Be a proper Taoist priest in The Condor Heroes

The next morning, as soon as Xiao Nianba woke up, he heard the hum of an iron sword coming from the courtyard. This was Su Yan's daily routine, and he would practice it several times whenever he had a spare moment.

Xiao Nianba hurriedly got up, packed his things, and the two of them ate some dry food and drank their fill of water before setting off.

"Brother Yan'er, put me down. You should go on your own. You're a martial artist, so you can go faster."

This was the phrase Xiao Nianba spoke the most along the way; she didn't even know they were heading towards the county town.

She didn't want to be a burden to the older brother who had saved her life, so she didn't ask where the destination was or where she was going along the way.

But she could sense that the journey would be long and fraught with peril.

Yan'er is a martial artist. Without her, he could have gone much faster. Besides, Yan'er really has no obligation or responsibility to take care of her.

They met by chance, and during this time, she had been the one causing trouble for Yan'er. If she survived, she would definitely serve Yan'er like a slave for the rest of her life. Although she learned this from her mother and didn't know what it meant, she wanted to be like a cow or a horse to carry Yan'er if she could.

Su Yan was unaware of Xiao Nianba's thoughts and simply proceeded cautiously. They were about to reach the Black Pine Forest that the village chief had mentioned. If he was not mistaken, the large forest ahead was indeed the so-called Black Pine Forest. He stared at the traces hidden in the woods ahead. Although he couldn't see how many people there were, he could tell that this was where the other party was lying in wait.

The iron sword at his waist was already drawn; its dark red, matte finish was chilling in the sunlight. It was a sword that had been soaked in the blood of refugees and thieves.

As they approached the forest, the people inside began to stir. Su Yan suddenly accelerated and sprinted forward. Without knowing the number of enemies, luring them out to pursue was the optimal solution.

Sure enough, as Su Yan accelerated, more than a dozen or twenty bandits armed with knives and clubs rushed out of the forest, trying to surround Su Yan. In the dense forest, a figure with a pointed mouth and monkey-like face stood with his hands behind his back, looking confident of victory.

But Su Yan did not slow down and returned to his horizontal slash. The bandits blocking his way immediately raised their sticks to block. Could they block it?

It was clearly unstoppable; he killed two people with just a few sword strikes, creating a breakthrough. He had only taken two steps forward when, without warning, a figure with a pointed snout and monkey-like face appeared in the dense forest, blocking his path.

"Good lad, you've got some skills, you're not bad at all. How about joining our stronghold and becoming our second-in-command?"

His voice was high-pitched and shrill, like fingernails scraping against a wooden board.

"Following Master Monkey and living the good life is much better than navigating a chaotic world with a burden in tow!"

After saying that, he glanced at Xiao Nianba with a sinister look, his beady eyes full of ill intent.

Su Yan noticed that there were no calluses on the tiger's mouth, but rather rough callus marks on the back of his hands. He figured that the curved knife at his waist was mostly for show, and his real skill lay in his hands.

"Enough talk, watch out for the hidden weapon!"

Su Yan didn't want to get involved. Although the dozen or twenty refugees behind him were not very strong, if they really got entangled, Xiao Nianba behind him wouldn't be safe.

He immediately handed the cloth bag he had prepared to Monkey King. Monkey King's expression tightened, and he quickly leaped backward to dodge. When he saw that it was just a tattered cloth, he realized that he had been tricked. Just as he was about to get angry, he saw Su Yan draw his sword and thrust it at him.

Su Yan's sword strike was swift and fierce, his longsword aimed straight for Monkey King's heart, the tip of the sword humming as it sliced ​​through the air.

Seeing this, Monkey King dared not take the blow head-on. He lightly touched the ground with his toes and, using his rudimentary lightness skill, leaped three feet into the air. Although his movements were hasty, he managed to avoid the fatal attack.

This kind of lightness skill is ultimately just a survival trick for low-level martial artists. It is not very graceful and can only be used for leaping, dodging and shifting.

The moment he landed, Monkey King lowered his waist and shoulders, clenched his fists like hammers, and smashed them toward Su Yan's sword body, which was the style of the "Smashing Stele Hand"!

"You little brat, you're asking for it!"

Monkey King roared shrilly, his fists pounding back and forth. Though the wind from his punches was fierce, his moves were chaotic and disorganized, relying entirely on brute force.

Su Yan understood that the "Smashing Stele Hand" was just a rudimentary external skill that emphasized strength over technique.

He immediately spun around and took a step to avoid a head-on collision, and then slashed horizontally with his iron sword, which was a series of consecutive slashes from the Su family sword technique.

The sword blade swept towards Monkey King's side with a whooshing sound, forcing him to jump back in a panic.

But Su Yan pressed on relentlessly, his longsword slashing vertically like an axe, "Shield Breaker Slash," and slashing diagonally along the ground, "Ground Slash." His Su family sword technique was fierce and unparalleled, each move aimed directly at vital points, compressing Monkey King's space to dodge smaller and smaller.

Although Monkey King's lightness skill allowed him to temporarily avoid fatal wounds, he couldn't withstand Su Yan's dense sword moves and immense force. After several rounds, his breathing became erratic, beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, and the agility brought by his lightness skill was gradually exhausted by his physical strength.

Seeing Su Yan thrust his sword toward his right leg, he hurriedly tried to dodge, but his footing made him a beat too slow.

With a "whoosh" sound.

The sword blade slashed a long gash in his trouser leg, and blood seeped out instantly.

"You son of a bitch!"

Monkey King was both shocked and furious. He desperately swung his fist at Su Yan's face, trying to force him to turn back his sword to protect himself.

But Su Yan had anticipated this. He bent his left elbow to protect his ribs, flipped his wrist over the longsword, and slashed the tip of the sword, actually piercing through Monkey King's left knee!

