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

Time flies, and twenty days have passed in the blink of an eye. During these days, the Zhang Mingde and Zhang Mingliang brothers did not cause any more trouble for Zheng Xuan.

Even when they met, Zhang Mingde greeted Zheng Xuan, probably because he had been warned by Song Jin'ao.

Zhang Mingliang was shot in the leg by Zheng Xuan and has been recuperating. He has not appeared at Song Jin'ao's house.

After Zheng Xuan discovered the benefits of practicing boxing underwater, he would come to Song Jin'ao's house every day, but not very early. He would usually come at ten o'clock in the morning and leave at two o'clock in the afternoon, only taking the opportunity to ask Song Jin'ao about some of the power generation techniques of Bajiquan.

Song Jin'ao thought that Zheng Xuan had lost his enthusiasm for practicing boxing, so he stopped paying attention to Zheng Xuan.

What he didn't know was that Zheng Xuan worked much harder than he appeared, spending almost every day in the water. As a half-merman, practicing in the water was a unique privilege for him.

He practiced standing meditation in the Haihe River every day, where the currents were incredibly strong. At that moment, his legs felt as if they were rooted in the soil, letting the current wash over him. After practicing standing meditation like this, Zheng Xuan found that he felt as if his feet were rooted to the ground.

In addition to practicing stances in the undercurrent, Zheng Xuan also practiced boxing against the current. As the river water rushed down from upstream, Zheng Xuan practiced Bajiquan downstream against the current. This resistance felt like having sandbags hanging all over his body, giving his body a comprehensive workout.

While practicing his boxing in the water, Zheng Xuan even discovered that his absorption of Qi and Blood Pills had improved to a new level, reaching 70%. This absorption rate had surpassed that of the Zhang Mingde and Zhang Mingliang brothers, although it was still different from that of his junior brother, Li Ziping.

This genius's absorption rate of Qi and Blood Pills can reach 80%, which is terrifying.

Today, Zheng Xuan swallowed the last Qi and Blood Pill and went down into the river to practice his fist techniques. This kind of training method should be unprecedented and unparalleled among the human race. After all, not every martial artist can be like Zheng Xuan, who has a half-mermaid body and the ability to breathe underwater.

As evening fell, after Zheng Xuan had fully absorbed the medicinal power of the Qi and Blood Pill, he felt his Qi and blood surging wildly within him, a sign that he was about to enter the Nine Bright Strength stage of the martial artist realm.

But just when Zheng Xuan thought he could cross the threshold of the sequence, he suddenly discovered that his blood and qi were not enough to support him in breaking through the shackles of blood and qi and entering the ninth sequence, Ming Jin.

Just one breath short, Zheng Xuan sighed. If he had another bottle of Qi and Blood Pills, he would definitely have been able to enter the sequence and reach the Ming Jin level.

Unfortunately, two bottles of Qi and Blood Pills were barely enough. Thinking this, Zheng Xuan surfaced from the river and followed to the shore, thinking that he would go to Song Jin'ao tomorrow to buy some more Qi and Blood Pills.

The next day, Zheng Xuan took the one hundred silver dollars that Li Jitong had given him. He thought that the money should be enough to buy a bottle. So, Zheng Xuan went to Song Jin'ao's house.

At this moment, in Song Jin'ao's study.

Zhang Mingde found Song Jin'ao, who then frowned and said, "Well, I'll find a way to get the Qi and Blood Pill. The pharmacies in Tianjin don't sell it, so I'll buy it somewhere else."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Mingde looked at Song Jin'ao and said, "Master, this isn't about the Qi and Blood Pill. I want to break through to the Dark Force realm, and I need even more advanced pills or tonics. Right now, the entire Tianjin is targeting you. Where are you going to get such spiritual items?"

Upon hearing this, Song Jin'ao looked at Zhang Mingde and said, "Give your master some time, and your master will find a way to get it for you."

