In the Name of a Divine Art, Practicing a Devil Cultivation Method

Early in the morning.

Xu Fan took his bamboo creel and poled his black-awning boat toward the fish market docks.

"There are more and more treasure fish in the shallows. What happened in the depths of Peach Blossom Spring Lake?"

After restoring his Law Power last night, he had made a special trip around the reed marsh and caught a Scarlet Blood Perch weighing more than ten jin.

The number of treasure fish in the reed marsh had even increased rather than decreased, nearly doubling, with at least twenty or thirty hiding beneath it.

The fish-type exotic beast outside the reed marsh was still chasing treasure fish nearby, as active as ever.

After coming ashore, he paid three large coins as usual before carrying away the Scarlet Blood Perch threaded onto a grass rope.

The Scarlet Blood Perch, weighing over ten jin, immediately drew the attention of others.

When he entered the fish market, Old Man Huang, whom he knew well, stood up and examined the Scarlet Blood Perch in Xu Fan's hand.

"A Scarlet Blood Perch this big? Good luck, Little Xu!"

Old Man Huang stared at the Scarlet Blood Perch and shook his head in amazement:

"I netted a Single-Horned Pomfret a few days ago, but it wasn't as big as yours."

Half a month ago, catching a treasure fish would definitely have inspired envy and jealousy, but now it seemed normal.

Still, a treasure fish weighing more than ten jin was rare.

"Your luck isn't bad either, Old Man Huang."

Xu Fan smiled and nodded.

"When it comes to luck, I can't compare."

Old Man Huang shook his head:

"Lots of people have been netting treasure fish lately, but if you want to talk about luck, it has to be that lad Liang Chi. He actually managed to net a Blood Dragon Sturgeon a full meter long."

"That was a dragon-blooded species!"

At the thought of the Blood Dragon Sturgeon weighing dozens of jin, Old Man Huang's eyes lit up. In all his years, he had only seen one a handful of times.

For a young man to catch a Blood Dragon Sturgeon was truly incredible!

"A dragon-blooded species?"

Xu Fan's expression shifted, and he recalled that Peach Blossom Spring Lake had a Blood Dragon Sturgeon known as a dragon-blooded species.

"Don't Blood Dragon Sturgeon live in deep water?"

There were many legends about Peach Blossom Spring Lake. One said that the blood-red treasure fish and exotic beasts in the lake were all connected to a drop of dragon blood that had fallen into it long ago.

The Scarlet Blood Perch was one, and the Red-Backed Cutlassfish another, but the Blood Dragon Sturgeon was the most special of all.

When young, it was a treasure fish that even an ordinary person might be lucky enough to catch. Upon reaching adulthood, it naturally transformed into an exotic beast.

Even its blood was a treasure.

It hatched in the waters where the deep and shallow areas met, then fed on treasure fish once it grew a little larger. It was one of the large treasure fish that lived in deep water.

As an adult, it was an exotic beast at least three meters long, and only a martial master could stand against it.

Could Liang Chi already be strong enough to enter the deep waters and catch treasure fish?

"I heard he caught it in the shallows. Maybe it ran out because there are more exotic beasts in the deep waters."

"Over the past half month, more than twenty people have disappeared along with their black-awning boats."

Old Man Huang sighed.

Even after deducting the sixty-percent stall fee, that Blood Dragon Sturgeon would have brought in at least twenty or thirty taels, enough to nearly free Liang Chi from his status as a lowborn.

"I'll go get the Scarlet Blood Perch weighed first."

Seeing Old Man Huang lost in thought, Xu Fan spoke and headed toward the buying station.

To his surprise, he found three people ahead of him, each carrying a treasure fish.

One was an acquaintance whose left sleeve hung empty.

It was Lin Chu, whose arm had been chopped off before.

"A Scarlet Blood Perch? It's a good size."

Steward Qian was still reclining in his chair. The workers handled the weighing and payment, leaving him looking quite at ease.

After looking away, he closed his eyes and said with a smile:

"By the way, because of the strange changes in Peach Blossom Spring Lake, exotic beasts aren't just appearing frequently in the shallows; there are more treasure fish too."

