The undead have descended upon the world? I possess a sword that can cleave the heavens once more!

It was already past 11 a.m. when I came out of the investigation bureau.

The sun was high overhead, making people feel a little dizzy. It was the weekend, and Mr. and Mrs. Wu were working at the factory. Since no one was home to cook, he had to eat out.

Actually, the Investigation Bureau has a canteen. Lin Yuan mentioned it earlier, saying the food was good and he could try it. However, his identification and work badge weren't ready yet, so he couldn't swipe his card. Lin Yuan also had a mission to take, so he didn't stay there.

I randomly picked a noodle shop and went inside.

The shop is small, with five or six tables and a menu on the wall. It was quite crowded at this time of the weekend, with four or five tables already full of customers, all engrossed in their food.

Wu You found an empty seat at the back, leaned his sword against the side, and ordered a bowl of pickled mustard greens and shredded pork noodles.

While waiting for the noodles, he took out his pure black work phone from his pocket.

The screen was clean, with only a few basic applications. He found the icon called "Survey" and clicked on it.

Enter your username and password on the login screen.

Click to log in.

The page redirects, and a simple interface pops up: there are three modules in total—an important event notification section, a forum sharing section, and a personal information section.

Wu You first opened the important event notification section.

Several bold red headlines appeared on the screen, the font of which was very eye-catching.

He slid down and suddenly stopped.

"Progress on the Establishment of Military Science Subjects in Local College Entrance Examinations by Various Investigation Bureau Branches"

College Entrance Examination? Military Science Examination?

Wu You was stunned for a moment.

He is currently a senior high school student, and there are only two months left until the college entrance examination.

But he never expected that martial arts courses would be offered now.

He clicked on it.

The text was very long, densely packed with words. He quickly scanned it and picked out the key points.

"Given the increasingly serious erosion of the world by the Dark Domain, cultivating more and stronger ability users has become an important task for the Investigation Bureau."

"Currently, the Dongling Research Institute has improved the third edition of the basic martial arts tutorial, proving that it is entirely feasible to increase the probability of awakening abilities among ordinary people through martial arts practice..."

"After deliberation by the General Administration, it has been decided that the pilot program for military science subjects in the college entrance examination will be gradually implemented nationwide, effective immediately..."

The notice was signed by the General Bureau of the Anomaly Investigation Department of the Eastern Spirit Kingdom.

As Wu You looked at the row of bright red seals, some things he hadn't paid attention to before suddenly flashed through his mind.

No wonder martial arts have gradually become popular since a few years ago, and no wonder more and more martial arts schools are opening up everywhere, and martial arts leagues are being held in great numbers.

He used to think it was just a cultural feature of this world, but now he realizes—

It turns out that practicing martial arts really is useful.

Not only can one become an entry-level martial artist, but one can also increase the probability of awakening into an ability user.

Furthermore, the notice also revealed another piece of information: martial artists and ability users are not completely separate; a person can be both a martial artist and an ability user.

Wu You thoughtfully exited the notification and switched to the forum sharing section.

As soon as I entered, my view was filled with a dense array of posts.

"Dark Realm Mining: Recruiting two teammates, strength level 3 or above required."

Online guidance on ice-based ability training. My skill level is 5th tier. The fee is 500 contribution points per hour. High quality, affordable, and honest service.

"Wanted: Fourth-tier tiger-like corpse species. Characteristics: one of its three tails severed, right eye blind. Originally appeared in Nanyun City, Yunshang Province, current whereabouts unknown."

……

He was about to click in to take a look when he suddenly noticed a pinned post at the top of the forum, marked in a bright red.

"A Must-Read for Beginners: The Dark Realm and Corpse Species, Martial Artists and Ability Users"

Wu You immediately clicked on it.

The post was very long, and he read it line by line.

The origin of the Dark Realm...

The origin of the Corpse Seed...

The relationship between the Dark Realm and the present world...

The racial classification of corpses...

The existence of martial artists...

The appearance of ability users...

He was so engrossed in watching that he didn't even notice when the noodles were served. His chopsticks were left on the edge of the bowl, but he didn't touch them, his eyes glued to the screen.

