Set a goal, and the system takes over the body.

【Hundred Battles Blade (Perfect)】

[Obtained Dao Fruit: Battle Intent (Rank 9)]

[Battle Spirit (Rank 9): Fearless in the face of enemies, high battle spirit can resist a certain degree of pressure and ensure that strength can be exerted to its full potential.]

"Battle will, huh? It can resist pressure and boost combat power. Not bad."

Qi Xiuyuan nodded secretly.

Don't be fooled by the fact that it only increases the strength by 20%; the most practical benefit is its ability to withstand pressure.

When martial artists clash, if the difference in their cultivation levels is too great, the sheer force of their aura can overwhelm the opponent, making it difficult for them to breathe. A martial artist of a lower cultivation level is lucky if they can even muster five or six tenths of their abilities.

With this Dao Fruit as a safety net, when encountering opponents much stronger than oneself, one can at least guarantee that one's strength will not be greatly reduced, or even perform exceptionally well.

Qi Xiuyuan propped himself up on the ground and sat up, taking a long time to recover before he could stand up.

He went to the well, fetched a bucket of cold water, took a cold shower, changed into a clean set of clothes, and headed straight to the kitchen, his stomach already growling with hunger.

Having not eaten for over a day, he wolfed down several large bowls of food before he finally recovered.

on the way back.

Qu Jiuge and Qu Yuanyuan saw him from afar and quickly came to greet him.

"Senior Brother, you've finally finished your cultivation."

Qi Xiuyuan nodded.

"By the way, have you seen my second uncle?"

Qu Jiuge quickly replied, "Reporting to Senior Brother, two hours ago, officials came to deliver an order that Second Master, along with the other senior brothers and sisters, went to Black Wind Stronghold to suppress bandits."

Qi Xiuyuan frowned: "They left two hours ago? Are they planning a night raid?!"

He didn't have time to ask any more questions. He turned around and rushed back to the side courtyard, rummaged through the clothes and bronze mask he had prepared beforehand, and ran to the stable in the backyard. But the stable was empty; all the horses had been taken away by Qi Wence.

Without delay, he ran out of the martial arts school, rented a fast horse from the horse shop at the street corner, and headed towards Black Wind Village.

When he arrived at the foot of Black Wind Village, the moonlight revealed a scene of utter devastation.

More than a dozen corpses lay scattered on the roadside.

There were government soldiers, martial arts students, and bandits. The blood on their bodies had not yet dried completely, and the air was filled with the smell of blood. The traces of the fight stretched all the way up the mountain.

"Fortunately, the Heavenly Punishment Division often cleans up demons in this area; otherwise, such a strong smell of blood would have attracted demons long ago."

Qi Xiuyuan led the horse into the woods and tied it up. He quickly changed his clothes, put on the bronze mask, and used his movement technique to silently dart up the mountain.

Inside Black Wind Stronghold, a fierce battle had already broken out.

Shouts of battle, the clash of weapons, and screams mingled together. Most of the fence had collapsed, and several wooden houses were still burning, billowing thick smoke.

Qi Xiuyuan didn't go up to join the fun; instead, he chose to take secluded paths and quickly made his way to the core area of ​​the mountain stronghold.

"That's Qin Heilong?"

He hid behind a boulder, watching the battlefield in the mountain stronghold.

In the firelight, Qin Heilong, wielding a long sword, moved like a dragon emerging from the sea. The wind howled as he cleaved through the waves, his imposing presence unstoppable. More than a dozen soldiers lay dead on the ground.

Moreover, his figure moved constantly through the crowd, displaying remarkable agility.

"Such superb swordsmanship! It surpasses the Hundred Battles Blade technique by far!"

Qi Xiuyuan murmured to himself.

Before long, Qin Heilong was still surrounded and held back by four experts at the Minggu Realm.

Although Qin Heilong's movements were extremely skillful, soldiers on the periphery were constantly firing out hunting nets through special nozzles.

This greatly limited Qin Heilong.

The third leader, Guan Bao, was also injured, with a deep wound on his arm that exposed bone, and he was fighting and retreating.

"The one leading the swordsman should be Huang Jing, the Swift Sword of the Gentle Breeze. His swordsmanship is indeed fast, every move is aimed at vital points, and he also has an indescribable aura. No wonder he comes from a major sect."

