Martial arts immortality begins with upgrading buildings.

"What are the benefits of becoming a steward of your gang, and what are the responsibilities?"

Chen Qing was silent for a moment, then asked.

"Brother Chen, why don't we find a place where we can talk things over?"

Seeing that Chen Qing had relented, Zhao Hai smiled and extended an invitation.

Chen Qing nodded upon hearing this.

After becoming a martial arts master, he also planned to find a job that would earn him money.

He had a fairly good impression of the Tongfu Gang, so he decided to listen to their advice for reference.

The two arrived at a teahouse and found a secluded spot to sit down.

Zhao Hai ordered some more food, then said to Chen Qing:

"If you become a steward of this gang, you will be able to manage a piece of the gang's territory, and you will receive 20% of the profits from that territory. Your duty is to protect the territory and prevent other gangs from taking it away."

Fearing that Chen Qing might have other concerns, he explained with a smile:

"You don't need to worry too much. There are rules in gang warfare too; when two sides fight, it's always soldier against soldier, general against general."

You are an external martial arts master, so only external martial arts masters can come to fight at the dock.

If any gang dares to send an expert with internal energy to bully you, our gang will naturally have someone with internal energy to step in and defend you.

When two people of the same level compete, they must rely on their own abilities; whether they win or lose, they have no one to blame but themselves.

He took a sip of tea and continued, "If you become the head of Micang Ferry, I can help you hold the fort for a while until the situation stabilizes, then I will leave."

Upon hearing this, Chen Qing secretly began to make plans.

There were about 160 laborers at the Micangdu Wharf. Without deductions, each person earned about 100 copper coins per day, for a total of 16000 copper coins.

Tongfu Gang takes 30%, which is 4800 copper coins, and he takes 20%, which is 960 copper coins.

Converted to silver dollars, that's about 7.5 yuan, which adds up to 225 yuan a month.

Not to mention the protection fees levied on businesses.

As for protecting the territory.

Chen Qing also felt somewhat confident.

Although he has just become a martial arts master, he possesses three talents.

His critical strike talent alone allows him to unleash power three times greater than his own limits.

Not to mention that the Blood Clotting talent is ever-changing, combining offense and defense, making it impossible to defend against.

He was confident that he would not lose to anyone when competing with people of the same level.

Even if he encounters an invincible opponent, he can hide in his training room and his life will be safe.

With that thought in mind, Chen Qing no longer hesitated and nodded, saying, "Okay, I agree to join the Tongfu Gang."

"Brother Chen, you're so generous! I'll offer you a cup of tea instead of wine."

Zhao Hai was overjoyed and raised his teacup.

The two clinked glasses and each drank it down.

Zhao Hai put down his teacup before beginning to give a detailed introduction to the Tongfu Gang.

"Our Tongfu Gang leader, Xie Wuji, is a martial arts master of the Transformation Realm, and he is a prominent figure in the entire Ningjiang County."

Deputy leader Wang Dahai has been honing his internal strength for several years and is just one step away from mastering it.

Below them are four hall masters, all with internal energy cultivation, each in charge of a different business.

He pointed to himself and said with a smile, "I am a steward under Tongji Hall, specializing in the dock business. The head of Tongji Hall is Wei Ping, a skilled internal strength martial artist, a generous and easy-going person. If you need anything in the future, you can go directly to him, or you can come to me first and I will pass on your message."

Chen Qing nodded, making sure to remember everything.

Zhao Hai then explained the gang's rules, the powers of the deacons, and how to handle disputes in detail.

Afterwards, Chen Qing also asked him some questions about cultivation.

The two reluctantly got up and left only after the teahouse staff repeatedly reminded them that it was closing time.

Zhao Haixian went back to the gang to report, while Chen Qing returned to the shack.

After confirming that Uncle Zhou and the others had not encountered any accidents, he returned to his shed and eagerly opened his personal panel.

The training room can be upgraded; upgrade requires 500 silver coins/5 spirit resources.

[Effects: 1. Enhances cultivation effectiveness by 100%. 2. Guaranteed improvement with each cultivation session.]

[Upgradeable Spirit Beast Circle, upgrade requires 1000 silver coins]

【Effects: 1. Increases the growth rate of spirit beasts by 100%. 2. There is a certain probability that the raised spirit beasts will evolve. 3. Can be commanded by the raised spirit beasts.】

[The Spirit Herb Garden can be activated; activation requires 1000 silver coins]

[Effects: 1. Increases the growth rate of medicinal herbs by 50%. 2. There is a certain probability that planted medicinal herbs will have an increased lifespan.]

Just as Chen Qing was wondering what the spiritual source was, a sudden realization dawned on him.

"It turns out that everything containing special energy can be converted into spiritual energy."

After digesting the extra information in his mind, Chen Qing muttered to himself.

He carefully tallied up his gains for the day, and found that he had received a full 700 silver dollars from Qin Gen alone.

The rest of his belongings, when added together, would be no less than 300 silver dollars.

As far as he knew, the fact that it showed he could upgrade meant he had met the requirements for upgrading.

In other words, the total value of the things he took from Qin Gen exceeded 1000 silver dollars.

As for the spiritual energy exceeding 5 points, it's estimated to be from the bottles and jars obtained from Chen Kui.

He took out several porcelain bottles with red paper strips attached to them, each with a corresponding name written on it.

Sweating medicine, detoxifying powder, qi and blood pills, tiger bone and musk ointment.

"These are all items that martial arts masters carry when traveling the world."

Chen Qing thought to himself.

Then his gaze fell on the "Wind God Leg" manual.

When Chen Qing encountered Chen Kui blocking the road, his first reaction was to run away.

After all, he had just broken through to the Martial Master level, and he should not take any risks lightly.

Unexpectedly, even after using his critical strike talent to enhance his footwork, he still couldn't outrun Chen Kui.

The benefits of this technique are self-evident.

"After learning this Wind God Leg technique, I can make up for my weakness in movement skills."

After putting down the manual, Chen Qing began to consider how to upgrade next.

After comparing the options, he decided to upgrade the training room first.

After all, strength is the foundation of everything.

With the resources he received from Chen Kui, he was not short of supplies for the time being.

The spirit beast circle values ​​long-term benefits more, so it won't be of much help to him in the short term.

The herb garden is now more of a liability to him, since he knows nothing about herbs.

Therefore, considering all factors, upgrading the meditation room is more suitable.

Having made the decision, Chen Qing suddenly had an idea.

The many items that had been moved from the meditation room vanished instantly, and the silver dollars in the small wooden box also shrank rapidly, leaving only 530 silver dollars.

[Cultivation Room successfully upgraded, current level lv2, next upgrade requires 3000 silver coins / 30 spirit resources]

"Good heavens, each upgrade is more expensive than the last!"

Chen Qing couldn't help but make a comment.

They immediately began to try out the upgraded training room.

He took out a small porcelain bottle labeled "Qi Xue Wan" (Qi and Blood Pill), uncorked it, and poured out a black pill the size of a longan.

This pill is a tonic specifically for external martial arts practitioners to take during their training.

Chen Qing had previously poured out one pill and shown it to Zhao Hai, saying it was a normal quality Qi and Blood Pill.

Chen Qing no longer doubted, swallowed the pill, and then began practicing Wuji stance training in the shack.

Soon after, a medicinal power, countless times stronger than the Blood-Strengthening Soup, erupted within his body, surging into his limbs and bones.

Chen Qing soon discovered that during the process of refining the Wuji stance, his body absorbed the medicinal power twice as fast as before.