The four of them turned their heads in confusion. After a long while, Ye Hao examined him for a moment before finally asking, "Really?"

Tan Ming coughed lightly with gratification and said proudly, "Of course! Your family is rich and powerful, you must have heard of ancient martial arts families, right? My Tan Family is one of the northern sect families."

"Oh? Is your Tan Family the Twelve Style Tan Leg mentioned in Mr. Jin's book, or the one played by the character Tough Guy in Zhou Xingxing's kung fu movies?" Ye Hao became interested, and he passed a skewer of grilled lobster meat to Tan Ming. As for the previous grievances, no one mentioned them at this moment. Ye Hao and the others were curious about what kind of existence the Tan Family was, and Tan Ming also wanted to boast to them.

Thus, a consensus was reached, and neither side brought up the unpleasantness from before.

Tan Ming took the skewer of lobster meat from Ye Hao, chewed a bit, and found it very delicious, then chewed some more until Ye Hao shouted at him to hurry up and speak. Only then did he begin his tale, "My Tan Family has been an ancient martial arts family since the Southern Song, lasting through the Yuan, Ming, Qing, Republic, and Communist periods. The Twelve Style Tan Leg gradually declined over hundreds of years, but the brilliance of my Tan Family is an indelible part of history."

"Why?" the four of them asked in unison.

"Because within the Twelve Style Tan Leg of my Tan Family lies a great secret..." Tan Ming said softly, looking at the four with a mysterious air, as if they were familiar acquaintances, but in reality, he was intrigued by the grilled lobster meat they were preparing and wanted to savor more by keeping them in suspense.

"What secret?" The four questioned again. They were eager to learn if there was a secret to the Tan family, in hopes of understanding ancient martial arts families better. Xue Zhaolong, for instance, had a mentor who was from an ancient martial arts family but never told him what family he belonged to, nor did he teach Xue Zhaolong any particular techniques, focusing instead on heavy weaponry without revealing any lineage.

Even if Xue Zhaolong wanted to know his master's sect or family, he had no way of finding out. Of course, Xue Zhaolong's father knew who his master was, but if his master didn't want to talk about it, his father certainly wouldn't disclose it.

However, Ye Hao was curious to understand what kind of existence ancient martial arts families were. Even though he often heard during Team A missions that if ancient martial arts families were involved, the success rate of the mission would be as high as eighty percent.

Back then, Ye Hao would just smile and listen without asking questions, knowing that those teammates couldn't possibly understand the ancient martial arts families. Asking would be in vain. Now that he had someone from such a family in front of him, he naturally wanted to learn more about them, especially why the country treated them as honored guests.

As for Lu Yunsong, he was merely a curious onlooker, while Zhuorong Town shared Ye Hao's mindset.

"This secret cannot be disclosed, but I can clearly tell you that within the Southern Fist and Northern Leg, the Twelve Style Tan Leg of my Tan Family stands as the pinnacle of existence. Although it has declined, if the treasure left by the founder of the Ten Style Tan Leg from the Southern Song era is uncovered, it will certainly allow my Tan Family's Twelve Style Tan Leg to shine again." Though Tan Ming didn't reveal the secret, Ye Hao and the others understood it was the treasure left by their ancestor.

But why did he say Ten Style Tan Leg?

Ye Hao looked at Tan Ming quizzically and asked, "Didn't you just say your Tan Family has twelve styles? Why are you now saying ten styles?" His question made Xue Zhaolong and the others nod in agreement, thinking, "This kid might be bluffing us, right? But why would he need to? Although he seems unreliable, he doesn't appear to be two-faced."

Tan Ming smiled more mysteriously at this point and whispered, seeing the four puzzled, "Because Twelve Style Tan Leg was a later name. After my ancestor created the Ten Style Tan Leg during the Southern Song, he vanished. Later, a Buddhist monk from Shaolin added two more styles, and then our family renamed the technique to Twelve Style. Although Shaolin still has the martial arts atlas for our Twelve Tan Legs, after hundreds of years of changes and revisions, the technique is no longer as swift and fierce as the original. So if my family uncovers the ancestor's treasure, we will surely regain our northern dominance." At this, Tan Ming became a young lad dreaming of returning to the North.

"Oh? Were you in the North before?" Ye Hao asked him with a curious look.

"Of course! Haven't you heard of Southern Fist and Northern Leg? My Tan Family's Twelve Style Tan Leg is the most iconic existence of the northern lineage. But with time, the past is gone. My Tan Family was gradually declining and had to leave the North because among ancient martial arts families, friendships are established through martial prowess. If your martial arts are not strong, you are destined to be humiliated by your peers. My family couldn't bear such shame, so we had to temporarily leave the North and come to the Jiangnan region." Tan Ming didn't see the South-North divide as a significant issue because moving to Peng City happened over a hundred years ago. Over time, the Tan family has gradually established itself in Peng City, but they all share a common dream: to return to the North and dominate once more...

