Dugong

Chapter 131 The Heartless Secret Technique
There are many people in this world who refuse to admit defeat and refuse to accept their fate, and Li Hong is one of them.

For ordinary people, it's one thing, but no matter how unwilling they are to accept their fate, they still can't change reality. Instead, they'll be ridiculed as delusional and wishful thinking.

However, Li Hong was exceptionally gifted and had extraordinary comprehension.

Born into a collateral branch of the Li family, he used a sword to break into the main lineage. The previous generation patriarch personally added a generational name to him and treated him as a nephew.

After enduring countless hardships, we have achieved numerous successes.

Li Hong is the protagonist in the storyteller's tales, using the remains of countless geniuses as stepping stones to reach the pinnacle of martial arts.

In his eyes, Eunuch An was no different from the geniuses he had killed in the past.

"Today, we'll shatter that fool's dream!"

Facing the raging wind and snow, Li Ping'an neither dodged nor avoided it. His true energy emanated from his body and condensed into a protective aura, layer upon layer, making it impossible to discern how many layers there were.

Ice blades fell in succession, piercing through five layers of protective energy.

"The Lotus Demon Art is said to possess true energy as vast as the sea, capable of breaking through all techniques with a single breath. However, my art is most adept at breaking through qi!"

The ice spikes in Li Hong's hand gleamed coldly, spinning rapidly and piercing through four layers of protective energy.

As the nine layers of true energy broke through, Li Hong saw the true face of Eunuch An, who was shrouded within. His eyes flashed with horror, and he lightly touched the ground with his toes to dodge.

"Hehehe, trying to run? Too late!"

Li Ping'an was twelve feet tall, his muscles and bones gleaming with golden light, and no matter how many ice spikes pierced his body, they couldn't even break through his skin.

He unleashed a torrent of powerful true energy from both palms, sending Li Hong flying backward with a bang.

Li Ping'an's figure flashed like lightning, completely at odds with his burly physique. Like a shadowy figure, he approached his opponent and his fists fell like heavy hammers.

Unable to dodge in time, Li Hong had no choice but to circulate his true energy and use a protective secret technique. His body was enveloped in cold air, which quickly condensed into a half-foot-thick ice armor.

boom!
With a loud bang, the ice armor shattered, scattering ice shards everywhere.

"What a fine ice coffin! We'll see you off on your way."

Taking advantage of the situation, Li Ping'an stepped on Li Hong and, without using any special moves, swung his fist, as big as a sand bowl, down repeatedly, as if it were a street brawl.

Under the terrifying force of suppression, Li Hong could not use any exquisite lightness skills and could only rely on his true energy to condense ice armor to withstand the pressure.

The surface of the ice armor was covered with barbs, sharper than swords, yet they could not harm Li Ping'an's indestructible body.

In just a short while, the ice armor shattered more than ten times, and its true energy was more than half depleted.

A hint of sadness and regret appeared on Li Hong's cold and ruthless face. Li Ping'an keenly noticed this, and began to pound his fists incessantly while uttering sarcastic remarks.

"You haven't mastered your ruthless technique yet, are you actually afraid of dying?"

"There is great terror between life and death!"

As Li Hong spoke, several weapons appeared in his hands, including swords, spears, halberds, axes, hooks, and forks formed from frozen ice, each with its own unique techniques.

"What I fear most is dying without being able to enter the Innate Realm, dying with my eyes open in disgrace."

When fighting against other top masters, Li Hong is proficient in all eighteen weapons and can always find a way to counter or restrain them by using them in turn.

But Eunuch An could break through all laws with a single breath, and his indestructible and enduring power remained undiminished.

No matter what weapon you use to attack, I'll just punch you back.

When Li Ping'an's internal energy was depleted by more than 20%, Li Hong was unable to condense the ice armor again and broke more than a dozen ribs with a single punch.

Li Hong vomited several mouthfuls of blood and struggled to say, "Eunuch An, I have something to say..."

Bang!
Without any hesitation, Li Ping'an smashed his skull with a single punch; even a god couldn't save him.

"Our family has no shortage of power and wealth, do you think you have some kind of innate inheritance?"

Even if Li Hong really revealed the location of the inheritance, given Eunuch An's temperament, he wouldn't dare to take it. That would be a matter of annihilation of his clan, a place where he would almost certainly die.

Li Ping'an longed for innate talents, but never got to enjoy enough wealth and luxury.

