Dual Realm Exchange System

In truth, Damian had not been looking forward to this.

That did not mean he intended to spend the next hour staring dramatically at his hands while delivering an internal soliloquy about how ’killing was wrong’, how he ’used to be a normal person’, and whether ’crossing this line would forever transform him into some unrecognizable monster’.

Brother, please.

From the moment Damian woke up in Valoria, he already understood that taking intelligent life was almost certainly somewhere in his future.

The Adventurer’s Guild literally paid people to kill things for a living.

Then he entered Shengyuan and discovered a cultivation world where territory disputes could end with entire families getting erased because somebody’s great-grandfather insulted somebody else’s ancestor three centuries ago.

This day had always been coming.

Dark Goblins had merely allowed him to dodge the issue.

They were intelligent, spoke, planned ambushes and were disturbingly good at insulting people’s mothers, but they were also a completely different species whose culture had helpfully gone out of its way to stamp evil marauding bastards across their foreheads.

As for Giant Feral Rats?

Come on.

Where was the profound moral crisis supposed to come from there?

He was not about to lose sleep because Master Splinter’s crackhead cousins tried to eat him.

Humans were... different.

Whether the person standing opposite him happened to be good, evil or somewhere in the middle, Damian had spent twenty-six years instinctively placing human life in another category.

And while he had partly settled upon the kind of path he wanted to walk with the Dual-Realm Exchange System, even {The Hero} still had plenty of room for interpretation.

There were heroes who saved everybody they possibly could.

There were heroes who buried villains beneath the prison.

And there were heroes who made certain villains mysteriously vanish before the police arrived because paperwork was troublesome.

Light side or Dark side?

Damian had no idea where he would eventually land.

That uncertainty was actually part of why he had taken this battlefield excursion so seriously.

If he was going to cross the mental barrier of deliberately killing another human being, then there were few better candidates than Nightmare Corpse Sect disciples actively participating in a war they had helped create, spreading Corpse Qi, desecrating corpses, poisoning entire ecosystems and currently discussing how best to murder and rob him.

He could hardly ask reality to arrange a more morally convenient tutorial.

The seven men finally turned around, and their eagerness had vanished.

Damian gave them a friendly smile.

"Hi."

Chaos immediately erupted!

The closest disciple reacted first, flinging himself backward while slapping a yellow talisman against his chest, a surge of golden light erupting into a crude defensive barrier.

Another ripped two black talismans from his belt and hurled them forward, sending a pair of corpse-green blades of energy screaming through the branches.

A third stamped against the tree trunk and activated some footwork Martial Art, his body twisting through the canopy with impressive speed as he tried to create distance.

The narrow-faced fellow who had been fantasizing about eating Damian’s mount kicked a small formation plate into the air, runes immediately igniting across its surface as a dark mist began expanding.

Two others drew weapons saturated with Corpse Qi and split left and right, clearly intending to attack from separate angles if Damian focused upon their retreating companions.

As for Brother Hei, the Body Tempering Level 7 leader?

He did what leaders everywhere did when everything went to shit.

He abandoned the plan and tried to survive!

Seven different reactions, seven different methods.

For one brief moment, the treetop transformed into a mess of talismans, movement techniques, weapons, spreading formation light and desperate shouting.

Damian took all of it in through <Divine Sense>, then used his Level 3 Spell Slot, and the prepared spell structure answered almost instantly.

A compressed sphere of violent orange flame formed before his outstretched hand, and despite the absurd amount of power packed inside the spell, the finalized construction only took around 6 points of Mental Energy from him thanks to the Slot’s reduced casting burden combined with his accumulated Mage advantages.

No chant, no lengthy preparation.

Just one very unfortunate decision on the part of everyone standing near that tree.

"Arde!"

The <Fireball> launched.

Brother Hei’s face changed.

"SCATTER!"

Too late.

The condensed sphere struck the great tree where the majority of the seven had been positioned.

BOOOOOOM!

For a moment, the forest became bright as day!

The explosion expanded across a five-meter area with 150% standardized Fire Damage behind it, and the enormous trunk practically detonated from the impact.

Bark became shrapnel, branches shattered, and leaves disappeared inside an expanding sphere of orange flame while the shockwave ripped outward through the surrounding canopy.

Three Nightmare Corpse Sect disciples never even got the opportunity to scream properly.

One moment they existed, and the next, their silhouettes flashed black inside the fire before collapsing into burning ash.

Two others had reacted quickly enough to partially escape the central detonation, but that only changed the manner in which they died.

The flames touched them, and then their bodies full of Corpse Qi reacted.

"AAAAAAAH!"

The first youngster screamed as the dark energy refined throughout his Body Tempering flesh ignited with horrifying enthusiasm.

