It had to be said that Huang Xuemei was by far the most difficult woman he had ever had to win over.
Not to mention the many powerful figures he had offended for her sake, just the amount of coaxing—no, sweet-talking—he had to do nearly stumped him.
With Qi Fang and He Qinghua, he had always held the absolute advantage, able to act as he pleased, even with a hint of threat. They posed no danger to him. But Huang Xuemei was different; he dared not utter a single threatening word.
The reason was simple: she was too strong. He had no desire to be killed by Huang Xuemei during their intimate moments. This wasn’t impossible. A grandmaster-level expert who was deeply dissatisfied with him and wanted him dead—given his current strength, he would absolutely not engage in marital relations with her. That would be suicide.
In the martial world, when a husband and wife’s strength wasn’t too far apart, they usually remained monogamous for this very reason. The husband truly dared not have any wandering thoughts, not even about taking a concubine. His strength gap with Huang Xuemei wasn’t huge, but she was certainly capable of threatening him; one misstep and he’d be overturned.
So, to coax Huang Xuemei into bed and win her over, he had to play heavily on emotions, getting her to at least half-agree reluctantly. Thus, at this moment, Li Daoqiang felt an immense satisfaction. After all, the more he invested, the greater the joy of reaping the rewards. It was a dual fulfillment of body and spirit—a feeling beyond words to outsiders.
With a smile on his face, he glanced at Huang Xuemei, who was pretending to sleep, and kissed her exquisitely beautiful face in contentment. Seeing her motionless, as if truly asleep and unaware, he couldn’t help but feel overjoyed. After a few more looks, he inwardly steadied his emotions and turned his attention to the Great Bandit System.
This was the time for harvest.
Host: Li Daoqiang Realm: Grandmaster Martial Arts: Dragon-Elephant Prajna Art (Tenth Layer) Talents: Immune to All Poisons, Born War God, Top-Tier Aptitude Bandit Points: 44,000,000
The information panel was laid out clearly, and some details came to him naturally. He raised an eyebrow slightly—Huang Xuemei wasn’t considered a top-tier expert!
The 44 million bandit points included the original 19 million, with the remaining 25 million coming from obtaining Huang Xuemei. The bandit points gained from obtaining a grandmaster-level woman were similar to those from the innate realm. The first tier was five times that of obtaining a grandmaster subordinate, also five times what the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Art required for the corresponding level. The second tier was half of the first.
Huang Xuemei was classified as a grandmaster expert at the first tier, hence the 25 million points. Li Daoqiang felt a slight dissatisfaction—the Great Bandit System didn’t recognize the boost from the Demon Zither. If it had, that would have been 100 million points, enough to reach the eleventh layer of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Art. Then, few in the world would make him wary.
After a brief daydream, his dissatisfaction faded. Twenty-five million bandit points, plus the combat power of a top-tier expert like Huang Xuemei and such a beautiful wife—his investment was absolutely worth it. The 100 million points needed for the eleventh layer were nearly halfway there, promising great potential. Overall, he was pleased. After all his hard work, the rewards hadn’t disappointed.
Feeling happy for a while, he pondered why the Great Bandit System rated Huang Xuemei as first tier. He had long speculated about these two levels. Huang Xuemei’s rating made him think more. Compared to Qi Fang and He Qinghua, what advantages did she have? Stronger strength, higher talent, and one more thing—she was the first female lead of *The Six-Fingered Demon Zither*, carrying more destiny. If nothing unexpected happened, these three factors combined were the system’s evaluation criteria.
Appearance was certainly a factor, but it was likely just the foundation. At their level, looks alone couldn’t easily distinguish them; it was more about differences in temperament. So, appearance was the base, but the key was those three points. With this in mind, how many women could be rated as first tier? He silently pondered for a while before setting the matter aside.
The urgent task was to figure out how to handle the situation between Huang Xuemei and He Qinghua. He Qinghua’s side was manageable, but with Huang Xuemei, one misstep could ruin everything. The only good news was that he had already secured her, giving him more leverage. He quickly calculated in his mind.
Just then, his desires had been sated, and his mind was in a calm, rational state. Gradually, he reached a firm decision. The best course was to first make He Qinghua endure it. But with her proud and arrogant nature, could she bear it? A flicker of uncertainty arose, but he immediately suppressed it. She had to endure it; no matter what, he had to convince her. It wasn’t that he was biased—it was her fault to begin with. Besides, she wasn’t a match for Huang Xuemei. He had no choice.
Meanwhile, in Jingzhou City, in the dead of night, He Qinghua quietly slipped out of her residence. With her martial arts, none of the watchers noticed. She arrived at a secluded spot.
