Huang Sihai

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Huang Sihai (黄四海)
Alias(es)	Old Huang; Master Huang 5 8
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Four Seas Martial Arts Hall; Sea Sand Style 8
Occupation/Role	Master of Four Seas Martial Arts Hall; Sea Sand Style inheritor; landlord 5 59
Status	Alive 69
First Appearance	1

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Tiger Elephant	68	Despite having only average aptitude in his youth, Huang Sihai advanced step by step to Tiger Elephant; the exact time of his breakthrough is unstated.
Third-ring expert	1	Identified as an expert of the third ring.

Background

Huang Sihai learned boxing in Prosperous State during his childhood before becoming the custodian of the Sea Sand Style in the Enclave. He considers the style an orthodox school, though one unable to rival renowned family lineages in fame. Rather than seek prominence, he deliberately keeps the style inconspicuous, believing that conspicuous lineages invite destruction. 8 21

He reveres the Sea Sand Style’s founder, the Nine Dragons Patriarch—also remembered as the Whale-Slaying Daoist, who supposedly killed a crimson whale with his bare fists. Huang hopes to find an exceptional inheritor capable of returning to Prosperous State, recovering the patriarch’s legacy, and restoring the Whale-Slaying lineage. 21

Although he presents himself as a miser, Huang maintains a sizeable operation: he runs Four Seas Martial Arts Hall, sells cultivation resources, and owns the tenement building to which Li Xiuwen’s family relocates. 5 44 59

Personality

Huang is practical, profit-minded, and blunt. He accepts students without formal apprenticeship rites, treats tuition as a straightforward transaction, and warns applicants that inability to pay will result in immediate expulsion. He also deliberately gives vague or softened assessments of prospective students’ aptitude so they will not abandon martial arts before training begins. 5

His pragmatism is paired with a strong preference for caution. Huang teaches his disciples to conceal their cultivation, avoid provoking stronger opponents, and preserve the hall’s secrets. He sees lying low as the key to the Sea Sand Style’s survival in a dangerous era. 8 47 51

Despite his mercenary habits, Huang is protective of disciples who demonstrate promise. He personally invests in Li Xiuwen’s development, shields his cultivation privacy, arranges safer housing for his family, and repeatedly warns him against damaging his future through excessive medicinal aids. 39 52 57 58 68

Abilities & Skills

Martial Attainment

Huang is a third-ring expert who reached Tiger Elephant despite his average natural aptitude. His experience makes him one of the more formidable figures in the Enclave, even if he avoids public displays of power. 1 52 68

• Understands the long-term decline of martial artists whose vitality peaks too late. 9
• Has trained notable disciples including Chen Beiwang, Qiu Xiang, and Xiao Tianhong. 9 36
• Can assess a fighter’s likely strengths and weaknesses from limited observation. 32

Sea Sand Style

Huang is the active inheritor and instructor of the Sea Sand Style. He regards its techniques as plain in name but optimized for practical combat. 8 69

• Sea-Sand Stance — The lineage’s foundational training method. Its four levels are Tidal Stance, Flying Fish Stance, Coiling Dragon Stance, and Sea-Covering Stance. 8
• Sand-Turning Palm — The core fighting technique of the style, with four stages: Waves Sifting Sand, Surging Tides, Shark Shadow Strike, and Giant Whale Swallows the Sea. 13 14
• Thousand-Wave Floating Radiance — An advanced movement technique Huang grants Li Xiuwen after his victory over Tian Er. At the beginner level, it allows the user to run ten steps across water without sinking. 39
• Sleeping Shark Technique — An advanced Sea Sand training method that develops muscle control and conceals strength. Its stages correspond to Snake Muscle, Python Muscle, Flood Dragon Muscle, and the peak of Flood Dragon Muscle. 69

Combat Analysis

Huang possesses broad knowledge of the Enclave’s martial arts schools and can identify decisive advantages during arena matches. At the Nine Dragons Grand Arena, he correctly predicted several winners after watching only a few exchanges. 32

• Recognizes the distinctions between styles such as Black Tiger Style, White Crane Style, and Night Heron Style. 32 37
• Understands the importance of matching training methods, fighting methods, movement techniques, and cultivation realm. 8 14
• Evaluates disciples according to both physical aptitude and comprehension rather than raw realm alone. 31

