The catch inspired my entry: Persistence will eventually lead to invincibility.

When Chen Shi opened his eyes again, it was already past noon.

"So much time has passed!" Chen Shixin exclaimed in surprise.

He was exhausted last night and went straight to sleep after getting home. He only intended to rest for a while before taking his small boat to haul in the nets, hoping the catch would help advance his entry in the game. Little did he expect that he would sleep for most of the day.

When tide Niang saw that he was awake, she thoughtfully brought him a bowl of hot porridge.

"Brother Shi, you're finally awake. Eat something to tide you over." She sat down by the bed, scooped up a spoonful of porridge, gently blew on it to cool it, and brought it to Chen Shi's lips. She didn't find it troublesome; she only felt that she could do too little for her husband.

"I'll do it myself."

It wasn't that Chen Shi thought this was bad; on the contrary, he found the moment wonderful, exactly the warmth he longed for in his family. However, drinking the porridge like this was too slow, and he was in a hurry to gather the nets, so he took the bowl of porridge from his wife with both hands, blew on it a few times, and quickly swallowed it.

"Slow down...no rush, there's more in the pot after you finish this." tide Niang smiled with a frown.

Chen Shi shook his head and said, "Time waits for no one. If we wait any longer to close the net, we won't be able to sell it for much money in town when we get back."

It wasn't that his stall would be taken over; after all, he had paid rent. It was just that he arrived late, and there weren't many pedestrians on the street, let alone people wanting to buy fish. Although he could take them home and sell them in town the next day, it would be best if he could sell them all on the same day to save himself the trouble of going back and forth.

After saying that, Chen Shi put on his clothes and tidied himself up a bit.

He was about to leave when tide Niang stopped him, saying, "Brother Shi'er, don't rush. I have something else to tell you."

"Hmm?" Chen Shi looked puzzled, but was also curious.

"The town's water management officials came by this morning," tide Niang said truthfully. "They said they were originally looking for Xu Hu, but he's dead. The villagers all said you're the best swimmer, so they came to our house. I wanted to wake you up, but they said it wasn't urgent, and I didn't want to disturb your rest, so I didn't call you."

As she spoke, tide Niang went to the table and took out a wooden plaque and a blue booklet.

Chen Shi looked closely and saw four large characters carved on the wooden sign—

A minor official patrolling the waterways.

The blue booklet cover was inscribed with the words "Water Patrol Records" in ink.

After handing the items to Chen Shi, tide Niang repeated exactly what the people from the Water Control Bureau had said.

"So that's how it is." Chen Shi suddenly realized.

He already understood the purpose of the wooden sign and the blue booklet.

The former is a symbol of identity.

Like the deceased Xu Hu, he has now been taken in by the town's water management bureau as an outsourced worker, tasked with odd jobs. The latter refers to a logbook, which must be submitted to the water management bureau regularly.

Their arrival must have been due to the long absence of the water patrol log. They came to Ludang Village to investigate, and upon learning of Xu Hu's death, they didn't pursue the matter further, simply finding someone else to do the job. The so-called "water patrol clerk" sounds like an official position, but in reality, it's no different from a menial job.

However, Chen Shi gladly accepted the job.

the reason is simple.

Chen Shi needed an identity, even if it was just a menial job. As long as he could enter and leave the Water Control Bureau, he could find out how to become a patrol officer and then work towards that goal. In this way, he could escape his lowly status and move to town with his wife.

He possessed martial prowess, but his wife, tide Niang, did not.

Although there has been no unusual activity in the Fallen Dragon Swamp recently, an accident could happen any day now. Once the water spirits and monsters from the bottom of the swamp come ashore, living in the swamp will never be as safe as living in a town.

"Brother Shi'er, what's your decision?" tide Niang asked.

"I'll go to town to sell fish later, and I'll also visit the Water Control Bureau to explain that everything is fine," Chen Shi explained.

After giving a few more instructions, he steered the boat away from the shore.

............

after a while.

Chen Shi deftly retrieved the underwater fishing net and replaced it with a new one.

