Lying on the narrow path that led into the forest was a corpse, its head severed from the neck.
Looking at the headless corpse, Li Chen furrowed his brow in confusion. From his memory, he knew the Kunlun Sword Sect was one of the hegemonic sects in the region and was strict with its disciples.
Killing was prohibited.
Now, with the corpse in front of him, he couldn't wrap his head around it. Still, he continued forward, his heart pounding heavily in his chest.
His gut told him something was wrong, but he couldn't tell what. Emerging from the forest, the scene before him left him stupefied.
Hundreds of dead outer disciples were scattered on the ground, their blood soaking into the grass.
"W-What... the... hell..."
Most of the disciples had either lost their heads, had their throats ripped out, or had their chests bitten into. Some evil monster seemed to have feasted on them.
Li Chen froze, forcing himself not to vomit at the gory scene in front of him. He heard a growl from his side as he tried to comprehend what was happening.
Turning his head, he was confronted by a boy in torn clothes with a pale body.
The boy began to approach the two, his nose twitching and snorting, growling continuously, as they stared at each other for a moment.
"What's wrong with this boy?" Li Chen muttered, stepping back.
The pale boy growled loudly the moment he took that step, and his head split into four sections, each filled with jagged, long teeth.
At the center was a long tongue, producing a guttural sound.
"W-What the hell!" Li Chen screamed, fear plastered across his face as he scrambled backward.
He widened his eyes, staring at the horrifying transformation in a daze. The more he looked at the approaching boy, the more he realized the transformation resembled zombies from the apocalyptic movies he had watched in his previous life.
Being from Earth, he had seen his share of zombie films, and this boy's form reminded him of those horrors.
With that thought, his heart raced, fear gnawing at him like a vice.
"I-I need to get out of this forsaken place," he muttered, lips trembling, prepared to escape.
Growl!
As he prepared to flee, another nerve-wracking sound came from his left. Turning his head, he saw another zombie staggering toward him.
"Fuck!" He cursed his heart racing, adrenaline pumping through his veins as he searched for an escape route.
Unfortunately for him, zombies blocked both paths.
'What should I do?! What should I do?!' His heart pounded.
He didn't want to die again, especially not at the hands
of these horrifying creatures. After thinking desperately, he came up with only one solution—fight.
Li Chen was not an indecisive person. Once he decided to fight for his life, he acted immediately.
The zombie on his right was only a few feet away, and if he didn't act now, it would be too late to regret. Among the dead disciples, he spotted a long sword hanging from one of the corpses' waists, and without hesitation, he sprinted toward it.
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Growl!
Seeing their prey running, the two sluggish zombies suddenly charged at him with surprising speed.
"Fuck!"
From the corner of his eye, he saw the speed of the zombies and was stunned. They were faster than him, but luck was on his side. Since he had a head start, he reached the corpse just in time.
He unsheathed the sword and swung it at the closest zombie.
Bang!
Without any finesse or technique, the sword struck the zombie's chest, leaving a deep gash.
Growl!
The zombie roared, paused, and then lunged at him again with even more ferocity.
"Shit!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Li Chen dared not delay and attacked continuously, blood splattering across his face, though he didn't seem to notice.
He was lost in the moment, slashing at the zombie with all his might. A loud growl from his side snapped him out of his trance.
Whoosh!
The second zombie lunged at him, ready to bite his neck.
Whoosh!
Li Chen acted on instinct, jumping to the side to avoid the zombie's gaping maw.
Escaping death by a hair's breadth, he swung his sword frantically. This time, his blade struck the zombie's neck. Still, he failed to sever the head completely. After several more strikes, the head finally separated from the neck.
Panting heavily, Li Chen stared at the two dead zombies and sucked in a cold breath. This was the first real battle of his life, and it was exhilarating, to say the least.
"I love this feeling…" A complicated grin appeared on his face.
He hadn't expected to survive the attack from two zombies, and the rush of killing them gave him a sensation he couldn't quite explain.
But one thing was certain: he loved this feeling.
Five minutes later, he was back on his feet, looking for Zhang Kun and his gang.
Killing the two zombies gave him some confidence and made him no longer as clueless as before.
Using the memories of the body's previous owner, he searched the outer disciples' living area but found no sign of Zhang Kun or his gang.
Along the way, he killed over five zombies, staining his clothes red.
Emerging from the living quarters, he heard screams coming from the lecture hall.
Quickly, he increased his pace and arrived at the hall. Inside, a group of disciples was fighting off dozens of zombies, their faces etched with fear.
He spotted Zhang Kun's fat body and one of his goons among the group.
"Good…" he muttered, rushing into the hall.
Noticing his arrival, two zombies charged at him, but he killed them in less than five strikes.
He approached Zhang Kun and shouted, "Zhang Kun, it's time for you to die."
'Hmm?!'
The disciples looked at the so-called trash of the outer sect in confusion, as if he had gone mad.
"Are you crazy?!" Zhang Kun shouted, pointing his saber at Li Chen.
He was barely surviving the onslaught from the zombies, and this trash dared to challenge him.
Li Chen didn't care about the stares directed at him and charged.
"I don't know how you're still alive. Hmm! I'll make sure to end your life properly this time."
Though they were fighting zombies, Zhang Kun could still spare a second to deal with this nuisance.
Bang!
Their weapons clashed, and both were forced to take a few steps back. Zhang Kun's disdainful expression shifted to one of shock.
From that exchange, he realized Li Chen was not weaker than him.
The change in the world had caused them to lose their cultivation and become mortals.
Now, combat depended only on physical strength and stamina, and in this area, Zhang Kun was inferior to Li Chen.
"Die!" Li Chen shouted, disregarding Zhang Kun's thoughts. His only thought was to kill.
The two exchanged several blows, but with each strike, Zhang Kun was gradually suppressed. Finally, he could no longer hold on.
Bang!
"Ahhh!"
A miserable scream escaped from Zhang Kun's mouth as he clutched his neck, falling to his knees.
He tried to speak, but only guttural sounds mixed with blood came out.
Thud!
He collapsed, dead.
Li Chen took a deep breath, averting his gaze from Zhang Kun's corpse. His eyes landed on the remaining goon in the hall.
Feeling Li Chen's piercing gaze, Qi Gang was terrified and forgot to defend himself against the approaching zombies.
Ahhh!
A zombie bit into Qi Gang's neck, ripping out chunks of flesh. As for Qi Gang, he fell to the ground, convulsing for a moment before standing back up.
He had turned into a zombie.
"Qi Gang has turned into one of those vile things!"
"Kill him immediately!"
One of the disciples shouted in panic. Knowing what had happened, Li Chen rushed at him without hesitation.
Within two strikes, he severed Qi Gang's head, ending him once and for all.
[Ding! Congratulations! You've completed the mission.]
[Reward: Guardian Spirit.]
Li Chen stared at the notification floating before him, confused. What was this Guardian Spirit?
[Hello, I am your Guardian Spirit.]
A beautiful female voice echoed in his mind. Li Chen was stunned, unable to react to the sudden voice.
Then, another notification snapped him out of his trance.
[Mission Available:]
[Objective: Escape from the sect.]
[Time: 10 minutes.]
[Reward: Golden Bell Body Cultivation.]
[Penalty: Hidden.]