From the moment the Tiger Soul awakened, I became invincible.

Chapter 105 The Dragon and Snake Take Form, A Mysterious Master

For Qin Wu, the Nine Bends and Eighteen Villages incident was merely an interlude.

With his current abilities and strength, even dealing with the Holy Infant Cult had some trouble and took some time due to the investigation. However, dealing with the Nine Bends and Eighteen Villages was a piece of cake. Not long after he rushed to the Nine Bends and Eighteen Villages, other forces in Linshui City had already taken over the related issues. The children were naturally taken care of, and Qin Wu had already returned to Linshui City. Just as he had expected, in the following days, apart from Liu Sanxing still coming to see him, everyone else kept their distance from him. Gifts would occasionally be sent to his door, but no one dared to easily chat with him. They were afraid that if they were not careful, they would offend this fearsome figure and bring annihilation to their families. After all, even a force like the Holy Infant Cult was wiped out by Qin Wu alone, so his power was unimaginable. Under such circumstances, it was better to observe silently than to contact Qin Wu. Even if there was no benefit, at least there would be no harm. The Liu family, where Liu Sanxing lived, benefited greatly because of his relationship with Qin Wu. As a result, Liu Sanxing, the fat man, couldn't stop smiling these days, and even had to hide because he was so stiff.

Qin Wu himself had been focusing all his attention on the Dragon-Snake Hidden Hands technique these past few days. This technique was extremely easy for him to learn. Qin Wu now possessed numerous martial arts techniques, all of which had reached a high level of mastery. Some of these techniques were interconnected, and even if they didn't provide direct assistance, they still gave him an advantage in practicing the Dragon-Snake Hidden Hands. Therefore, in just a few days, Qin Wu had already mastered the Dragon-Snake Hidden Hands to a minor level of completion. Moreover, if he continued at this pace, he was even confident that he could reach perfection, or even a higher level of mastery, of the Dragon-Snake Hidden Hands before the True Qi sects arrived.

Qin Wu was naturally very happy with this progress. If he could perfect the Dragon-Snake Fist, it would mean that his power would increase by another level. Now, with the Dragon-Snake World-Suppressing Fist, he was confident that he could briefly fight against someone at the initial stage of True Qi. If he could perfect the Dragon-Snake Hidden Hand, perhaps his strength would increase even further.

However, he was also very clear that truly fighting against someone at the initial stage of True Qi, let alone defeating them, would be no easy task. Therefore, his first step was to perfect his Dragon-Snake Hidden Hand technique while simultaneously raising his own cultivation level to break through to the peak of the Meridian Opening Realm as soon as possible. Only by reaching the peak of the Meridian Opening Realm could he qualify to open the twelve acupoints and reach the initial stage of True Qi.

However, he was well aware that this was not an easy task, so he meticulously refined his cultivation techniques every day. Finally, after nearly a month, Qin Wu opened his eyes from his seclusion, a glint of brilliance flashing in them.

"I've reached the peak of the Meridian Opening Realm, and not only that, my Dragon-Snake Hidden Hand technique is also nearing completion. Most importantly, I've fused quite a bit with the Dragon-Snake Martial Soul. My strength is now more than 30% higher than before. I never imagined that the Dragon-Snake Martial Soul would be so much stronger than my previous Martial Soul."

Qin Wu's eyes were filled with undisguised shock. Even with the complete fusion of his previous martial souls, he might not have reached this level. But now, the fusion of only a small portion of the Dragon-Snake martial soul had already increased his strength by 30%. If he could fuse the entire martial soul, his strength would surge again. However, his Dragon-Snake Hidden Hand was already close to completion, and he also had the added boost from the Dragon-Snake World-Suppressing Fist.

Based on this calculation, even if he could cultivate the Dragon-Snake Hidden Hand to the highest level, it wouldn't be enough to fully deduce the Dragon-Snake Martial Soul. He might only be able to deduce half of it, or even less than half.

