My Cultivation Techniques Upgrade Automatically

Chapter 15: Chapter 15: Single-Core Single-Thread

”Sirs, please, have a heart!”

Liu Linshan, who had snuck to the village entrance with his daughter, hoping to leave first, bowed low and begged humbly to the men blocking their path.

”I’ve already given you all our food. Please, just let the two of us leave!”

”Heh! Listen to you. It’s as if we took your things for free.”

The three thugs guarding the village blocked the father and daughter with ill intent. Even after taking the food, they had no intention of letting Liu Linshan go. Their eyes kept wandering to the petite figure behind him.

”Exactly.”

Another thug chimed in, ”If we brothers hadn’t driven off the Demon Corpses last night and saved your lives, do you think you’d still be alive today?”

”Yes, yes, of course. We only survived thanks to you heroes! I will never forget your great kindness.”

Liu Linshan’s hand repeatedly tightened on the hilt of his sword, but he was outnumbered. Fearing he would endanger his daughter, he ultimately just nodded again and again, his back bending even lower.

”Hmph! What’s the use of just saying nice things!”

The leader of the group hefted the sack of grain, then tossed it to the ground in disdain. ”We worked all night, and this bit of food isn’t even enough to fill the gaps in our teeth!”

”How about...”

The man licked his chapped lips, his gaze locking onto the figure behind Liu Linshan.

”How about you leave the little one behind you to... reward us brothers? What do you say?”

Liu Linshan was horrified. He was about to beg for mercy, but he saw the man’s hand form a claw and reach for his daughter behind him.

Seeing the lust in the man’s eyes, Liu Linshan despaired.

Along the way, he had already cut his daughter’s hair short, smeared her face with dirt and ash, and covered her body in mud and grime.

Even now, he had been swallowing his pride and backing down again and again.

He never thought she would still be targeted.

With his daughter’s safety on the line, Liu Linshan could no longer back down. He instinctively drew his sword, ready to risk his old life to fight their way out.

But a flash of light, faster than any blade he could draw, streaked past his eyes, enveloping him before he had any time to react.

’My life is over!’

The flash of light was gone in an instant. In his forty-odd years, Liu Linshan had never seen such a fast blade. The bone-chilling sharpness of its edge made the hair on his body stand on end.

In that dazzling flash, he seemed to foresee his own decapitation.

But a few moments passed, and to Liu Linshan’s surprise, he felt no pain anywhere on his body.

’I’ve heard that when you die, you don’t feel pain.’

’So, am I already dead?’

’It’s better to be dead. In this world, death is a kind of release. It’s just... a pity about my daughter...’

Liu Linshan’s gaze was vacant, his mind a muddle.

Just as his consciousness began to fade, he heard a familiar voice from his side:

”Master Liu, you’re injured. Slow down a bit!”

The familiar voice pulled Liu Linshan back from his muddled, morbid thoughts.

His vision cleared, and his surroundings gradually came back into focus.

But what he saw were still the three jackal-like thugs. There was no familiar face in sight!

The only difference was that now, the three thugs’ expressions were frozen. Their eyes were wide open, and a thin red line had appeared on each of their throats.

The red lines grew wider, and soon, a startling crimson began to gurgle out.

THUD! THUD! THUD!

It took a long time for the three thugs to realize they had been struck, and that the wounds were fatal. Only then did their bodies belatedly collapse, kicking up a cloud of dust.

A figure slowly walked over to the three corpses, squatted down, and began to expertly search their bodies.

This person was none other than Wu Chen, who had returned to the small courtyard after killing Sun Sheng, only to find the father and daughter missing, and had come looking for them at the village entrance.

With Sun Sheng dead, killing these thugs and saving Liu Linshan was a simple matter.

”Young... Young Master Wu!” Seeing a familiar face, Liu Linshan finally breathed a sigh of relief, knowing he was saved.

Wu Chen waved his hand, signaling that there was no need for thanks.

After all, he had taken Liu Linshan’s Martial Arts and promised to escort the father and daughter south.

So, saving them was only right; it was his duty.

Letting them get hurt would have been a failure on his part.

”Not bad. Another one!”

Wu Chen rummaged through the three thugs’ clothes.

From the clothes of the man who had reached for Liu Wei, he found a finger-based technique manual called ’Grappling Claw,’ and the smile on his face widened.

Liu Linshan stared at the seven Martial Arts Manuals of varying thickness in Wu Chen’s hands. His pupils constricted when he saw one titled ’Red Sand Palm’.

”You... you... you...”

”Mm,” Wu Chen nodded calmly, as if he knew what Liu Linshan was about to say.

”Hiss!”

Liu Linshan sucked in a sharp breath, his pupils trembling. ”The great Sun Sheng... is just... gone?”

