Great Yun Dynasty, Dongyang Prefecture, Yangcheng County.
In the first month of the year, the Dragon Whisker River had already begun to run wild.
Waves rolled in with the mist, rushing relentlessly downstream.
Lu Cheng stood at the bow, his body swaying rhythmically with the rise and fall of the boat.
Several times, he seemed on the verge of tumbling overboard, but a twist of his waist or a bend of his leg steadied him again.
The boat had just skimmed over a wave, granting him a brief moment of calm. In that instant, Lu Cheng drove his waist and legs forward, twisted to the right, swung his right arm, and flung the fishing net outward with all his strength.
The net traced an arc through the air, opening into a perfect, round dome.
Then, like a broad canopy, it covered a wide stretch of water ahead of the boat.
"Now that was a fine Heavenly Maiden Scattering Flowers."
A low voice of praise came from behind Lu Cheng.
Old Man Ge stooped as he came out of the cabin, his weathered face full of admiration.
"How long has it been? Your net-casting has already reached this level."
Lu Cheng looped the net's handline around again, his eyes still fixed on the surging river as he answered softly.
"That's all thanks to your good teaching, Uncle Ge."
Old Man Ge waved a hand.
"Ha! I've rowed boats and cast nets on this river all my life, but I've never seen anyone else do it like you."
He paused, his voice turning rueful.
"Boy, you really are clever."
"It's a pity the world..."
The world was rotten to the core.
As Lu Cheng recalled what he had pieced together over the past few days, his thoughts gradually drifted away.
Aside from its auspicious name, the Great Yun Dynasty was rotten through and through.
For the common folk born into it, it was like drawing the short straw for eight lifetimes.
Take the local fishermen, for instance.
Fishing meant staking their lives against the wind and waves.
But once they reached shore, the government took half their catch in taxes.
After that, the fishmongers took another twenty percent as their cut.
They called themselves fishmongers, but they were really a gang of local thugs and bullies colluding with the government to squeeze the fishermen dry.
If the fishermen refused to sell to them, they would find one way or another to make life difficult for them.
Drilling holes in boats and cutting nets were only the usual tricks.
It was even common for them to pose as river bandits while the fishermen were out on the water, forcing them to pay for a bowl of wonton noodles.
Those bullies had long since colluded with the government. Even when someone died, the officials would make a cursory investigation and hastily close the case.
The powerful at court were corrupt and lawless; the local thugs were ruthless and merciless.
Only the honest common folk at the bottom of society were worth less than dogs.
Officials and bandits were one family. This was a living hell, where the common people were tormented again and again!
Anyone who tried to resist, to fight for even a sliver of a chance to survive, was mercilessly crushed.
That was exactly what had happened to Lu Cheng's original family.
His father, Lu Zhongyou, was renowned on the Dragon Whisker River for his skill.
With his abilities, he had supported his only son through school. Though their lives were tight, they had something to look forward to.
The original Lu Cheng had no extraordinary intelligence, but he worked extremely hard in his studies.
Though still young, he had already passed the county-level examination. With another two years of study and practice, passing the next level and becoming a licentiate would have been no problem.
And a licentiate was qualified to seek a post at the county yamen.
The Dragon Whisker River ran for more than a hundred and thirty li through Yangcheng County, with a fish-tax clerk posted every thirty li.
Clerk Wang, who handled the thirty-li stretch near Lu Cheng, was only a licentiate himself.
By then, the Lu family would have climbed out of the mire.
But good times never lasted.
Two months earlier, Lu Zhongyou had struck it lucky and caught a three-foot-long Silver Sturgeon.
Sturgeon were rare enough; Silver Sturgeon were rarer still.
Three feet wasn't especially large, but after the fish tax and the fishmongers' cut, it could still bring in more than three taels of silver.
With those three taels, the original Lu Cheng could have asked the county instructor for guidance on his studies a few more times.
It should have been a cause for great celebration.
But You Lanchuang, the ringleader among the fishmongers' thugs, insisted on buying it at the price of an ordinary catch.
How could Lu Zhongyou agree to that?
