Diligence System: From Servant to Martial King-Chapter 423 - 293: From Poverty to Wealth, Astonishing Means, Fish Herding Book, Mysterious Woman!!

His methods were swift, and with this, one tael of merit silver entered his account. Li Xian thought, "This opportunity is rare, I must kill as many water bandits as possible to earn merit money." He put away two arrows, took the Seven Stars Step, and his silhouette moved swiftly and stealthily. He wandered around the hideout.

He first sought out solitary water bandits. Three arrows fired together, four arrows fired together, and even five arrows fired together, aiming to see several people and shoot them all at once. His archery path has reached its peak, and archery is different from martial arts; as long as the bow can be drawn, the arrow can be shot, and even a common hunter can have some proficiency in archery. But reaching the peak in archery is more difficult than martial arts, as advancing in archery concerns one’s determination and mindset, truly impossible to practice, relying solely on talent.

Li Xian leveraged his strengths, silently killing three more water bandits. The water bandits in the hideout had skin blackened from years in the lake, broad palms, and faces full of black fuzz, making them extremely easy to identify, with no possibility of mistaken killing. Li Xian unleashed his abilities to kill bandits and build merits.

His wooden arrows made no sound, and his eyesight was exceptionally strong. The peak-level archery coupled with terrifying eyesight rendered the numerous water bandits mere fish on the chopping board. They were systematically crushed and killed, all silently without making the slightest noise.

Li Xian acted with the utmost thoroughness. He hid the killed water bandits underwater, tucked into gaps between tree roots. No trace of blood was left; in the darkness of night, the number of bandits silently decreased by seventy to eighty percent without being noticed.

Until the night grew deep. The remaining water bandits felt something strange, as though the night was unusually quiet. Suddenly they were filled with fear and anxiety, unsure of what to do. Some with more courage unofficially left their patrol to search for the bandit leader. But after circling dozens of times, they suddenly realized that the usually bustling hideout was astonishingly silent.

The familiar bandit friends had vanished without a trace, no matter how they shouted, only echoes lingered. When the cause was finally discovered, a wooden arrow shot forth, ending a life then and there. Li Xian, like a ghost demanding life, exterminated from within.

There were ’three hundred and twenty-three’ water bandits in the Water Gold hideout, and Li Xian killed every one, leaving none behind. Such prowess would be challenging even for an elder, let alone surpass him. Many of Li Xian’s peculiar qualities are hard for others to possess. He confirmed the purge was complete, then according to memory, retrieved the water bandits from the water.

He carried only thirty-four arrows, exterminating three hundred and twenty-three water bandits, not missing a single arrow post-event. He harvested so many heads that they were hard to fit, so he sought out boats, removed the heads, and arranged them between boats. It took five boats to barely accommodate them.

At this time, the sky was pitch black. Li Xian from the lake stealth attack to complete extermination took only an hour. He knew Dongran Lake is no joking matter; sailing at night could lose direction, and if lucky, perhaps return to the Water Altar, or muddle out of Dongran Lake.

If luck goes bad, a lifetime could be spent circling the lake, or mysteriously being swallowed by it, all very normal. Thus tonight he stayed at the hideout overnight. In this spare time, he felt the corpses, searching for useful items. Common water bandits wore simple clothing, covered in mud, never left the lake, carrying no money or treasures.

Li Xian looked at the clothing. Bandit leader, bandit second, bandit third... those with intact wear and high status could offer some good items, like gold, jade, and similar. Li Xian accepted them all, estimating he could exchange them for dozens of taels of silver. Now he had concerns for ’Essence Treasure,’ increasingly valuing silver, saving every possible penny.

Silver flowed like water.

The ability or place to continuously generate wealth is paramount.

In the long night. Li Xian searched all the corpses, the night still deep and quiet, feeling bored, he wandered around to locate the hideout’s treasures. He first visited the bandit leader’s room, searched thoroughly, and did find gains. Discovering boxes of pearls, high in value. It turns out the recently hijacked merchant ships included a jewelry business.

That merchant ship had the most experts, resisting fiercely. Unfortunately, unable to change fate, they were constrained by the water terrain, utterly thwarted, the expert on the ship had no choice but to surrender, and other companions, passengers were all captured and brought here, now being soaked underwater. The merchant ship’s jewelry containers were originally more than these boxes. But when the ship sank, many precious jewelry artifacts sank to the lake bottom.

Truly regrettable.

Li Xian thought, "This must be windfall; since I’ve found it, I must find a way to take it away. As for those captives, their ship is destroyed, may need to be returned to Flower Cage Sect, otherwise left here will meet only doom."

The bandit leader’s bedroom was planted with green vines, decor quite refined. Li Xian searched around, and when he lifted the pillow, he found a book and wooden flute within. He browsed the torn book, feeling quite delighted.

This torn book is named "Fish Herding Book," already damaged, with origins enigmatic. Inside records fish breeding, herding, controlling methods. The wooden flute is key to fish herding. The book originally detailed methods for cultivating over a dozen types of fish, but due to damage, only the ’Gold Mouth Fish’ cultivation method remains complete.

Maintaining, raising, controlling fish... numerous meticulous essentials, highly valuable. Gold Mouth Fish is not a natural species, can gnaw on gold and iron. Water Gold Hideout can repeatedly stall Second Realm Martial Artists, this fish plays a significant role.

Li Xian hurriedly collected it, quite joyful. He then searched the room again, finding a ’Water Map,’ detailing how to exit the lake and reach shore. Li Xian’s mind was racing, knowing he must eventually leave the Water Altar, this water map might be useful. But not now.

He took out the Flower Cage Sect’s water map. Brow slightly furrowed, he knew if he followed the Water Gold Hideout water map, starting from here, he could sail away from Dongran Lake, but if he first returns to the Water Altar, then waits until conditions mature, with preparations ready to take another route, first moving from the Water Altar to the Water Gold Hideout, then leaving Dongran Lake from the Water Gold Hideout, it would be exceedingly difficult.