A young man dressed in white stood in front of him. The right man's arm was folded in front of his stomach as long sleeves hung off his arm. His other arm he held behind his back as he stood straight and tall with elegance. He had a small bun that was decorated with a metal band and stuck up from his head as the rest of his long, white hair flowed down his back. More than anything, he looked more like a scholar than a martial artist. His hands were white, soft, and delicate. They didn't seem like hands fit for fighting.

Luo Xiao Zhao took his foot off the desk and started to walk toward the newcomer. However, the old man quickly intercepted his path and held up his arm as a means to block Luo Xiao Zhao from getting closer.

"Well, Shi Fu Wang, this boy tried to barge into the building without a name tablet. I told him he couldn't and so he threw a fit," explained the old man.

"Oh? Is that so?" Shi Fu Wang asked as he eyed Luo Xiao Zhao carefully.

"Yes! Yes!" The old man said hurriedly.

"I was asking him. Not you. Answer me, is that true?" Shi Fu Wang asked as he turned to Luo Xiao Zhao.

Luo Xiao Zhao only studied his shoes.

"Forget it. Let him enter," Shi Fu Wang ordered.

"What? But he—"

"I said let him enter. Don't make this hard," Shi Fu Wang said firmly.

The old man looked down and sighed. Reluctantly, he let his arm fall to his side.

Luo Xiao Zhao looked at the old man smugly as he passed him.

"What is your name?" the man asked.

"My name is Luo Xiao Zhao. Thank you for accepting me," Luo Xiao Zhao said as he clasped his hands in front of himself and prepared to bow as a sign of respect. However, as he was about to bow, Shi Fu Wang reached his hands out and took hold of Luo Xiao Zhao's arm and stopped him. He said, "No need to bow to me yet. I am not yet your teacher. I only allowed you to take the exam. Bow to me later after you pass my exam."

Luo Xiao Zhao let his arms drop to his side as he said, "You're right. You're right. I am still not your disciple but don't worry. I will soon be." He smiled and entered the building.

Shi Fu Wang looked up to see an onlooking crowd. "What are all of you looking at? Get back to your work. There's nothing to see here."

"That's right! Go back to work," the old man yelled as the crowd started to disperse.

Shi Fu Wang sighed and headed back inside, closing the door behind him.

Luo Xiao Zhao entered the building to find himself in a spacious room made of white stone. In front of him were lines of tables occupied by dozens of people. By now, there was a low buzz in the room as the potential disciples talked among themselves and wondered where the Shi Fu had gone. Luo Xiao Zhao scanned the room and found an empty table near the back corner of the room. He slowly made his way towards it and once he reached it, sat down cross-legged.

When he looked up, he found Shi Fu Wang at the front of the room. He cleared his throat and said, "Let us continue the examination. As I was saying, the exam will have three parts: a writing part, a reading part, and a chance for you to show your skills in martial arts. Now let us continue. I have sheets of paper up front which I will give to you all. I am sure that most of you had brought your writing brush which—"

"I thought you were testing to see our skills! Not our reading and writing ability!" A voice protested loudly.

"He's right! Why are you giving us such a useless exam?" Another voice chimed in.

Then suddenly, dozens of people were talking at once.

From nearby, Luo Xiao Zhao heard one say, "Is he really a Shi Fu? Maybe he doesn't know what he's doing!"

"That can't be right! Isn't he the world-renowned martial artist Wang Jing Ling? He must have his reasons," another replied.

By now the confusion and the chatter was at its peak when suddenly a voice thundered, "Silence!"

It instantly grew quiet. There was a heaviness in the air and an intensity that no one dared to break because Shi Fu Wang had spoken.

As if surprised himself, Shi Fu Wang looked around awkwardly and when he realized everyone was staring at him, he cleared his throat uneasily. "Everyone, please. There is no need to get this loud over an exam. If any of you have qualms about my testing method that is fine. Just remember that the door is right there for any of you with complaints. You may take your leave," he said smoothly as he lifted his arms and pointed toward the direction of the door.