During the argument, Lu Zhongyou's heart hardened, and he threw the Silver Sturgeon back into the river.
This naturally enraged You Lanchuang. On the third day, Lu Zhongyou vanished from the river along with his boat.
Anyone with eyes knew who was responsible, but what could they do?
The original Lu Cheng had nowhere to turn to report the crime. In a fury, he went after You Lanchuang for revenge.
Instead, he was beaten half to death.
If his neighbor, Old Man Ge, hadn't searched high and low for a doctor and medicine, he wouldn't have lasted until Lu Cheng took over his body.
You Lanchuang had taken two lives, yet it had no effect on him at all. If anything, it only made the fishermen fear him more.
That was how chaotic the times were.
Seeing Lu Cheng fall silent, Old Man Ge sighed.
"Ah Cheng, that's just how the world is. There's nothing we can do."
"Everyone knows your father died unjustly, but those thugs... we can't fight them."
Can't fight them?
That might not be true.
Lu Cheng slowly closed his eyes.
Deep in his Consciousness Sea, there was a streak of golden light that had crossed over with him.
[Heavenly Mandate: Ten Thousand Laws Converge]
Above, it inherits Heaven's fortune; below, it descends among men. All the world's laws converge in me!
Whatever the art or skill, Lu Cheng had only to learn it once, and [Heavenly Mandate] would derive the most perfect path to the pinnacle.
From then on, no matter when, it was as if a grandmaster at the height of that discipline stood at his side, patiently guiding him without tiring.
Talent, physique, comprehension—none of them could limit Lu Cheng.
If once wasn't enough, then ten times. If ten times weren't enough, then a hundred!
With this talent, every art in the world was within Lu Cheng's grasp.
And [Heavenly Mandate] had not disappointed him.
In little more than a month, he had brought three ordinary fishing skills to a level beyond the reach of others:
[Fishing]
[Rank: Mortal]
[Realm: Perfection (Cannot be improved)]
[You have mastered every secret of fishing in rivers, lakes, and seas, from reading the tides, making bait, and luring schools, to hauling nets, sorting the catch, and raising fish. You have few equals.]
(From ripples on the water, you can read the fish runs; from the sound of the waves, you can discern hidden currents. Your net falls like the heavens turning upside down, and when you draw it in, it gathers like the earth's veins converging. Cast it once, and you might just haul up a dragon.)
[Swimming]
[Rank: Mortal]
[Realm: Perfection (Cannot be improved)]
[You have completely understood the nature of water and the methods of moving, borrowing force, and concealing yourself within it, to the point that they have almost become instinct.]
(Above the water, you can step across waves and catch your breath, holding steady amid rushing whirlpools. Beneath it, you can hold your breath and swim, riding hidden currents to speed onward. Now, the only thing limiting you is your own body.)
[Fish Spearing Technique]
[Rank: Mortal]
[Realm: Proficient (92/100)]
[You have deeply mastered the art of reading how water slows and distorts, and distinguishing real fish from their shadows. You are proficient in the five essentials of fish spearing—"probe," "draw," "thrust," "intercept," and "turn." Whether striking suddenly in still water or pursuing prey against the current, you can land every blow.]
(Spear in hand, you tread the waves and chase the tides; fish and shrimp across the four seas tremble in terror. Wrist turning with waist, your force drives through the spearpoint; turtles and crabs across the five oceans cry out in grief.)
Now, [Fishing] and [Swimming] had both reached perfection, while [Fish Spearing] was only a hair's breadth away.
But with only these three fishing skills, life would still be arduous.
As for the path of studying, given Lu Cheng's family background, the most he could hope for was a minor official's post that would offer temporary stability.
There was only one road to truly establishing himself.
The martial path!
In this world, martial artists reigned supreme.
Martial arts were nothing like the ordinary punches, kicks, and muscle training of his previous life.
Warriors whose fists surpassed steel and whose strength could lift a cauldron were only average.
It was said that the greatest martial masters could shatter mountains, split peaks, overturn rivers, and churn the seas!
There were many martial arts schools in Yangcheng County that took in students and taught them.
