Time flew by like a fleeting shadow.
In the blink of an eye, seven days had passed.
Li Xiuwen worked at the Hair Salon in the mornings and practiced martial arts at the Martial Arts Hall in the afternoons. His days were certainly full!
That day, after finishing his stance training, Li Xiuwen lay on the hall's floor reading Miscellany from the Martial Tomb and chatting with Old Chen.
"So that's how it works. Thank you for clearing that up, Brother Chen."
"You're welcome. Have you felt anything from practicing your stance these past few days?"
"My strength has definitely increased," Li Xiuwen said.
His arms were noticeably thicker than they had been seven days ago, and his skin membrane had acquired a faint, dull azure sheen. He should be close to entry level.
These changes were hidden beneath his loose clothing, however, and an ordinary person wouldn't notice them.
"Looks like you're getting the hang of it. Good. You've got a chance of entering the membrane gate. Unlike me-I can barely make any progress, no matter how hard I practice." Old Chen sighed inside his cage.
"Speaking of which, did you not practice martial arts in your younger days?" Li Xiuwen asked.
At Old Chen's age, his qi and blood were in steep decline. Success was impossible.
This had nothing to do with talent or comprehension. It was an objective law that couldn't be defied.
That was why Huang Sihai had said that anyone who wanted to keep advancing along the Martial Way had to achieve peak permanence before their qi and blood began declining. Only then could they continue improving afterward.
The age at which qi and blood began declining varied from person to person, but generally fell between thirty and forty.
Anyone who reached forty without achieving peak permanence could only watch as the years crept up on them and their qi and blood waned. Their cultivation would regress instead of advancing, and they would grow weaker with age.
"In youth, I never knew the value of practicing martial arts. Only with white hair did I regret starting too late. Brother Li, no matter how bitter or difficult it gets, you must persevere," Old Chen said dejectedly.
"Mm."
Before Li Xiuwen left the Martial Arts Hall, Huang Sihai called him over.
"A Wen, have you reached entry level?"
"Almost, Master."
"Lift your shirt. Let me have a look."
For the first time, Li Xiuwen lifted his shirt in front of someone else.
His body was still on the lean side, looking nowhere near as big and beefy as Brother Ji's.
But his was a wiry leanness, his muscles compact and evenly developed, with strength lying dormant within.
Over these seven days, he had felt his body changing every day, like bamboo shoots in early spring.
"You really are close... Take this and eat it. It should save you several days of hard work." Huang Sihai handed Li Xiuwen a small oilpaper packet.
Li Xiuwen opened it. Inside was a white ball that gave off the fishy scent of Wild Battle Blue Crucian fishing bait. "What's this?"
"A fish ball. Not the kind ordinary people eat. Think of it as a medicinal pill. Without its help, someone with your martial constitution would struggle to complete gate initiation."
"Thank you, Master." Li Xiuwen happily accepted it.
In truth, even without the fish ball, he was confident that he could complete gate initiation.
Although the Incense Burner couldn't directly advance his cultivation, it had one advantage: there were no so-called "bottlenecks." Breakthroughs succeeded every time.
Without the fish ball, however, his martial constitution meant that reaching entry level might take some time yet.
"It's a perk for newcomers. The first one's free. If you want more after this, you'll have to pay. Five hundred dollars each." Huang Sihai left.
Li Xiuwen carefully put away the oilpaper packet. Is this fish ball made of gold?
He estimated that it weighed less than fifty grams. At the current price of gold, calling it gold would actually have been flattering the gold.
That night,
Li Xiuwen stayed up late practicing on the rooftop terrace of Chen's Rice Noodle Factory.
He took out the "fish ball" and ate it. Something extraordinary happened.
The "fish ball" truly melted in his mouth. Before he could even taste it, it turned into a strange warm current that surged into his acupuncture points and throughout his limbs and bones.
His eyes widened, bloodshot, and the skin membrane all over his body swelled, like a dead fish floating on the water and bloating to the point of bursting.
