My Cultivation Techniques Upgrade Automatically

Chapter 20: Chapter 20: You Are the Visitor

A figure sprinted across the open plains, while the Demon Corpses tucked their tails between their legs and fled for their lives.

No matter how you looked at it, the scene was just wrong. It was bizarre.

It was as if that human figure was the ravenous beast, and the hideous Demon Corpses were the real victims, the ones being bullied.

”He killed them! All the Demon Corpses are dead! Not a single one is left!”

”Has he always been this ferocious?”

”A demon seed from the heavens, a human calamity on earth!”

On the hillock, Zhou Yuntao and the others, who had been prepared to die a noble death and take the Demon Corpses down with them, now stared with eyes as wide as saucers.

They watched the lone figure on the plains hunt down the Demon Corpses, scattering and slaughtering a group of nearly one hundred.

Their eyes revealed three parts confusion, three parts astonishment, and three parts stupor.

And ninety-one parts ’I don’t understand!’

They didn’t understand how Wu Chen, who had clearly been at a disadvantage, had managed to withstand the Demon Corpses’ lethal assault.

He had repelled them wave after wave, and in the end, slaughtered them all.

It had looked perilous, but in reality, it was as if everything had been choreographed.

When his steel saber finally shattered, leaving him without a weapon, Wu Chen simply started killing them with his bare hands!

The group watched the brutal scene as Wu Chen hunted down the fleeing Demon Corpses and crushed their heads one by one.

It made their scalps tingle.

Putting everything else aside, who would even believe that one man had single-handedly killed nearly a hundred Demon Corpses?

Even though they had witnessed it with their own eyes, it felt like a dream, leaving their heads spinning.

Zhou Yuntao thought of Liu Linshan. ’No wonder that old man was sitting so calmly. He must have seen something like this before.’

The group wanted to ask him about Wu Chen, but when they turned their heads, they discovered...

Liu Linshan’s shock was far greater than theirs!

”He... He really just killed them all!”

Liu Linshan’s pupils were quaking. He tried several times to stand up and get a clearer view of the terrifying scene, but he couldn’t, because his legs had fallen asleep.

He had thought Wu Chen might have a way to intimidate the Demon Corpses and make them retreat.

But he never expected a scene like this: a complete slaughter, with not a single one left alive!

”Terrifying! Utterly terrifying!”

It wasn’t that Liu Linshan hadn’t seen large-scale battles before, but this was a first!

In his youth, he had served in the army and been to the great bastion of Qingzhou, Jubei City.

He had only been a cook for a few years and had no actual combat experience.

But from the city walls, he had seen the horrific clashes between the Black Armor soldiers and the Northern Barbarian riders at the outposts below.

But those were just thirty Black Armor soldiers against fifty Northern Barbarians, or seventy armored soldiers against a hundred Northern Barbarians.

The numbers were more or less even. After the initial charge, they would pair off and fight.

Nothing like what he was seeing now—one man against a hundred! And he hadn’t left a single one alive!

’Could this kid be the son of some Centurion from Qingzhou’s Jubei City?’

’No, that’s impossible. How could a Centurion’s son be this strong?’

’With talent like this, he could probably become a Lieutenant General’s personal guard! A direct disciple!’

Liu Linshan’s speculations about Wu Chen’s identity grew wilder and wilder, but he couldn’t come to any conclusion.

Just as the others were staring at the unbelievable scene, feeling as if they were in a dream with their heads buzzing...

Wu Chen had already finished cleaning up. He casually grabbed a scrap of cloth, meticulously wiped the sticky gore from between his fingers, and ambled over to the bottom of the slope.

”Ready to set off?”

The gentle voice startled them. They tore their gazes away from the corpse-strewn plains, only to realize that Wu Chen had walked right up to them at some point.

Looking at the young man’s kind face, his clear eyes, and the light sheen of sweat on his forehead...

Everyone shivered for no apparent reason and said in unison:

”We’ll follow Young Master Wu’s orders!”

”Then let’s get a move on.”

