The change was that the “Five Animal Qi Gong” entry suddenly appeared in his skill bar.
And when this entry appeared, a message also unfolded in Li Hai’s vision:
“Do you want to elevate “Five Animal Qi Gong” from Level Zero to Level Three — Yes/No?”
“Oh?!”
Li Hai raised an eyebrow, “It can even do this kind of operation?”
As his thoughts turned, he tentatively chose 【Yes】.
Buzz—
Instantly, the nearly extinguished essence Qi within Li Hai’s body suddenly boiled and surged out of nowhere, then rapidly grew and strengthened, eventually reaching a level far surpassing ordinary people.
Even his weakened vitality and sickly body, in an instant, transformed from their original exhaustion and frailty, without any process, into a vibrant and vigorous state, like a lively Dragon.
It can be said that while Li Hai’s combat power did not significantly increase.
However, in terms of physiological lifespan and organ vitality, he completely surpassed his former self, who seemed robust and sturdy but was actually in a state of sub-health due to frequent late nights and poor eating habits.
“Hoo—”
Exhaling a long, turbid breath, Li Hai immediately sat up straight from the dilapidated bed.
Then, lowering his head to examine his tattered clothes and slender, not-so-sturdy body, he shook his head and sighed:
“This is a Hellish start.”
Transmigration into a penniless, powerless beggar who couldn’t even solve the most basic problem of eating was truly unlucky enough.
Fortunately, after Transmigration, he inexplicably gained a System that seemed to be very powerful to assist him, otherwise, he truly didn’t know how he would proceed down the road.
“From the situation just now, this System seems to allow me to quickly learn other people’s Cultivation Techniques, and after learning them, I can directly reach max level without any Cultivation, tsk tsk tsk.”
Li Hai clasped his hands behind his head and slowly leaned back against the headboard, leisurely smiling, “If this ability truly has no restrictions, then wouldn’t I be completely invincible?”
Although it was currently impossible to determine whether the System’s ability to forcibly learn and forcibly upgrade had any limits, this did not prevent him from envisioning the future.
As the saying goes, if you have money, you eat a feast; if you don’t, you drink cold water.
One day is unhappy, and one day is happy, so why not make yourself happier?
Li Hai was such a person who always found joy in himself, no matter when or where.
Therefore, he would not bother to speculate about the System’s origin, its purpose, or anything else.
With that free time, he might as well find some fun for himself.
Tap ~ Tap ~ Tap ~
Just then, a series of footsteps slowly drifted from outside the door, from far to near.
Li Hai glanced over and saw that it was indeed the chubby old man from earlier.
Behind him followed a middle-aged man with a pointed mouth and monkey-like cheeks, dressed in a grey-blue robe.
“Oh, this unlucky fellow can even sit up by himself now, and he looks quite energetic.”
Upon entering the room and seeing Li Hai already sitting up, the grey-robed middle-aged man smiled and said to the old man, “Zou Langzhong, your medicine is amazing. One dose completely cured him.”
Zou Langzhong himself also felt strange.
He had clearly only given this beggar a bowl of calming soup and barely fed him a few mouthfuls of porridge, so how could the person sit up when he turned around? Where did he get the strength?
But, as an old hand in the Jianghu, he merely stroked his short beard and spoke nonsense:
“Heh heh, Steward Liu, you are unaware, but to help this beggar recover faster, this old man intentionally added a few more herbs. Now it seems the medicinal effect is quite effective, isn’t it?”
“Amazing.”
The middle-aged man gave a thumbs-up and praised, “Zou Langzhong, rest assured, I will speak highly of you to my master.”
“Haha, thank you, Steward Liu.”
Zou Langzhong said again, “If there’s nothing else, Steward Liu, this old man…”
“Go, go.” Steward Liu waved his hand, “You can go to the accounting office to collect your money.”
The old Langzhong said nothing more, smiled, cupped his hands, and turned to walk out the door.
After the Langzhong left, Steward Liu stood with his hands behind his back, looking at Li Hai, who had been quietly observing him, and said indifferently:
“Unlucky fellow, what’s your name?”
“Li Hai.”
Li Hai smiled freely, “Li from ‘powerful,’ Hai from ‘appalling.’”
“Oh, what a strange name.”
Steward Liu said in surprise, “Aren’t your parents afraid it will bring you disaster?”
In response, Li Hai merely smiled, without intending to answer.
“Never mind.”
Steward Liu nodded, then beckoned, “Come, follow me. My master wants to see you.”
Having said that, he walked out the door on his own.
Li Hai said nothing, flipped out of bed, shuffled his tattered shoes, and slowly followed the other party out of the mud house.
As soon as he stepped out of the room, he discovered that the surroundings of this mud house were a desolate garden overgrown with weeds and ruined walls.
A cool breeze rustled, and the night was hazy.
Reflecting the veil-like moonlight and the cawing of crows from an unknown source, Li Hai felt that this place was so eerie.
“What are you standing there for? Hurry up and go.”
A shout came from not far away.
Following the sound, Li Hai looked up and saw that around Steward Liu, some twenty to thirty meters away, stood more than a dozen burly men in tight outfits, holding staffs at eyebrow height.
Some of them even held dark, thick muskets.
And all these burly men, presumably thugs and guards, were staring intently at Li Hai, as if afraid he would escape.
Seeing this scene, Li Hai immediately understood.
That master, whose name he didn’t know, certainly didn’t save him out of kindness, but very likely for some unspeakable and dangerous purpose.
Otherwise, why would his subordinates adopt such a fierce demeanor?
But now, under someone else’s roof, he had to bow his head.
There were no Cultivation Techniques in the skill bars of Steward Liu and these few thugs. He was like a clever housewife with no rice to cook, unable to find a way to improve his strength, so he could only take one step at a time.
Therefore, Li Hai smiled silently, then quietly walked towards Steward Liu.
The latter, seeing him so sensible, nodded in satisfaction and turned again to stroll into the distance.
Subsequently, Li Hai followed behind Steward Liu and his group, walking and stopping along the way, traversing the entire abandoned garden, passing rows of black-tiled small buildings and green pavilions, arriving at and entering a large mansion.
“Master, the person has been brought.”
Following Steward Liu’s respectful words from ahead, Li Hai walked leisurely into a courtyard deep within the mansion.
Upon entering this residence, his gaze involuntarily turned to the center of the courtyard.
There, an overly wide Grand Tutor’s chair was placed.
On the chair sat a tall, burly old man with a long beard, dressed in a dark ancient robe.
And behind this old man, a strange, thick wooden stake stained with blood stood.
In a trance, Li Hai even saw several vengeful spirits circling around the bloody stake, wailing miserably without cease.
“Hiss~”
Li Hai was secretly astonished, “This old man is not simple.”
As soon as he saw this old man, he vaguely felt that the other party… was not like a human at all, but rather like a large beast that had gained sentience, a ferocious tiger demon lurking on the Grand Tutor’s chair, licking its claws, building up its Aura, ready to pounce anywhere in the courtyard at any moment.
And Li Hai also saw that those vengeful spirits actually dared not approach this old man, who was so close, only daring to fly around the bloody stake.
“Is it an illusion?”
Li Hai suddenly shook his head, opened his eyes, and looked again, only to find that the so-called vengeful spirits he had vaguely glimpsed earlier had all disappeared.
Only that burly old man, who looked more like a fierce beast than a human, still sat steadily on the Grand Tutor’s chair, unchanged.
So… this extraordinary old man should be the master that Steward Liu spoke of, right?