Qi Xiuyuan silently commented, then became somewhat puzzled.

"But why is he wearing a mask when he's perfectly fine?"

The Qingcheng Sect is a prestigious and righteous sect in Yizhou. When its disciples go down the mountain to carry out their duties and kill bandits, they actually hide their true identities and dare not show their faces.

Forget it.

This matter had nothing to do with him, and he couldn't be bothered to investigate it further.

His eyes darted around.

Qi Xiuyuan saw his second uncle Qi Wence's figure, and also noticed Xu Yi and the others.

The disciples of Qingshan Martial Arts School all followed closely behind Qi Wence.

Qi Wence deliberately suppressed his cultivation level to the peak of Inner Strength.

In this way, he wouldn't have to face Qin Heilong and would have no rivals in Black Wind Stronghold.

"Set a goal: find the opportunity within Black Wind Stronghold!"

[Target detected: Seeking opportunities]

[Method 1: Stealthily walk 100 feet to the left, then turn right and walk 100 feet. There is a two-story wooden building to your left. There is a hidden compartment by the bed on the second floor, which contains the key to the treasure vault. Take the key to the back mountain to open the treasure vault door.]

[Method 2: Continue to lie in wait. At 4:45 AM, you can encounter Guan Bao at the rocky cliff on the east side of the mountain stronghold behind the mountain. Killing him will allow you to seize his opportunity.]

Please select a method to complete the objective.

Qi Xiuyuan glanced at it.

These two opportunities don't conflict. You can take the treasure vault first, then hunt down Guan Bao, without delaying either one.

Choose Method One!

[The system has taken over the body and is now seeking opportunities!]

As soon as he relinquished control of his body, Qi Xiuyuan immediately moved.

When he used the Five Animal Movements to its fullest extent, his steps were as light as a deer's. He darted along the walls and through the shadows, and hardly anyone noticed him on the chaotic battlefield.

"Damn it, go to hell!"

Suddenly, a wounded bandit leaped out from behind the broken wall beside them, brandishing a blood-stained ghost-head knife and slashing fiercely at Qi Xiuyuan.

Qi Xiuyuan calmly turned to the side, avoiding the blade, and at the same time, his right hand shot out, striking the bandit's throat with a strange and cunning ape-like technique.

It touched and withdrew immediately, without pausing, and continued to skim forward.

The bandit stood frozen in place, making a hoarse sound in his throat. He stood there for only a moment before collapsing straight down, dying instantly.

Along the way, Qi Xiuyuan also took care of several lone bandits, killing them all with a single blow without making a sound.

He quickly and successfully infiltrated the two-story wooden building.

It was pitch black inside, but Qi Xiuyuan's body seemed to know the location of the hidden compartment beforehand. He didn't need to search at all. He reached out and pressed on the third wooden board at the head of the bed. With a click of the mechanism, the hidden compartment popped open.

Inside lay two secret manuals and an antique-looking copper key.

"Swift Shadows"!

The Blade of Destruction!

"This Wave-Breaking Blade must be the sword technique Qin Heilong used, and this Swift Wind and Shadowy Shadow is the movement technique Qin Heilong used. Now they are all mine."

Qi Xiuyuan was overjoyed.

Grabbing the key and the manual, his body automatically flipped out of the back window, stepped onto the roof, and sped straight towards the back mountain.

As he approached a secluded stone house built against the mountainside, he suddenly slowed down, changed direction, and went around it via the steep slope on the side.

At the entrance of the stone house, a campfire was burning, and four mountain bandits with knives were guarding it, each exuding a calm and collected aura.

One of them possessed a restrained aura, clearly indicating that he was at the Inner Strength Realm.

The four of them were scanning their surroundings warily.

Without the slightest hesitation, Qi Xiuyuan leaped from the high ground and landed swiftly like a bird swooping down to catch its prey.

"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!"

Almost instantly, he unleashed four strikes.

The four bandits didn't even have time to react; their bodies stiffened, and they collapsed to the ground.

The Hundred Battles Blade is devoid of any frills, yet it kills instantly with a single strike.

Qi Xiuyuan took out the key, easily inserted it into the lock of the stone house door, and turned it.

"Click!"

The lock springs open, and the door swung open with a click.