There was a stillness in the air. It was so uncomfortable that a couple of people started to squirm. Then suddenly, a man stood up and declared, "Fine. I don't even want to be a part of your sect. Who would want to when you ask them to do useless tasks?" The man marched away, leaving the remaining people to make their decisions.

"What he says does make sense," someone concurred.

"I bet I can get into other, more well-established sects than this sorry attempt in creating one," another said.

Slowly, one by one, people left until only half of the original number of people remained.

Shi Fu Wang, during this whole ordeal, did not flinch at all but instead just stood there stoically. When everyone who wanted to leave left, he finally turned his eyes toward the remaining group of students.

"You all still want to stay?" He asked.

The students exchanged glances and finally, Luo Xiao Zhao spoke up. "Shi Fu Wang, if we don't follow you, who else would we follow?"

At this, the students started to agree.

"Who else would we follow? No one else would be willing to teach us," a short stout boy said.

"Yes. Yes. What he says is right," a tall slim boy agreed.

A silence followed then, and for a minute, Shi Fu Wang said nothing as he looked at the ground. Finally, he looked up and said, "Well if this is the case, please take out your brushes and ink pads."

He started to pass out the thin pieces of paper.

The piece of paper felt soft and fine to Luo Xiao Zhao who had never touched anything so smooth in his life. Luo Xiao Zhao started to look around to see if he could borrow a brush from someone.

By now, Shi Fu Wang was pacing around as he spoke, "I want you all to write a poem about springtime. Try to convey your feelings and thoughts on this season. Try to be as detailed as possible. Now I will stop talking and let you all start." With that, he went to his desk and sat down behind it as he kneeled and sat on the back of his legs. He picked up a brush and started to write.

Luo Xiao Zhao was getting desperate but on neither side of his table did he see someone who would lend him a brush. On his right side was a boy about 16 years old. Although he had a brush and could have been writing, he was instead playing with a red string as he tossed it around and wound it around his fingers again and again. Luo Xiao Zhao was not interested in getting to know this crazy boy and didn't bother to. Then Luo Xiao Zhao glanced to his left and saw a boy around 18 with black hair flowing down his back. He had a cold blank expression as he focused on the test. Luo Xiao Zhao could instantly tell the boy was from a respected family. He had clean white clothes that didn't have a single crease in them and he wore an emblem of a lion made of metal on his forehead. He was currently focusing all his attention on the task at hand. Luo Xiao Zhao, upon seeing his choices, immediately chose the boy on his right side.

"Hey," he whispered to the boy who was intrigued by the red string.

No reply.

"Hey," he called a little louder.

At this, the boy looked up. "What?" He said not quietly.

Luo Xiao Zhao nervously glanced toward the Shi Fu who didn't seem to hear.

"What's your name?"

"What?!" He asked so loudly that his voice echoed in the room. At this, Shi Fu Wang looked up and tried to find the culprit who had just spoken. Luo Xiao Zhao used his arm to support his head as he turned his head away.

"Why are you talking, Li Zheng Shao?" Shi Fu Wang asked in an authoritative tone.

"I..." Li Zheng Shao glanced at Luo Xiao Zhao but seeing no help offered, resolved to stare at the paper in front of him.

"No more talking or else you will be disqualified," Shi Fu Wang warned.

The boy on his right didn't look at Luo Xiao Zhao the whole time. Luo Xiao Zhao knew that his time was running out so in a desperate attempt, he turned to the boy on his left.

"Hey," Luo Xiao Zhao called.

The boy didn't respond to the call.

"Hey," Luo Xiao Zhao tried again.

Then the boy suddenly spoke, "Shi Fu Wang, the boy sitting by me is disturbing me. Could you please punish him?"

"You—" Luo Xiao Zhao said indignantly as he felt his face flush.

"Why are you bothering him, Luo Xiao Zhao? Didn't I warn you that anyone who speaks during the exam will be disqualified?" Shi Fu Wang questioned.

