Lion-Head Buddha (Please Read On)

Afternoon.

Old Huang gathered all the disciples from the first floor together.

Li Xiuwen stood among the crowd.

At the martial arts hall entrance stood two unfamiliar figures, a man and a woman, both tall and powerfully built.

The man was at least six foot three, his arms a full size larger than Brother Ji's—round and powerful, carrying a faint bronze sheen. His presence surged like a flood, and his eyes resembled those of a hungry wolf.

The woman was five foot eleven, with a wild mane of golden curls, a cropped tank top, bell-bottoms, and her navel exposed. Most eye-catching of all were the two half-revealed arhats tattooed across her small breasts.

The pair wore bizarre outfits and looked nothing like martial artists, yet Li Xiuwen knew they were true experts.

Because a red peony was tattooed on each of their shoulders.

"Red Poles..."

Setting aside the lowlife gang of petty thugs known as Longjin Road's Thirteen Guardians,

the proper societies in the settlement generally had five ranks: Blue Lanterns, Forty-Nines, Straw Sandals, Red Poles, and Dragon Heads.

Put simply,

Blue Lanterns were interns, unaffiliated outsiders who had yet to undergo the initiation rite.

Forty-Nines were official employees who had passed the initiation rite.

Straw Sandals were the backbone, able to lead a few underlings.

Red Poles were gold-medal enforcers—the company's upper management, its public face.

Generally speaking, a society's leader was chosen from among the Red Poles.

The most badass Red Poles were also called "Flower Poles," usually serving as the society's Dragon Head boss or hall master.

Of course, societies also had non-combat clerical positions, such as lawyers and White Paper Fans.

But here, those were all empty posts with no real authority. In a world with extraordinary martial arts, fists did the talking.

"Greetings, Master Huang." Both the man and woman bowed respectfully.

Huang Sihai could not hide his smug little expression. He cleared his throat and said, "Let me introduce you. These two are Red Poles from Hesheng Tu."

Hesheng Tu?

Li Xiuwen had heard of it. It was the largest society in the settlement's East District, and also a branch of the Everjoy Society.

"I'm Wild Chicken—the chicken in chicken cutlet... and she's Lion-Head Buddha. We came here today to recruit a few members. Anyone interested?" the man asked.

"Me!"

"Me, me!"

A whole crowd immediately raised their hands.

After considering it, Li Xiuwen raised his hand as well. He needed money.

After taking Fish Ball last time, he had not been able to stop thinking about it.

With his current strength, if he joined a society and acted carefully, he should be able to earn enough to support his martial arts training.

The man stepped forward and smiled. "I'll need to feel your bones first. Hesheng Tu doesn't take just anyone."

Wild Chicken examined the bones of the dozen or so trainees one by one.

In the end, he looked at Liu Chun. "Not bad. Purple Membrane already—you'll do. Want to join Hesheng Tu? From now on, Brother Chicken will look after you."

Liu Chun was overjoyed. "I do."

She was not desperately short of money, but she wanted to join a society too.

She wanted fame, wanted to rise above the rest, wanted the admiration of thousands!

The golden-haired woman came over to Silly Qiang and A Zhen. "Do you two want to join a society?"

"Yes! Sister Buddha, take me under your wing!" A Zhen said with a grin.

"I can join too? I'm a little slow," Silly Qiang said, scratching his head.

"Both of you have decent bone structure. Big guy, you were born with some strength, weren't you?" Lion-Head Buddha asked.

"Before I started training, my strength wasn't much worse than someone at Azure Membrane. Master said I was born with divine strength," Silly Qiang said with a smile.

"Those born with divine strength are suited to hard qigong. That happens to be my specialty. Follow me, and I'll make you the hardest man in the settlement," Lion-Head Buddha said.

"Silly Qiang, why aren't you thanking your master?" Huang Sihai signaled with his eyes.

"Master? Aren't you my master?" Silly Qiang was dumbfounded.

