How long has it been... just a few words... and he mastered Ding Xin Zhou (Apex Elbow)?
Even Li Shuhang, the Great Master of Baji Quan (Eight Extremities Fist) renowned as Godly Spear, was somewhat questioning reality at this moment.
“Master, you just said... how long did it take you to master Ding Xin Zhou (Apex Elbow) back then?”
The young woman couldn't help but ask.
“...”
Li Shuhang fell silent for a moment, then, with his hands behind his back and a serene expression, he looked up at the sky, “Three sentences. This young man is good, almost catching up to me back then.”
Three sentences?
Suspicion flickered in the young woman's eyes. Judging by her Master's mouth shape earlier, he was clearly about to say the word “days”.
But then she thought, her Master is the famous Godly Spear Li Shuhang. If even this seemingly unremarkable young man could master Ding Xin Zhou (Apex Elbow) in a few sentences, then her Master being a little faster... should... be quite reasonable, right?
“Oh?”
At this moment, the young woman saw the middle-aged man reveal a smile befitting a Senior expert and was about to step towards Huo Yuanhong. Her expression immediately changed slightly, and she hastily said,
“Master, you're not going to take him as a Disciple, are you?”
“What? Is this young fellow not good enough to be your Junior Brother?”
Li Shuhang chuckled.
“Of course not, his talent is more than sufficient,” the young woman shook her head, but hesitated, “But... but the Tianjin Martial Arts Association has already set a rule: no Martial Halls are allowed to recruit commoners anymore. If we break the rule, I'm afraid it will invite widespread targeting.”
“He's worth it.”
Looking at Huo Yuanhong's profile, Li Shuhang's eyes were filled with an uncontrollable admiration, “Such a good seed for martial arts shouldn't be delayed by prejudice of social standing. I will bear the pressure from the Martial Arts Association myself.”
The young woman remained silent for a moment, knowing it would be difficult to persuade her Master.
After all... this young man's talent was truly too good.
So good that her Master would not hesitate to go against the Martial Arts Association and the Powerful Families behind it, just to take him as a Disciple.
It's just... is it really worth it?
The young woman sighed inwardly.
She also understood that this young man was exceptionally talented. If he had twenty or thirty years to grow, his future achievements might even surpass her Master's.
But in today's world, the ban on martial arts for commoners is the prevailing trend. Anyone in the face of such a trend is merely a mantis trying to stop a chariot.
Even if the Divine Spear Martial Hall is powerful, facing the concerted attacks of the Powerful Families and various Martial Halls, it wouldn't be able to protect him for long.
Paying a huge price just to allow this young man to practice martial arts for an extra year or two... is it worth it?
At this moment, Li Shuhang had already walked in front of Huo Yuanhong and spoke with a cheerful smile:
“Young man, seeing that your talent is still acceptable, are you interested in becoming a Disciple of my Godly Spear Li Shuhang?”
Godly Spear Li Shuhang!
Hearing this name, Huo Yuanhong's heart immediately trembled.
This person was a living legend, unparalleled in both fist and spear!
His fist had never been defeated! His spear had never been defeated!
The Wen Jian Martial Arts School instructor he had once wanted to apprentice under was, compared to him, like a firefly next to a bright moon.
In fact, even if the five Masters of the Wen Jian Martial Arts School attacked together, they probably wouldn't dare to declare: Li Shuhang couldn't kill them all before running out of strength!
As long as he became a Disciple of this Senior, he wouldn't have to slowly deduce the subsequent Manifest Force, Dark Force, Huajin, and even higher methods of Baji Quan (Eight Extremities Fist). It would also be much easier to obtain better internal and external medicinal secrets! This could save him more than half the time, allowing him to master more powerful strength at a faster speed!
If he originally only had a two or three-tenths chance of killing Junzi Jian in the Grand Competition, now he had a ninety-eight percent chance!
More importantly... remembering the conversation between his father and Aunt Wu that afternoon, a long-suppressed emotion surged within Huo Yuanhong's heart.
His father actually always knew that he had been doing very poorly at the Wen Jian Martial Arts School before, working hard for ten years and still failing to become a Disciple of any instructor.
He also always knew that he was lying to him, lying that he was doing well at the Martial Hall and even had hopes of becoming a Core Disciple.
But... if he could become a Disciple of Godly Spear Li Shuhang, and become a Core Disciple of the Divine Spear Martial Hall, which was even stronger than the Wen Jian Martial Arts School, then the image of a “Genius son” he had once fabricated would become real!
Father... he must be able to hold his head high too.
“Huo Yuanhong greets Master.”
Huo Yuanhong had no doubt about the identity of the person in front of him. After all, the last person who dared to impersonate Li Shuhang didn't even have grass on his grave!