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Fish Balls — Cultivation medicines Huang sells to disciples. They directly increase qi and blood, but repeated use accumulates medicinal toxins and can undermine future gate-breaking attempts. 20 44 58
• Refined Fish Balls — A second-floor disciple benefit; Huang limits their use to one distributed monthly and no more than twelve additional purchases per year. 52
• Soul-Crushing Powder — The Sea Sand Style’s hidden weapon, compounded from lime, chili powder, and numerous irritating ingredients over forty-nine days. Thrown into an opponent’s face, it can blind them and create an opening for a palm strike; Huang forbids its use in sparring or formal arena competition. 13
• Sea Sand manuals — Huang keeps and distributes copied manuals for techniques such as Sand-Turning Palm, Thousand-Wave Floating Radiance, and the Sleeping Shark Technique. 13 39 69

Relationships

• Li Xiuwen — Initially accepts Li as a fee-paying student without an apprenticeship ceremony. As Li’s talent becomes clear, Huang provides special instruction, cultivation resources, second-floor admission, housing assistance, and advanced Sea Sand techniques. 5 24 39 51 57
• Xiao Tianhong — Former disciple known as “Thunder Boy.” Huang takes visible pride in Tianhong’s advancement through the Three Barriers and his place in the Learning Society. 9
• Chen Beiwang and Qiu Xiang — Former standout disciples and, alongside Xiao Tianhong, members of Four Seas Martial Arts Hall’s “Three Heroes” who entered the Learning Society. 9 36
• Nine Dragons Patriarch / Whale-Slaying Daoist — Huang’s revered patriarch and the founder of the Sea Sand Style’s wider lineage. Huang prays for a successor who can restore the patriarch’s legacy. 21
• Master Ye — Master of Night Heron Martial Arts Hall and Huang’s rival during the inter-hall challenge. Their exchange becomes openly hostile after Ye disparages Huang’s low admission standards and disciples. 35 36 38
• Liu Chun — A gifted disciple Huang initially viewed as Four Seas Martial Arts Hall’s strongest first-floor prospect; Li Xiuwen’s rise eventually shifts Huang’s attention toward Li instead. 14 39

Story Role / Major Arcs

Accepting and Training Li Xiuwen

Huang accepts Li Xiuwen into Four Seas Martial Arts Hall as a monthly-paying student, introduces him to the other disciples, and begins with anatomy and martial theory before allowing him to train. He teaches Li the Sea-Sand Stance, stressing that physical foundation must precede fighting methods. 5 8

After Li reaches Azure Membrane, Huang provides him a Fish Ball and later teaches him Sand-Turning Palm. He also gives Li a packet of Soul-Crushing Powder as a newcomer’s benefit. 10 13

Night Heron Martial Arts Hall Challenge

Concerned that Night Heron Martial Arts Hall intends to use Four Seas as a stepping stone, Huang selects Liu Chun, A Zhen, Silly Qiang, and Li Xiuwen for special training and offers Fish Balls, fee waivers, and an additional movement technique as rewards for victory. 15 16

Although Four Seas loses three matches, Li Xiuwen defeats Tian Er. Huang turns the result into a public defense of the Sea Sand Style, arguing that Li’s victory over a more technically advanced Night Heron disciple proves the value of his teaching. 36 38

Investing in Li Xiuwen

Following Li’s victory, Huang waives three months of his fees, grants him Fish Balls, and personally teaches him Thousand-Wave Floating Radiance. He increasingly regards Li as the hall’s most promising disciple despite his poor natural physique. 31 39 41

After Li wins the internal grand competition, Huang admits him to the second floor and grants him the benefits of a formal disciple, including waived fees, lodging, food support, access to advanced arts, and limited Refined Fish Balls. 51 52

Protecting Li’s Family and Preparing for the Second Gate

When Li’s family is targeted, Huang helps move them into a safer residence near Four Seas Martial Arts Hall. He makes clear that proximity to the hall offers deterrence rather than guaranteed protection, urging Li to become strong enough to protect his own family. 57 58

Huang is alarmed when Li risks a thirty-percent attempt at the Second Gate, but is secretly delighted by his success. He agrees to keep the breakthrough confidential, promises to help Li pursue Flood Dragon Muscle, and begins teaching him the Sleeping Shark Technique. 68 69

Notable Quotes

“A tree that rises above the forest will surely be destroyed by the wind.” 8

“Anyone can teach geniuses! Geniuses do not even need you to teach them. Being able to train ordinary people into something worthwhile—that is real skill!” 36