Starting with a blind date with a female constable, you acquire the Nine Swords of Dugu.

In the forest clearing.

Gu Guanqi and Fang Cunxin stood back to back, their eyes scanning the surrounding dense forest warily.

After a moment of silence, there was finally some movement in the woods.

The leaves rustled as a dozen figures emerged from behind the trees and bushes, silently surrounding the two.

These people each held weapons in their hands—knives, swords, guns, whips—the weapons gleaming coldly in the afternoon sun.

A dozen or so people spread out in a fan shape, completely surrounding Gu Guanqi and Fang Cunxin.

Fang Cunxin glanced at them and whispered, "They're all skilled fighters, with steady auras. They're not ordinary petty thieves."

Gu Guanqi nodded slightly.

These people are indeed extraordinary. Each of them possesses an aura no weaker than that of the fat Taoist priest from before, and some are even stronger.

"superior."

The leader gave a low shout and made the first move.

He wielded a thick-backed single-edged sword, his movements fierce and powerful, aimed straight at the heart and face.

Almost simultaneously, the others moved, swords flashing and blades flashing, surging towards the two from all directions.

Gu Guanqi advanced instead of retreating, drawing his Autumn Water Sword, its light flashing like a bolt of lightning across the sky.

His footwork was nimble, his figure weaving through the crowd, his swordplay concise yet deadly. With each strike, someone would lose their weapon, either by being struck in the wrist or stabbed in the shoulder.

But Gu Guanqi did not kill him.

The sword tip sliced ​​through, severing tendons in the hands and feet, but not vital organs.

In a short while, four or five people collapsed to the ground, their limbs weak and unable to grip their weapons, letting out suppressed screams.

The marksmanship of a small-minded person is a different kind of phenomenon.

The spear moved with effortless grace in her hands, its tip flicking and darting about, thrusting, sweeping, parrying, and smashing with tremendous force. With a sweeping motion, two enemies were sent flying, crashing into tree trunks and spitting blood; with a thrust, the spear tip pierced a man's chest, pinning him to the ground.

She wasn't as skilled as Gu Guanqi in swordsmanship, able to precisely control her attacks to leave no survivors, so naturally every move she made was aimed at a fatal blow.

The two worked in perfect harmony, their swords flashing and spears clashing as they charged left and right amidst the attacks of more than a dozen men.

In just a short while, all of the dozen or so enemies had fallen to the ground.

Fang Cunxin killed four or five people, Gu Guanqi killed four or five people, and left six survivors.

All six survivors had their tendons severed, and their cries of agony echoed throughout the room.

Gu Guanqi lightly flicked the blood off his sword and said, "Six people were left alive, that should be enough. We should be able to extract some information from them."

Fang Cunxin nodded and exclaimed, "Brother Gu, your martial arts are truly superb. I can only try my best to win, but I can't just kill or spare prisoners at will!"

Gu Guanqi smiled slightly but did not reply.

Instead, they turned their gaze to the depths of the dense forest.

He sensed two breathing sounds there, which remained unchanged from beginning to end, steady and long, with extremely long intervals between breaths, clearly indicating extremely profound internal strength.

"You two who were hiding in the woods watching the commotion," Gu Guanqi's voice wasn't loud, but it carried clearly into the depths of the dense forest, "it's time to come out."

The forest was quiet for a moment.

Then, applause broke out.

"Clap clap clap—"

One, two, three, neither too fast nor too slow.

Two figures slowly emerged from the dense forest.

It was Miss Chang and Yan Jingchen.

Miss Chang walked with a relaxed and leisurely posture, her gaze fixed on Gu Guanqi with a cold scrutiny.

The two walked slowly to the edge of the open space and stood there.

Miss Chang's gaze swept over Gu Guanqi, then looked at her wailing subordinates on the ground, and finally landed on Gu Guanqi's face, the corners of her mouth curving slightly upwards.

"Gu Guanqi, your swordsmanship is quite good." Her voice was clear and cold, carrying a condescending tone. "You are qualified to work under my young master."

Gu Guanqi raised an eyebrow and asked, "And who is your young master?"

Miss Chang stood with her hands behind her back, her tone full of pride: "Ji Xianyun, the Holy Son of the Heavenly Saint Sect and one of the Three Wonders!"

