Second-Floor Requirements (Please Follow)

Brother Ji had had enough. He wanted to go solo.

A while back, he had secretly made contact with the Heaven's Will Gang and become a "breaker" for one of Heaven's Will's branches.

In other words, he handled the street-level distribution of white powder. He cheated and swindled people around the village, yet still managed to sell quite a bit.

Some time ago, he had taken that money to wander around Gui Street. Emptying his entire fortune, he had obtained an ancient Prosperous State manual of uncertain authenticity.

Unfortunately, he had little education and shallow attainments in martial arts theory. He had studied it for a long time, yet still could not find the way in.

If the seller had truly guaranteed that manual, then if he mastered it, forget Third Master—even the Red Poles of the major syndicates would not frighten him!

Still, going solo required careful long-term planning. The urgent matter was getting past Third Master first.

The most lucrative place on Longjin Road was Chen's Rice Noodle Factory. Those machines were worth a bit of money too.

Brother Ji had originally wanted sustainable development, but Third Master had pushed him too hard...

He could only drain the pond to catch the fish and find a way to squeeze a profit out of the rice noodle factory.

And that A Wen—he had some education, but he was timid.

People like that were easy to control. Brother Ji planned to give A Wen some good stuff to smoke in a few days and thoroughly take him down.

With more capable people under him, he could make powder himself.

Making powder while practicing boxing, using powder to feed martial arts—

So long as he did not touch the stuff himself, Tianyi Hao could be a big-time operator, and so could Brother Ji!

Four Seas Martial Arts Hall.

In the study, Huang Sihai counted banknotes.

Knock, knock, knock. Someone knocked at the door.

Huang Sihai put the money into the 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 mentioned it, but Li Xiuwen could not help asking himself.

He had only paid one month's fees. Ten days had already passed, and after that it would be six hundred a month. He would have to worry about money again. He did not want to keep troubling his uncle-in-law.

"You have ideas, do you?" Huang Sihai said.

"What are the requirements for the second floor?" Li Xiuwen asked with a smile.

"You aren't qualified yet. The second floor only accepts formal disciples with the potential to inherit my mantle."

"What exactly are the requirements? I can prepare myself a little," Li Xiuwen persisted shamelessly.

Huang Sihai thought for a moment. "If your natural aptitude bears the bearing of a superior man, I can let you go straight to the second floor. Your aptitude is decent, but you're still lacking."

Not just a little lacking—a huge stretch!

Old Huang did not want to discourage A Wen. He was still counting on this kid to keep coughing up gold.

"Must it be based on natural aptitude? Is there no other route?"

"Of course there is. The first-floor trainees have not formally taken a master. At most, they are students; strictly speaking, they do not count as formal disciples. If you formally take a master, you can go to the second floor as well."

"How much?" Li Xiuwen understood.

"Ahem, that depends on fate. There was once a first-floor trainee willing to offer thirty thousand as a gift to take a master..."

"Did he have fate?"

"No."

Li Xiuwen cursed inwardly. Old Huang was really ruthless.

No wonder the tuition at Four Seas Martial Arts Hall was so much cheaper than at other martial arts halls. So this was where they had been waiting for him.

"Do you think I still have a chance?" Li Xiuwen asked with a reluctant smile.

Huang Sihai said impatiently, "The martial arts hall holds a grand competition once every year. If you can emerge at the top among all the first-floor disciples, you can get in too. You have a little over three months."

"Understood." Li Xiuwen breathed a sigh of relief. At least there was a path upward, though it was difficult.

"Do not aim too high. Laying a solid foundation matters more than anything else. And don't entertain crooked thoughts. The second floor does not accept those with improper hearts." Huang Sihai narrowed his eyes in warning.

"Mm." Li Xiuwen nodded.

"With my Fish Ball, you should be confident you can get started within three days, right?"

"I already have."

