From street beggar to high-ranking official

Since the results of the water wave test could not be faked, Lu Li had no choice but to pretend to be exhausted and sway as he returned to the group.

Even so, many inquisitive eyes still fell on him.

For the first time, Lu Li felt these gazes were so piercing.

After a half-day assessment, the eunuchs had two days to go back and await their assignments. However, before that, everyone received a sum of money.

All of them were wrapped in red cloth, and upon careful counting, they weighed a total of fifty-two taels.

Only after consulting the eunuchs of the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs did someone learn that this was their monthly allowance since entering the palace, plus the extra rewards given by the palace on holidays.

Lu Li returned to his room with the red envelope in his pocket. His heart was pounding faster than ever before. He took out a tael of silver and looked at it. The silver was so beautiful, so white and shiny that he couldn't take his eyes off it.

In Lu Li’s limited memory, he had indeed touched silver before. It was given to him by his father when he sent him to the palace, and his father did not take a single penny.

The silver in his memory was dazzlingly white. Even though he already had fifty-two taels of silver in his hand, Lu Li still missed the first few taels he held in his hand.

Before begging, her father worked as a farmhand for a year and had to rent land from landlords. In a good year, he could only earn ten taels of silver at most, not even counting food, clothing and other expenses.

Later, the landlord collected rent along with interest, and my old home was mortgaged to the landlord as well. Then a severe drought struck, forcing me to become a wanderer.

"Our family is rich now," Lu Li thought to himself. He even thought that if he could leave the palace now, he would definitely go back to his hometown to buy back the land that had been mortgaged for debt and repair his damaged home.

Buying an acre of poor land costs only about two taels of silver. After entering the palace for half a year, the amount of land that one can buy is just like that of an ordinary small landlord!

Before Lu Li could continue to dream about the future, Xiao Fengzi and Xiao Shunzi returned to their duty room.

"I never expected Lu Zi to have such talent. He's a man of few words, but when he does speak, he's astounding everyone." Xiao Shunzi's words carried a hint of sarcasm.

Lu Li paid little attention to it. The bonds between eunuchs were inherently weak. Even if they shared the same room or were classmates, they were at most just acquaintances.

He pondered for a moment and said, "We have no intention of competing with you, Xiao Shunzi. If you want to go to the Hidden Martial Pavilion, that's something you have to strive for yourself."

Lu Li said that anyone who stands in Xiao Shunzi's way is Xiao Shunzi's enemy. Even if it's just that Xiao Shunzi is not strong enough, if you, Xiao Lu Zi, are not around, he might be able to go to the Hidden Martial Pavilion on his own.

At this point, even the usually amiable Xiao Fengzi stopped trying to smooth things over; it was clear that Xiao Fengzi was going to side with Xiao Shunzi.

"Little Lu, hand over the silver, and we won't pursue this matter further." Little Shunzi completely abandoned all pretense of civility.

"Heh heh, you want our money." Lu Li stuffed the red envelope into his chest and immediately used his inner energy to protect himself.

Xiao Shunzi's face hardened, and he immediately stretched out his palm to strike Lu Li to his death. As long as he could deal with all this before the eunuchs of the Directorate of Ceremonial arrived for roll call, he could simply say that he died of an illness when questioned. As long as he could pull strings, he could still go to the Hidden Martial Pavilion!

Even if Lu Zi has a bright future, he still needs a chance to realize it. So what if he's a genius? A dead genius is never a genius!

Xiao Shunzi thought this way and did this way, throwing a punch imbued with true energy straight at Lu Li's chest.

Lu Li's face hardened, and he also used his own true energy to strike. This time, unlike before when he had held back, Lu Li went all out from the start.

With a crisp sound of fists colliding, Xiao Shunzi flew backward and crashed straight into the wall. Upon closer inspection, his right arm was bent in the opposite direction, and he staggered to regain his balance.

Lu Li took a few steps back and hurriedly raised his arm to block the palm strike from Xiao Fengzi.

Lu Li's arm went numb from the shock. His hands were numb and unable to bend or straighten as his true energy struck. Xiao Fengzi, who had taken the opportunity to attack, covered his wrist with one hand, and there was already a hint of retreat in his eyes.

Xiao Fengzi's strength was far inferior to Lu Li's. If he hadn't taken advantage of Lu Li's misfortune, his fate would probably have been no different from Xiao Shunzi's.

