Becoming an immortal from a canal worker

It was early morning, just as dawn was breaking.

A grayish-white mist filled the courtyard, and the air was damp, cold, and biting.

Chen Ping stood in the center of the courtyard, his bare upper body steaming with white heat, sweat slowly sliding down his muscles.

"call……"

As he exhaled his last breath, he slowly came to a stop, his arms embracing a ball, and his spine emitted a soft cracking sound.

The past month has been monotonous and routine.

He practices boxing at least thirty times every day, without fail.

Each time, I practice all twelve moves from beginning to end, focusing on stability rather than speed.

After finishing his boxing, he would carry a heavy bluestone weighing forty pounds on his back and practice "water-stabilizing stakes" and "moving" around the courtyard.

Just as the movement ended, the familiar pale blue light screen in front of my retina trembled slightly:

[Stone Crushing Force, Proficiency +1]

Current progress: Mastery 1/1000

Chen Ping was slightly taken aback, his gaze instantly hardening.

Mastered?

He stood still, not in a hurry to feel the changes in his body, but closed his eyes and went through the boxing manual in his mind.

Then, he moved.

This time, there was no lowering of the waist and standing still, no gathering of strength and assuming a stance, and not even a deliberate adjustment of breathing.

The thought crossed his mind, and his fist was already out.

"Snapped!"

A crisp explosion rang out in the air—the sound of an airburst caused by the excessive speed of the punch compressing the air.

This punch originated from the soles of the feet, spread through the waist and hips, traversed the spine segment by segment, and finally exploded with a bang at the knuckles.

There was no sluggishness whatsoever; it was incredibly smooth.

Chen Ping's heart stirred, and he changed his footwork, moving around the courtyard like a ghost.

Bengquan, Paoquan, Piquan, Zuanquan...

The moves are no longer rigid routines, but seem to have been engraved into their bones, becoming an instinct like breathing and blinking.

There's no need to think about what move to make next; the body will automatically make the most correct response.

That's what mastery is.

The techniques have become second nature.

Chen Ping stopped what he was doing and let out a long breath.

As he exhaled, he felt his skin tighten slightly all over his body.

He suddenly remembered what Yang Sen had once said: the first stage of martial arts is the Skin Refining Realm.

To train one's skin to be as tough as old cowhide, with pores that can close freely and lock in blood and energy, so that hitting one with an ordinary wooden stick will not cause any pain or itching.

He looked down at his arm.

The skin, which was originally slightly rough, now had a bronze matte texture, and felt firm and tight to the touch, like a thick layer of leather tightly wrapping around the muscles.

With a firm press, the skin quickly rebounds, showing remarkable resilience.

Chen Ping's heart skipped a beat, and he drew the dagger for self-defense from his waist.

A cold light gleamed.

He took a deep breath, focused his gaze, placed the sharp blade against his left arm, tentatively added a bit of force, and slowly slashed across it.

"laugh--"

A very faint scraping sound rang out, like a dull knife cutting through dried cowhide.

Chen Ping stared intently.

Only a faint white mark remained on my arm, which turned slightly red after a while, but no blood seeped out.

He added two more points of force and paddled again.

This time the white mark was a bit deeper, and I could feel a faint pain, but it still didn't break through my defenses.

Chen Ping sheathed his dagger, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes.

This is the Skin Refining Realm!

This month of painstaking work has not been in vain.

Not only did he master the "Crushing Stone Force" technique, but he also underwent his first physical transformation during this period of training.

"I've finally officially embarked on the path of martial arts."

Chen Ping clenched his fist, feeling the overflowing power within his body, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.

Just then, a series of hurried footsteps came from outside the courtyard gate.

Chen Ping concealed his breathing and put on his outer garment.

"Brother Ping!" Gouwa exclaimed breathlessly, his face beaming with excitement, "Are you finished practicing?"

Chen Ping nodded, his gaze falling on Li Wenxiu behind Gouwa: "What's wrong?"

Today, Li Wenxiu wore a faded blue shirt, which, although old, was very neatly dressed.

