North of Lin Yuan City, on the Quicksand River.

The sun had just risen above the horizon, its light making the river’s surface shimmer.

The river was wide, its murky water flowing slowly into the distance.

This great river, which flowed through the northern part of the city, was the source of livelihood for hundreds of fishing families in Lin Yuan City.

Autumn had arrived, and a hint of chill was in the air.

At this moment, a small sampan was drifting on the river’s surface.

A tan, middle-aged man in coarse clothes stood at the bow, observing the riverbed below.

He seemed to have spotted something. With a powerful swing of his sturdy arm, he cast a patched fishing net, which slowly sank into the water.

On the deck, a tall, thin young man was tidying another soaking-wet net.

In a bamboo fish basket to one side lay a few small, assorted fish and some small river shrimp.

One fish was slightly larger, about a foot long, but it was just a common silver carp that wouldn’t fetch a good price.

The two were Zhao Xisheng and his father, Zhao Tiegen.

After leaving the Martial Arts Hall, Zhao Xisheng had started fishing with his father.

A fisherman’s haul was heavily dependent on luck.

If they were lucky, a "big haul" could sell for several hundred copper coins, or even a few taels of silver.

If they were unlucky, all they caught were small fish and shrimp, which were impossible to sell and could only be kept for their own meals.

For some unknown reason, the father and son hadn’t caught anything good for half a month straight.

And now, the Fish Dragon Gang, which controlled the Fish Market, was about to start collecting stall fees again.

Zhao Tiegen was starting to worry.

Originally, the stall fee had been reasonable: three hundred copper coins a month.

But then a new Steward named Li San had taken over.

The man was insatiably greedy and had immediately raised the stall fee to one tael of silver a month.

Furthermore, he demanded a hefty fifty-copper-coin docking fee each time.

This fee had to be paid regardless of how many fish they sold.

One fisherman who had protested was severely beaten by the Gang’s thugs.

Even on the rare occasion they landed a big haul, Li San would skim at least half the profits.

Back when the hauls were good, Zhao Tiegen had managed to build up some savings.

But he had spent a large portion of it to pay for Zhao Xisheng’s martial arts training.

Then came the Fish Dragon Gang’s extortion. Combined with the poor catches, they were quickly eating through what little they had left.

Their situation was growing more and more desperate.

Suddenly, the water began to churn violently, and the fishing net in Zhao Tiegen’s hands went taut.

"Dad, we’ve got a big one!" Zhao Xisheng’s eyes lit up.

Zhao Tiegen had no time to answer. The fish was too strong; he had to use all his might, gripping the net with both hands just to keep from losing it.

The creature in the net thrashed violently, causing even the small sampan to rock back and forth.

Zhao Xisheng rushed over to help his father grip the net, and they heaved with all their might.

Finally, a huge white shape burst from the water and crashed onto the deck.

It was a large fish, half a meter long.

Its body was snow-white, glowing like the finest white jade.

A golden line ran along its spine from head to tail, glinting brilliantly in the sunlight.

"Dad, what kind of fish is this? It’s beautiful!" Zhao Xisheng exclaimed.

"A Jade Belt Carp!" Zhao Tiegen’s face was flushed with excitement. "This is a Treasure Fish that can greatly replenish Qi Blood! It’s worth at least a hundred taels of silver!"

Treasure Fish, a rare and naturally mutated species of fish.

Their Qi Blood-replenishing effects far surpassed those of Low-Grade Exotic Beast Meat, even approaching the level of some Middle-Grade Exotic Beast Meat.

Moreover, their flavor was exceptionally delicious, making them highly sought-after by Martial Artists.

"A... a hundred taels?!"

Zhao Xisheng’s eyes were wide with disbelief.

Suddenly, the fish began to flop violently, about to leap back into the water.

Zhao Tiegen scrambled to hold it down.

Pinned down, the fish thrashed even more furiously. It suddenly whipped its head around and bit into Zhao Tiegen’s calf!

Its mouth was filled with rows of sharp, triangular teeth, and blood immediately began to stream from Zhao Tiegen’s calf.

"Ah!"

Zhao Tiegen howled in agony.

"Dad!"

Startled by this sudden turn of events, Zhao Xisheng lunged down to grab the fish, trying to make it release its bite.

The moment his fingers touched the Jade Belt Carp’s slippery scales...

