My martial arts have no bottlenecks.

Chapter 1 Mayfly

The oil lamp flickered, and Ning Sanniang mended old clothes by its light. Liang Cheng lay on the bed, his forehead throbbing with pain, but his eyes shone with light.

He was not the original soul of this world. In his previous life, he struggled for half his life, went bankrupt one day, and was involved in a car accident while delivering food on a rainy night.

When he opened his eyes again, he had become a laborer boy in this seaside town, living in abject poverty.

"At least he's young and physically strong."

He was even somewhat relieved that, after merging with the memories, he knew that in this world, martial artists could shatter mountains and stop rivers, and there was a world of difference between immortals and mortals, with the lowest level being nothing more than ants, and a strict hierarchy.

"I must learn martial arts," Liang Cheng thought to himself. "Only in this way can I turn my life around."

But to practice martial arts, you first need money.

The original owner was beaten bloody for protesting the Sea Serpent Gang's additional "peace money," which led to the gang taking over his place.

Late at night.

"Son, does your head still hurt?" Ning San Niang asked softly after finishing sewing the clothes.

"It doesn't hurt, Mother, you should rest," Liang Cheng replied.

Ning San Niang blew out the lamp, lay down, and couldn't help but mutter, "Don't try to stand up for yourself again. We can't afford to mess with the Sea Serpent Gang, so don't blame the neighbors."

Liang Cheng didn't respond. He didn't blame his mother for being cowardly. What else could a widow do but endure when raising a child?

He simply closed his eyes.

Deep within my mind, a mark shaped like a mayfly floats silently.

Mayflies are born in the morning and die at dusk, yet even with a breath of life remaining, they dance towards the light.

Though small as dust, aspiring to the clouds, with unyielding self-improvement, one will surely achieve great things.

The fate of a mayfly—this is the foundation of Liang Cheng's confidence in practicing martial arts!

……

The next morning, the door was pushed open, and Da Tou, Er Gou, and San Ya poked their heads in.

"Brother Cheng, are you feeling better?" Da Tou handed over a few dried salted fish. "Don't blame my parents for saying such hurtful things yesterday."

"Thank you for your thoughtfulness." Liang Cheng sat up.

The three were taken aback. Given Liang Cheng's previous temper, he should have already called them cowards.

"Brother Cheng," Er Gou rubbed his hands, his eyes darting around, "the 'weighing fee' at the dock has gone up again. Manager Wang also said that because you were injured and missed work, half of your wages will be deducted this month."

Liang Cheng didn't react much: "I understand."

After chatting for a while, the three said their goodbyes and left.

The room quieted down, and Liang Cheng looked out at the murky sea and sky.

"You must take your own life into your own hands."

……

For the next few days, Liang Cheng behaved himself, helping his mother with chores and occasionally going out for a stroll, but never going near the dock foreman's shed.

Ning San Niang felt a little relieved: "They've learned their lesson after suffering a loss."

Only Liang Cheng himself knew what he was looking at.

He was looking at "Black Fish," the minor leader of the Sea Serpent Gang in charge of this street, a man with a burly face and a heavy drinking habit.

There are also two henchmen of the blackfish: "Shrimp" is a gambler and "Stone Mound" is a womanizer.

In the original owner's memories, Black Fish once got drunk and harassed Ning San Niang. It was only by grabbing a carrying pole and fighting desperately that the original owner managed to scare him away.

"Since that's the case, let's settle both old and new scores together."

Liang Cheng made up his mind.

He observed carefully for several days and figured out the route Blackfish took home after drinking. The 5th, 15th and 25th of each month were the days he came to collect the money, because he could not collect all the money at once.

But if you can't pay the peace money by the 25th, then you don't need to stay here anymore.

On the 25th, Blackfish arrived with his men.

"Third Sister, is the peace money for this month ready?" Black Fish blocked the entrance of the noodle shop, his eyes peeking inside.

"Alright, alright," Ning San Niang said with a smile, handing over the copper coins.

Blackfish weighed it in his hand, then glanced sideways at Liang Cheng, who was wiping the table: "Kid, is your head not hurting anymore?"

Liang Cheng lowered his head: "It doesn't hurt anymore, thank you for your concern, Master Blackfish."

"Tch, coward." Blackfish spat and swaggered away with the money bag.

In the evening, Liang Cheng went to bed early. Once his mother's breathing had stabilized, he quietly got up.

The night was as dark as ink, without stars or moon.

He changed into dark old clothes, tucked a bag of quicklime and a short stick into his pocket, and climbed out of the back window.

In a dead-end alley near the sea, Liang Cheng laid a soaked old boat cable across the road and huddled under a pile of rotten fishing nets.