He rolled across a branch while slapping frantically at himself, but Damian’s magic had already demonstrated its relationship with Corpse Qi several times today.

It loved the stuff.

The fire raced across his body as though somebody had soaked him in lamp oil.

The second disciple made it three steps after landing before orange flame erupted from beneath his robes, consuming him from the inside outward.

Their screams lasted only seconds before a wave of ash followed.

Brother Hei and the narrow-faced fellow were the only two who cleared the effective blast area quickly enough to escape direct immolation.

That did not mean they escaped unharmed as the shockwave caught both.

The narrow-faced cultivator flew sideways and struck a tree hard enough that Damian heard something crack. He collapsed at its roots and immediately coughed a mouthful of blood across his robes.

Brother Hei performed considerably better.

The Body Tempering Level 7 cultivator twisted through the air, struck a branch with one foot and somehow managed to redirect enough momentum to land in a crouch several meters away.

His clothing was scorched, his ears rang, and his face had gone pale... but he was alive!

Then he looked back.

Five companions were gone, while sinister orange flames continued licking across the shattered tree behind Damian, burning through traces of Corpse Qi while black smoke twisted upward.

Brother Hei’s remaining courage evaporated.

Fuck!

Qi Condensation!

There was no other explanation his terrified mind could accept!

What kind of Body Tempering cultivator stood inside seven men’s ambush range and casually threw out an attack like that?!

"Senior, spare my life! This junior was blind and failed to recognize Mount Tai!" Brother Hei screamed as he pulled three defensive talismans from his Storage Bag and activated them all at once.

Three layers of murky protection formed around his body as he turned and ran.

Damian pointed.

"Glacies!"

A pale-blue ray streaked between the trees.

Brother Hei’s defensive talismans managed to weaken the attack, but they were already crude lower-grade products and Damian’s <Frost Ray> had long since reached Journeyman mastery.

The ray punched through the weakened layers and struck his torso as ice erupted across his robes.

"ARGH!"

Brother Hei crashed face-first into the ground.

He tried to rise, but one side of his body had already gone partially numb as supernatural cold spread through flesh and muscle.

Several meters away, the narrow-faced survivor finally pushed himself against the tree.

His eyes met Damian’s, and the fellow who had spent the last several minutes planning to butcher Damian and eat his mount now displayed a very different opinion on violence as he turned to flee as well.

Damian raised one finger.

"Ignis!"

<Firebolt> crossed the distance.

The concentrated projectile struck him between the shoulder blades, blasting him forward as fire spread across his Corpse Qi-infused body.

Another scream, another patch of ash.

And then, only dear Brother Hei remained.

Damian dropped from the branch, his boots striking the forest floor softly.

The Nightmare Corpse Sect disciple heard him approaching and began dragging himself forward with both hands.

"Senior... please! Please spare me! I can leave the Nightmare Corpse Sect! I can tell you where our camp is! I know patrol routes... hidden routes... supplies... anything!"

Damian walked behind him slowly.

This was it, huh?

The first six had died through combat magic, which had the benefit of being quick and distant.

In fact, they had been almost abstract once the spells left his hands.

The current Brother Hei was different.

He was lying directly in front of Damian, sincerely begging for his life, craving just one more moment of life.

This was a young human with prospects ahead of him, evil ones indeed, but good and evil depended on perspective.

Damian’s steps slowed as for the first time since the battle began, the weight he had been anticipating finally arrived.

His hand hovered near the Valorian dagger at his waist, and Brother Hei noticed the hesitation.

Hope flooded his face.

"Senior! I swear upon the heavens! I will never oppose you again! Please, I—"

Damian exhaled slowly, then gave a faint, self-mocking smile.

"Yeah, sorry dude, but I’m not Goku."

Brother Hei’s tear-streaked expression became confused.

"...Who?"

"And I definitely don’t have spare energy for you."

Damian drew the dagger, one step carrying him forward as the blade entered cleanly.

Brother Hei jerked once before Damian withdrew the weapon, and within seconds, the man’s remaining strength disappeared.

Silence gradually returned to the forest.

Damian remained beside the corpse for several seconds, then released a long breath he had not realized he was holding.

"Haaaa..."

How did he feel?

Bad? Yes.

Good? Strangely... also yes.

There was heaviness inside his chest because seven people had been alive a minute ago, and now they were not because Damian Baines had decided they should die.

That mattered.

He did not want to become the kind of person for whom it never mattered.

Every life he took from now onward belonged to his own karma, metaphorical or otherwise.

But beneath that weight was something lighter.

Freedom.

The barrier was gone.

Damian now knew that when the moment came, he could kill another human being.

He could make the decision.

He could act and continue functioning afterward.

Considering the worlds he currently lived in, that was less a moral accomplishment and more a survival requirement.

