The Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 1639 - The Mysterious Old Man Wang, Qing Shui Taking Part in the Battle

He knew that if his father fully recovered, the Hong Clan would no longer dare to do something like this. Yin Cha looked at his mother. Though he might be the Sect Lord of Divine Moon Immortal Sect, he would still act like a child in front of Feng Xi. Since she was back, he found himself more used to listening to their opinions.

Feng Xi smiled and looked at Yin Tian, "What do you think? This is a battle that we must fight. How do you think we should fight it?"

Yin Tian smiled and said, "I am sure you have pretty much figured it out. Why don't you tell me and see if you are able to figure out my thought accurately?"

"We will settle this by having a battle royale. Both sides mustn't have more than ten people participating in the match. They're responsible for their own lives." Feng Xi looked at Yin Tian and said with a smile.

Yin Tian knew that Feng Xi would definitely let Qing Shui took part in the battle. Her son, herself, and two other people would also join the match.

Yin Cha didn't understand. He wasn't clear about Qing Shui's abilities. Despite that, he chose to remain silent. He knew that they must have their own plans to make such a decision. He had never once doubted his parent's abilities.

"Well then, how many people from our side shall we send out?" Yin Tian smiled and asked.

"Five. Me, Cha`Er, Qing Shui, Qing Feng, Ming Yue and the two elders [ed note: this is 7?]." Feng Xi smiled and responded. The more the Hong Clan wanted to separate them from the two guest elders, the more they would not let Hong Clan have their way.

Yin Tian smiled and looked at Feng Xi. He didn't express any means of disagreeing with her, but it didn't seem like he approved of her plan.

"What's wrong? Is there anything wrong with my plan?" Feng Xi asked Yin Tian.

"For many years, the Hong Clan has always done things by thinking through them deliberately and methodically. I am sure that the two Guest Elders won't take part in the match. It's better for us not to have so much hope in them." Yin Tian said in a confident tone.

Very quickly, the things which he said came true. Apparently, the two guests ran into an issue of meridians disorder when they reached crucial moments of their cultivation. They had no choice but to seclude themselves immediately. Their seclusion this time would require them to stay in there for at least two to three months..

From here, it could be seen how intelligent Feng Xi was. She knew that the two Guest Elders must have been threatened by someone. It's likely that another person might have held their grasps on their lives. Feng Xi felt very weird. She was at least sure that the two guest elders would never betray Yin Clan even if they died. The fact that they decided to stand on the fence this time already meant that their lives must have been threatened by a certain person. Otherwise, it's impossible for them to do that.

Despite knowing that, Feng Xi still felt really disappointed. But at the same time, the Yin Clan also couldn't comment much about it since the incident was related to their very lives. Qing Feng, Ming Yue as well as the two aristocratic clans were considered to have provided Yin Clan with great aid. The amount of help they had provided them so far was immeasurable. Half of the reason why Yin Cha was able to last until now was also thanks to the two aristocratic clans.

"Then what shall we do?" Feng Xin knitted her brows and asked. Without the participation of Qing Feng, Ming Yue and the two elders, this match would indeed be hard-fought. They mustn't act carelessly in a life-or-death match between two clans.

"Actually, with Qing Shui on our side, we are already greatly benefitted. Things won't be that bad to the extent that our loss is confirmed." Yin Tian said with a smile.

"I am just worried about emergency situations which might occur. If something like that really does happen, the outcome of the match would be unbearable." Feng Xi said in a concerned tone.

"Haha, don't worry about it. Let Old Man Wang participate in the match. This way, we should be able to win quite easily." Yin Tian said with a smile.

"You mean the chef Old Man Wang?" Feng Xi asked in disbelief.

Yin Cha also couldn't believe what he just heard and moved on to look at his father.

"Yes, could there possibly be another Old Man Wang other than him?" Yin Tian said in a calm tone.

Seeing Feng Xi's and Yin Cha's reaction, he then carried on and added, "Old Man Wang is only slightly weaker than me in my strongest state. Even Qing Feng and Ming Yue together are no match for him. There shouldn't be any problem with him participating in the match."

"Father, will Uncle Wang want to participate in it then?" Yin Tian and Feng Xi called him Old Man Wang. As for Yin Cha, he had always called him Uncle Wang. All along, his meals were always prepared by Old Man Wang.

