Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 1474 - Powerful foolish loyalty, Qing Shui’s terrifying defence

The appearance of the Hell Nightmare Beast couldn’t be considered beautiful, but it wasn’t terribly homely either. Although the Black Diamond Rat King was as black as ink, it was still visually pleasing to the eyes. The thing that disgusted Qing Shui most in his past life were rats. He even hated the word ‘rat’, but after coming to this world, he had changed his thinking. Even the Earth Devouring Mice were nice to look at, let alone the Black Diamond Rat King.

Qing Shui instantly checked the abilities of the Hell Nightmare Beast. Just a single glance made him very satisfied. Not only had it inherited the ability of a shield beast, it even inherited the abilities of the Black Diamond Rat King. The only sad thing was that its speed wasn’t super fast.

Thinking about it, it was only logical. There was a formless thing in the world named balance. The frame of the Hell Nightmare Beast was gigantic, roughly the size of the Golden Scaled Dragon Elephant. If it even had the speed of the Black Diamond Rat King, things would truly be too terrifying.

However, its speed could be considered much more fearsome compared to those super shield beasts in the past. In any case, it was like a giant killing machine. If it was in a crowd, it would crush everything.

Initially, Qing Shui had only wanted to have a powerful shield beast. Maybe a super shield beast would already have made him very satisfied. Who would have thought that he would obtain such a fearsome existence like the Hell Nightmare Beast at the very end?

The Hell Nightmare Beast’s character was roughly the same as a super shield beast. It could only be loyal to one person and its loyalty was of the foolish type, to the extent that it was willing to do anything for the one it was loyal to.

There was a benefit to having such beasts. When they fought against those characters who had super strong support skills like confusion, they were especially resistant to such effects. In any case, their defences were several time higher compared to other demonic beasts.

This was still pretty okay. There was another ability that would be sure to make others jealous. It was able to cause the person who it is loyal to have all his defences increase by one fold. This was an ability granted to the owner by the Hell Nightmare Beast.

Foolish loyalty: Increase all defences of owner by one fold, zero consumption, passive skill. As long as the Hell Nightmare Beast existed, this ability would always be active.

Foolish loyalty was good. In the past, when Qing Shui saw those ministers being foolishly loyal to their king, he would always be angered. Only now did he realize that foolish loyalty could actually birth such power. If the owner was powerful, it wouldn’t be so easy to die. In that case, those existences with foolish loyalty could survive as well.

This one-fold increase was unlike that of the Paragon Golden Armor. The effects could be stacked on top of the one-fold increase of the armor. This was quite terrifying! Qing Shui could even feel some changes within. It felt like even if the sky collapsed now, he would be still able to withstand it.

Now, even some ultimate killing techniques of some powerful experts might not even be able to injure him. He was like an unkillable cockroach. With this powerful protective ability that could ensure his safety, there were many other methods that Qing Shui was proficient in that could kill his opponent.

Now, there was probably no one in the entire Soaring Dragon Continent who could kill Qing Shui. Well, he wasn’t sure about those experts hidden in seclusion, but he knew that it wouldn’t be easy to break through his terrifying defence.

As long as the Hell Nightmare Beast didn’t die, Qing Shui would possess this ability indefinitely. Even so, Qing Shui still took out some Ancient Demonic Fruits and some other things demonic beasts liked and directly explosively raised the stats of his Hell Demonic Beast.

Using battle to birth more battle. Only with more battles would there be unexpected windfalls. This time, the battle was precisely a windfall to him and now, seeing that it was still early, he decided to use the remaining time for his cultivation.

……

After some time...upon returning to the courtyard where they rested in the Divine Sound Sect, the sky had already turned dark. Now, seeing that living room’s light was turned on, Qing Shui directly headed that way only to discover both Tantai Lingyan and Hua Rumei inside.

“How is it?” Tantai Xuan unexpectedly stared at Qing Shui as she asked.

Usually, it would be Hua Rumei who initiated the conversation. Now, Hua Rumei, startled, paused for a while before shooting a teasing look at Qing Shui.

Qing Shui rubbed his nose and glanced at Tantai Lingyan before slowly speaking, “It can still be considered smooth I guess. In the future, if there are any battles, I can act as the shield for you all.”

Tantai Lingyan and Hua Rumei were stunned, as they stared at Qing Shui.

Qing Shui thought a little before he spoke, “We only have a single powerful shield beast. It’s absolutely powerful, I will show it to you all later.”

“Mhm, there’s no hurry. Oh yeah, there’s something we want to discuss.” Hua Rumei nodded as she continued.

Qing Shui actually already guessed what she wanted to say, but he still adopted a posture that seemed like he was listening.

“Do we want to sweep through the Beast God Sect and the Wild Ghost Valley? Maybe we will be able to gain some pretty good treasures.” Hua Rumei looked at Qing Shui.

“What do you all think?” Qing Shui asked after contemplating for a moment.

“If we don’t act, others will. In that case, wouldn’t we be wasting this opportunity here?” Hua Rumei’s brows knitted slightly as she spoke.

“The Beast God Sect and Wild Ghost Valley are both existences that have obtained a part of the Demon King Inheritance. Even if we can defeat some of their experts, there are bound to be some powerhouses in there. They won’t be defeated so easily. Even a rabbit will bite if it is panicked, let alone two ferocious wolves like them.”

“Then should we spare them just like that?” Hua Rumei reluctantly spoke.

“How can there be so many treasures? I dare to guarantee that even if we wipe out the Divine God Sect, we won’t be able to obtain any treasures. It’s fine if we want to hit them while they are down, but we shouldn’t be too anxious, lest we are bitten.”

