A glimpse of opportunity: Start by marrying a mermaid bride.

[Touch the target, and opportunity will arise.]

【Opportunity Name: Malice from a Fellow Disciple】

[Scene Description: The Zhang brothers are highly regarded by Song Jin'ao, hence their arrogance and haughtiness. Your arrival clearly threatens the existing interests of Song Jin'ao's disciples. Zhang Mingliang has decided to disguise himself as a thief tonight, teach you a lesson, and steal your Qi and Blood Pill.]

Looking at the opportunity prompt, Zheng Xuan understood. Sure enough, it wasn't meant to be malicious; it was hiding something bad.

Zheng Xuan thought for a moment, then looked at Song Jin'ao and saw that he also had a terrible headache. His two disciples were talented and hardworking, but they were narrow-minded and liked to compare themselves with their fellow disciples.

A few days ago, the Yang brothers from Yangzhuangzi Wharf came to my place looking for "shipyard protectors". They originally had their eye on Chunping, but because she offered a higher price, the Zhang brothers snatched the job away. Chunping didn't say anything about it, but Song Jin'ao saw it all.

That's far too arrogant.

Song Jin'ao made this assessment, but there was nothing he could do. The martial arts examination a year later still required the two brothers. Chen Shouyi was mediocre, Chunping was a woman, and although Li Ziping was exceptionally talented, he had become a disciple too late and was inferior to both of them. If he had three to five years, he would definitely surpass the two Zhangs. However, there were still eleven months until the martial arts examination. Even if Li Ziping was exceptionally talented, he could not surpass the two Zhangs in those eleven months.

The task entrusted to them by the Baoguo Association could only be accomplished by the two Zhangs.

Song Jin'ao suppressed his displeasure and decided to wait until they passed the martial arts examination before trying to persuade them.

Song Jin'ao thought for a moment, then looked at Zheng Xuan and said, "Xuan, don't mind them. That's just how they are. They're not bad people. Go home first, don't keep the fisherwoman waiting too long. Come early tomorrow. Practicing martial arts requires hard work."

Zheng Xuan nodded immediately upon hearing this, indicating that he understood.

Then he turned around and left.

Zhang Mingliang and Zhang Mingde walked out of Song Jin'ao's residence. Zhang Mingliang said to Zhang Mingde, "Brother, Old Man Song is biased. He's clearly just a country bumpkin who hasn't formally become an apprentice. Why does he get a bottle of Qi and Blood Pills?"

"He knows perfectly well that the two of us are the real trump cards for the martial arts examination, yet he's doing this; it's blatant favoritism."

"Hey, don't be so disrespectful. What old man Song? That's our master."

Zhang Mingde reprimanded him with a stern face.

Zhang Mingliang said, "What master? People say that a master and disciple are like father and son. He openly gave the Qi and Blood Pill to an outsider. Do you think he still cares about us? It's only because you're honest and don't make trouble for him that we're here."

"He's begging us for a favor now, and he's treating us like this. If we actually help him pass the martial arts exam and he successfully establishes his school, recruiting many disciples, will we still have a good life?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Mingde said, "Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. I'm going to Yangzhuangzi Wharf. Are you coming or not?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Mingliang's eyes lit up and he said, "Hehe, there's no one causing trouble there. Big brother, you can go and keep an eye on things. I have something to do, so I won't go today. I'll go tomorrow."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Mingde looked at Zhang Mingliang and said, "Alright, don't cause trouble, I'm leaving."

Zhang Mingde turned and headed towards Yangzhuangzi Wharf.

There are more than 70 wharves of various sizes in Tianjin, including eight official ferry crossings and the rest are private wharves that usually handle small goods, river fish, and seafood.

Such small docks are always a mixed bag, so martial arts practitioners are needed to act as "guards." This is a common saying in the martial arts world. Guards are responsible for protecting the dock from being disturbed by hooligans and other local ruffians.

Protecting the docks, guarding the homes of wealthy families, and escorting goods for security companies were the ways martial arts disciples earned their money.

Martial arts disciples can't rely on their families for support forever. Apart from truly wealthy families, how many can afford to support such a money-devouring beast in their training? So they have to make a living on their own. These are the most difficult things for martial artists.

It's also a quick way to make money. For example, at Yangzhuangzi Wharf, the Zhang brothers could earn eighty silver dollars a month just by watching over the place. That's much faster than being a corpse retriever.

Zhang Mingde left, and Zhang Mingliang's eyes narrowed. "That kid surnamed Zheng, my brother can swallow this insult, but I can't."

Thinking of him, he headed straight for the city gate. I heard that kid lives outside the city, so today I'm going to teach him a lesson.

Thinking this, Zhang Mingliang arrived at the city gate. After waiting for a long time, just when he was about to lose patience, he saw Zheng Xuan saunter out of the city, carrying two oil paper packages, which were probably for cooked food.

"I still have the appetite to eat cooked food."

Zhang Mingliang snorted coldly, then hid in the crowd and followed Zheng Xuan out of the city.

Zheng Xuan glanced behind him and spotted Zhang Mingliang. Without the fortuitous hint, Zheng Xuan might have overlooked Zhang Mingliang, but with the hint, his pursuit became full of flaws.

Zheng Xuan pretended not to see it and continued to carry the cooked food, slowly walking out of the city.

Instead of heading home, he went straight to a sparsely populated area, eventually reaching a place overgrown with vegetation and featuring two crooked trees.

Zheng Xuan stopped, slowly turned around, one hand holding the cooked food and the other on his hip, and looked behind him, saying, "Friend, you've been following me for ages, come out."

Hearing this, Zhang Mingliang knew he had been discovered, but he wasn't afraid. He covered his face with a black cloth, leaving only his eyes showing, and slowly walked out, pretending to be rude in a high-pitched voice, saying, "Boy, this road is mine, this tree is mine. If you want to pass, leave your toll."

Zheng Xuan chuckled upon hearing this and said, "There's no road here. Those two crooked trees must be older than your grandfather. Which one did you cultivate, and which one did you plant?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Mingliang flew into a rage: "Kid, it seems you're going to refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit. Looks like you won't know that Lord Ma has three eyes until I teach you a lesson."

Zheng Xuan said, "Don't come any closer. I've been trained."

"You dare to claim you've trained without even being in the sequence? I'm a martial artist in sequence nine: Ming Jin martial artist. You're unlucky, kid. I'll test my skills on you today."

"kill!"

Zhang Mingliang roared, his muscles tensed, and in the next moment, he unleashed the full power of a Ming Jin martial artist, pouncing on Zheng Xuan like a tiger.

Zheng Xuanwu had only just begun learning martial arts today, and since this was on land, he was clearly no match for Zhang Mingliang.

Zhang Mingliang's eyes were filled with a brutal pleasure. He was determined to beat this kid so badly that even his own mother wouldn't recognize him. How dare he steal from the Zhang family brothers! He was going to teach him a lesson today!

Lie down!

Zhang Mingliang leaped forward and punched Zheng Xuan in the head, but just then, there was a loud bang!

With a gunshot, Zhang Mingliang immediately knelt on the ground. Blood was gushing from his right thigh, where a bullet had pierced through.

Zheng Xuan, carrying a bag of cooked food in one hand and a golden revolver in the other, said calmly, "So arrogant? I thought you could take a bullet with your bare hands!"