“Good! Good! Good!”
Li Shuhang repeated “good” three times, a genuine smile on his face.
“From now on, you are my sixth Disciple, Li Shuhang!”
“Come, this is your Senior Sister Fang Yu, the daughter of Tianjin's richest man. If you ever need money in the future, just find her!”
“Senior Sister.”
Huo Yuanhong stepped forward to greet her.
The young woman felt a bit helpless at this, but since her Master had already made the decision, she couldn't say much.
She felt her waist, realized she hadn't brought her wallet, so she took off the jade bracelet on her wrist and handed it over.
“Here, this is for you, consider it a meeting gift from your Senior Sister.”
“Thank you, Senior Sister.”
Huo Yuanhong accepted it generously. After thanking his Senior Sister, he said to Li Shuhang, “Master, my original apprentice status should still be with the Wen Jian Martial Arts School. I wonder if...”
In the past few days, he hadn't received a dismissal letter from the Wen Jian Martial Arts School, and no one paid attention when he went to the Martial Hall to ask.
That fellow Junzi Jian didn't take him seriously at all, even forgetting to instruct someone to handle the procedures for removing his status.
“A small matter.”
Li Shuhang clapped his hands, and an elderly man immediately emerged from behind a nearby thicket. He was dressed in the Divine Spear Martial Hall steward's uniform, moving silently, like a ghost.
“This is Old Xu. He's been with me for decades. He'll take you to the Wen Jian Martial Arts School to retrieve all your identity files.”
“Thank you, Master.”
Huo Yuanhong thanked him, then followed the old steward into a rickshaw and headed towards the Wen Jian Martial Arts School, where he had spent ten years.
The rickshaw puller ran very fast, and after only a little over fifteen minutes of travel, the two saw the huge golden-lacquered plaque.
They had arrived.
Huo Yuanhong got out of the rickshaw and, along with the old steward, walked into the familiar Wen Jian Martial Arts School.
The arrival of a Divine Spear Martial Hall steward was a rare sight for the people inside the Hall, naturally attracting a lot of attention.
But whether it was the Disciples guarding the gate or the patrolling experts, when the old steward's gaze swept over them, they all subconsciously made way as if possessed.
In this manner, the two arrived unimpeded at the archiving room where files were stored and retrieved the necessary identity files.
“Oh? Senior Brother, look, isn't that the apprentice from your courtyard before? What was his name again, something Hong?”
As they were leaving, someone nearby recognized Huo Yuanhong and quickly told Junzi Jian, who had just arrived.
“The one next to him, judging by his clothes, seems to be from the Divine Spear Martial Hall...”
“Hmm?”
Junzi Jian's gaze swept past Huo Yuanhong without lingering, falling directly on Old Xu, the steward wearing the Divine Spear Martial Hall uniform.
“This person is quite good at currying favor. He was just expelled from the Martial Hall by Senior Brother, and in a blink of an eye, he's latched onto another's steward.”
Someone nearby said with a laugh.
“Let's go, there's nothing good to see.”
Junzi Jian withdrew his gaze and said indifferently.
He had never paid attention to this apprentice. Even if the other party could immediately latch onto a Divine Spear Martial Hall steward, or even a Master-level Huajin Expert, he still wouldn't care.
Years ago, before he became a Disciple of the Wen Jian Martial Arts School, he had also tried out at the Divine Spear Martial Hall and was successfully noticed by several Master-level Huajin Experts, who vied to take him as a Disciple.
However, he was naturally arrogant and believed that Huajin would not be his limit. He was unwilling to be constrained by ordinary Masters who only possessed Huajin, and was solely focused on becoming a Disciple of a top-tier existence that surpassed Huajin.
And although the Divine Spear Martial Hall was known as the strongest Martial Hall, there was only one top-tier existence surpassing Huajin: Li Shuhang.
Seeing that he failed to gain Li Shuhang's Dharma Eye, he then turned to become a Disciple of the Master of the Wen Jian Martial Arts School—a Great Master who, though inferior to Li Shuhang, also surpassed Huajin.
At this time, Huo Yuanhong had completed the procedures and completely removed his identity from the Wen Jian Martial Arts School's roster.
“True Disciple, it's getting late. I'll take you to the Martial Hall first.”
The elderly steward Old Xu said with a smile.
“Thank you for your trouble.”
Huo Yuanhong said.
“True Disciple?!”
Hearing this address, Junzi Jian, who had just turned and walked a few steps, suddenly froze, then sharply turned around to look at the old steward wearing the Divine Spear Martial Hall uniform, and at Huo Yuanhong, whom he had always ignored.
His eyes held an indescribable astonishment!