"You're really stupid. Sister Buddha is willing to teach you hard qigong, and you should be secretly celebrating, damn it. She's a renowned hard qigong expert in the settlement," A Zhen scolded.

Even Liu Chun was tempted.

Hard qigong, also known as horizontal training, was something very few people knew.

Out of so many martial arts halls, not many taught hard qigong.

If she could cultivate a hard qigong art, then with her talent, reaching the second floor would be a sure thing. She might even have a chance to compete for next year's "Crossing the River quota."

It was said that Mr. Ming was the settlement's foremost hard qigong expert, known as the "Underground Bright King"!

"Hard qigong..." Li Xiuwen clenched his fists. What man did not want to be harder?

He wanted to study under Sister Buddha as well, so he volunteered himself and asked, "Sister Buddha, are you still taking people?"

Lion-Head Buddha lowered her gaze to him. She had not noticed Li Xiuwen at all; after all, both his cultivation and bone structure were utterly ordinary, and he did not possess inborn divine strength.

"There are no openings for now... but if you're real gold, you'll always be welcome."

"Alright." Li Xiuwen was not disappointed. His starting point was low. It was only natural that an expert like her would not think much of him.

That same day, Lion-Head Buddha and Wild Chicken took Liu Chun, Silly Qiang, and A Zhen to the society. They first underwent the initiation rite, then received their ranks.

Those with good talent like them generally started as Forty-Nines and could be assigned decent work with little danger.

When societies recruited from martial arts halls, they wanted to cultivate core backbones. They had to let the newcomers grow first.

People casually pulled in from the streets were merely there to make up the numbers and fill out the facade. When fights broke out, they were cannon fodder.

The others watched Liu Chun and the rest leave with envy.

Li Xiuwen continued practicing his punches, focusing on what lay before him.

In the blink of an eye, another seven days passed.

At Four Seas Martial Arts Hall, Li Xiuwen returned Miscellany from the Martial Tomb to Old Chen.

"Brother Li, don't lose heart. Things have been unsettled lately. Joining a society might not necessarily be a good thing," Old Chen consoled him from inside the cage.

"Mm." Li Xiuwen looked toward the Incense Burner.

[Li Xiuwen]

[Martial Arts]

[Beginner Martial Arts Knowledge: Beginner (67%)]

[Sea-Sand Stance: Beginner (44%)]

[Sand-Turning Palm: Beginner (53%)]

[Stage: Azure Membrane (44%)]

"Soon. Another month and I'll reach Purple Membrane. The Sand-Turning Palm should reach minor mastery too."

At lunchtime, Huang Sihai came to the table with his hands clasped behind his back, walked around it once, then cleared his throat.

All the disciples immediately stood up, waiting for him to speak.

Huang Sihai said, "I have an announcement."

"Please, Master~" A Zhen was lively by nature. She immediately gave Huang Sihai her seat, lightly massaging Old Huang's shoulders as she grinned.

Huang Sihai enjoyed it greatly. There were few female disciples at Four Seas Martial Arts Hall, and he liked A Zhen. With her around, everyone's daily training was not quite so dull.

Huang Sihai looked at Liu Chun in the center of the crowd. "In one month, the Night Heron Martial Arts Hall next door will come to pay our hall a visit."

"Pay our hall a visit?" Liu Chun showed interest. "Master, do you need our help?"

Huang Sihai sighed. "That old Night Heron is as shrewd as a seasoned demon. He says he's paying a visit, but really, he wants to kick down our doors.

"That old Night Heron claims to be descended from a prestigious school and styles himself an inheritor of the White Crane Style, though the White Crane Style itself refuses to acknowledge him.

"For years, he has racked his brains searching for martial arts prodigies and continuously raised his recruitment standards, all because he wants to elevate the Night Heron Style into a 'renowned school' and slap the White Crane Style in the face.

"This year, he took in a promising disciple and can't wait to come here and show off, using our Four Seas Martial Arts Hall to bolster his reputation.

"That would be one thing, but he even invited Ming Pao reporters to come interview and cover it. He clearly intends to use us as a stepping stone!"