Upstairs

The match between Liu Chun and Li Xiuwen came to an end. A brief silence fell over the training ground. Stunned gazes hung frozen in the air. "One strike? Just one strike?!" Ah Zhen rubbed her eyes, making sure she wasn't seeing things. "H-How is that possible?" Cheng Kuiqiang was utterly bewildered too. "Didn't Brother Wen need over a dozen exchanges when he fought those Purple Membrane disciples just now?" Old Chen seemed to grasp the truth. Stroking his beard, he chuckled. "Quite simple. Ah Wen feigned weakness to make Liu Chun lower his guard, then struck for a decisive finish in the ring." Liu Chun stood frozen at the edge of the stage, dazed for a long time. Feeling the weight of all those gazes, the boy's face flushed bright red. *He has reached the Black Membrane stage too. In fact, he reached it long ago—he just kept it hidden from everyone.* *That aura... his blood-and-breath energy is actually above mine... I don't understand. Even if he took a fish ball every week, he shouldn't have been able to catch up with me.* Liu Chun replayed the clash in his mind again and again. A single exchange had decided the outcome. That meant Li Xiuwen's strength, like Gaojiao Qi's back then, was an absolute, overwhelming suppression. Li Xiuwen hadn't won by luck, nor had Liu Chun underperformed. Huang Sihai stood up and looked toward Li Xiuwen, his expression unreadable. "Do any of you think there is still a need to continue the contest?" he asked. Everyone shook their heads. What was left to compete for? Liu Chun, who was strong enough to sweep through everyone else, had been completely swept aside by Ah Wen. Even if everyone on the first floor banded together, they wouldn't be enough for Ah Wen to warm up on. Huang Sihai smiled. "Then I announce that the champion of this year's tournament is Li Xiuwen!" Cheers erupted from the crowd as they swarmed around Li Xiuwen. Xiao Tianhong chuckled. "Master, you found such a fine seed and kept him hidden from me for so long. I truly thought our martial arts hall had no worthy successors left." Without blinking an eye or blushing in the slightest, Huang Sihai replied with a grin, "I only did it to protect the seed and avoid drawing unwanted attention. I told you all long ago that Ah Wen's inward bone structure and comprehension are exceptional. "Now do you understand my good intentions? Outward bone structure doesn't matter in the least! I have never dismissed anyone's sweat and hard work based on so-called bone structure!" The corners of Xiao Tianhong's mouth curled slightly, and he said with an indifferent smile, "The older, the wiser. Your discernment has my utmost respect, Master... Since matters here are settled, I shall take my leave." Before departing, Xiao Tianhong walked over to Li Xiuwen, who was surrounded like a star among constellations, and smiled. "Junior Brother, you aren't old at all!" "Thank you, Eldest Senior Brother!" Li Xiuwen had always held a good impression of Xiao Tianhong. Though both were geniuses, Xiao Tianhong conducted himself far better than that blond kid. Huang Sihai said, "Today's tournament is our martial arts hall's internal affair. No one is permitted to boast about it outside. Understood?" The crowd nodded in unison. Everyone knew Huang Sihai kept a low profile and disliked disciples showing off in public. This was also meant to protect them from being targeted by enemies who might learn their trump cards and techniques. Li Xiuwen was more than happy with this. His temperament was much like Old Huang's—he had no desire for the spotlight and only wanted to quietly make a fortune. If not to display his potential and secure resources early on to strengthen himself, he wouldn't have bothered participating in these contests or the previous challenge match. "Ah Wen, come with me up to the second floor." Huang Sihai gestured from the foot of the stairs leading up. Li Xiuwen took a deep breath and followed. "Ah Wen, come down and visit us when you're free! Don't forget about us!" Ah Zhen pouted. "That's right, Brother Wen," Cheng Kuiqiang laughed. Liu Chun had remained silent in the corner. After a moment's thought, he put on a show of magnanimity and offered a smile. "Congratulations." Li Xiuwen looked back and couldn't help but chuckle. "We run into each other every day around here. You're acting like this is a life-or-death parting." ... On the