18: The peak of the Qi realm!

The cave behind the stronghold even had an iron door installed. Although Li Qi didn't have the key, it couldn't stop him.

He drew his fine steel longsword, and True Qi flowed onto the blade, making it even sharper.

The longsword sliced through the iron door as if cutting tofu, splitting it in half. Li Qi passed through the broken door and entered.

The cave was piled with a lot of grain, as well as many gold, silver, and jewels.

Li Qi's eyes lit up, and he immediately began to collect them.

He kept the portable silver notes on his person, while the heavy gold and silver were packed into boxes. Then, Li Qi used his light footwork to carry the boxes away, finding a hidden spot nearby to bury them!

There was too much gold and silver, and it was too heavy for Li Qi to carry with him. He hid it nearby for now and planned to retrieve it later.

While searching the cave, Li Qi also found an Azure Edge Sword. The blade of this longsword was a faint blue, exuding an exceptionally hard texture.

Although the quality of the Azure Edge Sword was not as good as Li Qi's dragon pattern sword, it was much better than the fine steel longsword he currently held. Li Qi tossed aside the fine steel longsword and replaced it with the Azure Edge Sword.

After looking around and confirming that nothing was left in the cave, he walked out.

He returned to the stronghold's main hall, where the women were still eating. Li Qi also sat down and took a chicken leg from the table's food and drink to eat.

He was also a bit hungry. There were still many things to do today, so he needed to fill his stomach.

After eating and drinking his fill, Li Qi took some dry rations with him and then stood up and spoke to the women in the hall.

"I'm leaving. After you've eaten enough, you should leave this place quickly. It's not safe here."

"There's also some grain in the cave behind. If you can carry it, you can take some grain with you when you leave."

After speaking, Li Qi no longer lingered, turning and leaving.

These women never expected to survive and leave after being abducted here. They were immensely grateful to Li Qi, and Li Qi's figure quickly disappeared from their sight.......

......

After annihilating the Flying Eagle Stronghold, Li Qi did not stop, continuing to rush to the locations of several other bandit groups nearby.

With the intelligence provided by Guo Feiying, Li Qi accurately found the next bandit stronghold.

This was a group of about thirty bandits, smaller in scale than Guo Feiying's group. Their leader was a Martial Artist at the Late Stage Body Tempering Realm, and his strength was also weaker than Guo Feiying's.

After finding this group of bandits, Li Qi didn't waste any words and immediately took action. He quickly cut down these bandits with his sword, once again gaining forty Potential Points.

Afterward, Li Qi cleaned up the battlefield, taking all the good things left behind by the bandits, and then quickly left the area.

He moved extremely fast, coming and going freely within a hundred-eighty-mile radius. One group of bandits and Horse Bandits after another was eradicated by Li Qi.

Before annihilating each group of bandits, Li Qi would leave one person alive to interrogate them about the situation of other bandits nearby. Therefore, Li Qi's efficiency in searching for bandits was extremely high, and he wiped out five groups of bandits in just one day!

After a day of busyness, Li Qi even had time to rush back to Chuan Prefecture City for dinner.

No one noticed that on this ordinary day... nearly two hundred bandits outside the city had been killed by him!

After obtaining a large number of Potential Points, Li Qi returned home and continued to enhance the Cloud Crane Dance Sword, completely raising this Cultivation Technique to the Major Achievement Realm, and Li Qi successfully stepped into the Peak True Qi Realm!

At the same time, Li Qi also mastered a very special ability... Sword Qi Manifestation!

If a Martial Artist reaches the True Qi Realm, they can release True Qi externally, harming enemies from a hundred paces away. It's a simple matter to unleash Saber Qi or Sword Qi.

But after Li Qi cultivated this sword art to the Major Achievement Realm, he could go a step further and do something even more incredible: Sword Qi Manifestation!

With a thought, a wisp of tiny Sword Qi flew from his fingertip. Pure white and sharp Sword Qi coiled around his fingertip, and after a slight wiggle, it transformed into a small white bird, perching on his fingertip!

The small bird spread its wings and preened its feathers, looking remarkably lifelike.

Under Li Qi's control, this wisp of Sword Qi would transform into a flying bird or a swimming fish, circling around Li Qi.

Any Martial Arts Cultivation Technique, when cultivated to the Major Achievement Realm, possesses astonishing power, and the Cloud Crane Dance Sword, upon reaching Major Achievement, displayed almost terrifying power!