Now, Yin Cha was finally able to understand some of the things. A huge part of the reason why he had been safe for so many years must have had to do with Uncle Wong. He must have been doing a lot of things behind his back. Thinking up to this point, he felt that the words which he spoke before were a bit redundant. It's just that he was really surprised about it.

"Uncle Wang has always viewed you as his own child. He is a powerful martial artist. The reason why he stopped cultivating is that he didn't manage to protect the woman he loved. Hence, upon avenging her, he stopped training. He found cultivating useless if he couldn't even manage to protect the woman he loved. Otherwise, he would have surpassed me at my best condition. I reckon that other than the Yin Clan, there are very few people who can make him once again fight. Ever since then, he has dedicated himself to cooking. It's just that he seemed to not be so talented in cooking. Despite that, he still managed to find happiness from it.

If Yin Tian hadn't mentioned about it, even Feng Xi wouldn't have known about it. All this time, Feng Xi had always thought that Old Man Wang was a warrior who was only slightly stronger than a Xiantian Martial Artist. But he never expected for there to be such a gap between her own strength and Old Man Wang's.

Right at this moment, the sound of footsteps could be heard coming through from outside the door. An old man came in with prepared dishes to serve Yin Tian and his family. Since the time Yin Cha began to remember things, he had always only known Old Man Wang as a cook. Prior to this, Yin Tian once said that Old Man Wang's hair had begun turning white after the death of his wife. It's as if he turned into an old man in just a while. But from what he remembered, Old Man Wang had looked the same throughout these years.

Old Man Wang's figure wasn't really that tall. He was a bit fat as well. He had a kind and pleasant face. He also had a warm-hearted personality. He came in with the prepared meals. Back then, Yin Tian had aided him in avenging the woman he loved. Their opponent was also really strong. Old Man Wang was very thankful for his deed. Simultaneously, he had also gotten tired with the lifestyle of a martial artist. This was what caused him to make up his mind to be the Yin Clan's cook.

Old Man Wang put down the dishes on the table. On his trip back here this time, Yin Tian had already talked to Old Man Wang in private a few times. Though Old Man Wang might be like a servant to Yin Clan, the Yin Clan has never treated him as an outsider. From his physical appearance, he seemed a bit older than Yin Tian. He had always been like an elder brother to him. But in actuality, he was younger than Yin Tian.

"Old Man Wang, why don't you sit down and eat together with us!" Yin Tian smiled and said.

In the past, Old Man Wang also used to eat his meal together with the three of them. But this was the first time in more than ten years he once again had his dinner with them. When Old Man Wang heard their invitation, he also gladly accepted it. He sat down somewhere near Yin Cha.

"Uncle Wang!" Yin Cha greeted Old Man Wang.

Old Man Wang smiled, "Your father and mother are back. Are you feeling more relieved now?"

"Yes, that's how it's supposed to be. But now, the Hong Clan is already thinking about laying their hands on us before father recovers from his injuries." Yin Cha said in an upset tone.

Though Old Man Wang wasn't really concerned about the things going on in the martial arts world, he would always keep an eye on the things related to Yin Clan. He also found out about the Life-and-Death challenge and learnt that Qing Feng and Ming Yue had secluded themselves.

"Brother Tian, what do you plan to do for this Life-and-Death challenge? No matter what you are planning, I insist on participating in the match. If you had fully recovered from your injuries, I wouldn't have wanted to participate in it. Those trash aren't a match against you. It's really as the saying goes, a man who loses position and influence may be subjected to many indignities.

"I am planning to put an end to the things with the Hong Clan. There mustn't be more than ten participants from both clans." Yin Tian smiled and said.

"Brother Tian, you are being too generous." Old Man Wang said slowly. Even though he himself wasn't sure why he said that he still found Yin Tian too generous. He knew that the Yin Clan would definitely not send ten people into the match. It's not that they didn't want to do so, it's just that they couldn't find suitable candidates to represent their clan.

This was a civil war within the Divine Moon Immortal Sect. Originally, Qing Feng and Ming Yue were supposed to represent them for the match, but now, regardless of the reason, this option was no longer valid. Yin Tian's original plan was to let Qing Feng, Ming Yue and Old Man Wang take part in the match. With Qing Shui's coordination, the team would have basically been flawless.

