Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 0128 – A Name that Shakes Hundred Miles City

“Qing Shui, when did you break through to Xiantian?” Qing Luo smiled as he looked at his nephew who made him feel so accomplished.

“A few days ago, when we went to the southern mountain range to collect herbs. On the way there, I surprisingly broke through.” Qing Shui thought about that dangerous scene. He still didn’t understand why that Golden Steel Demonic Boar did not kill him. The crack on the moonstone must have been damaged by the Golden Steel Demonic boar. Could it be related to this moonstone?

“Hehe, our Qing Clan also has a Xiantian master now!” Qing Bei chuckled.

Qing Bei’s words made the others realize that Qing Shui was a Xiantian now, and stared at Qing Shui strangely. This was a sixteen-year-old Xiantian! Who knows what heights his potential could reach!

If there was a person who was more outstanding than oneself, even if it was just a little, one could be jealous. However, if the person was on a totally different level, one could only admire them, and be unable to envy the person.

There was only zeal in the eyes of the three generations in the Qing Clan. That was a kind of power that only a role model had. Qing Luo rejoiced at the ability of his offspring. The Qing Clan would not be bullied in the future, and it even had the hope of being a large clan. He could still live for another hundred years, so he might even be able to see the Qing clan climb up the ranks with his own eyes.

“Qing Shui, what are your plans for the future? I know you won’t always stay in the Qing clan, or even in this tiny Hundred Miles City.” Qing Luo calmly said.

“I will not leave Hundred Miles City for three years. After three years, I will first go to the Yan clan! As for the rest, I haven’t thought about it yet. If the matter with the Yan clan goes well, I will head towards Sky Sword Sect to return my master’s kindness!” Qing Shui looked at Qing Luo and said seriously.

Qing Luo’s eyebrows furrowed slightly. Even Qing Shui’s uncles, aunts, and Qing Yi all felt a tremble in their hearts. When this day came, they didn’t know whether they should be happy or worried.

“Hey, Qing Shui, I would feel assured if you took care of everything, but grandfather is still worried. I won’t stop you from going to the Yan clan. I had also hoped to see this day since the feeling of being bullied is not easy to swallow, but not having heirs is the most important matter. Qing Shui, do you understand what grandfather is saying?”

“I understand! Grandfather, you don’t have to worry. Three years. After three years, I will be confident to go to the Yan clan. I will return the favor tenfold or a hundredfold if anyone dares to bully my mother or the Qing clan.” Qing Shui slowly said with a smile. That firm and gentle tone had an unusually mature profoundness, but it had a charm that was unique to men.

“Alright, Qing Shui is all grown up now. Grandfather feels relieved after hearing your words. The men of the Qing clan need to be bold, but it is also vital to be smart!” Qing Luo laughed heartily.

Without a doubt, the person that was happiest at this moment was Qing Yi. The issue that laid heavy on her heart for seventeen years. Today, she finally saw hope to the issue that she endured for seventeen years. Whatever the result was, she had to know the truth. She missed the little girl who was taken away when she was only a few months old.

Qing Yi’s eyes were full of tears, but she still smiled brightly at Qing Shui. “I don’t have any regrets in my life anymore after hearing my son’s intent!”

“Just wait, mother, give your son a little more time!” Qing Shui silently thought in his heart.

After an hour, Qing Shui made an excuse to leave out of embarrassment. Everyone clearly knew that Qing Shui went back to cultivate, and couldn’t help but realize that him breaking through to Xiantian was not a coincidence. Qing Shui’s diligence made the third generation, and even the second generation feel a little shameful.

Qing Shui tightly locked his room. Ever since he had started to enter the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal, he had developed his habit. The Qing family members knew that the biggest disturbance to Qing Shui’s cultivation was being interrupted by anyone, so while Qing Shui was cultivating, no would would disturb him. In the future, they would do so even less.