"This fish ball really packs a punch. No wonder Old Huang treasures it."
He immediately began practicing with the posture and Breathing Method of the Sea-Sand Stance.
In an instant, the apertures and meridians he had sensed during his earlier stance practice began resonating with one another like stars scattered across the heavens.
His skin membrane and muscles rose and fell like the tides under the special rhythm of his breathing.
The many subtleties and mysteries of the Tidal Stance surfaced in his mind, one after another.
Time passed.
The eastern sky turned pale, and dawn's light filtered through the clothes rack, scattering into flecks of gold.
Li Xiuwen stood before a puddle, studying his reflection.
He was taller now, with a broad chest, firm abs, and cleanly defined legs.
Sunlight fell across his arms, revealing a faint azure sheen.
He didn't have Brother Ji's exaggerated muscles, but he gave an unmistakable impression of health and strength.
He still looked slim with his clothes on. Combined with his somewhat boyish face, he appeared little different from before.
He gently clenched his fists. His muscles and bones seemed to hum in unison, as though explosive breath were spraying faintly from his pores and stirring the air.
"This kind of strength... feels incredible."
He picked up a steel rod and struck his arm with a little force.
"Huh, that barely hurts. It's like I've been given an anesthetic."
That translucent layer of azure skin membrane dissipated much of the force.
"Just reaching entry level makes me this strong? Brother Ji doesn't seem all that impressive now."
Li Xiuwen suppressed his growing overconfidence.
What he had learned was only a training method. He hadn't learned any fighting techniques yet.
With his lack of experience on top of that, he probably wouldn't be a match for Brother Ji in an actual fight.
The man's years of scrapping on the streets hadn't been for nothing.
He looked toward the [Incense Burner].
[Li Xiuwen] [Basic martial arts knowledge: entry (12%)] [Sea-Sand Stance: entry (1%)] [Stage: azure membrane (1%)]
"Azure membrane... Once you've developed this layer, you can call yourself a martial artist."
"This fish ball's effects last ages. I can still feel some of its medicinal power left in my body. I'll keep practicing. I won't go to the Hair Salon this morning."
After another hour of hard training, it was fully light.
Feeling the further increase in his strength, he looked toward the [Incense Burner].
[Sea-Sand Stance: entry (3%)] [Stage: azure membrane (3%)]
"Looks like my progress in stance training determines my foundational realm. The two advance together."
"Master said the skin membrane has three major stages: azure membrane, purple membrane, and black membrane. They correspond exactly to entry, minor mastery, and major mastery in stance training."
"Once stance training reaches perfection and the skin membrane turns black with a hint of red, you've reached the limit of the membrane gate. Then you can undergo a second gate initiation and rise to the next level."
"As the skin membrane darkens, the practitioner's resistance to blows and physical strength become increasingly outrageous, turning them into a beast in human form."
"And this is only the membrane gate. There are still the flood-dragon muscle gate and the tiger-elephant gate... I can't imagine how amazing it would feel to master those."
"If I ate fish balls every day, even a pig could probably master the membrane gate in six months, couldn't it?"
The thought that rich people might train exactly that way filled Li Xiuwen with motivation to earn money.
Grrr-Li Xiuwen tightened his stomach and felt his pocket. "I still have three hundred dollars."
"I practiced all night. I'm starving. Aunt-in-law probably isn't awake yet... I'll get some pig blood soup from Granny's place first to replenish myself."
In a ramshackle shed tucked away in some obscure corner of Longjin Road stood a little shop.
A pot, a table, four battered stools, and a white-haired old woman. It was simple, but the air was fragrant.
"Granny, one bowl of pig blood soup."
Li Xiuwen settled into a seat with practiced familiarity and poured himself a glass of water. This was his hidden gem of a shop.
He used to come here often after finishing work at night. A bowl cost thirty cents, with three free refills of soup.
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