Becoming an immortal from a canal worker

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking.

Qingkou Town was still shrouded in a layer of damp, cold river mist, and the air was filled with the fishy smell of river mud.

Chen Ping's somewhat cramped bedroom was already filled with steam.

"drink!"

Chen Ping, shirtless, suddenly jerked his back muscles, his right elbow sweeping out like a spear, followed by a sudden drop in his body and a barrage of punches like battering rams.

Several short, crisp sounds exploded in the air.

Before his eyes, the pale blue characters, visible only to him, pulsed wildly with every exertion of his strength:

[Stone Crushing Force, Proficiency +1]

[Stone Crushing Force, Proficiency +1]

……

Since mastering the "Stone Collapse Technique," this military combat skill has no longer been a rigid routine in his hands.

His movements were swift and decisive, each strike aimed directly at the body's weak points.

However, after completing the twelfth round, Chen Ping slowly stopped, looking at the fluctuating proficiency level, a shadow of gloom hanging between his brows.

He had enough skill and ruthlessness, but he could clearly feel that his "killing power" had reached a bottleneck.

It's like a dagger that's been sharpened to an extremely sharp point, but held in the hand of a three-year-old child.

His body has suffered from long-term malnutrition, and his constitution is too weak.

In this world where life and death are at stake, being unable to withstand a beating means that one mistake will lead to death.

"call......"

Chen Ping exhaled a breath of stale air, grabbed a tattered towel from the bedside table to wipe his sweat, and pushed open the door to leave.

"Squeak."

A cold wind rushed in, and Chen Ping abruptly stopped in his tracks.

In the courtyard, Liu Laoguo was already standing under the bare old jujube tree.

The old man held his pipe in his hand, squinting at him with a half-smile, half-mocking look.

"Woke up quite early."

Old Liu took a puff of his cigarette and glanced at Chen Ping's lean upper body. "Those moves just now were quite interesting. The moves were broken down into smaller pieces. It seems you really put this set of boxing techniques into practice that night at the mortuary."

Chen Ping remained calm and did not respond.

"However..." Old Liu changed the subject, tapping his pipe in mid-air, "He's just a kid with a sharp weapon."

"Why?" Chen Ping asked.

"Because your body is too weak."

Old Liu walked up to Chen Ping, tapped Chen Ping's arm with his cigarette butt, making a dull thud, "Your muscles are taut and look solid, but they're actually flimsy. It's like a cargo cart with a murderous ram on it. It looks fierce, but the one pulling the cart is still a donkey that hasn't eaten enough."

"Your combo might fool someone who doesn't know what they're doing, but if you encounter someone who has truly entered the 'Skin Refining Realm,' their skin is as tough as cowhide and their strength is twice as great as yours."

"If you punch him three times, he'll at most grimace in pain, but if he punches you once, can your body withstand it?"

Chen Ping felt a chill run down his spine.

Although Liu Laoguo's words were rough, they hit the nail on the head.

"Since you've figured it out, then stop wasting time." Chen Ping stared at Liu Laoguo, getting straight to the point. "You have a solution?"

Old Liu chuckled, his orange-peel-like face instantly contorting into a grimace, his former air of superiority vanishing completely.

He extended his right hand with remarkable skill.

The withered, claw-like hand was spread out upwards, and a few fingers unconsciously rubbed together, revealing a shrewd look in its eyes.

Chen Ping's lips twitched slightly.

Without saying a word, he turned around and went back into the house.

A moment later, he had a piece of silver in his hand, which was his monthly salary from last night.

He walked out of the house and slapped the silver heavily into Liu Laoguo's hand.

Is that enough?

The moment the silver was in his hand, Liu Laoguo's fingers nimbly closed, and with a dexterity completely out of character for his age, he stuffed it into his pocket.

"Enough, enough." Old Liu patted his chest and explained with a righteous expression, "This money isn't something I, an old man, want to take from you. The poor study literature, the rich study martial arts; practicing martial arts is a waste of money."

"What you're about to practice is extremely energy-consuming. If you only eat dry food and pickled vegetables, you'll be ruined in less than half a month. This money is for you to buy meat to nourish your body."

Chen Ping looked at him coldly: "Where are the things?"

After receiving the money, Liu Laoguo's expression turned serious, and his entire demeanor suddenly changed.

