Brother Ji had had enough. He wanted to strike out on his own.
Some days earlier, he had secretly made contact with the Heaven's Will Gang and become a street-level dealer for one of its halls.
His job was to distribute heroin at the bottom of the supply chain. Through scams and deception, he had managed to sell quite a bit in the Enclave.
A few days earlier, he had taken that money to Gui Street and spent every last cent on a Prosperous State Ancient Manual of uncertain authenticity.
Unfortunately, he was poorly educated and knew little martial arts theory. Even after studying it for ages, he had been unable to get started.
If the manual really was genuine, as the seller had guaranteed, and he managed to master it, forget Third Master-even the Red Poles of the big gangs would no longer scare him!
But striking out on his own required careful planning. His immediate priority was getting past Third Master.
The most lucrative business on Longjin Road was Chen's Rice Noodle Factory. Its equipment was worth something, too.
Brother Ji had originally wanted to milk it sustainably, but Third Master was putting too much pressure on him...
He had no choice but to drain the pond to catch the fish and find a way to squeeze a lump sum out of the Rice Noodle Factory.
Then there was A Wen, who had a little education and was timid.
Someone like that was easy to control. Brother Ji planned to give A Wen some good stuff to snort in a few days and get him firmly under his thumb.
With more capable people working for him, he could even make his own heroin.
He would make heroin while practicing his martial arts, using drug money to fund his training.
As long as he never touched the stuff himself, if Tianyi Hao could become a big-time operator, so could he, the great Brother Ji!
At the Four Seas Martial Arts Hall.
Huang Sihai was counting banknotes in his study.
Knock, knock, knock. Someone was at the door.
Huang Sihai locked the money in his safe and stepped out of the study. It was Li Xiuwen.
"What is it?"
"Master, I heard our martial arts hall has a second floor?" Li Xiuwen asked with an embarrassed smile.
Huang Sihai had never brought it up, so he could not resist asking himself.
He had only paid for one month, and ten days had already passed. From now on, he would have to worry about finding six hundred every month. He did not want to keep troubling Uncle-in-law.
"So you've got your sights on it," Huang Sihai said.
"What are the requirements for the second floor?" Li Xiuwen asked with a smile.
"You aren't qualified yet. My second floor only takes formal disciples who have a chance of inheriting my legacy."
"What are the specific requirements? I could at least start preparing," Li Xiuwen pressed, thickening his skin.
Huang Sihai thought for a moment. "If your martial constitution qualifies as a superior physique, I can let you straight onto the second floor. Yours is decent, but still a little short."
It was more than a little short. It was a huge gap!
Old Huang did not want to discourage A Wen. He was still counting on the boy to keep coughing up money.
"Does it have to depend on martial constitution? Is there no other way?"
"Of course there is. The first-floor students haven't formally become my disciples. At most, they're students; strictly speaking, they aren't formal disciples. You can also get onto the second floor by formally becoming my disciple."
"How much?" Li Xiuwen understood.
"Ahem. That depends on whether we're fated. A first-floor student once offered thirty thousand as an apprenticeship gift..."
"And was he fated?"
"No."
Li Xiuwen cursed inwardly. Old Huang, you greedy bastard.
He had wondered why tuition at the Four Seas Martial Arts Hall was so much cheaper than at other halls. So this was where the catch lay.
"Do I have any other chance?" Li Xiuwen refused to give up and asked with a smile.
Huang Sihai replied impatiently, "The hall holds a martial arts tournament once a year. If you take first place among all the first-floor disciples, you can get in that way, too. You have a little over three months."
"Understood." Li Xiuwen breathed a sigh of relief. At least there was a path upward, difficult though it was.
"Don't reach beyond your grasp. Nothing matters more than building a solid foundation. And don't get any crooked ideas. The second floor doesn't accept people with wicked intentions," Huang Sihai warned, narrowing his eyes.
"Mm." Li Xiuwen nodded.
"With my fish balls, you're confident you can reach entry level within three days, aren't you?"
