3: Demons? They're just provisions!

A deathly silence permeated the corridor, broken only by the sound of rain outside the window and Gu Yang’s heavy footsteps.

He wasn't carried away by victory.

Gu Yang quickly frisked the two corpses.

"Poor devils."

Though he cursed, his hands moved swiftly.

A few bottles of unknown trauma medicine, a few taels of broken silver, and a three-foot-long, finely forged steel Mountain-Cleaving Saber.

This saber was much heavier than the thin waist-knives used by those small fry. Its spine was thick, and its edge gleamed with a cold light, clearly a fine weapon.

Gu Yang weighed it in his hand. Six or seven catties would be heavy for an ordinary person, but for the thousand-catty strength brought by his Major Achievement Savage Bull Strength, it felt as light as a blade of grass.

"Too light, barely usable."

Gu Yang took off one of the corpses' Cowhide Combat Boots and put them on. This would ensure he wouldn't slip on the blood-stained floor.

Having done all this, Gu Yang took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the savagery in his eyes, replaced by an absolute calm.

In that moment, he was no longer a desperate handyman, but a top hunter preparing to hunt a fierce beast.

He held the saber, lightened his steps, and walked towards the deepest secret room in the dungeon.

The closer he got, the colder the air became, and a stench mixing sulfur and highly putrid decay drilled into his nostrils. That chilling aura was like a maggot in the bone, making one instinctively want to flee.

Instead of fear, Gu Yang licked his cracked lips, and a greedy flame ignited in his eyes.

It was a craving for power.

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

Dull chewing sounds came from the secret room, like a beast gnawing on bones, each crisp crunch making one's scalp tingle.

Gu Yang stood before the heavy iron door, not rushing in directly.

He adjusted his breathing, deliberately making his voice sound a little shaky and humble, imitating the tone of a meal-delivering handyman as he called out:

"Lord Ghost Face... this humble one... has come to deliver hot water for washing."

The chewing sound abruptly stopped.

After a few seconds of dead silence, a grating, unpleasant sound, like two pieces of raw iron rubbing together, came from inside:

"Get in."

It worked!

Using the information gap, the other party didn't know that Butcher Wang and the others outside were already dead.

Gu Yang bowed, his left hand pretending to support a non-existent hot water bucket, his right hand hiding the cloth-wrapped Mountain-Cleaving Saber behind him, and pushed open the heavy iron door with his head lowered.

Creak—

The sound of the door hinge turning was particularly harsh in the silence.

The dim candlelight flickered.

Gu Yang raised his eyelids, quickly scanning the room.

This was no room; it was a slaughterhouse.

Scattered limbs and severed arms were everywhere, and several freshly peeled human skins hung on the walls.

And on a stone bed in the center of the room, a huge black shadow lay prone.

It was a monster, three meters tall, covered in black fur. It had human limbs, but its spine was highly arched, and it had a hideous wolf head with a mouth full of fangs, currently gnawing on a thigh, blood smeared all over its maw.

Hearing the door open, the monster slowly turned its head.

Its pair of scarlet vertical pupils emitted a chilling red light in the darkness, staring intently at Gu Yang.

"Where's the hot water?"

The monster spoke human words, its voice carrying a hint of doubt and brutality.

It didn't see a water bucket in Gu Yang's hand; instead, it smelled a strong, fresh scent of blood.

But this bloody smell didn't come from its food, but from this

Now!

Without any superfluous words, the moment the opponent turned its head, Gu Yang's great Dragon spine suddenly sprang, and all the great tendons in his body snapped!

The long-prepared killing move exploded!

"I'll send you on your way!"

Gu Yang roared, and the Mountain-Cleaving Saber hidden behind him cut a mournful cold light, carrying all his strength, fiercely slashing at the monster's neck!

This strike was as fast as thunder and incredibly powerful!

Clang!!

A deafening roar that could shatter eardrums.

The Mountain-Cleaving Saber struck the monster's back neck, but it didn't sever its head as Gu Yang had expected.

The blade cut through the tough black fur and flesh, but got stuck in the iron-hard neck bone and tangled muscle fibers, penetrating only three inches!

"Roar—!!!"

The pained monster let out an earth-shattering roar.

It hadn't expected an ant to dare attack it!

"Seeking death!!"

The monster suddenly turned around, its black-furred claw, with fingernails as sharp as daggers, swung back with a whistling wind.

Too fast!

The physical quality of a Demonic creature far surpassed that of a human Martial Artist. This strike was like a speeding truck crashing into him.

Gu Yang wanted to pull out his saber and retreat, but the saber was stuck in the bone and couldn't be pulled out.

In this critical moment, he could only release the saber hilt, cross his arms to protect his chest, and circulate his Major Achievement Savage Bull Strength to its limit, his skin instantly hardening like copper!

Bang!

A colossal, irresistible force struck.

Gu Yang felt as if he had been hit head-on by an iron hammer, and he was sent flying backward, crashing heavily against the stone wall.

"Pfft—"

A mouthful of fresh blood sprayed out.

Gu Yang's arms were torn open, deep enough to see bone. His proud "Copper Skin" defense instantly broke before the Demonic creature's sharp claws! His internal organs were in excruciating pain, as if they had shifted.

"A Mortal... Martial Artist?"

The monster slowly stood up, its massive three-meter-tall body casting a huge shadow, approaching step by step with suffocating pressure. It pulled the saber from its neck, casually twisted it into a pretzel, and tossed it aside, the red light in its eyes growing stronger.

