The mountain wind howled past, causing the dry tree branches to tremble and produce a "creaking" sound like painful groans. A dilapidated temple stood on the mountainside, its walls mottled and peeling, with several mud patches fallen away, exposing incomplete stones beneath.
Inside the ruined temple, a bonfire was burning.
A corpse lay on the ground, beside which stood a young man holding a sword. This young man had a stern expression, with a black cloth bound over his eyes, appearing to be blind.
Next to the young man was a young girl who was breathing heavily.
The girl turned the corpse over and exclaimed excitedly, "Brother, we might get rich! This person... seems to be Zhou Tong, that rapist bandit with a three-hundred-tael bounty from the magistrate's office!"
"It's him."
"Your eyes can't see, how can you be so certain?"
"I just know."
The young man didn't explain, just threw the sword on the ground and said, "Cut off his head, and we'll return to Linjiang City to claim the reward."
The young man was called Xia Ci, a blind person. The reason he could be certain that the killed man was indeed the rapist bandit wanted by the authorities was because at this moment, a system panel appeared in his mind:
[Killed 3★ Wanted Criminal]
[Received 3★ Reward—SSS-level Mastered Nine Yang Divine Skill]
[Claim Now?]
...
At this moment, Xia Ci's inner feelings were not as calm as he appeared. On the contrary, he was extremely excited.
The cheat code had finally arrived.
He had awakened his past memories three days ago, and for those three days, he had been filled with fear and anxiety, living in torment.
Because this was a very dangerous martial arts world, filled with killing and conflict. And he, although a martial artist, was a blind man who could only live in darkness, with his martial skills almost wasted.
Actually, in the beginning, Xia Ci wasn't blind. He was the youngest escort of the Changfeng Escort Agency in Linjiang City, with extraordinarily skillful sword skills. He was a famous young talent in the martial world around Linjiang City and was once likely to become the youngest escort leader in the hundred-year history of Changfeng Escort Agency.
However, just one month ago, during his last escort mission as an escort before his promotion to escort leader, he encountered a group of bandits. During the fight, he was hit by a poison expert's attack. Although he luckily survived, his eyes were contaminated with poison and couldn't be treated in time, leaving him completely blind.
All at once, his path to fame in the martial world came to an abrupt end.
A rising star in the martial world had fallen, unable to care for himself.
Xia Ci's heart was full of frustration. To treat his injuries, he spent all his savings, and at precisely this time, the Changfeng Escort Agency, disregarding martial world ethics, forcibly expelled him.
He went to argue with them, but instead suffered humiliation. In a fit of anger, he coughed up blood and fainted, then in his dazed state awakened his past memories, breaking through the mysteries of his birth and remembering his past and present lives.
Fortunately, though he had become disabled, his sister, with whom he had grown up, did not abandon him. After he woke up, they discussed taking him back to their hometown, leaving the martial world behind forever.
Given his current situation, he naturally didn't object and left Linjiang City with his sister, Xia Xiayin.
After traveling for a day, they arrived at this ruined temple to rest for the night, not expecting someone was already there.
Xia Ci had been an escort for many years and had deep experience in the martial world. Even though blind, upon entering, he smelled the scent of blood and guessed that the people in the temple were also from the martial world. Out of caution, he indicated to his sister to leave to avoid trouble.
However, the person inside was as startled as a frightened bird, very sensitive. Seeing Xia Ci and his sister preparing to leave, he suddenly attacked.
Fortunately, Xia Xiayin, like Xia Ci, had practiced martial arts since childhood. Although her skills weren't as good as Xia Ci's, they weren't bad, and her reactions were very quick. She immediately engaged in combat with the person, barely holding her own, in a precarious situation.
The attacker, seeing that Xia Ci was blind, lowered his guard against him, which gave Xia Ci an opportunity to strike.
Although Xia Ci was blind, he and his sister had grown up together and coordinated very well. Under Xia Xiayin's guidance, he suddenly attacked, catching the enemy off guard and killing him with one strike.
Just as the person fell, Xia Ci heard the system's notification sound in his mind, letting him know that the opponent was indeed Zhou Tong, the rapist bandit who had recently caused an uproar in Linjiang City.
And his system was a Hunter Assassin System.
Its function was very simple: capture and kill wanted criminals to receive rewards. The rewards could be martial arts skills, divine weapons, rare treasures, and so on.
The system would grade tasks and provide corresponding level rewards.
This Zhou Tong was rated as a three-star by the system, and the reward was actually the mastered Nine Yang Divine Skill.
