The Fourth Hero Candidate

Four Seas Martial Arts Hall, the study. Coming back to himself, Huang Sihai snapped, "You brat, are you out of your mind? A three-in-ten chance of success, and you still dared to gamble on it? This isn't gambling with money—this is gambling away your whole future in the martial way! You won your gamble this time, but what about next time? Do you think you'll always have this kind of luck? "I'm telling you, with inferior aptitude, when you attempt the Three Gates, your chance of success is only one in ten. Can you still afford to gamble like that? You know gamblers never come to a good end." Li Xiuwen said solemnly, "Your teaching is engraved on my heart. Before I attempt the Three Gates in the future, this disciple will surely make thorough preparations." Huang Sihai said helplessly, "In one ear and out the other—suit yourself... Still, you succeeded in the gate-crossing challenge. Even if it was luck, it was what fate had in store for you." Huang Sihai was truly angry, but he was also secretly delighted. In all the years he'd run the martial hall, the second-gate disciples he'd produced numbered only a dozen or so. Some years were good, and he'd get two or three in a year; other years, not a single one. After all, everyone knew his recruiting standards were low and the quality uneven, so someone with the makings of a superior like Gaojiao Qi rarely came to Four Seas Martial Arts Hall. And among those dozen-odd disciples, only three had possessed inferior aptitude and still succeeded in the gate-crossing challenge. "Master, you did keep this matter quite confidential for me," Li Xiuwen said. "I know—after all, you gorged on fish balls to climb this high, so you care about face too," Huang Sihai said flatly. Even if Li Xiuwen hadn't said anything, he would have kept it secret anyway. It concerned a disciple's privacy in martial cultivation; without the disciple's consent, he would not leak it to outsiders. After a pause, Huang Sihai said, "Now that you've taken the risk and crossed the Second Gate, it seems you're dead set on taking part in next year's Crossing River Meet?" Li Xiuwen nodded. "Yes. I want to try—to see whether, in eight months... I can turn from snake to dragon." Huang Sihai shook his head and sighed. "The ancients said that for a snake to become a dragon, it must survive a tribulation... Of the martial way's three major gates and nine stages, Dragon Muscle is the most special. "Why? "Because the transformation from Python Muscle to Dragon Muscle far surpasses any advancement through the earlier minor stages. So this Dragon Muscle is not a major gate, yet it's harder than one—it can't be reached simply by accumulating qi and blood and gorging on fish balls. "For those with the makings of a superior, it's fine—they can basically enter Dragon Muscle steadily. For you, it's only a three-in-ten chance. So if you still have this kind of luck, and then consume fish ball secret medicines without a care for the consequences, then in eight months, there is indeed hope of turning from snake to dragon. But do you think that's possible?" Li Xiuwen said with fervor, "Whether it works out is up to heaven. I believe in myself, and I believe the heavens won't let me down!" Huang Sihai was taken aback, not expecting the youth to be so optimistic, as if no hardship could ever strike him down. Even his aged heart stirred a little. Perhaps in Li Xiuwen, he saw his own younger self. Huang Sihai's innate physique... had been no good either—only average aptitude. Yet step by step, he had reached the Tiger Elephant realm, surpassing many who possessed the makings of a superior. But he knew his success could not be replicated; he had fortune on his side. After some thought, Huang Sihai said, "If you insist on taking part in next year's Crossing River Meet, I'll point you to a path—go join a gang. Gang members can exchange for [Flood Dragon Great Medicine] at Changle Tower in the main headquarters. Perform well, and those bosses might even reward you... Flood Dragon Great Medicine isn't refined from flesh—it's refined from rare herbs, so it carries very little of the Three Poisons." "Flood Dragon Great Medicine?" Li Xiuwen was astonished. To be honored with the name "great medicine," it was clearly not something refined fish balls could compare to. "A single pill can save an ordinary person months, or even a year or more, of bitter cultivation. With your aptitude, if you can eat three or five of them this year... there's hope of entering Dragon Muscle." "How much does one pill cost?" Li Xiuwen asked. "Keep dreaming—money can't buy it. A great medicine like this, every single pill