Qing Shui entered the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal and looked at the black fish and turtles, which made Qing Shui sigh as he realized how these little things were able to grow so fast even though they only drank water. The quality of their meat was incomparable, but Qing Shui didn’t want to feed them any food for two reasons. First, he felt that he would contaminate the pond water, even though Qing Shui knew this pond water had a strong purifying ability. Second, qing shui felt that feeding them normal food might damage the excellent quality of their flesh…

The bushes of herbs were growing healthily. The entire spatial realm exuded a rich and intoxicating medicinal essence from the herbs. Qing Shui couldn’t help but take several deep breaths every time he entered the spatial realm.

His alchemy experience would be full in two or three days, and he would be able to obtain the recipe for the Five Dragon Pellet. Qing Shui felt excited just thinking about it, but he had a headache every time he looked at the rare ingredients and materials from demonic beasts that were required for the recipe.

“Hmm, Baili Jinwei’s Purple Liondeer. If I end up meeting master, I need to ask him for some antlers that the Liondeer sheds after maturing!” Qing Shui became joyful after thinking about how he found a way to obtain a demonic beast level deer antler.

He couldn’t help but think of his devastatingly beautiful master when he thought of Baili Jinwei. Her beauty which could topple kingdoms was similar to the bright moon at the edge of the horizon. Her extraordinarily refined and celestially elegant manners made Qing Shui want to pay his respects to it. Compared to her, Wenren Wu-Shuang had a little more mortal feeling to her, which made Qing Shui feel that Wenren Wu-Shuang was still tangible. However, Yiye Jiange was untouchable, like a mist, leaving him unable to harbor any disrespectful thoughts.

Qing Shui shook his head to get rid of the distracting thoughts in his mind, and continued his cultivation as usual. Qing Shui had already started to practice the hacking stance!

The important thing about hacking was timing and power. This was a type of skill that chopped and destroyed the target with extreme force and pressure. Although it seemed simple, it was actually not so. Hacking was best used after the opponent had been suppressed. It used a spurt of energy to hack the opponent in one move.

After entering the fourth heavenly layer, Qing Shui gained great physical strength. The important part about the hacking stance was lifting heavy objects with ease. The heavier the weapon, the mightier the power of the hacking stance. However, if one was able to learn how to “lift light objects as if they were heavy” one could kill with just a tree branch.

“To lift light objects as if they were heavy.” Qing Shui felt unable to grasp this concept. He could barely lift heavy objects with ease with the help of his tremendous strength, but its skill level was quite low. It was also the opposite of lifting light objects as if they were heavy.

In the morning, Qing Shui woke up early. Summer was gone, and autumn had arrived. The weather in the mornings and nights were becoming slightly chilly. He wanted to cultivate in the courtyard after he woke up, but he discovered that the open courtyard already been occupied by about ten figures cultivating.

Qing Shui was startled. He had really stimulated them!

When they saw Qing Shui, they all greeted him joyfully and then continued to cultivate. In the morning Qing Shui would usually slowly circulate the Ancient Strengthening Technique to collect the spiritual Qi within heaven and earth, and then exercise his body and bones.

While attending middle school in his previous life, not only did he learn an exercise routine, but also Taichi. He could clearly remember the twenty-four stances of Tai Chi. Unfortunately, he felt that they weren’t worthwhile in his previous life, and didn’t even bother to practice or correct his form. In any case, he still remembered the correct forms.

Practicing Tai Chi in the morning wasn’t that bad. He walked towards a spacious place, opened his standing legs, raised his arms forward, bent his knees, and raised a palm in a Taichi gesture.

Qing Shui felt it might be the effect of the Ancient Strengthening Technique or maybe the effect of his experience in cultivation in this life that he had a hint of the so-called Tai Chi master in the previous life once he started practicing.

Part the Wild Horse’s Mane; White Crane Spreads Its Wings; Brush Knee and Step Forward; Playing the Lute.

Qing Shui slowly produced these moves, and the more he practiced, the more he felt engrossed, and even his mind was becoming a little excited. No wonder Tai Chi had an effect of refining the spirit. The theory of yin and yang in “The Book of Changes”, a study of the meridians by Chinese doctors, and the Daoist exercises combined to create this series of movement techniques that contained both yin and yang characteristics, corresponded with the human body composition, and followed the patterns of nature. People from ancient times called this “Tai Chi.”

