Starting With 100 Million Lives

With 535 points of merit in hand, Jiang Cheng first upgraded the system.

Level: 11

Merit: 0/10000

Available Merit: 435

Current Skills: The host can consume merit points to upgrade dead objects.

Note: The higher the target's value, the more merit points consumed.

Subordinate Skills: The host can consume merit points to borrow any target's skills.

Note: The higher the strength of the borrowed skills, the more merit points consumed.

Borrow?

Does this mean that as long as I have enough merit points, I can use Dragon Breath like the Golden Dragon King in the future?

And use Sword Heart like the Gui Cang Sword Immortal?

Thinking about it, it's indeed a tool for showing off.

But...

"System, come out quickly and explain to me why the next level has increased a hundredfold?"

"Since asking questions now doesn't consume points or merit, the system may choose not to answer certain questions."

What the hell? Playing this trick?

"Why don't you answer?"

"Are you too embarrassed to face me?"

"You piece of junk!"

"Jealous of how fast I earn points?"

Being scolded like this, the system endured it and simply played dead.

Damn!

Brother Cheng wished he could pull it out and beat it up.

Then he thought of his two kids, still inside the Xuanji Map.

Quickly released them.

"Mom, where are we?"

"It's so desolate here, Dad."

The two kids looked around, circling him as soon as they got out.

Indeed, they were in the middle of a desolate wasteland. Using his Immortal Soul, Jiang Cheng scanned the area and didn't see a trace of anything.

But it didn't matter, since his power was intact, and he figured it was a good time to educate the kids.

"You two finally woke up!"

"Do you know how close we were to failing the last Ascension Battle?"

"You guys were so capable before, always urging me to challenge!"

"And what happened?"

"Without a word, suddenly you couldn't fight."

"Do you know what this behavior is called? On the battlefield, this is desertion, and it gets you executed!"

He waved his right hand, spittle flying.

"Thought I could count on you two, but in the end, you just fell asleep!"

"If it weren't for Dad turning the tide single-handedly, how could we face the folks back home if we failed?"

The two kids were dumbfounded by the scolding.

Xiaobai stood still obediently, head lowered in a reflective stance.

Ah Huang was much more nimble.

"Oh dear, why isn't there a single spirit vein around here?"

She held her forehead, staggering slightly.

"Mom, it's so uncomfortable out here; let's go back inside."

After saying this, without caring about Brother Cheng's expression, she dragged Xiaobai back into the Xuanji Map.

Sect Leader Jiang was a bit puzzled.

Isn't he the owner of the map?

How could they enter the Xuanji Map without his permission?

How come it's like a public bus, coming and going as they please?

But those two kids weren't normal beings anyway, so he didn't bother to think much about it.

Calming his heart, he scanned the surroundings again.

Then he picked a random direction and flew straight out.

He hadn't flown far before a bear-headed, winged, hundred-footed strange demon beast appeared ahead.

This demon beast didn't appear large, only a few dozen meters, but was exceptionally agile.

Jiang Cheng gave a casual blow, but it evaded.

Quickly after, he was engulfed by countless chaotic wind blades.

Standing amidst the wind blades, Brother Cheng sensed that the attack's intensity was roughly equivalent to an ordinary First Grade Profound Immortal, unable to scratch him.

Itching?

"Tired of fighting yet?"

Impatiently, he drew his Immortal Sword and swung it.

With one swing, a more violent storm roared out.

The raging wind blades in front seemed like paper scraps blown by a tempest, scattering and disintegrating.

The demon beast had no resistance, being swept away and killed on the spot.

"Seriously."

"Can't it be over already!"

While complaining, Brother Cheng planned to see if there was any loot.

Parts of the demon beast like bones, blood, and pelts were mostly useful, either for alchemy or artifact refining, not to mention the more valuable demon pill.

His previous destructive sword strike might have seemed huge, but he actually restrained its power, controlling the damage extent.

Yet upon cleaning up the battlefield, he found not even a trace left.

The demon beast's corpse was gone.

"What the heck?"

"Something like this can happen right under my nose?"

With reluctance, he searched around to no avail and could only choose to abandon it.

After flying some distance further, another demon beast appeared ahead.

Again, it lunged without any intention for conversation or restraint.

Moreover, this demon beast's power was similar to the last one, only with a different attack method.

Jiang Cheng couldn't be bothered to draw his sword, casually waving his hand to easily destroy it.

This time he observed carefully, noticing that after being killed, the demon beast rapidly turned into an illusion and dissolved into the air.

"This..."

This didn't seem like a real demon beast; rather, it felt like a 'combat machine' created by someone.

After effortlessly dispatching more than ten demon beasts along the way, he confirmed his suspicion.

Because after killing one demon beast, not only did it dissolve, but it also dropped a jade talisman.

Probing with Immortal Soul, it was identified as a regular jade talisman engraved with array patterns, probably some kind of token.

"Am I in some Trial Secret Realm now?"

"System, is this a trial you've set up for me?"

He felt a bit dissatisfied because these were all mindless dead objects, unable to cause any shock when slain.

The more important thing was the lack of loot.

To someone who acts only when there's something to gain, fighting for nothing felt too costly.

"No."

The system's answer was concise.

"How strange."

Brother Cheng continued exploring and after defeating over 30 demon beasts, he had accumulated four jade talismans.

Then, a demon beast Purple Simurgh appeared ahead.

When its wings expanded, the distant void not only echoed with thunderous winds but also overshadowed the sky, far grander and mightier than the preceding demon beasts.

Its mere size was tens of thousands of times larger.

Could this be the passage BOSS?

Surely killing the BOSS would drop something?

Brother Cheng got his spirits up, once more summoning his Immortal Sword.

Before the Purple Simurgh could approach, he cleaved with a strike.

A near-transparent virtual line stretched from sky to earth, in a moment slicing through the center of the Purple Simurgh's pointed beak.

Then slicing out from its tail end, finally dissipating into nothing.

Thump!

The flying Purple Simurgh split in two, spilling copious amounts of fresh blood, like a torrential downpour.

Brother Cheng casually sheathed his sword.

The passage BOSS was indeed different from the previous ones; the earlier slain demon beasts didn't shed a drop of blood.

The Purple Simurgh had both flesh and blood, seemingly even crying out before dying.

What a pity, knowing it was a living being, I should've left it intact.

Now with my sword, its skeleton and demon pill are all destroyed.

Just as he was considering checking out if there were any usable materials left, he heard a shrill cry from high above.

"Xiaozhi!"

"Ah..."

The bifurcated body of the Purple Simurgh fell, revealing a young woman in a green dress on its back.

This woman's skin was as fair as snow, her features painted like a picture, truly stunning.

Yet at this moment, her beautiful eyes were filled with either grief or murderous intent.

Glaring at Brother Cheng below with hatred, the Immortal Sword in her hand grew increasingly bright, as if looking at a deadly enemy.