...a strange thing happened.

Zhao Xisheng felt a cool sensation travel from his fingers and spread through his limbs, making him feel incredibly refreshed.

He even felt a bit stronger.

The fish also grew still, released its bite, and stopped struggling.

"What’s going on?!" Zhao Xisheng was shocked.

But he had no time to dwell on it and immediately went to check his father’s wound.

The wound was so deep the bone was visible, and blood was pouring out nonstop.

Tears streamed down Zhao Xisheng’s face. He rushed into the cabin, pulled out a piece of cloth, and frantically wrapped it around Zhao Tiegen’s leg.

"Son, I’m fine. Quick, put the fish away before it escapes!" Zhao Tiegen said through gritted teeth, obviously in great pain.

Zhao Xisheng nodded, placed the Jade Belt Carp in the fish basket, and put the lid on securely.

After being touched by Zhao Xisheng, the fish remained perfectly still. If not for the occasional bubble it blew, he would have thought it was dead.

"Dad, let’s hurry to the Fish Market and sell the fish! With the silver, you can go see a doctor!" said Zhao Xisheng.

"No! We can’t sell it at the Fish Market!" Zhao Tiegen’s expression was grim. "The Fish Dragon Gang is too ruthless. If Li San sees this, I doubt we’ll be left with even a few taels!"

"Then... what should we do?" Zhao Xisheng asked, worried.

"I plan to sneak it into the Inner City and sell it directly to the Drunken Immortal Tower! That way, we can get at least a hundred taels! If we’re lucky, two hundred isn’t out of the question!"

"Dad... can we really do that? The Fish Dragon Gang has strictly forbidden us from selling fish privately. If we’re caught, it’s all over! Maybe we should forget it," Zhao Xisheng said worriedly.

Zhao Tiegen patted Zhao Xisheng’s shoulder and said,

"Son. You’re not a boy anymore; it’s about time you got married. It’s just that your father is useless. I haven’t been able to save much over the years, and it’s hard to find a wife nowadays. It costs at least fifty taels."

He paused, his tone growing more urgent.

"But now our chance has come! Once we sell this fish, we won’t have to fish anymore!

"How could the Fish Dragon Gang control us then? We’ll buy a dozen acres of land and become farmers! Life will be so much better than fishing!"

"But what if we’re discovered on the way..." Zhao Xisheng hesitated.

"We won’t be. The Fish Dragon Gang might act rampant in the Outer City, but they can’t touch the Inner City! I know what I’m doing!" Zhao Tiegen said with a laugh.

"Okay! I’ll listen to you, Dad!" Zhao Xisheng nodded happily, his heart filled with anticipation for their future. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

...

...

A month passed in a flash.

Jiang Che still made his daily appearance at the Martial Arts Hall before returning home to continue his Cultivation.

His Cloud-Stacking Fist and Flying Swallow Step were now maxed out and could not be improved any further.

Continuing to practice them would be a waste of time.

His Qi Blood had also reached seventy percent.

Thanks to the residual Medicinal Power of the Qi Replenishing Pill and his daily consumption of Low-Grade Exotic Beast Meat, his Qi Blood would naturally max out in a few more months.

At this point, he didn’t need to do anything but wait.

Therefore, he decided to use this time to focus on practicing [Body Refinement] and [Calligraphy].

Both of these were ordinary Skills with no Qi Blood requirement, so they could be trained directly to the Perfection realm.

「In Jiang Che’s room.」

After writing the last character, he summoned his panel.

[Body Refinement: Minor Achievement (80/200)]

[Calligraphy: Minor Achievement (166/200)]

[Body Refinement] had now reached the Iron Rod stage.

He used nearly all his Heart Stream to practice this Skill, so its Skill Level was increasing very quickly.

As for Calligraphy, his progress had gradually slowed as his Skill Level increased.

Even increasing the time he spent writing had little effect.

He suspected it was because he was trying to improve his Calligraphy solely through his own insight, rather than by studying the works of other masters.

Calligraphy, after all, was an artistic skill.

It wasn’t like Iron Body Skills, which could be improved simply by training with abandon.

Sometimes, studying and drawing inspiration from the works of masters was also a crucial part of growth.

’I should go see if I can buy some famous calligraphy pieces another day! Even replicas would be fine.’