“Greetings, Sect Leader,” a female figure bowed to He Qinghua.
He Qinghua, dressed in dark purple, was stunning even in the night, her expression cold and aloof. “Well? What results?” she asked indifferently.
“Reporting to the Sect Leader, everything about the Six-Finger Manor incident has been clarified. That day, many grandmaster experts appeared, and Huang Dong’s daughter, Huang Xuemei...” As the woman spoke, He Qinghua’s eyes widened, her lithe body trembling. A growing fury and coldness spread across her face.
The woman was terrified, casting a fearful glance at He Qinghua.
“Continue,” He Qinghua ordered with a murderous coldness.
The woman shuddered and quickly lowered her head to keep speaking. He Qinghua clenched her hands tightly, her body shaking uncontrollably, her icy aura brimming with killing intent. When the woman finished, she finally seemed unable to hold back and exploded.
Her fierce aura knocked the woman unconscious.
“Li... Dao... Qiang!” She spat out the three words through gritted teeth, her eyes red with rage, jealousy, resentment, and grief intertwining. “Fine, very well. Let’s see if you bastard will personally kill me.”
Driven by extreme resentment and defiance, He Qinghua had only one thought now: she wanted to see if Li Daoqiang would kill her for that woman. With reddened eyes, she headed straight toward Black Dragon Village. Under the night sky, she soon reached its vicinity but didn’t enter, hiding nearby. Her aura grew colder, filled with stubbornness.
In the blink of an eye, dawn approached. In the room, Li Daoqiang was still holding Huang Xuemei. In the middle of the night, after the state of unity between heaven and man had passed, he couldn’t resist and took her again. Huang Xuemei was truly exhausted and fell asleep. Li Daoqiang wasn’t sleepy but wouldn’t do anything else at such a time, so he just lay with her.
Suddenly, he sensed Huang Xuemei waking up. With a gentle smile, he said softly, “Awake?”
Huang Xuemei opened her eyes in his arms, a flicker of shyness passing through her as she murmured in response. Suddenly, she felt as if she were dreaming. She had a husband now! An unfamiliar emotion welled up inside her, like the peaceful sleep she had just had—something she had never experienced before.
“Let’s get up. Your injuries are mostly healed. We’ll head back to Black Dragon Village; there’s still much to do,” Li Daoqiang said tenderly. He had stayed here to seize the chance to win Huang Xuemei over quickly. Now that he had, he needed to hurry and convince He Qinghua. There was no reason to linger.
Huang Xuemei nodded, then looked at him, her meaning clear—he should leave first. Li Daoqiang understood. It was their first time together, and a woman’s shyness was natural. Smiling, he kissed her again before getting up and dressing without any embarrassment. Huang Xuemei silently scolded him, turning away. Only after he left the room did she get up and dress.
In less than half an hour, Li Daoqiang led the group back toward Black Dragon Village. On the way, Lü Lin felt uneasy. He wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but he sensed Huang Xuemei constantly looking at him, with a strange expression. He didn’t dare say anything, just endured the discomfort. Fortunately, Li Daoqiang soon noticed and subtly reminded Huang Xuemei, who then restrained herself. Lü Lin found it odd but didn’t dwell on it.
At noon, with still dozens of miles to Black Dragon Village, Wang Lin suddenly appeared, his expression grave, blocking their path.
“Chief.”
“What’s wrong?” Li Daoqiang asked calmly, though a bad feeling stirred within him.
Wang Lin glanced at Huang Xuemei and handed over a note. Li Daoqiang took it, his brow furrowing as a flash of anger passed. *Useless.* He snorted inwardly, giving Wang Lin a cold look before pocketing the note and pushing his perception to the limit.
His senses were extremely sharp, but he usually only focused on detecting powerful auras—grandmaster-level experts. He ignored those below grandmaster, as there were too many to track. Soon, near Black Dragon Village, he sensed the familiar aura of He Qinghua. She had found out and come to the village’s vicinity, clearly looking for trouble.
A headache struck him. He regretted returning so quickly. Then he glared at Wang Lin for telling him so late. Wang Lin lowered his head, not daring to meet his gaze. He had only just learned of He Qinghua’s disappearance and rushed over immediately.
After glaring, Li Daoqiang ignored him, focusing on resolving the issue. Feeling the curious glances from those around him, he forced a smile and said calmly, “Xuemei, go ahead to Black Dragon Village with them. I have some matters to attend to.”
Huang Xuemei wanted to offer help but didn’t ask when Li Daoqiang didn’t elaborate, simply nodding.
“Take the lady around to see the sights,” Li Daoqiang ordered.
“Yes,” Blood Saber Ancestor and the others replied.
(Chapter 2, requesting subscriptions.)