Half-human, half-ghost, the number one divine fist

Seven days later.

Mo Family Manor.

Lin Fusheng stood shirtless in front of the thick wooden stake. He sat astride his horse, his shoulders slightly pulled back.

"Bang."

A steady impact sound rang out.

The hardwood stake remained motionless, with only subtle vibrations traveling along the wood grain towards the roots.

A faint flush appeared on the skin of his shoulder, a mark of blood and energy surging beneath the skin and the skin membrane being repeatedly hammered.

He didn't stop.

Bang, bang, bang.

Each impact was more steady than the last, his breathing became longer and more even, and sweat slid down his back.

After a long while, Lin Fusheng stopped and exhaled a long breath.

He reached out and pulled a coarse cloth from the wooden shelf beside him, slowly wiping his neck and chest.

Then Lin Fusheng picked up a bronze mirror and looked at himself in it.

The face in the mirror was still so thin, but the contours seemed a bit more defined.

His shoulders were broader than before, and the muscles in his arms were no longer just a thin layer, but had distinct undulations. The crisscrossing scars were still hideous, but when covered on the firm skin, they gave off a feeling that he himself could not explain.

It's not good-looking.

Instead, it became sturdy.

"While he may not be considered particularly handsome, he certainly has a masculine charm."

Lin Fusheng thought to himself.

Then he focused intently on the "casting method visualization diagram" in his mind.

[Mountain Collision Technique - Minor Success (147/200): Defense +147%]

After seven days of painstaking work, more than forty points of progress have been added.

I practice the "bumping the mountain" method at least six or seven times a day. The skin on my shoulders and back breaks and scabs over repeatedly, and the bruises inside have not yet disappeared.

Not bad, not bad.

All four attributes are important.

The higher the defense, the more resistant to damage, right?

He then checked his overall attributes.

[Contemplation of the casting process]

Ironclad Stance (Perfect: 400/400): Health +400%

Six Harmony Fist (Peak Mastery: 472/1000): Attack +472%

Mountain Crash Technique (Minor Success: 147/200): Defense +147%

Qi and Blood: 37 (+148)

Attack: 40 (+188.8)

Defense: 29 (+42.64)

Agility: 16

Activated visualization diagrams: [Yanshi Town Suiqianlian Liuhequan], [Rong Chongming Bailian Liuhequan], [Rong Chongming Bailian Tieyizhuang], [Rong Chongming Bailian Zhuangyuefa], [Mo Yiyi Thirty-Two Lian Taijiquan]

"With my current strength, without using the Devouring Sea Force, I can definitely fight a perfect Stone Skin cultivator to a standstill, and I might even be able to defeat or kill him."

"If the Devouring Sea Force is used, even a fully-developed Stone Skin cultivator... will be instantly killed!"

While pondering, Lin Fusheng's gaze lingered on the visualization diagram of "Mo Yiyi's Thirty-Two Practices of Tai Chi".

"It doesn't seem to be very useful. Can it be deleted or hidden?"

A thought suddenly occurred to him.

[Mo Yiyi's Thirty-Two Practices of Tai Chi] disappeared; he successfully hid it.

"Fu Sheng."

Just then, an old yet gentle voice came from the other end of the bamboo path.

Lin Fusheng turned his head.

It turned out that Mo Feihong was accompanying an old man as they slowly walked out of the manor. They happened to pass by and greeted Lin Fusheng.

The old man was about seventy years old, with gray hair, wearing a worn gray silk robe, and a thin face with a calm demeanor that suggested he had seen it all.

The two walked and talked in hushed tones, looking relaxed, like old friends reunited after a long separation.

"Fusheng, are you cultivating?"

"Yes, is Mr. Mo heading out?"

Lin Fusheng nodded, then looked at the old man beside Mo Feihong and greeted him, "Old Chen."

Upon hearing this, the old man nodded and smiled, "Fusheng is truly hardworking; a promising talent."

Mo Feihong's voice rang out at this moment, "Fusheng, Lao Chen and I are going out for a walk, haha, you can practice slowly."

The two left.

"Quite a few people have come recently. I heard that this old man Chen came all the way from Mocheng, specifically to attend the ancient birthday banquet."

Lin Fusheng withdrew his gaze.

Two weeks later will be Gu Yunzhou's 80th birthday.

However, this had little to do with him; he just went over for a meal and to join in the fun.

Without much thought, he prepared to set up the stance and continue his practice.

"Young Brother Lin."

Just then, Butler Wang's voice came from the courtyard gate.

Lin Fusheng turned around and saw two young women following behind Butler Wang.

They were about twenty-five or twenty-six years old, and their clothing and appearance were completely different from those of the gang members who frequented the manor.

One had short, ear-length hair and wore a well-tailored navy blue suit with a thin leather belt around her waist, highlighting her slender and upright figure; the other wore a moon-white cheongsam with a light purple cardigan over it, her long hair loosely tied in a bun at the back of her head, exuding gentleness and tranquility.

The two of them standing together looked like modern women straight out of a magazine.

Butler Wang turned slightly to Lin Fusheng and said:

"Young Brother Lin, these two are from the Shen and Wei families of the Longxing Chamber of Commerce. They say they have something to discuss with you."

After saying this, Butler Wang bowed and withdrew.