The group of six continued their journey south.

”...”

「Night had fallen.」

The moon was bright and the stars were few as a chill began to settle in.

On the deserted plains, Zhou Yuntao and the others were gathering firewood. Once their arms were full, they glanced at the pitch-black sky.

Night represented danger, and they subconsciously wanted to hurry away.

But when they looked out at the inky blackness of the distant plains, they realized there were no longer any pairs of emerald green eyes coldly spying on them as before.

It was only then that they suddenly remembered: those Demon Corpses were now just a pile of bones and rotten flesh.

And with that thought came the image of one man slaughtering a hundred demons, replaying in their minds.

They didn’t dare delay any longer. Clutching the firewood, they hurried toward a nearby leeward slope where someone was waiting.

CRACKLE! CRACKLE!

At the base of the slope, a bonfire blazed, providing a bit of warmth.

By the firelight, Liu Wei was carefully applying ointment to the wounds on Wu Chen’s body.

First his shoulder, then his back, his waist, his hip, his thigh, his th—

Wu Chen tensed up. ”Stop, stop, stop! I can get the parts further down myself!”

He grimaced. If he didn’t actually have wounds in those spots from the Demon Corpses’ bone spurs, he would have thought the young woman was taking advantage of him.

’Although, I do look like I’m enjoying this,’ he thought, ’but that’s just because of the cooling sensation from the ointment!’

’There are absolutely no other intentions.’

’After all, I prefer them a bit more curvaceous.’

”Let me treat the wounds on your hands. You can do the rest yourself.” The young woman stubbornly pulled Wu Chen’s hand toward her.

She gazed at his hands, noting the slender knuckles and the somewhat rough skin of his palms and fingers.

She couldn’t help but recall the terrifying image from that day, of the young man crushing one Demon Corpse’s head after another.

Examining them now at such a close distance...

Her blood suddenly surged for no reason. Her heart began to pound, and her breath came out hot and quick.

THUMP THUMP THUMP!

Hearing the returning footsteps of Zhou Yuntao and the others, Liu Wei reluctantly let go of the hands she had been staring at for so long.

She left the ointment behind, quickly stood up to smooth the warm hem of her clothes over her stomach, then returned to Liu Linshan’s side and sat down quietly next to him as he feigned sleep.

Zhou Yuntao, who had returned with the firewood, slowly added the sticks he’d gathered to the fire.

The weak flames immediately grew stronger, casting a reddish glow on everyone’s faces and concealing the young woman’s inner turmoil.

”Should we... give them to him?”

Zhou Yuntao gently nudged Zhang Qing and Yue Changfeng, who were sitting on either side of him.

He wanted to see if they had made a decision about what they had discussed while gathering firewood.

The two of them nodded slightly, then quickly shook their heads, their expressions conflicted. They clearly hadn’t made up their minds.

Helpless, Zhou Yuntao could only stare at them. The three exchanged another round of glances, but still couldn’t reach a decision.

”Hey, what are you giving me? If you have something to say, just say it!”

There was no way their subtle movements could escape Wu Chen’s notice. Having held back for a while, he finally asked them directly.

”Uh, Young Master Wu, it’s like this... a few of us have these ancestral manuals.”

Things having come to this, Zhou Yuntao had no choice but to explain the reason for their hesitation. ”Originally, we wanted to keep them for ourselves, to practice in secret and not share them.”

”But now... we don’t know if you’d even find them worthy of your attention...”

Wu Chen’s formidable strength was on full display. They wanted to use this to build a connection with him and gain his protection.

But they knew they were just Body Tempering Realm Martial Artists, and their ancestors were nobody special. Though they called the items heirlooms, they figured they were probably just trash in his eyes.

In fact, hiding them might just end up making him unhappy.

Little did they know, the moment Wu Chen heard the words ”ancestral manuals,” his eyes lit up with a golden gleam!

He was already upset about not getting a single bit of loot from killing the Demon Corpses. At this point, even three ordinary Martial Arts manuals would feel like a heavenly reward!