"The fish market has decided that starting today, the stall fee will rise by ten percent. It won't be sixty percent anymore, but seventy."

"Someone will put up a notice on the board at the docks in a little while."

Over the past half month, these lowborns had been catching more and more treasure fish, with someone coming in almost every day.

Over the past few days, there had even been several every day. They had even managed to catch a Blood Dragon Sturgeon, and a live one at that. They were still living far too comfortably.

Lowborns ought to live like lowborns.

"Seventy percent?!"

"Master Qian, you can't!"

"How are we supposed to live if you take seventy percent?"

The faces of the two fishermen, who had been smiling moments earlier, fell at once.

They couldn't catch treasure fish every day.

If seventy percent was taken as a stall fee, how would they live when they couldn't catch treasure fish in the future?

"There are so many treasure fish now, even in the shallows. You just need to work harder."

"You can get at least a tael of silver for one treasure fish. If you work harder and catch a few more, why worry about making a living?"

"Besides, exotic beasts are appearing frequently in the shallows now. Doesn't our fish market have to hire martial masters to deal with them?"

"Why do we clear out the exotic beasts? Isn't it so you can fish without worry?"

"Of course you have to pay the cost of hiring martial masters."

"Instead of being grateful, you're standing here complaining?"

Qian Jiao chuckled, his tone gradually turning stern.

These bastards wouldn't work hard at fishing, yet blamed the fish market for taking too large a cut?

Had they ever stopped to think whether they could live so peacefully without the fish market, without him here?

Xu Fan stood silently to one side and glanced discreetly at the one-armed Lin Chu, surprised.

When he had first seen Lin Chu, he had sensed something was wrong.

He circulated Law Power into his eyes and noticed that the Qi and Blood within Lin Chu surged mightily, far surpassing that of the martial artist Qian Jiao.

"Could this Lin Chu be the protagonist of a novel from my previous life?"

"He was oppressed and exploited, yet didn't die after losing an arm, and even became a blood-exchange martial master in just one month?"

Lowborns of the three lowest ranks weren't allowed into the city and had nowhere to learn martial arts.

He had vanished for a month and reappeared as a blood-exchange martial master. Could he have eaten some heavenly materials and earthly treasures?

Or had a reclusive master taken him as a disciple?

"Master Qian is right. We lowborns could never repay the kindness of the Canal Gang and the fish market, even in a lifetime."

Lin Chu took two taels of silver from the worker and suddenly began to laugh.

His laughter was unrestrained. Gone was his former meekness, replaced by a kind of madness.

"What are you laughing at?"

Qian Jiao sensed that something was wrong and sprang to his feet, his eyes fixed on the wildly laughing Lin Chu.

"I'm laughing at the Canal Gang leader's lack of wisdom and the fish market manager's lack of foresight, putting the likes of you and Zhao He in charge!"

Lin Chu stopped laughing, and his hate-filled gaze fell on Qian Jiao's face:

"I'll make the fish market and the entire Canal Gang pay for this arm of mine!"

A month ago, Zhao He had ordered men to cut off his arm, and he had been thrown out of the fish market like a dead dog.

Those thugs had also tormented him and thrown him into Peach Blossom Spring Lake.

Fortunately, heaven had eyes and let him find a scroll containing a Cultivation Method and martial arts in the lake.

In just one month, by devouring the Qi and Blood of those thugs and the fishermen who had bullied him before, and nourishing himself with treasure fish, he had easily become a blood-exchange martial master.

"Hey, hey, hey, at least wait until I've sold my fish before you make your move!"

Seeing that things were going wrong, Xu Fan immediately retreated to a corner.

Clearly, Lin Chu hadn't come with good intentions today.

"Although I don't know where a bastard like you got the confidence, you've picked the wrong man!"

Qian Jiao narrowed his eyes. Although he didn't believe a man missing an arm could threaten him, he still took care to strike first and gain the upper hand!

Before his words had faded, he leaped up and pounced to kill!

Puchi!

But Lin Chu punched straight through his chest, leaving him hanging from the fist, his disbelieving face full of terror.

"Wedding... robe divine art?!"

He spat out the words, and his head lolled to one side.

His body rapidly shriveled, becoming a dried corpse in the blink of an eye!