Gou Zai, a corpse sewn into a spirit in a mortuary during the Republic of China era, became a spirit

Xie An spent another night practicing martial arts and stances in the west courtyard.

When he presided over the opening of the Yang Gate in the morning, he took the opportunity to activate his Shadow ability and move among the people in the village to test its capabilities, constantly becoming familiar with, adjusting, and adapting to it.

They didn't stop until it was fully light. After taking a bath with a skin-peeling medicine and resting for a while, they took some silver dollars and copper coins and went out.

There was a soldier with a gun guarding the gate. When he saw Xie An, he only had a cold expression but did not stop him.

Xie An already knew about Shen Molan's plan, and thought that the reason why the soldiers did not stop them was simply because they wanted to save face.

After leaving the manor, Xie An had breakfast in the southern suburbs, bought two catties of strong liquor, and went to Zhou Fu's house. He waited until Zhou Ji and Aunt Lan had both left before carrying the strong liquor into the courtyard.

When the sun was high in the sky, Zhou Fu slowly got up, ate the breakfast left by Aunt Lan with some strong liquor, and then let Xie An demonstrate the three powerful attacking moves of Bajiquan.

Xie An nodded in agreement and diligently practiced the hammer-supporting, dragon-subduing, and tiger-taming techniques.

brush!

Zhou Fu was startled and stood up abruptly, his eyes gleaming as he looked at Xie An.

Xie An felt a little embarrassed after being stared at for a long time. "Uncle Fu, perhaps my rehearsal was wrong?"

Zhou Fu then spoke, "You're a prodigy! You're truly a martial arts prodigy. Even with the bone structure of Jade Bones and Ice Marrow, it's difficult to master three essential techniques in a single night. I've traveled all over the country for half my life and have never seen such an extraordinary person as you. Come here, let me feel your bones again."

Xie An did as instructed and, enduring the pain, had Zhou Fu examine his bones again.

After assessing your bone structure, Zhou Fudu looked surprised and puzzled. "Strange, your bone structure is even more refined than yesterday. That's truly rare."

Has your physical condition improved again?

Xie An himself was very puzzled.

Could it be... because it absorbed the essence of the ghoul?

Xie An quickly came up with an excuse: "Perhaps it's because that special herb is still taking effect?"

After much thought, Zhou Fu could only come up with this reason: "You're truly a lucky lad. Today I'll teach you the next three moves..."

Xie An thanked Zhou Fu and then earnestly followed him to learn the next three forms of Bajiquan: Tiger Embrace, Mountain Splitting Palm, and Bear Squat.

These three techniques emphasize close-range combat.

The so-called Mountain-Splitting Palm is like adding steel to a mountain-splitting axe, like a sharp axe splitting a mountain, with ruthless power, emphasizing the killing power of the palm edge and the attack range.

The Tiger Hug, also known as the Encircle Tiger Hug, involves wrapping the arms around the body like a tiger, combining both defensive encirclement with a rapid grappling and throw.

The bear squat, also known as the bear squat hard squeeze, imitates the weight of a bear and uses the shoulders, back, and hips as the force points to perform a hard squeeze without any blind spots.

With yesterday's foundation, it was much faster to get started this time.

By noon, Xie An had mastered the postures and techniques of the three moves. However, because he had just finished rubbing his skin, his strength and power were still insufficient, resulting in a less than ideal effect.

Even so, Zhou Fu was quite surprised.

During the break, Xie An cupped his hands and said, "Uncle Fu, I would like to practice swordsmanship. Preferably a swordsmanship suitable for daggers."

Zhou Fu was taken aback at first, then looked Xie An over. "Logically, one needs to be proficient in hand-to-hand combat before taking up weapons. But your talent is astonishing, and you performed the first six forms of Bajiquan quite well. Taking up weapons is also an option. Dagger techniques are flexible and versatile, good for close combat, and also suitable for assassination. Which direction do you want to go?"

Xie An did not hesitate: "Assassinate."

Zhou Fu's eyes narrowed, and he said, "Then I will teach you the Heart Piercing Dagger, also known as the Green Snake in the Sleeve."

……

In the days that followed, Xie An would practice martial arts at Zhou Fu's house during the day and return to the Yizhuang (mortuary) at night to practice alone for an extra night.

Because absorbing moonlight can relieve fatigue, Xie An's one day is equivalent to two days for others.

With the patient guidance of a renowned teacher, his diligent practice, and the aid of herbal supplements and baths, he could clearly feel that he was making rapid progress every day.

However, he was still a little short of reaching the second level of the Copper Tendon Realm.

On the sixth day of the medicinal bath, Xie An suddenly felt the large tendons in his body tremble.

At first, it was just a slight tremor, like a string being plucked by the wind.