second-floor training ground, only four people were present—two men and two women. There were more than four second-floor disciples in total, but most were already half-graduated, holding key positions in their gangs, and rarely visited the martial arts hall. The four ceased their training and spoke in unison, "Greetings, Master!" Huang Sihai waved a hand and said, "Ah Wen, these four are your senior brothers and sisters of the second gate. Greet them." Li Xiuwen bowed at once and smiled. "I have just arrived. Please take care of me, Senior Brothers and Sisters." Each of the four possessed well-proportioned, lean physiques, broad foreheads, and square jaws—clearly seasoned masters among trained fighters. "To defeat Liu Chun means you have some skill... A pity you stuffed yourself with fish balls to get here." One of the men, a burly figure with a full beard leaning against the wall, looked at him with regret in his eyes. "My talent is lacking, so there was no other way," Li Xiuwen replied with a smile. He didn't feel insulted; it was simply the truth, and he didn't care about others' opinions. Even if he did care, what could he do? He couldn't beat this bearded man anyway. The bearded man was Ao Jiu, a veteran on the second floor. During the previous challenge match, Ao Jiu had subdued the Big Guy from Night Heron Martial Arts Hall with his bare palms, leaving a deep impression on Li Xiuwen. In terms of seniority, Ao Jiu was even older than Xiao Tianhong. Moreover, he had a nickname in the hall: "Doesn't Eat Fish." Ao Jiu was stubborn to a fault and looked down immensely on those who relied on fish balls for rapid advancement. In his eyes, martial cultivation could only be achieved through bitter training; relying on external aids was nothing more than an unorthodox sideline path. Ao Jiu said solemnly, "A lack of talent is no excuse. I am only of middling aptitude myself, yet I dare say that whatever achievements I have today are entirely owed to my own effort and sweat!" Li Xiuwen smiled and offered no reply. He then looked toward a stocky, bare-chested man whose body gleamed with a faint golden sheen. "Senior Brother Chen, this junior greets you." The man chuckled. "Chen Jia! Just call me Brother Chen." Chen Jia clapped Li Xiuwen on the shoulder and sighed. "Don't take it to heart, kid. That's just how Ao Jiu is. He isn't singling you out—he targets all of us equally." Ao Jiu let out a soft sigh and murmured, "I'm not targeting anyone. I simply know that power obtained without bitter personal cultivation is nothing more than an illusion, a path to ruining one's own future." Chen Jia shrugged and countered, "Brother Ao Jiu, Master Huang took them too. Does that make him an unorthodox practitioner as well?" "Yes." Ao Jiu glanced at the expressionless Master Huang beside them and said with utmost earnestness, "I stand by my view. Master, please forgive my bluntness!" Huang Sihai felt a throbbing headache. His hall was truly full of exceptional talents—some couldn't wait to stuff themselves with medicine every single day, while others treated it like a ferocious beast. Damn it all, not a single one was normal. After a moment's thought, Huang Sihai spoke up. "Ao Jiu, with your aptitude and comprehension, had you used a bit of secret medicine to assist you, you would have broken through the Three Gates long ago. Why stubbornly obstruct your own progress day after day? "All medicines carry three parts poison—that is true. "Yet human capacity has its limits—that is also true. "If you don't eat, how can you build muscle? "If you don't drink water, how can you purge toxins? "Fish balls are merely higher-grade food that happens to carry a touch of poison. "Didn't those foreign scientists talk about things like the 'law of conservation of energy'? Cultivating martial arts is the exact same principle. "The Skin and Membrane Gate is manageable enough. If you eat plenty of ordinary grains, meats, and fish, you can still train, and your energy can keep pace. "Once you reach the Flood Dragon Muscle Gate, refusing fish balls entirely and relying purely on bitter training is nothing more than a waste of time unless you possess extraordinary innate physique. "It isn't that you can't eat them; you must eat them sparingly and with discretion... Rare beasts and extraordinary fish were born into this world to be consumed by mankind in the first place."