"Shi Fu Wang, I just wanted to ask for a brush to start the exam," explained Luo Xiao Zhao.

"You came in unprepared. You shouldn't expect others to make up for your mistake now, should you?"

"I didn't know I needed a writing brush. I thought the exam was only on the usage of martial arts."

"Is it your first time taking an exam?"

Luo Xiao Zhao looked around with uncertainty. "What do you mean?"

"Is this your first time attending an exam?"

"Yes."

"Since it is your first time, I won't fault you for your mistake. If you had taken other exams, you would have known to be prepared for anything. That includes bringing a writing brush and paper," Shi Fu Wang sighed. "You can take my writing brush," he said as he picked up the brush and held it out.

Luo Xiao Zhao stood up and walked toward the front of the room. He felt all the students' eyes on him as he did so. When he finally reached the front and gently took the brush from Shi Fu Wang. He bowed slightly and Shi Fu Wang nodded. Luo Xiao Zhao took his leave and quickly retreated to his desk.

At his desk, his heart beat quickly. He forced his breath to slow down and concentrated on the task at hand. Fortunately, he knew how to write. If not for his determination and secrecy in learning how to write, he would not have been able to pass the exam. His caretaker had forbidden him to learn how to write, claiming Luo Xiao Zhao wasn't smart enough to learn. Luo Xiao Zhao wanted to prove Xia Ning wrong and so he rebelled. He would steal some of the wooden bamboo scrolls Xia Ning had and would teach himself to read at night. He remembered once, he got caught, and in a fit of rage, Xia Ning refused to give him food for three days and nights. On the second day without food, Luo Xiao Zhao was sent to buy food in town. When he arrived at the town, however, he felt weak and collapsed on the ground. He thought he was going to die, but fortunately he met an elderly woman who gave him some food. This woman was Madam Ming.

From that day onwards, Luo Xiao Zhao promised himself that he would always buy fish from her stand to show her his gratitude.

Now as Luo Xiao Zhao focused on writing, his hand wrote the characters gracefully as if they had a mind of their own. He could tell that the tip of the brush he was using was made from the fur of the fox which happened to be one of the best brushes anyone could afford. He had only written one page when Shi Fu Wang spoke. "Alright everyone, put down your brush."

Everyone did as they were told.

Shi Fu Wang stood up and started to pace around the front of the room as he started his lecture, "Look at this." He said as he held up his own piece of paper he had been writing on. "I want you all to take the piece of paper you were just writing on and hold it up like I am now."

Everyone followed his example as they held up their paper with one hand.

"Now I want you to do this," he said as he suddenly crumpled the paper to everyone's dismay.

"Shi Fu, why do you want us to crumple the paper up? If we crumple it up, then you won't be able to grade us on our work," a voice to Luo Xiao Zhao's right protested.

"You're right," Shi Fu Wang agreed. "But I have my different reasons. Do you trust me enough to do as I ask?"

Shi Fu Wang looked around the room with his piercing gaze and made eye contact with Luo Xiao Zhao who squirmed in his chair. He felt soul naked in front of Shi Fu Wang's gaze and quickly broke eye contact.

There was a hesitation among the group until one boy, about the age of 17, declared, "I will crumple my paper. Shi Fu Wang has his reasons and if we are to become his disciples, we must learn to trust him. As a sign of my trust, I will now crumple my paper." He put the paper in his palm and crumpled it.

The rest of the group followed suit and the crumpling of paper could be heard throughout the room. After it was done, everyone waited breathlessly for Shi Fu Wang to speak.

Shi Fu Wang looked pleased as he smiled. "Well done everyone. You have all passed the first test. For a sect to be established, the disciples must learn how to trust their leader, and all of you, have just demonstrated that to me. However, I have another reason I had you crumple your paper. I wanted you all to know that what is written on the paper ultimately does not matter. It is the process that matters. Think of it this way, when you were writing each stroke, were you aware of the impact each stroke of the brush had on the overall message? No? Yet each stroke is very important in making the message clear. If you accidentally add or forget a stroke here or there, you could change the character and thus the meaning of the whole message. This is true not only in the world of literature but also in the world of martial arts. Each move you make is very impactful. With each move, like the stroke of the brush, you can either save people or hurt people. Martial arts are used not only to kill, but to protect."

