He achieved the pinnacle of martial arts starting with breaking through the limits of Tiger Fist.

"Lin-ge'er, you're a martial artist now?"

Chen Sanlang and his men surrounded them and immediately asked questions.

"Martial arts my foot, a martial artist..."

Jiang Lin cursed irritably. He was glad he hadn't joined a gang with him, otherwise he would have ended up like him, unable to see the key points.

Those who haven't experienced it firsthand often think that knocking on that barrier means they've entered the door, and that it's all the same thing.

Little did they know that different cultivation methods could lead to vastly different results.

Just now, he fought three people and won, so everyone assumed that he was a martial artist, otherwise it would have been impossible for him to win against three opponents.

Jiang Lin was too lazy to explain to him and went straight into the house to start searching.

Upon seeing this, Chen Sanlang immediately sent people to help.

These gang members may not be good at martial arts, but they are extremely skilled at extorting money.

In no time, they had turned the three brothers' house upside down, even finding the hidden compartments.

"Lin-ge'er, you divide it."

Chen Sanlang, being sensible, readily relinquished the right to allocate the spoils.

Jiang Lin looked at the things in front of him: a pile of broken silver and copper coins, totaling about seventy or eighty taels, three strong bows, two books, and the rest were all miscellaneous items, which he ignored.

The two books were the first things that caught Jiang Lin's attention, and he picked them up and started reading.

One of the books was the "Iron Arrow Fist" manual practiced by the Wang brothers. Jiang Lin flipped through a few pages and then threw it aside. Sure enough, it was an incomplete copy, missing the most important body-strengthening method.

The other book was a handwritten copy, and Jiang Lin became interested as soon as he opened it.

The book describes something called "fragrant bait," which is not a martial arts technique, but simply a method for making a type of item.

He only glanced at it before realizing how useful it was to him.

Jiang Lin unceremoniously kicked the book into his arms and said, "You and your men can split the money. You can decide what to do with the rest."

Seeing that he didn't want the money, Chen Sanlang didn't mind and said directly to his men, "I'll take twenty taels of silver, and you can divide the rest equally among yourselves, everyone gets a share."

Upon hearing this, his men were all extremely excited. If the remaining fifty-odd taels of silver were divided up directly, wouldn't each of them get more than three taels?

Today's job was incredibly enjoyable. I thought it would be a tough battle, but I didn't even have to lift a finger and got to watch a huge fight for free.

When it came time to divide the spoils, many gang members thought they wouldn't get a share, but the surprise came so suddenly that they were all overjoyed.

"As for this cultivation manual, although it is somewhat incomplete, I think it is quite useful."

Jiang Lin picked up the manual and handed it to Chen Sanlang. "This manual contains archery techniques and fist techniques. Even if it's not complete, it's still much better than the common stuff. Especially the archery, which is more useful than ordinary swords and fists for those below the martial arts level."

Jiang Lin said this based on his own experience. Not only himself, but even the Wang brothers, who were like that, earned hundreds of taels of silver in one go by using their bow and arrows.

If he can shoot fish well, then he certainly won't be bad at shooting people either. If Sanlang can train a bunch of archers with this manual, they will definitely shine in gang battles in the future.

In fact, Chen Sanlang is not lacking in intelligence or methods, and he is good at winning people's hearts. What he lacks most is martial prowess. If this weakness is overcome, he may actually achieve something in the future.

After finishing their business, the group returned directly to the fish market.

After everyone had left, Jiang Lin began to study the book in his arms.

"Fragrant bait combines the essence of a hundred flavors, follows the principles of monarch and minister, takes the ingredients as its foundation, transforms them into methods, and grasps the opportune moment. It understands the nature of fish and knows their hearts. When the water flows naturally, the fish will come."

Jiang Lin slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "What a wonderful thing! The fish have come of their own accord!"

Upon closer inspection of the "fragrant bait" recipe, it was discovered that the book only describes three types of bait, giving the impression that this handwritten copy is seriously incomplete.

The general outline at the beginning is written in a very profound way, but in the end there are only a few basic ones. What else can it be but incomplete?

Jiang Lin felt a pang of despair, yet was at a loss for what to do.

