Chapter 5: Elder Qin

Yang Qi looked at the bald man and said coldly, "Now can you tell me who sent you here?"

The bald man's face showed distress, but he dared not say anything. Yang Qi's expression darkened, and he exerted a bit of force from his injury, causing the bald man to immediately show a pained expression, but he still gritted his teeth and remained silent.

He's quite stubborn, Yang Qi was slightly taken aback and said indifferently, "Was it Hou Lei who sent you?"

The bald man, upon hearing this, only lowered his head and said nothing.

Seeing the bald man's reaction, Yang Qi already had his answer.

"Don't let me run into you again." Yang Qi coldly snorted and turned to leave the alley.

…

Although he knew that Hou Lei was behind this, Yang Qi couldn't do anything about it for the moment. The reason was simple: he knew nothing about Hou Lei.

"I hope this will teach him that I'm not someone to be messed with." Yang Qi could only hope that after knowing he had martial arts skills, Hou Lei wouldn't provoke him again. Otherwise, he wouldn't mind using a bit more force next time to teach him a lesson.

After slowing down his cultivation speed, Yang Qi found that he seemed to be fine, so he no longer deliberately suppressed his cultivation speed.

In just two days, Yang Qi's cultivation broke through again, reaching the Fifth Rank Martial Disciple. However, after reaching the Fifth Rank Martial Disciple, he clearly felt that his cultivation speed had slowed down significantly. Even so, compared to the cultivation speed of martial artists on the Heavenly Martial Continent, it was still much faster.

"Young man, you're finally awake." As soon as Yang Qi finished his cultivation, an elderly voice sounded in his ear.

He saw that under a nearby tree, an old man with silver hair had appeared, his gaze fixed on him.

"Were you not asleep just now?" the silver-haired old man suddenly asked.

Upon hearing this, a look of surprise flashed across Yang Qi's eyes. During meditation, his mind was empty, and his spirit was immersed within his body, almost indistinguishable from sleep.

"How can you be so sure I wasn't asleep?" Yang Qi looked at the silver-haired old man curiously.

"Your breathing." The silver-haired old man smiled slightly.

Breathing?

Yang Qi's expression changed. His breathing was to better absorb the elemental energy of heaven and earth according to the Vast Heaven Technique, maintaining a highly rhythmic state. If he were asleep, it would be impossible to maintain such a breathing rhythm.

"Old sir, you have keen eyes!" Yang Qi said with genuine admiration.

"It's just a matter of living longer and paying more attention; it's not about keen eyesight." The silver-haired old man smiled and shook his head. "Don't call me old sir. I'm surnamed Qin. Just call me Elder Qin, as the younger generation does."

"Elder Qin, I am Yang Qi." Yang Qi quickly replied.

"Xiao Qi, I see that your martial arts are not simple. How about we spar?" Elder Qin suddenly said.

"Ah~" Yang Qi was taken aback and looked at Elder Qin in surprise.

Elder Qin's eyes widened, and he said proudly, "What, do you look down on me? I'll tell you, ordinary people can't even get close to me."

Yang Qi naturally didn't believe Elder Qin. After all, there was no trace of elemental energy from Elder Qin, and at his age, how could he deal with several people?

However, as soon as the two exchanged blows, Elder Qin lightly flicked his hand, and Yang Qi felt a massive force hit him, causing him to stagger back a few steps.

"This..." Yang Qi looked at Elder Qin in shock. He was now a Fifth Rank Martial Disciple. Although he wasn't using elemental energy, his body was far from ordinary. The force that could push him back must have been at least three to four hundred pounds.

"Not bad, you didn't fall. Young man, old ginger is still the spiciest!" Elder Qin laughed when he saw Yang Qi's expression.

I underestimated him!

Yang Qi, now back to his senses, began to take Elder Qin seriously. Elder Qin's strength wasn't particularly strong, even a bit weaker than the force he used during his bone washing and marrow cleansing. However, for a man in his sixties to maintain such strength was truly eye-opening.

With the lesson learned, Yang Qi was more cautious when facing Elder Qin again.

He stepped forward and punched at Elder Qin's face.

Elder Qin caught the punch with both hands, feeling a massive force that almost slipped out of his control. He immediately stepped back to avoid the terrifying force.

As he punched, Yang Qi felt as if he had hit a sponge, finding no solid point of impact. Missing his target, Yang Qi quickly changed his hand position to grab Elder Qin's pulse point.

"Bad move!" Having practiced Tai Chi for many years, Elder Qin knew the consequences of being grabbed at the pulse point. He immediately transformed his palm into a fist and clashed with Yang Qi head-on.

"Bang~"

A dull sound echoed as Elder Qin was pushed back two steps by the massive force, while Yang Qi stood firm, seemingly unaffected.

"I'm old, I'm old, I can't help it." Elder Qin laughed bitterly. In their brief exchange, he had already been defeated by Yang Qi.

"Elder Qin, you're joking. If you're considered old, then few people can be considered young." Yang Qi smiled.

As the saying goes, youth and vigor are hard to match. Once a person grows old, their strength and physical functions can't compare to their younger days. If Elder Qin were in his prime, his strength would have increased by at least fifty percent, making him capable of handling seven or eight strong men. Among ordinary people, he would be considered very powerful.

"You brat!" Elder Qin laughed and scolded.

For many years, his martial arts achievements had been his pride. If it were a regular person praising him, he wouldn't have cared much, but being praised by a skilled martial artist like Yang Qi made him very happy.

"I see that you practice internal martial arts, right?" Elder Qin suddenly asked. He had suspected this from the beginning, and their exchange confirmed his guess.

"Unfortunately, I've practiced Tai Chi for decades but haven't truly mastered it." Elder Qin sighed and asked, "Xiao Qi, who is your master?"

"Um..." Yang Qi hesitated. Huo Yang wasn't from this world, and he couldn't say that his master was an alien.

"If it's inconvenient to say, that's fine." Seeing Yang Qi's hesitation, Elder Qin thought it was due to his master's rules and didn't press further.

Yang Qi smiled bitterly, about to speak, but then he saw Elder Qin, who had been looking regretful, suddenly clutch his chest, his face contorted in pain, and he collapsed softly.

"Elder Qin!" Yang Qi's face changed, and he quickly supported Elder Qin.

"Sorry to trouble you, it's an old war injury." Elder Qin forced a smile.

Hearing this, Yang Qi couldn't help but show deep respect. Regardless of how modern society had changed, the older generation, who had shed blood for their country, were worthy of respect. Without them, there would be no peace today.

Swish~ Swish~

At that moment, two figures rushed over and surrounded Yang Qi.

"Comrade!" Seeing Elder Qin's pained expression, their faces changed dramatically.