Do you know what mythical life is?

"That is?"

Su He and Su Shi, who were waving to Lu Ping'an, turned their attention to the rabbit that Lu Ping'an was holding, which was kicking its legs after waking up from its unconscious state.

Both pairs of eyes widened instantly.

"Rabbit...rabbit!" Su Shi exclaimed first, his voice full of surprise.

Su He covered her mouth in surprise: "What a fat rabbit! Brother Lu, did you catch this?"

"Hmm, lucky us." Lu Pingan smiled and handed over the rabbit. "Xiao He, have Uncle Su take care of this rabbit. We'll stew it for lunch."

The Su family used to not eat lunch.

He's only been able to catch a big fish every day these past two days since he recovered, so his family has had an extra lunch.

"rabbit?"

Su Yongfu came out of the house upon hearing the noise, still holding a half-finished basket in his hand.

He immediately spotted the plump gray rabbit that Su He was carrying, his eyelids twitched, and a look of surprise appeared on his face.

He looked at Lu Ping'an, a complex emotion flickering in his cloudy eyes. His lips moved, but in the end, only a muffled sigh escaped his lips: "This... Lu, your luck is truly..."

He didn't say anything more, just shook his head, a smile on his face, and took the rabbit: "Okay, we'll have an extra meal at noon, a proper feast!"

At lunchtime, steaming hot and fragrant stewed rabbit meat was served.

Su Shi ate with his mouth glistening with oil, while Su He ate by herself and kept putting meat on her grandfather and Lu Ping'an's plates. Even Su Yongfu ate an extra half bowl of porridge.

Lu Ping'an ate heartily, but he kept thinking about the cultivation technique he had just acquired.

After cleaning up the dishes, the sun was still quite high.

Lu Pingan told Su Yongfu, then walked to the old locust tree in the yard and found a flat, shady spot.

He closed his eyes and stood still for a moment.

As consciousness sank deeper, the visualization diagram of the "Xuanwu Covering Armor Technique" clearly emerged.

It was a boundless, dark body of water, in which lay a black tortoise of unknown size.

Its shell is as sturdy as a mountain, and its shell patterns are ancient and rugged, seemingly capable of supporting heaven and earth.

The turtle's head was slightly raised, its eyes like deep pools, gazing calmly into the void.

A vast, profound, immovable, and indestructible will spread with the scene, slowly permeating his mind.

He inhaled slowly, his breath flowing like a stream into the sea, sinking deep into his dantian.

With each breath, the rhythm gradually became long and slow, as if in sync with the earth beneath his feet, and in harmony with the breathing of the black tortoise he was visualizing.

Immediately, he assumed the basic stance of the Xuanwu Armor-Covering Technique, his feet slightly apart, neither too far apart nor too far apart, yet like an old tree taking root, deeply embedded in the ground.

His back was straight, like a pillar standing tall.

With arms slightly bent, embrace your body in front of you, palms facing each other, as if holding a large ball.

Once the pile frame is completed, its shape will move at will.

His waist and hips rotated slowly like an old millstone, extremely steady, causing his spine to undulate gently, like a dragon turning over.

The arms moved in a very slow, embracing motion, as if it were truly embracing and pushing a heavy object.

His breathing became increasingly deep and long, each breath causing subtle tremors in his muscles and the fascia beneath his skin to tighten and loosen intermittently.

It seemed as if countless tiny forces were repeatedly weaving and pounding within his body, gradually building up an invisible yet solid armor-like outline.

After an unknown amount of time, Lu Pingan let out a long breath.

He slowly came to a stop, put his feet together, let his arms hang down, and opened his eyes.

A hint of weariness flashed in his eyes.

But Lu Pingan felt a surge of excitement.

After just one training session, he felt his power increase and become much more solid.

"Brother Lu..." Seeing Lu Ping'an finish his practice, Su Shi couldn't help but speak softly, his tone full of surprise, "Was what you just practiced... martial arts? Why does it feel different from the Fierce Tiger Fist practiced by the others in the village?"

Lu Pingan smiled.

He wiped the sweat from his brow, walked to the stone stool in the corner of the courtyard and sat down. Su He and Su Shi immediately surrounded him, their eyes full of curiosity.

"Different cultivation methods naturally lead to different training approaches."

Lu Pingan explained with a smile.

Although he was new to martial arts, he came from a prominent family and had been exposed to it from a young age, so his knowledge and experience were naturally quite good.

He thought for a moment and explained in a way that the two children could understand: "There are many kinds of martial arts, like the Fierce Tiger Fist in your village, which emphasizes speed, ferocity, and savagery, like a tiger pouncing on its prey."

"What I just practiced focused more on solidity and defense, like a particularly heavy and solid rock that is not afraid of wind and rain."

He tried to explain things in a simple way, explaining the different focuses and cultivation methods of various techniques, which made Su He and Su Shi nod in agreement.

This was a completely unfamiliar world to them.

Su Shi's eyes darted around, then he suddenly tugged at Lu Ping'an's sleeve, asking expectantly, "Brother Lu, could you teach me and my sister how to do this?"

Lu Pingan looked at the light in his eyes, rubbed his head, and shook his head, saying, "I can't teach this skill I've been practicing yet."

He was not making excuses.

Rather, this is simply the rule of this world.

When a master imparts martial arts skills, he can usually set up a restriction to prevent the disciple from passing them on privately. This is also a means for many families and sects to control the core martial arts and prevent them from leaking out.