Today's harvest is similar to that of usual.

He looked at the dozens of white bars entangled online and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

The next moment, the white bar vanished into thin air, and golden lettering appeared:

[Advanced path completed!]

[Canglang Blade Technique (Second Tier) → Canglang (Third Tier)]

[Canglang Blade Technique (Tier 3): The moves become increasingly refined and fluid, the slashes are more stable and faster, and the hit rate on vital points is significantly improved.]

[Advanced route: Catch 200 whitebait and 1 grass carp]

"Third level, I've finally mastered the sword technique to the third level!" Chen Shi nodded in satisfaction as he looked at the golden characters before him.

"Just as Master Shen said, my strength has significantly improved after I reached the third level of my swordsmanship. Not only are my swordsmanship movements more skillful and fluid, but the probability of hitting vital points has also greatly increased. Combined with my current strength of seven hundred jin, with this long sword forged from fine steel in my hand, wouldn't I be able to cleave a plowing ox in the field in half with a single stroke?"

Chen Shi knew that in life-or-death battles, victory or defeat was often decided in a single move.

An increased probability of hitting vital points means that enemies can be dealt with more effectively in a shorter amount of time.

This is precisely why Shen Lang said that the strength of someone who has mastered the Canglang Blade Technique to the third level will increase slightly.

Afterwards, Chen Shi stood on the boat and practiced three levels of swordsmanship.

Only after carefully experiencing and understanding its power did he sheath the sword.

He then took out the blue booklet from his pocket, which was the "Water Patrol Record".

The duties of a minor official patrolling the waterways are very simple.

Record whether the water level of the Fallen Dragon Marsh has risen, whether any monsters in the marsh have appeared on the edge of the water, and the condition of the [Water-Suppressing Stele].

Chen Shi had some knowledge of the "Suppressing Water Stele".

It is said to be used to suppress the fortune of the Great Swamp.

The original fortune that favored the creatures of the Fallen Dragon Swamp was suppressed, preventing the "dragon" that lurked in the middle of the swamp from causing trouble and harming the local people again.

Following the directions marked in the water patrol log, Chen Shi quickly arrived at a [Water Suppression Stele]. He didn't need to observe each stele; these steles used to suppress the flow of fortune were subtly connected to each other, and if one was damaged, the others would be damaged as well. Therefore, he only needed to select the stele closest to him to observe.

"The [Water-Suppressing Stele] is intact..."

Chen Shi picked up his pen and wrote these words on the water patrol record.

............

In the evening, Chen Shi brought his catch to the stall to sell.

Despite his best efforts to finish the water patrol and rush over, he was still too late. The streets were deserted, and even though the fish in the bucket were fresh, plump, and lively, few people inquired about them.

Seeing that there were only a few people left on the street, Chen Shi decided to pack up his things and then carry the wooden bucket containing the fish home.

Just then, three young men arrived together.

The bald young man walked in front of him and went straight to Chen Shi's stall.

"Hey bro, how much is your sea bass per pound?"

"Forty coins per catty."

"Holy crap... is your fish made of gold or can it talk?"

Chen Shi frowned slightly, but still patiently explained:

"Look, where can you find such fat sea bass these days? If you think it's too expensive, I don't want to sell it to you."

"Okay, then pick one for me," the bald man said.

Chen Shi nodded and picked out a large bass from the bucket.

"Is your fish...fresh?" the bald young man suddenly asked.

"I run a fish stall, would I sell you dead fish?" Chen Shi joked, handing the bass in his hand to the bald young man.

"Look closely at these gills, they're bright red! I caught this fish in the water today, it's very fresh!"

The bald man took the fish and nodded repeatedly.

The next moment, he exerted force with his fingers, and the bass that was just jumping around instantly stiffened and died.

"Look," the bald man said with a sneer, holding up the dead fish, "this fish isn't fresh either, it's all dead."

Chen Shi slowly raised his head, his eyes filled with coldness.

Okay, okay, you're deliberately picking a fight, aren't you!