Chapter 59: The First Tool in the Comprehensive Martial Arts World

Originally, he had planned to wait a bit longer, finding a few unfortunate souls to drain of their inner strength before making a move.

However, now that he had acquired the Three-Way Techniques from the ninja world, Lin Bei felt he could bring his plan forward.

First, he summoned a young eunuch attending him and instructed him to inform Consort Jiang Yuyan in the inner palace that he would not be visiting tonight, while also ordering the imperial kitchen to prepare some nourishing tonics.

Jiang Yuyan was newly pregnant at this time, which was the most critical stage. Not only was Lin Bei exceptionally cautious, but she herself was extremely careful as well.

To protect the unborn child in her womb, Lin Bei had been visiting roughly every other day during this period, so even skipping tonight would not raise any suspicion.

The lights in the palace remained lit until the dead of night before finally going out.

The young eunuch glanced at Lin Bei, who was already fast asleep, and quietly retreated outside the screen.

Now that the emperor was resting, eunuchs like them had to remain on guard outside in case the emperor suddenly woke up and needed someone without finding anyone available.

The very moment he stepped back, Lin Bei, who ought to have been fast asleep, abruptly opened his eyes.

He picked up a pillow, formed a hand seal, and the pillow instantly transformed into his exact likeness.

As long as no one approached to touch it with their hands, the deception would not be discovered.

He quietly slipped beyond the screen.

As expected, the on-duty young eunuch completely failed to notice the situation inside.

Taking advantage of the eunuch's inattention, Lin Bei tapped his sleep-inducing acupoint, causing the guard to instantly drift into unconsciousness.

After subduing him, Lin Bei used the Transformation Technique to assume the eunuch's appearance and strolled out swaggering.

The guards stationed at the door merely glanced at him without saying a word, saving Lin Bei a great deal of trouble.

He then quickened his pace, found an unoccupied spot, and with a light leap, vaulted onto the rooftop.

Next, Lin Bei circulated his breathing technique, and with a sharp crack, his formidable speed tore through the air, producing a thunderous roar.

Quite a few people heard the noise, but none paid it any mind; since it was summer, thunder and lightning were entirely commonplace.

Lin Bei had long since obtained maps of the imperial palace and the entire capital from the imperial study, so upon leaving the palace, he headed straight for the capital's Celestial Prison.

Along the way, he did not encounter a single person blocking his path, which left Lin Bei feeling both fortunate and apprehensive.

He was glad that encountering no one meant no trouble, yet that very fact was also what worried him.

Although he had employed the principles of Thunderclap Flash, his speed was not as exaggerated as the depictions in anime.

If there were truly any martial arts masters around, they would still have been able to detect his presence.

Yet, even after leaving the imperial palace, he had not run into a single competent expert.

It was impossible to tell whether those civil officials were simply oblivious or if it had been done by design.

With security as lax as this, it was hardly surprising that Wumaru from the Kingdom of Izumo had been able to effortlessly kidnap the Empress Dowager right out of the imperial palace.

Compared to the imperial palace, the security at the Celestial Prison was even more pathetic.

Nominally, the place was controlled by the Eastern Depot, but in reality, it had long been infiltrated by the Dragon-Protector Lodge.

Even Cao Zhengchun, the Chief Eunuch of the Eastern Depot, had spies planted around him by the Iron-Bolded Divine Marquis, Zhu Wushi.

However, this had nothing to do with Lin Bei. He had previously inquired and learned that among the Dragon-Protector Lodge's four elite agents—Heaven, Earth, Mysterious, and Yellow—the position of the Yellow Agent had always remained vacant.

Furthermore, the incident involving the visit from the Kingdom of Izumo had not yet occurred.

This meant that the once-undefeated juvenile Gu Santong was still imprisoned on the ninth level of the Celestial Prison.

Initially, Lin Bei had not intended to seek out Gu Santong, nor did he have the opportunity to do so.

It was the appearance of the Naruto universe Lin Bei, which had provided him with the methods of the Three-Way Techniques, that prompted him to make a temporary decision.

Of course, he also had to thank those treacherous officials; if they had not allowed the palace guards to fall into such disarray, Lin Bei could not have proceeded so smoothly.

Upon entering the Celestial Prison, Lin Bei casually grabbed a guard and used various methods to extract the location of the cell specifically used to hold unfortunate souls awaiting impending castration, successfully making his way inside.

As luck would have it, the moment Lin Bei stepped in, there was already someone occupying the cell.

That person wore coarse hemp clothing with unkempt, messy hair, looking very much like a beggar.

Upon seeing Lin Bei enter, the man's eyes widened instantly as he sprang up from the heated brick bed.

"Brother, are you here to rescue me?"

Lin Bei ignored him, crouching down to tap on the brick bed a few times before realizing that the space beneath was indeed hollow.

Without further hesitation, he struck downward with a single palm strike, sending dirt flying in all directions.

An opening just wide enough for a person to pass through promptly appeared before Lin Bei.

Crouching low, Lin Bei slipped inside and vanished from sight in an instant.

Cheng Situ had been agonizing over how to make his escape; after all, if he didn't flee now, he would be castrated tomorrow.

When he first saw Lin Bei enter, he had been quite thrilled, assuming he had encountered some righteous knight errant, only for the visitor to completely ignore him.

Watching Lin Bei squeeze into the underground tunnel beneath the bed, Cheng Situ's eyes lit up, naturally assuming Lin Bei was searching for hidden treasure. After rolling his eyes in thought, he squeezed in after him.

Meanwhile, after sliding downward for a spell, Lin Bei finally landed, arriving at the location known as the ninth level of the Celestial Prison.

It was pitch black here, and the air carried a heavy, moldy stench.

Frowning, Lin Bei produced a fire striker and ignited it, finally bringing forth a sliver of illumination.

Walking forward a few paces, Lin Bei heard a strange sound, resembling someone chewing on food.

Just as Lin Bei hesitated over whether to proceed, an aged voice drifted over: "Young man, since you've come all this way, why not come over and chat for a bit?"

Lin Bei was about to respond, but the man afforded him no such opportunity.

A powerful suction force surged from ahead, forcibly dragging him forward before he could react.

Upon drawing closer, Lin Bei finally discerned the man's condition.

It was an elderly man with hair and beard as white as snow, his limbs shackled in heavy iron chains, holding what appeared to be a rat in his hands and gnawing on it.

At this sight, Lin Bei nearly vomited.

He had witnessed people eating raw food, but eating raw mice was simply too revolting.

After retching a few times, Lin Bei tossed a roasted chicken leg—which he had pocketed upon entering the prison—over to the old man and said, "Eat something normal instead!"

The old man's eyes lit up the moment he saw the chicken leg. Snatching it up, he shoved it straight into his mouth, devoured it in a few bites, and let out a satisfied belch.

He looked Lin Bei up and down and remarked, "Young man, judging by your air of nobility, you're no ordinary person! Oh? And you practice Wudang internal arts as well. Who is your master? Tell me, perhaps I even know them."

Lin Bei shook his head and said with a faint smile, "I have no master, though I did study martial arts for a few days with Second Uncle Yu of Wudang. None of that matters, however. I've come here today to make a trade with you!"

Smack-ling his lips upon hearing this, the old man replied, "Now that's novel. Let's hear it first."

Lin Bei raised a single finger and stated, "First matter: I want the entire cultivation base you possess. In exchange, I will tell you news concerning your woman and your son. Second matter: once you get out, you will serve as my enforcer for three years, and I will rescue your woman from her state akin to the living dead."