Upon seeing Chen Ping, he immediately bowed deeply and respectfully to the ground.

"Master Chen, as you instructed, today's lesson on the Hundred Family Surnames has been completed. These two children are exceptionally bright, especially..."

At this point, Li Wenxiu turned around, gently nudged the somewhat timid child hiding behind him, and her tone softened yet stern:

"Hey Indian, stop hiding, hurry up and call for help."

The child was wearing an old cloth garment that had been altered to be too small. Although he was still very thin, his complexion was much rosier and his eyes were brighter than they had been a month ago when he looked like he was about to die.

He glanced timidly at Chen Ping, seemingly intimidated by the lingering power of Chen Ping's earlier boxing practice, and shrank back.

"Ah San, call him Brother Ping," Li Wenxiu urged again. "If it weren't for the medicine Brother Ping gave you, you would have been dead long ago."

The child then mustered his courage and took half a step forward, his voice barely audible:

"Ping... Brother Ping."

Chen Ping looked down at the child named "A-San".

His original name was Ah San.

"Um."

Chen Ping responded indifferently, without showing much warmth, his tone remaining calm: "You're doing well. It seems those three doses of medicine weren't a waste of time."

"Keep teaching," Chen Ping said calmly. "As long as you teach well, you'll still get your monthly tuition..."

"I will do my utmost!" Li Wenxiu said.

Just then, a series of dragging footsteps came from outside the courtyard.

Accompanied by the familiar smell of tobacco, Old Liu, his body hunched over, slowly walked into the courtyard with his hands behind his back.

He first glanced at the timid Li Wenxiu, then his gaze fell on Chen Ping like a hook, looking him up and down, a strange light flashing in his cloudy old eyes.

"Yo."

Old Liu tapped his pipe and grinned, "You look different after just one night. Your skin is firm, and your blood and energy are flowing inward... Could you have broken through to the Skin Refinement stage?"

Chen Ping didn't hide anything and nodded: "It was just luck."

"What a load of rubbish."

Old Liu rolled his eyes and said irritably, "Breaking through to the Skin Refining Realm in a month and a half is extremely rare, even in the entire Qingyi Society. You've risked your life."

At this point, he changed the subject, his tone becoming more serious: "But don't get cocky. Skin refining is just the first hurdle in martial arts, a basic entry point. There are still flesh refining, bone refining, blood refining, and filth refining to come. The road ahead is long."

"Yes, you are right," Chen Ping said respectfully.

He knew that although the old man had a sharp tongue, he had a keen eye and his words were always wise advice.

Without saying much, Liu Laoguo put his hands behind his back and started to walk into the house.

As he passed by Chen Ping, he seemed to suddenly remember something, paused in his steps, and casually said something without turning his head.

"By the way, I heard from people who went to buy groceries this morning that someone died again at the greywater quarry, this time two people died."

Chen Ping was adjusting his cuffs when he heard this, but he didn't stop. He casually replied, "That kind of rotten land, the greywater quarry, people die every few days. What's so strange about that? They either starve to death or die of disease."

"Hey, this time it's different."

Old Liu turned his head, gave Chen Ping a half-smile, and lowered his voice: "This time he died a rather gruesome death. I heard that the body was found in the reeds over there. The flesh was all rotten, as if it had been dragged down and gnawed by a water ghost. Even the bone fragments were exposed."

"People are living in fear there now."

Old Liu waved his hand, his tone relaxed: "If you have time, you can go take a look. After all, you're nominally in charge of that land now. If someone dies, someone has to collect the body, right?"

After saying that, Old Liu puffed on his pipe and swayed into the house.

In the courtyard, Chen Ping fastened his cuffs, his face calm and composed.

Water ghost?

The greywater field was a place where filth gathered, so it was normal to find a few water ghosts there.

The number of people eaten by water ghosts might not even be as many as those who naturally starve or freeze to death there.

As for managing it?

He couldn't do it. First, Rouge Tiger wouldn't allow it, and second, protecting Gouwa and the others was already his limit.

When poor, one should cultivate one's own virtue.

He is not yet capable of helping the world.