From breaking the limits of the White Ape Fist to becoming a martial arts saint.

Su Yu was slightly taken aback.

The girl in front of me was talking about the most tragic things, yet she had such a bright smile on her lips.

"Now that Father is dead, he won't have to suffer anymore." She spoke lightly, as if she were talking about something trivial. Then, she took out a polished brass key from her patched pocket, stood on tiptoe, and handed it to Su Yu.

"Brother Su, here. Before my father passed away, he said that you are a good person, and as long as I work hard for you, I can survive."

Su Yu looked at the key, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

In this world, some people are indeed more at ease dying than living.

After taking the keys, Su Yu arrived at his front door, with Ya'er following behind him.

He unlocked the rusty brass lock and pushed open his own creaking wooden door.

The desolate, overgrown landscape I had envisioned did not materialize.

Inside the courtyard, the fishing nets were neatly mended, and the water vats were polished to a shine. Stepping inside, the floor was spotless, and even the musty smell that had lingered in the air had faded considerably.

He glanced back at Ya'er and asked, "Did you clean this?"

"Yes, Brother Su."

Su Yu rubbed her head and continued to check the situation inside the room, finally focusing his gaze on the bedding on the bed.

When Su Yu returned last time, the bedding on the bed was damp and smelled musty. He slept uncomfortably all night and even felt like there was a dead rat hiding in it.

However, at this moment, I felt a warmth from the sun shining on the blanket, which made me feel much more comfortable.

I can finally get a good night's sleep tonight.

"Go back, girl, come back tomorrow."

The girl nodded and obediently left.

Su Yu tidied up the house again, focusing on checking the fishing nets and harpoons, in preparation for going fishing in the Blackwater River tomorrow.

Then they went to the courtyard and continued practicing their stances.

[Proficiency +2]

[Proficiency +2]

……

[Martial Arts]: White Ape Six Transformations (Proficiency 10/1200)

Even as night fell, Su Yu looked at the latest progress in martial arts and felt a surge of joy.

"Sure enough, my White Ape Six Transformations are growing much faster. At this rate, without the aid of medicine, it's not a pipe dream to break through to the second level within three months."

"This is the power of accumulating knowledge and experience before unleashing its full potential. Once you get past the first hurdle, the road ahead becomes increasingly smooth!"

Su Yu got up early in the morning.

He had gotten used to getting up early when he was fishing, and he continued this habit when he practiced martial arts. He practiced stances in the courtyard for another half an hour.

[Proficiency +2]

[Proficiency +2]

……

"Bang! Bang!"

There was a knock on the door.

Su Yu went to open the door, and Ya'er stood at the door holding a cracked rough porcelain bowl. The bowl was filled with steaming brown rice, and a pair of bamboo chopsticks were stuck in it.

"Brother Su, time to eat."

Su Yu didn't take it immediately, but asked, "Is it the brown rice I left you last time? Do you have any more?"

"There's still plenty! Enough to eat for months!" Ya'er said loudly, her eyes sparkling.

Several months?

Su Yu knew perfectly well that the amount of rice was enough to last at most a month.

Taking the porcelain bowl, Su Yu, who was indeed hungry, quickly ate it all up.

"Alright, go back now. You don't need to work today."

"Okay, Brother Su." Ya'er took the bowl and chopsticks, hesitated for a moment, glanced at Su Yu, and then turned to leave.

Su Yu shook his head; this little girl had indeed changed quite a bit.

Last time, I only gave her half a bag of brown rice because I felt sorry for her. I never expected that she would survive like a small grass growing in a crack in a rock.

……

Blackwater River, below the cliff.

Su Yu skillfully dived into the underwater cave.

The place remained quiet and cold, with no trace of outsiders except for a few startled river shrimp.

He climbed onto the stone platform and took out the two black honeycomb stones from his body.

"This thing feels really weird. It's chilling to carry around. I'd better just leave it here."

Su Yu found a crevice in the rocks, stuffed the black stone inside, and then moved over a few pieces of gravel to compact it.

After hiding the black stone, Su Yu continued to wait on the stone platform. Before long, two large red fish swam into the water.