Lu Li was glad that he had concealed his talents and that his abilities far surpassed those of Xiao Shunzi and Xiao Fengzi.

I'm even more glad that I decided to eavesdrop on the cultivation techniques. Even though I was illiterate at first, I was still able to imitate the techniques and practice them, saving myself several months of hard work.

Looking at Xiao Fengzi who had taken a few steps back, Lu Li hesitated for a moment. The habit of enduring being bullied and swallowing his anger when he was begging was still subconsciously influencing him, and the idea of ​​settling things peacefully immediately came to mind.

But the next second, images of Xiao Chizi and Xiao Douzi flashed through Lu Li's mind, showing how they were often bullied by the other eunuchs.

Didn't they swallow their anger and try to settle things peacefully?

Even without Xiao Fengzi and Xiao Shunzi, there would be Xiao Jizi; even without Xiao Jizi, there would be others, even more eunuchs.

Our family is no longer beggars. The rule of always yielding on the street no longer applies in the palace. Even if we hand over all our silver, even if we kowtow and beg for mercy from the very beginning, Xiao Shunzi and Xiao Fengzi will not let it go.

The thought flashed through his mind in an instant. Lu Li, who had originally intended to stop, suddenly made up his mind. His face hardened, and his already unfriendly expression turned fierce. He took a few steps forward and grabbed Xiao Fengzi's hands.

"Little Lu, what else do you want to do? Ah~!!"

Xiao Fengzi screamed, his thighs clamped tightly together, and his hands, which had been trying to struggle, became powerless.

Lu Li didn't hold back, channeling his inner energy to his toes before kicking Xiao Fengzi's dantian.

The dantian, located three inches below the navel, is where all qi converges. Injuring someone's dantian cripples their cultivation. If Lu Li were to kill someone on the spot, he would still have some reservations, but if his cultivation were crippled, even if Xiao Fengzi were to flatter and fawn, he would have little chance of advancement in his life.

Just as Xiao Shunzi said, not being able to learn martial arts doesn't stop him from emptying chamber pots and washing chamber pots.

Xiao Fengzi realized what Lu Li had done, but the pain in his lower body had not subsided, and Lu Li's kick landed squarely on Xiao Fengzi's spot.

"We are grateful for Xiao Fengzi's guidance," Lu Li said with a sly laugh.

Xiao Fengzi clutched his abdomen, trying to reactivate his inner energy, but it only circulated in his meridians. He was filled with regret for teaching Lu Li about acupoints, meridians, and key points.

If it weren't for the past, there would be no such disastrous consequences today.

There were eunuchs in the palace who were not good at martial arts but were still favored by nobles. However, crippling someone's dantian was also a great enemy. With his future almost ruined, Xiao Fengzi's despair turned into anger. He grabbed Lu Li's leg with both hands and bit down hard.

Lu Li took a deep breath, and the piercing pain, along with memories, surged into his mind.

"What a foul mouth!" Lu Li said sternly, slapping Xiao Fengzi on the temple.

If this blow had landed, he would have been dead without a doubt, but Xiao Shunzi had already run over and was about to smash his left fist straight into Lu Li's chest.

With a muffled thud, even with the protection of his true energy, Lu Li was still punched until he coughed up blood, his chest feeling as if it were filled with cotton. But this time, it only fueled Lu Li's ferocity.

He grinned, revealing his blood-soaked teeth, and sneered, "Little Shunzi, you have some nerve, daring to come and die."

"We will never forget your kindness in clearing up my doubts," Xiao Shunzi retorted, dragging his broken right arm, but Lu Li completely ignored what Xiao Shunzi was saying.

His last words were merely an attempt to delay Xiao Shunzi; his inner energy had already gathered in his hands as he spoke, ready to strike at any moment.

Lu Li slapped Xiao Fengzi's head, which was biting his leg, with both hands, giving him a double ear blow.

The two palms struck Xiao Fengzi's temples, as if a grand Buddhist and Taoist ritual had been performed, with chimes, cymbals, and gongs ringing out all at once; Xiao Fengzi's head was like an open oil and sauce shop, with red, white, salty, sour, and spicy sauces all rolling out at once.

Lu Li, however, was like someone who had smashed open a pig's bladder filled with blood; most of his body was covered in sticky blood.