Bone-Strengthening Soup

On the day Wei Luo and the others became official crew members, the Sun Family arranged separate rooms for each of them.

Everything needed for daily life was provided, and there were even people specifically responsible for laundry and miscellaneous chores.

If they needed anything, they only had to say the word, and someone would purchase it for them.

Wei Luo and the others only needed to focus on martial arts each day and improve their strength.

And so, half a month passed in the blink of an eye.

That day, Wei Luo was practicing martial arts in the training ground as usual.

"Watch my fist!"

Bang! Bang! Bang! Fists and feet collided, producing a series of dull thuds.

His opponent's attacks came in an unbroken stream. Wei Luo was being suppressed and could only fend them off, with no chance to throw a punch of his own.

"Wei Luo, keep it up! Whether we get to drink tonight depends on you."

Liu Changle watched from the side and called out in encouragement.

But sparring depended on strength. Even if Liu Changle shouted himself hoarse, he couldn't change Wei Luo's disadvantage.

Wei Luo was forced back again and again by the unceasing shadows of his opponent's fists.

Seeing that he would soon lose if this continued, Wei Luo gritted his teeth. Ignoring the fist coming at him, he chose to trade injury for injury and strike back head-on.

But his opponent seemed to have seen through his intentions long ago and laughed.

"I've been waiting for that punch. Remember, you owe me another drink!"

The man closed in, sidestepped Wei Luo's punch, then took advantage of the opening in Wei Luo's guard to shove him to the ground.

Liu Changle, who was watching nearby, could only sigh helplessly.

The man sparring with Wei Luo was named Zhao Xiu. He was a year or two older than them and had entered the Sun Family as a crew member a year ago.

Zhao Xiu was cheerful by nature and enjoyed making friends. In just half a month, the three had become familiar with one another. Whenever they sparred, they would occasionally use food and drink as small wagers.

"Wei Luo, your fist technique has improved quickly. In my opinion, you're only a little worse than Shen Wu."

Zhao Xiu reached out to pull Wei Luo up, then patted his shoulder as he spoke.

He had befriended the two because he believed Wei Luo had considerable potential. Though his natural physique was ordinary, his fist technique had steadily improved.

"If Brother Zhao hadn't held back, I would've lost even faster."

Wei Luo dusted himself off and replied.

Zhao Xiu had studied fist techniques a year longer than they had. He had already broken through the second Qi-Blood Threshold, and his fist technique was far more seasoned.

That unceasing offensive just now had been the Linked Waves Force of the Folding Waves Fist. Each wave of fist force followed the last, leaving the opponent powerless to resist until they were driven into defeat.

Zhao Xiu hadn't crushed him with raw strength. He had won through fist technique.

With someone like Zhao Xiu willingly feeding him moves, even losing brought plenty of gains.

Wei Luo could feel that he was close to mastering the Linked Waves Force.

Not long after, a rich scent of medicinal herbs drifted over the training ground.

"The Bone-Strengthening Soup is here! Anyone who bought some, come collect it now!"

At the shout, everyone in the training ground stopped what they were doing and lined up to collect their Bone-Strengthening Soup.

Zhao Xiu soon returned carrying a bowl of Bone-Strengthening Soup. Seeing Wei Luo and Liu Changle empty-handed, he teased them.

"Why aren't you two collecting your Bone-Strengthening Soup? You can't practice fists without this."

Liu Changle immediately curled his lip.

"Brother Zhao, you know our circumstances. We're just fishermen's sons. How could we afford medicinal soup?"

"We can only slowly endure it and work our way past the martial arts threshold."

Hearing that, Zhao Xiu downed his Bone-Strengthening Soup in one gulp before speaking seriously.

"If you two keep thinking like that, forget becoming martial artists. You definitely won't even cross the second threshold!"

Wei Luo and Liu Changle were both stunned. After they pressed him for more, Zhao Xiu continued.

"Do you think Shen Wu, with his natural physique, can break through three Qi-Blood Thresholds and become a martial artist?"

Wei Luo paused before replying.