Qing Shui then slowly practiced the rest of the techniques: Reverse Reeling Forearm; Left Grasp Sparrow’s Tail; Right Grasp Sparrow’s Tail; Single Whip…Turn Body, Deflect, Parry, and Punch; Appears Closed, closing in one breath before he slowly proceeded with the closing.

The twenty-four stances of Tai Chi were really clever. It defended the practitioner, then attacked after the opponent has struck. It was also a first-class method to practice Qi and refine the soul. However, it was difficult to reach a profound state without comprehension.

Qing Shui decided to add another task to his morning routine by practicing Tai Chi!

Qing He could get out of the bed in a day’s time. Although he had heard about how Qing Shui had slaughtered the Xiantian in an instant, he felt happy, but also bitter.

The pair of newlyweds actually woke up early. Their faces were radiant, and they served tea for grandfather first, and then for the Qing Jiang couple. Together, they ate breakfast with noise and excitement.

There was no teasing by the third generation, but the elders’ gazes and their light laughter were enough!

Within a day, Qing Shui’s name had circulated around Hundred Miles City. This time, many people had witnessed Qing Shui slaughter the Xiantian in an instant. The Qing clan’s power in Hundred Miles City was already uninhibited by anyone.

Qing Shui foresaw all these events a long time ago. Qing Shui knew he could do this before he broke through the fourth heavenly layer, but he could barely protect himself then. Now, most regular Xiantian cultivators could not be his opponent.

Qing Zi’s matter was already over, so now he felt the need to open the clinic. With his powerful alchemy skills, and the sensation caused by yesterday’s events, the clinic would be easy to open. Qing Shui thought about what name he should give it. Qing Shui thought about how his medical skill mainly strengthened the Qi passages, the Dantian, the bones and the muscles.

“Martial Clinic!” Qing Shui decided to use this name!

He originally planned to open the clinic at the Qing clan medical store, but after thinking about it, he decided to choose somewhere else. Qing Shui aimlessly pondered this matter, as he wandered the streets unconsciously.

“Bang!”

“Humph! I bumped into someone again!” Qing Shui thought.

“Why did I bump into someone again!” Qing Shui unconsciously thought about that delicate girl from the Xiang clan, and finally looked up. Hey!

“I’m sorry, I bumped into you again!” Qing Shui extended his hand to help pull the pouting girl whose eyes were full of tears up off the ground.

“Do you not like to look at the road when you walk!” Xiang Bao’s beautiful eyes looked at Qing Shui oddly.

“You don’t look at the road either. How else could I have bumped into you twice?” Qing Shui explained as he looked at Xiang Bao’s exquisite and small face. Did this loli who was older than him let him bump into her intentionally again?

“I just wanted to see if you had changed or not. I didn’t expect that you did not change at all!” Xiang Bao looked at Qing Shui with a “hidden bitterness.”

“Are you not going to repent even if you die?” Qing Shui laughed.

“I let you bump into me intentionally.” Xiang Bao said, fuming.

“Why?”

“There’s no reason. Can I not be willing to let you do it?” A pink shade appeared on Xiang Bao’s beautiful and small face, and she rolled her small and charming eyes at Qing Shui.

Qing Shui moved slightly. He thought about her behavior, and had guessed correctly that Xiang Bao might have some feelings towards him, but he didn’t know whether to be happy or worried in his heart.

“Little girl, ok, uncle has things to do. Leave and go play now.” Qing Shui extended his arm to rub her head and said with as much “benevolence” as he could muster.

Xiang Bao astonishingly glared at him and indignantly pushed Qing Shui’s hand away. “…I told you to not call me little girl since I’m older than you; don’t always try to act somature. Also, don’t even think about getting rid of me!”

(TL – The Ding Clan will be renamed as the Xiang Clan, sorry for the confusion. Xiang is the correct translation. The words for 项 (Xiang) and 顶 (Ding), looks extremely similar. I apologise for the mistake, sorry guys. *Lordbluefire