Xiao Xiyou's figure appeared agile and upright in the sunlight. His gaze was firm, and the sword in his hand danced like the wind, emitting a clear and resonant sound.

Lu Shanfeng's attacks were exceptionally fierce, his sword moves were incredibly swift, and his entire body exuded a powerful aura, with every move being extremely sharp.

His offensive grew increasingly fierce, seemingly pushing Xiao Xiyou to the brink of despair.

Seeing that Xiao Xiyou was having some difficulty, Zhou Zhizhi drew her sword and wanted to go up and help him.

Xu Cang seemed to have seen through Zhou Zhizhi's thoughts, and he attacked her with both fists.

"ah--"

A piercing scream echoed across the wilderness. Zhou Zhizhi turned around and with a sword strike, severed Xu Cang's left arm.

Seeing Xu Cang writhing on the ground in pain, although he had temporarily lost his fighting ability and posed no threat.

But just in case he did something wrong later, Zhou Zhizhi squatted down and delivered a chop to Xu Cang's neck, knocking him unconscious.

Then Zhou Zhizhi got up, drew her sword, and joined the battle. Although Xiao Xiyou and Zhou Zhizhi had different sword techniques, they cooperated perfectly at this moment. The two sword energies merged into a powerful force, neutralizing Lu Shanfeng's offensive.

Lu Shanfeng, who had been handling the situation calmly, is now starting to feel the pressure.

He exuded an even stronger aura, and his sword moves became even sharper, but faced with the combined attack of Xiao Xiyou and Zhou Zhizhi, he was gradually forced to switch from offense to defense.

Lu Shanfeng was greatly shocked. He had been practicing martial arts since he was a child and was particularly skilled in swordsmanship. There was no one in the world who could break his sword moves, nor was there any sword technique that he had not seen before.

But the swordsmanship of the two people in front of him was really strange. They seemed to be unrelated, but they could always combine into one at the critical moment, catching him off guard.

Zhou Zhizhi chuckled and glanced at Lu Shanfeng. "Is this the level of the Great Xiao's number one swordsman? It seems he's nothing special."

Lu Shanfeng glared angrily at Zhou Zhizhi upon hearing this, "Grand Preceptor Zhou, the outcome is still uncertain, it's too early to say such things!"

Lu Shanfeng was very confident in his swordsmanship. He would not allow his martial arts skills to be questioned. Since he made a name for himself in the martial arts world, he had never suffered such humiliation.

But Zhou Zhizhi didn't care about Lu Shanfeng's exasperation; his defeat was already a foregone conclusion.

"Your Highness, should we spare this person's life?"

Zhou Zhizhi turned her head to the side, and a gentle breeze ruffled her hair. Her bright face fell into Xiao Xiyou's eyes, both flamboyant and beautiful.

“No need,” Xiao Xiyou replied to Zhou Zhizhi. “This man is just a bodyguard of Xiao Nangua and doesn’t know anything about the Third Prince’s inner workings. Keeping him around is useless to us.”

After hearing Xiao Xiyou's words, Zhou Zhizhi nodded, and the two exchanged a glance before charging forward with their swords in perfect unison.

"Ha!" Lu Shanfeng roared, veins bulging on his forehead. He poured all his inner strength into the sword hilt, which instantly shimmered with a dazzling silver light.

Lu Shanfeng raised his sword and blocked the combined attack from Xiao Xiyou and Zhou Zhizhi. A huge barrier was formed at the point where the sword blades met, and the leaves on the surrounding trees were shaken off by the powerful sword energy.

Lu Shanfeng flicked his wrist, and with a gentle upward flick of his sword, severed the connection between the three.

"How was my move, Grand Master Zhou?" Lu Shanfeng took dozens of steps back, steadied himself with his sword, and laughed wildly at Zhou Zhizhi.

"It's not bad, but it's still a bit inferior to mine." Zhou Zhizhi lightly touched the tree trunk with her toes and stopped on the nearest branch.

She raised her sword again, her movements swift and agile, and before Lu Shanfeng could react, the blade was aimed directly at his throat.

Xiao Xiyou had already made his move while Zhou Zhizhi and Lu Shanfeng were talking. He circled around behind Lu Shanfeng, his sword pointing directly at his heart.

"Xiao Xiyou, come here." Zhou Zhizhi didn't forget that she still had the Good Deeds System on her body, so she couldn't kill people.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Xiyou increased the force of his sword, slicing through Lu Shanfeng's skin and piercing towards his heart.

"If we're going to die, we'll die together!" Lu Shanfeng roared, a flaming gunpowder barrel appearing in his hand.

"Holy crap, firearms!" Zhou Zhizhi greeted him politely, then rushed to Xiao Xiyou, grabbed him, and ran away.

"Go to hell!" Lu Shanfeng laughed wildly and threw the gunpowder barrel in his hand at Xiao Xiyou and the other man.

"Boom!!!" A huge explosion rang out, as if the entire mountain trembled. Lu Shanfeng was already blown to pieces by the gunpowder, while Xiao Xiyou and Zhou Zhizhi were unharmed.

[Congratulations, host! You have completed 100% of your cultivation of the Northern Darkness Divine Art! You have received a reward for avoiding being eliminated by the system once.]

[Congratulations, host! You have completed 100% of your cultivation of the Northern Darkness Divine Art! You have received a reward for avoiding being eliminated by the system once.]

The system's announcement of good news rang in Zhou Zhizhi's mind, and she stared at her hands in shock.

In her haste, she unconsciously reached out and silently recited the incantation from the book "Northern Darkness Divine Art," just to give it a try. She never expected it to work!

She hadn't expected the Northern Darkness Divine Art to be so powerful, capable of withstanding attacks from firearms.

Xiao Xiyou stood up, dusted himself off, and helped Zhou Zhizhi up. "Is this the Northern Darkness Divine Art? You've mastered it?"

Zhou Zhizhi had already heard the system's announcement of good news and was overjoyed. "Yes, I didn't expect its power to be so great."

Zhou Zhizhi moved closer to Xu Cang. "He's not dead, he just passed out. Is there anything else you want to ask him?"

Knowing that Xiao Xiyou couldn't let go, he had to accept the fact that Xu Cang had betrayed him.

"I don't want to know anymore." With that, Xiao Xiyou raised his sword and thrust it toward Xu Cang's heart.

In fact, he had already found out that Xu Cang had lost everything and was penniless due to gambling.

The thugs hired by the dealer relentlessly pursued him and administered a potent poison called "Soul-Snatching Powder" to him. Without an antidote within a month, he would surely die suddenly.

Xu Cang resorted to crooked means to get money to continue gambling.

Xiao Xiyou came here only to find out why Xu Cang would rather betray him than ask him for money, and to explain his difficult situation.

He gave Xu Cang so many chances, but each time Xu Cang chose to push their relationship further apart.

Xiao Xiyou thought, "I will never be tolerant of others again... You are the only one."

“I originally wanted to spare his life, but he has come to cause trouble time and time again. Keeping him around will only make him a menace.” Xiao Xiyou turned and looked at the horizon. “Let’s go, Zhou Zhizhi.”

This was the first time he hadn't called Zhou Zhizhi "Grand Master Zhou," but had addressed her by her given name directly.

Zhou Zhizhi nodded, "Okay."

She had no feelings for Xu Cang to begin with, so naturally she wouldn't say anything more at this moment.