A Ray of Hope

The sky was growing dark; dusk had fallen.

The clamorous voices had died away, leaving only the noise of machinery being moved and the weary conversations of the staff. Dust and the exhaustion of a day's commotion hung in the air.

Li He walked alone along the sidewalk.

His starting point, Pine Listening Courtyard, had disappeared.

The Evergreen Gate, in which he had placed such high hopes, had also closed its doors to him.

But how could his path in martial arts end here?

His gaze swept over the martial arts hall booths, large and small.

Many booths had already been emptied. Staff were loading tables, chairs, and equipment onto transport trucks. The small martial arts halls, tucked into corners with only a single table, had vanished long ago.

He gazed from afar at the brightly lit exhibition hall of Evergreen Martial Arts Hall, his eyes growing ever more resolute.

"My vitality is real, and so is my mastery of five forms of Ancient Martial Arts. The Federation is vast, and there are countless martial arts halls. Surely one of them will recognize talent without sticking to convention. As long as I can gain access to the Federation's formal martial arts system, with the system's power and my own hard work, I'll find my chance to rise."

He didn't linger. Turning away, he prepared to leave the plaza and head home to rest up for the martial arts hall selection the next day.

The martial arts hall assessments lasted seven days in all.

He had to seize this opportunity. Once the period was over, getting into a martial arts hall would be much harder.

Just then, a slightly hurried voice called from behind him. "Please wait, Li He!"

Li He stopped and turned to look.

In the dusk, a young man in a white martial arts training uniform hurried toward him.

The young man looked to be in his early twenties, with a plain, honest face.

"Li He!" The young man stopped a few paces in front of him. "I finally caught up with you. I watched your entire assessment over at Evergreen and waited until it was over!"

Li He felt a slight stir within him. He said nothing, waiting for the young man to continue.

The young man's eyes were alight with enthusiasm. "Your Ancient Martial Arts are incredible. If I'm not mistaken, your footwork, your boxing, and that Penetrating Power at the end were three different forms of Ancient Martial Arts, right? You've mastered all of them, and your qi and blood haven't clashed. That's truly impressive."

"That's right. They're Wild Goose Eight Steps, Cloud Hand Eighteen Forms, and Silk-Reeling Power," Li He said.

"Just as I thought! I know all three of those forms. They demand an exceptional level of comprehension and physical coordination. To master all of them at once is an astonishing talent."

The young man grew even more enthusiastic.

"Li He, my name is Lin Feng, and I'm from Yellow Mountain Martial Arts Hall. I came to find you because I want to invite you to join us!"

"Yellow Mountain Martial Arts Hall?"

Li He checked to make sure. He hadn't heard of the name.

"Uh, we're a small martial arts hall now, so it's normal that you haven't heard of us... But! A hundred years ago, our Yellow Mountain Daoist Hall was glorious. Our signature art was the Ape Arm Mountain Crushing Fist!"

As he spoke about the hall's signature fist technique, a hint of pride entered Lin Feng's voice. "The Ape Arm Mountain Crushing Fist is fierce and domineering, yet it also has the monkeys' light, nimble movements and countless variations. It was once famous throughout the region. The old master of our hall is the last living inheritor of the art!"

Li He felt a stir in his heart.

Ape Arm Mountain Crushing Fist?

Wasn't that the advanced form of his Old Ape Stretches Arms?

A month ago, he had found the technique in the Federation's martial arts database and followed the tutorial to practice it. He hadn't expected to meet an inheritor of the art today. What a coincidence.

Li He thought it over, then asked, "Since you watched my entire assessment, you should know I have fifth-grade bone structure. Why would you still want me to join?"

Lin Feng answered without hesitation. "Our master often says that martial arts come from the heart, not the bones! Our Yellow Mountain Martial Arts Hall has never believed in that rigid bone-structure rating system. Your bone structure may be lacking, but your comprehension and character surpass those of ordinary people. That's true talent. Someone without the right character won't get far in martial arts."

Those words struck a chord with Li He.

He didn't know whether the other man was trying to deceive him, but he could tell that Lin Feng's sincerity was genuine.

"Li He, how about we add each other on WeChat first? I'll send you our location. You can come by whenever you have time. There's no pressure—just think of it as a visit, a chance to get a feel for the atmosphere at our hall."

Li He paused, slightly taken aback.

He'd thought Lin Feng would pull out an old-fashioned address card, like in the movies. He hadn't expected such a modern way of communicating.

It was a little unexpected, but it did make Lin Feng seem natural and sincere.

Ding!

A soft chime sounded. They had added each other as friends.