"ah,!"

A heart-wrenching scream echoed through the mountains. Monkey King's kneecap shattered, and he collapsed to his knees with a thud. His right leg tried to kick, but Su Yan swung his sword and severed the tendons in his right leg. Two jets of blood gushed out, and Monkey King lay paralyzed on the ground, unable to move, his beady eyes filled with fear and resentment.

"A martial artist... he's a martial artist!! Run!"

At this moment, the dozen or so bandits chasing behind them were terrified upon seeing this, some turning to flee. Others who still wanted to go up also turned to run upon hearing the martial artist's name.

Su Yan's eyes sharpened, he braced his iron sword against the ground, and his figure darted out like an arrow. In just a moment, he had slaughtered all the remaining bandits, leaving the forest floor covered in blood, with no survivors.

Xiao Nianba kept her arms around Su Yan's neck. Although her face was pale, she bit her lip tightly and did not make a sound to disturb Su Yan.

Su Yan walked up to Monkey King with a blood-dripping iron sword, the tip of the sword pointing at his throat.

"Hand over your lightness skill, don't try any tricks, or else..."

Su Yan's sword dipped slightly, slicing through the skin of his neck, and a trickle of blood seeped out.

Monkey King convulsed, but seeing that Su Yan had something on his mind, his eyes immediately lit up.

"I can give it to you, but you have to let me go after you've learned it."

Su Yan pretended to be deep in thought for a moment.

"Fine, I can let you go as long as you stop doing evil. But if you dare to lie to me, I have plenty of ways to torture you."

Monkey King was already quite certain that his opponent was a third-rate martial artist, but unfortunately, it was too late to realize it now.

Seeing that he had agreed, he immediately explained the key points of the lifting technique, which were all simple methods such as "gathering qi below the navel, sinking the abdomen and tightening the waist; using the toes to touch the ground to borrow strength", without any obscure parts.

Su Yan silently memorized it and immediately looked at his panel.

Host: Su Yan

Age: 16

Martial arts:

Rank E - Su Family Swordplay (Mastery, 62/400) [Stamina/Inner Force Consumption -25%, Armor Penetration Increase +25%, Skill Pressure +30%]

Realm: Third-rate martial artist

The lifting technique wasn't recorded on the panel. Without hesitation, a flash of sword light severed the ring and little fingers of Monkey King's left hand.

"ah!!!!"

"I gave you a chance, but you didn't behave."

Su Yan looked at Monkey King and patted Monkey King's cheek with the blade of his sword.

"I'll talk, I'll talk, ahhh!"

Monkey King covered his left hand, his face filled with horror and pain. Regardless of how the other party verified the truth, he dared not hide anything anymore and recounted the complete secrets of his lightness skill.

It then appeared on the panel.

Host: Su Yan

Age: 16

Martial arts:

Rank E - Su Family Swordplay (Mastery, 62/400) [Stamina/Inner Force Consumption -25%, Armor Penetration Increase +25%, Skill Pressure +30%]

Rank E - Lifting Technique (Beginner, 0/10)

Realm: Third-rate martial artist

"You're smart to know what's good for you. Where's your boxing skill?"

Su Yan nodded in satisfaction.

He had long wanted to learn a skill of lightness, which would be very useful for both traveling and killing. If this bandit hadn't possessed such a skill, he probably wouldn't have lasted more than three moves.

"I have the secret manual, take a look for yourself, now can you let me go?"

Although Monkey King didn't know how Su Yan distinguished between the real and the fake, he dared not lie for a moment, fearing another sword strike. He hurriedly pulled out a yellowed booklet from the tattered cloth bag at his waist. The cover read "Smashing Stele Hand." It was originally a boxing technique that he hadn't fully mastered and used as a pastime during robberies. Inside were simple boxing stance diagrams with very basic annotations.

Su Yan quickly flipped through the document to confirm that it was a complete manual, then put it away.

Host: Su Yan

Age: 16.

Martial arts:

Rank E - Su Family Swordplay (Mastery, 62/400) [Stamina/Inner Force Consumption -25%, Armor Penetration Increase +25%, Skill Pressure +30%]

Rank E - Lifting Technique (Beginner, 0/10)

E-level - Stone-smashing expert (beginner, 0/10).

Realm: Third-rate martial artist.

Su Yan was overjoyed. Although these two rudimentary martial arts skills were not up to par, they perfectly filled the gaps in his lightness skills and fist techniques. He looked down at the still wailing Monkey King, his eyes completely calm, and with a swipe of his longsword, he ended his life.

Honesty? That's not something you talk about with bandits.

"Yan-ge'er..."

Little Nianba timidly peeked out, his voice trembling.

Su Yan sheathed his sword, put the little wilted girl down, patted her head, and his tone returned to calm.

"It's alright, you can get down now and search these people for their belongings. I need to rest for a bit."

"it is good"

Although Xiao Nianba's foot wound still hurt a bit, it was much better than yesterday. Without further ado, he grabbed the short knife he had seized from the Black Tiger Gang and began looting.

Su Yan rested for a while, then searched Monkey King's body again. Including what Little Nianba had scavenged, he probably only had three taels of silver and a few wild vegetable dumplings.

Su Yan threw away the wild vegetable dumplings; who knew if they contained human flesh? As for the weapons on the ground, they were just a pile of scrap metal, not even as good as the short knife in Xiao Nianba's hand, so there was no need for them. They wouldn't be worth much even if taken away. The only decent weapon was Monkey King's scimitar, but that was a standard Mongolian weapon, so to avoid unnecessary trouble, he had to throw it away.

After resting, he carried Xiao Nianba on his back and steadily walked through the black pine forest, continuing his journey towards the town.