I became a martial arts saint while playing games.

Hidden among the jagged rocks in the mountains and forests is a secluded mountain stream. Vines block out the sunlight, with only a few dim rays of light shining down below. In the light, two blurry figures can be vaguely seen, which are two demonic creatures.

The two demons were whispering in hushed tones, as if afraid of disturbing their surroundings.

"Gone again?" one of the grayish-brown monsters exclaimed in surprise. "You said that all the ghosts in that haunted building disappeared in just one day?"

Another, slender demon said, "That swordsman has come again today. What can I do?"

The gray-brown demon said irritably, "What should we do? The King might return today. When he comes back and finds that not only has his Black Wind Cave been completely slaughtered and all the prisoners he captured escaped, but now his Ghost Tower, where he practices his demonic arts, has also been attacked, he will surely be furious. How will we survive?"

Black Wind Cave was the very demon cave where Gu Yan started his game. He had slaughtered all the demons left in that cave, but the cave master, the Black Wind Wolf King, was away and had not returned yet.

The two demons were both troubled when they talked about this. The massacre at Black Wind Cave was a major event, but it had nothing to do with them, so they couldn't be blamed.

However, the Ghost Tower was their assigned location. Now that the Ghost Tower has been attacked, not a single ghost artifact used by the King for cultivation remains. If the King returns in a fit of rage, they will be held responsible.

After a few seconds of silence, the gaunt monster's expression darkened, and he said, "It seems there's only one way left. But it's inevitably a bit risky."

The gray-brown demon said, "When the king returns, we'll both be two dead demons. What's the point of taking any risks? Speak."

The lanky monster said, "Judging from that swordsman's move, his methods were truly terrifying. He was probably at the Qi Control realm as well, and his strength might not be below that of the Great King."

The gray-brown demon's heart skipped a beat, and he said, "You mean...?"

The lanky demon said, "Look, we're all going to die anyway when the king comes back. If we tell him the king's secrets first, then go to that swordsman and beg for mercy, do you think he might spare our lives?"

The gray-brown demon was startled upon hearing this, but after careful consideration, he realized that although the move was risky, it might not be entirely impossible.

Before he could reply, an immense and unparalleled force suddenly pressed down upon them. The two demons felt a tightness in their chests, and even their breathing became labored.

The colossal shadow arrived with the speed of a black whirlwind; before it even appeared, a domineering and authoritative voice boomed, demanding:

"You were just saying, 'Whom do you want to go to?'"

The two demons felt a chill run down their spines.

The Black Wind Wolf King has returned.

...

...

Gu Yan swept through Shuangcha Cave, annihilating all the demons and monsters. Upon emerging from the cave, he saw the numerous lesser demons that Shen Qinghan had subdued, and with a flash of his sword, he slew them all as easily as cutting melons and vegetables.

Another wave of potential points has been gained. After harvesting the Ghost Tower and Twin Fork Cave, the potential points have exceeded 4,000 again and are about to return to the 5,000 mark.

Gu Yan was in high spirits. He loved working with good teammates like Shen Qinghan, who was strong enough to cover everything, willing to do odd jobs for him without stealing experience, and would stop the weak monsters but let him take the boss head.

Where else in the world can you find such a great teammate?

Shen Qinghan asked, "Where to now?"

Gu Yan sheathed his sword and said as he walked, "The last of the three great demon caves is the Chaotic Stone Cave. With this place pacified, all three demon caves of Qingxi will be wiped out. We only have some final cleanup work to do, and then we can say goodbye to Qingxi."

Shen Qinghan admired him. She thought that such a small place as Qingxi was actually inhabited by such a complex demonic force, and that Gu Yan was able to find out so clearly so quickly and calmly devise a plan to slay the demons.

As far as she knew, even the dedicated team of the Demon Suppression Division needed a whole group of people to work together and it would take many days to get this kind of job done.

Gu Yan single-handedly handled all the tasks, including reconnaissance, strategy, and demon-slaying, making him seem like an entire elite team in one person.

Shen Qinghan accompanied them, but mostly just watched from the sidelines, almost doing nothing. Thinking about it now, she felt even more ashamed.

The more I thought about it, the more I admired him, feeling that this person was truly a born demon-slaying genius.

But little did Shen Qinghan know that Gu Yan had no steps for investigation or planning whatsoever... or rather, none at all in this life.

Following the normal starting village process, players need to slowly explore Qingxi, gradually unraveling the mystery of collusion between officials and demons, and the presence of monsters. Needless to say, there are many doubts along the way, and the danger increases with each step the player takes closer to the truth. This entire process takes a considerable amount of time within the game.

But Gu Yan is different. He has memories of his past life, and even more so, a planned process and route.

He didn't need to investigate at all; he skipped all the plot points and went straight to the demon-slaying theme. His strength increased at a rate far exceeding that of players who followed the normal plot. Therefore, the dangers that would normally be life-or-death in the normal plot were nothing to him.

That's the charm of speedrunning.

Before long, the three arrived at the Luanshi Cave, which was also the last remaining demon cave near Qingxi.

Shen Qinghan said, "This time, Constable Li will wait outside the cave, and I will go in with you."

She had previously heard Gu Yan mention that each of the three major demon caves was guarded by at least one Qi-Controlling Demon King. The demon king of the Twin-Forked Cave was dead, but there might still be a Qi-Controlling Demon King in this chaotic rock cave.

Although Gu Yan may now possess the strength to fight against those at the Qi Control level, the number of demons in this cave is unknown. If there is a Qi Control Demon King guarding the cave, along with several elite demons at the peak of the Solidification stage, and the rest of the lesser demons swarming in, Shen Qinghan worries that Gu Yan, alone, might still encounter trouble here.

Gu Yan simply smiled and said, "It's alright. The Qi-Controlling Demon King of the Chaotic Stone Cave isn't home right now. Lord Shen, please guard the door here and make sure this little demon doesn't get away."

Shen Qinghan hesitated for a moment. Although she didn't know how Gu Yan had found out that the Demon King of the Chaotic Stone Cave was also not there, she still obediently nodded.

Gu Yan drew his sword and strode back into the cave.

The reason he only came to explore the Rock Cave today, and deliberately placed it at the end of the route, was because, based on his experience in the game in his previous life, he knew that the owner of the Rock Cave was not at home at this time.

This cave master is also at the Qi Control Realm, but there's a huge gap between different Qi Control Realm masters. The two wild boar brothers from Twin Fork Cave are only at the initial stage of Qi Control, and their strength is far inferior to that of the Lord of Chaotic Rock Cave.

While a direct confrontation wouldn't be out of the question, with all the elites and lesser demons of the Chaotic Stone Cave joining forces with the Demon King, the battle would naturally be more time-consuming, laborious, and riskier. More importantly, some demons might take the opportunity to escape during the melee, and they might not be able to stop them all.

Furthermore, if the cave master of the chaotic rocks sees the situation is unfavorable and chooses not to fight them, relying instead on his subordinates to act as cannon fodder to hinder Gu Yan and the others while he focuses entirely on escaping, then he is very likely to get away. These are all experiences summarized by players from previous lives.

The master of this chaotic rock cave is a mid-stage Qi Control Demon King. Such a powerful demon is one of the most luxurious gifts in the entire Qingxi County.

If Gu Yan had given away such a luxurious experience pack at the start of a speedrun in his previous life, he would already be considering restarting the game.

But it doesn't matter.

As the saying goes, a gentleman uses wits, not brute force. Although the Rock Demon King is difficult to defeat, he has a clever method that gives him at least a 90% chance of killing him.

The secret to success lies hidden in this rocky cave.