”Whether they’re worthy or not, I’ll only know after I’ve seen them.” He held out his hand without any ceremony.

The three men each took out a manual and respectfully offered them up with both hands.

’*Tiger Ferocity Fist*... a fist technique. This *Breath Concealment Skill* is... hmm, it conceals one’s aura! A divine skill! And *The Legend of the Golden Vase*...’

’Mmm, this one’s average!’

’It’ll be a distraction from my Martial Arts practice.’

Without batting an eye, Wu Chen finished looking through the manuals and acted just as he had before.

He returned the *Tiger Ferocity Fist* to Zhou Yuntao.

He returned the *Breath Concealment Skill* to Yue Changfeng.

He stuffed *The Legend of the Golden Vase* into his own pocket.

Zhang Qing: ”???”

Everyone: ”???”

Seeing his practiced movements and his clear lack of intention to return the book, Zhang Qing grew anxious.

’Shouldn’t you be done after one look?’

’Give it back!’

He roared in his mind.

”Ahem, this sort of thing can affect one’s state of mind and lead to slacking off in Martial Arts. It’s best if you youngsters read less of it!”

Seeing Zhang Qing’s eyes turning red with anxiety, Wu Chen told him with a straight face, ”I am blessed with great fortune. I’ll hold on to it for you for now!”

Everyone: ”...”

After admonishing the others, Wu Chen also gave himself a stern warning in his heart:

’Wu Chen, oh, Wu Chen, you have to read less of it too!’

’The path of Martial Arts is long; let your saber and sword be your companions!’

The next day, while traveling: read *The Legend of the Golden Vase*.

Day two: read *The Legend of the Golden Vase*.

Day three: read *The Legend of the Golden Vase*.

”Alright, fine! Starting tomorrow, I absolutely won’t read it! Absolutely not!” Wu Chen promised, noticing the strange looks from everyone around him.

Day four: read *The Golden Vase*.

Day five: read *The Gold...*

Day six: read...

Until, one day, Wu Chen heard a commotion of shouting and cursing up ahead. Only then did he reluctantly put the manual away inside his shirt.

He rubbed his eyes and looked around.

He saw that after an unknown number of sunrises and sunsets, the fields and mountains around them finally showed a pleasant touch of green.

The commotion was coming from a spot about a hundred feet ahead.

A simple shed had been set up there with a few wooden poles. Beneath it, a large pot sat over a roaring fire, the congee inside bubbling and sputtering with a ”BLURBLE BLURBLE” sound.

Over thirty raggedly-dressed people were crowded around, pushing, shoving, and cursing at each other to be the first to get a mouthful of the congee.

Wu Chen didn’t rush forward. Instead, his gaze went past the congee stand, looking further down the main road.

He saw no village, no government soldiers maintaining order, and not even the silhouette of a city wall.

He asked, ”Master Liu, how much further is it to the city we’re heading to?”

”Young Master Wu, if we’re quick, we should be there in about ten days,” Liu Linshan calculated, figuring the estimate was more or less accurate.

”So you’re saying that here, in the middle of nowhere, someone is kind enough to be giving out free congee?”

Wu Chen narrowed his eyes, studying the congee stand ahead, feeling more and more that something was amiss.

He soon noticed that after many people had eaten and drunk their fill, they were directed by the people at the stand toward a small path leading to the foot of the mountain.

He glanced again at the empty main road and keenly detected a faint scent of blood drifting on the air.

Wu Chen figured it out. He clicked his tongue and said, ”Tsk, whoever’s arrived here, they’re up to no good.”

His words made the others beside him tense up, knowing that Wu Chen meant the people at the congee stand were a big problem.

But then they suddenly remembered that this guy in front of them—the one who’d been so engrossed in studying his manual every day that his eyes were a little bleary—was the same person who had single-handedly slaughtered a hundred demons just a few days ago!

In his presence, what could possibly be a ”big problem”?

”Young Master Wu!”

The group huddled, shrinking their necks, and reminded him in hushed, unison voices:

”You’re the one who’s arrived!”