Dugong

Chapter 26 Standing Upright Without a Shadow
The old eunuch twitched his brows and looked at Li Ping'an again.

"Your Qi is very strong?"

"probably."

Li Ping'an was not very sure about the depth of his skills.

It is taboo in the palace to inquire about other people's cultivation level. Even Xiao Fangzi and Xiao Yuanzi, who have been sleeping together for a year, are not sure of their true skills.

Hiding one's shortcomings and keeping a low profile are almost compulsory courses for every eunuch.

People who are proud and flamboyant will not live long in the palace, such as Xiao Zhuozi and Xiao Luzi.

The old eunuch pointed to the bronze pillar standing beside the palace and said, "Go and give it a slap. Let's see how powerful you are."

Several old eunuchs who were dozing, lying dead, in a daze, or hanging upside down in the Cangwu Pavilion came back to life when they heard the noise. It was extremely boring for them to stay in the attic alone, so they immediately came closer to see what was happening.

Li Ping'an came to the front of the bronze pillar, stood firmly in a horse stance, his cheeks flushed red, as if he had exerted his true energy to the limit.

"Hi!"

With a loud shout, he slapped the bronze pillar with his palm.

The old eunuch glanced at the palm print and found it to be at most three-point deep. He had only practiced for a year and could barely be considered talented, but he was far from having profound skills.

I wanted to make some sarcastic remarks, but then I thought of something funny and started clapping and praising.

"Young eunuch, your skills are truly extraordinary. You can go to the bookshelf in the southeast corner of the second floor. There are several volumes of skills that are suitable for you."

"Thank you for your guidance, sir."

Li Ping'an still only used half of his strength. It was one and a half minutes half a year ago, and now it is exactly doubled.

However, he did not anticipate that the Qi cultivation would not increase exponentially, but would instead slow down and even encounter a bottleneck where it would not increase at all.

The small table was resurrected, but it could only reach a half-point deeper after practicing for half a year.

The old eunuch watched Li Ping'an go upstairs and finally couldn't help laughing strangely: "Hahahaha... these young people nowadays really don't know their place."

The other old eunuchs who were watching the fun shook their heads, finding it very boring, and most of them returned to their half-dead chaotic state.

Some people also sighed and missed the old days when martial arts masters often broke into the cabinet to steal.

The old eunuchs would have fun with the eunuchs once they caught them, trying out all sorts of tricks and secret techniques on them. It was fun and interesting, and their days were fulfilling.

It’s not like now, even dogs in the martial arts world are walking around the Cangwu Pavilion, and the job of guarding the pavilion is extremely boring.

Li Ping'an didn't know that the old eunuchs were laughing at him, so he went straight to the southeast corner of the second floor and saw a dusty bookshelf.

There were not many books on martial arts techniques placed on it, only about thirty or fifty.

The bookshelves next to it are filled with not only martial arts secrets, but also various martial arts insights, cultivation experiences, and even travelogues, Buddhist and Taoist scriptures, myths and legends.

It can be said that all the books related to martial arts are included in the Martial Arts Pavilion. They are mixed together, and thieves who come in have to rely on luck to steal.

"Eight Desolate Dragon Elephant Skill, Heavenly Punishment Thunder Sutra, Wandering Immortal Guide, Qingping Sword Skill, Thousand Machine Hands, Ten Thousand Tribulations Sword Sutra..."

Li Ping'an looked through the books on martial arts one by one, and first excluded those related to Qi training. There might be martial arts that were not inferior to the "Lotus Sutra", but they were as difficult to practice as ascending to heaven.

"Then we'll eliminate those with special skills. There are so many experts in the palace, even if there are assassins, it won't be our turn to attack them. Finally, we'll eliminate those with hidden weapons and other weapons..."

It is strictly forbidden to privately possess weapons in the palace. One can only practice sword and knife skills in special training grounds. If one does not have weapons in hand on a daily basis, the power of the weapons will be greatly reduced.

"The remaining techniques either have miraculous effects, like the Changsheng Jue (Eternal Life Secret) that strengthens the five internal organs, or the Soul-Snatching Demonic Sound (Devil's Voice) that can bewitch people and disturb their minds. Or they are physical techniques or light skills, such as the Buddhist secret text Vajra Indestructible Divine Art, or the Ghost King Sect's unique skill of Standing Without Shadow..."

When Li Ping'an saw the three words "Ghost King Sect", he suddenly thought of what Xiao Huizi had said.

Only by running fast can you live longer!
The indestructible Vajra is extremely powerful. Once it is used, the whole body will be as hard as steel. The stronger the true Qi, the stronger the defense will be, and it can also rebound the enemy's true Qi attack.

However, no matter how strong his defense is, if he encounters an old eunuch like Eunuch Zhou, he can only passively take the beating until his true energy is exhausted and he dies.

