There were two War Gods on the Duanmu Continent: one from the Rising Sun Merchant Guild and the other from the Tianfeng Clan. Teng Qingshan completely understood why Old Wang hadn't asked him for help, or even brought it up. Clearly—Old Wang did not want Teng Qingshan to clash with the Tianfeng Clan.

Even if Helian Haotong was just a lower-ranking disciple of the Tianfeng Clan.

But regardless, he was still a member of the Tianfeng Clan! And Teng Qingshan was the renowned Strongest Martial Saint. If Teng Qingshan were to kill someone from the Tianfeng Clan, it would be tantamount to slapping the Tianfeng Clan across the face! At that point, the War God of the Tianfeng Clan would certainly have to consider the family's honor and move against Teng Qingshan!

"This Old Wang of his... Alas..." Teng Qingshan sighed inwardly.

He had been a beggar since childhood, struggling for food and shelter like ordinary people after being adopted by his foster parents. He was lucky enough to obtain an Inner Strength cultivation manual, toiled for over ten years to become a guard for a powerful merchant, married a beautiful wife, and had a son.

But...

Tragedy struck; the foster parents who had raised him died because of this affair.

"It's no wonder Old Wang doesn't hate Helian Haotong, doesn't hate his wife Wu Shuang," Teng Qingshan mused quietly.

"Brother Teng..." Li Jun spoke from beside him.

"You see for yourself," Teng Qingshan handed over the document.

Teng Qingshan turned to the Sixth Elder with confusion: "Sixth Elder, according to this, Old Wang lost an eye when he fled. Why is it that when I saw him, his leg was also lame?"

"We found no record of a lame leg," the Sixth Elder shook his head. "Perhaps he was injured somewhere and became lame, or perhaps... he is feigning lameness."

"Feigning lameness?" Teng Qingshan pondered, nodding.

"Brother Teng, this Old Wang he..." Li Jun looked up at Teng Qingshan, her eyes slightly red, with unshed tears welling up, "He must have gone to Tianfeng City for revenge. But if he hasn't reached the Xiantian realm, seeking vengeance against the Tianfeng Clan will be extremely dangerous..."

Before she could finish speaking, the Sixth Elder beside her turned pale with alarm and blurted out, "Mr. Teng, you must absolutely not seek trouble with the Tianfeng Clan."

Teng Qingshan looked at him.

"If Yang Wang goes for revenge, he’s just an ordinary martial artist, a small matter! The Tianfeng Clan, such a behemoth, wouldn't bother dealing with him. But if a Xiantian Martial Saint provokes the Tianfeng Clan, the Tianfeng Clan will certainly dispatch a more powerful Xiantian Martial Saint to eliminate the opponent."

"If it were someone of Mr. Teng's caliber who made a move, then it would be serious trouble!"

"Currently, across the world, only two War Gods can definitively defeat Mr. Teng."

"If Mr. Teng makes a move, the Tianfeng Clan will have no other recourse; their War God will definitely step in! By then, even our Rising Sun Merchant Guild's Cloud Dream War God won't be able to intervene," the Sixth Elder said helplessly. "Our Rising Sun Merchant Guild and the Tianfeng Clan have an agreement between us. If the Tianfeng War God kills you without reason, the Cloud Dream War God can assist, but if you go and provoke them... it will be difficult for us to interfere."

Teng Qingshan nodded.

Different levels of strength meant different implications when acting.

Yang Wang, a nobody without any fame in the world, if he went to kill Helian Haotong, the higher-ups of the Tianfeng Clan probably wouldn't even bother paying attention, and if they pursued him, they would likely send just a few men.

But Teng Qingshan's status was different...

Never mind Teng Qingshan going to kill someone; just his mere arrival in Tianfeng City would likely draw the attention of the entire Tianfeng Clan leadership. Every action of Teng Qingshan was sufficient to draw the scrutiny of every major family across the continent. If he dared to kill someone from the Tianfeng Clan and the Tianfeng Clan offered no retaliation, they would lose too much face.

"I understand," Teng Qingshan nodded, feeling helpless inside.

He hadn't even reached the Void Realm yet; trying to help Old Wang would only harm Old Wang instead.

"Can your Rising Sun Merchant Guild help Old Wang?" Teng Qingshan asked.

"Only in secret," the Sixth Elder stated gravely. "But the prerequisite is that we must find him first. But right now, we don't know where he is hiding."

"Even for our Rising Sun Merchant Guild, finding one person in a city like Tianfeng City, with over a million inhabitants, is not easy. Moreover, I suspect that Yang Wang, wanting to kill Helian Haotong, will employ heavy disguises. This greatly increases the difficulty for us to locate him," the Sixth Elder admitted he wasn't entirely confident.

Teng Qingshan nodded in understanding.

"Sixth Elder, do your best. If you find him, help him secretly," Teng Qingshan instructed.

"Alright, let's hope we find him before he acts," the Sixth Elder replied.

Teng Qingshan sighed internally.

"Old Wang, it's up to you now." Teng Qingshan offered a silent blessing; he deeply understood Old Wang. Sometimes, fear of death was nonexistent, as long as one had no regrets.

After the Sixth Elder departed, Teng Qingshan and the others were all in low spirits.

Meanwhile, the young man named 'Yang Dong,' who had also read that letter, sat silently by the snow-covered Crescent Lake. Li Jun, after hearing the Sixth Elder’s words, also realized that Teng Qingshan truly couldn't offer direct help.

"Yang Dong!" Teng Qingshan, dressed in a white padded jacket, stood on the snow.

The sitting Yang Dong turned his head.

"Come here," Teng Qingshan commanded.

"Yes," Yang Dong immediately rose and walked over.

Teng Qingshan looked at Yang Dong: "Haven't practiced Inner Strength?"

