16: The wind is blowing and the clouds are flying

At this moment, the world was in chaos. The government's power was mainly focused on suppressing rebels, and its control over the common people had weakened considerably, so all sorts of unsavory characters had emerged.

As a result, these two mediocre thugs dared to commit robbery in broad daylight. Even if someone reported them to the authorities, the government would most likely not bother to intervene.

If all the thugs and ruffians in Chuan Prefecture were killed... how many Potential Points would that yield?

As soon as this thought surfaced in his mind, Li Qi immediately dismissed it.

Killing all the thugs in the city would cause too much of a stir.

Too much of a good thing can be bad. If Li Qi really did that, he might attract unforeseen trouble.

Moreover, these thugs don't work every day. They usually stop after one robbery or extortion, then disappear to enjoy themselves until their money runs out, at which point they reappear to commit more crimes.

Trying to find and eliminate these scattered thugs and ruffians one by one would be too inefficient for acquiring Potential Points, not meeting Li Qi's expectations. Li Qi quickly abandoned this idea.

So, besides these scattered thugs and ruffians, were there any other suitable targets for harvesting?

Of course there were!

That would be... Horse Bandits!

In the current situation, the Great Han empire was in turmoil. Not only were there rebellions springing up everywhere, but also many Horse Bandits were entrenched in the mountains and on important roads, robbing passing merchants.

If it were just about robbing money, that would be one thing, but these Horse Bandits sometimes wanted both money and lives, having committed many horrifying atrocities!

Today, I, Li Qi, shall act on behalf of the Dao!

Li Qi bought some meat pies on the street, then randomly found a few refugees who had fled there and gave them the pies.

Seeing the fragrant meat pies, these refugees' eyes lit up. They accepted them with profuse thanks, then devoured them ravenously.

Li Qi also took the opportunity to ask these refugees how they had escaped, gathering the information he needed.

For these refugees, where danger lay outside and where it was relatively safe, they knew best. Some of these refugees had even escaped the Horse Bandits' blades, surviving by the skin of their teeth.

With meat pies as an opener, these refugees answered Li Qi's questions without reservation, telling him everything they knew. Li Qi quickly, and at a very low cost, figured out the distribution of Horse Bandits outside Chuan Prefecture.

......

A great wind rises, and clouds fly; where can valiant warriors travel in all directions?

Horse Bandits must be eliminated at all times.

There's no other way.

This time, Li Qi... will fight on behalf of the people!

After a brief preparation, Li Qi set off, leaving Chuan Prefecture.

Li Qi's current attire had changed greatly. He was dressed in black, with a black cloth covering his face, completely shrouded from head to toe, with only his two eyes showing.

There was no other way; he was going out to do good deeds, and doing good deeds without leaving his name had always been his virtue.

With his current disguise, even if Old Scholar were resurrected, he wouldn't recognize him. To conceal his identity, he didn't even bring his dragon pattern sword.

The dragon pattern sword wasn't a unique weapon; although two taels of gold for one wasn't something everyone could afford, and not many people owned this sword, if someone witnessed him hunting Horse Bandits with a dragon pattern sword, they could narrow down the search and find him through the dragon pattern sword.

After leaving Chuan Prefecture, Li Qi no longer concealed his strength. Potent True Qi flowed throughout his body, and he fully unleashed the Grass Tread Flight, his figure shooting towards the distance like lightning.

Under the infusion of White Cloud True Qi, palm-sized clouds materialized from his toes. With a light step in the air, his figure instantly appeared ten zhang away!

Li Qi floated three feet off the ground, treading on white clouds, moving through the air with an elegant posture... like a banished Immortal descending to the mortal world!

Li Qi already had some understanding of the situation near Chuan Prefecture. Thirty li south of Chuan Prefecture, in Red Leaf Mountain, there was a group of about forty Horse Bandits, and these people had even built a stronghold called Flying Eagle Stronghold!

The leader of Flying Eagle Stronghold was Guo Feiying, who was also the chief of this group of Horse Bandits. This man was a Martial Artist at the Peak of the Body Tempering Realm. It was said that his lightness skill was excellent, and very few prey he targeted could escape; he would always catch and kill them, earning him the title of Flying Eagle King outside.