Then, the short-haired woman stepped forward and said slowly to Lin Fusheng:

"Mr. Lin, I apologize for my intrusion in visiting."

Her voice was not loud, but clear and crisp, carrying a composure born from years of dealing with people.

"My surname is Shen, and my name is Shen Youyi. I am a member of the Shen family of the Longxing Chamber of Commerce."

She stepped aside, making way for the woman in the cheongsam behind her. "This is Wei Jinshu, from the Wei family. She came with me."

Wei Jinshu bowed slightly, said nothing, and simply stood quietly beside Shen Youyi with a 'commercial' smile on his face.

Lin Fusheng nodded and asked, "What brings you two here?"

Shen Youyi didn't beat around the bush.

She got straight to the point, clearly stating her purpose: "Mr. Lin, we would like to request that you take up a temporary post as a retainer for the Shen family."

Lin Fusheng's eyebrows twitched slightly.

worship.

He naturally understands this.

Offering sacrifices is not a real job. You don't have to go to the office every day or handle specific business. You only need to step in when the chamber of commerce or family encounters trouble, mostly in cases of armed disputes, gang friction, or territorial disputes.

in other words:

Pay me, and I'll get things done.

When nothing goes wrong, you get paid for nothing.

When trouble comes, they take the money and do the job.

For example, when he was still at the Jinrong Casino, Deacon Shen asked Hua Wendong to take up a temporary post. In fact, the two situations are the same.

However, Hua Wendong's group was a gang-like organization.

This is a private matter.

Many merchant families in Songjiang do not choose to be affiliated with gangs, because if two gangs have a large-scale conflict, these small merchant families will become the targets of the other side's attacks and venting of anger.

Therefore, they usually make separate offerings to pray for peace and safety.

Seeing that Lin Fusheng seemed to be considering, Shen Youyi smiled and began to introduce herself, "My Shen family has three businesses, two warehouses, and a freight line to Fengtian under the Longxing Chamber of Commerce. In addition, we have several trade deals with foreigners, involving the purchase of Western goods, the export of local products from Northeast China, and the purchase of medicinal herbs from the Tianbai Mountain area."

"We don't ask Mr. Lin to be present every day, we only ask that he step in to support us when there are ordinary gang disputes or local bullies causing trouble."

Upon hearing this, Lin Fusheng was already prepared to refuse.

He is not short of money right now.

Putting aside the gifts others gave him, he has already started to register the properties that Huai Ren Tang had acquired, and he receives a considerable income every month.

Just as he was about to say something, he saw Shen Youyi take out a neatly folded piece of paper from her leather handbag.

It was a piece of official paper commonly used during that period, slightly yellowed, with faint creases on the edges. She held it with both hands and handed it steadily to Lin Fusheng.

"Mr. Lin, if you don't mind, you can take a look first."

Lin Fusheng thought for a moment, then took it and unfolded it.

The paper is covered with neat, tiny characters, the ink is calm and steady, and every stroke exudes composure.

The categories are very detailed, including imported foreign goods, exported local products, medicinal herb procurement, cargo transportation...

His gaze swept over the entries without lingering.

Soon, Lin Fusheng's eyes paused slightly.

"Nine Ominous Research Institute".

His gaze froze.

"What does this 'Ninth Ominous Research Institute' do?"

Shen Youyi tilted her head slightly, leaned closer to Lin Fusheng, glanced at him, and said, "This is an organization that cooperates with foreigners, specializing in investigating ominous matters."

She was very close to Lin Fusheng, allowing him to smell a faint fragrance. However, Lin Fusheng's mind was completely focused on the word "ominous".

Lin Fusheng's tone was somewhat serious. "Tell me more about this research institute."

"The Ninth Institute is a research institution jointly established by our Xinglong Chamber of Commerce and a foreign research institute. It is responsible for collecting eyewitness accounts and rumors about 'ominous' events from various places."

"Actually, it's mainly because foreigners are willing to spend a lot of money to collect this information, and our Xinglong Chamber of Commerce has many connections and manpower, so the cooperation was facilitated."

Lin Fusheng listened quietly, then said, "I'm quite interested in these ominous signs. As a retainer for your Shen family, I should be welcome to visit this research institute to look at information about ominous signs from time to time, right?"

Shen Youyi was stunned. She hadn't expected that Lin Fusheng was concerned about these ominous signs rather than the gold and silver.

"If Mr. Wakabayashi is interested, then of course there's no problem."

"Okay, let's talk about compensation then."

Lin Fusheng looked serious as he gazed at Shen Youyi.

This woman is quite pretty, with a unique charm.

A woman with short, neat hair and striking, spirited eyes.

"On behalf of the Shen family, I am willing to offer Mr. Lin the treatment of a servant in the Iron Tendon Realm and request that you take up a post in the Shen family."

"In addition to the iron-clad treatment, they will also be provided with a 20 to 30-year-old Tianbai Mountain ginseng every month."

Shen Youyi said.

What kind of offerings and treatment are given to those in the Iron-Boned Realm?

Lin Fusheng's mind stirred slightly.

He was actually quite surprised that the Shen family came to him.

After all, who would invite someone to take up a temporary post, especially someone like Shi Pi?

Clearly, this woman values ​​the network of connections behind him.

"I'm just a nobody, are you sure you want to treat me this well?"