A dozen minutes later, he let out a long sigh, put down his phone, picked up his chopsticks again, and took a bite of noodles.

The noodles were already a bit soggy, but he didn't care. He chewed while organizing the information he had just seen in his mind.

In summary, there are a few points.

First, the space filled with black mist is called the Dark Domain. The Dark Domain did not exist since ancient times, but appeared suddenly a few decades ago. The appearance of the Corpse Seed coincides with the appearance of the Dark Domain.

Secondly, the origin of the Dark Domain remains unclear. However, based on various sources, it is inferred that the Dark Domain is located at the intersection of the Corpse World and the Human World, symbolizing the Corpse World's encroachment on the Human World, and that this encroachment is still expanding.

Third, the Dark Realm is the home ground of the Corpse Species. All types of Corpse Species are enhanced in the Dark Realm, making them more difficult to deal with. However, the Dark Realm also contains various magical resources—items that can help ability users improve their strength and combat power.

Fourth, the Corpse Species are clearly creatures from another world. They possess extremely strong vitality and can enhance themselves by devouring flesh and blood or absorbing negative emotions. The stronger the Corpse Species, the more nutrients it needs.

Fifth, the corpses are divided into different races. Within the same race, there is a strict hierarchy, with lower-ranking corpses absolutely obeying higher-ranking corpses. And the origin of each race is called "God" (this is questionable).

When Wu You saw the word "god", his heart skipped a beat.

Sixth, martial artists have existed since ancient times. Ordinary people can become advanced martial artists by cultivating their qi and blood martial arts. However, the upper limit of martial artists is not high. The highest level, Dan Jin, is only equivalent to a newly entered third-tier ability user.

Seventh, unlike martial artists, even the earliest ability users appeared after the Dark Domain appeared, and the origin of ability users may be related to the Dark Domain.

Eighth, anyone can potentially awaken into an ability user, but the probability is extremely low. Currently, only martial arts training has been discovered as a harmless way to increase the probability of awakening—which is the fundamental reason why martial arts have suddenly become popular in recent years.

Wu You pondered for a moment, then took two more sips of noodle soup.

Many things I couldn't understand before now make sense.

Martial artists, ability users, dark domains, corpse species—these things are not isolated, but interconnected.

He put down the bowl, picked up his phone again, and tapped the last tab.

Personal information section.

The content is not much, but it is very clear.

Job rank, task records, and individual contribution points.

Finally, there's one more item: basic information maintenance, which requires you to fill in your own skill types, areas of expertise, and so on.

Wu You looked at it for a while, then put away his phone.

The noodles were completely cold, but he didn't mind.

He chewed the soggy noodles as he pondered.

Each level of ability user is divided into four grades: A, B, C, and D. Grade A is the highest, meaning that one is about to break through to the next level, while Grade D is the lowest, representing the initial entry into this level.

The upper limit for a martial artist is the initial stage of the third rank, which is the third rank Ding level. However, he had already reached the third rank Yi level without using his full strength. This means that, in terms of rank alone, he has already exceeded the highest level that a martial artist can reach.

However, martial artists cultivate qi and blood martial arts, while he cultivates the sword techniques provided by the sword manual; they are not the same thing.

The specifics of Qi and Blood Martial Arts can only be understood after experiencing it firsthand.

And how powerful must that "god" of the corpse species be?

He shook his head, trying to clear his mind of those chaotic thoughts.

Just as Wu You was about to get up, something suddenly occurred to him.

He took out his personal phone, opened the Baiyu Martial Arts Academy's official WeChat account, and looked through today's class schedule.

I quickly found a line of text: "Swordsmanship introductory class, Sunday afternoon 2:30-4:30."

He glanced at the time; it was 12:40.

Everything was fine by the afternoon.

Moreover, since I haven't had time to find a private place to practice the Phantom Flowing Cloud Sword Technique yet, I might as well go and listen to a swordsmanship experience class to see what the martial arts and swordsmanship of this world are really like.

After paying by scanning the QR code, he stood up, picked up the long cloth bag, and walked out.

He stopped abruptly at the door.

"My four thousand jade coins!"

Wu You slapped his forehead.