Hundred Battles Saber Technique? Tch, Trash~

A gang of bandits howled as they charged forward, disappearing into the mountain forest before long.

But the moment they entered the woods, they sensed something was wrong. The fog in the mountains was thick, limiting visibility to less than thirty feet.

On top of that, the ground was littered with jagged rocks, mud, and weeds, making every step difficult.

Finding someone in a place like this was no easy task.

Behind a large boulder, Shangguan Xiyun barely dared to breathe as she listened carefully to the sounds behind her.

She had already prepared herself to die, but the treacherous terrain of this forest had exceeded her expectations. Perhaps it could truly give her a chance.

Just as she was thinking that, Shangguan Xiyun suddenly sensed something wrong. A chill shot up her spine.

When she turned her head, she saw a disheveled, filthy face appear at her side at some unknown moment. Between the tangled strands of hair, she could vaguely make out a pair of gloomy eyes.

Almost instantly, Shangguan Xiyun clamped a hand over her mouth, not daring to make the slightest sound.

Seeing this, Li Yan let out a sinister cackle. The next moment, he vanished from before Shangguan Xiyun.

Shangguan Xiyun cautiously poked her head out to look, but beneath the thin mist, there was no trace of that monster from before.

"Damn it, what is going on with this place? Why is it so hard to walk through?"

"Hurry up. Don't let her get away."

"Run? Once I catch that little bitch, I'll make her taste my stick!"

"Hehe, your little earthworm?"

"You..."

Pfft!

Before he could finish, the man felt a sharp pain in his throat. The words he wanted to say lodged in his windpipe, but he no longer had the chance to utter them.

"Shh~ Don't talk. Feeling dizzy is normal."

Whispering softly into the bandit's ear, Li Yan slowly pulled out his pickaxe. Blood rapidly drained away, and the bandit lost his breath in the blink of an eye.

As the corpse fell, specks of Attribute Points dropped to the ground.

Strength +0.2

Speed +0.4

Constitution +0.3

Experience Points +18

The Attribute Points dropped by those in the Body Tempering Realm were pitifully few, but the upside was that their strength was low, so dealing with them was no trouble.

Still, when little amounts accumulated into much, it was quite considerable. Quantitative change led to qualitative change, after all.

Looking at the bandits stumbling through the mist like headless flies, Li Yan saw them all as glittering points.

Li Yan crouched down and crept toward the nearest man again. The long pickaxe in his hand swung, a spray of blood burst forth, and more points dropped.

"Strange. Why does this place feel so chilly? Do you guys feel like something's wrong?"

One bandit spoke up, and someone nearby echoed him. "It does feel a little off. I keep feeling like there are fewer of us... Brothers, visibility is poor around here. Have any of you noticed anything?"

Yet only a scant few voices answered from the surroundings.

Just then, a cry of alarm rang out. "Ah! Ma San?!"

"What happened? What happened to Ma San?!"

"Seventh Brother, Ma San is dead. Someone punched a bloody hole through his neck, and his saber is gone too."

"What?!"

Seventh Brother cried out in alarm, his gaze immediately sweeping the surroundings again and again.

Within the fog, Li Yan listened to their voices, a cold smile curling across his lips.

Why bother? Why did they have to discover the corpse?

They could have died without a sound. But now they could not. Now, he had to speed things up!

The next instant, Li Yan sprang out. The twin pickaxes in his hands crossed past each other, tearing open more than half of one man's neck. Only the skin at the back of his neck remained, leaving his head dangling from his spine.

The bizarre sight made the surrounding bandits tremble from head to toe in terror.

"There's a ghost! A ghost!"

"Bastard, where would a ghost come from? That woman must have an accomplice! Brothers, gather together! Let's get out first!"

But the moment those words fell, a scream rang out. A pickaxe had sunk into a bandit's shoulder, and an enormous force dragged him straight into the dense fog.

Hearing that scream, the bandits panicked. They held up their weapons and looked around in every direction, not daring to move for a long while.

Seventh Brother looked around once and, after confirming that there was nothing there, quietly crouched down and began retreating along the path they had come from.

Yet Seventh Brother did not know that he had just taken a stroll before the gates of hell.