"I sent you the location. I'll head back now. I hope you'll come by soon. Goodbye, Li He!" Lin Feng waved vigorously, a satisfied smile on his face, then turned and jogged away. His figure soon melted into the deepening night at the edge of the plaza.

Li He stood where he was and glanced down at his phone.

The location was Yellow Mountain Park, not far away—a park with a long history. He remembered that his mother, Zhang Xiujuan, had once taken him there to feed the monkeys. It wasn't far from home, about half an hour one way by car.

He looked up again at the softly lit Evergreen Martial Arts Hall exhibition pavilion in the center of the plaza, then glanced down at the little location marker on his phone.

The road ahead wasn't entirely dark.

The city lights gradually came on.

He pushed open the front door.

"Xiao He, you're back?" His mother, Zhang Xiujuan, immediately got to her feet. "How did the assessment at Evergreen Martial Arts Hall go? Did it go well?"

"Not very well. I didn't get in. Evergreen's scoring system puts a lot of weight on bone structure. My rating was fifth grade, so my overall score fell short."

"Fifth-grade bone structure..." Zhang Xiujuan's eyes dimmed. She had thought that since her son had the strength of a First-Rank Martial Artist, getting into a martial arts hall was a sure thing.

She set down the plate, walked over to Li He, and patted his arm. "It's all right, Xiao He. We don't need Evergreen. We'll look elsewhere. The Federation is so big, and there are so many martial arts halls. Surely someone will recognize your talent. Your dad, back then..."

Li He was about to tell his mother that he planned to visit Yellow Mountain Martial Arts Hall.

Just then, his mother's phone vibrated with a video call. She took it out and saw her husband's name on the screen.

The screen lit up, and his father, Li Jianguo, appeared, his dark, hearty face filling it. "Son, the assessment's over, right? How did it go? Did you get your acceptance notice from Evergreen Martial Arts Hall? Hahahaha!"

"Dad, Evergreen Martial Arts Hall didn't accept me."

"What?" Li Jianguo's smile froze. His voice rose. "They didn't accept you? Why? Are they blind? My son's already a First-Rank Martial Artist, and they still don't want him?"

"My bone-structure rating was too low. Fifth grade." Li He briefly explained.

"Bone structure again? Damn it, bone structure again! Those big martial arts halls only know how to look at bone structure. Can that measure what my son can do? If they don't want him, that's their loss!"

He was so angry he slapped the table on the other end of the screen. "Son, don't be upset. I'll figure something out for you. If it comes to it, I'll swallow my pride and ask around, see if I can pull some strings..."

"Dad, Mom," Li He interrupted, "don't rush to comfort me. Hear me out. After the assessment, a senior from Yellow Mountain Martial Arts Hall came to find me and invited me to join."

"Yellow Mountain Martial Arts Hall?" Li Jianguo and Zhang Xiujuan said at the same time, their faces brightening.

"Is that the Yellow Mountain Martial Arts Hall that inherited the Ape Arm Mountain Crushing Fist?"

"That's right." Li He nodded.

His parents both knew about the hall. It seemed Lin Feng hadn't lied to him; Yellow Mountain Martial Arts Hall really had once been famous throughout the region.

"That senior was very sincere. I'm planning to visit Yellow Mountain Martial Arts Hall tomorrow."

"Go. You absolutely have to go," Li Jianguo declared firmly. "Yellow Mountain Martial Arts Hall is no ordinary place. They were among the first martial arts halls established after the Federation created a unified system. Son, seize this opportunity."

The three of them changed the subject and chatted for a while.

"By the way," Li Jianguo suddenly said, as if remembering something.

"The new supervisor at the mine is incredible. He's a Third-Rank Martial Artist sent by the Federation. Today an Iron-Armored Earth Dragon came crawling out of the mine. It was ferocious. But the supervisor went up and punched it once, and its head exploded on the spot."

"The supervisor's kind, too. It was a six-meter mutated beast, but he kept only a few choice parts for himself and gave the rest of the meat to us."

"I picked out a big piece of the best meat and sent it home. It should arrive in a couple of days. You two should try some, too. It's really nourishing."

But Zhang Xiujuan didn't seem very happy. She asked anxiously, "Why did they suddenly send a Third-Rank Martial Artist there? Is there going to be danger? You have to be careful."

"Don't worry, there's no danger. I'll be back in a month," Li Jianguo said cheerfully. "All right, I'll stop here. I need to go eat. We're having an extra meal tonight. Son, go check out Yellow Mountain Martial Arts Hall tomorrow. I'll be waiting for good news."

"Okay, Dad. You take care of yourself, too," Li He replied with a nod.

"Sure thing. I'm hanging up!"

Li Jianguo waved with a grin, and the screen went dark.