This is enough to prove the power of the Dragon-Snake Martial Soul, but it's also a sweet burden for him, because it means he needs to find a new Dragon-Snake type Martial Soul, and if he can't find one, it will be troublesome. Although the already completed Dragon-Snake Hidden Hand can bring him a lot of fusion acceleration, it's still not as fast as deducing a new cultivation technique, and it's also a waste of time. Every cultivation technique can deepen his potential. However, now is not the time to consider this matter. Perhaps after entering a True Qi Sect, a turning point will come. After all, even if he wanted to perfect the Dragon-Snake Hidden Hand now, it wouldn't be something he could do in a short time. Perhaps by the time his Dragon-Snake Hidden Hand is perfected, the people from those True Qi Sects will come to hold their disciple recruitment conference.

He had been staying home for a while and was planning to go out and take a look. A few days ago, Liu Sanxing came over and told him about the recent situation in Linshui City. After the brief upheaval, Linshui City had been quiet for a while, and then in the past few days, many outsiders had appeared, obviously due to the upcoming recruitment event. And this was just the beginning; before long, all the geniuses of Qianzhou would gather in Linshui City.

When that time comes, it will be a grand event that is rarely seen in the entire Qianzhou.

Stepping out of the courtyard, I saw that Linshui City was indeed much more lively.

The road was now lined with many martial arts practitioners carrying knives, each with a different accent, clearly from different parts of Qianzhou. Just as he was strolling around, a thin, small figure suddenly bumped into him.

The thin, dirty figure glanced up at him, then turned and tried to leave. In that instant, Qin Wu grabbed his collar.

"Hand over the items."

Qin Wu was both angry and amused.

He never expected that after so long without anyone daring to cause him trouble, he would be targeted by a thief. The key point is that although the thief was filthy, he was agile and clearly quite skilled.

"W-what? I didn't take anything."

The other person spoke in a panic, while simultaneously trying to pry Qin Wu's hand away, attempting to continue their escape.

"Someone's chasing me, brother, don't stop me. If I get caught, he'll beat me to death."

But Qin Wu's hand blocked his path mercilessly, like an iron hand, without any hesitation.

Suddenly, a furious shout rang out.

"Zhou Qiao'er, you better stop right now, or I'll chop you to pieces!"

As they spoke, a young man wielding a long knife flashed and leaped towards them. Seeing this, the little beggar called Zhou Qiao'er panicked even more. She quickly pulled a small package from her bosom, threw it at Qin Wu, and angrily said, "I've given you the package, now let me go!"

Upon hearing this, Qin Wu's lips curled into a smile. His hands remained tightly gripping the object, showing no intention of letting go, as he waited for the pursuers to catch up.

"Why are you like this?"

Seeing that her escape attempt was futile, Zhou Qiao'er looked utterly helpless. Soon, the young man with the knife caught up from behind. He gritted his teeth, glaring at Zhou Qiao'er, who was now captured by Qin Wu, and said, "You've finally been caught."

"It's just 30 taels of silver, is it really worth it? You probably spend more than 30 taels on a single meal." Zhou Qiao'er scolded angrily.

After she finished cursing, she looked at Qin Wu with unsatisfied anger.

"And you, we're all from the same martial arts world, can't you give me some face?"

A faint smile appeared on Qin Wu's lips as he said, "In all my years, no one has ever taken advantage of me and left unscathed."

The little beggar didn't have much, but since they attacked him, they should pay the price.

The young man with the knife didn't look at Zhou Qiao'er, but said to Qin Wu, "I am Zhou Yan, the Black Demon Blade. Thank you for stopping him, young master. This is my younger sister. She is ignorant, so I apologize to you on her behalf. Fortunately, she shouldn't have taken your things. I am willing to offer another thousand taels of silver as compensation."

Hearing this, Qin Wu was somewhat speechless. Zhou Yan, the Black Demon Blade, was dressed in extremely luxurious clothes, and the blade in his hand was adorned with jewels; although he didn't know how effective it was, it was clearly very valuable. Compared to him, his sister Zhou Qiao'er's clothes were so poor that calling her a beggar would be an understatement.

Qin Wu waved his hand and then said, "In the end, nothing serious happened. However, I have a bad temper, and I'm sure there are quite a few others like me. Next time we encounter a similar situation, things might not turn out so well."

As they spoke, Qin Wu released Zhou Qiao'er and did not make things difficult for her any further.

Zhou Yan, the Black Demon Blade, thanked Qin Wu once again.

