Martial arts immortality begins with upgrading buildings.

In the second year of the Republic of China (1913), Haicheng, Ningjiang County.

On the wasteland next to Micangdu, there is a shantytown built with bamboo, wood and mud.

This is a remote corner of Ningjiang County, filled with refugees who fled here due to war.

They made a living by doing manual labor at the docks; they were the lowest-class peasants in the county.

The lingering heat of late summer in September still lingered, filling the shantytown with a pungent stench of excrement and garbage from the corners.

In a shack at the far east end, Chen Qing was awakened by a sharp pain in his head, as if he had been hit hard by a hard object.

"Where am I? Didn't I just get off work and was on my way home?"

He was in a daze when a flood of memories rushed into his mind.

It turns out that he had a stroke of good luck on his way home from get off work and was reincarnated into this world. He was hit on the head by a hard object and was fortunate enough to awaken his past life's wisdom.

"Ah Qing, you're awake? How are you feeling?"

A concerned male voice came from beside me.

Chen Qing turned his head and saw a dark-skinned middle-aged man with injuries on his face looking at him with concern.

Inside the shed stood five or six thin, ragged men, each with bruises on their bodies.

"Uncle Zhou, I'm fine."

Chen Qing propped himself up and sat up, his gaze sweeping over everyone in the shed before finally settling on Uncle Zhou. He hurriedly asked, "Did we win today's battle?"

Uncle Zhou's real name is Zhou Tao, and he is the eldest brother of their Shangquan Gang.

The shed was crowded with people from Shangquan County in the east.

Chen Qing heard from his father that they had fled famine to this place more than ten years ago.

Relying on the unity among fellow villagers and their ruthless spirit of daring to risk their lives, they managed to gain a foothold at the dock despite the locals' exclusion and suppression.

Afterwards, they pooled their money to offer as a tribute, paid respects to the head of the rice ferry, and secured the loading and unloading jobs for a steamship owned by "Daxing Trading Company" and a large sailboat owned by "Changji Rice Company".

With these two fixed territories, they had established their presence on the docks, and the other laborers dared not provoke them anymore.

Although most of the wages earned are taken by the boss, the advantage is that the income is steady and consistent. Compared to those unemployed laborers who live hand to mouth, their lives are relatively stable.

But today's conflict has completely shattered their peace.

Due to the Japanese invasion of Shandong, which involved widespread burning, killing, and looting, a large number of refugees fled, with many escaping to Ningjiang County.

Like the Shangquan Gang of the past, this group of refugees was exceptionally united and daring to fight. They quickly gained a foothold in Micangdu and made a name for themselves as the Qilu Gang.

Not only did they gain the approval of the ferry captain and secure the loading and unloading rights of a large sailing ship, but they also set their sights on the steamship that the Shangquan Gang had monopolized, leading to a brawl involving dozens of people today.

It was during this brawl that Chen Qing was struck by a stick by Zhang Mazi, the leader.

He felt dizzy and lost consciousness. When he woke up again, he was lying in his shack.

He was unaware of the outcome of the brawl, which is why he asked immediately.

"The Qilu gang has a large number of people and is powerful. We are no match for them. We have lost the business of Daxing Trading Company."

Zhou Tao spoke with a bitter expression.

"Once we've recovered from our injuries, we'll fight back and kill these sons of bitches!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Qing's eyes flashed with a fierce light, and he said menacingly.

Whether in his past or present life, Chen Qing's ruthlessness has never changed.

In his past life, he was surrounded and beaten by more than a dozen people. He endured their punches and kicks, pinned the leader to the ground, and bit off a piece of flesh from his neck.

If they hadn't been forcibly pulled apart, someone might have died on the spot.

Now that we've come to this chaotic world of demons and monsters, and are mingling with all sorts of people at the docks, we need to be ruthless just to get a decent meal.

So whenever a conflict arises, he's always the one who strikes the hardest.

Despite being only eighteen years old, his prestige within the Shangquan Gang is no less than that of Zhou Tao.

Upon hearing that his territory had been taken over, his first thought was to fight back.

"The Qilu gang has more people than us, and their leader, Zhang Mazi, has even practiced proper martial arts. If we continue this fight, we're likely to suffer a great loss."

