Starting with the creation of the Immortal Clan through the compilation of the family genealogy.

Chapter 2 Minor Success in Martial Arts
Three months have passed in the blink of an eye.

Meng Xihong hurried home as soon as he finished his shift. Bai was still waiting for him in the yard, but now she had a tiny baby wrapped in soft swaddling clothes in her arms.

That was their eldest son, Meng Yanqing. The first person of the "Yan" generation in the family. This generation embodies Meng Xihong's expectations for the next generation to be trustworthy, principled, and self-disciplined, symbolizing that the Meng family has entered a new chapter.

Meng Xihong's gaze fell on the child's sleeping face, and his heart felt as if it had been struck by something, both soft and warm.

The character “卿” lingered in his mind for a long time before he finally settled on it. It not only echoes the profound meaning of the generation name “言”, but is also a noble and prestigious official title in ancient times, carrying his deep expectation as a father that his eldest son would be like a pillar of the family and shoulder the heavy responsibility of the family.

"Oh dear!"

The baby waved its two chubby little hands in Bai's arms, its eyes wide open, its dark pupils staring straight at Meng Xihong.

"Husband."

Bai called out softly to Meng Xihong and gently placed the doll in his arms into Meng Xihong's embrace.

The doll, which had been fidgeting just moments before, immediately stopped moving in Meng Xihong's arms. Its whole body lay softly in his embrace, its little head held high, and a faint smile played on its lips.

Meng Xihong played with the child for a while, but the child's energy was limited, and he soon fell asleep, a smile on his lips.

Mrs. Bai was busy preparing dinner in the kitchen.

After carrying the baby back to the crib he had made for the child, Meng Xihong went to the yard and began practicing his boxing again and again without getting tired of it.

The boxing style that Meng Xihong practiced was the Long Fist style, which all the yamen runners of Wufeng County could learn for free.

There are eighteen forms in Changquan, each of which is a very basic move, but it encompasses all the moves of the fist technique.

With the support of his martial arts foundation, Meng Xihong had been practicing Changquan (Long Fist) for three months and could already vaguely sense the presence of Ming Jin (manifested strength).

But this feeling is always fleeting and hard to capture.

However, Meng Xihong was not in a hurry, but silently practiced the long fist again and again.

After performing the entire eighteen forms of Changquan once more, Meng Xihong was about to rest for a moment before performing it again when suddenly the opportunity he had missed before reappeared.

Moreover, this perceived strength is far clearer than any I've experienced before.

Meng Xihong understood immediately and dared not delay. He quickly calmed his mind and focused intently on practicing the Eighteen Forms of Long Fist once again.

I do not know how long it has been.

Meng Xihong suddenly sensed the presence of Ming Jin with unparalleled clarity, and this feeling grew stronger with each move he executed.

Until Meng Xihong finished the last move of the long fist in an orderly manner, a strange "crack" sound suddenly came from his body, as if all the bones in his body were growing, colliding and rubbing against each other at this moment, and the blood and qi in his body surged and continued endlessly.

Become!

After three months of repeated boxing practice, Meng Xihong finally stepped out of the ordinary person and into the threshold of a martial artist, comprehending the existence of Ming Jin (a type of internal energy), and could be considered a third-rate martial artist.

In the path of martial arts, third-rate martial artists need to comprehend the existence of Ming Jin (manifested strength) and use it for their own purposes, second-rate martial artists need to comprehend An Jin (hidden strength), and first-rate martial artists need to comprehend Hua Jin (transformation strength).

A first-rate martial artist is enough to be considered a master of martial arts, and there isn't a single first-rate martial artist in the entire Wufeng County.

Above first-rate martial artists is the 'acquired' realm, which can be called the Grandmaster realm, or the Acquired Martial Artist realm.

To become a martial artist, one must comprehend the existence of Dan Jin, which involves condensing one's internal energy in the Dantian through internal breathing or focused intention. This is what is meant by storing Qi within oneself.

Above the acquired realm lies the innate realm, the pinnacle of martial arts, a level few could attain even in the vast Great Wei Dynasty. The surging, ever-flowing qi and blood within his body, the several-fold increase in his overall strength, and the new understanding of the eighteen forms of the Long Fist—all these were positive feedbacks from Meng Xihong's comprehension of Ming Jin and his breakthrough to the level of a third-rate martial artist.

at night.

Meng Xihong and Bai Shi lay on the bed, gazing at the night sky outside the window where countless stars and the moon coexisted, chatting casually about their future plans for the family.

"My husband, we still have six taels of silver left at home. I plan to go to the tailor shop with Granny Wang tomorrow to cut some cloth to make two new outfits for you and Xiaoqing."

"My wife is so thoughtful. Don't forget to make a couple of outfits for yourself too."

"."

Bai had already gone to sleep, but Meng Xihong was staring at the night sky outside the window, unable to sleep.

With their eldest son just born, it's a time when money is needed. Although the family still has six taels of silver left over, which is much better than that of ordinary families, expenses will increase as the child grows up. In addition, the child will need to start his own family and career in the future, which will require even more money. Six taels of silver left over is really not enough.

Besides, Meng Xihong is planning to have another child, but that will have to wait until at least next year, once Bai's health has recovered.

Meng Xihong already had a plan for this way of making money.

Since he worked in the yamen and was a constable, it was natural that arresting criminals was the quickest way to make money.

Meng Xihong wouldn't have done this before, because at that time he had neither a background nor a martial artist, and apprehending criminals was a rather dangerous job.

But things are different now.

Meng Xihong was already a third-rate martial artist, which meant he had a certain ability to protect himself. He could easily capture notorious thieves and womanizers in the martial arts world. As for fugitives who had committed murder and were also members of the martial arts community, he would not touch them.

He started his work the following day.

Meng Xihong rarely got to get close to Wang Hai, the head of the yamen, to ask him if there were any recent assignments for apprehending criminals.

Wang Hai was quite surprised to hear Meng Xihong ask such a rare question. Normally, Meng Xihong would never ask about these things. In the past, if Wang Hai hadn't forced him to work as a police officer to apprehend wanted criminals, Meng Xihong would have avoided him at all costs.

Why did you suddenly change your mind today?

Meng Xihong chuckled awkwardly, "Sir, the baby was just born, and household expenses have been high lately."

Wang Hai smiled knowingly. As someone who had been through it all, he naturally understood why Meng Xihong had changed his mind. When he was on duty, he had the same mentality. However, after his child was born, he had to take on the job of apprehending wanted criminals for the sake of his family.

“From now on, you’ll come with me on business trips.” Wang Hai immediately agreed to Meng Xihong’s request to join the team that apprehends wanted criminals. Taking advantage of the fact that he didn’t have much to do at the moment, he pulled Meng Xihong aside and whispered to him the tricks to making money as a constable.

The meager allowance he received from the government office was barely enough to support his family.

If you want your family to live well, you need to master the skill of "reading between the lines".

You need to know which criminals you can extort and which you shouldn't mess with.

Those with powerful backgrounds or martial arts practitioners should never be provoked; you should always avoid them if you see them.

You shouldn't mess with farmers who are so poor they're practically starving. After all, if they're so poor they can't even afford to eat, why would you try to extort them? If you anger them, you'll be the one who suffers.

As for those wealthy families who have a little money, are arrogant and domineering, but whose family background is not so great, they are the best candidates to extort money from them!
With the years of experience and insights shared by Wang Hai, Meng Xihong benefited greatly and avoided many detours.

(End of this chapter)