"Listen carefully, this method of stake formation is called 'Water Stabilization Stake'."

As he spoke, Liu Laoguo tucked his pipe into his waistband, took a deep breath, and tried to straighten his hunched back.

"Cough cough..."

As soon as he exerted himself, he coughed violently, and an abnormal flush rose to his face.

But he gritted his teeth, spread his feet apart, lowered his knees slightly, and managed to assume a strange posture.

"Look carefully...cough cough...I have an old injury, I can't hold this position for long." Old Liu's voice trembled slightly, and fine beads of sweat instantly appeared on his forehead. "Feet like anchors, body like a sinking ship...do as instructed! Quickly!"

Chen Ping dared not delay and immediately followed Liu Laoguo's example, spreading his feet apart slightly wider than shoulder-width and bending his knees.

"Snapped!"

A hard, stiff pipe struck Chen Ping hard on the inside of his thigh.

"No! Too soft!" Old Liu was completely exhausted, clutching his back and panting heavily, but his pipe didn't stop. He pointed at Chen Ping's knees and yelled, "Don't let your knees buckle inward! Push them outward! Like you're straddling a wild horse!"

Chen Ping gritted his teeth and adjusted, his thigh muscles instantly tensing up.

"Snapped!"

The pipe struck Chen Ping's lower back again.

"Don't slump your back! Straighten your spine!" Old Liu circled Chen Ping, his one eye now gleaming frighteningly. "Tuck your tailbone in, like...like a dog with its tail between its legs! But push your head upwards, imagine using your skull to support the sky!"

"Kegel exercises! Vaginal tightening! Tongue against the upper palate!"

Old Liu's fingers, like withered twigs, jabbed hard into Chen Ping's lower abdomen, specifically his dantian. "Inhale! Imagine this breath is like a river pouring down your head, sinking directly to this spot I'm jabbing!"

As Liu Laoguo continued to correct him, Chen Ping's posture became increasingly strange and difficult.

His feet gripped the ground tightly, his thigh muscles were taut and trembling, his spine was stretched like a large bow, while his lower abdomen maintained a deep breath.

After only half an incense stick's time, Chen Ping's muscles began to spasm uncontrollably, and sweat poured out like a torrent.

"This is the 'Water Stabilizing Stake'."

Old Liu sat back down on the stone stool by the well, rubbing his aching back as he looked at Chen Ping, who was trembling all over, and said breathlessly, "This technique emphasizes the word 'weight.' You have to think of yourself as an iron anchor thrown into the river, so that no matter how the current surges, you remain unmoved."

"This is the hard work of laying a solid foundation, and it takes time and patience."

Old Liu calmed his breathing, wiped the saliva from the corner of his mouth, and said, "Whether I can make a name for myself or not depends entirely on fate."

"Those with poor physical constitution may be able to develop solid muscles after five or six years of hard training."

"Those with good physical constitution can toughen their skin and increase their strength in three to five months, thus officially entering the stage of 'skin refining'."

Chen Ping gritted his teeth, stubbornly maintaining the position that was causing him unbearable pain, without even the strength to nod.

"And after skin refining?" Chen Ping squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth, "Isn't there still flesh refining and bone refining afterwards?"

A sly glint flashed in Liu Laoguo's half-closed eyes. He picked up his pipe again, tapped it on the sole of his shoe, and chuckled.

"Hehe, that's a different price then."

The veins on Chen Ping's forehead throbbed.

"Young man, don't be too ambitious." Old Liu walked slowly toward the side room with his hands behind his back. "Right now, you haven't even mastered this basic skill. Your body is still fragile."

"For the later stages, standing meditation alone is not enough; you also need to combine it with medicinal baths and other things."

"Those things...we'll talk about them later."

After saying that, Liu Laoguo kicked open the door to the side room and shouted at Gouwa, who was still fast asleep inside:

"You little brat, still sleeping? The sun's high in the sky! Get up and start a fire! Take the silver and go to the butcher at the west end, buy me five catties of lean meat! We're having meat today!"

"Hey! They're here!"

From inside the house came Gouwa's flustered response.

Chen Ping stood in the courtyard, looking at the door that had been closed again.

As I adjusted my breathing, an unprecedented heaviness pressed down on me, my legs ached unbearably, as if I were truly carrying hundreds of pounds of river water on my back.

Now he can be considered to have officially entered the world of martial arts.