Four Seas Martial Arts Hall, second floor.
"I understand, Master," Ao Jiu muttered, looking rather unconvinced. Clearly, this was not the first time Huang Sihai had lectured him.
Huang Sihai said, "Setting aside whether you eat fish balls or not, I'm just saying—beef, mutton, venison, all those deeply nourishing meats—you've got to eat more of them, right? What the hell can you cultivate by eating eggs all day?"
Ao Jiu replied, "I place my faith in the Buddha... The Buddha does not permit me to eat meat. In ancient times, couldn't those grand monks practice martial arts just the same?"
"'Wine and meat pass through the intestines, while the Buddha remains in the heart'... Your Buddhist realm is lacking; you're far too naive." Huang Sihai sighed, wasting no further breath on him.
It was true that the eminent monks of ancient Buddhism did not eat meat.
Yet back then, resources were abundant. Deep mountain wildernesses were teeming with century-old medicinal herbs and mountain essences. Those bastards were consuming damned spirit pills and miraculous elixirs!
*A miraculous man!* That was Li Xiuwen's estimation of Ao Jiu.
Subsisting on coarse grains, eating leafy greens and eggs every single day, and still managing to reach the peak of the second gate—this was a true genius.
To ease the awkward tension, Li Xiuwen casually struck up a conversation with Chen Jia beside him. "I heard from Cheng Kuiqiang that Brother Chen practices hard qigong? You also work under Lion-Head Buddha?"
Chen Jia chuckled. "What is it, interested in hard qigong? I can ask Sister Fo if they're recruiting."
Li Xiuwen offered a wry smile. "My talent is mediocre. Sister Fo surely wouldn't take a fancy to me. Forget it."
Chen Jia laughed. "Four months to reach Black Membrane—even if you took pills, that's not bad... Back then, I took several months longer than you, though I didn't rely on drugs."
The remaining two disciples on the second floor were both women.
One had dyed purple hair, while the other wore her hair in a coiled bun.
One was busty and petite, standing around a meter sixty.
The other had a modest chest but was tall, at least a meter eighty, her training uniform unable to conceal a pair of extraordinarily long legs.
Their faces were fair as white jade, seemingly dusted with makeup. They carried an exceptional elegance, their entire style starkly out of place with the Walled City.
"Greetings, Senior Sister Long, Senior Sister Lu!" Li Xiuwen said respectfully, offering a hand.
The tall young woman extended her hand and said with a beaming smile, "No need to be polite. With a newcomer here, the second floor feels much livelier... Wouldn't you say, Long'er?"
The shorter girl beside her said indifferently, "Indeed."
As for the hand Li Xiuwen extended, she acted as though she hadn't seen it, simply linking her arm through Senior Sister Lu's. "Senior Sister, I heard some experts are fighting in the great ring today. Want to go place a bet?"
Senior Sister Lu smiled. "Sure... Master, may Long'er and I take our leave first?"
Huang Sihai waved a hand. "Go on."
With that, Li Xiuwen had at least established a passing familiarity with the senior brothers and sisters he would be spending his days with.
Once the two women had headed downstairs, Chen Jia muttered under his breath, "What are they so full of themselves for? Just because they live outside the City?"
Li Xiuwen smiled and said nothing.
In his past life, he had done plenty of socializing in society and encountered all sorts of people. He could clearly sense the aloofness buried deep in those two senior sisters' bones.
Birds of a feather flock together; people group by their kind.
The two women were not targeting him personally—they were looking down on a certain class of people.
Huang Sihai said, "Ah Wen, the rules on the second floor are stricter. Find some time to read through them yourself so you don't break any regulations and accuse me of being heartless."
Li Xiuwen nodded. "Don't worry, Master. I never look for trouble."
Huang Sihai gave a slight nod. "As for the benefits of the second floor, there are quite a few.
"During your cultivation on the second floor, your monthly fee is waived, and lodging is free as well. You can lay out a pallet on the second floor whenever you like.
"As for your food fee, the martial arts hall will cover up to two hundred yuan per month.
"Anything over two hundred, you pay out of your own pocket.
"Don't think I'm being stingy. I run a large establishment with plenty of expenses, and I can't afford to feed so many gluttons.
"Once you reach perfection in Sea Sand Stake, you may come to me to learn the subsequent advanced training methods for free, as well as the fighting techniques, though each is limited to one style.