Gu Guanqi was slightly taken aback, then tilted his head and asked, "Cunxin, who is this?"

Fang Cunxin quickly explained, "A very powerful master. There is a mysterious organization in the martial arts world called Tianji Pavilion that is always stirring up trouble. In recent years, they have created some martial arts rankings and ranked many martial arts practitioners. They dare to rank any kind of person except for the Grandmaster ranking."

One of the more attention-grabbing lists is the Qilin Ranking, which lists seventy-two young masters under the age of thirty, all of whom are said to have the potential to become martial arts grandmasters. Ji Xianyun, the Holy Son of the Heavenly Demon Sect, is one of them. However, I don't remember his exact ranking, but I recall he was quite high up, known in the martial arts world as the "Three Perfections Gentleman": unparalleled in playing the zither, calligraphy, and swordsmanship!

Gu Guanqi suddenly realized, "Very impressive."

"Yes, that's amazing!" Fang Cunxin said.

Miss Chang said, "Now that you know who my young master is, come with me. This is an incredible opportunity for you!"

Gu Guanqi frowned and said, "Are you alright?"

"You ungrateful wretch!" Miss Chang's voice suddenly turned cold, a hint of murderous intent flashing in her eyes. "It seems you're going to have to suffer the consequences!"

She turned to Yan Jingchen beside her and said coldly, "Sect Leader Yan, leave Gu Guanqi to me. I'll take him to see the Holy Son for a decision now. As for Fang Cunxin, I'll leave her to you."

Yan Jingchen bowed slightly and cupped his hands, saying, "Alright, Miss Chang."

Immediately, two short swords slid out of Miss Chang's sleeve. The swords were slender and silver-white, gleaming coldly in the sunlight. Holding the two swords, she pointed at Gu Guanqi and said, "You don't know the rules. Today I'll teach you the rules first, and then I'll take you to see the Holy Son."

At this moment, Fang Cunxin's expression turned serious, and she said in a low voice, "Brother Gu, be careful. That woman is probably not simple. If I'm not mistaken, the man next to her should be Yan Jingchen, the leader of the Tian Shu branch of the Heavenly Demon Sect. He's a ruthless man, and his martial arts are no less than my father's. He's so respectful in front of that woman. This woman is definitely extraordinary!"

in fact,

Even without Fang Cunxin's reminder, Gu Guanqi was very wary of that woman.

After all, he had just demonstrated his martial arts skills.

Yet this woman still dares to be so arrogant; her martial arts skills must be extremely high, and she should not be underestimated.

at this time,

The woman, wielding two swords, charged towards Gu Guanqi.

Her lightness skill was extremely ethereal and exquisite, full of beauty. When she attacked with two swords, it didn't seem like she was killing, but rather like she was dancing, and there was no sign of killing intent.

However, Gu Guanqi dared not be careless.

That woman must be extremely skilled in martial arts!

The Autumn Water Sword was drawn, directly unleashing the Nine Swords of Dugu, the Sword-Breaking Style.

Then, with a single stroke,

The sword tip instantly sliced ​​through Miss Chang's neck.

"puff--"

A thin line of blood appeared on her neck.

Miss Chang's body stiffened abruptly, and the two swords in her hands clattered to the ground. Her eyes widened, and then her body went limp, causing her to fall forward and collapse to the ground, motionless.

Fresh blood slowly flowed from her neck, spreading a small dark red patch on the ground.

Gu Guanqi stood with his sword in hand, but he did not let his guard down.

He looked at the corpse on the ground, his brows furrowing slightly.

"Killed him so easily? Something's not right?"

"Could it be a fake death? What kind of amazing move is he planning?"

Gu Guanqi quickly retreated away, then raised his hand as he retreated, flicking his left finger.

A steel ball shot out from her fingertip, heading straight for Miss Chang's head.

"puff--"

A steel ball pierced the brain, and blood splattered everywhere. The body showed no reaction.

Gu Guanqi flicked out another steel ball, this time hitting the vest.

"puff--"

The steel ball pierced through his chest, but there was still no reaction.

He was already dead, completely gone.

Gu Guanqi sheathed his Autumn Water Sword and looked at the corpse on the ground, his face full of doubt.

"He's really dead!"