"He's a demon-man?!"
Lin Li was shocked, but rather than fear, his heart was filled with joy.
However, the joy in Lin Li's eyes made the demon-man even more arrogant and overconfident.
"Chirp chirp chirp!" The demon-man's voice was raspy yet piercing, extremely strange. "Afraid, huh? It's too late to be scared now! All thanks to the Rat King who turned me into a half-demon. Otherwise, I would've been killed by Chisha Iron Palm Sect's Master Qian seven days ago."
"But alas..." The demon-man's voice had completely changed, resembling the screeching of a rat more than a human's laugh. "Chirp chirp gaha! No matter how strong Chisha Iron Palm is, he's still a mere mortal. How could he stand against the supreme power I've gained?"
"How laughable!" Lin Li sneered coldly. "You let a mere rat demon use its demon energy to turn you into this pathetic, half-human, half-demon creature, and you think you can take over the world? The demon energy you're using doesn't even surpass that of a first-level demon beast, and you think you have supreme power?"
"I must say, you truly are short-sighted!"
Just as the two conversed, Zhao Dama finally caught up, panting heavily. When she saw the creature standing near her daughter, her eyes widened in disbelief, and she screamed, "A demon!"
"Shut up!" The demon-man growled, lunging toward Zhao Dama.
"Ah!!" Zhao Dama screamed, but just as the demon-man's gray-furred, clawed hand was about to strike her, a flash of sword light appeared.
Swish!
The demon-man's head was severed, falling to the ground. Blood gushed out like a fountain.
[You have killed first-level half-demon Zhao De Zhu, gaining 10 evolution points.]
[Absorbed half-demon blood, gained 0.2 energy points.]
The heavy scent of blood filled the air, staining Zhao Dama's body red. Overwhelmed by shock, she fainted and collapsed to the ground.
Lin Li caught her just before she hit the floor, then slowly walked toward the bed where the young girl lay.
Seeing this, the girl trembled, her eyes wide with fear as she stammered, "No, no, don't come closer! I would rather die than let you..."
"Pfft!" Lin Li couldn't help but chuckle. "Silly girl, don't you see what just happened?"
After gently placing the unconscious Zhao Dama beside her daughter, Lin Li grabbed the blanket from the other side of the bed.
"What... what are you doing?!" The pretty girl looked terrified.
Lin Li smiled and shook his head, draping the blanket over her torn clothes to cover her exposed skin.
The girl's face turned crimson with embarrassment. No longer terrified, her gaze softened, and her eyes sparkled with gratitude as she looked at Lin Li. "You..."
"Relax, I won't do anything to you," Lin Li said, turning his back to her. He didn't look at the shy girl again, instead focusing on the demon-man's corpse. His expression darkened. "I thought he'd be tougher, but in the end, he was nothing."
Ye Fan also felt unsatisfied. "What a waste of time! All that for just 10 evolution points and 0.2 energy points? At this rate, how long will it take for me to upgrade?"
Looking at his current system panel, Ye Fan realized that the difficulty of evolving this time was far greater than before.
[Host]: Ye Fan
[Sword Name]: Ordinary Longsword (A sword forged from special metal, now an ordinary longsword, with decent sharpness.)
[Quality]: Sharp
[Passive Skills]: Bloodthirsty (Can absorb blood to nourish the blade and transfer some energy to the host.)
[Curse]: This sword contains intense resentment. Users with insufficient strength will be plagued by bad luck.
[Evolution Points]: 60,898/100,000
[Energy]: 666.2
"Sigh! The number of evolution points needed is just too much!" After all this time, Ye Fan still needed nearly forty thousand more points to evolve.
And killing a half-demon only granted 10 points...
This slow rate of evolution made Ye Fan feel utterly hopeless!
As Ye Fan despaired, Lin Li wasn't pleased either.
With so few evolution points and energy absorbed, Lin Li hadn't gained much feedback either.
"The energy I got from the Bloodsucking Demon Sword after killing him was negligible—barely equivalent to a single day of cultivation!" Lin Li thought with a frown.
The demon-man's corpse had reverted to its human form after death, with no trace of its demonic transformation left.
"Ugh..." A groan interrupted Lin Li's thoughts. He turned to see that Zhao Dama had regained consciousness.
She looked from the corpse on the ground to Lin Li, her expression dazed and confused. "Was that a dream? I thought I dreamed a demon was going to kill me."
"Mother, it wasn't a dream," the young girl explained, now more composed. She recounted what had happened, her gaze once again falling on Lin Li, filled with admiration and affection.
Her eyes sparkled, and Lin Li could feel a blush creeping onto his face. The girl's torn clothing, barely covered by the blanket, lingered in his memory. Quickly, he circulated his Xuantian Infinite Breathing Technique to suppress the rising heat within him.
"Thank you, kind sir, for your righteous help! I have nothing to repay you with," Zhao Dama said, bowing deeply. Then, her face filled with worry. "But Zhao De Zhu's older brother is a constable in Danyang's county office, and he wields considerable power!"
"Now that Zhao De Zhu is dead in our home, once his brother finds out, we won't be able to avoid responsibility..."
Suddenly, Zhao Dama's expression hardened. "Sir, we are strangers, yet you've risked yourself to save us. It's clear you are a man of great virtue and kindness!"
"My daughter is only fourteen, and her beauty is considered unmatched in all of Danyang County. Otherwise, Zhao De Zhu wouldn't have lost control and attempted such a vile act. If you don't mind, I'd like to offer my daughter to you as a concubine!"
"I don't ask for her to be your wife, but if you could take her as a concubine, I would be content! Please, take her away from Danyang County and take care of her. As for me..."
Zhao Dama's face hardened with determination. Grabbing the sword from Zhao De Zhu's corpse, she raised it, preparing to kill herself. "I'm old and useless now. My life doesn't matter, as long as you protect my daughter!"
"No! Mother!!" The girl screamed in disbelief.
Lin Li had not expected things to escalate this way. Just as Zhao Dama was about to stab herself, Lin Li swiftly grabbed the sword from her hand.
At that moment, a shrill voice echoed in the air, "Brother!!!"
"Damn it! You dare kill my brother? I swear I'll make all three of you pay with your lives!"