"Movement techniques and certain special secret methods require payment to learn, but with what you can earn, they won't be expensive.
"In addition, second-floor disciples can receive one 'refined fish ball' for free every month—the same kind Tianhong Zai gave you.
"What first-floor disciples can obtain are 'crude fish balls.'
"A refined fish ball costs two thousand yuan apiece. That is the discounted price for second-floor disciples; the standard price is three thousand.
"Meat pies don't fall from the sky, and these perks don't come without a price. You'll need to do work for me. As for what specifically, just wait for my arrangements.
"The rest... I can't recall off the top of my head for now. If you have questions, just ask these senior disciples."
Li Xiuwen did the mental math. Entering the second floor saved him thirty to forty thousand yuan a year across just four categories: the monthly fee, lodging, food expenses, and the free refined fish ball.
Those at the bottom of the Walled City could never save up that much in an entire lifetime.
And those were merely the tangible benefits. Access to higher martial arts, as well as the purchasing privileges and discounts for refined fish balls, were intangible perks that money couldn't buy.
Though he would have to run errands for Old Huang, compared to the benefits, it wasn't worth fretting over.
No wonder that when someone had previously offered thirty thousand yuan as an apprenticeship gift, Old Huang had still refused to accept him as a formal disciple.
Just as Huang Sihai finished speaking, something else crossed his mind, and he added:
"Right, as a second-floor disciple, if anyone outside tries to bully you using superior standing, you can try dropping my name.
"Provided you're in the right, that is. If you're in the wrong, I won't coddle you. Let them teach you whatever lesson you deserve so you learn how treacherous the jianghu can be.
"Generally speaking, in the Walled City, among those Changle gang branches here in the eastern district, those who dare provoke me, Huang Sihai, out in the open... exist, but not many."
Huang Sihai spoke casually, yet an uncommon aura of domineering pride radiated from him.
It made Li Xiuwen realize that his money-loving master was actually a formidable figure in the Walled City as well.
Before descending the stairs, Huang Sihai paused once more and added at an unhurried pace, "One more thing...
"Being a second-floor disciple isn't a permanent guarantee. There is an assessment every three months. Fail it, and down you go.
"Furthermore, these refined fish balls can't be bought indefinitely just because you have the cash. Aside from the fixed monthly distribution of one pill, you can purchase a maximum of twelve additional pills each year.
"First, the supply of refined fish balls is limited. Second, I have no desire to cultivate an apothecary jar—someone with high cultivation realms but zero actual fighting prowess. Do you understand?"
Old Huang was satisfied with Li Xiuwen in many regards, but he took some issue with his habit of popping pills.
Yet knowing Li Xiuwen's plight, he refrained from saying more.
Li Xiuwen nodded. "This disciple understands."
Huang Sihai headed downstairs, leaving only Ao Jiu, Chen Jia, and Li Xiuwen on the second floor.
Ao Jiu remarked impassively, "Newcomer, I advise you to gorge on fewer fish balls. Why do you think Master set a purchasing cap? The medicinal toxins in fish balls aren't just the ordinary thirty percent. Over the years, how many people in the City who tried to take shortcuts ended up suffering qi deviation? Their fates... were truly wretched." Having spoken his piece, Ao Jiu turned and walked away, retreating to a corner to cultivate in bitter solitude on his own.
Chen Jia laughed. "He's a bit stubborn, but it's true that eating too many fish balls isn't good for you."
Li Xiuwen nodded. "Thank you for letting me know, Brother Chen."
For now, Chen Jia was the only one on the second floor who seemed like a normal person. He needed to build a good relationship with him first to establish a firm foothold.
Chen Jia chuckled. "That broad Lu Yu is the pampered young lady from the 'Peerless God of Cookery' restaurant outside the Walled City, and Long'er is her cousin and follower.
"You've probably noticed already that the two of them look down on people from the City from the bottom of their hearts. Don't interact with them too much, or you'll only end up getting snubbed."
Li Xiuwen smiled. "If they look down on the Walled City, why didn't they take a master at a martial arts hall outside? What did they come here for?"
Chen Jia sneered. "Why else? They want to vie for a spot in next year's Crossing the River tournament. Mr. Ming has a rule: only martial arts halls in the Walled City have the qualification to recommend candidates to participate in the crossing-river tournament."
Chapter 52