Because less than fifteen feet from his feet, Li Yan already had his pickaxe raised.

Originally, Li Yan had planned to leave this fellow here. But considering that there were still people behind these men, letting him leave should bring back even more prey.

Thinking of the additional Experience Points and Attribute Points, Li Yan naturally spared Seventh Brother. But while Seventh Brother had been spared, the others were not so fortunate!

The screams continued without end. Before long, every bandit on the mountain was lying flat on the ground.

At this moment, Shangguan Xiyun, hidden behind a tree, was trembling all over. The terrifying disheveled figure from before filled her mind, while waves of screams rose and fell in her ears. The fact that she could still remain calm showed just how strong her nerves were.

But the next moment, Shangguan Xiyun felt that spine-chilling sensation again. Turning her head, she saw that same face once more!

"Ah!!"

This time, Shangguan Xiyun could not hold it together. As her scream rang out, she fell to the ground.

Seeing this, Li Yan slowly crouched down, gently brushed aside his hair, and said with a cold smile, "So this is how you treat your lifesaver?"

"Y-you're alive?"

"If I were a ghost, you would have been the first to die."

After exchanging a few words, Shangguan Xiyun finally recovered somewhat. She struggled to her feet before saying, "Um... thank you, hero, for stepping in so righteously."

"You're welcome."

"No, that will not do. If not for your help, I fear I would have fallen into those people's hands already. Please accept Shangguan—"

"Those people will not let this go. More will be coming soon. Look after yourself."

Before Shangguan Xiyun could finish, Li Yan slung his pickaxe over one shoulder, held the simple saber he had just seized in the other hand, and turned to leave.

"Wait!"

Shangguan Xiyun grabbed Li Yan's sleeve. When she saw him turn back, she seemed to realize something and gasped before hurriedly releasing him. Timidly, she said, "Um, I am Shangguan Xiyun, the third young miss of the Shangguan Family. Can you help me?"

"I don't have time. Look after yourself."

"This..."

With that, Li Yan turned to leave.

Seeing Li Yan turn away, Shangguan Xiyun was nearly driven to tears. Ever since childhood, whatever she wanted, her father would send it to her, and her two brothers had always indulged her. Faced with a situation like this, she truly had no idea what to do.

But as she looked at Li Yan, who had turned away yet still had not left, a faint hope rose in Shangguan Xiyun's heart.

"Wait!"

Shangguan Xiyun suddenly thought of something. She reached into her robes and pulled out a book. "This is the Hundred Battles Saber Manual. My grandfather asked me to bring it to my second brother. I'll give this to you, so could you...?"

At those words, a smile finally appeared on Li Yan's face.

How could one do a task without receiving a reward?

You had to offer a reward, and getting it in advance was what made it tempting~

Li Yan swiftly turned around, casually took the Hundred Battles Saber Manual from her, and quickly flipped through it.

As he finished reading it in just a few moments, his personal panel also changed.

Martial Arts: Hundred Battles Saber, unlearned (0/50)

After the slaughter just now, Li Yan had gained some Attribute Points, but what he had gained most were Experience Points. His Experience Points had now recovered to over a hundred. Combined with the simple saber he had taken from those bandits, cultivating the Hundred Battles Saber would not be difficult.

Once he confirmed that the system had recorded the Hundred Battles Saber, Li Yan tossed the manual back to Shangguan Xiyun.

"Trash~"

"This..."

Hearing Li Yan say that, the young girl grew anxious again. This was something her grandmother had meant to give her second brother. How could it be trash?

But seeing Shangguan Xiyun's expression, Li Yan slightly turned his head aside. "Forget it. I'm a kindhearted man. I'll hold on to your gift of thanks for now. Once I escort you back, remember to make up for it."

Hearing this, Shangguan Xiyun's worry turned to joy, and she quickly nodded.

Just then, the footsteps of bandits came from below. Li Yan immediately pressed a hand onto Shangguan Xiyun's shoulder and made her crouch down.

"Do you know who these people are?"

"They are... they are the Fierce Wind Bandits. They have more than a thousand men, and even the weakest of their three leaders is at the Body Tempering Seventh Layer."

Hearing that, Li Yan glanced sideways at Shangguan Xiyun, his expression meaningful.