Chivalry Was the Fastest Way to Make Money!

Four hours later.

Dawn broke with the crowing of roosters, and the morning glow rose in the east.

Mo Chen stood inside the largest wooden house in Blackwind Stronghold, grinning from ear to ear as he looked at the wealth before him.

After searching through the night,

he had found a total of 268 taels of silver and 3 taels of gold, along with 37 jade pieces and 63 silver ornaments.

Under the bed in this largest wooden house, he had also found a small box containing a secret manual and half of a tattered treasure map.

"A huge haul! This is a seriously huge haul!"

With so much silver and gold, he had directly gathered enough for the system upgrade.

Excited, Mo Chen stuffed all the silver into his inventory.

"Sure enough, robbing homes and... pfft, upholding justice is the fastest way to make money!"

He could eliminate evil for the people while quickly earning money to train in martial arts.

Mo Chen suddenly felt that he had found a broad path, a shortcut leading to the pinnacle of martial arts.

"If I could wipe out every bandit in the world..."

Just imagining it made Mo Chen excitedly draw his blade.

But the moment he pulled it out, he gave a helpless bitter smile.

Looking at the curled and cracked edge of the Black Iron Firewood Knife, his heart ached.

"Damn it! That fight with the stronghold chief actually wrecked my Black Iron Firewood Knife!"

Two-thirds of the Black Iron Firewood Knife's blade was curled and cracked, and there was even a fracture running into the middle of the blade.

If Mo Chen swung it again, the Black Iron Firewood Knife would probably shatter on the spot.

It could be said that after one battle against someone in the Bone-Tempering Realm, the opponent had destroyed his fine first-tier weapon using nothing but bones as hard as refined steel.

"The Black Iron Firewood Knife was ultimately forged from black iron. Compared to weapons made from refined steel, its toughness falls far short."

Fortunately, after killing the giant man, Mo Chen had obtained his second-tier Xuanhua Mountain-Cleaving Axe.

Although this second-tier axe lacked a critical-hit attribute, it was still far from bad.

Aside from a 150% strength bonus, it also possessed the Shield-Breaking and Weightless Strength attributes.

Moreover, this axe boosted axe technique talent. For anyone practicing with an axe, it was absolutely among the finest of the finest.

"Sigh! I really can't bear to part with it!"

Mo Chen looked painfully at the Black Iron Firewood Knife in his hand. Its critical-hit effect was simply too useful.

After losing this firewood knife, he did not know whether he would ever encounter another weapon with a critical-hit bonus.

"Forget it! I'll worry about it later. The world is vast. As long as I keep looking, I'll definitely find another weapon with critical hits."

Putting away the Black Iron Firewood Knife, Mo Chen turned his attention to the secret manual and the tattered treasure map.

Giant Ape Long Fist.

It was a fist technique for stretching the tendons, tempering the bones, and increasing vitality and blood.

The manual contained both illustrations and text.

The illustrations depicted a person imitating the moves of a giant ape fighting and brawling, while the text recorded the cultivation methods and benefits of the techniques.

Mo Chen quickly flipped through it once, and the name of the manual immediately appeared on his system panel.

[Low Grade · Giant Ape Long Fist (Not Yet Initiated)]

"A ranked body-tempering martial art? Not bad, not bad."

Mo Chen had not expected such an unexpected surprise.

He currently lacked martial arts suited for tempering his bones and refining his blood, and now he had found one.

Satisfied, he put away the secret manual and picked up the tattered treasure map for another look.

On the soft, parchment-like leather, mountain ranges, cities, and rivers had been roughly drawn.

A red dot marked a mountain hollow, but the key information and directional markers were missing.

"Without the key information, finding the treasure site would be almost impossible, wouldn't it?"

Mo Chen shook his head and put away the treasure map.

He then packed up all the jade pieces, silver ornaments, and other items before storing them in his inventory. Only then did he leave the wooden house.

When he had searched Blackwind Stronghold last night, he had discovered a dungeon.

Inside the dungeon were seven young girls and three small children.

