From the fusion of Tongbei Quan to the Longevity Martial Saint

Daqian Dynasty.

The thirty salt fields in Lianghuai made the famous Huizhou merchants of the Great Qian Dynasty famous.

Jinsha Saltworks.

A large flag embroidered with the words "Fang Family of Hui Merchants" in gold fluttered in the cold wind.

Before dawn, the salt field beach was pitch black.

The next moment, a piercing gong sounded.

"The hour of Yin has arrived; it is time to gather the tide and draw in the water."

"Stove workers and salt workers, you must not be lazy; any delay in collecting the tides will be severely punished!"

At the hour of Yin, which is before 3 a.m., it is pitch black outside.

The waves were still crashing against the rocks on the shore.

In the biting winter sea breeze, the salty, fishy smell wafts from the sea from time to time.

After hurriedly striking the gong a few times, the salt worker responsible for night watch quickly retreated to his shack.

It's so cold at the beach this morning!

After the gong sounded, oil lamps lit up inside a cluster of messy thatched huts built along the beach.

The once quiet beach gradually became lively.

The man's shouts and the cries of children being driven out of bed before they were fully awake blended together.

On the beach, in a thatched hut near a corner.

Fang Qing opened her eyes and sighed helplessly.

He came from Earth and has been in this world of the Great Qian Dynasty for more than two months.

He became a low-level salt worker in the Jinsha Saltworks, a well-known local family in Lianghuai, controlled by the Fang family.

Salt workers, also known as stove workers or salt-frying workers, were the lowest-level laborers in the salt fields.

Household registration was kept at the Fang family, a prominent local family.

They were salt producers, and their status as slaves was hereditary.

Most of the salt merchants in Huizhou were families founded by ancestors who had entered the immortal gates and returned to establish their clans, which then spread and flourished.

I've heard that some of the most prominent salt merchants are descendants of local immortals.

The Huizhou salt merchants dominated the salt fields of Lianghuai, monopolized sales, possessed the greatest financial resources, and were deeply intertwined with the national policies of the entire Daqian Dynasty.

……

Fang Qing dared not delay.

They get up at dawn every day to go to work; this is their daily routine as salt workers.

Working 365 days a year, without a break, this is the life of a salt worker.

He got up and lit the tiny fish oil lamp with a tinderbox.

By the dim light of the fish oil lamp, he came to a small earthenware jar in the corner of the shack.

I opened the lid and, like counting grains of rice, grabbed a small handful of old yellow millet.

He took out a small earthenware pot covered in cracks from the corner.

This is his cooking equipment.

The Great Qian Dynasty had a monopoly on salt and iron.

According to the laws of the Great Qian Dynasty, ordinary people were not allowed to privately possess any ironware.

So, people like them, who are at the bottom of society, usually use earthenware pots for cooking.

I added some water and went to a simple stove outside the shack to cook some old yellow millet porridge.

Immediately afterwards, Fang Qing arrived at a slightly larger open space in front of the shack.

The next moment, Fang Qing stretched his body slightly, took a slow breath, and as he exhaled, his hunched back straightened inch by inch, like a hard bow bent by the years gradually stretching out.

Dewdrops dripped from the thatched eaves, just before touching his shoulder...

"Snapped!"

A crisp sound, not from a slap, but from the twitching of his shoulder muscles, shook the drop of water into a fine mist.

Fang Qing slowly raised his left arm, his muscles twisting like steel cables.

Suddenly, it sprang!

Cold and elastic!

"Slap! Slap!"

The air felt like fabric being torn apart.

Fang Qing's arms swung around, gradually turning into a gray shadow.

The crackling sounds were like a series of pearls, and beads of sweat flew out like crystal arcs.

Fang Qing's footwork was as swift and agile as an ape, yet his arm movements were like the eye of a storm:

A palm strike is like a heavy hammer blow, a swing of the arm is like breaking wood.

It is a well-known and practical fighting style on Earth:

Pi Gua Shi Xiang Tong Bei Quan (Splitting Ten Sounds Through the Arms Fist).

Before coming to the world of the Great Qian Dynasty, Fang Qing was a martial arts actor in a film crew.

