Proving God begins with the principle that no effort is wasted.

Chapter 12 Flaw

In the days that followed, Jiang Lan left the martial arts school and worked as a bodyguard at a grain shop by the dock.

For the first few days, Ma Sandao came to the dock every day.

He slung his armchair at the entrance of the warehouse, smashed a rough porcelain teacup with a deafening crash, and his cursing voice could be heard across half the river. He walked with a swagger, looking like a thorny demon.

Jiang Lan's gaze never fell on his boisterous demeanor; it was fixed firmly on his right hand.

That hand would always, when no one was looking, quickly press on the left rib. It was as if the pain was so intense that the person wanted to cover it but was afraid of revealing their weakness, so they could only touch it quickly and then immediately withdraw it.

Jiang Lan memorized this action. He guessed that Ma Sandao was injured, and seriously so.

On the seventh day, Ma Sandao did not come.

It didn't come on the eighth day.

On the ninth day, he finally appeared, but left in a hurry after only half an hour. His face was as white as paper, his lips were bloodless, and his left leg was already dragging slightly when he walked.

On the tenth day, the henchmen on the dock began to whisper among themselves.

As Jiang Lan passed by, snippets of conversation drifted into his ears on the wind—"Master Ma's health is probably not good lately," "Those gangsters are here to cause trouble again," "I heard that Master Ma suffered a loss in the last fight."

Those words were like nails, hammered into his mind one by one.

Injuries, internal strife, external threats... Ma Sandao's weaknesses are gradually being revealed to him.

After two weeks, he figured out a pattern: Ma Sandao came less and less often, his complexion got worse every day, and every time he stepped onto the dock, the first thing he did was to look downstream in the direction where the canal gang was based.

At the martial arts school, Jiang Lan finished practicing her punches for the day and, wiping away her sweat, went to find Sun Gengsan.

"Third Senior Brother, you said before that Ma Sandao also came from our martial arts school?"

He casually handed over a clean towel, pretending to be chatting with someone.

Sun Gengsan paused in wiping his sweat, then looked up at him: "Why are you asking about him? He's no good, don't get involved."

"It's nothing. I just bumped into him a few days ago when I was handing in the fishing nets. He heard that I was from the martial arts school and told me to call him senior brother."

Jiang Lan smiled, her tone so casual that it seemed she was just asking offhand.

Sun Gengsan frowned, draped the towel over his shoulder, leaned against a pillar and lowered his voice: "Don't get too close to him, and definitely don't acknowledge this senior brother."

He glanced around to make sure no one was paying attention before recounting the past:

"Ma Sandao joined the martial arts school several years before me. Back then, the school didn't have such strict rules as it does now. He opened two acupoints after two years of training. His talent wasn't bad, but he was wicked and ruthless."

"What kind of illegality is it?" Jiang Lan asked, following up on the conversation.

"He was fighting over territory with someone outside, and he didn't know his own strength, so he broke both of the person's legs. The other party reported it to the authorities, and the martial arts school was afraid of getting into legal trouble and ruining its reputation, so they expelled him from the school."

Sun Gengsan sighed, "Later he joined the Black Tiger Gang and climbed his way up to become the second-in-command of the docks."

He paused, then added, his tone carrying a warning: "Things at the docks haven't been peaceful lately. The canal gangs from the prefectural city are trying to steal the waterborne business, and they've been fighting the Black Tiger Gang for almost half a year. They've already clashed several times, and people have died. I heard that last time, it was Ma Sandao who led the men, and he lost several brothers, and he himself was injured."

Jiang Lan's heart skipped a beat: "The Grand Canal Gang?"

"Yes, they specialize in water transport. They have a lot of manpower and a solid foundation. They're not to be trifled with." Sun Geng patted his shoulder, his tone solemn. "These murky waters of the underworld have nothing to do with us. You should focus on practicing your martial arts. Mastering your skills is more important than anything else. Don't get involved."

Jiang Lan nodded: "Understood, Third Senior Brother. Thank you for reminding me."

He turned and walked back to the training ground, practicing the Mountain-Crushing Force with every punch and stance, while meticulously piecing together all the scattered information in his mind.

Ma Sandao, a former disciple expelled from the martial arts school, is now the dock leader of the Black Tiger Gang. He is facing increasing pressure from the outside world and is seriously injured internally. It is still unknown whether the Black Tiger Gang will abandon him as a pawn.

This is Jiang Lan's opportunity, but it is not.

Even if Ma Sandao only had half a life left, with his cultivation at only one acupoint open, he wouldn't be able to withstand three strikes from the opponent.

Moreover, even if he kills Ma Sandao, the Black Tiger Gang will send a second and a third. As long as Jiang Lan is still making a living in Yucheng, and as long as he doesn't have the ability to overthrow the power pressing down on him, taking revenge will only lead him to his death.

We can only wait.

He'll wait until his fists are strong enough to withstand the storms of this world; until the chaos at the docks is so bad that he can fish in troubled waters.

Jiang Lan punched the wooden dummy again and again, the force of his punches powerful.

……

After closing time at the rice shop that night, Jiang Lan returned to the muddy ground in front of her house and practiced horse stance.

The river breeze, carrying moisture, brushed against my face, while the moonlight spilled onto the river's surface, shattering into a dazzling expanse of silver light.

Jiang Lan closed her eyes, concentrating intently on guiding the flow of qi and blood within her body.

He has been practicing this "Crushing Mountain Stance" for four whole months.

From initially trembling and sweating profusely after standing for fifty breaths, to now being able to steadily endure for three hundred breaths, the progress bar of my standing meditation has been stuck at the bottleneck of 299 for three whole days.

For the past three days, Jiang Lan practiced standing meditation every day after finishing her work. Each time, she stood until her legs were numb and her blood was surging, but she was always just a step short of the final push...

Coach Liu once said that stance training is the foundation of a martial artist; the deeper the foundation, the farther one can go in the future.

What he wanted was not just to solidify his skills, but to use them to build a protective shield for himself.

With feet firmly planted on the ground, knees slightly bent, and back straight as a javelin.

A tingling sensation shot from his heels all the way to his head, as if needles were pricking his bones, but Jiang Lan remained completely still.

After holding on for countless breaths, when I once again focused my breath into my dantian, my body suddenly relaxed.

It's like a blockage in a meridian being suddenly cleared away.

A warm current burst forth from the dantian, flowing through the meridians to the limbs and bones. The previously sluggish qi and blood instantly became smooth and steady, and the whole body felt much more relaxed.

Heaven rewards diligence; no effort is ever wasted.

【Crushing Mountain Stance Exercise (Minor Success): 0/500】

Jiang Lan suddenly opened her eyes, gasping for breath.

In the past, I would have been exhausted and weak by this time, but now, although I still feel sore and swollen, I feel a lingering strength, as if I could stand for another hour.

This is what it feels like to have truly mastered the basics of stance training.

He clenched his fist and felt that his blood and energy were more concentrated, thicker, and more stable than usual.

His foundation has become even more solid.

Instructor Liu is right. There is no end to stance training. Today's completion is just the starting point for a higher level.

He took a deep breath, closed his eyes again, and firmly planted his feet in a horse stance.

The river breeze remained unchanged, the moonlight was like a ribbon, and the young man stood upright, like a pine tree by the river.