Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 663 – Fight of the Ultimate Life and Death (1)

One month. It took nearly an entire month for Qing Shui absorb the remaining energy. He had absorbed more than half of it immediately after his strength had increased tremendously. Normally he couldn’t feel remaining energy. He had to compress his power to a hair’s breadth thickness before he could fully integrate with his body.

Qing Shui only breathed a sigh of relief after he exited the Realm of Violet Jade Immortal. He had finally managed to compress his power to the thickness of a hair. Next time he used his Hidden Weapon against opponents of Sima Sha’s level, he wouldn’t miss their vital points again like he did before.

There was still some time left for him so he casually took a look around the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal. The Triple-eyed Grass Green Frogs had grown into a big group by now and Qing Shui was extremely happy about it. After all, these things were hatched from eggs which meant their numbers were guaranteed. On top of that, they were extremely nimble and were living quite comfortably in the pond, except when they were intimidated by the Rainbow Trout Fish. At those times, they’d escape to the edge of the pond.

Vermillion Fruits, Plum Blossoms, and spices… Qing Shui had gathered a lot of them already and had been accumulating them in the realm. He didn’t have to worry about them going bad or getting stolen and it was extremely convenient for him to use.

The sky had already turned bright after he exited the Realm of Violet Jade Immortal. He had already washed up in the realm before coming out so he started his morning practice immediately. One day. He only had one more day.

The Fight of the Ultimate Life and Death would be tomorrow. He could even feel the gloom in the atmosphere of the Di Clan. The people in the World of the Nine Continents knew that the Fight of the Ultimate Life and Death was extremely brutal.

The battle would go on until one party ran out of participants. The winners would possess everything the losers had to offer. Money, women and everything else.

Since they lacked confidence, the Di Clan basically couldn’t afford to feel relaxed or happy. This Fight of the Ultimate Life and Death was like a thorn stuck in their throat.

Qing Shui had visited Old Madam Mo once and had confirmed that her condition was at its peak. He had also visited Lady Duanmu once and passed her some medicinal pills. Both of them had a very pleasant chat this time.

……….

At one of the luxurious mansions in the Seven Stars Country!

“Big brother, who is going to participate in tomorrow’s Fight of the Ultimate Life and Death? That Old Man Qianxi said that every clan has to send out one person that is at least a Grade Eight Martial Saint every round, until there are no Grade Eight Martial Saints left,” Sima Chong frantically asked Sima Heng.

There were currently only four people with this level of ability among their generation in Sima Clan. The eldest son, Sima Heng and the next three would be Sima Chong, Sima Zhi, and Sima Zhuang.

“We will go. The Zuo Clan, Guan Clan, and Du Clan can still send people out. Don’t tell me the Sima Clan is still worried about this?” said Sima Zhuang, who had been silent all this time.

Sima Heng furrowed his eyebrows as soon as the tall and burly Sima Zhuang finished speaking.

“Thirteenth Brother, haven’t you notice yet? The Thousand Poisons Sect is actually thinking of using the Fight of the Ultimate Life and Death as an opportunity to weaken our clans.” Sima Heng pointed out slowly.

Sima Zhuang was the thirteenth among his generation. Other than the five of them, the rest were either too much of an embarrassment or were no longer in the Sima Clan. The five of them were the remaining members of the Sima Clan younger generation.

“Weaken us? Why would they do that? Our clans have been very loyal to the Thousand Poisons Sect…….” Sima Zhuang said in disbelief.

Sima Heng paced back and forth. This living room was splendorous and majestic. Normally, they’d only come here to discuss important issues.

“They wouldn’t think that way. On top of that, our Sima Clan has indeed been developing a little too fast over the past few years. They must be worried that we will one day replace the Qianxi Clan as the master of the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect”.

Sima Zhuang became silent. He might be a straightforward person, but he wasn’t stupid so he was able to quickly grasp the crucial point of this issue. For a moment, he was at loss of words.

“Big Brother, what should we do then?” asked Sima Zhi, who had remained quiet.

“We don’t need to bother about this so much right now. Just do what we can and don’t be reckless. Tell that bunch of brats not to go and do anything outrageous in the Sima Clan’s name out there.” Sima Heng didn’t have any good ideas either.

“Let’s get this Fight of the Ultimate Life and Death over and done with first. We’ll think about the rest later. The Ten Thousand Poisons Sect will not do anything to us for now. Although the Sima Clan is gradually growing more powerful, there is still quite a disparity between us and the Qianxi Clan.” Sima Heng tried to quickly gloss over this topic.

“That youth named Qing Shui didn’t seem like a simple guy. Could it be that the people from the Residence of Sky Tyrant Lord’s were taken care of by him?” Sima Zhong’s eyes lit up as he spoke.

“That youth must have his forte. Otherwise, why would the Di Clan dare to fight with us in the Fight of the Ultimate Life and Death? That youth is why there are even people rooting for them. His strength must not be overlooked.”

“Shouldn’t we do something about it?”

“Let the Qianxi Clan handle that. We don’t have to concern ourselves with it. Even if there’s a slip up from the Qianxi Clan’s side, this Fight of the Ultimate Life and Death still shouldn’t have any problems.” Sima Heng smiled.

……….

A day passed by very quickly. After Qing Shui woke up, he still practiced his Taichi Fists as he always did. The Fight of the Ultimate Life and Death would take place later in the morning.

The time was agreed on by both parties. Tardiness was tolerated, but they must arrive before noon. Otherwise, it would be considered a violation of the agreement and they would be condemned by everyone.

“Qing Shui, as I expected, you are here. You still have the mood to practice your fists? Everyone is waiting for you. We’re going to be late,” Di Chen said hurriedly as soon as she saw Qing Shui.