He could only compose himself and continue watching.

One type of bait is called "Cold Pool Green". This bait is made by taking deep-water moss, drying it, grinding it into powder, adding honey from deep mountain cliffs, and supplementing it with stone marrow. It is then kneaded nine times before it can be made.

He knew what kind of moss this was, but what about this stony marrow?

Jiang Lin had no choice but to continue scrolling down.

The second bait is called "Frost White," which is a type of groundbait that requires ancient pond rice, three-frost lotus root powder, and reed tip frost. Jiang Lin was equally baffled.

The third bait is named "Ma Yi Ke," which is also a type of groundbait. Jiang Lin finally understood this.

To make it, first grind the ramie into powder, soak it to extract the bitter water, and then dry it into crystals; then grind the wild pepper kernels into powder, use the bitter moss on the rocks in the twelfth lunar month as a binder, and finally sift it into a chestnut shape.

Jiang Lin carefully noted down the recipes for these "fragrant baits" for future research.

There's no time in the next few days; my senior sister's banquet is only three days away, and there definitely won't be enough time to make the incense bait.

However, with the "Waterway Map" by his side, it's not too difficult for Jiang Lin to catch a good treasure fish. Without "fragrant bait," he might just have to work hard.

……

For the next two days, Jiang Lin even put aside his morning cultivation techniques and kept wandering in the depths of the great swamp.

Over the course of two days, he caught several precious fish, but because they were not of high value, he sold them for two hundred taels of silver.

In the end, with no other option, they had to win by overwhelming force.

Jiang Lin moored the boat at the fish market dock, turned around, picked up the large fish from the hold, and headed towards the fish market.

It was sunset, and the fish market was bustling with people. He was carrying a two-meter-long, two-hundred-pound fish, which naturally attracted the attention of everyone at the dock.

"My goodness, what kind of fish is this?"

Someone nearby, who didn't recognize them, asked loudly.

An old fisherman recognized it, saying, "This is a grouper, a silver grouper. Such a big one must be worth over a thousand taels of silver."

Jiang Lin pursed his lips; these old fishermen still knew their stuff.

He had no choice; his luck had been really bad lately, so he could only use a big fish to make up the numbers.

He spent a lot of effort and two days hunting this "Silver Dragon Grouper" based on the tracks in the "Waterway Map".

It seems like fate is conspiring against him. Ever since his fishing "efficacy" was upgraded, it has become inversely proportional to luck.

It's not that he can't find it, or that he doesn't dare to make a move even if he does. Even with this one in his hand, he had to rack his brains and search for it for a long time.

Although this fish was not particularly valuable, it was large in size. Jiang Lin fought it in the water for nearly half a day before finally winning with great difficulty, and even got injured in the process.

"It's Lin Ge'er from Shaziwan. I heard from the Water Tiger Gang that he has achieved mastery of martial arts and has reached the level of a martial artist. I didn't believe it before, but now it's been confirmed."

Those with inside information were introducing Jiang Lin to others, as if recognizing him was a matter of great pride.

The surrounding area was bustling with noise, and all sorts of words reached Jiang Lin's ears. He simply smiled and nodded, showing no embarrassment at being watched. His demeanor was calm and confident, perfectly matching the spirit of the "Tiger Soul Stance".

People who knew Jiang Lin greeted him, and when he nodded in response, they all felt very proud.

"Lin-ge'er is truly unpretentious. Even now, with all his achievements, he still greets me when he sees me. It's truly rare."

Someone else chimed in, "Isn't that obvious? I've watched him grow up since he was a kid. I know what kind of person he is. The same goes for Chen Sanlang. Ever since he took over the fish market, he's been extremely fair. We've finally had a few good days."

Jiang Lin, now in good physical condition, carried the large fish with ease and arrived at the entrance of the fish market in no time.

The guards saw him coming from afar and immediately greeted him in unison.

"Master Jiang."

Jiang Lin raised his head slightly in response.

He carried the fish to Long's fish stall.

With a "bang," Jiang Lin put the fish on the table.

"Consider this a congratulatory gift, to add a dish to my senior sister's banquet."