Do you know what mythical life is?

"Xiao Lu, is this bird yours?"

Su Yongfu looked at the obedient black feather on Lu Ping'an's shoulder, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

Su He and Su Shi also stopped eating and stared curiously at the small bird on Lu Ping'an's shoulder, which was all black except for its red eyes.

"It's a messenger bird that my grandfather gave me; it can deliver letters."

Lu Ping'an smiled and raised his hand to gently stroke the back feathers of the black feather, then turned to Su He and said, "Little He, do you have paper and pen at home? I'd like to write a letter home and ask it to deliver it."

Upon hearing this, Su He nodded quickly: "Yes, yes, it's just some coarse paper and leftover ink from my school days. I'll go get it for you!"

After saying that, he quickly ran into the inner room and soon came out carrying a worn-out wooden box.

Inside the wooden box were several sheets of yellowed coarse paper, a writing brush, and a cracked ink stick.

Lu Ping'an had previously inquired and learned that Su He and her siblings' father, Su Tiejun, was a martial artist and the captain of the village's hunting team. As a result, the Su family was quite wealthy in their early years and had even sent Su He to school for a few years.

Unfortunately, when Su Tiejun led his hunting team, he killed an expensive pure white snow fox, which attracted the attention of a group of vicious bandits in the mountains.

The bandits raided Xiaoshi Village, burned down the Su family compound, and killed Su Tiejun and many members of the hunting team.

At that time, thanks to Su Yongfu taking Su Shi to Mr. Su's house to pick up Su He, the three of them were able to escape a disaster.

But after that, the members of the village hunting team were either killed or maimed, and the Su family fell into decline, with even their farmland being taken away.

Su Yongfu had no more money left to support Su He's education.

"Thank you, Xiaohe."

After thanking him, Lu Ping'an immediately ground ink, laid out paper, wrote a short letter, and tied it to Hei Yu's leg.

"Go."

He stepped out of the room, held the black feather in his palm, and tossed it upwards. The little creature flew into the sky, circled him twice, and then spread its wings and sped off towards Tianhai County, disappearing into the horizon in an instant.

"Kuroba is so well-behaved!"

Seeing Hei Yu leave, Su Shi looked up with his little face full of envy and tugged at Su He's sleeve, whispering, "I wish I had a little bird like that, so I could fly to faraway places."

Su He rubbed her younger brother's head, a hint of longing in her eyes, but she didn't say anything.

"If you want one, I'll give you one later." Lu Pingan gently patted Su Shi's head.

Su Shi's eyes lit up instantly. He looked up at Lu Ping'an, his voice trembling, "Brother Lu, is it true?"

"Of course it's true." Lu Ping'an nodded and smiled. "Once I've settled down, I'll find you a little bird that understands human nature."

Su Shi nodded vigorously, his little face full of joy.

……

evening.

Lu Pingan picked up a thick bluestone by the river and casually placed it in front of him.

"Snapped!"

He lowered his shoulders and concentrated his strength, then slammed his right fist down hard. The bluestone shattered into several pieces with a "crack," and fragments scattered all over the ground.

He pulled his fist back and felt only a slight warmth in his fist, without even the slightest dull pain from the impact.

"The Heavenly Pillar Body's innate ability to grant immense physical strength and superhuman power truly lives up to its reputation!"

Lu Pingan nodded in satisfaction.

His current physique and strength are far beyond what ordinary martial artists at the Strength Refinement Realm can match.

The only thing he lacked was that he hadn't learned martial arts and didn't know how to fight.

"Splash!"

Just as he was pondering, ripples suddenly appeared on the river in front of him, and with a splash, a dark shadow suddenly emerged from the water.

It was a large tortoise.

It poked its head out of the water, water droplets clinging to its gray-black carapace. Lu Ping'an glanced at it and saw that it was holding a plump grass carp in its mouth.

Upon seeing Lu Ping'an, the giant turtle straightened its neck and used its four limbs to climb straight onto the shore.