Since it had been dark and he did not know whether any bandits remained outside, Mo Chen had not rescued them immediately.

Now, the sky was fully bright.

Having thoroughly looted Blackwind Stronghold, it was time to release them and let them return home.

He made his way to the dungeon.

A strong stench of urine and rot assaulted his nose.

Covering his mouth and nose, Mo Chen frowned as he walked deeper into the dungeon.

Perhaps they had heard his footsteps, because cries immediately rang out.

"Please, let us go!"

"Wuu wuu wuu... Please! I don't want to be sold to a brothel!"

"Waaah! I want Mother! I want Mother!"

Their sobs and cries rose one after another. By the time Mo Chen reached the dungeon entrance, the girls and children inside had already wept themselves into a mess.

"Move aside!"

Mo Chen pulled out the Xuanhua Mountain-Cleaving Axe and aimed at the chain on the door.

"Clang!"

With a single axe strike, sparks burst from the iron chain as it snapped and fell.

Mo Chen pushed open the wooden door. "Pick up the children and follow me down the mountain!"

"No, we don't want to be sold!"

The girls turned deathly pale in fright. They all backed away, crowding together and not daring to leave.

Mo Chen frowned. "If you won't leave, are you planning to live here for the rest of your lives? All the bandits on the mountain are dead. You can go home now!"

After saying that, Mo Chen turned and walked out of the dungeon.

Damn it! This dungeon reeks.

Those bandits really were a bunch of idiots!

If the hostages got sick, how were they supposed to sell them for money?

If I were the one managing these hostages... Pfft, pfft, pfft, screw that! I'm a good person! Why the hell would I manage hostages?

Inside the dungeon,

the girls were stunned when they saw Mo Chen leave.

They looked at one another, tears still hanging from their faces. For a moment, they did not know whether they should leave or stay.

"Why don't we go out and see?"

At that moment, a twelve-year-old girl dressed in fine clothes timidly stood up and took two steps forward.

The other girls immediately seemed to find someone to rely on. They nodded rapidly like pecking chicks and followed the finely dressed girl out of the dungeon.

The glaring sunlight made them unable to open their eyes.

Once they had fully adjusted to the sunlight, they saw Blackwind Stronghold reduced to ruins—and amid those ruins stood a sturdy young man with his back to them, facing the sun.

Within the golden light, the young man's long hair drifted in the wind.

A deep, magnetic voice drifted into their ears with the breeze.

"All the bandits of Blackwind Stronghold have been executed. You have been saved!"

"There is some food in the room over there. You can fill your stomachs."

"Someone will come to take you home before the day is over. Farewell!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Mo Chen turned and headed down the mountain.

Seeing that Mo Chen was leaving, the finely dressed girl hurried forward and called out, "Thank you, benefactor, for saving our lives! Please tell us your name, benefactor. I will surely repay your great kindness!"

Without turning his head, Mo Chen waved his hand. His chuunibyou voice drifted back from afar.

"I am the Great Mystic Woodcutter! I uphold justice, slay demons, and eliminate evil—never leaving my name behind!"

Mo Chen departed with dashing ease.

He left behind only the girls in Blackwind Stronghold, staring dumbfoundedly with confusion filling their eyes.

"The Great Mystic Woodcutter?"

The finely dressed girl stared in the direction Mo Chen had gone, her gaze unfocused as she murmured the name.

A girl with double buns beside her stepped closer and quietly asked, "Miss, have you ever heard of the Great Mystic Woodcutter?"

The finely dressed girl shook her head. "He must be a wandering hero who does good deeds without leaving his name behind."

The double-bun-haired girl clasped her hands to her chest, her eyes filled with hearts. "If he was the one who saved us, he's way too amazing!"

The finely dressed girl gave a bitter smile. "Yes! He truly is remarkable. The chief of Blackwind Stronghold had reached the Bone-Tempering Realm, yet he was hacked into such a state by him."

The double-bun-haired girl followed the finely dressed girl's gaze, then immediately let out a hysterical scream of terror.