Black Wind Mountain, Black Wind Village.
Spacious courtyard within.
"Kill!"
"Hey!"
"Ding Ling Ling!"
A brawny man with only an inch of hair, dressed in a sleeveless outfit, swayed under the scorching sun, endlessly practicing his saber skills.
You could see that with each swing of the Golden Back Big Ring Saber in his hands, the golden ring clanged crisply against the blade, its momentum unbroken.
The Golden Back Big Ring Saber, weighing about forty-three pounds and six maces, was not easily wielded by ordinary people without martial arts training.
Yet, Jiang Dali swung it with the ferocity of a descending fierce tiger, his shouts filled with intimidating killing intent.
His saber technique was quite simple.
It was just the Mortal Middle Grade Martial Arts "Tiger Evil Golden Ring Saber" from the Martial World, not too sophisticated.
Yet, it was with this saber technique that he became one of the Three Masters of Black Wind Village, respected by hundreds of mountain bandits.
As the saying goes, the more you hone a blade, the sharper it becomes; the more you train your body, the stronger it grows.
Training with the saber was also a process of body refinement, toughening up physical endurance and muscular strength during the practice.
However, at this moment, lines of small numbers emerged on Jiang Dali's body intermittently as he continued his training.
"Basic Saber Technique Proficiency +1"
"Basic Saber Technique Proficiency +1"
"Basic Saber Technique Proficiency +1"
"..."
After another quarter of an hour of relentless practice.
Jiang Dali was drenched in sweat; his robust muscles, full of explosive power, glistened like beads of oil rolling down and falling to the ground.
Suddenly, a blaze of white light rose from his body.
"Basic Saber Technique Level +1"
"Zing—"
A sharp, continuous tearing sound burst forth as nine golden rings collided in succession with the great saber, unleashing a surge of mighty force.
"It's done!"
Jiang Dali looked surprised and delighted, feeling his mouth dry.
"Three... Third Master, have some wine... ah, no, drink water!"
Just then, a broom-browed mountain bandit serving on the side hurried over with a bowl of water for Jiang Dali, stuttering timidly.
His eyes looking at Jiang Dali's layered, muscular body, he felt a mix of awe and burning admiration, and couldn't help but swallow, "The Third Master seems even stronger now, such a powerful body, really... so fierce! I really want to touch him to see if it is as hard as a stone."
"Good water!"
Jiang Dali took the bowl and drank it down in one gulp, feeling a rush of coolness spread swiftly all over his body, washing away the fatigue.
Another beam of white light rose from his body.
"Physical Strength +1"
Jiang Dali frowned and handed the bowl back to the young bandit. "Get lost, this bowl is too small, not satisfying enough!"
He strode to a shady corner of the courtyard.
In the corner sat a large brown water vat.
The vat was filled with cool well water.
Jiang Dali plunged his hand in and scooped water to his mouth.
"Physical Strength +1"
"Physical Strength +1"
He yelled out and hugged the vat with both arms.
He exerted himself, lifting the two hundred pound vat and gulped down several mouthfuls.
But a flash of red light then emerged from his body.
"Qi-Blood -1"
Jiang Dali put the vat down with a thud, knowing he should drink no more.
Drinking water was necessary after intense exercise, but too much was harmful to the body.
After hydrating,
Jiang Dali jumped up, landing steadily on the rim of the vat, his movements light as a large marten.
He walked several circles along the rim of the vat, practicing his movement technique, even jumping back and forth on the vat with his saber.
Walking as if on a mud ball without a care, his body steady, the water in the vat hardly rippled.
Several times over.
After his Light Body Skill had also improved considerably, and he had almost exhausted his Potential Points,
Jiang Dali finally took a breath.
He opened his attribute template to check his current Martial Arts Progress.