is beyond measuring by price; it can only be exchanged through contribution points within the gang." "Thank you, Master." The two fell silent again for a while. Huang Sihai asked, "In two months, I plan to take you all to Night Heron Martial Arts Hall for a low-key challenge visit, to reclaim our lost face. What are your thoughts?" Li Xiuwen thought it over and said, "All right." Huang Sihai had found him a house and settled Aunt and the others—this debt of gratitude had to be repaid. "Of course, I won't have you work for nothing. If we win, ten refined fish balls—and whatever extra fighting techniques or secret arts you'd like to learn, I can teach you as well." Huang Sihai was also looking for an excuse to give Li Xiuwen a hand. He knew the boy had good comprehension; as long as his qi and blood cultivation kept up, he wasn't bad in a fight. Besides, Ah Wen had gorged on so many fish balls, yet hadn't been disturbed by greed, anger, and delusion, and his qi and blood weren't too unstable. That showed his martial will was solid—able to subdue the foreign qi and blood. Li Xiuwen thought it over. He now lacked neither movement techniques nor hard qigong, and the advanced fighting techniques were free to learn, so he said, "Master, do you have a breath-concealment method?" Huang Sihai gave a light laugh. "A breath-concealment method? Do you even need to study that separately? The advanced training method of the Sea Sand Stake can already do it." Li Xiuwen was overjoyed. "Then I'll decide when the time comes. Right now I don't even know what other methods I need, and whether we can win is still anyone's guess." Huang Sihai thought to himself: this boy is just like me. Back in his day, once he'd gained some real strength, he'd never flaunted it, still kept a low profile, and did everything he could to avoid being noticed. Time had proven him right—many old friends who had once been dazzlingly famous were now nothing but dust. He had carved out a steady place for himself in the Walled City, safe and content. Huang Sihai waved a hand, signaling that Li Xiuwen could go, and said, "Today, first steady your realm. Tomorrow, come to me to learn the advanced training method." "All right." Li Xiuwen gently closed the door and went up to the second floor. ... Ring, ring— The phone on Huang Sihai's desk rang, and Xiao Tianhong's voice came through from the other end. "Master, you're going to Night Heron Martial Arts Hall next month for a challenge visit?" "That's right." "Need my help? I can find you a few young second-gate disciples and send them over to the hall—just say they're from our hall!" "No need. It's not as if our hall has no one... Tianhong Zai, I have a feeling this candidate for the Fourth Hero might just surprise you all." "Who is it, Master? Liu Chun is out of the running—Ah Wen beat the spirit right out of him... Among the people on the second floor, only Ao Jiu is somewhat reliable, but he's too bull-headed. Lu Yu is decent too, but that woman is far too scheming, forming cliques on the second floor, trying to pull people over to the Lu family—I don't like it... Apart from them, who else has what it takes to become the Fourth Hero?" After a pause, on the other end of the line, Xiao Tianhong asked in some astonishment, "Could it actually be Ah Wen?" "Keep it a secret for now. I'll observe for a while first, heh, heh..." Huang Sihai hung up with a laugh. ... That night, Chun'an Hall—a Chinese medicine shop of some small renown in the Walled City. Li Xiuwen handed a list to a white-browed old man with a drooping mustache. "Boss, do you have these herbs?" This was the medicinal paste formula he used to cultivate the second layer of the Armor-Binding Art, with some adjustments made so that people with ill intent wouldn't discover it. The old man set aside the copy of Dragon Tiger Leopard he had just bought. He put on his reading glasses and muttered, "Some I have, some I'll have to check at the Chun'an Hall main store in the Central District... These aren't cheap, you know." "Then I'll trouble you for it. I need three portions. As for money—I have it." Li Xiuwen let out a bit of the aura of a trained fighter and smiled. The previously languid old man instantly perked up and said with an ingratiating smile, "All right, I'll go take a look first thing tomorrow morning." After leaving Chun'an Hall, Li Xiuwen put a hand to his rather flat wallet. "What's left of Third Master's advance is only fifteen hundred now. After food and daily expenses, it's only enough for me to practice the Armor-Binding Art for three days. This money runs out as fast as diarrhea—no matter how much I earn, it's never enough."