The Lu family is a prime example.

However, his master did not set any restrictions when passing on the Xuanwu Armor Technique to him.

However, this skill itself is special.

Only when he has cultivated this skill to a certain level can he pass it on to others.

"But don't worry, when the opportunity arises in the future, Brother Lu will definitely find a way to let you learn powerful martial arts as well," Lu Ping'an assured him.

"Can I practice martial arts too?"

Su He asked softly, a barely perceptible longing flashing in her clear eyes.

"sure."

Lu Ping'an smiled and said, "Shitou is too young, we'll have to wait. As for Xiaohe, after a while, I'll try to get you a suitable cultivation technique to practice..."

After talking with the siblings for a while, Lu Pingan felt his breathing calm down a lot.

He stood up, walked to the center of the courtyard, casually waved his arms a few times, and kicked his legs.

The punches and kicks whistled through the air, producing a dull whooshing sound, but lacked the sharp, crisp sound that should come from the concentrated power of a martial artist.

"Condensing Strength Realm..." Lu Ping'an silently felt the surging yet slightly scattered power within his body.

Thanks to the feedback he received from the giant tortoise during their contract, his raw strength is now comparable to, or even surpasses, that of a martial artist in the Strength Refinement Realm.

But strength is strength, and power is power.

The ability to gather scattered energy into a single, unified force, releasing it freely and penetrating the body, is what constitutes "condensed strength." It represents a qualitative change.

"I wonder how long it will take me to successfully condense my inner energy..."

A glimmer of anticipation flashed in Lu Ping'an's eyes.

However, this matter cannot be rushed, as his previous training had exhausted his physical strength.

Forcing it might damage the root cause, which would be disastrous.

"You guys play first, I'm going back to my room to rest for a while." Feeling tired, Lu Ping'an said to Su He and Su Shi, then got up and walked back to his simple room.

With the door closed, the room was slightly dimly lit.

He did not lie down to rest, but sat cross-legged on the simple wooden bed. With a thought, his perspective quietly shifted.

The cold, dim river water enveloped me, and the muffled sound of flowing water filled my ears.

At this moment, the giant turtle was slowly swimming along the bottom of the water.

Its limbs moved, and the webbed feet formed by the opening and closing of its scales generated a powerful thrust, making its massive body unusually stable in the slightly murky river water.

"Let's go take a look at Xiawan Village."

Lu Ping'an had an idea and sent the giant tortoise swimming towards Xiawan Village.

In the second divination given by the Divine Turtle, it was said that there was a piece of cold iron submerged in the Yunxi River near Xiawan Village.

Cold iron is a material used in weapon forging.

It's of no use to him.

However, it can be used to make money.

The giant turtle paddled with its limbs at great speed, and the river gradually widened as it went downstream.

After swimming for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, I estimated that we had approached the waters of Xiawan Village.

This is a river bend, with a wide river surface and deep water. The riverbed is filled with larger pebbles and deposited deadwood, and the aquatic plants are more lush.

During this process, Lu Ping'an only used the giant tortoise's vision to observe the changes in the surrounding environment, without controlling the giant tortoise.

"Whoosh!"

Suddenly, in a dark patch of water plants ahead, the current abruptly became turbulent.

A dark shadow, like an arrow released from a bow, suddenly darted out from the center and pounced straight at the giant tortoise.

It was a strange fish, about the size of a large turtle, covered in thick, jet-black scales that gleamed with a metallic sheen in the dark water.

The strange fish was incredibly fast, rushing forward in the blink of an eye. It opened its blood-red maw and bit down hard on the giant turtle. Its head was ferocious, its mouth was enormous, and its teeth were interlocked and gleaming coldly.

Upon seeing this, Lu Ping'an's heart tightened. He hadn't expected that there would be such a powerful predator in the Yunxi River.

However, the giant tortoise reacted unusually calmly to this sudden attack.

It didn't even make any dodging motion; it simply raised its forelimbs and swung them forward as the strange fish approached.

The giant tortoise's movements may seem slow, but they possess an unparalleled, steady, and immense strength.

The turtle claws, covered in thick scales, resembled a heavy iron hammer, striking the side of the monster fish's ferocious head with pinpoint accuracy.

"Bang!"

A dull, resounding crash echoed across the water, creating a ripple of murky water.

The menacing, jet-black fish abruptly halted its charge.

Its enormous body was slapped and swung several feet sideways in the water, its head was visibly dented, and its eyes rolled back instantly.

Its body twitched twice, then stopped moving and slowly sank to the bottom of the river.

The whole process was so fast it happened in the blink of an eye.

After stunning the strange fish, the giant turtle swept its limbs and chased after it, opening its huge mouth full of fine, sharp teeth and biting the fish's belly without hesitation.

"Sizzle!"

The giant turtle swung its head violently, easily tearing off a large piece of fish meat covered in black scales, which it swallowed whole.

It eats very quickly, one bite after another.

The strange fish's body disappeared at a speed visible to the naked eye, and in a short while, half of its body was gone.

Lu Pingan shared the senses of the giant tortoise.

He could clearly feel the flesh and blood of this strange fish, which had a much greater effect on the giant turtle than ordinary small fish and shrimp.

"Um?"

Suddenly, just as the giant tortoise had digested some of the strange fish's flesh and blood, Lu Ping'an's mind jolted, and the Nine Imperial Dao Book located in his soul sea abruptly opened.