Entanglement

"I heard the senior brothers in the rear courtyard can smash half a Blue Stone Slab with one punch."

Zhou Ming looked full of yearning. "If I could enter the rear courtyard, I'd wake up laughing even in my dreams."

Liu Shi snorted. "You? You can barely hold a Horse Stance without swaying, and you want to enter the rear courtyard?

"Master the first three forms of Iron Wire Fist first."

"I'm working on it."

Zhou Ming scratched his head and grinned foolishly.

Listening, Li Xiao quietly took stock.

It seemed the Martial Arts Hall had a strict hierarchy. If he wanted better guidance, he had to break through to the Skin Refining Realm as soon as possible and become a true Martial Master. Only then would he earn the Master of the Hall's regard.

Just then, a commotion suddenly rose at the Martial Arts Hall entrance.

Everyone looked up to see a young man in a brocade martial outfit striding in. The fabric shimmered softly beneath the morning light, clearly worth a great deal.

Two men and a woman followed at his side, all finely dressed and haughty. Even as they walked, they deliberately clustered around the Brocade Youth, clearly treating him as their center.

The youth looked eighteen or nineteen, tall and straight-backed, with bright, lively eyes. A faint smile rested at the corners of his mouth, and when his gaze swept over the Martial Arts Training Ground, it carried the confidence of one looking down from above.

At a glance, he spotted Wang Hai in the corner. His brows lifted slightly as he sneered.

"Junior Brother Wang, you came so early, yet instead of practicing your fistwork, you're mixing with these mud-legged peasants?"

The smile on Wang Hai's face stiffened for a moment. He snorted.

"Senior Brother Zhao, that's not right. We're all fellow disciples. There's no need to call anyone mud-legged peasants."

"Fellow disciples?" The Brocade Youth sounded as though he had heard a joke, his voice suddenly rising.

"Junior Brother Wang, the old Gang Leader sent you here to learn martial arts, not to mingle with these poor brats who are only trying to scrape together a meal.

"What kind of behavior is this? Aren't you letting down the old Gang Leader's painstaking efforts?"

The people behind him burst into laughter. When their gazes swept over Li Xiao and the others, they were filled with contempt.

The Brocade Youth's gaze suddenly settled on Li Xiao. He sized him up from head to toe, and the disdain in his eyes deepened.

"I heard a hunter came yesterday to become a disciple. That's you?

"You mud-legged peasants—why can't you face reality sooner?"

Li Xiao frowned slightly but said nothing, merely watching him quietly.

"Heh." The Brocade Youth stepped forward, looking down at Li Xiao.

"A hunter should be hunting in the mountains. What are you doing at a Martial Arts Hall, joining in the fun?

"Do you know how many rabbits you'd have to catch to afford the hall fees?

"Don't fail to learn the fistwork and end up gambling away your family's food instead."

A woman beside him giggled sweetly.

"Senior Brother Zhao, why waste your breath on him?

"Maybe he just wants to rely on that brute strength of his to worm his way into the city and find work."

Wang Hai could not stand it any longer. He stepped forward and blocked Li Xiao. "Zhao Wenfeng, say less!

"We're both disciples of the Martial Arts Hall. It's not your place to make snide remarks!"

Zhao Wenfeng sneered. "Disciples of the Martial Arts Hall? Hahaha, you aren't even Martial Masters, yet you dare call yourselves Martial Arts Hall disciples?"

"You..." Wang Hai clenched his fists, trembling with anger, yet he did not know how to refute him.

Zhao Wenfeng had good natural talent and had long since broken through to become a Martial Master, while Wang Hai himself was still a step short.

Seeing Wang Hai fall silent, Zhao Wenfeng's smugness deepened. He glanced at Li Xiao, his tone growing ever more cutting.

"It seems the threshold of this Martial Arts Hall is getting lower and lower."

Li Xiao stepped forward, feeling that there was something wrong with Zhao Wenfeng.

"A Martial Arts Hall accepts disciples based on character and perseverance, not background."

His voice was not loud, but every word rang clear. All the disciples present froze for a moment.

No one had expected this newly arrived hunter Junior Brother to dare openly contradict Zhao Wenfeng, who was already a Martial Master.

Zhao Wenfeng's face darkened, and his gaze turned sharp.

"Heh, mud-legged peasants will always be mud-legged peasants. Wang Hai, you're only fit to keep company with people like this. The old Gang Leader's expectations are likely to come to nothing.

"And you, you only just entered the Martial Arts Hall, yet you think you can lecture me?"

"I wouldn't dare." Li Xiao bowed slightly, but his tone did not soften in the least.