"I already have."
Huang Sihai lifted Li Xiuwen's shirt. A flicker of surprise crossed his eyes before he said calmly:
"Not bad. Even with the same fish balls, you've done much better than others with your martial constitution... Hard work makes up for shortcomings. Keep at it."
Old Huang was in a good mood. It was a good thing that Li Xiuwen had some talent. That should keep him from giving up easily, allowing him to keep coughing up money.
After a moment's thought, Li Xiuwen asked, "Master, which first-floor disciple reached entry level the fastest?"
He wanted an early look at his competitors so he would have a goal to work toward.
"A Chun. His martial constitution is close to a superior physique, and he reached entry level in three days. Of the others, only A Zhen and Big Fool did better than you, and only a little faster."
"Senior Brother A Chun really is a genius," Li Xiuwen said.
"Him? He's nothing compared to Tianzi, who reached entry level in a single day. Guard against impatience. Spend today stabilizing your new level, and tomorrow I'll teach you how to fight."
Watching Li Xiuwen leave, Huang Sihai shook his head.
He had seen how hard Li Xiuwen had worked these past days. Among the students, the boy was definitely the most diligent.
With fish balls supplementing diligent training, reaching entry level in a little over a week was actually fairly normal. Plenty of people could do it with a bit of luck.
But while that worked well enough early on, no amount of effort could catch up to those with better martial constitutions later...
Hard work secured the lower limit.
Talent and luck determined the upper limit!
Longjin Road, Chen's Rice Noodle Shop.
Li Xiuwen finished bathing and left the bathroom. Aunt-in-law stared at him, making him feel a little uncomfortable.
"Why are you staring at me?"
"You know, learning martial arts really does make a difference. You look a little sturdier, and your muscles are even bigger than your uncle's. You don't look like the skinny beanpole you were ten days ago."
"I've actually learned enough to count as trained now. I'm no expert, but dealing with those petty thugs would be more than easy enough."
"Already? You've only been studying under your master for ten days, haven't you?" Aunt-in-law's mouth fell slightly open.
"Mm." Li Xiuwen showed her the blue membrane he had just developed. "This is what sets a trained martial artist apart from an ordinary person. Ordinary people can't hurt me with their punches."
Aunt-in-law reached out to test it. "It really does feel different. I thought it only looked shiny, but it feels like sharkskin... You've really done it, learning so quickly!"
She had never expected A Wen to learn anything worthwhile.
She had asked Brother Yi for money more to make A Wen give up on the idea.
Who would have thought the boy would actually succeed, and in just ten days?
Lately, she had often asked around the neighborhood. Some families had children learning martial arts, too.
They had trained for months without even reaching entry level, emptied their families' savings, and still ended up buried in debt.
Seeing her reaction, Li Xiuwen smiled. "Don't tell any of the neighbors about this. Only Uncle-in-law."
"Why?" Aunt-in-law asked, puzzled.
"It's simple.
"Brother Ji comes around to squeeze money out of us from time to time. If he discovers I really have a chance of mastering martial arts, what do you think he'll do?"
Aunt-in-law understood. "True enough. At the very least, you need to be stronger than Brother Ji, so you don't have to fear him. But what about the martial arts hall?"
"When we joined, we agreed not to reveal private details about fellow disciples' training. They're very strict about it. Brother Ji won't find out."
"That's good, then."
In the bedroom.
"He really did it?" Uncle-in-law set down the account book in his hands, looking surprised.
Aunt-in-law shushed him. "Keep your voice down. A Wen doesn't want Brother Ji to know. Let's keep it between the three of us."
"What's wrong?"
"A Wen's afraid Brother Ji will come looking for trouble if he finds out. He's worried he's still no match for Brother Ji."
"Right, we can't let it get out yet." Uncle-in-law grew a little nervous, too. If Brother Ji learned that A Wen was studying martial arts, it really could cause trouble.
"I knew A Wen could do it. You can stop worrying now," Aunt-in-law said with a smile.
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