He hadn't spent all his money, and he hadn't had enough steamed buns. What kind of despair would he have to risk his life to break through? Li Ping'an withdrew his true energy, and his muscles and bones returned to normal. The eunuchs who had been watching quickly stepped forward to help him put on his clothes and shoes.

Xiao Chenzi flattered, "Godfather is mighty! He has slain the Snow Mountain Ancestor and will surely become famous throughout the martial arts world."

Li Ping'an asked, "Is this old guy very famous?"

"Your Excellency, the survivors have confessed."

Pointing to the headless corpse, Eunuch Xia said, "This fellow is named Li Zhenghong, and he is ninety-two years old. According to seniority, he is Li Guangjun's uncle."

He founded the Snow Mountain Sect over forty years and was virtually unrivaled throughout the world, earning him the nickname "Old Ancestor of Snow Mountain".

He hasn't descended the mountain in nearly twenty years; rumors in the martial arts world say that he forcibly attempted to break through to the Innate Realm but failed and has since passed away.

Li Ping'an said coldly, "If people in the martial arts world don't know whether Li Hong is alive or dead, do you think the Cui and Lu families don't know either?"

Half a month ago, the Cui and Lu families secretly exchanged messages, betraying the Snow Mountain Sect and Salt Gang disciples. If Li Hong had been warned of his strength beforehand, Eunuch An would not have fought alone.

With three thousand soldiers lying in ambush on all sides, they could wear the enemy down without lifting a finger.

It's just a matter of a few hundred more deaths and a few more compensation payments.

Eunuch Xia was slightly taken aback, and said in a deep voice, "Does Your Excellency mean that the Cui and Lu families are planning to use each other to kill someone?"

"It's more likely retaliation."

Li Ping'an said, "The powerful families are closely connected. Among the Li family members we killed, there were quite a few grandsons and nephews from other families."

Eunuch Xia asked, "Should we retaliate?"

"of course."

Li Ping'an never let revenge linger overnight. After a moment's thought, he said, "Sever the salt permits of the two companies, investigate the salt merchants under their names, and collect the salt permit taxes."

Eunuch Xia said, "Even if a family has been wealthy for generations, losing the salt business will only cause them minor damage."

"The Jiangnan case is now closed; we can't very well send troops to attack our doorstep."

Li Ping'an said sinisterly, "I'll remember this. I'll repay you tenfold or a hundredfold when I have the chance in the future!"

At this time.

When Eunuch Kang searched Li Hong's remains, he found something unusual about the skin on his back. He cut open the skin with a knife and found a leather scroll hidden inside.

It is as thin as gauze, and ordinary people can hardly detect it.

Eunuch Kang bowed and presented it, saying, "My lord, this should be Li Hong's martial arts technique."

Li Ping'an took the scroll and examined it. It was covered with densely packed text. The beginning did not contain the name of the cultivation method, but directly recorded the cultivation method.

"The seven emotions bind the restless mind; once severed, the blue sky will appear..."

The first half, consisting of several hundred words, is less a cultivation method and more an explanation of the philosophy of cultivation. According to Li Hong, by eliminating the seven emotions and six desires, one can get closer to the legendary Heavenly Dao and the Primordial Chaos.

The second half of the book contains several internal energy techniques, lightness skills, and unique moves, including Ice Spikes and Ice Armor.

"This Heartless Technique is similar to the Primordial Embryo Secret Record. Only half of the technique is clear and stable, while the other half is mostly wishful thinking and delusional talk about immortals, Buddhas, gods, and demons. If you practice it haphazardly, you can easily fall into madness!"

Li Ping'an speculated that perhaps the world's first martial arts manual also had such flaws, and after thousands of years of trials and tribulations, it gradually became more perfect and complete.

New cultivation techniques, such as the Heartless Technique and the Primordial Embryo Secret Record, require refinement by practitioners throughout history.

"We don't have the time to ponder this; we'd rather cultivate more true qi."

Li Ping'an put away the scroll, turned around and threw it into a corner of the Martial Arts Pavilion, sprinkled it with a few layers of dust, and let the guy with abundant luck cultivate.

The reason you went astray was because you lacked talent. You were lucky enough to perfect your technique, but Eunuch An could see it at any time.

"This ice armor technique is worth learning. Firstly, it can protect you and save your life, and secondly, it eliminates the need to be naked after a fight..."

(End of this chapter)