After an unknown amount of time, the sound of staggering footsteps and humming grew louder as Blackfish, carrying a wine jug, turned into the alley.

"Ouch!" He tripped over the boat rope, and the wine jug shattered on the ground. "What the hell..."

Before he could finish speaking, a large cloud of lime powder was thrown at his face!

"Ah! My eyes!" Blackfish screamed like a pig being slaughtered, scratching wildly with both hands. Liang Cheng sprang out from the shadows, wielding a short stick with all his might, and slammed it hard into the back of Blackfish's head!

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

After a muffled thud, the blackfish collapsed to the ground, lifeless.

Liang Cheng was panting heavily, his stomach churning. It was his first time killing someone, and his hands were trembling slightly.

But deep within his consciousness, the mayfly mark flashed with a faint light, and a chilling sensation spread, suppressing all fear.

He quickly squatted down, took out the money bag and loose silver from Blackfish's arms, and pulled a dagger from his boot.

Then, he tied the body with a boat cable, secured it with stones, dragged it to the edge of the reef, and pushed it overboard.

"Thump."

The sound of the waves swallowed everything.

After cleaning up the traces, Liang Cheng slipped back to the noodle shop like a ghost. He stuffed his bloodstained clothes and short stick into the stove, hid the money and dagger, and then lay back down on the bed.

He kept his eyes open in the darkness.

The money bag was heavy, probably containing more than ten taels, enough for him to go to the martial arts school to learn martial arts.

"I felt perfectly justified in taking that first pot of gold."

He thought silently and closed his eyes.

The next day, the Sea Serpent Gang searched for the blackfish along the street. When they came to the door, Liang Cheng was helping his mother start a fire.

"Did you see the blackfish?"

The scarred man spoke in a very aggressive tone.

"Yesterday, Blackfish took the money and went to West Street with Shrimp Bro and the others." Liang Cheng lowered his head, his voice tinged with flattery. "I haven't seen them since."

The scarred man sized him up a few times, cursed, and walked away. For the next two days, the town was in chaos, and Blackfish seemed to have vanished into thin air.

Some said he ran away with the money, others said he fell into the sea while drunk. The neighbors gossiped about it privately, mostly with a sense of schadenfreude.

Shrimp and Stone Pier also had bad luck; they lost their peace money and were beaten and thrown out by the gang, left to fend for themselves.

Liang Cheng watched coldly, without any reaction.

After waiting for almost ten more days until the turmoil completely subsided, he took out the oilcloth bag containing broken silver and copper coins that he had hidden, which totaled fifteen taels.

He took out two taels of silver and three hundred copper coins, hid the rest again, and then went out to the barren reef beach at the east end of the town. When he came back, his trouser legs were covered in mud and he was carrying a few seashells in his hand.

That evening, he placed the small packet of silver in front of Ning San Niang.

"Mother, look."

Ning San Niang opened it and her hand trembled: "Where did this come from?"

"I went to collect seashells and found them in the cracks between the rocks," Liang Cheng said with deliberate excitement. "They must be the silver belonging to the shipwrecked passengers, washed ashore by the tide!"

Ning San Niang was still skeptical, looking at it again and again, before finally revealing a look of joy. She quickly lowered her voice and said, "Hurry and put it away, don't let anyone see it!"

"Mother," Liang Cheng pressed his mother's hand, his voice turning serious, "I want to use this money to learn martial arts at a martial arts school."

Ning San Niang's expression changed: "No, practicing martial arts is an expensive business. What can this little bit of money do? Listen to your mother, save it, and I'll find you a wife later..."

"Mother!" Liang Cheng interrupted her, pointing to the scab still clinging to his forehead. "How did this injury come about? We've been swallowing our anger, and all we've gotten in return is more ruthlessness. What if they had targeted you instead of me that day?"

Ning San Niang's eyes reddened.

"I went to the Yangwei Martial Arts School in town to inquire," Liang Cheng said, his tone softening but becoming more resolute. "The owner, Yang Wei, is a man of principle. I don't aspire to become a master; I just want to learn some real skills so that no one at the docks will dare to arbitrarily deduct my wages, and no one on this street will dare to kick down our door!"

He looked into his mother's eyes and said, "In this world, if you don't have any strength, even if you find a mountain of gold, it will be guarded by someone else. Mother, let me try. If it doesn't work out in a month, I will never mention it again and will listen to you completely."

Ning San Niang remained silent for a long time before wiping her face with her rough hands.

"Alright, Mother will do as you say."

She turned around, took out a small earthenware jar from under the bed, poured out all the more than three hundred copper coins she had saved inside, and wrapped them together with Liang Cheng's silver.

"Take all of these."

"Mother, we don't need that much..."

"Listen to me, your money is luck, but my money is a token of my affection!"