"The ending of the story is simply the Young Hero slaying demons and ultimately winning the beauty's heart."

"The story isn't bad," Wang Linchi commented, "but I think it's more likely the Young Hero was eaten, with not a single bone left."

This left the village chief's son somewhat helpless. What kind of storytelling was this? He was about to speak when he suddenly noticed the stone statues seemed to have moved.

"M-Mage, did the statues just move...?" the village chief's son asked, his expression tinged with terror.

Wang Linchi glanced back. He couldn't sense anything. After all, in a game, one must obey the game's rules. Since he wasn't in his physical body, his senses naturally changed according to his character's level. However, the Saint Master hadn't appeared, which indicates there's no danger.

"Based on my observations," Wang Linchi said, peering closely at the statue.

When the others heard this, they relaxed slightly. He's probably going to say they didn't move.

"It definitely moved. This thing is about to come alive," Wang Linchi concluded.

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone grew frightened. Not three seconds after Wang Linchi's conclusion, the stone statue he was near sprang to life, snapping its jaws towards his head.

BANG!

The Saint Master's figure emerged, and with a single punch, the Demon Man was instantly reduced to a mangled heap of flesh. Just before it died, Wang Linchi saw the name for this type of Demon Man in God-given World: [Demonized Corpse ???]. Its level was too high, so he couldn't see any other data.

"Oh, right. These creatures aren't actually Demon Men; they're technically corpses. We could call them Demon Corpses," Wang Linchi said, turning back with interest to correct the village chief's son's classification, unbothered by the other Demon Corpses activating behind him.

Truthfully, he wasn't particularly afraid of these Demon Corpses. The Saint Master was imbued with numerous special attacks effective against demonized enemies, as well as self-buffs. Before the Saint Master, each Demon Corpse fell to a single punch; they didn't stand a chance.

The people who had followed Wang Linchi down were terrified, especially when the Saint Master appeared from Wang Linchi's body; they thought they had encountered a monster.

"Mage, what... what was that thing you summoned earlier?" the village chief's son stammered.

"That's called a Guardian Deity. See? Dragon head, human body—a genuine Fire... Deity." Wang Linchi had almost blurted out "Fire Demon." He had copied it so precisely; it was almost an exact match.

After the Saint Master obliterated the last Demon Corpse, it spewed flames to disinfect the area, preventing any from rising again. A putrid stench erupted from the flames, causing everyone to retch. Wang Linchi, however, wasn't affected; he had turned off his olfactory system. Players not only lacked a sense of pain but could also disable senses like taste and smell in the System settings; only vision was unavoidable. Therefore, he didn't smell a thing.

After five continuous minutes of burning, the corpse pieces were charred like coal. The Saint Master finally stopped, its form gradually fading away, ready to reappear if Wang Linchi faced danger again. That's how a stand-in works, after all.

"Let's go," Wang Linchi said, pulling the village chief's son forward. "We've only just reached the entrance and already encountered this. There are more exciting things ahead."

Seeing this, the others could only steel themselves and follow Wang Linchi. They held torches, so visibility wasn't a major concern, though the torchlight was limited. As for flashlights, it was best not to think about them; they didn't fit the setting's style. God-given World had no technological settings, so there was no place for flashlights to drop as loot. However, rumor had it that some top Players were already starting from scratch to build a tech tree by hand; perhaps gunfights would even be seen in the future.

"This door is massive; we can't push it open. Mage, perhaps your Guardian Deity could come out and help?"

After about ten more minutes, they reached the end of the passage, where a giant bronze door blocked their way. The two massive Ghost Head Door Rings on it quivered occasionally.

"Don't be ridiculous. My Guardian Deity is as weak as a kitten; how could it possibly push open this door?" Wang Linchi said, looking at the Ghost Head Door Rings. These things are alive. If we want to enter, we certainly can't use brute force. There must be another way. Unless the Mage who suppressed the Evil Demon back then was Gandalf in disguise, it's impossible to break this bronze door.

"Wake up, wake up! Stop sleeping!" Wang Linchi called out.

The two Ghost Head Door Rings sleepily opened their eyes. The one on the right asked, "Who goes there?"

