Chapter 127: Master Acupuncturist

"This..." Long Zongheng furrowed his sword-like brows, constantly pondering his past actions, but he couldn't find anything unusual.

Of course, he couldn't. He had long forgotten about killing Li Nianlong. At that time, Nalanyu Gang had personally taken care of it. Since Nalanyu Gang had assured him the matter was resolved, there shouldn't be any loose ends. Moreover, Long Zongheng always considered Li Nianlong a lowlife, incapable of having any powerful backing for revenge.

Long Zongheng had only met Li Nianlong once and could tell at a glance that he was a useless individual with no martial arts training. Although Uncle Guan was a skilled fighter, he was just a minor one, easily handled by Nalanyu Gang, so there was nothing to fear.

Underestimating Li Nianlong led Long Zongheng to not even investigate his background. Upon seeing the dragon-shaped jade pendant Li Nianlong carried, Long Zongheng immediately ordered Nalanyu Gang to eliminate him. After the matter was swiftly concluded, Long Zongheng dismissed it as a minor episode, soon forgetting about it. Besides, Li Nianlong had used a different appearance during the assassination attempt, making it impossible for Long Zongheng to connect the dots, even if he racked his brains.

"I really can't think of anyone I've offended."

Hearing this answer, Long Jingtian, Zhao Bingbing, and Zhao Qingqing were disappointed. Without a direction for investigation, the shadow of assassination would never be lifted. As the heir of the Long family, if Long Zongheng continually faced assassination threats, it would be detrimental to both the family and the country.

"Enough!" Long Jingtian waved his hand dismissively, "Our Long family, being the royal family of Huaxia, has millions of people wanting to kill us. If we can't overcome this little hurdle, we might as well die early."

Although these words were inspiring, they weighed heavily on Long Zongheng's heart. Outwardly, he had to agree, "Grandfather is right. If an assassin wants to kill me, let them come. It was merely a moment of carelessness that allowed them to get too close. If it truly comes to a life-and-death struggle, who knows who would win!"

Hearing this, Long Jingtian praised, "Well said! That is the spirit a member of our Long family should have." He paused, "Once you recover, I'll accompany you to Tianfu. With me there, the Liu family wouldn't dare go too far."

"Thank you, Grandfather." Long Zongheng smiled slightly, feeling somewhat relieved.

Three days later, in the afternoon, Li Nianlong was practicing acupoint techniques on a death soldier, causing him to laugh uncontrollably. At that moment, a long-awaited notification sounded in his mind.

"After persistent efforts, the host's Acupuncturist level has been upgraded to Master Acupuncturist. As a reward, Intelligence +5, Experience +10,000, and Money +10,000."

Master Acupuncturist: Effortlessly perform acupoint techniques from a distance of up to 5 meters. Each acupoint consumes 1 point of true energy.

Seeing the effects of the Master Acupuncturist level, Li Nianlong was surprised. He could now perform acupoint techniques from a distance? Although the range was only five meters, it was already impressive. Moreover, this was the first skill that required true energy. It made sense; performing acupoint techniques from five meters away couldn't be done casually without true energy.

"Long, why did you stop?" Shao Meiyun asked curiously, seeing Li Nianlong pause. "Did you think of another acupoint technique?"

Although Shao Meiyun had taken on the task of building a new fortress, she strictly followed the instructions of Old Master Liu, delegating all the work to professionals. She only oversaw the completion and handled the payments. As a result, her workload didn't increase much, and she still had plenty of time to observe Li Nianlong's acupoint techniques. She even enjoyed a full-body massage from him once, which was so relaxing that she slept soundly till the next morning. Since then, she dared not let Li Nianlong massage her again—work time couldn't be wasted!

Having finished her tasks for the day, Shao Meiyun came to watch Li Nianlong practice acupoints. Seeing him pause, she asked with excitement and anticipation.

Li Nianlong nodded, "I suddenly thought about whether acupoint techniques could be combined with true energy to achieve remote acupoint striking."

"Remote acupoint striking?" Shao Meiyun was stunned, then realized, "That's external release of internal energy! Martial artists who reach a certain level can do it, but it's difficult to control. Acupoint striking requires precise control, and external release of internal energy is very challenging."

"You're right, cousin." Li Nianlong nodded. He looked at the death soldier standing nearby, who immediately turned pale, adopting a fearless stance, "Please... please try... try it, Master Liu..."

Why are you trembling? Do you really think you're fearless?

Li Nianlong glanced at him. They were about two meters apart. Li Nianlong extended a finger and pointed at him from a distance. A faint whistling sound followed, and the death soldier collapsed to the ground, "Master Liu, I'm numb all over, I can't move."

It worked!?

Shao Meiyun was dumbfounded. Seeing Li Nianlong release the acupoint from a distance, her forehead broke out in a cold sweat, "Long, you truly are a genius among geniuses."