"Oh? What is the presence of Southern Fist?" Ye Hao asked, having not watched much television and thus, not being familiar with Southern Fist, which he assumed was merely exaggerated on TV.

"Southern Fist is so famous, you don't know that despite being from the South?" Tan Ming looked at Ye Hao as if he were a country bumpkin.

"Is it really that famous?" Ye Hao asked again, while Xue Zhaolong and the others all cast disdainful looks at him, thinking, "Boss, can you stop pretending? Your National Martial Arts second level peak, was it picked up by accident? How do you fight without knowing about Southern Fist?"

"Nonsense, Iron Palm, Hong Family Fist, Liu Family Fist, etc., are all iconic parts of Southern Fist. Of course, nowadays, if you talk about the most famous Southern Fist, it's naturally Hong Family's Hong Fist because it's rumored that the old man from the Hong Family has several times entered the Unity of Heaven and Man realm. That realm is something we juniors can only dream of!" Tan Ming said with a shake of his head and a bitter smile.

"What is Unity of Heaven and Man?" the four of them asked in unison.

"Unity of Heaven and Man is a state beyond the twelfth level of National Martial Arts, but this is just a rumor and not trustworthy. In this era of scarce spiritual qi, how could anyone enter that realm? Haha, I don't believe it at all." Tan Ming laughed heartily as he finished speaking.

"What about your Tan Family? For example, what does your Tan Family usually do?" Ye Hao returned to the point, wanting to know if the Tan Family usually cooperated with national activities.

"Every generation of my Tan Family raises some people to earn money for us. Several listed companies in Peng City belong to my Tan Family. Of course! They're just small players and naturally can't compare to the Lu Family or Xue Family, but what's worth my consideration is your Zhuo Family. Your family is quite unusual!" Tan Ming said, looking at Zhuorong Town steadily, while inwardly thinking, "This Zhuo Family is not like ordinary families at all!"

"Oh? Does my Zhuo Family have some background?" It was now Zhuorong Town's turn to be curious. Although his family occasionally collaborated with certain secretive individuals, it wasn't enough for an ancient martial arts family like the Tan Family to think of them as unusual, right?

"Haha, that's not clear. I only know that your Zhuo Family is a family with significant figures and connections." Tan Ming shook his head and didn't intend to dwell on this further.

"And does your Tan Family do anything else besides business, like making money on your own?" Ye Hao, still curious, asked, wanting to understand whether their relationship with the state was like that of a ruler-subject, equal partners, or a cooperative one.

"Of course not. However, occasionally, some experts from our family receive recruitment orders. I don't know what these orders are for, but I've heard it's from a secret national agency. Anyone who receives a recruitment order must show up, or it could bring doom to the family." Tan Ming said with a bit of fear in his tone.

"Really? There's something bigger than your ancient martial arts families?" Ye Hao was curious about the origin of these recruitment orders and whether the ancient martial arts experts secretly working with Team A were from the same group.

"Haha, although we are an ancient martial arts family, it's okay to tell you that some sects have such a long legacy beyond our comprehension. Do you know why when powerful countries invaded Huaxia many times, they left defeated and humiliated? That's because mysterious people appeared and executed secret assassinations. Whenever these mysterious people appeared, the highest command of the enemy would be drenched in blood, terrifying the highest leaders of all countries from daring another invasion. No one knows who these mysterious people are, only that they are guardians of Huaxia's secrets. Furthermore, Huaxia is not as simple as it appears on the surface. According to my father, there are even ancient sects." When speaking of these matters, Tan Ming was very apprehensive, as though fearing others would know he was spreading rumors.

"Are you scared?" Ye Hao asked, trying to reconcile whether the people involved in Team A's secret missions were the same as those from ancient martial arts families, thus changing the topic.

"A bit," Tan Ming nodded.

"Why are you afraid? And if you're scared, why do you still say it?" Ye Hao asked, looking puzzled.

"Because I heard that these ancient sect matters should not be spoken of lightly, or you'll be targeted. So I can only whisper to you. As for why I want to tell you, it's because I want to make friends with you." Tan Ming's last sentence about making friends was quite sincere.

"Oh? You want to be friends with us?" Ye Hao grinned, thinking, "We just fought you, and now you want to be friends?"

"Yes, even though I'm from an ancient martial arts family, I want to know more friends," Tan Ming nodded and said earnestly.

"Why?" Ye Hao shook his head, not planning to form deep friendships from the outset...

(Updated on September 27, 2014, 21:02:23 at Qidian Chinese Network. I hope the novel brings you some joy after a busy day)

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