Without hesitation, Su Yu cast his net.

"Whoosh!"

The fishing net fell, precisely catching the red fish trying to escape.

With a sudden dive, Su Yu, now stronger, used his Fishbone Technique to quickly subdue the two red fish and drag them ashore.

"They really are two red snapper! Thirty coins a pound, these two must weigh over ten pounds together, they can sell for three hundred coins!"

Su Yu was overjoyed. These red oil fish were not commonly seen on the outskirts of the Blackwater River. The last time he saw one was when he caught it deep in the Blackwater River with the Qian family's fishing team.

"As expected, the net-casting technique that breaks the limit twice is powerful! It guarantees a catch within three attempts, and significantly increases the chance of catching rare fish within five attempts. He experimented many times and found that although this characteristic is not a rule, it can still be effective as long as he casts his net carefully."

"Take those two red snapper, for example. Without the net's casting ability, the chances of catching them would be very slim. But I've already cast the net four times and only pulled up ordinary fish, so catching them again is almost a sure thing!"

Su Yu smashed the two red oil fish to death with a bang, wrapped them in a fishing net, and left the water cave.

Although rare fish occasionally appear in this water cave, they are all very wary. Su Yu caught one today and made such a commotion, so they probably won't come back for a while.

However, it is a good place to regularly harvest rare fish, and when combined with one's own net-casting skills, it is a perfect match.

Back on the shore, Su Yu checked the catch from that morning.

Two red oil fish, five white-scaled fish, and some ordinary river fish. I was lucky today and made more than 500 coins in just one morning.

If I'm this lucky every day, I can quickly save up enough money to practice martial arts!

Instead of heading back immediately, Su Yu spent the rest of the afternoon practicing the White Ape Six Transformations and the Azure Wave Fishbone Technique.

The progress of the White Ape Six Transformations continued to increase steadily. Su Yu had not practiced the Fishbone Technique for a long time, as he was physically exhausted before, so he would occasionally practice it intermittently.

Now that I'm practicing in the water, it's much faster.

By evening, the latest progress of the Fishbone Kung Fu was already more than halfway complete.

[Martial Arts]: Azure Wave Fishbone Skill (Beginner 60/100)

"My Fishbone Technique is almost at the proficient level. When I break through, my combat power in the water will increase again, and my chances of catching rare fish or even treasure fish will be much greater!"

"Alright, time to go sell the fish!"

Su Yu carried the fish basket on his back and headed towards Qingxi Market with practiced ease.

……

Evening at Qingxi Market.

Su Yu went to Manager Liu's office at Fuxianlou to process the catch.

"Good lad, your fishing skills are truly impressive! Two red snapper, five whitebait..." Manager Liu patted his round belly, his face beaming with joy. "Here's five hundred and fifty coins for you!"

Su Yu nodded and took the string of copper coins. The price was within his expectations, fair and reasonable, and there was no need to haggle.

After bidding farewell to Steward Liu, Su Yu went to the market to do some shopping.

At the rice shop, Su Yu frowned when he saw that the price of coarse rice had risen to eight coins per catty. Although he was not starving to death, the ever-increasing grain prices indicated that the world was becoming more and more chaotic.

In the end, Su Yu hoarded fifty jin.

Afterwards, Su Yu purchased all the necessary items: oil, salt, rice vinegar, two catties of pork, and a basket of salted duck eggs…

I don't lack money for living now, and I can't eat too badly while learning martial arts, so there's no need to mistreat myself.

Just as I was about to leave after finishing my shopping, a series of screams came from the market entrance.

"Murder!"

"The Money Gang is attacking!"

"Run! A fight has broken out!"

The crowd erupted in chaos, with cries and curses filling the air.

Su Yu's gaze sharpened as he saw two groups of people clashing at the entrance of the market.

One side, with green ribbons tied around their necks, is the Water Snake Gang; the other side, dressed in yellow with copper coin patterns, is the Money Gang.

"Kill! Leave no one from the Water Serpent Gang alive!"

"Hold those bastards from the Money Gang back, Brother Cao will be there soon!"