Zhang Mingde said, "Master, why don't you go and apologize to Old Master Gong? He's been catching spirit fish on the Haihe River with the fishing gang lately. If we can catch them, I can reach the Dark Force realm!"

"Me, go and give in to Gong Ying? Mingde, remember this: I would rather die than give in to Gong Ying, unless he supports the reform."

"Reform, reform, Master! Reform is for important people. We just need to focus on mastering martial arts. I'll reach the Dark Force realm and pass the martial arts examination. You can establish your own sect. Then, who in Tianjin won't look up to us, master and disciple?"

"Ignorant fool! Don't you understand the greater good of the nation and its people?"

"Master, I don't care about national righteousness; I just want to make a name for myself!"

Song Jin'ao shouted angrily, "You, get out of here! Get out!"

Zhang Mingde was chased out by Song Jin'ao. As soon as he pushed open the door, he saw Zheng Xuan and nodded, saying, "Junior Brother Zheng."

Then he left without looking back. Zheng Xuan saw that Song Jin'ao was angry and prepared to go back first, but unexpectedly, Song Jin'ao's voice came from inside the house.

"Is this Ah Xuan? Come in."

Zheng Xuan walked into the room: "Uncle Song."

"Is there something you need?"

After calming himself down, Song Jin'ao asked, "Uncle-Master, I've run out of Qi and Blood Pills. I'd like you to help me buy some more."

As he spoke, Zheng Xuan placed the silver dollars on the table.

Upon hearing this, Song Jin'ao rubbed his nose and said, "Ah Xuan, I'm afraid we won't be able to supply you with Qi and Blood Pills anytime soon. With the martial arts examination approaching, thirteen martial arts schools in Tianjin have joined forces to buy up all the Qi and Blood Pills from the pharmacy. We..."

Song Jin'ao gave a wry smile and said, "We're being targeted..."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Xuan immediately understood that the entire Tianjin martial arts community had united against Song Jin'ao.

Upon hearing this, Zheng Xuan suggested, "How about we go to another province to buy it?"

Song Jin'ao said, "Qi and Blood Pills are not like other herbs. Only strong individuals in the pharmacy can manufacture them. Most of them are supplied to the army in each province, and the rest are sold, but they are all bought by the local martial arts schools."

"The military examination is held nationwide, and every province is actively preparing for it. Where would we find extra medicine?"

Upon hearing this, Zheng Xuan asked, "So there's not a single gap left?"

Upon hearing this, Song Jin'ao replied, "Unless we go to the black market, but..."

Before Song Jin'ao could finish speaking, he pointed out that Qi and Blood Pills on the black market were being sold at a premium. Even with Song Jin'ao's financial resources, he couldn't afford such a large amount of expenses for the martial arts school, especially since Zhang Mingde needed to enter the Dark Force realm, and ordinary Qi and Blood Pills wouldn't be enough.

He needed a higher-grade spiritual item. Song Jin'ao frowned. It seemed he had no choice but to go on that escort mission.

Thinking this over, Song Jin'ao told Zheng Xuan to leave first, and that he would keep an eye out for any news about the Qi and Blood Pill.

Zheng Xuan left the house and went outside, where he met his senior brother, Chen Shouyi.

Chen Shouyi was a kind and honest man, and Zheng Xuan had a good relationship with him. The two started chatting, and as they talked, they came up with the topic of spirit fish.

Zheng Xuan had been working in the river for a while, but he had never seen a spirit fish before. Chen Shouyi told him that the spirit fish was a highly nutritious food and very rare. Every year, less than twenty of them could be caught in the entire Haihe River.

Moreover, to catch spirit fish, one must be a powerful Sequencer user. Currently, the only ones who can reliably catch spirit fish are the fishing gangs of Tianjin. The gang leader, Jiang Yongshui, is a Sequencer user of the seventh rank: the Reef Worshipper. He has a special skill for finding spirit fish.

This time, Master Ying, the martial arts master of Tianjin, personally sought out Jiang Yongshui in order to capture the spirit fish and improve his disciple's strength.