The Thirty-two Forms Long Fist

The Jade Fish once again turned into its crude form, made of inferior white jade. However, Bai Lang remembered the exquisite beauty it possessed when it was alive. "Should I throw it away?" Bai Lang thought for a moment before tucking it into his chest. It was then that Bai Lang noticed his clothes were the same "ancient costume" he wore before transmigrating. Naturally, the PPK pistol he carried was also gone.

"So this is how they block 'modern' firearms?" Bai Lang chuckled. His body was still that of a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy from before his transmigration, though his martial arts training made him appear seventeen or eighteen. With every breath Bai Lang took, the internal energy of the Golden Bell Shield circulated spontaneously, and his breathing sounded like a tiger's purr.

"Ha! I actually brought my cultivation back with me!" Bai Lang was overjoyed, suddenly feeling that keeping the Jade Fish was a good decision. "Time seems to have frozen at the moment I transmigrated." This was Bai Lang's conclusion after taking a look outside—the idle ruffians who saw him showed no surprise, indicating that not years had passed since his disappearance.

During the years he had transmigrated, the small amount of ointment he initially brought had long since run out. So, Bai Lang found the ointment issued by the Changle Gang in his room. After applying a layer to himself, he began to temper his strength. To his delight, he discovered that the second level of his Golden Bell Shield was showing signs of loosening. As his internal energy flowed, it seemed poised to surge through his meridians.

At this moment, Bai Lang suddenly remembered something important with a cry of "Aiya!"—he needed to quickly transcribe the Secret Manual for the Golden Bell Shield. Of course, the original manual hadn't transmigrated with him. Fortunately, Bai Lang had memorized the entire manual, including the diagrams. However, a good memory was no substitute for putting pen to paper, so it was better to transcribe it quickly.

"Will it be stolen or exposed?" Bai Lang scoffed at the thought. "I'm just a nobody stuck being a thug and a mid-level enforcer in the gang. Who would pay special attention to me and find out what fortunate encounter I've had? Hahahaha." The situation was indeed like this. The Changle Gang didn't pay much attention to their mid-tier members like him—those who were just there to shout slogans.

Those who truly worked for the gang, seizing territory or handling other important matters, were individuals like Mo Di, who had caught the eye of higher-ups and possessed innate talent. After being taken as disciples by the gang's Elders, they were taught various divine martial arts. These were the people with real prospects in the gang. Bai Lang knew his own standing; without any extraordinary encounters, reaching the rank of Deputy Incense Master through seniority would be considered a success.

Therefore, giving him two common Secret Manuals and monthly supplies of liniment was already considered generous by the gang for members like them. Moreover, they received a monthly stipend and extra income, making their lives better than those of ordinary civilians. Every month, there was also "contribution," and upon accumulating a certain amount, they could exchange it at the Hall of the gang's Transmission Elders for other martial arts Secret Manuals or elixirs.

However, now that Bai Lang had cultivated the Golden Bell Shield and opened his Lesser Heavenly Cycle, he was already a step above such gang members. To open the Lesser Heavenly Cycle at his age was quite remarkable. If he continued to practice diligently, with the advancement of his martial arts, the positions of Incense Master or even Deputy Helmsman of a sub-branch were within reach. But thinking of Mo Di, Bai Lang could only offer a wry smile. His current starting point was something others had reached years ago.

What was Mo Di's martial arts level now? Bai Lang couldn't imagine it and didn't bother to think about it. It was definitely far stronger than his own. What Bai Lang needed to do now was to cultivate diligently without drawing attention, striving to break through the second and third levels of the Golden Bell Shield. He was quite confident about this. After all, three levels constituted a major stage, and he felt he could handle this initial major stage.

As for cultivating to the sixth level, he might then be able to reach the realm of a Xiantian Master. Bai Lang believed that only by reaching that point could he truly understand the profound mysteries of martial arts in this world. "Perhaps only when I reach this level myself will I understand the true situation of the experts in this world."

Currently, working as an enforcer for the real estate agency, he had access to some information. However, for matters truly involving high-level martial artists, ordinary people were not well-informed. For example, Bai Lang only knew about the Heaven Earth Human Rankings, and that his own Gang Leader was listed on the Human Rankings, but he didn't know the specifics. This was because he usually focused on his martial arts training and hadn't bothered to inquire.

Now, it seemed he had his own fortunate encounter, and there was indeed hope for the future.

The requirement to break through the levels of the Golden Bell Shield was to open the meridians. The second level required opening the Twelve Primary Meridians, allowing internal energy to flow ceaselessly within them. It was best to also connect the Eight Extraordinary Meridians one by one, but it wasn't necessary to connect the Ren and Du Meridians—connecting those would already be half a step into the Xiantian realm.

Therefore, what Bai Lang needed now was to continuously accumulate his internal energy cultivation, making it as potent as possible. The Golden Bell Shield didn't seem to be the best choice for accumulating internal energy; it excelled at making internal energy potent and was also effective in combat. However, for purely cultivating internal energy and nurturing life, it was somewhat insufficient.

According to Bai Lang's recollection of those nonsensical tales, the Golden Bell Shield cultivated the body's essence and blood, while the Muscle Tendon Change cultivated True Qi. However, Bai Lang didn't have that Manual. He decided it was fine; the Golden Bell Shield cultivated True Qi from the outside in, which suited him better. At least, the thought "I won't be worse than Hong Qi, right?" represented Bai Lang's current confidence.

However, Hong Qi had the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms, and his martial arts wisdom was likely far superior to Bai Lang's. Bai Lang's current fighting style was derived from the Tiger Form's true intent, extracted from the Thirty-two Forms Long Fist and the Fist Manual. He truly had no signature supreme martial arts to speak of. "Should I learn a weapon-based art? What kind of weapon would suit me?" Bai Lang felt that relying solely on fists and feet wouldn't be enough; he had to learn some weapon art.

However, with so many weapons, the eighteen kinds of weapons were just a small part. "Long spears, halberds, sabers, swords, staffs—which one should I learn?" Bai Lang felt he needed to think carefully. But soon, he realized this was pure wishful thinking. He wanted to learn swordsmanship, but who would teach him? What sword manual could he obtain? The same applied to spears and halberds. If he wanted to learn, there was no place to learn in a short time. Could he figure it out himself? That would likely be a waste of time, re-treading a path others had already walked long ago.

All sword techniques contained a certain philosophy, their own principles. If he tried to figure it out himself, perhaps he could master a flashy move, but comprehending sword intent would be truly difficult. In comparison, saber techniques were simpler, at least the entry barrier was lower. It only required various slashes and thrusts. As for the underlying philosophy of complete saber techniques, he could learn that later.

"Looking at it this way, can a sword be understood as a saber with two sharpened edges?" Bai Lang thought so—this wasn't strange. At least in his knowledge, Western greatswords or hand-and-a-half swords were indistinguishable from sabers.