Oh? Isn't that the temporary worker?

The next morning.

Li Chengfeng got up, ate breakfast under Liu Yuniang's care, then went comfortably to the market. He cut some more meat, bought a few daily necessities, and came back. He did nothing else along the way.

Although qi and blood had been born within him, there were, after all, only a few wisps, still very faint, so Li Chengfeng did not become arrogant the moment he broke through and start spreading the news that he was already a martial artist.

He had to wait until his strength had stabilized and his foundation was firm before speaking of it.

By then, if some force truly wanted to invite him to serve as an affiliate, he would be able to accept. Otherwise, if he leaked the news and a force was tempted, but he himself was not confident enough to take it on, he might end up delaying the chance to become an affiliate.

Thus, Li Chengfeng chose to continue practicing martial arts calmly at home for the time being.

Even his wattle courtyard wall and broken wooden house were only simply repaired; he did not continue renovating them.

After carrying the meat home, Li Chengfeng gave Liu Yuniang some further guidance on her Horse Stance Post and the movements of the Taiji basic Thirteen Postures. Only then did he go into the bamboo grove in satisfaction and begin practicing Taiji Fist himself.

However, while practicing his fist, he was also pondering inwardly that once his qi and blood reached a certain scale after some days, it would be time to get a spear and practice with it.

As the saying went, when the fist was complete, the weapon followed. Now that his Taiji Fist had reached a certain level and entered his body, and he had a sufficiently solid foundation, it was time to come into contact with weapons.

Otherwise, if it was at long range, that was fine; he could borrow the power of bows and arrows to hunt and kill, just like when he killed Liu Yong.

But if he fought someone face-to-face at close range, without a weapon that fit his hand, he would be at far too much of a disadvantage!

In a life-and-death fight, having a weapon in hand and not having one were completely two different levels of existence!

And Taiji Fist had been born from the spear. Its various jin-force techniques could be applied to the spear flawlessly, and there were also methods of cultivation that borrowed the spear shaft.

Li Chengfeng felt that he had to make plans early. Taking one step ahead and familiarizing himself with a weapon first would be best.

"No rush. I'll do it once my qi and blood are a little more abundant."

Thinking of the various spearheads and spear shafts in the blacksmith shop, Li Chengfeng knew it was not difficult to get a long spear in this world, so he set his mind at ease and practiced his Taiji Fist steadily and solidly.

When he grew tired from practice, he walked to the side and touched Yuniang's soft, fair, delicate legs...

Ah, no, wrong. He was massaging Yuniang, that was all!

"Husband, stop touching. My legs are a little sore."

"Aye, Husband will knead them for you, they'll get better faster!"

"..."

"..."

Half a month later.

Li Chengfeng felt that the qi and blood he had accumulated were already quite sufficient, so he found the blacksmith shop and asked for a refined-steel spearhead for fighting, a wrought-iron spearhead for training, and two excellent shafts.

After returning home, he tried replacing the practice method with spear technique.

[Taiji Fist proficiency +3]

Who would have thought that after he worked hard at a bout of spear practice, the increase in skill proficiency would make Li Chengfeng's eyes shine brightly?

At the same time, insights surged up in his heart comparable to what he usually gained only after practicing with all his strength three times, letting him know how to better practice the next thrust!

When he sensed the qi and blood inside his body, he found that under this round of practice, three wisps had been refined!

"This path really is correct. Using spear technique in place of fist technique to cultivate is the true cultivation method of Taiji Fist!"

Li Chengfeng was overjoyed inwardly, his eyes burning, and he threw himself even more wholeheartedly into practicing Taiji Spear.

"Swish, swish, swish..."

Within the bamboo grove, spear shadows flew and climbed higher, section by section!

"Husband has switched to using the spear."

Outside the bamboo grove, Liu Yuniang looked at Li Chengfeng practicing the spear in full swing amid the bamboo. A smile appeared on her fair, delicate, pretty cheeks. "He's practicing that great spear even more vigorously."

As Liu Yuniang spoke, she suddenly thought of something, and her face flushed slightly.

She hurriedly smoothed down her sleeves. Her arms, white as jade, held a towel as she wiped the fragrant sweat from her body, then she turned and ran over to practice her own Taiji basic Thirteen Postures.

Over these days, while Li Chengfeng cultivated, she had also been following along and cultivating the Taiji fundamentals. She only felt that her body had slowly become much lighter and stronger.