He comes from a family of martial arts practitioners, and his favorite martial art since childhood is the Wind, Thunder, Cannon, Pi, Gua, Tongbei Fist.

Fang Qing's arms were like those of a monkey that was adept at flying and walking high in the forest.

Even his tattered cotton-padded jacket was wielded with great force by him.

Several holes in his arms, from the excessive movements of his Tongbei Quan (a style of Chinese martial arts).

The cotton fibers inside were flying around wildly, like snowflakes falling to the ground.

Fang Qing then performed a Tongbei Quan routine on the spot.

The next moment, a golden interface appeared in front of Fang Qing.

[A crucible of martial arts, fusing all the laws of the world...]

[Integration Progress: Earth Martial Arts: Tongbei Fist + Incomplete Great Qian Body Tempering Martial Arts: Salt Handle Body Tempering Technique...]

[The martial arts furnace fuses into: the Tongbei Divine Fist Body Tempering Method...]

[When the Tongbei Divine Fist Body Tempering Method is perfected: tendons become dragons, bones become mountains, blood becomes mercury, and skin becomes copper! Tongbei can shatter mountains, yet the flesh remains undamaged...]

[Current fusion progress of Tongbei Divine Fist Body Tempering Technique: 97%...]

……

The Salt Handler's Body Tempering Technique is a basic training method specifically designed for the low-level salt workers of the Green Gang, based on their body tempering techniques.

The main members of the Green Gang were salt workers, grain tenants, and workers at the canal docks, making it a very complex group.

In the Great Qian Dynasty, salt workers like them toiled on the beach for at least nine hours every day.

If one does not cultivate the Salt Handling Body Tempering Technique, there is simply no way to survive in this salt field.

[After practicing the complete Tongbei Quan routine once, the current integration progress is 97+1%.]

Current stamina: 1

Every time Fang Qing practices Tongbei Fist while simultaneously cultivating the Salt Handle Body Tempering Technique, it accelerates the fusion process.

Fang Qing did not stop immediately.

He wanted to take advantage of his remaining strength to practice Tongbei Quan one more time.

Until Fang Qing finished performing the Tongbei Fist for the second time.

The golden interface reappeared.

[After practicing the complete Tongbei Quan routine once, the current integration progress is 98+1%.]

Current stamina: 0

……

Fang Qing wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and immediately felt a wave of exhaustion wash over him.

Martial arts training requires a balance of tension and relaxation.

Although Fang Qing can continue to practice now, the consequence might be that it affects his foundation.

Every time your stamina reaches zero, you need to stop practicing.

By this time, the yellow millet porridge in the corner was almost cooked.

Although it's called porridge, it only has a small handful of rice in it.

For Fang Qing, who is just 15 years old, this is the time when he is growing.

This little bit of soup and broth isn't even enough to fill your stomach.

But there was nothing we could do; even the rice jar at home, which contained old yellow rice, was almost empty.

Fang Qing could only endure her hunger.

Fang Qing ladled out a bowl of yellow millet porridge that was mostly water.

After taking a bite, my mouth was filled with the musty taste of stale rice.

The next moment, a series of sparse sounds came from behind the low wall of his neighbor Uncle Yang's house next door.

Immediately afterwards, a voice as clear as a copper bell rang out.

"Brother Qing, here, have this chicken."

In the Great Qian Dynasty, chickens were also called eggs.

Fang Qing, who was squatting down and drinking porridge, looked up when she heard this.

Suddenly, he saw a man wearing an old winter coat.

A big-eyed girl with two braids tied behind her head was standing on the other side of the wall.

In her delicate hands, an egg was being held tightly and handed over to her over the low wall.

It was Yang Jiumei, the daughter of Uncle Yang, who lived next door.

Fang Qing still stood up and walked over.

Yang Jiumei tiptoed and looked at the bowl that was placed on the ground behind Fang Qing.

In the dim light coming from the shack, a pang of heartache flashed in her bright, watery eyes.

"Brother Qing, didn't my father say that you can come to our house for breakfast in the mornings from now on?"

"You have to go to work this morning, and you've only eaten this watery soup. How can you have the energy to work?"

"Here, have this chicken..."

……