"I was just about to look for you. It's precisely because of this reason. I can't find anyone else other than you for help. I notice that you are the only friend that I have at the moment." Yin Tian smiled and said. With his strength gone, he had lost quite a few friends.

When a potentate loses his power, the people who depended on his power would leave and ignore him. When a person was capable, the thing which they didn't lack the most would be friends, but as soon as he became powerless, or when he was put in danger, this was the time when the friendship was put into test. This would reveal whether the so-called friends would risk themselves and together help him go through the danger or whether they would only be there for him at times of joy.

"We are brothers. Staying here is like staying with my own family. No matter how much things change in the future, this is the only thing which will stay the same." Old Man Wang chuckled.

"Let's go, I am going to introduce you to the Miraculous Physician who cured me. He also possesses unmatched talent in cooking." Yin Tian smiled and said.

"Alright, I was just about to thank him. You have gone through a lot of tough situations throughout the years. Sister and Little Cha have also been through a lot of harsh times. Since he is a person who you owed a debt too, that means he is also my benefactor." Old Man Wang stood up and was about to leave.

"Why don't the both of you sit down and enjoy your meals first before going there?" Feng Xi said quickly.

Yin Tian looked around and smiled, "Well then, why don't we invite Qing Shui and the others over?"

Yin Cha quickly stood up, "Father, why don't you spend some time chatting with Old Man Wang while I go on and invite them over?"

Feng Xi nodded, "Alright, we will stay here and wait for you to come back."

The two girls didn't show up. The only people who came back were Qing Shui and Yin Cha. It's Qing Shui's first time meeting Old Man Wang. Despite that, he had already managed to feel how powerful Old Man Wang was. Though he might be unclear about his exact strength, his gut feeling told him that he was even more powerful than Feng Xi. This caused Qing Shui to feel really upset.

Old Man Wang approached Qing Shui happily as soon as he saw him, "I am Old Man Wang and I can't express how thankful I am to you for saving my brother. If there is anything, regardless of whether I will be of help or not, I will try my best to aid you."

Qing Shui looked at his senior and smiled, "Senior, you are acting too formally. I am brought together with uncle and the others by fate. My wife is Auntie Feng's stepdaughter."

"Well then, isn't this great? We are all a happy family. Alright, why don't we all sit down to enjoy our meal and talk at the same time? Oh, where are the girls?" Old Man Wang said in an enthusiastic tone.

"They have already had their dinner. Hence, they decided to stay in their room instead."

Qing Shui didn't say too much stuff. He knew that they would think about other topics to talk about later on. They first had their dinner together, then they talked about some interesting things before eventually moving on to talk about the Life-and-match this time.

"Qing Shui, Auntie Feng is just going to tell you the truth. We need you for the Life-and-Death match this time." Feng Xi said while looking at Qing Shui.

"You are welcome, Auntie Feng. Lingyan and Qin Qing were the ones who caused this trouble. Even if Auntie Feng didn't want me to participate in the match, I would still insist on doing so." Qing Shui quickly added on.

Feng Xi shook her head, "It's just a coincidence. Even if this problem didn't exist, the Hong Clan would try to come up with an excuse to find trouble with us. Their true goal is to replace the Yin Clan."

Qing Shui knew that Feng Xi was telling the truth. After a moment of thought, "Feng Yi, how do you plan to fight this battle?"

"I plan to finish the match in one round. The best way to do this is through a battle royale. Both sides mustn't send out more than ten people at once. What do you think about our strategy?" Feng Xi moved on to ask about Qing Shui's opinion as soon as she finished explaining it.

"Auntie Feng, you are being too generous." Qing Shui smiled and said.

It's exactly the same as what Old Man Wang said. However, deep down, Qing Shui knew clearly that Feng Xi wasn't trying to be generous. She wanted to inflict serious injuries to the Hong Clan. There were ten of them altogether. If each of them were strong warriors, it would be more than enough to make the Hong Clan suffer serious injury. If there were only one or two of them, it wouldn't be enough to cause the Hong Clan any troubles.

Of course, there was a reason why Qing Shui complimented her for being generous because they could have a life and death arena battle. Each time, there mustn't be more than five warriors participating in the match. This way, the chance of them winning the match would be even higher. They might just be able to totally eliminate the Hong Clan.