Thanks to Yan Kuan, Li Boda caught the attention of most people in the cast of Young Zhang Sanfeng, and pretty much everyone there knew who he was.
This could be considered a blessing in disguise for Li Boda.
After all, before this, nobody even knew who Li Boda was.
Now that the crew members knew him, whenever minor background roles came up—even if it was just shouting a line off-screen—they would call for Li Boda.
And so, Li Boda's appearances in the cast of Young Zhang Sanfeng began to multiply.
Well, not quite. To be precise, his opportunities to play extra roles increased.
They were all nameless extras with hardly any lines, sometimes not even showing their faces.
Even so, this special treatment made quite a few other background actors green with envy.
These extras inevitably gossiped about Li Boda behind his back. But Li Boda didn't care about that at all, because his good luck had finally arrived.
"Hey, Li Boda, Yan Kuan mentioned you know martial arts, is that right?" an assistant director approached him to ask.
"Yes, yes, Director! I know martial arts, I've practiced sword and palm techniques, and it's all foundational training! Would you like me to show you?" Li Boda hurriedly replied.
"Alright, go ahead and show me," the assistant director nodded.
Li Boda looked left and right, then trotted over to grab a prop sword. He took his stance, and the Hengshan Sword Technique unfolded in his hands.
To be honest, the Hengshan Sect had quite a few formidable sword techniques, such as the Mutating Illusion Cloud Thirteen Styles, the Wind-Returning Falling Wild Geese Sword, the Five Hengshan Divine Swords, and so on. But back when Li Boda was an extra playing Liu Zhengfeng's disciple, he was just a very ordinary student. He hadn't learned a single one of those powerful techniques and only knew the basic swordplay of the Hengshan Sect.
However, the sword techniques of the Hengshan Sect all shared a common lineage passed down from their founder. And since the founder of the Hengshan Sect had been a street performer before becoming a martial arts master, their swordplay—even the basics—emphasized eccentricity and illusion. Thus, even though it was only basic swordplay, in Li Boda's hands it still dazzled onlookers like a magic trick, making it exceptionally entertaining to watch.
"Clap, clap, clap! Excellent!"
"Li Boda, your swordplay really looks amazing!"
"That's right, it's just like magic—now you see it, now you don't!"
"I never expected your swordplay to be so awesome, Li Boda!"
Yan Kuan, Li Bingbing, Hu Jing, and the others had walked over while Li Boda was performing. As soon as he finished his set, they started applauding.
"How about that, Assistant Director? I told you Li Boda knows martial arts. Do you believe it now?" Yan Kuan patted the assistant director on the shoulder and said with a chuckle.
"I believe it, I believe it. I originally thought Li Boda's swordplay would be just like any other martial artist's, but I never imagined it would be this impressive—it looks fantastic. We could literally use this directly in the show," the assistant director nodded, giving them plenty of face.
"Then you've got to arrange a decent role for him," Yan Kuan said casually.
When Yan Kuan said this, he was basically joking and didn't take it seriously at all.
Yet even though Yan Kuan didn't think much of it, the assistant director couldn't afford to take it lightly.
Although Yan Kuan had acted in television dramas before this, he wasn't particularly famous.
However, both Yan Kuan and Li Bingbing were graduates of the Shanghai Theatre Academy. After joining the crew, the two of them became relatively close and often chatted and laughed together. By this time, Li Bingbing had already starred in Young Justice Bao and Smart Master, making her quite a star already. On top of that, Li Bingbing's manager was Wang Jinghua.
Therefore, even though Yan Kuan was just joking, the assistant director felt that Yan Kuan was borrowing someone else's authority to intimidate him, and consequently, he couldn't help but take his words seriously.
The assistant director looked at Li Boda in deep thought.
"Let me see... you're a pretty handsome guy, and your physical skills are good. You'd actually be quite suited for the role of Zhang Cuishan..." the assistant director mused. Of course, he was just talking; he couldn't make the final decision alone for a role of that caliber.
Hearing the assistant director say this, Li Boda couldn't help feeling thrilled.
Even though Li Boda didn't have the script for Young Zhang Sanfeng, he had read all of Louis Cha's novels cover-to-cover and knew very well that Zhang Cuishan was Zhang Sanfeng's fifth disciple and the father of the protagonist Zhang Wuji in The Heaven Sword and the Dragon Saber.
Even if this wasn't an adaptation of Louis Cha's work, he figured Zhang Cuishan's role should be substantial.
"Zhang Cuishan? Letting some random nobody play Zhang Cuishan—Assistant Director, are you joking?" Dicky Cheung walked over from somewhere and casually chimed in after hearing the assistant director's words.
Dicky Cheung wasn't necessarily targeting Li Boda, because Li Boda simply didn't register in his eyes; after all, if not for Yan Kuan, who would even know Li Boda existed?
It was just that Yan Kuan, Li Bingbing, and the others had gathered together, and in the middle of their conversation, they were about to hand an important supporting role to an extra while he, the main lead, wasn't included—leaving him feeling as though he had been left out in the cold. Feeling disgruntled, he simply came over to stir up trouble.
Yet in the ears of the assistant director, Dicky Cheung's words carried the weight of an imperial decree.
Forget Yan Kuan—even if you combined Yan Kuan, Li Bingbing, and everyone else like Li Xiaolu, they still couldn't compare to a single Dicky Cheung.
So the assistant director immediately changed his tune.
"That's right, that's right. The role of Zhang Cuishan is quite important; an extra isn't suitable for such a major part," the assistant director nodded repeatedly.
Hearing the assistant director backpedal and glancing at Yan Kuan's somewhat unpleasant expression, Dicky Cheung's mood instantly improved. "I think you should just let him play Yu Daiyan instead!"
"Alright, Li Boda is it? The role of Yu Daiyan is yours," the assistant director finalized the decision right then and there.
Mainly because the role of Zhang Cuishan, while not the male lead or second lead, was at least fourth or fifth in importance. But the role of Yu Daiyan ranked well beyond the top ten, making him nothing more than an inconspicuous minor supporting character.
The assistant director had full authority to make that call, especially since Dicky Cheung himself had specified it.
"Thank you, Teacher Cheung! Thank you, Director! Thank you, Teacher Yan! Thank you, Teacher Li..."
Even though Li Boda didn't know the script, he was well aware that the role he had just landed was completely incomparable to Zhang Cuishan. Yet Li Boda still thanked them profusely, even thanking Dicky Cheung first.
This was the growth that came from nearly a year of playing extras.
Besides, no matter how minor Yu Daiyan might be, it was still a named character with lines, which already represented a huge step forward.
Hearing Li Boda's expression of gratitude, Dicky Cheung didn't react at all. He simply turned around and strolled away lightly, completely dismissing Li Boda as a mere extra.