Such strength already placed him at the Peak in Chuan Prefecture City. As long as he didn't seek death, it was almost impossible for him to die!

The True Qi within Li Qi's body was incredibly vast, swirling and roaring in his Dantian like a storm!

It exuded terrifying might!

"I've finally reached this Realm..."

Li Qi let out a long sigh, feeling an unprecedented sense of peace in his heart.

He possessed the Supreme Martial Dao System and could use Potential Points to improve Martial Arts. He also knew that it wouldn't be long before he reached the Peak True Qi Realm, but when that day truly arrived, he still felt a bit disbelieving.

For ordinary people, it's very difficult to achieve something in the Martial Arts Dao.

And to break through the limits of Body Tempering, reach the True Qi Realm, and even reach the Peak True Qi Realm... such a thing is even harder than ascending to the heavens!

Without long periods of diligent practice, without considerable Aptitude, and without a certain amount of luck and resources, it would be absolutely impossible to reach this step.

But Li Qi, with the System's help, only took a few days to reach this Realm, which completely exceeded the understanding of everyone in this world!

"I'm already at the Peak True Qi Realm..."

"It's time to think about how to Breakthrough to the next Realm."

The next Realm after the True Qi Realm is called the True Essence Realm.

When a Martial Artist in the True Qi Realm Cultivates and refines the Martial Dao True Qi within their body to its limit, they can attempt to liquefy this gaseous True Qi... turning it into liquid True Essence!

True Essence, in essence, is highly liquefied True Qi!

Its quality is extremely high, and its power is more than ten times that of True Qi!

A Martial Artist in the True Essence Realm can easily crush ten Martial Artists in the True Qi Realm!

What is known as Acquired True Qi... is Innate True Essence.

Martial Artists in the True Essence Realm are also called Innate Martial Artists!

Upon reaching this Realm, the life essence of Innate Martial Artists has undergone a great sublimation, allowing them to easily live for two hundred years!

Such a Martial Dao Realm filled Li Qi with longing, leaving him restless for a long time.

The problem facing Li Qi was how to Breakthrough the True Qi Realm and reach the stronger True Essence Realm! The key to this... lay in the Cultivation Technique!

As long as he had enough Potential Points, Li Qi could quickly improve any Martial Arts Cultivation Technique, but Li Qi currently didn't have a Cultivation Technique for the True Essence Realm, which meant he was like a clever housewife without rice.

"Where can I get a Martial Arts Cultivation Technique for the True Essence Realm?"

Li Qi thought of the Ruyi Gang and Huang Yuanqing, but he immediately dismissed the idea. Although Huang Yuanqing was a Gang leader, Li Qi didn't think it was very likely that he would have a Martial Arts Cultivation Technique of the True Essence Realm level in his possession.

After all, Huang Yuanqing was just the leader of a second-rate Gang in Chuan Prefecture City; his foundation was a bit lacking.

After thinking for a while, Li Qi had no ideas and could only temporarily set it aside.

"Forget it, this matter can't be rushed. I'll just pay more attention to it in the future."

In the following days, Li Qi went out daily to hunt bandits, returning at sunset. His Potential Points rapidly increased, quickly exceeding 300 points!

The bandits near Chuan Prefecture City were almost completely swept away by him, and he actually created a small pure land!

In order to continue gaining Potential Points, Li Qi had to hunt in more distant places, and his activity area also became larger and larger.

The death of many bandits in a short period of time also alarmed the people in the city, and many forces took notice.

Some applauded.

Some watched with cold eyes.

And some felt uneasy.

However, Li Qi's light footwork was exceptional, and he traveled between the wilderness and the Prefecture City every day without alarming anyone.

Even those close to Li Qi in the Ruyi Gang did not notice anything unusual about him, only thinking that Li Qi had received a few taels of bounty and had gone somewhere to enjoy himself.

Throughout Chuan Prefecture City, not a single person connected the tragic deaths of the bandits outside the city with Li Qi.

On the fourth day, Li Qi went out of the city again for business.

He quickly found his target.

A group of over twenty Horse Bandits was attacking a caravan. The two sides were fighting, and shouts of killing filled the air.

Li Qi focused his gaze and immediately noticed something unusual.

Among these Horse Bandits, there was actually a strong individual at the True Qi Realm!

"A True Qi Realm Horse Bandit?!"

"Interesting..."

Li Qi's lips curled into a playful smile, and he immediately used his light footwork to rush over!