And Li Qi's first prey was this Flying Eagle King, along with the forty or so Horse Bandits of Flying Eagle Stronghold, whom Li Qi also decided to take care of.

Li Qi traveled at high speed, quickly covering a distance of thirty li and arriving at Red Leaf Mountain.

Upon arriving here, Li Qi also noticed something unusual.

Along the way, in other places, he could more or less still see some people, but within ten li of Red Leaf Mountain, it was deserted. Flying Eagle King's reputation was well-known, and those who knew better stayed far away from here, never passing through this area.

And those who were unaware of the danger and ventured into this area mostly died.

Upon reaching the location, Li Qi began to search. He quickly discovered a hidden sentry post tucked away in the mountains, where two Horse Bandits were on watch, monitoring the surrounding area.

"Found them."

As Li Qi saw the two Horse Bandits, they also discovered his presence.

"Who's there?"

"How dare you trespass into Flying Eagle Stronghold!"

Li Qi had not hidden his figure. He walked out from the shadows, smiling as he looked at the two Horse Bandits. When they called themselves Flying Eagle Stronghold, Li Qi knew he had found the right people.

"Who? A good question."

"The one who will kill you!"

Before the two Horse Bandits could speak, the masked man in black flashed and appeared before them.

Li Qi chuckled. He pointed his fingers like a sword and lightly swiped forward. A pure white Sword Qi flew out, instantly beheading one of the Horse Bandits.

[Potential Points +1]

"Martial Dao True Qi?"

The Horse Bandit next to him, seeing Li Qi's methods, realized that the person in front of him was actually a True Qi Realm master. His expression suddenly changed dramatically, and he immediately begged for mercy.

"Please spare my life, brave sir!"

"Everything can be discussed, please don't resort to violence."

Li Qi said indifferently, "Tell me about your Flying Eagle Stronghold, and I might consider letting you go."

This Horse Bandit immediately told him everything he knew. After understanding the situation, Li Qi did not hesitate and twisted the Horse Bandit's neck.

"Become my strength."

Watching his Potential Points increase by 1 again, Li Qi left contentedly.

One of these two Horse Bandits was a swordsman, and his sword was of decent quality, a fine steel longsword, which Li Qi picked up and took with him.

He had already learned the exact location of Flying Eagle Stronghold and immediately headed in that direction. Along the way, Li Qi successively discovered several more hidden sentry posts of Flying Eagle Stronghold, conveniently slaughtering all the Horse Bandits he encountered, and his Potential Points steadily increased again.

Guo Feiying had just returned from a robbery, bringing back not only gold and silver but also many women.

What fate awaited women who fell into the hands of Horse Bandits was obvious. Currently, a banquet was being held in Flying Eagle Stronghold, filled with not only the boisterous laughter of men but also the cries of women.

Just as these people were enjoying themselves, the main hall door of the stronghold was cut open by a sharp Sword Qi, and a black figure walked in from outside.

"Heh heh, you guys sure know how to have fun."

Li Qi walked in from outside, saying with a smile.

Upon seeing the mess in the hall and the scantily clad women, the chill in Li Qi's smile intensified.

Seeing an outsider suddenly intrude, many Horse Bandits jumped up, drew their weapons, and shouted, "Who dares to cause trouble in Flying Eagle Stronghold!"

"You ignorant fool, die!"

"Kill him!"

Many Horse Bandits surrounded Li Qi, but Guo Feiying, the leader of the stronghold, remained silent. When he saw Li Qi cut open the door with Sword Qi, his pupils constricted sharply.

A True Qi Realm expert!!!

He knew this was trouble.

A True Qi Realm expert was not someone he could contend with. Not only did he not rush to surround and kill Li Qi like the ordinary Horse Bandits, but he subtly retreated, planning to escape from there.

And Li Qi immediately noticed a bald, burly man in the crowd who was constantly retreating. His gaze locked onto the man.

"You must be Guo Feiying, right?"

Guo Feiying thought, 'This is bad,' and turned to run!