...
In the ruined temple, the bonfire continued to burn.
Xia Xiayin quickly cut off Zhou Tong's head, then wrapped it in Zhou Tong's robe and asked, "Brother, should we stay here until dawn, or leave now?"
"Can you see the path clearly?"
"The moon is bright."
"Then let's go," Xia Ci said. "This Zhou Tong has been the most notorious wanted criminal in Linjiang City recently, with many bounty hunters after him. We got lucky. This guy was previously injured and his wounds are still bleeding, indicating they're fresh. There might be bounty hunters nearby, possibly even a group. We should go far away to avoid conflict."
"Alright."
Xia Xiayin was no novice to the martial world and knew well that Zhou Tong's head was valuable. If they encountered other bounty hunters, someone might be tempted by the money. Three hundred taels of silver was enough for many to risk their lives.
Immediately, Xia Xiayin took Xia Ci's hand and left.
Xia Ci, uncertain whether claiming the reward would cause any special phenomena, didn't dare to claim it rashly.
Following Xia Xiayin for a long distance, they found a cave.
After entering the cave, Xia Ci finally communicated with the system again and claimed the reward.
In that instant, Xia Ci suddenly felt his body heat up. A vast, intense, scorching, and vibrant internal force flooded into his body like a surging tide. This internal force roared through his meridians.
Most importantly, his mind was continuously filled with the profound mysteries and cultivation methods of the Nine Yang Divine Skill. This knowledge was deeply imprinted on his soul.
In just a moment, he mastered the Nine Yang Divine Skill without any unusual phenomena or discomfort. Everything felt as if it were the result of many years of his own cultivation—natural and effortless.
Xia Ci was delighted.
He naturally knew about the Nine Yang Divine Skill.
After mastering it, the internal force was self-generating and endless, automatically creating a protective true qi—indestructible like vajra. Furthermore, the Nine Yang internal force was of extremely high quality, having the effect of transforming tendons and washing marrow. Not only did it have extremely strong healing effects, but it also made the practitioner nearly immune to all poisons and possessed an almost supernatural level of enlightenment.
At the same time, he felt the environment around him change.
More precisely, his perception became terrifyingly powerful.
Before this, being blind, he could only hear people speaking, but his consciousness was in darkness. But this moment was different.
He could clearly sense his sister's presence beside him, and even her silhouette appeared as an outline in his consciousness. He could also sense the slight movement outside the cave, and even his hearing had improved many times over, allowing him to precisely determine that a bird had landed on a tree branch ten feet away.
This was an ability that only came with internal force reaching the realm of perfection.
The martial arts in this world were very magnificent, but unlike novels, there were no clear boundary divisions. After all, everyone excelled in different areas—some followed the path of external training, some focused on internal force, some on swords, some on swords, various styles, and even poison, hidden weapons, and all sorts of diverse skills. Even if practicing in the same direction, with different martial arts, the realms would be different, so there couldn't possibly be fixed realm divisions.
Take Xia Ci for example.
Due to his youth, his internal force cultivation wasn't very high, probably third-rate in the martial world. But his internal force was explosive in nature, and combined with his exquisite sword skills, he could spar with some long-established first-rate masters, and even gain the upper hand for short periods.
Therefore, the high and low of martial arts in this world depended only on the practitioner's own martial cultivation.
And at this moment, Xia Ci's Nine Yang Divine Skill had been mastered. Relying on the characteristics of the Nine Yang Divine Skill, such as self-generating protective true qi and endless internal force, he could definitely match or even surpass most internal force masters in the world.
Moreover, the almost supernatural enlightenment of the Nine Yang Divine Skill allowed him to instantly push his sword skill to a higher realm, also reaching the state of mastery.
At this moment, Xia Ci's heart was at peace.
Before this, he had been extremely fearful and anxious because he was blind, and this world was a dangerous martial arts world. He greatly lacked a sense of security, but now he had confidence.
With mastered Nine Yang Divine Skill by his side, even as a blind man, as long as he was cautious and paid attention to guarding against ghostly tricks, he didn't need to worry too much. He wouldn't feel like he was facing life-threatening danger all the time.
The most important point was that now with his internal force reaching the realm of perfection, his perception and hearing became super strong. Although he still couldn't see, he had a unique kind of vision, so he wouldn't have to hesitate with every step he took.
The night passed.
At dawn, after Xia Ci and Xia Xiayin ate some dried food, they set off toward Linjiang City.