"Don't worship me, I'm just a legend."

"Pfft..." Shao Meiyun patted Li Nianlong's shoulder, "Show-off."

Li Nianlong shrugged, "Alright, I think I've practiced acupoint techniques enough. I won't be coming here for a while."

"Come on! You have nothing to do at home anyway. This place is big, and you have all the resources and manpower you need." Shao Meiyun tried to persuade him.

Li Nianlong shook his head, "I want to practice some physical techniques at home. I'll come over if needed."

"Physical techniques?" Shao Meiyun was puzzled, "Like yoga?"

"Something like that." Li Nianlong released all the death soldiers' acupoints and let them leave.

The death soldiers were in awe of Li Nianlong. He had put them through enough torture over the past few days, but his methods also earned their respect. A strong individual is always respected.

"Cousin, let's go." Li Nianlong said.

"Alright," Shao Meiyun said reluctantly, "I'll come visit you and Ruyue sometime."

"Sure," Li Nianlong nodded, "Let's go."

"Okay."

Having achieved the Master Acupuncturist level, Li Nianlong was in a good mood. Both his Architect and Acupuncturist skills had reached the master level. His Archery had also reached the grandmaster level, although his Physical Technique was still at the advanced level. The worst was his Fisherman skill… well, he hadn't considered honing that skill yet.

As for other skills, Li Nianlong hadn't intentionally practiced his Wild Fist since it reached the advanced level. The appearance of powerful long-range attacks like Plucking Flowers and Archery had rendered the close-range Wild Fist less useful. The advanced Wild Fist only increased strength and speed by 30%, whereas the basic Plucking Flowers increased attack power and speed by 100%, making Wild Fist almost obsolete.

His Stealth skill had reached the grandmaster level with 23% proficiency, which Li Nianlong liked a lot. It allowed complete invisibility for four minutes, with only a 20% speed reduction and a 30% chance of remaining undetected when disturbed. It was perfect for assassinations and ambushes.

The Heavenly Body Protection had reached 67% of the advanced level, increasing defense by 300%, an excellent life-saving skill.

Plucking Flowers was rarely used and was still at the basic level with 99% proficiency, soon to reach the intermediate level. Even at the basic level, it had a 50-meter attack range and increased attack and speed by 100%. The intermediate level would be even more formidable.

Fortunately, the recent skill Condensing Energy didn't require leveling up. It restored 50% of life at the cost of 500 true energy, making it extremely valuable. If Heavenly Body Protection was a life-saving skill, Condensing Energy was a life-saving skill. As long as he had 500 true energy, Li Nianlong would never die. This skill was simply overpowered.

It made sense for it to appear at level 40, befitting a level 40 identity.

On his way home, Li Nianlong saw Xiang Youyou riding an electric scooter towards him. Behind her was an eighteen or nineteen-year-old guy in sportswear, running alongside the scooter.

The young man was very handsome, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, a straight nose, and a square mouth. He looked nothing like the current trend of effeminate men but was full of masculine energy with strong features. Even Li Nianlong couldn't help but admire: What a handsome guy.

"Teacher Xiang!" Li Nianlong lowered his car window and greeted Xiang Youyou.

"Teacher Liu?" Xiang Youyou was surprised but then smiled and turned her scooter towards his car, "What a coincidence! Where are you headed, Teacher Liu?"

"I'm heading home. Are you just getting off work?" Li Nianlong asked.

"Yeah!" Xiang Youyou smiled, "What a rare coincidence! How about we grab a meal together? My treat."

"Hmph!" Before Li Nianlong could respond, he heard the young man who had been chasing the electric scooter snort coldly, his face darkening as he pointed at Li Nianlong, "Sis, who's he?"

Being pointed at by someone for no reason made Li Nianlong uncomfortable, and he furrowed his brows, "Xiang Teacher, is this your brother?"

Xiang Youyou felt embarrassed. She first slapped the young man's finger away and scolded him, "Put down your claws! Don't you know what manners are? Did you forget all the etiquette you learned before?"

The young man looked aggrieved, "Sis, I'm just worried about you!"

"You big-headed fool!" Xiang Youyou kicked his leg, "Get lost!"

The young man looked hurt, squatting on the ground and drawing circles.

Ignoring him, Xiang Youyou turned to Li Nianlong and apologized, "Sorry, Teacher Liu. My brother came from Jingchu to visit me today. He's overprotective, going crazy whenever he sees a man approaching me. I'll teach him a lesson. Please don't mind."

"Um... no problem." Li Nianlong shook his head, glancing at the young man. The young man was also giving him a sideways glare, their eyes meeting. The young man glared fiercely, as if saying: Stay away from my sister, or I'll beat you up!