From street beggar to high-ranking official

After selecting the cultivation method, Lu Li began to copy it down.

The martial arts manuals in the Hidden Martial Arts Pavilion can only be borrowed for one day for copying. To save trouble, Lu Li stayed in the pavilion and copied them in a quiet room with brand-new Xuan paper.

The long characters could be written in a way that he could read clearly, but the illustrations in the book could not be made without the slightest error. Lu Li had no choice but to use his inner energy to stabilize his right hand and each stroke.

The wolf-hair brush in my hand got wet and dried repeatedly, but I finally finished copying everything before sunset.

The four gates of the Forbidden City close at sunset. Without a special decree from the Directorate of Ceremonial, the Imperial Seal Office would not issue a pass. Even if one had a pass from the Directorate of Palace Attendants, one would not be able to pass the Imperial Guards' inspection.

Despite his hunger, Lu Li put the martial arts manual back in its original place and quickly walked out of the Martial Arts Pavilion.

I spent almost a day at the Hidden Martial Arts Pavilion and gained a lot. Not only did I obtain a martial arts manual, but I also gained a clear understanding of the current classification of martial arts levels.

Before the Great Qian Dynasty unified the world, the classification of martial arts realms among the common people was chaotic. There were ranks of Heaven, Earth, Black, and Yellow; classifications of Qi detection, Qi sensing, Qi circulation, and Qi condensation; sayings of entering the hall and entering the room; and even popular sayings in the martial arts world such as splitting bricks, smashing walls, demolishing houses, and exploding in the streets.

Later, Emperor Taizu Gao roamed the land collecting all the martial arts techniques in the world, and standardized martial arts, techniques, and realms into nine to one rank, equivalent to official positions.

Based on the description in the book, Lu Li roughly guessed that he should be considered to be at the eighth rank.

A ninth-rank cultivator can only use their true energy to fight, while an eighth-rank cultivator goes a step further.

Although he has never learned any other martial arts, he is skilled at using his inner energy for protection, making him difficult to harm from ordinary injuries.

Comparing the description of ordinary people's talent for martial arts in the book, Lu Li was convinced that he was indeed a martial arts genius. For the past six months, he had only spent one or two hours a day cultivating his true qi. This method of training was criticized as being lazy and difficult to improve. However, the obstacles that ordinary martial artists could not overcome were almost non-existent for Lu Li.

......

When Lu Li returned to the palace in the evening, he missed the last meal served in the kitchen. Hungry, he walked to his room and was surprised to find a pot of three delicacies waiting for him.

"Little Lu is finally back. We've been waiting for you for ages," a young eunuch said with a grin from inside the main room. He stirred his noodles with chopsticks and said, "I'm Little Qi. In terms of seniority in the palace, we're cousins."

Lu Li was taken aback for a moment, then greeted him with a smile.

Even though it was their first meeting, Lu Li was as warm as a long-lost brother, immediately putting his arm around Lu Li's shoulder and getting along very well.

However, if Xiao Qizi hadn't been the adopted son of the head eunuch Zhao Gonggong, Lu Li would have just coldly reported Xiao Qizi for secretly cooking and then trying to claim credit.

Before he knew it, Lu Li had also learned a set of effective methods of belittling the weak and praising the strong.

"Where are the other brothers?" Lu Li asked curiously as he tasted the noodles.

Xiao Qi Zi pouted and immediately began to complain that Eunuch Zhao's other godsons were disloyal, always shirking their duties and engaging in all sorts of embezzlement and misdeeds, making it seem as if he was the only honest one among the five godsons.

I heard today that Officer Lu was appreciated by Eunuch Zhao as soon as he entered the palace. Seeing Officer Lu's upright and dignified demeanor, I am greatly comforted. Finally, there is someone who shares my integrity.

This is blatant lying. Lu Li's face shows no trace of righteousness. He is far from wealthy and fortunate, and he cannot even be considered fair and honest. Yet he nodded repeatedly, praising Xiao Qi Zi for his loyalty and filial piety, saying that he would surely be valued by Eunuch Zhao and rise rapidly in the future...

Before long, he ate noodles and soup and his taste improved greatly. Ordinary eunuchs never had such food, so he asked Xiao Qizi what the three delicacies were in this three-delicacy noodle soup.