"Well..."

Damian cleaned the dagger.

"Therapy session complete, I guess."

Then the systems arrived to do what systems did best.

Turn murder into accounting.

............

The Valorian Overworld System came first.

[Valorian Overworld System unavailable within current realm.]

[Beginning compatible Experience simulation...]

[Combat evaluation complete.]

[Solo Engagement Cleared — CR 3+: +1 EXP.]

[First CR 4 Kill: +1 EXP.]

[First CR 2 Kill: +1 EXP.]

[Flawless Battle — No Damage Taken: +1 EXP.]

[Experience Points: 7/66.]

Damian examined the result.

"Four EXP for seven kills?"

That sounded terrible until he remembered how Valoria evaluated experience.

The Overworld System cared about experiences, achievements, firsts, danger, accomplishments and meaningful encounters.

He had entered with 3/66 EXP and walked away with 7/66.

Four points from beating up seven Body Tempering disciples who were, frankly, beneath his real combat capabilities?

Damian would take it.

Then came the system he had been considerably more excited about before today’s morality lesson.

<Skill Upgrade System>.

The seven Nightmare Corpse Sect disciples had been Body Tempering Levels 3, 4, 4, 5, 5, 6 and 7.

And unlike the Valorian Overworld System, this particular monster was beautifully simple.

Level equaled payout.

[Valid Souls detected.]

[Nightmare Corpse Sect Disciple — Body Tempering Level 3 slain.]

[Soul converted: +3 Skill Points.]

[Nightmare Corpse Sect Disciple — Body Tempering Level 4 slain.]

[Soul converted: +4 Skill Points.]

[Nightmare Corpse Sect Disciple — Body Tempering Level 4 slain.]

[Soul converted: +4 Skill Points.]

[Nightmare Corpse Sect Disciple — Body Tempering Level 5 slain.]

[Soul converted: +5 Skill Points.]

[Nightmare Corpse Sect Disciple — Body Tempering Level 5 slain.]

[Soul converted: +5 Skill Points.]

[Nightmare Corpse Sect Disciple — Body Tempering Level 6 slain.]

[Soul converted: +6 Skill Points.]

[Nightmare Corpse Sect Disciple — Body Tempering Level 7 slain.]

[Soul converted: +7 Skill Points.]

[Current Gain: 34 Skill Points.]

Damian’s mood improved considerably.

"Thirty-four?!"

Now that was a payout!

Seven bottom-tier disciples had already given him nearly twice the nineteen Skill Points he earned during that entire first serious Moonveil expedition.

And Willowbank Front had how many Nightmare Corpse Sect disciples rotating through it?

Damian suddenly understood why farming weak enemies had such a respected history in gaming.

Unga bunga indeed!

Of course, his newer Feats were waiting as well.

<Battle God> had actually activated during the fight, although the engagement ended so quickly that its first effect barely had time to stretch its legs.

Damian could now recognize the subtle process in hindsight.

The first successful exchange had generated a faint momentum, and the Fireball killing several enemies strengthened it.

Every successful action made his physical and mental combat state feel slightly more connected, more aggressive and more eager to continue.

Unfortunately for <Battle God>, Damian had apparently brought a Formula One engine to a supermarket parking lot.

Its second effect was more interesting.

Victory had left something behind... Battle Aura!

Damian could feel the faint beginning of an oppressive presence inside himself, created through accumulated victory and killing intent.

It was weak for now, naturally.

Seven low-level cultivators were hardly enough to turn him into some ancient war deity whose glance caused armies to piss themselves.

Still, the foundation existed, and as long as Damian did not suffer a true combat defeat, it would remain.

Then came the third effect.

Every qualifying kill permanently contributed toward increased EXP gained from future kills.

The rate followed the realm/level of the target divided by ten, so the current boost was 3.4%.

Next came <Demonic Plundering Dao Body>.

Damian had been particularly curious about this one.

The Feat responded to the remnants left behind by all seven people he personally killed, including the ash produced by his Fire magic.

He could choose cultivation progress or Attributes, but Damian barely considered the first option.

He could cultivate ridiculously fast already.

Attributes were harder to acquire, especially because Valorian level-ups only handed out a single Free Attribute Point while Shengyuan Body Tempering had just finished giving him its natural physical increases.

"Attributes."

The plundering began.

Seven remnants meant seven compatible Attributes.

The actual Attribute selected from each was random, which immediately prevented Damian from simply vacuuming everyone’s best physical statistic, but considering the Nightmare Corpse Sect’s Body Tempering method seemed heavily focused upon mobility, toughness and corpse-refined flesh, the odds were still favorable.

The first gave him 10% of a DEX value of 12.

+1.2 DEX.

The second contributed 10% of AGI 9.

+0.9 AGI.

