Wiping Out Bandits to Earn Potential Points

One evening, more than ten days later, about seventy miles from Funiu Village, in another well-known mountain stronghold, a dark figure stood atop a large tree in the mountains, swaying in the wind. The figure blended with the night, moving with the breeze. Bandits in the watchtower less than a mile away scanned the area several times but failed to spot the person standing there.

"Arson, murder, and plunder, committing every evil deed. Black Cloud Village, it's you."

Lin Xiao didn't wipe out every bandit stronghold he encountered on his journey. Before acting, he always conducted a basic investigation. He usually let those who didn't commit many evils go. But for extremely brutal bandits like those in Funiu Village, which he had already dealt with, and this Black Cloud Village, he had no qualms about eliminating them.

They didn't just rob travelers; they would often kill people after robbing them or receiving ransoms. They frequently descended the mountain to extort nearby villages and abducted virtuous women to bring back to the stronghold.

These wicked bandits were precisely the targets Lin Xiao wished to eliminate. He wouldn't carry any psychological burden even if he killed many of them.

When it was completely dark, he leaped from the tree and, using the cover of night, quickly approached the rear of the stronghold.

His strength had increased, but he still needed to be cautious. It wasn't unheard of for experts to meet their end in a gutter in a small place. He didn't want to become a boastful tale for the bandits.

From the nearly a hundred bandits and robbers he had annihilated in Funiu Village, he had accumulated thirty-three Potential Points. Adding his original eleven, he had a total of forty-four Potential Points. He spent eighteen and twenty-four points, totaling forty-two, to raise Flying Heaven Steps to the sixth level, reaching a level comparable to Yin Sha Maiden's back then. He was now only one step away from mastering this two-star ranked movement technique, needing just thirty more Potential Points.

Lin Xiao had already witnessed the exquisite nature of Yin Sha Maiden's movement technique in the past. Now, not only had he reached that level, but his internal energy was also far stronger than hers, allowing him to unleash the technique's power even more effectively.

He floated lightly to the rear of Black Cloud Village. Behind the stockade wall was a watchtower where two bandits were leaning on the wooden railing, chatting. He drifted past them silently like a dark cloud, climbing all the way up the watchtower without being noticed. It wasn't until he suddenly appeared beside the bandits who were chatting by the railing that they were startled and about to shout. However, two palms pressed into their backs, and surging internal energy erupted. Their bodies lurched forward, and a circle of clothes and flesh on their chests exploded, causing them to fall silently.

With his total internal energy exceeding three cycles, especially with two cycles from the Yang Sha Scripture alone, even without using Yin Sha internal energy, his formidable Yang Sha internal energy could easily shock and kill people.

Even though this was a low-martial world with a very low level of martial arts, the power of internal energy was weaker compared to higher-level worlds.

It was like having a hundred years of internal energy, but its power would be nowhere near the internal energy cultivated from the Nine Yang Divine Skill for a hundred years in the world of Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber. In other worlds, a cycle of internal energy could kill someone ten feet away with a palm strike, like the Hundred Pace Divine Fist. But in this world, a cycle of internal energy couldn't even leave the body.

This was the main reason why Lin Xiao, despite having over two hundred years of cultivation, didn't exhibit the exaggerated prowess seen in other martial arts worlds – the level of internal energy was too low.

Of course, no matter how low the level, as long as the cultivation was high enough, a hundred years wasn't enough, so two hundred years, two hundred years wasn't enough, so three hundred years. As long as the cultivation was sufficiently profound, one could still kill an enemy several meters away with a single palm strike.

Lin Xiao was not far from that point. Once the internal energy from the two cultivation techniques fused and he could simultaneously activate more than three cycles of power, he would be formidable.

Silently eliminating the two bandits, he used the darkness to quickly infiltrate the stronghold from the rear. He killed anyone he saw. Ordinary bandits couldn't detect him at all. By the time they did, they were already dead.

He moved unimpeded all the way to the Hall of Righteous Gathering in the center of the stronghold. The bandits in the village still hadn't discovered him. But after he had killed most of the bandits sleeping in their rooms, the strong smell of blood finally alerted the dogs kept in the village, and a loud barking erupted in the night.

A bandit woke up groggily and cursed at the black dog barking outside, "You son of a bitch, I'll stew you."

He rubbed his eyes, preparing to relieve himself. As soon as he opened the door, he saw several bodies in the courtyard. He instantly sobered up and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Help! An enemy has infiltrated the village!"

As soon as he spoke, his own men hadn't reacted yet. Instead, a figure in black emerged from the adjacent room. He was stunned, shouted, and turned back to his room to get his saber. As he turned, his vision blurred, and the figure in black inexplicably appeared before him. A palm strike hit his chest, and he flew out of the room like he was riding clouds and mist, landing in the courtyard.

The bandits sleeping haphazardly in several large pits inside the house hadn't woken up yet when Lin Xiao decapitated them one by one.

Since he had been discovered, there was no need to kill them with palm strikes. Using his saber directly was more efficient.

He killed without restraint, and more and more bandits were awakened. The stronghold descended into chaos. The three leaders of Black Cloud Village were also awakened. Without even dressing, they grabbed their sabers and swords and, surrounded by a group of their subordinates, approached. Their eyes swept over the corpses littering the ground and the unharmed Lin Xiao. They gasped and forced a smile, cupping their fists and asking, "My Black Cloud Village has no enmity with you, young hero. Why are you slaughtering our stronghold?"

Lin Xiao flicked his Hundred-Forged Fine Steel Saber, shaking off the blood clinging to it. He twirled the blade and pointed it at the chieftain, saying, "There's no other reason. I'm merely acting on behalf of Heaven!"

The chieftain's face immediately darkened. He snorted coldly, "Well said, 'acting on behalf of Heaven.' Then come on, my Black Cloud Village has seen all sorts of storms. Today..."

"Why all the nonsense!"

Lin Xiao had already dashed out seven or eight meters into the crowd. With a wave of his hand, his saber flashed with a layer of brilliant light. With a single strike, he cut several bandits in half, along with their sabers. He was like a tiger entering a flock of sheep, with no one able to withstand him.

The chieftain had spoken bravely, but upon seeing Lin Xiao's strength, especially the saber light, his expression flickered back and forth. He suddenly turned and fled.

The remaining bandits were quickly routed by Lin Xiao. He ignored the fleeing ones and leaped onto a rooftop, following the direction the chieftain had fled.

Two minutes later, he arrived at a small hut in a secluded part of the stronghold. The chieftain and a few confidants had fled there.

He used the tip of his saber to pry open a roof tile and saw seven or eight bandits in the hut digging up a thick brick on the ground. Soon, they unearthed the brick, revealing a hidden underground passage. The group quickly slipped into it, covered the brick, and sealed it tightly. If one wasn't paying attention, it would be impossible to find.

"Interesting!"

He stomped his foot and leaped directly from the roof. He aimed at the thick stone brick and stomped down. With a 'boom,' the stone brick cracked open. He paused for a moment, then jumped down.

Less than two meters down from the entrance was a slope, and further down was a passage. However, a thick stone wall was slowly descending. Clearly, they had heard the commotion and activated a mechanism to block the path.