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

"Practicing swordsmanship is the same as practicing boxing; both require cultivating stance training," Shen Lang explained to Chen Shi. "Now that you have reached the third level of swordsmanship, you must have already noticed changes in your power generation."

Chen Shi nodded slightly, "Now that I'm practicing swinging the sword, I do feel that my power is more fluid and penetrating."

"Hmm." Shen Lang nodded slightly. "This means you've begun to grasp the concept of 'qi following the sword.' What you need to do next is to continuously explore and refine this feeling until you become familiar with it. The stance training I'm teaching you will help you enter this state more quickly. With your talent, I believe you'll master it soon."

Shen Lang paused briefly, then added:

"The sword is not just about slashing randomly. Every strike must be coordinated with your breathing. Exhale when you strike, urging your qi and blood to flow through the sword and arm; inhale when you sheathe, gathering your qi and blood in your dantian. With long-term practice, your qi and blood will follow the sword, and your strength will not dissipate, giving your strikes a 'root'. Even if you are injured, you can use your qi and blood to calm your internal organs. This is the control of qi and blood in my Canglang sword technique."

......

After demonstrating it again, Shen Lang turned and left to attend to his business.

Nominally, he was just a steward of the Canglang Gang, but everyone knew that the entire gang was actually supported by Shen Lang. The Canglang Gang didn't have a leader; instead, there were four stewards, each with their own duties. When matters concerning the gang's future arose, they would gather in the Canglang Hall to discuss them. Because Shen Lang possessed the highest martial arts skills, his opinions often carried the most weight. The other three stewards mostly agreed with him, and there were never any disputes.

After Shen Lang left, Chen Shi practiced alone in the open space next to Canglang Hall.

He hoped to master "Qi following the sword" and "controlling Qi and blood" in the shortest possible time, so that he could formally cultivate his martial arts physique and strive to be promoted to the position of patrol guard.

Thanks to Shen Lang's explanation and personal demonstration, Chen Shi vaguely grasped the basics of the so-called "qi follows the knife" and "controlling qi and blood".

Time flies, and before we knew it, it was lunchtime.

Chen Shi was about to go home when Shen Lang stopped him.

Shen Lang led him to the river mouth under his jurisdiction.

A place resembling a dock. Members of the Canglang Gang were stationed here to guard against robbery and murder by bandits from the sea.

"How's the practice going? Have you gotten a feel for it yet?"

Shen Lang gestured for Chen Shi to sit down, and then asked with concern.

"I can feel it a little, but not much," Chen Shi answered honestly. "After practicing stance training, I can generate that kind of penetrating power more often than before, but I haven't fully mastered it yet."

"Hmm... there's no rush." ​​Shen Lang nodded in satisfaction.

"It took me almost five days to fully master 'manipulating qi and blood' back then. You have a high talent, so I believe it will take you much less time than I did. Perhaps... three days? Or even two days, you may be able to fully master 'manipulating qi and blood'. At that time, I can teach you how to guide qi and blood and hone your martial arts physique."

"Martial arts training cannot be accomplished overnight; perseverance is key. Mastery is inevitable, so why worry about a day or two? As the saying goes, 'If the foundation is not solid, the earth will shake.' You must practice diligently after you return. The 'controlling qi and blood' stage is crucial. Only after passing this stage can you talk about further physical training."

As he spoke, Shen Lang handed a bowl of fish soup to Chen Shi: "Do you still remember that Azure-Scaled Treasure Fish I bought back then?"

"Could it be... this is the soup made with that precious fish?" Chen Shi looked slightly surprised, not expecting that Master Shen would save the precious fish for him to share today.

This is a precious fish, capable of nourishing and replenishing the blood and energy of a warrior.

When Chen Shi caught that Xuanlin Treasure Fish himself, his qi and blood immediately became much more abundant after eating it, and his strength also increased significantly, which shows how precious this thing is to a martial artist.

Shen Lang was willing to share the blue-scaled treasure fish, which he had bought for twenty taels of silver, with Chen Shi, which showed how much he valued this young man.

Shen Lang hummed in agreement and explained:

"Rare items like precious fish and precious herbs should be consumed in large quantities, as they greatly benefit martial arts cultivation. Even martial artists with mediocre talent can still cultivate to a decent level if they consume enough resources."

Chen Shi nodded in agreement.

He wished he could be like the sons of wealthy families, spending lavishly on his martial arts training, but how could he possibly do that?

Selling fish for a day might only earn you a few hundred coins at most.

Although precious fish are expensive, they are not something you can encounter every day.

Including the part-time job of "water patrol officer", he would earn an extra two or three taels of silver each month.

I can't afford it, I simply can't afford it!

In the end, we still have to rely on the mountains for sustenance and the sea for livelihood.

We can only pray that we can catch more treasure fish in the future.

"There's no rush to buy the precious herbs," Shen Lang explained, taking a sip of fish soup. "The most important thing right now is to master the 'control of Qi and Blood.' As for what kind of precious herbs and medicines you need to hone your martial arts physique, don't worry about that. Just focus on your cultivation."

Chen Shi gulped down the fish soup in his bowl and respectfully said, "Disciple understands!"

"By the way, Master Shen, what level of martial arts are you at now? Compared to the martial artists in our Baishui Town, who is stronger?"

After lunch, the two sat by the river mouth, when Chen Shi suddenly asked a question.

He had always known that Shen Lang was strong, but he didn't know just how strong. It was like he knew that there were extraordinary martial arts in this world, but he didn't understand how their realms were divided.

Upon hearing this, Shen Lang burst into laughter.

He then explained to Chen Shi how martial arts realms are divided.

"Martial arts cultivation is divided into three stages, four barriers, and five realms."

"The so-called Three Fortunes refer to the fortunes of 'Heavenly Timing,' 'Geographical Advantage,' and 'Human Harmony.' The reason why our Song Kingdom has such a vast territory is precisely because of that Martial Saint who has lived for over three hundred years. Back then, he swept away all enemies, splitting mountains with an inch of fist and cutting rivers with a single hand, eliminating all those who stood in his way. And the reason why this Martial Saint was so strong and invincible was because he possessed two kinds of fortunes."

For an ordinary person to bear even one kind of fortune is as difficult as ascending to heaven, yet the Martial Saint of the Song Kingdom possesses two kinds of fortune. This is the fundamental reason for his power.

However, you should only listen to these words for now and not delve into them too deeply. Good fortune cannot be obtained through martial arts talent alone; it requires a great stroke of luck to achieve.

Shen Lang paused briefly before continuing:

"The four barriers refer to the 'skin, flesh, tendons, and bones' in martial arts physique, and the 'subtlety, unstoppable, momentum-breaking, and formation-breaking' in martial arts techniques; as for the five realms, as the name suggests, they are the five realms of martial arts."

"You asked me who is stronger between me and the martial artists of your White Water Town. I haven't fought them, so I can't give you an answer. As for my cultivation level, it's the first of the five realms—the Heroic Spirit."

Chen Shi nodded thoughtfully, and Shen Lang began to explain in detail.

"If you want to reach my level, you must break through four barriers, cultivate your martial arts skills to the 'subtle' level, and then find a suitable opportunity to break through."

"Master Shen, if I have already broken through the four barriers and cultivated my martial arts skills to the 'subtle' level, what would be the opportunity for a breakthrough?" Chen Shi asked curiously.

Shen Lang shook his head: "It depends on the person."

"So, what was the trigger for your breakthrough?" Chen Shi pressed.

Shen Lang paused, then said in a deep voice, "Between life and death."