Martial Arts Awakening, Bloodfire Fist Master

Inside the main hall of a luxurious mansion near Qingshui Wharf.

The body of Master Ma, one of the foremen of the dockworkers' team, was placed in the main hall.

A prominent character for "righteousness" stands out in the center of the lobby wall.

The altar master, Chen Tiangang, had a buzz cut and wore a silk jacket, revealing two dark blue arms tattooed with tigers and leopards. His face was even more fleshy than when Master Ma was alive, and his sturdy body stood there like an iron block.

Standing beneath the character for "righteousness," he looked down at Master Ma's corpse. After a while, he grinned, revealing two gold teeth in his mouth amidst his ferocious expression.

"Tell me, who killed him? Was it a personal vendetta? Or a provocation against my Clear Water Gang? Or did someone find out something?"

There were twelve people below the hall.

The remaining four foremen of the labor team, the three foremen of the towmen team, the two foremen of the water ghost team, and the two who were his favorites, the two who were good at hitting sticks.

Most of the twelve people adopted an attitude of indifference, occasionally gleefully gleeful as they looked at Master Ma's corpse.

Seeing this, Chen Tiangang didn't say anything. Did they really think that having the word "righteousness" meant loyalty? Back then, he had to fight his way up in the gang to get this lucrative position. The worst of his competitors only managed to get a job at the town's docks. If his men really banded together, then he should be worried.

The foremen of the four labor teams couldn't stay out of it; they either went forward to investigate or pretended to be thinking about something.

One of them stepped forward and said, "My lord, I, Zhu An, have a few minor conflicts with Ma Junfeng, but I can swear by the Water Dragon King that if I, Zhu An, were to harm my own brother, may I be struck by lightning and thrown into the river to drown."

Chen Tiangang waved his hand expressionlessly, telling him to go away.

Another person bowed and said, "Master, the attacker was quite powerful, probably stronger than Old Ma, yet he used a sneak attack. Could it be someone we know?"

"Yes, they should be level two martial arts masters. According to the two beggars, their voices aren't old. Could they be disciples of some martial arts school?"

"I also judge that the person who made the move should be a level two martial artist, and it is impossible for him to be higher than level three. In addition, his fist style should be a fierce and powerful style. This can be used as a clue. Could he be from the Zhixiang Martial Arts School? Also, he dressed as a smelly beggar and was able to lower himself. If he is not a professional assassin, he may be a member of the Thieves' Sect, the Skillful Sect, or the Remnant Sect."

After some discussion, various speculations arose, but no specific suspect was identified in the end. Although Ma Junfeng had offended quite a few people in the past.

But one thing is certain: no one mentioned those laborers in any way.

Don't be ridiculous. A bunch of laborers who probably haven't even eaten meat a few times in their lives don't have that kind of strength. If they had that kind of strength, why would they be laborers? To even question that would be an insult to your intelligence.

In the end, no conclusion was reached. Instead, the position of headman left behind after Master Ma's death started to entice these people to consider it.

Those with brothers and relatives at home exchanged glances, then looked at the altar master, wondering how to give a gift.

Chen Tiangang, the leader of the Qingshui Gang's Qingshui Wharf, was not saddened either. Seeing the expressions on his subordinates' faces, he could sell them for a good price.

At the same time, a thought struck him, and he stroked his chin. "Hmm, although this guy surnamed Ma is dead, he was still one of our own brothers. Don't be too greedy."

After thinking about it, I thought, "At least I should leave some lineage for them."

Everyone else laughed, "Master, the lion's share is definitely yours."

In this world, barbarians and other foreigners crossed the endless seas, and the Great Yan Holy Dynasty was also in its final days. Various forces were divided and occupied their own territories. Natural disasters and man-made calamities caused widespread suffering and social decay. The whole world had become a naked jungle, where the weak were like ants, pigs, and dogs, and the strong controlled everything.

To live well, the big fish eat the small fish; morality and ethics have long been discarded.

[Daliquan is practicing his punches, waves of inspiration washing over him. Yesterday's attack gave him an unprecedented drive, but it seems he's not making much progress...]

[I will continue to train hard with my powerful fist technique, hoping to achieve a breakthrough, or at least make my fist technique more stable as I reach mastery...]

[Daliquan thought, maybe I should take a risk and use the money I earned yesterday to buy some ginseng and polygonatum to nourish myself. If that doesn't work, I could even buy a few pounds of beef...]

Zhang Qingshan reviewed Dali Quan's "memorial," a document that had been reviewed and concluded, leaving the emperor's "heart" unfathomable, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

The spirit follows the powerful punches in cultivating the body, feeling the continuous spiritual gains transmitted from the unseen realm.

Old Liu continues to stay indoors, waiting for a sliver of hope or death, while the other neighbors also make their own arrangements.

Zhang Qingshan wasn't in a hurry to comfort Lao Liu; he let things play out for a while.

As evening approached and the neighbors gradually returned, a man suddenly rushed into the shantytown compound.