Water droplets rolled off its carapace, and the grass carp thrashed its tail fins, splashing water droplets that created tiny ripples on the river surface.

It climbed up to Lu Ping'an, raised its neck high, tilted its head slightly forward, and affectionately offered the grass carp in its mouth.

"Go."

Lu Pingan took the grass carp, patted the head of the giant turtle that was nuzzling towards him, and sent it back into the water.

There was no one by the river at the moment, but just in case, he still wanted to be cautious.

The giant tortoise could be considered one of his trump cards.

His current strength is roughly equivalent to a martial artist at the Strength Refinement Realm.

The giant tortoise is much stronger than him.

Lu Ping'an wasn't sure exactly what level it had reached, but it could break a pebble weighing several tens of kilograms into several pieces, so it was definitely no weaker than a martial artist in the Condensation Realm.

……

"Xiao He, where did Shi Tou go?"

When Lu Pingan returned to the Su family home, only Su Yongfu and Su He were inside, but Su Shi was nowhere to be seen.

"Perhaps they went to play in the village square."

Su He responded, her gaze falling on the grass carp in his hand, and she couldn't help but ask in surprise, "Brother Lu, did you catch another big fish?"

"Well, I don't have many other skills, but I do have some experience in catching fish." Lu Pingan smiled and turned to Su Yongfu, saying, "Uncle Su, after you've finished preparing, we'll have another fish dinner tonight."

"good!"

Su Yongfu nodded.

He wasn't Su He, so of course he knew that it was impossible to catch such a large fish, weighing five or six pounds, bare-handed without tools or special methods.

However, this was Lu Ping'an's secret, so he naturally wouldn't ask any further questions.

"Uncle Su, please go ahead with your work. I'll go look for the stone." Lu Ping'an handed over the grass carp, said goodbye, and then turned and left the Su family's house, heading towards the village square.

As he approached the square, he heard a series of unified shouts.

A dozen or so men were practicing their boxing techniques in an open space. Their punches and kicks created a sharp, powerful gust of wind, displaying remarkable momentum.

Lu Pingan glanced around and sensed that several people inside had very steady punches, suggesting they had reached the Strength Refinement Realm, just like himself.

He spotted Su Shi at a glance under the old locust tree a few dozen meters outside the square.

The little guy squatted by the tree roots, craning his neck to watch the people practicing martial arts in the square, his eyes full of envy, watching intently.

Lu Pingan walked behind Su Shi and gently patted his small shoulder.

Su Shi snapped back to reality, turned around and saw Lu Ping'an, and whispered, "Brother Lu."

"You're so engrossed in watching, do you want to practice your boxing too?" Lu Ping'an squatted down and followed his gaze to the men practicing boxing in the square.

"Yes! I want to become strong, like Dad used to be, to protect Grandpa and my sister." Su Shi nodded vigorously, his tone full of longing.

"Then I'll help you when you're older." Lu Ping'an rubbed his head.

"It's very difficult to learn boxing."

Su Shi seemed unconvinced: "Only three people in our village have obtained the boxing technique this year. Two of them were people who took my land and gave it to the Li family before they got the technique."

"Oh? Are those two people you mentioned here?" Lu Pingan glanced at the square.

"Yes." Su Shi nodded and whispered, "Those two on the side."

Lu Pingan followed his gaze and immediately saw two young men in their early twenties standing on the edge, practicing boxing with the others.

Compared to the others, the two of them were noticeably weaker in their punches and kicks, probably only at the first level of martial arts, the Nourishing Body Realm.

"Learning martial arts is difficult for others, but not for me." Lu Ping'an withdrew his gaze. "If I say I'll help you, I definitely can."

"real?"

Su Shi's eyes lit up noticeably.

"real."

As Lu Pingan spoke, he glanced at the square in the distance.

This world is very special.

Here exist all sorts of secret places, wondrous locations, and unique buildings. The vast majority of martial arts manuals in the world originated in such places.

Even if a genius creates their own martial arts, they usually need to enter a similar environment to succeed.