"Senior Brother Zhao, as a Martial Master, you judge people solely by their background. You chill the hearts of your fellow disciples."

"What a sharp tongue!" Zhao Wenfeng laughed in fury.

Just then, a steady voice came from the entrance of the Martial Arts Training Ground.

"Why are you all gathered here? No need to practice your fistwork?"

Everyone turned around and saw Zhao Hu striding over in a martial outfit. His eyes were sharp as an eagle's, and when his gaze swept across the crowd, it carried unquestionable authority.

Zhao Wenfeng stopped moving, the anger on his face receding somewhat. Though he was still unwilling, he did not dare act recklessly before Zhao Hu.

Zhao Hu was not only a Senior Brother who had entered early and a trusted disciple at the Master of the Hall's side—he was also a Second-Turn Martial Master.

"Fourth Senior Brother." Zhao Wenfeng cupped his hands, his tone easing somewhat. "It was nothing. I was merely saying a few words to the new Junior Brother."

Zhao Hu's gaze fell upon Li Xiao. Seeing that though he stood there, his back remained straight and there was not the slightest timidity in his eyes, Zhao Hu nodded faintly before turning to the others.

"The morning light is perfect. Disperse and practice your fistwork.

"Hold Horse Stance for one hour. No one is allowed to slack off."

"Yes, Fourth Senior Brother!"

Everyone answered in unison and scattered, each finding a place to stand. Yet their gazes toward Li Xiao and Zhao Wenfeng remained full of curiosity.

Zhao Wenfeng gave Li Xiao a long look. That gaze held disdain, warning, and a trace of resentment from having been contradicted.

He said nothing more and turned toward the Inner Courtyard. His footsteps paused briefly, then quickened.

Watching his retreating back, Li Xiao understood—this grudge had been formed.

"What are you spacing out for?" Zhao Hu walked over.

"Why aren't you getting to your Horse Stance? You just arrived and already want to cause trouble?"

"I wouldn't dare, Senior Brother." Li Xiao lowered his head. "I simply did not want anyone to tarnish the Martial Arts Hall's reputation."

Zhao Hu looked at him. The corner of his mouth seemed to twitch, as though he wanted to say something, but in the end, he merely said:

"The matters within the Martial Arts Hall are not as simple as you think.

"Rather than trading barbs with others, you'd be better off practicing another punch, another kick.

"When your strength reaches a certain point, naturally no one will dare look down on you."

"Yes, I understand, Senior Brother."

Li Xiao nodded heavily, then turned and walked to the center of the grounds, assuming his Horse Stance.

Zhao Hu watched his steady back, then glanced toward the Inner Courtyard. His brow furrowed almost imperceptibly before he called out loudly:

"Get your spirits up! Stance Training is the foundation. Whoever tries to cut corners, don't blame me for being harsh!"

Li Xiao glanced toward the Inner Courtyard. That was where Martial Master disciples like Zhao Wenfeng cultivated—and it was also the goal he had to reach.

The Stance Training of Iron Wire Fist emphasized "taking root upon touching the earth." His feet had to be nailed to the ground as though roots had grown from them, every breath coordinated with the rise and fall of his abdomen.

It was fairly easy at first, but after only a quarter of an hour, his legs felt as though they had been filled with lead. They ached intensely, and a faint pain pulsed through his knees.

He secretly looked around. The other disciples were gritting their teeth and enduring as well.

Some swayed slightly, while veins bulged from others' foreheads. Clearly, none of them were having an easy time.

Zhao Hu paced back and forth across the grounds, his gaze sharp as an eagle's. Whenever anyone showed the slightest slackness, he barked in a low voice:

"Hold steady! Straighten your waist!"

Iron Wire Fist's Stance Training was meant to strengthen the lower body. If the foundation was not firm, no amount of flashy fist techniques would be useful.

Time passed bit by bit, and the sun gradually rose, scorching everyone's backs.

"One more quarter of an hour!" Zhao Hu's voice rang out, carrying unquestionable authority.

When the stance training ended, everyone felt as though they had been granted a pardon. They collapsed onto the ground one after another, gasping for breath and massaging their aching, swollen legs.

Li Xiao also relaxed and dropped onto the Blue Stone Slab. Every bone in his body felt as though it had come apart, yet the exhaustion was strangely satisfying.

"Rest for half an hour,"

Zhao Hu said. "Then I'll teach you the opening stance of Iron Wire Fist."

Li Xiao leaned against the wall and pulled a water skin from his clothes. He uncapped it and took a large gulp. Cool water ran down his throat, driving away much of the heat.