"His natural physique is excellent, and the Sun Family provides him with ten bowls of Bone-Strengthening Soup every month. At his current pace, there's no reason he shouldn't make it."

"Completely wrong. In my view, even his chances of breaking through the third Qi-Blood Threshold are less than thirty percent! As for you two, they're not even ten percent."

Zhao Xiu's words left Liu Changle looking astonished.

"How could the chances be only ten percent?"

"It's simple. If you don't have enough reserves, naturally you can't break through the Qi-Blood barrier."

"Standing stances and fist practice are methods of tempering Qi and blood. No matter how skilled your fist technique is, if the Qi and blood in your body don't meet the standard, you still can't break through the Qi-Blood Threshold."

"And if you want to replenish your Qi and blood, eating meat every day is nowhere near enough. You need vast amounts of resources. Things like Bone-Strengthening Soup are what truly fill out your Qi and blood."

After hearing all that, Wei Luo gained a measure of understanding.

Zhao Xiu was right. How could practicing martial arts be so simple?

If people like them could break through Qi-Blood Thresholds merely by practicing their fists and grinding away with time, they were taking it far too much for granted.

Take the first Qi-Blood Threshold, for example. If Wei Luo hadn't eaten the Money Fish, he likely wouldn't have broken through it at all.

Once the subject came up, Zhao Xiu spoke with great enthusiasm, only stopping half an hour later.

According to him, once someone entered the martial path, ordinary people drank medicinal soups. Wealthier martial artists alternated between medicinal baths, rare mountain delicacies, and pills. Only then did they have a chance to strengthen themselves step by step.

Wei Luo couldn't help feeling emotional. Before this, he'd thought that becoming a Sun Family crew member and earning half a tael of silver a month was already extremely good.

Now, it seemed like nothing more than a drop in the ocean.

Zhang Chi had previously said that the Sun Family could earn a great deal of money if they sent out a Treasure Ship to search for and catch Treasure Fish.

But they had been in the compound for so long and still hadn't received any news that the Sun Family planned to send out boats to fish.

Seeing the expressions on Wei Luo and Liu Changle's faces, Zhao Xiu smiled again.

"If you two want to make money, I know quite a few people and have some connections."

"As long as you don't mind the pay being low."

Liu Changle was about to agree, but after thinking it over, he asked cautiously.

"But we're considered Sun Family people now. What if the Sun Family finds out..."

Zhao Xiu immediately waved his hand in explanation.

"Don't worry. The Sun Family has never cared about this. Otherwise, how do you think any of them could afford Bone-Strengthening Soup?"

As he spoke, Zhao Xiu pointed toward the line of people collecting Bone-Strengthening Soup.

The meaning was clear. Even the Sun Family couldn't afford to support twenty or thirty martial arts practitioners for free over the long term.

All the Sun Family wanted was for these crew members to be able to contribute when they were needed.

That was why everyone in this residence had their own ways of making money.

Once Wei Luo understood this, he made up his mind and immediately asked Zhao Xiu for more information.

Zhao Xiu truly did have broad connections. From escorting shipments to guarding estates, he even had contacts among the many gangs of Pingjiang Town.

Wei Luo and Liu Changle had both broken through the first Qi-Blood Threshold and possessed First Refinement strength. According to Zhao Xiu, earning ten taels of silver a month wouldn't be difficult.

Not long after Zhao Xiu left, Bighead came looking for them again.

Originally, Wei Luo and Bighead had been able to get along. But after Bighead had kicked him while he was down that day, believing he was about to become a servant, Wei Luo had seen him clearly for who he was.

"Need something?" Wei Luo didn't even look at him directly as he continued practicing his fists.

Bighead looked rather embarrassed.

"Wei Luo, I just misspoke that day. I didn't mean anything by it."

Wei Luo didn't dwell on it any further and merely said,

"If you've got something to say, say it."

Bighead was choked by the response. After pausing, he finally spoke.

"Wei Luo, Zhang Chi has a way to get Treasure Fish from the depths of the Hun River. We can earn at least a few taels of silver each time!"

"Luo Sanhu and the others are all going. Are you two coming?"