Added to the fact that there was not much to do at home anyway, she gradually threw herself into it and practiced together with Li Chengfeng every day.

They practiced all the way until it was time to make lunch. Only then did Liu Yuniang prepare clean water for Li Chengfeng, roll up her sleeves to reveal her fair, moist forearms, and go back to wash rice, cut meat, and cook.

"..."

"..."

"..."

Time passed day by day in cultivation.

Every day, Li Chengfeng would fiercely brandish the great spear, eat heartily, and grow stronger and more robust by the day.

Liu Yuniang also practiced until her face was flushed and her whole body was covered in sweat, her entire person growing increasingly fresh and dewy.

Like this, before they knew it, another few days passed.

On this day, at the end of the month.

Before Steward Wei of the Zheng Estate had even come to the door, the time for the Black River Gang to collect protection money had arrived.

"..."

"Open up! Collecting protection money! Protection money! Hurry up and get out here—have the money ready!"

That morning, the Black River Gang thugs went from door to door, knocking and shouting. The courtyard gate of Li Chengfeng's home stood wide open, yet he sat there with a calm expression, waited on by the increasingly dewy Liu Yuniang as he ate his second meal of the day.

Ever since he had replaced fist training with the Taiji Great Spear, three meals a day had no longer been quite enough. He had switched to four meals a day, even five, only then able to keep up with the energy consumption brought by spear training.

Listening to the gang thugs shouting outside the courtyard gate, Li Chengfeng stood a bright silver long spear upright beside him and chewed the pork in his mouth at an unhurried pace.

Liu Yuniang wore a floral dress, her graceful, full figure pressed softly against his side. Her pretty face, clear and bright, was in excellent color as she poured tea for him.

Several Black River Gang members who had come to collect protection money arrived before Li Chengfeng's courtyard gate. Seeing this scene, their eyes went wide.

Especially when they saw the beautiful woman sitting beside Li Chengfeng—their gazes swept over her graceful figure and fair, creamy skin, and they all swallowed subconsciously.

But then they remembered what they were here to do and hurriedly darkened their faces.

"Say, brother, we few came all this way, working hard to collect your protection money. You don't come out and hand it over yourself, but sit here enjoying yourself instead?"

The slightly plump thug leader looked at Li Chengfeng's increasingly lean, powerful body. In the end, he did not fly into a rage as he did with others, but spoke with a darkened face.

"Protection money?"

Li Chengfeng turned his head and glanced at him, wiped his mouth, then calmly walked to a stone in the courtyard that he had prepared there long ago. He swung his fist and smashed down.

Crash!

In an instant, the Clear Power within Li Chengfeng's body revolved, his qi and blood surged, and that incomparably hard bluestone shattered into pieces at once. Fragments of stone crackled and sprayed into the bamboo grove beside it.

"A m-martial artist!"

The slightly plump thug leader's fatty cheeks trembled. His eyes widened as he spoke, and the thugs on either side of him also changed expression.

"A month ago, when you collected my protection money, I didn't take issue with you."

Li Chengfeng calmly withdrew his fist. The aura of qi and blood around him spread as he looked serenely at the thugs in front of him, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly. "Now, do you still want to collect protection money from me?"

"Wouldn't dare, wouldn't dare! If I'd known you were a martial artist, even if you lent me eight hundred guts, I wouldn't have dared come collect protection money from you!"

The plump thug looked at the smile tugging at Li Chengfeng's mouth, but he did not dare smile at all. He hurriedly clasped both hands tightly toward Li Chengfeng and bowed as he spoke. "Sorry, sir, we've spoiled your mood. Please keep eating, please keep eating. This lowly one takes his leave!"

Just as the plump thug was repeatedly begging forgiveness, two thugs of roughly the same height happened to pass by. One had pimples on his face, the other a saber scar; on ordinary days, they patrolled this area. Seeing this scene, both were rather surprised.

Since when had their Black River Gang collected protection money in such a spineless way?

The two, their faces displeased, looked further into this household.

"Yo, isn't this the house of that short-term worker who wanted to train into a martial artist at home?"

The two laughed, then moved closer and looked inside. They saw stone fragments scattered all over beside Li Chengfeng, then looked at the leading plump thug, whose face was covered in cold sweat.

"What's going on?"

Sensing something was wrong, the two looked at the ground full of broken stone and asked the plump thug beside them in low voices.

"This gentleman has become a martial artist."

The plump thug spoke cautiously.

The two were stunned. One trembled his pimples; the other trembled his saber scar.