“What are you panicking about? Let them wait for awhile. It’s still early. Tell everyone to take the medicinal pellets that I have prepared. Other than the three of us who are participating the fight, the rest have to listen to Lady Duanmu, Old Man Nian and Old Man Di’s instructions,” Qing Shui’s opened his eyes slowly but his hands didn’t stop moving.

Di Chen smiled without saying anything!

“Big sister, he’s really keeping his cool.” Di Qing laughed too when she realized that there really was no need for them to hurry. To any outsiders, the Di Clan were going to throw their lives away. If they were going to throw their lives away, what was the point of hurrying……?

“No need to hurry. Everyone should take their time to eat. Let them stay under the sun for awhile.” Qing Shui said softly.

“So you can be this mean too,” Di Qing pulled Di Chen and left with a lovely smile on her face.

Seven Stars Street!

Seven Stars Arena!

The area had already become very crowded for a period of time now. After all, this Fight of the Ultimate Life and Death was a duel between two sects that were both from the seven stars in the Seven Stars Country. Although the Di Clan was no longer as glorious as it was in the past, a starved camel was still bigger than a horse*, so they should still be able to put up a good fight.

[TL Note: A starved camel was still bigger than a horse is a chinese proverb that someone strong is still strong, even if they are weakened.]

The roads around the Seven Stars Arena had all been blocked. Nothing was allowed to pass except for pedestrians. The entire area was filled with folding umbrellas or tents that were pitched up with brocade fabrics. The imposing presence of Qianxi Clan, Sima Clan, Zuo Clan, Guan Clan, and Du Clan stood out among them.

Other than that, there were also many other tents or small sized platforms. There also some people with extraordinary bearings. By now, everyone knew that all kinds of people had flocked here. There were also many unknown and powerful cultivators.

“It’s getting late, why isn’t the Di Clan here yet?” Some people were already shouting impatiently.

“That’s very normal. Who would rush their deaths?”

“If the Di Clan aren’t coming, then we are wasting our time waiting here for nothing. I’ve been here for more than a day already just to watch this Fight of the Ultimate Life and Death.” the person from earlier said gloomily.

“They should be coming. No one would choose to try and trick so many people. If they didn’t intend to come, they shouldn’t have accepted the fight in the first place.”

……….

It was already late in the morning. five people came out and went onto the arena stage. Three old men and two middle-aged men immediately soared onto the Seven Stars Arena.

The leading old man was completely dressed in a simple pitch black garb. His hair and beard were white. His long eyebrows were snowy white and as long as his beard. The contrast against his clothes caused his hair and beard to appear even whiter.

“Today, the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect and the Di Clan are going to conduct a Fight of the Ultimate Life and Death here. Thank you, everyone, for coming to witness this duel. This is a private matter between the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect and the Di Clan so I will skip the specific details. Now that it is time, the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect will come up first to respectfully wait for the arrival of the Di Clan.”

The simple words of the old man announced the commencement of the Fight of the Ultimate Life and Death to everyone, that the Di Clan was tardy and the reason for the Fight of this Ultimate Life and Death between the two parties were due to a private matter.

The words of the old man could be considered as sufficient. The people who were here didn’t care about who was correct or who was at fault. The didn’t even care about the reason behind this duel. They simply wanted to watch the two parties fight and find out who would win in the end.

“So it begins. Too bad there isn’t any movement from the Di Clan.”

“Someone has brought news of the Di Clan. It seems like they are drinking right now and the banquet hasn’t ended yet,” someone interrupted.

More than ten people quickly surrounded him.

“A banquet? The Di Clan is still in the mood to hold a banquet?” a tall man exclaimed in puzzlement.

“Who knows? But it’s true that they are holding a banquet. I have another friend telling me the same thing too. The people who are attending the banquet are all people from the Di Clan and those few people who came to help them,” someone added in.

“What is the Di Clan doing? Could it be that they have really lost all hope and have decided to have a nice meal before dying…..?”

“Brother Cong, don’t spout nonsense. Some things cannot be said lightly,” a man quickly stopped him.

“Do you guys think that the Di Clan is escaping?” A thin fellow asked weakly.

“Escape? How amusing. What are those people from the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect doing? How could they let the Di Clan escape?” another voice immediately drowned out the softer voice from earlier.

Time passed by slowly. Some people grumbled, some felt sorry for the Di Clan, and of course, some were scolding the Di Clan for not having balls. After all, more people meant there’d be more talk.

“The Ten Thousand Poison Clan is really a bully. The Di Clan is no longer the same as before yet they forced them into the Fight of the Ultimate Life and Death all of a sudden,” a scholarly-looking man told the beautiful woman beside her.

“This is how the natural world has always been. It would be weird if the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect didn’t do this,” the beautiful woman laughed. Her smiling face was as gorgeous as a flower.

“Guoguo, who do you think will win? The Di Clan or the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect?” the man smiled gently as he looked at the woman. His eyes were filled with affection.

“I have always thought that the Di Clan would stand no chance in this. But since you put it this way, I’ll say the Di Clan will win,” the beautiful woman laughed slyly.

“You’re still the same as always. Too bad I only have a feeling that things might not be as simple as it seems this time. However, I can’t be sure that the Di Clan will win either,” the man said lightly.

“The third master of our Village of Longevity always has incredible foresight. Since this incident doesn’t seem to be as simple as it appears on the surface, then that can only mean that it might be possible for the Di Clan to emerge victoriously or at least fight to a standstill with the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect” the woman blinked her bright and misty eyes.

At this exact moment, there was a commotion occurring in the distance.

“The Di Clan has arrived, the Di Clan has arrived…..”