There was a short pause then Shi Fu Wang suddenly said, "Alright. That concludes the writing section of the exam. Let us go on to the next section which is the reading section. I will hand you bamboo scrolls for you to read. Afterward, I will ask you some questions."

Shi Fu Wang took a pile of bamboo slips and passed them down.

The bamboo scroll was made of pieces of bamboo that were smoothened and bound together by a throng. On each slip of bamboo, a narrow vertical column of about twelve characters existed. The scroll felt cool in the hands of Luo Xiao Zhao and brought delight to his fingers. As he read, he found characters he didn't know. Based on the context of the passage, he figured out the main ideas conveyed. At length, Shi Fu Wang interrupted the silence. "Let us begin answering the questions."

Shi Fu Wang asked a series of questions based on the passage such as "What sect invented the wheel," "What does each sect value," "Which sects are the biggest," and "Which are the smallest?" For each question, multiple hands went up and then Shi Fu Wang would pick someone to answer. If they got it right, he would congratulate them. If they got it wrong, he would gently correct them.

At last, he no longer asked questions based on the passage but instead asked, "Now that we have gone through the reading and the questions, do you know what the purpose of this drill was?"

Everyone looked at each other puzzled.

"I wanted to test your ability to comprehend the task given to you. As you read, you had to learn to comprehend the words written in front of you. In Jiang Hu, the world of martial arts, it is important to comprehend the consequences of your actions as well as the situation you are facing. Without proper comprehension, Jiang Hu could be thrown into chaos and many people would suffer. I hope that you all want to learn martial arts for the right reasons and not for fame."

Pause.

"Now let us go out and finish the last portion of the test. Please follow me," Shi Fu Wang said as he led the way out.

The group followed him.

He led them to a small clearing in the forest nearby. After the group had gathered around him, he spoke, " The last test is simple. I want you all to try to beat me in a match." There was a smile on his lips.

At this, the group murmured among themselves.

"He's skilled in martial arts. How come he asks us to best him in a fighting match?" someone asked.

"I know right? His standards are way too high," another responded.

Then a voice rose above the clamor and everyone stopped talking.

"Fine! If you insist on fighting, I will!" A tough-looking boy beside Luo Xiao Zhao declared as he pulled out his sword and charged.

In a flash, Shi Fu Wang whipped out his sword and they instantly clashed.

The boy went for the feet of the Shi Fu but the Shi Fu flew into the air and continued to spin horizontally, instantly putting the boy on defense as he tried to block the blows of the Shi Fu.

Then the Shi Fu landed and they continued to spar. A jab there. A Dodge here. It went on for a minute. Then, with a firm and quick flick of the wrist, Shi Fu Wang disarmed the boy and his sword flew out of his hand and landed vertically on the ground. The boy tried catching his breath as he bent over gasping.

Shi Fu Wang sheathed his sword and said confidently, "Anyone else wants to give it a try?"

No one dared.

Shi Fu Wang sighed. "Very well. To be honest, this was not a test of martial arts but a test of courage. What is your name?" he turned toward the boy he had just fought.

"Li An," he replied.

"Li An fought me despite knowing he would lose. That's courage: to do what is necessary even when you already know the results. He also showed no fear when he fought me despite having a strong opposition. That is a good quality to have. Well done, Li An," he paused. Then continued, "That is all for today. Tomorrow, I will reveal who has passed the test by putting a notice on the town board. Thank you all for your time. Goodbye."

He walked away.

The remaining people started to disperse, murmuring amongst themselves.

Luo Xiao Zhao hesitated a bit longer before finally chasing after Shi Fu Wang.

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Hey guys!! Are you enjoying the story? Thanks for reading the second chapter! Feel free to comment if you like. If you have any feedback, please let me know! Thanks for your support and have an amazing day!