Immediately afterwards, the tremors became intense and frequent, as if the tendons and veins of his body were no longer flexible leather ropes, but steel strings tempered in ice water, transforming into the strings of the legendary "bowstrings forged a hundred times, capable of shooting rhinoceroses and wild beasts"!

"Buzz...buzz..."

He could even "hear" a deep, resilient tremor coming from inside his body.

The scalding medicinal power transformed into countless fine, burning needles, piercing deep into the gaps between every major tendon, frantically pounding, squeezing, and stretching!

An unprecedented sense of power, accompanied by an indescribable sense of control, surged forth from the depths of his meridians.

"Drink it—!"

Xie An couldn't help but let out a low roar, tensing all the muscles in his body, and a strange feeling of "his body like a strong bow, his muscles like a fully drawn string" arose spontaneously.

It seems that as long as he wants, he can instantly twist all his strength into one force and unleash it through any joint. Whether it is a fist, a palm, a finger, or even a shoulder strike or a knee strike, it will have a penetrating power and speed far exceeding those of the past!

"This is... the Copper Tendon Realm?!"

This not only means a surge in strength, but also a significant improvement in speed of exertion, endurance, and control over the flow of force!

If the Skin-Refining Realm makes the skin tough and enhances its defense, then the Copper Tendon Realm truly endows the body with "the capital to attack" and "the foundation for prolonged combat."

Strong muscles lead to powerful force, and powerful force leads to penetrating strength!

He slowly stepped out of the bathtub and casually threw a punch.

"call--!"

The force of the punch tore through the air, producing a sound far clearer and sharper than ever before!

He dried himself off, put on his clothes, and went to the courtyard to practice his Bajiquan stance.

This time, as the hammer was thrown, the air exploded with an even deeper, more muffled sound, as if an invisible heavy hammer had truly struck.

The upward thrust of the dragon-slaying technique sends its power spiraling upwards from the soles of the feet along the tendons, reaching the fingertips with unparalleled fluidity.

The tiger-like figure presses down, its waist, hips, and leg muscles working together to exert force, making it as steady as a mountain, as if it could truly subdue a roaring beast.

The subsequent six forms, due to the strength of the tendons and muscles, flowed smoothly and their power began to manifest.

"The copper tendons are complete, and the energy is flowing smoothly... I could kill even a jackal with a single punch! There's only one day left until the seven-day deadline... The time is perfect for a breakthrough. Let's go find Radish Silk first."

For the past few days, Xie An had been having Luo Bosi lie in wait around the mortuary to observe the situation.

They also learned from Liu Hu that Liu Ziming and his family of three had been murdered.

It goes without saying that it was Shen Molanqian's.

The reason Xie An had remained still was simply that he was waiting for an opportunity to break through to the Copper Tendon Realm.

When midnight had passed and the servants at the manor had all retired for the night, Xie An changed into a black suit and concealed the two newly purchased iron daggers by strapping them to his wrists inside his sleeves. Then, he took a cloak and a mask and scaled the wall to the mass grave.

The radish still occupies the original tomb owner's coffin and gets along very well with the tomb owner's skeleton.

Seeing Xie An approach, Luo Bo Si even took the initiative to introduce its newly acquired little brother, Ku Gu, to Xie An.

This little skeleton is well-controlled by Roberta; he's stronger than an adult.

According to information provided by Luo Bosi, Li Zhonglin has been leading men to patrol the area every day for the past few days. He doesn't enter the manor, but only communicates with two soldiers guarding the front and back gates of the manor before hurriedly leaving.

After gathering this information, Xie An took out a cloak and mask and had Luo Bu Si put them on. Seeing that the cloak completely concealed her appearance, he began to give orders: "I'll send you a message in a moment. You carry the coffin and run out the back door, directly into Lao Jun Mountain to hide, and wait for my next instructions. Understand?"

The radish nodded emphatically, pounding its chest like a gorilla, indicating that it was all in its hands.

Xie An nodded and led Luo Bosi to the back gate, where they met the armed soldier on duty.

The soldier, who appeared to be in his early twenties, had an arrogant demeanor. Upon seeing Xie An, he also displayed arrogance, asking, "Young Master, who is this person beside you?"

There were only six or seven people in the mortuary, and the soldiers were already familiar with them.

Xie An stepped forward with a forced smile, pretending to whisper something in the soldier's ear. The soldier didn't think much of it and even reminded him, "Commander Shen's matter cannot afford any accidents. If you bring any shady characters to the manor and something happens to you, eight heads wouldn't be enough to pay for it..."

He hadn't finished speaking...

puff!

A glint of cold light flashed.

But a dagger pierced the soldier's temple, killing him instantly.

A hidden green snake!