Chapter 391: Hearing the News of an Industry-Wide Ban

"Li Hao, you've really... tsk tsk."

Zhou You usually didn't say much, but right now he truly couldn't suppress the urge to complain.

All this time, he and Li Hao had exchanged letters, and he had assumed the other was doing quite well.

Who would have expected that upon meeting again, it would be a long story!

Li Hao was already at the Qi and Blood 7th Stage, which counted as the later stage of Qi and Blood, so his strength was not bad.

Judging by the way his muscles moved while walking, the traces of the Tiger-Subduing Fist were very faint; clearly, he had switched to training in another style of fist.

If he were still in Gongliang City, he could at least count as an expert, but unfortunately, this was Fucheng, where anyone below the rank of Martial Master didn't even count.

Zhou You had originally intended to pay a visit, but he hadn't expected to run into him halfway; the two companions by Li Hao's side were actually just idle street ruffians, and no matter how one looked at it, he didn't seem to be doing very well.

"Zhou You, you didn't even tell me when you arrived."

Li Hao grabbed his hands, "Let's go, my treat, at Liufang Garden."

"I don't drink flower wine."

Zhou You refused decisively; he had been to that place with Zhang Huaimin, and the air was filled with the scent of powder and rouge—it wasn't refreshing enough.

"."

Li Hao looked at him in confusion, "How do you know Liufang Garden is a place for drinking flower wine?"

"Ahem, I heard a whisper of it occasionally."

Zhou You said with a straight face, "That's not the point; the point is why are you idling about instead of practicing your fists and working at home?"

Li Hao gave a bitter laugh, "It's a long story; let's just find a place to drink and talk."

It was clear that Li Hao was also feeling very depressed inside.

The two sparring partners reunited in a strange land and picked a clean tavern at random, opening up with every sip of wine and every word.

It turned out that after Li Hao moved to Fucheng and sought refuge with his uncle, his life had been stable enough.

His uncle was very good to him, and the people of the same age in the household were not bad either, taking great care of Li Hao.

However, the circle of peers in Fucheng was very exclusionary; Li Hao couldn't fit in, and after hitting a wall a few times, he became disheartened.

"Don't look at them as just street ruffians; their temperaments are simple, without all that passive-aggressiveness or hidden agendas, where every sentence has eight or nine hooks buried in it, and if you aren't careful, they'll strip you down to your bones."

Li Hao gulped down a large mouthful of wine, "Zhou You, 'a man away from home is cheap'—I finally understand that now."

His aptitude was upper-middle, allowing him to stand out among ordinary martial artists, but in Fucheng, where talent was abundant and geniuses emerged in droves, he wasn't impressive enough; plus, he had no family background and was from out of town.

To make matters worse, the second-generation heirs in his uncle's circle were either rich or noble, and they all looked down on him and wouldn't let him join their games.

He wanted to break into the martial arts hall circle, but he suffered from having no connections, so in the end, he had to befriend two street ruffian youths and go out wandering whenever he had nothing to do to vent his inner frustration.

"So you didn't mention a single word of this in the letters you wrote to me!"

Zhou You patted him on the shoulder, "You really don't treat me like a friend."

"Trivial matters, no need to waste paper and ink. By the way, I want to congratulate you in person for breaking through to Martial Master."

Li Hao offered a suggestion, "In Fucheng, you must establish a career; without a career, you cannot build a home. With so many Martial Masters in the city, only by opening a martial arts hall can you be considered to have made it."

"Zhou You, if you open a martial arts hall, I'll come to help you without a second word."

Next, Zhou You asked him about the inside story of the Three Families Joint Guarantee and the Pass Seven Barriers.

"Don't even think about the Three Families Joint Guarantee; that's opening a back door for one's own people. Without blood ties or friendship, who would be willing to guarantee you?"

Li Hao held up a finger to analyze, "Last month, someone did obtain the qualification through the Three Families Joint Guarantee, but look at their family background." Kongming Fist—Shang Lutong; the three martial arts halls that guaranteed him were the Iron Palm Martial Arts Hall, the Bafang Martial Arts Hall, and the Jingui Martial Arts Hall.

