Sixty years of blacksmithing, a single hammer blow forging a celestial being.

Li Ping'an recalled the starting stance of that set of boxing moves, got into position, and slowly began to practice.

He was very familiar with every move.

For decades, I could still mimic the gestures with my eyes closed.

The force of the punch stirred up the thin mist in the courtyard, which slowly dissipated.

Halfway through the fight, Li Ping'an suddenly stopped.

Not right.

He stopped what he was doing and stood there, stunned.

That last moment...

There's a feeling I can't quite describe.

Just as he finished his move, turned his waist, and threw another punch, the spiritual energy within his body actually circulated along the force of his punch.

Everything went very smoothly.

In the past, when performing this set of punches, spiritual energy was spiritual energy and punches were punches, and the two were unrelated.

But just now, his spiritual energy was led away by the force of the fist, circulated through his meridians, and finally a small amount of it merged into his flesh and blood.

Li Ping'an's heart skipped a beat.

He rearranged his stance and performed the same move again.

Play slowly and gradually get a feel for it.

Turn your waist, lower your shoulders, and throw a punch.

At a certain point—

Sure enough, the spiritual energy within his body stirred again, flowing smoothly through the body and seeping in a little bit more.

Li Pingan stopped and stood there in a daze for a long time.

This set of punches...

He suddenly remembered what his senior brother from the outer sect had said years ago.

The senior brother patted his chest and boasted to him that this boxing style was no ordinary thing; it was passed down from his ancestors.

It is said that his ancestors were prominent figures in the cultivation world, enjoying great prestige.

Unfortunately, his family later fell into decline, and things changed. By the time it was passed down to his generation, nothing was left but this one set of boxing techniques.

Moreover, the fist was damaged, with most of it missing.

Li Ping'an initially dismissed it as bragging.

An outer disciple, just as miserable as I am, if he really had such a powerful ancestor, how could he have ended up as a menial servant?

He heard it and forgot about it; he never took it to heart.

But now...

Li Pingan looked down at his fist.

It's not a problem with the fist.

He simply hadn't figured it out before!

He had practiced this set of boxing movements for decades and thought he had mastered them thoroughly.

In reality, every move and every technique is somewhat off-target.

The difference is minuscule.

Previously, his physical constitution was withered and his spiritual power was already thin, so that slight deviation was not noticeable at all, and it would have been a waste of time to hit him.

But things are different now.

The Heaven-Forging Hammer re-tempered his bones and bones, transforming his body completely.

In this way, that slight deviation becomes apparent.

This set of punches will only truly work when he executes the movements with sufficient precision and accuracy.

Drawing upon spiritual energy to temper flesh and blood.

The more Li Ping'an thought about it, the more he felt there was something fishy about it.

He started fighting again, this time fighting much slower and more carefully.

He meticulously considered and adjusted every movement, searching for the perfect balance.

Turn your waist to which angle, punch to which height, and coordinate your breathing with each move.

After one round, he was covered in sweat.

But that pent-up energy inside him dissipated.

Feeling completely comfortable.

Li Ping'an let out a long breath.

There was a faint, almost imperceptible, murky tinge to his breath.

He wiped his face and found that his skin was actually a bit rosier than yesterday.

It's not that superficial red; it's a vibrant red that comes from within.

That punch...

It's genuine.

Li Ping'an felt more confident.

You won't see any results from practicing this set of punches once or twice, and the effects won't be significant.

But if you keep playing for years, accumulating a little bit each day, over time—

That improvement must be quite significant.

More importantly, this thing doesn't consume spirit stones or pills; it relies entirely on one's own strength.

For someone like him with no resources or connections, it was a windfall, he was thrilled.

Li Pingan was delighted.

Yesterday I was worried about not having a proper training method, but today right here in this courtyard, I've managed to develop some real skills from this broken set of boxing that I've been practicing for decades.

What luck!

He was feeling pleased with himself when he suddenly remembered something.

This fist technique was passed down from that senior brother's ancestors, and he even said it was crippled.

If only we could fill in the missing parts someday...

Li Pingan shook his head, not daring to think any further.

It's already an incredible stroke of luck to have mastered the secrets of this style of boxing.

He withdrew his fist, just as he took down his stance, and was about to go back inside to figure out how to proceed today.

The two dilapidated wooden doors of the abandoned hall creaked open as someone pushed them open from the outside.

Li Pingan looked back.

In the morning light, a figure walked in with its back to the light.

Li Pingan recognized the cabinet official's uniform he was wearing.

It's that supervisor from yesterday.

The supervisor had a smile on his face.

That smile wasn't funny at all; it was a forced, insincere smile that sent chills down the spine of anyone who saw it.

"Wow, you're up pretty early."

Manager Wang strolled into the courtyard, his eyes sweeping over Li Ping'an.

"I thought you were an old man who should have died by that fire pit last night."

"How come you're still alive and kicking?"

Li Ping'an didn't reply, but stood there watching him.

Supervisor Wang didn't care. Behind him were two handymen who were carrying a large wooden box.

The box looked heavy; the two strong young men were grimacing as they lifted it.

"lay down."

Manager Wang waved his hand.

Upon hearing this, the two disciples nearly breathed a sigh of relief, their legs buckling as they threw the box to the ground, cracking the lid open slightly.

A strange smell immediately wafted out from the crack.

That smell was stronger than anything else in the abandoned hall.

It smelled fishy and foul, with an indescribable spiciness that made the two disciples carrying the boxes cover their noses and back away.

Even though Li Ping'an was standing far away, he could still feel the smell wafting into his nose.

Manager Wang didn't care; he kicked the lid of the box open.

With a whoosh.

Everything inside the box spilled out and was scattered all over the floor.

It was a pile of dark, sticky stuff.

There were burnt pills from an exploded furnace, rusted remnants, and some unidentifiable slag, all mixed together in a mess.

The most glaring thing was that there were also a few pieces of spirit beast corpses mixed in.

The corpse had already begun to rot, oozing blackish-green pus and emitting a nauseating stench.

Li Pingan squinted.

These things mixed together cause serious pollution.

Just by being scattered around the yard, the poisonous gas was already spreading everywhere.

For ordinary body-tempering cultivators, just getting close enough to smell an incense stick would destroy half of their meridians.

Manager Wang took two steps back, covered his nose with his sleeve, and his smile deepened.

"See that?"

He raised his chin and pointed to the mess on the ground.

"This is your job for today."

"I brought it to you personally, how about that, isn't that thoughtful of me?"

Li Pingan looked at the pile of things without saying a word.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Manager Wang sneered, moved closer, and lowered his voice.

"Stop standing there, get to work!"

"This whole box has to be completely destroyed today, not a single crumb can be left."

He straightened up and patted his hands to remove non-existent dust.

"Oh, right."

Manager Wang walked to the door, then turned back, his smile revealing an indescribable smugness.

"night."

"I will come again."

"Do a good job."

"I will check it myself."