Walking into the festively decorated courtyard, Li Daoqiang strode in, waved away a few maidservants, and entered the room. At a glance, he saw Qi Fang, dressed in bridal attire, looking exceptionally charming. There was no veil, only a string of beads slightly obscuring her face. That kind of beauty, like a pipa half-hidden behind a veil, was stunningly breathtaking. Li Daoqiang, instead of rushing, leisurely stepped forward. Qi Fang clearly noticed his arrival, and her already flushed face grew even redder. What followed was simple—drinking the cross-cup wine and tying their hair together. After going through the series of rituals, Li Daoqiang could clearly sense that Qi Fang’s heart had settled considerably, and her gaze toward him now held more acceptance and reliance. This was the importance of status. Qi Fang was a traditional girl; once she married a man, she would be devoted to him for life. And that, precisely, was something any man would appreciate. Then came the formal wedding night. Even though they had done everything before, there was no doubt that Li Daoqiang once again sank into that endless sea of tenderness. That softness and sweetness, that wonderful sensation, that honeyed bliss that seemed to seep into his bones and soul— It was something those who had never experienced it could never imagine. Even in dreams, it was utterly beyond reach. In the following days, Li Daoqiang found himself somewhat indulging in it. His cultivation time even decreased. Fortunately, over two years of tempering had honed his will, and after a brief period of indulgence, he struggled back to his feet. Gradually, he returned to his usual state. At the same time, he urged Qi Fang to start practicing martial arts. Such a good way to earn bandit points—he certainly wouldn’t let it slip by. He lavished all kinds of good things on her. As for fairness and the like, those were just words for the others in the stronghold. At the end of the day, the rules were set by him, for others, not to bind himself. Especially for matters like this, where even if others knew, they wouldn’t object. After all, she was his wife; no matter how much he used, no one would say a word. He also kept an eye on Di Yun from time to time. Since the day of the wedding, Di Yun had changed, throwing himself into martial arts training with a frenzy. For now, he remained an idle figure in the stronghold, spending every day practicing. Li Daoqiang wasn’t in a hurry; he’d let things be for a while. In time, there would be plenty of ways to get Di Yun to willingly join the Black Dragon Stronghold and then integrate into it. Days passed one after another, and on the surface, everything in Jingzhou remained calm. The major powers continued their covert absorption of smaller forces, but it wasn’t yet time for Li Daoqiang to step forward. Occasional disputes arose among the major powers as they vied to win over smaller factions, but under the overarching situation, they all exercised restraint. They all understood one thing: first, work together to swallow up the situation, and deal with the rest later. As for the wider world, it was naturally still vibrant and colorful, with countless tales unfolding and spreading across the land. For instance, Gusu Murong Fu broke through to the Grandmaster realm, instantly rivaling the new Beggars’ Sect leader Qiao Feng as one of the two renowned young masters of the orthodox factions in the Song Kingdom. They left the rest of the younger generation far behind. Their fame spread far and wide. Such events were too numerous to count. But Li Daoqiang didn’t care much about them. To him, those were still distant. He only focused on what was right in front of him. For example, the new month’s liquor payment had arrived. One hundred eighty thousand taels of silver, adding one hundred eighty thousand bandit points. In the secret chamber, looking at the total of around one million fifty thousand bandit points, Li Daoqiang took a light breath and focused his mind. The next moment, on the talent panel, the “Hundred Poisons Immunity” talent began to blur. In an instant, the words “Hundred Poisons Immunity” transformed into “Ten Thousand Poisons Immunity.” Li Daoqiang felt a faint warmth flow through his entire body, with no other sensation. But he trusted the Great Bandit System. From today onward, he could confidently say to those strange and exotic poisons in this world: I’m not afraid of you anymore. For a moment, he was brimming with confidence and even felt an eager excitement. The treasure of the Liancheng Jue, here I come. He rose and left the secret chamber without alerting anyone, slipping away from the Black Dragon Stronghold. Delay breeds trouble; now that he was confident, he didn’t want any hold-ups. He had already given orders beforehand that he would be in seclusion for a few days. He wanted to ensure, as much as possible, that no one discovered the truth. Alone, avoiding everyone’s eyes, he quickly traveled over a hundred li to Tianning Temple. After thoroughly searching the surroundings again to confirm no one was around, he opened the secret chamber. Gazing at the dense piles of gold, silver, and jewels, a flicker of heat flashed in Li Daoqiang’s eyes. Soon, all of this would be his. He took out the sturdy large bags he had prepared and began loading gold. Under equal weight, gold was more valuable, so he naturally prioritized it. As for the jewels, though even more valuable, they required conversion into cash, and in Li Daoqiang’s eyes, they were far less practical than gold and silver. He filled the large bag with about three thousand catties. That was over thirty thousand taels of gold, worth more than six hundred thousand taels of silver. After tidying up all traces, when night fell, Li Daoqiang carried the three-thousand-catty gold back toward the Black Dragon Stronghold. It wasn’t that he couldn’t carry more or heavier loads; with his current strength, he could run back and forth several times with even greater weight without issue. The main concerns were, first, the durability of the bags. Second, the volume—too much, and if discovered, it would invite suspicion and trouble. Better to take less each time; he could just make more trips. For the sake of safety, he didn’t mind the effort. Silently returning to the back mountain of the Black Dragon Stronghold, where he had prepared clean water in advance, he washed the gold in it. Then he changed the water and washed it several more times, until testing it on a captured rabbit showed no poison, before bringing it into the secret treasury he had prepared in the stronghold. Everything was done silently, with no one else knowing. Given his current strength and the gap with the Black Dragon Stronghold’s present power, this wasn’t difficult. Only after placing the gold into the secret treasury did Li Daoqiang finally see the Great Bandit System register over six hundred forty thousand additional bandit points. “Hahaha!” He couldn’t help but laugh. His body felt filled with boundless energy. He was about to get rich. Filthy rich. Without any intention of resting, he set off for Tianning Temple with even lighter steps. Again, he loaded gold first. Another three thousand catties of gold. Following the same process, Li Daoqiang made six round trips that night, moving all the gold from the secret chamber—except for the large golden Buddha—into the secret treasury. In total, about twenty thousand catties of gold, equivalent to two hundred thousand taels of gold, four million taels of silver, and four million bandit points. Overnight wealth. And this was just the beginning. The large golden Buddha, Li Daoqiang estimated, weighed over forty thousand catties. It wasn’t that he couldn’t move it, but its sheer size and weight made transport inconvenient. He planned to move it back after breaking through to the Grandmaster realm. That wouldn’t take long—just two or three days. The next day arrived, and during the day, Li Daoqiang continued his preparations: clean water, live rabbits, and so on. At night, he resumed moving the treasure. This time, he started on the silver. Silver differed from gold; under the same weight, its value was twenty times less. In other words, moving silver was far less efficient than moving gold. But there was no choice. For the sake of money, to escape poverty, he had to work like a diligent little bee, joyfully running back and forth. (Thank you for your support.) ······