”Yeah, Uncle. You didn’t get to see Young Master Wu use Sun Sheng as a whetstone just now.”

”I’m afraid even if I trained for another ten years, I couldn’t match that kind of swordsmanship.”

”Young Master Wu’s blade work was truly dazzling. We’ve benefited greatly from just watching!”

A few voices chimed in from the side. Only then did Liu Linshan notice three young men standing nearby.

From their brief comments, he finally confirmed that Wu Chen had indeed killed Sun Sheng. And from the sounds of it, it wasn’t just a case of the few defeating the many, but a completely one-sided slaughter!

”And you gentlemen are...?” Liu Linshan cupped his hands in a fist-and-palm salute toward the men who had just spoken, now standing beside Wu Chen.

”Oh, I forgot to introduce you, Master Liu.”

”These three, like you, gave me their Martial Arts. I’m now escorting them south as they flee the famine.”

Wu Chen, who had already started flipping through the Martial Arts, looked up and gave Liu Linshan a simple introduction. He didn’t introduce them by name, however, because he hadn’t asked for them himself.

Although he had previously boasted to the crowd that he would take Sun Sheng’s place and protect everyone as they fled south...

...he had his own requirements.

Unlike Sun Sheng, who demanded food and women, his needs were purer. He only wanted Martial Arts.

This put the crowd of refugees in a difficult position.

Who would carry a stack of waste paper with them while fleeing a famine?

Who would practice martial arts when they couldn’t even get enough to eat?

This led to a situation where, out of over a hundred refugees, only these three possessed any Martial Arts or Cultivation Techniques.

This left Wu Chen, who had been ready to go all out and madly add points, utterly speechless.

Of course, he suspected that some people were holding onto ancestral Martial Arts, but they either didn’t trust him or would rather let their arts be lost to time than hand them over.

Wu Chen, for his part, had no interest in forcing them.

Besides, he’d already gotten seven Martial Arts manuals out of this trip. It was a bountiful harvest.

With Sun Sheng slain and the obstacle at the village entrance cleared, plus the sun just beginning to rise and the temperature still cool, it was the perfect time to get on the road.

Wu Chen raised his hand, signaling for everyone not to delay. They set off on their journey south.

He walked at the head of the group, continuously flipping through the Martial Arts he had just acquired.

First was the ’Grappling Claw’ manual. He finished flipping through it in less than five minutes.

[Grappling Claw entry-level proficiency +1]

[Grappling Claw entry-level proficiency +1]

[...]

The panel began to scroll.

Wu Chen tossed the ’Grappling Claw’ manual, which he had finished reading, into Liu Linshan’s arms.

Liu Linshan was still reeling from the fact that Wu Chen had killed Sun Sheng, a Martial Artist in the Flesh Refining Realm. He was in no mood to look at a martial arts manual.

’I’m such an idiot, I really am!’

’No wonder Young Master Wu could kill my two traitorous disciples so easily! For him, it must have been a piece of cake!’

’He said before that he was going to slay the Demon Corpses alone, and I actually didn’t believe him?’

’Last night, I actually doubted that Young Master Wu killed five Demon Corpses all by himself!’

’And the most ridiculous part is, I, a mere Body Tempering Realm cultivator, was going to teach swordsmanship to a Flesh Refining Realm Martial Artist?’

”Hahaha, I’m such a joke!”

Lost in these past memories, Liu Linshan let out a neurotic laugh, startling the people around him.

Seeing that he just laughed once and did nothing else out of the ordinary, everyone continued on their way.

Wu Chen didn’t have time for his inner drama and simply reminded him:

”The Martial Arts I give you, pass them around and read them.”

With that said, he began to look through the second Martial Arts manual:

’Iron Shoulder Charge.’

This time, Wu Chen was even faster, finishing it in just over two minutes.

Seeing that Liu Linshan had only turned a few pages of ’Grappling Claw,’ Wu Chen had no choice but to toss ’Iron Shoulder Charge’ to the newcomers in the group while he started on the next one.

’Riding Skill.’

The three newcomers to the group watched his reading speed with their mouths agape, looking at each other in astonishment.

’You couldn’t even read through an opera script or a novel that fast!’

They couldn’t comprehend it. They were utterly shocked!

Wu Chen couldn’t be bothered with their feelings and began to focus on the third manual.

Though he appeared focused, his eyes were actually fixed on his panel.

His brow furrowed unconsciously.

[Grappling Claw Great Success proficiency +1]

[Grappling Claw Great Success proficiency +1]

[...]

[Iron Shoulder Charge awaiting point allocation...]

”Damn it!”

Looking at ’Iron Shoulder Charge’ queued up and waiting for points on the panel, Wu Chen rolled his eyes, speechless.

”After all that, you’re still single-core, single-threaded!”