"I am Yan Ming King! I don't change my name or hide my identity!" Wang Linchi declared. Go ahead, try to find Yan Ming King in the next world over—the one that's already exploded!

The Ghost Head Door Ring on the left was taken aback. "That's quite an arrogant name you've got."

"Average, just average," Wang Linchi said modestly. "We want to get in. Can you open the door?"

"Alright. Give us ten people, and we'll open the door for you," the right Ghost Head Door Ring proposed.

"Ten is a bit much. Let's discuss it," Wang Linchi said, figuring there was room to bargain.

"Eight, then?" the left Ghost Head Door Ring offered, lowering the price.

"No, what I mean is, let's compromise. You open the door, I don't give you any people, and you don't ask me for any," Wang Linchi said, clearly intending to get it for free. If others tried to freeload off him, he'd hold a grudge. But when he was the one freeloading, it was perfectly natural—Natural Treasures belong to the virtuous, after all!

"Wait a minute, isn't something wrong here?" the right Ghost Head Door Ring quickly realized.

"You dare trick us! Originally, we would have opened the door for just ten people. Now, none of you are leaving!" the left Ghost Head Door Ring shrieked, slithering off the door like a snake. The right Ghost Head Door Ring naturally did the same, lunging towards Wang Linchi and the others. They looked intent on devouring them one by one.

CRACK!

They hadn't even been posturing for two minutes before the Saint Master grabbed one in its left hand and the other in its right.

"Ow, ow, ow! Let go!" the right Ghost Head Door Ring, grabbed by the neck, cried out in pain. The left one wasn't so lucky; its entire face was crushed in the Saint Master's grip, rendering it unable to even scream.

"Pull hard. Today, I want to see just how long you two can stretch," Wang Linchi sneered. How dare these two nobodies mess with my cannon fodder? If I sacrificed ten cannon fodder right at the start, what would I do when we encounter stronger enemies later?

"Wait! We'll open the door! We'll open it for you!" the right Ghost Head Door Ring quickly conceded.

"Oh no, you don't. Show some backbone. As the saying goes, 'The unyielding cannot be bent by force.' I want to see just how tough your spine is today," Wang Linchi said, having already decided to turn these two into Experience points. He had previously killed a wave of level 15 Demon Corpses, and the abundant Experience had shot him straight to level 10. However, leveling from 10 to 11 required one hundred thousand Experience points, so he had to count on these two. Besides, I'll have to come back this way. If I'm being chased then, and these two cause trouble and prevent my escape, that would be disastrous. To prevent that, I have to eliminate this potential threat first.

SQUEAK...

As they seemed to be stretched to their limit, Wang Linchi heard the bronze door creak.

"Aaaah! We're dying, we're dying!" the Ghost Head Door Rings shrieked in agony.

This piqued Wang Linchi's curiosity. Normally, these Ghost Head Door Rings are Demonized Creatures; logically, they shouldn't be this emotional.

"You're not dead yet, so what's all the howling about?" Wang Linchi mused. Demonized Creatures these days really can't take any hardship or endure any pain. How am I supposed to get any work done like this?

The Saint Master exerted more force, and the points where the two door rings connected to the bronze door ripped away. Two large, dark holes now marred the bronze door. A crimson liquid oozed from the openings, snaking its way into the dirt below. Then, the entire bronze door began to turn a grayish-white color. As for the two Ghost Head Door Rings, the Saint Master had crushed them to death.

Not bad, Wang Linchi thought, glancing at the Experience he had gained. It was about what he expected. He then turned his attention to the bronze door, reaching out to examine it, his expression growing serious.

"Mage, have you discovered something?" the village chief's son asked, approaching hesitantly, his gaze fixed in horror on the ten-meter-long, stretched bodies of the Ghost Head Door Rings.

"A small discovery. This thing's material has changed."

"But it's not necessarily bad news. At least it confirms the door is truly 'dead.' We don't have to worry about it giving us trouble when we return."

The bronze door, originally bronze, had now turned into rigid, dead flesh. The transformation is likely related to the deaths of the two Ghost Head Door Rings.