Well, the master of the Iron Palm Martial Arts Hall and Shang Lutong's father were sworn brothers. Back then, when the master married off his daughter to a noble family and couldn't scrape together the dowry, Old Shang sold his family assets to help with all his might—they were iron-clad brothers.

The Bafang Martial Arts Hall still owes Shang Lutong's family fifty years of land rent! That's right, Shang Lutong's family are deep-rooted natives of Fucheng with massive family assets, owning real estate and shops on dozens of streets.

As for the Jingui Martial Arts Hall...

When Pei Li was passing the Seven Barriers, he had once owed Shang Lutong a favor, and this time it was a case of returning a peach for a plum.

This cannot be replicated!

Zhou You shook his head, "Tell me in detail about the Pass Seven Barriers."

"Well, although the difficulty of the Pass Seven Barriers is high, some people have passed it..."

Li Hao paused and explained, "Passing the Seven Barriers grants the qualification to open a martial arts hall, but in reality, the only person who successfully opened one was Pei Li."

"It's just an entry ticket. If you want to open a martial arts hall, you need land, money, and people. Without local support in Fucheng, you simply can't get it done."

"There was a Martial Master with formidable strength who cleared the Seven Barriers, but he ended up offending everyone; he couldn't rent land or recruit disciples, and in the end, he had to leave Fucheng in disgrace, destination unknown."

Zhou You rubbed his forehead; was it the same old story of human relationships and worldly wisdom?

"Hmm, is there a... on Wanxiu Mountain?"

Before the word "Headmaster" could leave his lips, the two ruffian youths who had just left walked in hurriedly, one holding a jar of wine and the other carrying a roasted chicken.

They had just been sent by Li Hao to get more wine and food, and they returned with hurried expressions, as if they had heard something.

"Brother Li, is this master the Zhou You who came from Gongliang City?"

Zhou You frowned; did you eat the name Winged Tiger? It seems Fucheng really isn't easy to get by in; the nickname that made a splash locally couldn't even be brought over, and if one wants to make a name for oneself, one has to start all over again.

The two ruffian youths, who hung around the streets and were well-informed, immediately spoke of a matter.

"I heard people saying that a Martial Master named Zhou You from Gongliang City is a cast-off disciple of a branch of Dayin Mountain, and the martial arts halls in the city with Dayin Mountain backgrounds have already declared that they will cut off all his paths."

Bang! Li Hao slapped the table, "Damn it, how could I have forgotten about this!"

"Zhou You, half of the martial arts world in our city belongs to Wanxiu Mountain, and the other half to Dayin Mountain. You shouldn't have fallen out with Wang Laohu back then; this is terrible."

The two ruffian youths were very loyal; they had secretly heard the news and told Li Hao and Zhou You the first chance they got.

The way sects band together and exclude outsiders was displayed vividly and thoroughly in this instance.

"Under normal circumstances, when one is ostracized, are there any precedents, and what is the outcome?"

Li Hao thought for a moment and pointed in the direction of the Hall of a Thousand Faces, "They're all hanging on the bounty board!"

The fate of martial artists rejected by the mainstream martial arts circles is undoubtedly miserable; they have almost nowhere to Zang in Fucheng, and since they can't do legitimate work, they are forced to resort to robbery and become Evil Martial Artists.

The final outcome would be to have a bounty placed on one's head by the Thousand Faces Hall, becoming prey for all martial artists.

"Zhou You, I will go back and plead with my uncle to see if we can use the connections of Wanxiu Mountain to settle this matter."

The more Li Hao spoke, the weaker his tone became; clearly, he had no confidence in his heart either.

Having lived in Fucheng for this time, he also saw the interests clearly: his uncle's family took care of his food, clothing, housing, and transportation, but they were not responsible for his future or prospects; everything had to be fought for and earned by himself.

Not to mention a Zhou You, even if Li Hao offended Dayin Mountain, it was not certain that he could use the connections of Wanxiu Mountain.

"No need to trouble yourself, I have my own way. You first tell me the detailed content of the Pass Seven Barriers, can I set a goal for clearing the challenge..."

(End of chapter)