I've Seen the Darkest Night, So the Bright Flame in My Heart Will Never Waver!

"Extra! Extra! Master Guo of Xingyiquan publicly states opposition to the lower classes practicing martial arts! What is the path forward for martial artists from humble backgrounds?"

On the bustling street, a newspaper boy clutched a large stack of papers, shouting loudly.

Huo Yuanhong bought a paper, tucked it under his arm, and hurried through the throng of people and rickshaws, entering a courtyard on the opposite side.

"Senior Brother."

Huo Yuanhong bowed respectfully.

"You don't need to call me Senior Brother anymore."

The man in the long gown inside the courtyard, without even looking up, continued practicing his stance.

"The Jinmen Martial Arts Guild has passed the martial arts ban. From now on, all martial arts schools will no longer accept disciples from humble backgrounds. Martial arts will only be open to aristocratic families..."

"You don't need to come here anymore."

These simple words struck Huo Yuanhong like a bolt from the blue, making him feel dizzy.

"Senior Brother... Senior Brother is joking. The martial arts ban on excluding the lower classes only came out today, and I've been an apprentice at this school for ten years already..."

Huo Yuanhong tried to control his emotions, but his voice still trembled slightly.

In the Heavenly Dynasty of today, "humble backgrounds" no longer only referred to fallen noble families, but also encompassed all laborers, farmers, merchants, and impoverished households. The "humble backgrounds" in the martial arts ban naturally referred to all commoners, excluding the prominent aristocratic families.

"...The martial arts guild's ban does not include you, who joined so long ago..."

The man in the long gown paused for a moment, then said indifferently, "But whenever I see commoners practicing martial arts alongside me, I feel that the martial path has been defiled."

"Just because of that?"

Huo Yuanhong looked up in disbelief.

"Just because of that."

The man in the long gown said indifferently.

"But... but... Senior Brother, you personally promised me back then that if I worked for ten years, you would introduce me to an instructor and give me a chance to learn real martial arts..."

"I already completed ten years of service two months ago. You said you would pick an auspicious day and asked me to wait two more months..."

"You are the renowned Gentleman Sword! Your word is your bond..."

"If you are not satisfied with me, I can change. I'm willing to work as an apprentice for another ten years. I can do it, I can do anything..."

Huo Yuanhong said with a hoarse voice.

For an apprentice from a common background like him, he was essentially free labor at the martial arts school. Unless recommended by a core disciple, he didn't even have the right to practice with an instructor.

And in order to learn real martial arts, at an age when he should have been playing freely and full of youthful spirit, he had dedicated himself to serving the Gentleman Sword, a core disciple of the martial arts school, for ten years and two months!

A full three thousand seven hundred days and nights!

Not a single day of rest, waking earlier than the roosters and sleeping later than the dogs every day.

It was exhausting, and many times he had been so tired he nearly broke down. But at least he could count the days, watching the dawn of hope gradually approach, seeing his dream of practicing martial arts getting closer and closer.

But now...

Just as he was about to touch that dawn, all it took was a casual remark from this core disciple from an aristocratic family...

His ideal world was about to crumble.

"Since you've put it that way, let me rephrase."

The Gentleman Sword's tone remained indifferent, his gaze never falling on Huo Yuanhong. "Your conduct is improper, and you failed your probationary period. You are expelled from the martial arts school."

Improper conduct...

Huo Yuanhong felt an overwhelming sense of absurdity and ridicule.

This...

They couldn't even be bothered to find a decent excuse.

At this moment, how could he not understand that the so-called Gentleman Sword before him had never intended to keep his promise to help him become a formal disciple, nor had he ever treated an apprentice from the lower classes like a human being.

"Seeing as we were once fellow disciples, I'll tell you one last thing."

The Gentleman Sword said calmly, "In one month, the martial arts guild will hold a major competition that will decide the fate of the lower classes. All martial artists under twenty-five can compete. You can try too..."

"Ultimately, if no martial artist from the lower classes can win three matches, then practicing martial arts by the lower classes will be deemed a waste of resources. The martial arts guild will expand the martial arts ban. Not only will the lower classes be forbidden from entering martial arts schools, but they will also be forbidden from practicing martial arts at home. Otherwise, they will be apprehended by the enforcement team..."

Forbidden from practicing martial arts at home!

These words made Huo Yuanhong's heart sink completely.

The martial arts scene in Jinmen was flourishing. Martial arts schools occupied the most prosperous areas and controlled the lifelines of various industries.

Power controlled everything, and martial power controlled power. This was the current state of Jinmen!

But for hundreds of years, the true teachings of martial arts had been firmly controlled by aristocratic families!

The right to practice martial arts that aristocratic children possessed from birth was a ticket that ordinary people, even by selling everything they owned and trying their utmost, could hardly obtain!

But as long as they could practice martial arts, no matter how much hardship they endured or how tiring the work, he could bear it.

What he could not bear was the exclusion from even the right to enter!

The fate of the poor families decided by martial arts duels…

It seemed fair, but in reality, it was a joke.

Children from aristocratic families received the best medicinal nourishment from birth, with the best masters personally guiding them. Even if their talent was mediocre, they could still achieve something.

As for children from ordinary families, they were already doing their best just by bearing the burden of life.

Like himself, he had nominally been an apprentice at the martial arts school for ten years, learning martial arts for ten years, but in reality…

For at least eight out of the twelve hours in a day, he was doing odd jobs. By the time he finished, he was already exhausted. How could he have any energy left to practice martial arts!