"Old Liu, Old Liu, and Little Zhang, Brother Zhang, good news! Come out quickly, there's great news!"

Looking at the others in the yard, he paused, gave an awkward smile, and then continued, "Old Liu, Little Zhang, you can go back to work tomorrow."

Zhang Qingshan knew perfectly well that Wang Quan had been whipped by Master Ma, so he was naturally happy now, but he still pushed open the door and pretended to be puzzled, "Brother Wang, what happened?"

"Hahaha, let me tell you, that guy surnamed Ma is dead. Good riddance! I heard he died a horrible death. Bah, serves him right."

"Bang!"

The door to Old Liu's house was violently kicked open. Old Liu was barefoot and his face was ashen, but his eyes were shining.

"Master Ma, no, is the man surnamed Ma really dead?"

"He's dead, beaten to death, hahaha, his house has been taken over by other old men, tsk tsk tsk, I heard they brought out several boxes of copper coins, and that bastard's whip has been wrapped around the waists of other gang leaders."

"Hahahaha, hahahaha," Old Liu laughed, hands on his hips, "Karma, karma!"

"Yes, what goes around comes around. That bastard is dead now and we're still alive. Old Liu, what you said was just something Ma said, without any basis or evidence. Now that he's dead, everything is back to normal. Go to work tomorrow."

"Okay, let's start work tomorrow, let's start work tomorrow."

Zhang Qingshan then approached and said, "Brother Wang Quan, don't call him that when we get to the dock. Although those people are fighting like dogs, they won't allow us peasants to gloat."

Old Liu smiled and said, "Don't worry, Qingshan. Old Wang has been around for so many years, he definitely knows what's good for him."

Zhang Qingshan nodded and waved his hand with a flourish.

"Okay, something good has happened today, something to celebrate. I'll treat everyone to steamed buns."

"Hey, Zhang, looks like you've got some savings."

Zhang Qingshan looked at Bai Xiaochun with an honest expression. "Sister Chun, after working for a month or two, I've saved up a little. You don't really think I'm stupid enough to leave myself no way out just to learn boxing, do you?"

"Xiao Zhang, are there any steamed buns for us too?"

"Brother Qingshan, I want one too."

"Okay, we have them all."

Zhang Qingshan ran out quickly and found a steamed bun shop on the street, where he bought two steamed buns and two mantou (steamed bread) each.

While it's important to keep a low profile, this isn't exactly something outrageous.

Not long ago, the neighbors were still kind and loyal to him and Lao Liu.

Watching everyone cheer and eat the steamed buns, Zhang Qingshan smiled broadly, especially at Xie Widow's Chunyu, whose surprised and delighted expression was incredibly cute.

It reminded him of his younger sister, who had never eaten steamed buns or white flour buns. If she could eat steamed buns, she would probably be all smiles.

Resist the urge to immediately buy steamed buns to visit family. Be patient and assess the situation first. After all, we've suffered for so many years; a few more days or months won't cause the sky to fall.

Old Liu seized an opportunity to lean closer, blinking his eyes. "Brother Zhang, could it be that Dali Ge?"

Zhang Qingshan ate his food in big mouthfuls and mumbled, "What 'Brother Dali'? There's no such thing as 'Brother Dali'."

Old Liu winked at him with a knowing look and chuckled, "Yeah, there's no such thing as a powerful guy."

I went to work the next day.

The new person in charge wasn't the head of the gang; he was supposedly a temporary manager sent by the gang's leader. The actual head of the gang was still being selected, so he wasn't particularly fierce, but he still took a lot of money from everyone, smiling as he deducted two copper coins from each person.

The same thing happened on the third, fourth, and fifth days.

A new foreman has yet to be chosen, but some well-informed people at the dock have been saying that things have been quite lively at the Qingshui Wharf altar these past few days.

Who sent what antique painting? Who sent their woman to them? Who sent how much silver?

The other four gang leaders wanted their relatives and friends to take over, members of the Water Ghost Team and the Swimmer Team wanted to be transferred to this dock, and some of the lower-level members of the Clear Water Gang also wanted to compete for the position.

This also made Zhang Qingshan realize that Master Ma's death had not caused much of a stir. In the eyes of others, the cause of his death and the murderer were probably not as important as the ownership of his whip.

One act ends and another begins; he too is seen as a lowly peasant by others.

No one doubted themselves or Lao Liu.

This is a good thing, but there are also some less good things.

[Mighty Fist felt very frustrated. No matter how much he trained, his progress was getting slower and slower, and his inspiration was becoming less and less.]

[The Mighty Fist then remembered that he was merely a descendant of the Divine Martial Foundation Killing Fist Ancestor, whose bloodline was rare. In principle, his Mighty Six Forms could only break through to the second level of Martial Artist, unless his spiritual inspiration continued to erupt and his comprehension of the Mighty Six Forms reached perfection, perhaps he could break through to the third level of Martial Artist.]

[I've been practicing and pondering my martial arts diligently, but progress feels slow, and I'm starting to feel a bit discouraged...]