"River delicacies, livestock delicacies, and mountain delicacies are simmered together in the broth for a whole day and night. Our family noticed that Xiao Luzi hadn't been seen for a day, so we specially sent someone to prepare this pot." Xiao Qizi smiled and pointed to the three delicacies in the soup: "Fresh mandarin fish, tender chicken breast, and fresh bamboo fungus. That's one of the advantages of being a palace supervisor; those on duty in each palace can cook in the evening."

The eunuchs in charge of the palace were responsible for sweeping and cleaning the courtyards, patrolling the palace, keeping watch over the lights, confirming that the palace doors were locked, preparing to open the doors in the morning, and handling miscellaneous emergency tasks at night. Even in important places like the Imperial Kitchen, the stoves were usually extinguished in the middle of the night, and no eunuchs were allowed to stay inside.

However, the eunuchs on night duty would inevitably have to check and inspect the imperial kitchen to ensure it was locked.

Moreover, how could leftover food possibly be served to such distinguished guests?!

This is not embezzlement, but fulfilling one's duty.

After listening to Xiao Qizi's introduction, Lu Li had a general understanding of his colleague's actions. From Xiao Qizi's few words, he deduced the struggle between the adopted sons under the name of the chief eunuch, Eunuch Zhao.

This also helps to deduce why Xiao Qizi greeted him with such a smile.

I am not Zhao Gonggong's adopted son after all, so there is no conflict of interest between me and the other adopted sons in terms of title. No matter how capable or how much I compete for favor, I will never become Zhao Gonggong's confidant. On the contrary, Lu Li was appreciated by Zhao Gonggong as soon as he entered, and the other adopted sons are too busy getting along with him.

The news that he had gained the favor of Eunuch Zhao spread throughout the house in less than a day. Even though there were only the two of them in the office of the Palace Attendant at the time, Lu Li knew with a grain of salt that the news must have been spread by the gatekeeper.

To Lu Li's surprise, according to Xiao Qizi, the steward was not one of Eunuch Zhao's five adopted sons.

The two chatted amiably, as if they had known each other for a long time. When Lu asked about the other eunuchs in the duty room, Xiao Qi just chuckled and said, "How long has it been? It's still a long way from our next shift."

The Palace Attendants were divided into day and night shifts, with shifts changing at 3-5 AM.

After discussing this for a while, Xiao Qizi also felt a little tired. He reminded Lu Li not to be late for the morning's roll call at 3 AM and then went to sleep fully clothed.

It was only 7:45 PM at this moment.

After estimating the time, Lu Li began to read the martial arts manual by candlelight. During the day, he had only been busy copying in the Martial Arts Pavilion, but this time he could finally take a closer look.

The Five Senses and Five Methods cultivates the five senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste, and face. It is a kind of unorthodox martial art, which is divided into five methods: Clear Eye Method, Listening Ear Method, Distinguishing Nose Method, Savoring Tongue Method, and Changing Face Method. They are collectively divided into four levels.

Lu Li paid particular attention to the Listening to Waves Ear Method and the Changing Face Method.

The first level allows one to distinguish the collision of different objects and the weight of footsteps within a radius of several feet; the second level allows one to identify the number of people and the depth of their breathing through walls; the third level allows one to accurately dodge hidden weapons and launch surprise attacks by relying solely on the sound of air being cut without visual observation; and the fourth level allows one to clearly hear the dark currents in the depths of underground wells and the sound of clothing rubbing together twenty or thirty feet away.

The latter has four levels: First, it can subtly adjust the facial fascia, change the contours of the eyebrows, eyes, and jaw, and easily disguise one's appearance; Second, it can cause sores and scars to grow, greatly changing one's appearance; Third, it goes a step further, which can be described as a complete transformation, except that the bone structure cannot be changed; Fourth, it allows the flow of qi through the seven orifices to be unimpeded, achieving the interconnection of the five senses.

"What a fine technique!" Lu Li secretly exclaimed. This martial art truly deserves to be a fourth-grade technique. If it weren't for its unorthodox nature, its grade would probably be even higher.

This is the true method of cultivation, unlike the "Inner Landscape Technique of the Netherworld" which only talks about grand principles of life.

Lu Li was so engrossed in watching that he wished he could start cultivating right then and there. But as the candle burned out, Lu Li knew it was time to rest.

At the hour of Yin (3-5 AM), the moon is bright and the stars are few.

Most people in the palace were still asleep, but it was time for the shift change at the Palace Attendants' Office.

It was still the head eunuch, Eunuch Zhao, who, after giving his instructions, said to Lu Li, "Little Lu, you'll be going with Little Qi today. If you don't understand anything, just ask our godfather."