Moreover, what he learned were only a few superficial external martial arts, and they were all incomplete.

With no time or energy to practice martial arts, and without learning true skills…

Asking these poor apprentices to duel against the aristocratic disciples who had built a solid foundation from childhood and practiced true teachings for many years…

How could they possibly win?

Were they supposed to charge in with their heads?

"At that time, I will represent the aristocratic families in the competition, and I will not let any commoner pass. If you dare to show yourself before me, I guarantee I will beat you to death."

The indifferent voice of Gentleman Sword extinguished the last sliver of hope in Huo Yuanhong's heart.

"I can't practice martial arts anymore…"

Huo Yuanhong murmured in a low voice.

He didn't know how he left. He only felt that everything around him turned gray and white, distant and empty. The pedestrians, rickshaws, and alleys in his eyes were all distorting.

It was as if the familiar world was drifting away from him.

He also didn't know what else the core disciple, known as Gentleman Sword, had said.

It was as if he had been forcefully plunged into icy river water. Besides the bone-chilling cold and suffocating numbness, he couldn't hear or understand anything.

His dream…

Had collapsed.

The world he yearned for…

Was also collapsing.

He kept walking in a daze, walking…

It wasn't until he saw the familiar doorplate, 201, that Huo Yuanhong's pupils gradually focused.

He was home.

He rubbed his face vigorously until he forced a smile, then slowly took out his key and opened the door.

"Ah Hong is back, come and eat."

Hearing the movement, his father brought out the food that had been kept warm in the pot.

Two bowls of mixed grain rice, a plate of stir-fried greens, a plate of scrambled eggs, and six crabs.

In Jinmen, with its nine rivers, crabs were cheaper than rice and plentiful.

As usual, Huo Yuanhong sat down, took a bite of the mixed grain rice, picked up some greens with his chopsticks, then grabbed a crab, peeled it, and started eating.

In his extreme sadness, he actually had no appetite and didn't even know what he was eating.

But he still tried to eat, putting on a show of liking it.

Because he knew that the ordinary-looking meal before him was earned by his father waking up early and working late pulling rickshaws.

For so many years, he had been desperately pursuing martial arts, and his father had silently carried the burden of the family alone.

"How was your practice today?"

His father asked expectantly.

"Very good. My senior brother said I have great talent and promised to help me secure a spot as a core disciple next month. He was worried I'd get tired, so he specifically asked for a few days off for me to recover…"

Huo Yuanhong looked up, his face beaming with a smile, his tone relaxed and natural, just like the past three thousand nights. There was no trace of the numbness and despair he felt before entering the house.

"Good! Good! I knew it, our Ah Hong is a genius! You'll definitely make something of yourself!"

His father's face was unshaven, covered with marks left by the wind and sun. He was as thin as a piece of paper, and it was unclear how he managed to pull the heavy rickshaw.

But whenever his son was mentioned, his face, which seemed crushed by the weight of life, would reveal genuine pride!

Huo Yuanhong knew that in his father's heart, his son was a genius. He had already passed his apprenticeship two months ago and become a glorious formal disciple. He was also highly regarded by a core disciple known as "Gentleman Sword," with a boundless future!

He didn't want to disappoint his father, nor did he want to infect his father with his own sorrow.

So, he worked hard to maintain a false image of a genius, letting his father "know" that he was doing well outside…

Very well…

"Dad, don't work yourself too hard. When I become a master, I'll buy a clean, big house and take you to enjoy life…"

Huo Yuanhong's face was full of a happy smile, and with empty words, he tried to depict the world of his ideals.

Every year at this season, cockroaches would scurry about in this dilapidated house, and they had to draw the curtains even when sleeping.

When he was nine years old, he had promised to buy his father a large mansion.

He had kept saying it until he was nineteen.

His father had always believed him without question, always proud of his son who had joined a martial arts school.

"Ah Hong, don't push yourself too hard. Dad isn't in a hurry, not at all."

Seeing his father's proud smile, Huo Yuanhong lowered his head, shoveled a large mouthful of rice, and fought back the stinging in his nose.

He didn't dare let his father know that he...

had already been expelled from the martial arts school.

He dared even less to let his father know that in a month, even practicing martial arts at home would become a luxury.

His world...

had already collapsed.

But his father's world...

was still intact.

At least, it was for now.

Just like during the more than three thousand days and nights of the past, he had never dared to let his father know...

that at the martial arts school, he was just a laborer ordered around, just an ordinary person pushed to the brink of collapse, never even getting the chance to learn from the instructors.

Instead of the promising genius son his father believed him to be...

who had learned powerful martial arts.

"In a month, it will all be over..."

Thinking of the martial arts ban, thinking of the Gentleman Sword's indifference towards the low-level apprentices, thinking of his father's unwavering support and sacrifices for him, Huo Yuanhong felt an overwhelming sense of oppression, so suffocating he could barely breathe.

It was as if a fire was about to explode from the depths of his heart!

BOOM!!!

Accompanied by a deafening roar, as if flames were soaring into the sky.

Faintly, he truly saw a blazing, bright flame ignite from the boundless darkness in his heart, illuminating characters.

[Destiny: Martial Path to Divinity!]

[Effect 1: From today onwards, every day of martial arts practice counts as one year of cultivation!]

[Effect 2: Martial arts will never regress, never suffer qi deviation, always progress in the most correct direction, and will be limitless!]