Then he said to Zhou Qiao'er, "I told you long ago, you can come with me. Why do you insist on leaving alone? Do you know how dangerous Qianzhou is? If you're not careful, you might run into those old monsters."

Zhou Qiao'er pouted and then said, "So what? Even if a martial artist at the Meridian Opening Realm wanted to stop me, it wouldn't be that easy." As she said this, she looked at Qin Wu, who was watching the show from the side, and didn't understand how Qin Wu had managed to capture her.

Not only Zhou Qiao'er, but Zhou Yan, the Black Demon Blade, also had a hint of doubt in his eyes. Others might not know, but he knew that his younger sister had inherited her mother's talent. Perhaps she couldn't compare to those martial artists in the Meridian Opening Realm in terms of combat strength, but in terms of agility and speed, even a late-stage Meridian Opening Realm martial artist would find it extremely difficult to stop her. Only a peak Meridian Opening Realm martial artist could possibly do that.

In his view, someone who could reach the peak of the Meridian Opening Realm should at least look like a middle-aged person, but Qin Wu looked too young, as if he were the same age as him, or even younger.

Qin Wu could certainly guess the doubts in their hearts. If he hadn't sensed this abnormality, he wouldn't have let go of Zhou Qiao'er.

Despite his young age and lack of strong qi and blood fluctuations, his agility already surpasses that of ordinary martial artists at the Meridian Opening Realm.

But the fact that the other party would steal the little bit of silver he had on him was extremely unusual, and that's what piqued his curiosity.

However, neither side broke this tacit understanding. Zhou Yan, the Black Demon Blade, frowned and then said, "I know you are dissatisfied with your father's actions. But you should also know that there are some things he couldn't do. I will naturally deal with Mother's problem in the future. But before that, I hope you can understand your father's difficulties."

Zhou Qiao'er, her face contorted with anger, retorted, "Here we go again! I knew you'd say this again, but I don't care. Those people are holding Mother captive, and I'm determined to rescue her. Since they won't do it, I will. This time, I will definitely join a True Qi Sect, and one day I will personally rescue Mother." With that, Zhou Qiao'er turned and left, giving Zhou Yan no chance to stop her. Qin Wu didn't intervene, only appearing thoughtful.

Zhou Yan gritted his teeth, apologized to Qin Wu, left some money as compensation, and immediately chased after Zhou Qiao'er. Qin Wu didn't interfere in the matter between the two, as he didn't know exactly what had happened.

After this incident, Qin Wu decided to visit Bai Cao Tang first. His relationship with Meng Qiudie was quite good now. Although Bai Cao Tang wouldn't interfere in ordinary matters, providing him with some intelligence wouldn't be a problem. He could learn about the recent events in Linshui City and which powerful figures had arrived, allowing him to make better plans.

He hadn't walked far when a burly man suddenly blocked Qin Wu's path and said, "Kid, you must be Qin Wu?"

The visitor spoke directly.

Upon seeing this person, Qin Wu's expression suddenly turned serious, and he said, "Senior, I haven't offended you, have I?"

With Qin Wu's current experience, he could naturally tell that the person before him was no ordinary individual. Although he appeared somewhat rugged, he was definitely not someone to be trifled with. Especially the aura emanating from the other party, which even made him feel somewhat alarmed. After fusing with several martial souls, his senses had become increasingly acute. This was an instinct derived from wild beasts; the combined instincts of many beasts were far stronger than those of ordinary people. Therefore, he could sense that this person's strength was likely above his own, possibly even having already entered the initial stage of True Qi cultivation. This forced him to be fully prepared.

The man laughed and said, "You haven't offended me, but I'm here to cause you trouble."

After saying that, the burly man did not hesitate and threw a punch at Qin Wu.

Although Qin Wu was annoyed, he had no choice but to respond, and he immediately used his Transformation Tiger-Taming Fist.

However, this time he did not directly confront them head-on, because he was very clear about the gap between the two of them, and directly confronting them would definitely not be a good thing for him.

Even so, Qin Wu only took one hit before retreating more than ten steps before finally stopping.

"At the initial stage of True Qi, I truly don't know where this junior has gotten the honor of troubling you with your help, senior."

Qin Wu gritted his teeth and spoke.