"Qinggong is different. Escape quickly. Only by staying alive can you have a chance for revenge!"

Li Ping'an immediately abandoned other martial arts and picked out several books of wonderful light skills. After careful comparison, he chose the Ghost King Sect's unique skills.

Standing upright without a shadow, after mastering it, one can gather all the energy and become like an invisible shadow that can be ignored.

At the same time, its speed is as fast as a startled wild goose. According to the description in the skills, the shadow can shuttle without leaving any trace and can dodge all attacks.

"Running fast and hiding deep is truly a life-saving skill." Li Ping'an looked through the annotations of the martial arts and the experience of his predecessors in cultivation, and discovered that the masters of the Ghost King Sect used "Standing Upright and Shadowless" as a unique skill for sneak attacks and fighting.

Because the consumption of true energy is too terrifying, it is difficult to continue after just a few breaths, so it can only be used as a trump card trick that can be opened and closed instantly.

For long-distance escape, the Phantom Ghost Step, which consumes less true energy, is more suitable.

"I don't have much else, but my true energy is extremely strong. If I accumulate it for another ten or eight years, I will definitely be able to perform "Standing Upright Without Shadow" at will!"

Li Ping'an glanced at the other martial arts with reluctance and decided to choose another one next year.

Now that I have mastered the art of lightness, I can choose other techniques such as healing, body protection, detoxification, and immobilization in the future. Once I have mastered all of them, who in the world can kill me?
When he arrived at the palace gate with the martial arts technique, the old eunuch glanced at it and suppressed his smile.

"Very good, very good! This unique skill is known as the best in light explosiveness. Once you master it, few people in the world will be able to catch up with you!"

Li Ping'an showed a look of joy on his face, as if he didn't know that he had become a joke. He happily took the martial arts techniques to copy them.

The old eunuch laughed out loud, and he really wanted to see the miserable look on the little fellow's face when he had practiced so hard but exhausted his energy in just three or five breaths.

……

at the same time.

In a remote courtyard somewhere in the palace.

Xiao Fangzi and Xiao Yuanzi sat opposite each other in the pavilion, with a pot of wine and some side dishes on the table.

Xiao Fangzi filled two glasses of wine and raised his glass, saying, "Godfather is short of people. He agreed to our position. Who do you think is suitable?"

Everyone knew that there were a number of vacancies for supervisory officials, and Admiral Qiao was also worried that his officials would have good relationships with each other and work together to undermine him, so he only gave one vacancy.

Xiao Yuanzi raised his head and drank the wine in his cup, then said with a smile, "Of course you should go. I'm not as good at martial arts as you are, so we can find another opportunity in the future."

"Thank you, Brother Yuan."

Xiao Fangzi said in a deep voice, "When we get to the Metropolitan Magistrate's Office, we'll definitely make a lot of money and help you find a job soon."

"It's okay, just do your job well."

Xiao Yuanzi said, "We must fight for this position, not for money or power, but because we have a grudge that we can't swallow.

In terms of talent and ability, can't we brothers even compare to Xiao Anzi?"

Xiao Fangzi nodded in agreement. Xiao Anzi, who came two years later, was doing very well in the imperial kitchen, but the two brothers were still washing clothes and mopping the floor in the Imperial Household Department.

Even though Xiao Fangzi has a cold personality, he can't help but feel unwilling and unconvinced.

"My family has always looked down on Xiao Anzi. He's just a country bumpkin, dumb, untalented, uneducated, and lives on luck..."

As Xiao Yuanzi was talking, his eyes suddenly widened, and he stood up and bowed to the door.

"Daddy, why are you here?"

Xiao Fangzi subconsciously turned around and saluted, but suddenly felt a sharp pain in his heart. He looked down and saw a red heart clenched in his bloody palm.

"Ahem, why..."

Xiao Yuanzi crushed the heart with a bang, took back his hand to wipe the blood, and said slowly: "There is no reason, my family also wants to be an official."

Then he cleared his throat hard and vomited out all the food and wine he had just eaten.

Xiao Yuanzi looked at Xiao Fangzi's corpse with its eyes open and felt a little uncomfortable. He searched around and caught a mouse, then forced it to drink half a pot of wine.

After waiting for a long time, the mouse did not die suddenly from poisoning.

"You didn't poison me..."

Xiao Yuanzi became more and more annoyed. He waved his hand and threw the mouse to death, cursing uncontrollably.

"You are such an idiot, just as stupid as Xiao Zhongzi. We just look alike, we are not brothers at all...

What a complete idiot, he deserves to be killed!"

As he said this, he picked up Xiao Fangzi's body, threw it into the dry well, and covered it with a large bluestone.

(End of this chapter)