As long as Lu Cheng saved enough for tuition, he could study martial arts.
With [Heavenly Mandate] in hand, someone like You Lanchuang wasn't even worthy of being called a minor ailment.
Even the tuition fee would soon cease to be a problem.
The spring fish run was only a few days away.
As the schools of fish migrated, it would be the peak fishing season.
Large numbers of fish merchants from outside the area would come to buy the catch.
The fishmongers wouldn't be able to keep tabs on everything, nor would they dare try.
The fishermen would be able to avoid some of the extortion and make private deals with those merchants.
A catty of fish handed over to the fishmongers brought only three copper coins, but sold to the merchants, it fetched seven!
Moreover, before Lu Zhongyou's disappearance, he had once told the original Lu Cheng about the stretch of water where he had caught the Silver Sturgeon.
In Lu Zhongyou's judgment, it was a Silver Sturgeon spawning ground.
Lu Cheng had also surveyed the area many times recently and had indeed spotted traces of Silver Sturgeon.
Even catching a single one would bring in at least ten taels of silver.
That would be more than enough to cover the cost of learning martial arts.
Once he joined a school and took a master, he would have backing.
Then those thugs and petty bullies from the fishmongers would no longer be able to stand in his way.
Setting those thoughts aside, Lu Cheng let out a deep breath.
He put his strength into his hands and began hauling in the net.
Once the net had closed completely beneath the water, Lu Cheng began pulling it in and called to Old Man Ge behind him.
"Uncle Ge, time to haul in the net."
"Coming!" Old Man Ge perked up and hurried over, stooping.
The old man and young man hauled the net out of the water. Old Man Ge grinned from ear to ear.
"Goodness, what a catch!"
As he spoke, he eagerly untied the net and poured the fish into the boat to sort them.
The mature fish went into the basket; the young ones were tossed back into the river.
As Lu Cheng gathered the net, he couldn't help sighing inwardly.
I was burning with anger and didn't hold back. I caught quite a bit more than usual this time. Now I'll draw attention again.
"Plop!"
"Plop!"
Amid the splashing of little fish returning to the water, two heavy thuds suddenly joined in.
In a low voice, Old Man Ge explained and warned him at the same time.
"That's too much fish for one morning. It'll draw too much attention. Let the two big ones go."
Lu Cheng nodded without saying a word.
He quickly stowed the net, ducked into the cabin, and leaned against its wall to rest.
Although [Fishing] had reached perfection, he'd still spent almost all his strength that morning.
Naturally, Old Man Ge took over the work of steering the boat back and forth.
The small boat rocked as it cut through the waves, quickly leaving the middle of the river behind.
At first, the two of them chatted a little. Gradually, Lu Cheng fell silent and drifted into a light doze.
He didn't know how long had passed before the fishing boat began to steady.
A little while later, the smell of fish began to fill the air.
Lu Cheng opened his eyes, covering his nose with one hand and steadying himself against the boat with the other.
Even after more than a month, he still couldn't get used to the sudden stench of fish.
"Hold on. We're pulling in."
Old Man Ge called softly toward the cabin, and the boat slowed sharply.
Then came a jolt, and it stopped completely.
In an instant, the stench, magnified countless times, surged into the cabin.
Right on its heels came a commotion of shouting and furious arguments.
Listening to the noise, Lu Cheng sensed that something was off.
This was a fish collection point where fishermen from several nearby villages and towns came to settle accounts with the fishmongers.
As a result, disputes were common here.
But the uproar today was unusually loud.
Lu Cheng's heart sank. He got up and quickly left the cabin.
When he saw what was happening on shore, his brows knitted tight.
On the shore, two battered fish baskets lay on the ground.
A few fish had spilled beside them, mouths opening and closing helplessly.
Outside the wooden weighing shed, fishermen clutching harpoons faced off against thugs gripping clubs, shouting furiously at one another.
Both sides were poised to fight, and it looked as if they would come to blows at any moment.
Just then, a nauseating voice broke through the tense atmosphere:
"Hey, that's enough. Done shouting yet?"
Before you continue