Huang Sihai lifted Li Xiuwen's shirt. A trace of surprise appeared in his eyes, then quickly faded as he said,

"Not bad. With the same Fish Ball, you're already considerably stronger than others with the same aptitude... diligence can make up for clumsiness. Keep it up."

Old Huang was in a good mood. It was a good thing Li Xiuwen had some talent. That way, he probably would not give up easily and could keep coughing up gold.

After thinking for a moment, Li Xiuwen asked, "Master, who got started the fastest among the first-floor disciples?"

He wanted to see in advance who his competitors were, so he could use them as goals to strive toward.

"A Chun. His natural aptitude is close to the bearing of a superior man, and he got started in three days. Among the others, only A Zhen and Silly Qiang were a little faster than you."

"Senior Brother A Chun really is a genius," Li Xiuwen said.

"Him? Not enough. Thunder Boy got started in a single day. You need to curb your impatience. Stabilize your realm today, and tomorrow I'll teach you combat techniques."

Watching Li Xiuwen leave, Huang Sihai shook his head.

He had seen how hard Li Xiuwen had worked these past days. Among the trainees, he was absolutely the most diligent.

Paired with Fish Ball, getting started in just over a week through diligent study and hard practice was actually normal. With a little luck, many people could manage it.

But the early stages were fine. Later on, no matter how hard he worked, he still would not be able to catch up to those with superior natural aptitude...

Effort secured the lower limit.

Talent and fortune determined the upper limit!

Longjin Road, Chen's Rice Noodle Shop.

After Li Xiuwen finished bathing and left the bathroom, his aunt stared at him, making him feel somewhat uncomfortable.

"What are you staring at me for?"

"Don't say it, learning boxing really is different. You seem to have gotten a little stronger. Your muscles are even bigger than your uncle-in-law's. You're no longer as skinny as a bamboo pole was ten days ago."

"I can be considered trained now. I'm no expert, but dealing with those little hoodlums would be more than enough."

"Trained? You've only taken a master for ten days, haven't you?" His aunt's little mouth fell open.

"Mm." Li Xiuwen showed off the Azure Membrane he had just cultivated. "This is what sets martial artists apart from ordinary people. Ordinary people can't hurt me with their punches."

His aunt reached out to test it. "It really does feel different. I thought it was just light, but it feels like sharkskin when I touch it... You really did it. You learned it so fast!"

She had never expected A Wen to learn anything worthwhile.

When she had asked Brother Yi for money, it had mostly been because she wanted A Wen to give up on the idea.

Who would have thought this kid would actually learn it—and in only ten days.

During this time, she had often asked around among the neighbors. Some families had children learning boxing too.

They had practiced for months without even getting started, while draining their families' savings dry and piling up debts.

Seeing her expression, Li Xiuwen smiled. "Other than Uncle-in-law, don't tell any of the neighbors about this."

"Why?" His aunt did not understand.

"It's simple. Brother Ji comes to our home from time to time to shake us down. If he discovers I truly have a chance of succeeding in martial arts, what do you think he'll do?"

Hearing that, his aunt understood. "That's true. At the very least, you need to be stronger than Brother Ji and no longer afraid of him. But what about the martial arts hall?"

"When we joined the hall, we agreed not to reveal the cultivation privacy of the school's disciples. They're very strict about it. Brother Ji won't find out."

"That's good, then."

In the bedroom,

"He really made it?" His uncle-in-law put down the ledger in his hand, surprise on his face.

His aunt hushed him. "Keep your voice down. A Wen doesn't want Brother Ji to know. Only the three of us need to know."

"What's wrong?"

"A Wen is afraid Brother Ji will come looking for trouble if he finds out. He's worried he still isn't Brother Ji's match."

"Right, we can't make this public for now." His uncle-in-law was tense as well. If Brother Ji found out A Wen was learning martial arts, there really could be trouble.

"I knew A Wen could do it. You can finally put your mind at ease now, right?" His aunt said with a smile.