"Only for a year," Yang Dong replied, feeling perplexed and slightly fearful. His father's employer, someone the elders of the Rising Sun Merchant Guild treated with utmost respect, and the Strongest Martial Saint on the entire Duanmu Continent—why would such a figure ask him if he practiced Inner Strength?

To take him as a disciple?

Yang Dong's heart began to race. He knew clearly that becoming a disciple of this Strongest Martial Saint would be equivalent to a carp leaping over the dragon gate! His destiny would change fundamentally from that moment on.

Teng Qingshan stated calmly, "Use your own swordsmanship to attack me."

"Yes," Yang Dong nodded.

Yang Dong braced the ground with a bamboo pole in his left hand: "Mr. Teng, my swordsmanship is actually just from childhood, practiced repeatedly—" Mid-sentence, his right hand flashed out, wiping across the top of the bamboo pole, drawing out the strange rapier. Following the breath of the draw, he executed a bizarre, wavy, arcing horizontal slash.

"So that's how it is." Teng Qingshan's body strangely split into two phantoms; the rapier sliced through the figure in front, which slowly dissipated.

"I didn't pay close attention last time; I didn't realize this rapier is smooth overall, but the tip is flat and sharp, somewhat resembling a spearhead. That tip could completely sever a throat."

The horizontal slash failing, Yang Dong naturally stepped forward, simultaneously rotating for a direct thrust.

"Ssssh—"

Teng Qingshan could faintly hear the sound of air being pierced. Watching the sharpness in the young Yang Dong's eyes, Teng Qingshan revealed a faint smile.

The thrust failing, Yang Dong shifted his stance slightly, and the rapier, following the previous arc, suddenly reversed into an opposite curve, striking toward Teng Qingshan again.

"Hoo." Teng Qingshan had already paralleled into three figures.

Yang Dong stopped his movement and held his sword still.

"That's it?" Teng Qingshan smiled at Yang Dong. "If you have more moves, keep going."

"No more. I only know these three moves. Any further technique would just be repetition of the same thrust," Yang Dong shook his head.

Teng Qingshan looked at Yang Dong with interest. "Tell me, how did you conceive of those three moves just now?"

"No one taught me. When I was little, I didn't have the strength to wield a long spear, so I used a wooden stick, sharpening the tip into a spear point. I would stab the little ants on the ground with the stick's tip. Father wasn't around then; I was fostered at a manor. The other children often bullied me."

"Through repeated fights, I realized... fighting requires first, suddenness, catching others unprepared. Second, the technique must be fast, so fast that others cannot react. Third, the technique must be unconventional, something unexpected. Only then can one win."

"So, since I was six, I have rigorously practiced drawing my sword! The draw must be fast and sudden!"

"My drawing and slashing is not the normal arc people use, but a wave-like arc," Yang Dong knew Teng Qingshan was assessing him, so he held nothing back. "A true master can instantly change the direction of attack. But I cannot do that, so I trained relentlessly, making this wavy slashing motion become a natural habit. Then, it will be delivered quickly. The enemy thinks I am slashing at their neck, but suddenly, due to the wave arc, the sword momentum dips, and I slash their chest instead."

"And the thrust, similarly, must be fast, simple, and unexpected."

Yang Dong continued, "Later, I also thought of hiding the sword to catch the opponent off guard."

Teng Qingshan smiled faintly and nodded.

In fact, Teng Qingshan had already noticed several things about Yang Dong. For instance, the first time he saw this youth named Yang Dong, Teng Qingshan perceived him as a purely simple and honest boy. But as a practitioner of Inner Family martial arts, his six senses were acute; when Yang Dong approached, Teng Qingshan noticed a trace of blood scent on the bamboo pole.

Upon closer inspection, he spotted a faint seam on the upper end of the pole. This method of concealing a hidden weapon was considered the most juvenile in his past life's assassin training.

However, Yang Dong’s three sword moves—the draw, the thrust, and the follow-up thrust—

With just these three moves, an average Inner Strength master might genuinely fall victim to them.

"Deception, sudden attack... it's all ingrained in his bones," Teng Qingshan mused privately. "To understand this at age six, and to develop such swordsmanship. He understands disguise better than most adults and is steadier. To have practiced this swordsmanship so diligently since age six shows immense willpower. He independently created these simple yet highly effective three moves; his comprehension is also exceptionally high."

"Regardless of disposition, willpower, or comprehension, they are all top-tier," Teng Qingshan nodded internally.

The truth was, after learning about Old Wang's situation, and realizing he couldn't help Old Wang at all, Teng Qingshan felt a surge of guilt, so he intended to compensate somehow through Yang Dong.

If Yang Dong's talent was mediocre, he would simply pass on a few moves for self-protection.

If his talent was high... he would teach him properly.

This investigation revealed that Yang Dong's performance far exceeded Teng Qingshan's expectations.

"Regardless of innate aptitude, since his disposition, willpower, and comprehension are all superior, having these three qualities means he can definitely become a powerhouse," Teng Qingshan affirmed. As for aptitude? Poor aptitude could be improved with Heavenly and Earthly Treasures; like Li Jun, who couldn't cultivate Inner Strength initially, but whose meridians were nearly cleared by such treasures.

Aptitude can be changed, but willpower... that is very difficult to alter.

"Yang Dong, are you willing to become my disciple?" Teng Qingshan asked.

Yang Dong showed a flash of joy, immediately kneeling respectfully: "Yang Dong is willing to enter Teacher's tutelage."

Teng Qingshan showed a gentle smile, looking at Yang Dong kneeling on the snow: "From today forward, Yang Dong, you are the second disciple under me, Teng Qingshan."

There, by the Crescent Lake on Divine Axe Mountain, Yang Dong formally bowed and became Teng Qingshan's second disciple.

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