The third surrendered 10% of CON 10.

+1 CON.

The fourth gave STR 6.

+0.6 STR.

Damian’s smile had already become somewhat ridiculous.

Then the fifth extraction appeared.

PER 5.

+0.5 PER.

Damian froze.

"...Excuse me?"

Perception was already familiar.

He had discovered PER previously through <Divine Sense>, even though the Attribute remained hidden from his ordinary Character Sheet.

Apparently <Demonic Plundering Dao Body> had absolutely no respect for Valoria’s decision to hide it.

Then came number six.

CHA 4.

+0.4 CHA.

Damian’s eyebrows slowly rose.

"Charisma?!"

It could even take the fucking Charisma stat?!

Then the seventh result arrived and kicked another door down.

LCK 2.

+0.2 LCK.

Damian remained motionless for several seconds.

"...Luck."

Of course it could plunder the Luck Attribute.

Why wouldn’t it?

Damian almost wanted to applaud.

Seven low-level Nightmare Corpse Sect disciples had therefore permanently given him +0.6 STR, +1.2 DEX, +0.9 AGI, +1 CON, +0.5 PER, +0.4 CHA and +0.2 LCK.

The mental Attributes had not appeared this time, which made sense after Damian inspected the broader pattern.

These people were unimpressive there, as most of their INT, WIS and SPI values appeared to sit below six.

Their physical Attributes ranged much more widely, roughly from three to twelve, with DEX, AGI and CON standing out clearly.

That alone taught Damian something valuable about Nightmare Corpse Sect cultivation.

Their Body Tempering foundation was superior to the Evergreen Sutra in raw physical coverage.

The Evergreen Sect’s ordinary foundational method only raised two physical Attributes meaningfully, while the Nightmare Corpse Sect’s corpse-refinement approach seemed to cultivate a much broader emphasis upon speed, dexterity and toughness.

Was it a repulsive cultivation method? Absolutely.

Was it weak though? Apparently not.

Damian flexed his fingers.

His body felt subtly different already.

He was faster, more responsive, and more grounded.

And this had come from seven weaklings!

What would happen when he started killing cultivators with genuinely monstrous Attributes?

His smile slowly became dangerous.

"Oh boy, this Feat is going to get me into trouble."

<Myriad Beast Slayer> naturally did nothing because these were Humans rather than Beasts.

<All Element Heavenly Body> had helped his Fire and Cold magic interact smoothly, but there was no separate reward to calculate.

<Perfect Combat Instinct>, meanwhile, had simply done what it promised throughout the entire engagement, integrating Damian’s perception, thinking and physical responses so naturally that he only appreciated how much easier the entire ambush had felt once everything ended.

Seven people attacked from different angles using talismans, weapons, formations and Martial Arts.

Damian had processed it all without ever losing track of the battlefield.

Honestly?

That Feat might become terrifying once he learned actual Shengyuan combat techniques.

Which brought Damian neatly to his next problem.

He whistled and somewhere farther down the trail, the confused Gale Beakrunner responded and came racing back through the trees.

The creature stopped beside him, gave Damian what he could only interpret as an accusing bird stare and lowered itself enough for him to mount.

"Hey, don’t look at me like that. You’re alive."

The Gale Beakrunner made an unhappy noise.

"Tsk, ungrateful chicken!"

Damian climbed onto the saddle and sent it trotting forward again.

Thirty-four Skill Points.

What should he do with them?

He could Advance his Valorian Spells.

<Fireball> alone had just demonstrated exactly why higher magical firepower deserved respect.

Or perhaps he should stop leaning so heavily upon Valoria and finally learn proper Shengyuan Martial Arts.

His physical Attributes were becoming increasingly absurd for someone at Qi Condensation Level 1, and <Myriad Arts Master> would halve the effort and Skill Point cost involved in acquiring compatible combat disciplines.

Leaving all that physical power without good Martial Arts was like buying an expensive gaming PC and using it exclusively for Microsoft Word.

Then there were Daoist Arts.

Damian had Refined Qi now.

More importantly, he also had mana compatibility and <All Element Heavenly Body> doubling his affinity toward every recognized element.

Surely learning a few proper Qi-based attacks would not hurt.

And then...

The Hundred Arts of Cultivation.

Alchemy, Talismans, Arrays, Artifact Refining, Spirit Planting, etc.

All those cultivation professions he had been casually exploiting from the consumer side without knowing how to perform any of them himself.

With <Supreme Synthesis>, <Myriad Arts Master> and the Dual-Realm Exchange System sitting behind him, learning those professions could become absolutely terrifying.

Damian scratched his chin as the Gale Beakrunner raced deeper into the forest.

Spells?

Martial Arts?

Daoist Arts?

The Hundred Arts?

What choice should he make?

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