to bite through the hunter's throat before it died.

"I don't want to die... I don't want to die!"

"Why must I be eaten? Why are you able to be high and mighty?"

Gu Yang roared crazily in his heart, his teeth clattering, the veins at the corners of his eyes throbbing.

Butcher Wang looked at Gu Yang's vengeful eyes, paused slightly, then grinned, revealing a mouthful of scorched yellow teeth: "Yo, that's a fierce look? I love slaughtering those who aren't convinced like you; this kind of human meat is firm and has the most chew!"

As he spoke, he waved his large hand, grabbing at Gu Yang's neck like an iron pincer, carrying a fishy wind.

Just as that large, callous and blood-stained hand was about to touch Gu Yang's skin—

Ding!

A cold, mechanical, yet heavenly sound finally exploded in Gu Yang's mind!

【Detected extreme emotional fluctuation in the host, Soul and physical body compatibility reached 100%, Extreme Dao attribute panel activated!】

【Detected high concentration of free Yin evil Qi (demon residue) in the surrounding environment, absorb and convert into energy points?】

This sound instantly made all the hair on Gu Yang's body stand up.

Golden Finger!

The standard equipment for a transmigrator!

Although it was three days late, at this moment of life and death, it finally arrived!

"Absorb! Absorb it all for me! Don't leave a single bit!" Gu Yang roared hysterically in his heart, as if wanting to roar out all the repression of these past few days.

Whoosh—

The originally cold and bone-chilling air in the dungeon seemed to be instantly emptied, an invisible airflow gathered into a vortex, crazily surging into Gu Yang's brow.

【Absorption successful! Obtained energy points: 2 points.】

Swish!

Time seemed to stand still at this moment.

A translucent blue panel that only Gu Yang could see floated abruptly on his retina:

Name: Gu Yang

Identity: Fierce Tiger Gang Utility Disciple

Cultivation Technique: Savage Bull Strength (Not yet entered)

Realm: Mortal

Energy: 2 points

This "Savage Bull Strength" was the most common goods circulating in the Fierce Tiger Gang, specifically for Utility Disciple to build strength for moving corpses.

The original body had practiced for three full years without even a sense of Qi, a complete Trash.

But at this moment, Gu Yang looked at the "+" sign flashing with strange light behind the words "Not yet entered," just like a drowning person grabbing the only straw to save their life.

Without the slightest hesitation, without the slightest doubt.

Gu Yang smashed all his will onto that "+" sign!

"System, add points for me! Improve Savage Bull Strength! Break it for me!"

【Consumed 1 energy point, Savage Bull Strength entered!】

【Consumed 1 energy point, Savage Bull Strength Minor Achievement!】

Boom!

A hot current like magma instantly erupted from the depths of Gu Yang's heart, rushing crazily along his blood vessels to his limbs and bones.

This feeling was both comfortable and painful, as if his whole body's bones were being shattered and reorganized, muscles torn and regenerated.

"Urgh ah—!"

A low roar came from Gu Yang's throat, the roar of a leap in the level of life.

His originally thin, malnourished body now made a dense popping sound like roasted beans.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

That was his bones growing taller, his fascia trembling.

His skin tightened instantly, the muscles on his originally shriveled arms bulged and hardened at a speed visible to the naked eye, veins rising like earthworms.

His height, originally only about 1.75 meters, was forcibly pulled up to nearly 1.8 meters, with broad shoulders and a wasp waist, full of explosive power.

In just an instant, the hunger disappeared, the weakness dissipated.

Replacing it was an endless, terrifying energy that felt like it could smash a rock with one punch!

"Hmm? What's wrong with you, brat?"

Butcher Wang's hand grabbed empty air.

He looked at the scene in front of him with suspicion: that Trash who was originally timid and could be blown over by a gust of wind, how did he suddenly inflate as if filled with gas?

And that look...

No longer fear, no longer resentment.

But a coldness of looking down, looking at dead objects. Like a Vicious Beast that was starving, examining its prey.

"Playing ghost! Go to hell!"

Although Butcher Wang was suspicious in his heart, he was, after all, a ruthless character who killed people like hemp. Under his ferocity, the boning knife in his hand, with a harsh whistling sound, went straight to wipe Gu Yang's neck artery!

This slash was ruthless and tricky. If it were the former Gu Yang, he wouldn't even see the knife shadow before he was beheaded.

But in the eyes of the current Gu Yang...

Too slow!

This slash was as slow as an old lady in the park doing Tai Chi!

Savage Bull Strength at Minor Achievement didn't just strengthen power, but also his five senses and nerve reaction speed.

"The one who dies... is you!"

Gu Yang gave a low roar, his voice becoming low and hoarse due to the strengthening of his vocal cords, carrying a metallic texture.

He didn't retreat but advanced, the bluestone brick under his feet cracked with a "crack" sound.

Using this reaction force, his whole body was like a cannonball out of the chamber, without dodging or avoiding, crashing into the blade!

His arm, which had thickened by a circle, was like a large python coming out of a cave, arriving first despite starting later!

Bang!

There were no fancy Moves, only pure, extreme power and speed.

It was the most primitive collision between flesh and flesh.

Gu Yang's fist, carrying a whistling wind, smashed fiercely onto the face of Butcher Wang, who was full of flesh.

That touch was like smashing a ripe watermelon with a hammer.

"Puff—"

Red, white, and yellow, mixed together, splashed onto Gu Yang's face in a spray.

Butcher Wang couldn't even let out a scream before his whole face sank inward instantly, his nasal bridge shattered, and his eyeballs burst.

The huge impact force carried his two-hundred-plus-pound body flying backward for three meters, crashing heavily against the hard stone wall.

"Boom!"

The wall trembled, dust fell with a rustle.

Butcher Wang slid down like a pile of mud, his body twitched violently twice, his neck twisted at a strange angle, and he completely lost his breath.

One punch.

Instant kill.

In the dungeon, it fell into a dead silence.

Only the thunder outside was still roaring tirelessly.

Gu Yang stood in place, panting heavily, hot white steam spraying from his mouth and nose.

He looked at his blood-stained fist, looked at the corpse lying in the corner, feeling the power still surging in his body, the corners of his mouth slowly curled up, revealing a mouthful of bone-white teeth.

Is this the taste of power?

This pleasure of controlling life and death, no longer being at the mercy of others... it really makes people want to go crazy!