This time, Qing Shui’s refinement of demons was a success and after he obtained the Hell Nightmare Beast, he suddenly felt that he saw many things a lot more calmly, especially for things like treasures.

This kind of feeling was an indication that Qing Shui truly felt how strong he was now. Just like people in his past life, once someone had a certain amount of money, he would be calm with a lot of things, living life with no worries. But that was only relative. There were naturally still some who became even more stingy despite their vast amounts of wealth, thinking of money as something even more important than life.

Hua Rumei stared at Qing Shui in astonishment. She also could feel the change in Qing Shui. How could there be such a huge change after half a day? Even Tantai Lingyan felt it.

“Okay, I will listen to you then. Palace Lord, what do you say?” Hua Rumei had a cunning-looking smile on her face.

Tantai Lingyan acted like she didn’t know what Hua Rumei was hinting at. She nodded her head in agreement. “Then we shall return to the Demon Lord Palace tomorrow.”

……

It had been half a month since they had returned to the Demon Lord Palace. Qing Shui was very idle now. Other than the necessary cultivation time spent in the Realm of Violet Immortal, he either spent his time calming his mind in meditation or seeking out Tantai Lingyan.

For this half month, Qing Shui didn’t intentionally get close to Tantan Lingyan. The change in his state of heart made Qing Shui feel a little startled. Now, he only felt that Tantai Lingyan was a woman, an ordinary woman who needed someone to dote on her. All her toughness was nothing but a facade that she used to protect herself.

During this half a month, they also received news that warriors from both righteous and evil forces both wanted to head to the Beast God Sect and WIld Ghost Valley. Sadly, things weren’t as simple as they imagined. There were heavy casualties on both sides but the Beast God Sect and Wild Ghost Valley remained standing.

For large sects who had inheritances, especially since theirs was an inheritance from the demon king, how could they be destroyed so easily? Even a starving camel was still bigger than a horse, and now they had reversed the situation and taken a huge bite out of those invaders.

Tantai Lingyan seemed very idle too. After cultivating for half a day, she spent the other half chatting and drinking tea with Hua Rumei. In fact, there was also another piece of news - Hua Rumei was pregnant.

Tantai Lingyan immediately visited Hua Rumei after she learnt of the matter. Qing Shui just so coincidentally was speaking to Zhan Yu, whose smile stretched from ear to ear, agreeing to whatever Hua Rumei said with no hints of disagreement.

Tantai Lingyan started upon seeing the languid manner of Hua Ruxue. A string of her heart stirred somehow. Qing Shui looked at Tantai Lingyan and wondered what would this woman look like if she was pregnant as well.

Naturally the father of the child was him. Soon later, Qing Shui was lost in his flights of fancy.

Cough cough!

Hua Rumei coughed lightly and only then did Qing Shui came out of his daze. He was actually staring at Tantai Lingyan in a dumbfounded manner, but luckily his skin was extremely thick and he wasn’t shy at all. He immediately smiled, “Congratulations to sister. Hey brother, come here. This is a gift to you and sister.”

Qing Shui took out an accessory and some spirit medicine. He was a doctor. The purpose of him gifting the medicines was naturally to nurture Hua Rumei. The accessory he took out was also something very valuable that would benefit the constitution of its owner. It could even increase cultivation and attacking power to some extent.

Tantai Lingyan gifted some presents to them as well. Hua Rumei happily accepted them and started laughing, “Qing Shui, what do you feel about you and Lingyan being the godparents of our child after its born?”

Hua Rumei spoke in a serious manner, but there was a cunning light in her eyes.

Tantai Lingyan didn’t notice anything strange and instantly agreed, “Sure!”

But soon after she accepted, she felt strange. An instant later, after it hit her, she turned and stared at Hua Rumei speechlessly.

Qing Shui wanted to laugh. Who could have thought that Tantai Lingyan would also have such an adorable side to her? He liked to see this woman facing him with such a cute expression, but this would only be possible if Tantai Lingyan was close enough to someone.

In Hua Rumei’s eyes, she naturally understood everything since she was a sensitive woman. She hadn’t expected that the little man who had cured her back then would truly manage to obtain the affection of Tantai Lingyan. Although right now, there was still nothing between them, she ultimately had been together with Tantai Lingyan for so many years, and had a certain understanding of her thoughts. She knew that Tantai Lingyan most probably also had some feelings for Qing Shui.

She was also very happy in her heart, although she didn’t say anything out loud. She and Taitan Lingyan had been sisters for so many years. She also hoped that her good sister would be able to find a good husband who loved her and could dote on her.

When Qing Shui asked for her help, she naturally happily agreed. She knew that it was one thing for her to help, but whether his courtship would succeed still depended on Qing Shui himself. Tantai Lingyan wasn’t an ordinary woman and in the beginning, she hadn’t liked Qing Shui at all. But who would have expected all the events that happened...all the way until now that, somehow unconsciously, Tantai Lingyan even began to have the feel of a woman who liked to depend on a man.

“Qing Shui, you better work hard.” Hua Rumei smiled. She didn’t say clearly what she meant, but everyone naturally knew.

“Now, I’m not doing anything else. Other than eating and sleeping, I’m trying hard every second of the day.” Qing Shui spoke in a serious manner.

“With a strong enough will, you can achieve everything.” Hua Rumei smiled as she glanced at Tantai Lingyan.

“The night is getting late, I will return first and come to see you again next time.” Tantai Lingyan helplessly shook her head and spoke. Since it was getting late, it was about time to leave.

“Sure. In that case, Qing Shui, please send Lingyan to her room.” Hua Rumei laughed as she stood up.