"The job at Changji Rice Shop is still in our hands. As long as we have this territory, the brothers will always have food to eat."

Zhou Tao looked like a defeated rooster, his face full of dejection as he spoke.

Everyone in the shed was seething with anger, but they all remained silent, as if they had already accepted their defeat.

Chen Qing fell silent.

He may be ruthless, but he's not stupid.

If the only difference between the two sides is in numbers, they might be able to scare the other side away with their ruthless and fearless attitude.

However, under the overwhelming force of the enemy, their chances of winning are almost zero.

This world is different from the previous one. Every profession has its own wonders, and if you reach the pinnacle of any profession, you may gain special abilities.

However, there are also differences in status among professions, and martial arts masters are expected to be better at fighting than porters.

Zhang Mazi had practiced martial arts and could be considered a semi-martial artist. In terms of fighting strength, he could take on ten opponents at once.

The Shangquan Gang was already outnumbered by the Qilu Gang, and with the addition of the formidable Zhang Mazi, they had no hope of winning if a fight broke out.

Unless Chen Qing can become a martial arts master, or learn a more powerful profession.

But this is simply impossible right now.

These days, even professions with a little bit of status have very high barriers to entry.

Take martial arts instructors as an example. To get started, one must become an apprentice and learn proper martial arts techniques.

In the county town, the minimum apprenticeship fee for several martial arts schools is three hundred silver dollars.

His current savings are far from enough.

Chen Qing had been determined to make something of himself since he was a child.

Because she had visited her mother's home once when she was young and witnessed the extravagant life in the grand mansion, she was despised by those relatives like a stray dog.

After returning home, he secretly vowed to himself that he would make his parents live a good life and never be looked down upon by anyone again.

When I was nine years old, my mother fell seriously ill and passed away not long after.

To repay the money borrowed for my mother's medical treatment, my father worked day and night at the docks. He eventually collapsed three years later and never woke up again.

To survive, he began working as a laborer at the docks despite his young age.

He didn't want to be treated like a peasant for the rest of his life, so he worked hard every day to save money to learn martial arts and make a name for himself.

Four years passed, and through his frugal living and hard work, he saved up 198 silver dollars.

He originally planned to work for another two years, save up 300 silver dollars, and then go to a martial arts school to become an apprentice.

But today's defeat completely disrupted his plans.

Previously, relying on the two cargo ships "Daxing Trading Company" and "Changji Rice Company", the daily labor cost was no less than 30 ten-copper coins, and a month's salary could earn seven or eight silver dollars.

To save money for martial arts training, he lived an extremely frugal life, eating only two meals of brown rice a day to maintain basic physical strength.

If you get really hungry, buy two flatbreads or cornbreads to fill your stomach.

For minor illnesses, we just tough it out; for other daily necessities, we save money wherever possible.

Monthly expenses are less than 2.5 yuan.

Normally, barring any unforeseen circumstances, saving around 100 silver dollars in two years shouldn't be too difficult.

But now that he has lost his job with the Daxing Trading Company's steamship, his daily wages have dropped by 65%.

With the little income they had left, they could barely feed themselves each day and couldn't save a single penny.

The golden age for learning martial arts is before the age of twenty. Once this age is over, the difficulty of becoming a martial arts master will increase year by year.

If he doesn't become a martial arts master, he might never get ahead in his life!

As the bright future seemed to slip further and further away, Chen Qing suddenly felt a surge of intense frustration and a profound sense of powerlessness.

"Aqing, the wound on your head is quite large. The doctor said you need to rest and not do any work during this time."

As Zhou Tao spoke, he took out a cloth bag from his pocket and placed it in Chen Qing's hand. "This is a small token of everyone's appreciation. You should stay home and recover. I'll ask your aunt to bring you food later."

After saying that, he patted Chen Qing on the shoulder, sighed softly, then turned around, pushed open the dilapidated door, and walked out of the shack.

The others said goodbye and left as well.

Chen Qing didn't speak, but stared straight ahead, his previously numb eyes suddenly revealing an excited light.

Name: Chen Qing

【Occupation: Porter (73/100)】

[The training room can be unlocked; unlocking requires 200 silver coins.]

[Effects: 1. Enhances cultivation effectiveness by 50%. 2. Guaranteed improvement with each cultivation session.]

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