However, due to the constraints of the world's rules, there is only one way for a martial artist to pass on their martial arts skills.

That is to condense what one has learned and comprehended into a martial arts manual and hand it over to others.

However, there are strict limits on the number of martial arts manuals that each martial artist can compile each year.

Lu Pingan glanced at the burly men in the distance and knew that they were practicing a martial art called the Fierce Tiger Fist.

Tiger Fist is just an ordinary martial art.

However, only by cultivating the Fierce Tiger Fist to a certain level can this fist technique be condensed into a martial arts manual for others to use.

That's why Su Shi said that it's very difficult to learn boxing.

However, these restrictions were nothing to Lu Ping'an.

Because in addition to inheriting many other martial arts techniques, the Lu family also has a special building—the Zhenshan Martial Tower.

This building can automatically generate five martial arts manuals every year. Using these manuals, one can learn a technique called "Twelve Fists of the Mountain".

Practicing in the building can also increase the speed of learning the Twelve Mountain-Suppressing Fists.

In addition, the Tianhai Lu family is also known as the White Horse Lu family.

This is because the Lu family has a special horse farm where all the horses born are pure white, and each one is exceptionally strong and intelligent.

Lu Pingan held Su Shi's little hand, glanced at the square a couple more times, and then turned and walked towards the Su family's house.

The little guy skipped and hopped all the way, constantly talking about learning boxing.

When they got home, Su Yongfu had already cleaned the grass carp, and Su He was squatting in front of the stove adding firewood. The house was filled with a faint aroma of fish.

……

time flies.

Two days passed in the blink of an eye.

That evening, Lu Ping'an came to the river as usual, and soon he was carrying a big fish weighing six or seven pounds back home.

However, before he could take more than a few steps, two figures came from a distance and blocked his way.

Lu Pingan looked up and saw that they were the two young men that Su Shi had pointed out to him earlier, one named Zhou Hu and the other named Tian Wei.

Zhou Hu was slightly tall, and a shallow scar on his face gave him a roguish air.

Tian Wei was short and stocky.

"Is there something you two need?"

Lu Pingan stopped in his tracks, his tone flat and emotionless.

These two are relatives of the hunting team members who died tragically alongside Su Tiejun.

After the village hunting team was wiped out, the two men, using their kinship as a pretext, colluded with others to force Su Yongfu to sign documents under the guise of compensation, and forcibly seized the Su family's land.

Those families that truly lost their breadwinner only received small plots of land on the margins; all the benefits were swallowed up by Zhou Hu and Tian Wei's group.

Zhou Hu scanned Lu Ping'an from head to toe, his gaze lingering on the large fish Lu Ping'an was carrying. With a half-smile and a roguish tone, he asked, "So you're the outsider that Old Man Su pulled out of the river?"

"What's up?"

Lu Pingan frowned and asked another question.

He has been living in Xiaoshi Village for the past two days, and to avoid trouble, he has not been in contact with anyone.

They only come to the river to fish once a day, usually in the evening.

"It's nothing, we just don't get many outsiders in Xiaoshi Village. Since you look unfamiliar, I came over to say hello and ask if you're planning to stay in Xiaoshi Village for a while, or just for a few days?"

Tian Wei put on a fake smile and leaned closer to say something.

The two men were at odds with the Su family and were worried that Lu Ping'an might want to repay some life-saving debt. That's why, after finishing their evening practice, they saw Lu Ping'an from afar and came over to check his background and character.

"I won't be staying long; I'll be leaving in a few days."

Lu Ping'an's tone remained calm, devoid of any extra emotion, clearly indicating that he did not want to get entangled with the two any further.

"I see."

Tian Wei chuckled, then his gaze fell on the big fish in Lu Ping'an's hand, and he laughed, "Brother, you're pretty good. You can catch such a big fish with your bare hands. You're quite skilled."

Lu Pingan glanced at him and casually said, "It was just a coincidence. The fish jumped ashore and bumped into my hand."

"I see."