"It's been a long time since I've tasted the tender flesh of a Martial Artist... Your flesh and blood must be delicious."

Despair!

This was a true power gap.

Gu Yang leaned against the wall, blood constantly oozing from the corner of his mouth, but the flame in his eyes not only didn't extinguish but burned even more wildly.

Because in that instant of contact just now, and while being in this secret room, the System's pleasant notification sounds were furiously spamming!

[High concentration Demonic Qi environment detected... automatically absorbing...]

[Absorption successful! Gained energy points: 0.5... 0.5...]

[Host detected to be suffering Demonic energy erosion, currently converting...]

So that's how it is!

The lair of such a Demonic creature was itself a huge energy field!

Plus, although that saber strike didn't kill it, its blood splattered on him...

Gu Yang glanced at the panel.

The original 1 energy point, plus the gains from killing people, environmental absorption, and the monster's blood, made that number furiously jump.

Energy: 11 points!

Gu Yang smiled.

He coughed up blood, revealing teeth stained red with blood, his smile savage and crazed.

"Want to eat me?"

He staggered to his feet, looking at the approaching monster.

"Are you even worthy?"

"System!!"

Gu Yang let out a deafening roar in his heart.

"Add points for me! All in! Max everything out!!"

[Consumed 10 energy points, Savage Bull Strength broke through its limit!]

[Derivation successful! Savage Bull Strength Perfection -> Savage Bull True Body!]

Rumble!

It was as if a volcano erupted within Gu Yang's body.

This time, the enhancement was no longer simple muscles and bones, but penetrated deep into the bone marrow, deep into the genetic level of every cell!

An unprecedented hot current gathered in his Dantian, then transformed into a scorching mad Dragon, surging up along his spine!

Internal Qi generated spontaneously!

Crack! Crack!

His clothes completely burst into shreds, revealing an dark-golden body as if cast from steel.

His muscles were no longer bulky and lumpy, but perfectly streamlined, every fiber containing destructive explosive power.

Even on the surface of his skin, a faint red Qi wave subtly emerged, a manifestation of his Qi and blood being concentrated to the extreme!

The monster stopped.

In its scarlet vertical pupils, for the first time, a look of surprise and uncertainty appeared.

How did this prey... change?

That aura actually made it, a Demonic creature, feel a trace of instinctive... fear?

"Now, round two begins."

Gu Yang raised his head, as if two golden flames burned in his eyes.

Injuries? They were healed the moment he broke through!

Strength? Now, he felt like he could punch a mountain apart!

Boom!

Gu Yang moved.

This time, the ground directly exploded into a large pit.

His speed was more than double what it was before, leaving even an afterimage in the air.

The monster roared and swung its sharp claws again.

But this time, Gu Yang didn't dodge, nor did he block.

He stretched out his dark-golden palm, larger than a cattail fan, and at the moment the claw descended, he precisely gripped the monster's wrist!

"Got you."

Gu Yang's voice was cold as iron.

The monster struggled desperately, but found that hand to be like an iron clamp, not moving an inch.

"Kneel... for me!"

Gu Yang roared, his arm muscles instantly swelled, and violent power erupted, actually swinging that three-meter-tall behemoth around like a rag doll!

Bang!!

The monster was slammed heavily onto the hard stone floor.

The earth trembled, and shattered rocks flew.

The monster's spine let out a crisp "crack," and before its scream could fully escape, Gu Yang was already straddling it.

No fancy moves.

Just the most primitive, most brutal mounted beatdown!

"That claw strike just now hurt a lot, didn't it?"

Bang!

One punch slammed down, shattering the monster's left cheek, sending teeth flying.

"Eating people? Hmm? You like eating people?"

Bang!

The second punch, the monster's nose bridge collapsed, and its eyeball popped out.

"You're a demon? You're amazing? You're noble?"

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Gu Yang, like a madman, his fists turned into countless afterimages, wildly smashing the monster's head like a pile driver.

Every punch that landed was accompanied by the sound of flesh splattering and bones shattering.

Every punch carried the terrifying Internal Qi of the Savage Bull True Body, directly shattering the monster's brain defense.

"Roar... mercy... mercy..."

The monster let out a weak plea for mercy. It was scared, truly scared.

This human... was more like a demon than it was!

"Mercy?"

Gu Yang paused his movements, raising his right fist high, all the Qi and blood in his body condensed into a single point, and a visible red light actually emanated from his fist.

"Next life, remember not to eat people."

"Or... pray you don't meet me."

Boom!

This killing blow landed.

The world became quiet.

The monster's head exploded like a rotten tomato dropped on the ground, turning into a mixture of red and white pulp.

Gu Yang sat on the headless corpse, breathing heavily.

His entire body's blood was boiling; that sensation of extreme violent catharsis made him tremble all over.

This was the ultimate Dao!

This was power!

Just then, an unprecedentedly rich warm current surged from the corpse beneath him and entered his body.

[Killed a low-tier Demonic creature (Wolf Demon), successful plunder!]

[Gained energy points: 15!]

Gu Yang suddenly opened his eyes, looking at the enormous sum of 15 points, the smile at the corner of his mouth growing wider and wider, finally turning into a wild laugh that echoed through the dungeon.

"Hahahahaha!"

"Demons? Fear?"

"No... you are resources! You are my experience packs!"

"As long as you dare to show a health bar, I'll even kill a god for you to see!"