"Jiang Dali [Black Wind Village Third Master (Gathering Power Realm Small BOSS), Qi-Blood 3000/3000, Inner Qi 0/0]"
Realm: Gathering Power Realm (92/100)
status: Black Wind Village Three Masters/Green Clothes Building Iron Word Killer
Martial World reputation: Slightly Notorious (310/500)
Pet: Sword Gate Demon Hawk
Martial Arts: Hidden Weapon: Mortal Middle Grade "Sky Rain" (3 Realms slightly successful)
Punches and Kicks: Basic "Four Directions Fist", Basic "Six Paths Leg", Basic "Eight-direction Palm"
Saber Skill: Mortal Middle Grade "Tiger Evil Golden Ring Saber" (3 Realms slightly successful)
Cross Training: Mortal Lower Grade "Iron Cloth Shirt" (3 Realms slightly successful)
Qinggong: Mortal Lower Grade "Eight Steps to Catch a Cicada" (2 Realms Initial Insight)
Internal Cultivation Methods: None
Cultivation Points: 3
Potential Points: 2
The Cultivation and Potential Points were basically all spent.
Jiang Dali knew it was time to urgently start earning more Cultivation and Potential Points.
He needed to break through to the Inner Qi Realm before those calamity-like folks arrived in this world to gain enough advantage and to acquire the Human Rank Horizontal Training Martial Arts "Thirteen Grand Protectors Training" and the Heavenly Rank Absolute Skill "Nine Yang Divine Skill," to persist on the vigorous path of developing muscular prowess.
"Third Master, the Great Master has received a new mission from the higher-ups, and he's asking for you,"
at that moment, an underling with bushy eyebrows approached, reminding him.
"Oh?"
Jiang Dali laughed heartily, "Good, very good. I will go to see the Great Master and take on the mission right now."
Immediately, he grabbed a cloak beside him, wrapped his Golden Back Big Ring Saber with a cloth strip to prevent noise, and briskly walked out with the vigor of a tiger and the stride of a dragon.
"Third Master!"
"Third Master!"
"Third Master, it seems your martial arts have improved again! Sometime you must give us pointers."
Walking on the firm yellow mud road within Black Mountain Village, several mountain bandits saw Jiang Dali, stopping in their tracks, profoundly respectful and ingratiating, their expressions filled with awe.
Over the past couple of years, Jiang Dali's performance had been nothing short of stunning.
In nearly two years, Jiang Dali had led the team to successfully carry out 13 large-scale escort heists.
He had also cooperated with the Second and Great Master to take down a mission from Dragon Gate Escort Agency, greatly enhancing Black Wind Village's reputation and supporting a large group of brothers over the past two years.
Most importantly, Jiang Dali was not only good at fighting but also adept at handling difficult missions from above.
Black Wind Village thrived among the Green Forest factions, not without a strong backing.
Otherwise, they would have been eradicated by the court or some insignificant sects.
The reason they could still rule as mountain kings was also due to having a formidable backing.
And the backing of Black Wind Village occasionally assigned some challenging missions, designated for the three Masters of Black Wind Village to handle.
Originally, these challenging missions greatly vexed the Great Master.
But in recent years, as Jiang Dali grew stronger, all the challenging missions from above were proactively taken on and completed by him.
This selfless dedication to his brothers, to put his life on the line for them, naturally earned him the gratitude and respect of both the Great Master and the Second Master.
They even taught Jiang Dali their famous Martial Arts, "Iron Cloth Shirt" and "Sky Rain," hoping that he would become even stronger and take on all the challenging missions assigned from above.
A wise superior would certainly appreciate subordinates with strong abilities who could help secure advantages and glory, rather than being jealous of their talents and deliberately suppressing them.
Although Xiong Ba, the Great Master of Black Wind Village, was a blunt man, he also knew how to use people and did not harm Jiang Dali simply because his martial prowess was becoming increasingly threatening.
However, Jiang Dali was indeed useful.
After all, the challenging missions occasionally sent from above involved risking their lives.
Assigning them to ordinary mountain bandits would likely result in failure, and it was dangerous for the Great Master and the Second Master to take them on themselves.
Since he, Lao San (Third Master), was willing to undertake them, that was invariably pleasing.
Given the perilous nature of the Martial World, why should one venture out to undertake dangerous missions when one could thrive gloriously within their own domain?
With such an immensely passionate and excited individual as Jiang Dali, both Xiong Ba and the Life-stealing Scholar, the Second Master, were inwardly delighted.
Every act performed by Jiang Dali was considered a merit for them at higher levels, which would count towards their future promotions.
If Jiang Dali were to unfortunately die out there, it wouldn't be their sacrifice.
Such an earnest and proactively beneficial man was hard to find...