Tian Wei and Zhou Hu exchanged a glance, a hint of realization flashing in their eyes.

The two were quite surprised to see Lu Ping'an catch such a large fish with his bare hands, and thought that Lu Ping'an was a martial artist with considerable strength.

Now, after hearing Lu Ping'an's explanation, the two of them immediately lost their fear.

Looking at Lu Ping'an's thin, untrained physique, Zhou Hu grinned and said, "Brother, are you selling this fish? We practice martial arts every day and need a lot of meat. If you share some with us, we can talk about the price."

Tian Wei immediately replied, "It's just that we're a little short on cash lately, so we'll have to give you the money later." As he spoke, he casually patted Lu Ping'an on the shoulder.

Seeing Tian Wei reach out to slap him, Lu Ping'an frowned slightly, shifted his body to the side and back, and avoided Tian Wei's hand.

When Tian Wei saw Lu Ping'an avoid his hand, a hint of displeasure flashed in his eyes. He turned his hand and grabbed the fish in Lu Ping'an's hand, his five fingers like hooks, about to grab the fish's gills.

Lu Ping'an's eyes turned cold.

With a sudden flick of his wrist, the six- or seven-pound fish drew a semi-circle in mid-air, its tail firmly gripped in his hand. The slippery body of the fish instantly straightened, leaving a trail of icy water droplets.

"Whoosh—smack!"

A short, sharp whooshing sound was followed by a dull thud.

The taut fish body, like a wet whip filled with lead, struck Tian Wei squarely on the temple.

Fish scales and slime exploded in that instant, and Tian Wei's entire face was slapped to one side, his eyeballs bulging out. Before he could even groan out of his throat, he collapsed like a piece of rotten wood.

Zhou Hu, standing to the side, didn't even see how the fish moved; he only saw a black shadow flash before Tian Wei collapsed. The roguish smile on his face suddenly froze, turning into horror, and he instinctively wanted to back away.

But Lu Pingan acted even faster.

Having landed a successful blow, he took a half-step forward, using the momentum to twist his waist. The large fish that had just stunned one person was swung back with even greater speed and force, taking advantage of the twisting motion.

boom!

The blow landed squarely on Zhou Hu's gaping mouth, which was agape in shock. The hard bones of the fish head collided with his teeth, producing a sickeningly loud sound.

Zhou Hu was knocked off his feet and fell backward, his mouth full of broken teeth and blood spurting out. He landed heavily next to Tian Wei, twitched a couple of times, and then remained still.

Lu Pingan casually tossed the fish on the ground.

The fish was swung twice and also became stunned, its belly turned white and scales splattered everywhere.

He glanced down at the two unconscious men on the ground, his eyes calm.

Although Xiaoshi Village is remote, the law of the jungle applies everywhere.

He bent down, grabbed the two men by the back of their collars, and dragged them toward the river.

The grass beneath my feet was bent low, and my mud-stained cloth shoes left two shallow marks as I stepped on it.

The wind by the river carried moisture, making one's skin feel cool.

Lu Ping'an loosened his grip, and the two of them fell into the river with two splashes, like two rag dolls, creating a large spray of water.

Before the water droplets had even settled, a dark shadow quietly emerged from beneath the surface—it was the lurking Heavenly Pillar Turtle.

Its massive head moved slightly beneath the water's surface, and with a hook of its two front claws, it dragged the two unconscious people into the deep water.

The water surface quickly returned to calm, leaving only a few ripples that slowly spread out and then slowly disappeared.

Lu Pingan turned around, picked up the fish from the ground, patted the mud off the fish, and walked away.

Having lived in this world for over a decade, though suffering from a cold poison and being weak and sickly, I have witnessed countless battles in the martial world and have even shed blood with my own hands.

The fact that Tian Wei and the other man tried to steal his fish was a minor matter, but he had just gained immense power, so how could he tolerate such an insult?

So what if they killed him?

Moreover, if he had backed down or given them a little lesson, they might have caused some more trouble afterward.