Suijun starts with the principle of rewarding diligence.

After escorting Zhong Ling back to his residence, Bu Qu went straight back to Tangjing Room.

Zhang Cuihua had already prepared the fish cakes and had been waiting for a long time.

Buqu had no intention of lingering and headed straight for Blackwater Lake with the fish cakes.

Zhong Ling returned to the Zhong residence and poured out her grievances to Zhong Su.

Zhong Su was furious.

The Zhong family is the most prominent family in Heishui County. How dare someone send an assassin to kill his granddaughter? This matter cannot be easily dismissed.

Zhong Su arrived at the scene of the crime with his men in a menacing manner.

The bodies of the two assassins had already been taken away by the government officials.

Although their faces were completely blackened by the electric shock, it was still possible to recognize that these two were retainers of the Xia family.

Zhong Su then led his men straight to the Xia residence.

Xia Baishi claimed he was unaware of the situation and pushed the elderly man at the stall forward to take the blame.

The old man was forced to become a scapegoat, admitting that the two assassins were acting on his orders, and then committed suicide to atone for his sins.

Xia Baishi apologized profusely before Zhong Ling's anger subsided.

Zhong Yun then spoke up for Xia Baishi, and Zhong Su finally managed to let the matter drop.

After the Zhong family members dispersed, Xia Zhuxin inquired about the situation, but Xia Baishi dared not speak rashly and only said that he did not know.

Xia Zhuxin had no choice but to give up, shaking her head and sighing, "I'll have to have a good talk with Bu Qu later, hoping he won't resent the Xia family because of this."

......

The covered boat glided along the waves, speeding towards the deeper waters.

Now that Buqu has reached the third level of spiritual power, there is no need for him to save any more energy.

With the water pressure reaching level three, the boat speed also increased significantly.

What used to be a day's journey by water now takes only two hours.

Bu Qu glanced at the panel:

[Progress: 701/900]

"One more day and I'll be at level four. I'll catch a red-scaled sturgeon later, just in case."

After winter sets in, Blackwater Lake experiences frequent overcast and rainy weather.

This is good news for Buqu.

More rainy days mean more red-scaled sturgeon and calming perch.

Red-scaled sturgeon can aid in cultivation, while Concentration perch can quickly replenish physical strength and energy.

If all goes well, he will be able to cultivate his spiritual power to perfection in just over a month.

In this way, they will be able to participate in this year's Lungmen general election.

It was still early, with an hour or so before nightfall.

Bu Qu heated up the fish cakes Zhang Cuihua had made, thinking to himself, "The art of water control currently only has three dimensions: range, water pressure, and precision. If only there were a temperature-related dimension! That way, I wouldn't even need to start a fire; I could just use my spiritual power to create some boiling water and heat the fish cakes."

A short while later, as he ate his fish cakes, he pondered: 'Who were those two assassins? If we were outside the city, that fishmonger surnamed Xu would hate me to the core. But inside the city, I don't think I've offended anyone.'

Bu Qu nodded, thinking to himself:

"They shouldn't be after me. Those two assassins were probably targeting Zhong Ling. The old man at the stall is from the Xia family, so it doesn't make sense that the Xia family would take action against Zhong Ling because of this."

It's just a tael of gold; offending the Zhong family isn't worth it.

Could it be that Zhong Yun is biased towards outsiders?

But Zhong Ling is his sister!

After finishing one fish cake, he picked up another and chewed it in his mouth: "Speaking of which, when Grandpa Zhong was waiting for the water ripple fish to cure his illness in Pingtang Bay, Zhong Ling accompanied him. But Zhong Yun was nowhere to be seen."

Based on this, Buqu deduced that Zhong Su had a close relationship with Zhong Ling, but a less close relationship with Zhong Yun.

In the marketplace, Zhong Yun not only didn't speak up for Zhong Ling, but instead spoke up for the Xia family. Bu Qu had reason to suspect that he had something going on with the Xia family.

If Zhong Yun and the Xia family were in cahoots, then this matter would have a story to tell.

"Of course, Zhong Yun may not necessarily have any connection with the Xia family; it's also possible that it's simply a matter of sibling discord."

Bu Qu shook his head, deciding not to delve any further.

Ultimately, this is a family matter of the Zhong family.

Although Mr. Zhong is a person I can get along with, he is at most just an ordinary business partner.

I don't need to worry about his family affairs.

At most, if he needs my help, I'll do what I can and lend a hand.

Given the current situation, it's best to focus on your cultivation and avoid meddling in other people's business.

Even if I need to step in to help in the future, being more capable means I can do more things.

.....

Before we knew it, the end of the month was approaching.

The third spirit test at the dojo is scheduled for tomorrow.

He had already stood me up twice, but I didn't really care.

He Qing only said that he would be there for the last time, and it didn't matter whether he went for the previous five times.

Bu Qu glanced at the panel:

[Spiritual Power: Level Six]

[Progress: 18/900]

[To be digested: 981]

"Once I digest this Crimson Scaled Sturgeon, I'll be a seventh-level spiritual power expert. There's still over a month until the Dragon Gate Selection; reaching the pinnacle of spiritual power before then should be a piece of cake."

A red sturgeon was hanging at the stern of the awning boat.

He planned to take it back to Zhong Ling.

Judging by the time, she should be stuck at level six now.

Without the Red-scaled Sturgeon, there would be no way to continue breaking through.

Bu Qu glanced at the water control technique again.

The progress of the three water control abilities is currently around level four and a half.

Since cultivating spiritual power, the water control technique has become much less taxing on the body.

He can use water control techniques for extended periods and maintain full capacity. Naturally, the speed of liver function increases rapidly.

The progress for each level remains at 500. As long as he can maintain full load, the leveling speed is quite stable.

It takes a little over ten days to advance one rank.

Of course, as the skill of water control improves, the consumption will also increase dramatically.

However, as long as the speed of spiritual power improvement can keep up, the speed of advancement of the Water Control Technique will not be affected.

There will be no bottlenecks before then.

"Once I raise my water control technique to level ten or higher, I will be able to completely envelop this two-zhang-long awning boat in water. In that case, I will be able to control the awning boat to go into the water."

Buqu felt that his idea about "submarines" had a chance of being realized.

However, my idea of ​​creating water tentacles has not yet been realized.

Although he can now control four streams of water, and the range of water he controls is as long as four feet, he can only achieve a "resemblance".

It's still a long way from being a real water tentacle.

The reason is that tentacles like those of an octopus require a very resilient water film.

Buqu can now control the flow of water and the intensity of water pressure, but it cannot add a layer of resilient water film to the controlled water flow. Therefore, it cannot use water tentacles to help control or move things in the water.

"Perhaps once I reach the Righteous Path Sect, there will be a way to achieve this. After all, I haven't truly cultivated water-related techniques yet. My current water control skills can only be considered my innate abilities."

Buqu lay on the stern of the boat and stretched.

Today is a rare sunny day since the beginning of winter, with not a cloud in the sky.

"Looks like we won't be catching the Red-Scaled Sturgeon today. I might as well head back to the county town, replenish our supplies, and deliver the Red-Scaled Sturgeon to Zhong Ling while I'm at it. I'll also stop by the dojo to ask Senior Brother He about the Dragon Gate Selection."

After considering the situation, Bu Qu felt there were no major problems, so he controlled the water and carried the awning boat towards Heishui County.

Now that his body is full of spiritual energy, he is too lazy to row.