Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 232 – 1000-year Gloomy Wood, a streaking man

The voice that deserved a beating was from this fatso.

“Pang Little Master, I had this for 10,000. You can’t expect me to pay and lose my family’s fortune!” The old man with half-white hair pleaded, his wrinkled face looking pained.

The old man held on tightly to a blackish wooden stick. Qing Shui guessed, “Could this charcoal thing be worth 10,000 silver?”

The unnamed tree root in his realm was only worth so much, and its identity was still unknown. The tree root was not entirely visible in the old man’s hands, but it was as thick as an arm. More than half of the stick was in the man’s hands and the remainder of it was less than half of it.

“Old man. I, Pang Little Master, have always gotten what I wanted,” That meaty head of the big fatso Pang Little Master lifted up slightly, but not enough to leave a gap in his short neck.

Qing Shui felt like laughing at his air of arrogance. It would have been something else if it was paired with a proud, handsome, and wealthy chap that had some taste. However, the fatso bearing this attitude was making one sick, for there was no hint of smugness in it.

“Pang Little Master, I’m just an old fellow doing a small business. There isn’t even 10,000 silver in my life savings. This is just an item a friend lent me to sell, aren’t you pushing me to my limits?” The old man began sobbing.

“Old man, stop acting pitiful. Do you think I’m dumb, using such an improper way of getting a high price? You’re scamming everyone,” The big fatso looked self-satisfied, talking to the crowd like a know-it-all, and chattering non-stop.

“Damn, you rubbish, you really think you’re a saviour here exposing others? Who pointed a knife at your neck and forced you to buy from that old man?”

That sentence was by Qing Shui. He saw the old man being pushed to the point of despair, and he knew the old man was not pretending. Seeing the expression and heartbeat, Qing Shui knew he was speaking the truth.

“Who who… who said that? Come out if you have the guts, why are you cowering and hiding? I’m gonna make you pay.” Fatso acted powerfully and clamoured.

Canghai Mingyue and Huoyun Liuli smiled, looking at Qing Shui. What Qing Shui said to scold him almost made them laugh. Although they did not, there was laughter all around them.

“Looking at your coward-like appearance, who the hell let you out from the pigs’ pen?” Qing Shui coldly smiled and walked out, staring at the tall and gigantic fatso.

That sentence from Qing Shui had hit his sore spot, and the crowd roared with mocking laughter. When the commotion got to the ears of the fatso, it made his big pig head turn red, but his eyes were too small for anyone to see that death stare. Qing Shui found it funny when he saw that.

“Ah, get them, knock them dead, knock them paralysed!” The fatso shouted at some white-shirt chaps around him.

At his angry call, tens of white-shirt chaps carrying long swords grinned and charged at Qing Shui while teasingly swinging their long swords at him.

Qing Shui thought it was modern of the fatso to have said the phrase “knock them dead, knock them paralysed”. Such a quality phrase actually came from the fatso’s mouth, making it cheap.

He looked at those people who were put on the spot by fatso, and charging towards himself. Since the fatso wanted to kill Qing Shui, he would give hell to the fatso without causing any external injury.

Qing Shui avoided a few long swings and neared the fatso speedily. The fatso saw that Qing Shui could actually get past tens of long swords and dashed towards himself.

“Block him, and cut him dead. Cut him dead and we will go to Peony Hall for some fun tonight,” The fatso cried out loud.

Very quickly, Qing Shui was only five metres away from the fatso, and the latter was already protected by tens of white-shirt fellows. Even so, the fatso’s red head had turned white.

Looking at Qing Shui charging forward, tens of long swords came slicing at him. Qing Shui watched the swords coming at snail-like speed, and the fatso who was wearing thin clothing due to a nearing summer. An idea came into Qing Shui’s mind. He stretched his hands and snapped every one of the swords.

That clear metallic sound seemed to have rung only once, which showed how fast Qing Shui was!

Tens of long swords were snapped away by Qing Shui, and that was not enough. The swords that were snapped away flew towards the fatso they were protecting, and an alarming scene appeared.

Those long swords actually sliced open the fatso’s thin clothing, cleanly taking care of the fatso’s clothes. Within a second, a tall naked body stood before the crowd.

Suddenly the crowd was utterly appalled, no one expected such a scene. The blanched fatso stood in the middle, probably shocked by the swords that flew at him.

Qing Shui looked down curiously at the fatso. Very unfortunately, that thing was almost entirely hidden in his flesh, and could barely be seen as it was squeezed within flesh and some hair.

The women beside him were untouched, though were also scared pale!

That instant, everything froze, and was quickly followed by bursts of laughter and discussion. The fatso cried out bitterly when he looked down at himself.

“What the… can that thing be used all squeezed up in there?” A young chap asked in alarm.

“Such a small fellow yet he’s hugging such a beautiful lass. Isn’t it a waste? Might as well give her to me. I’ll help him toss around with her, and prevent a lady from being lonely,” An uncle sighed.

“Mother, why is the fatso’s caterpillar like mine, but with so much black hair?” A little boy seriously asked a young, fairly pretty mother.

“Young children shouldn’t ask so much. Let’s go home, it’s time to prepare dinner,” The young mother turned red from embarrassment, carried the little boy, and walked off. Laughter sounded all around her, making her walk even faster.

Many middle aged mothers looked at the fatso in interest, and some gathered together to mock and laugh.

“Finally someone who’s more useless than that man at home,” A slightly plump woman laughed.

“Sister Lin, Brother Lin isn’t good there,” A twenty year old young man teased.

“You rascal looking for a beating, your Brother Lin is full of vigour. Thrice a night isn’t a problem,” The woman called Sister Lin smiled foxily at the young man.

“Whoever is with this fatso will suffer. She probably can’t survive if he lays on her. She’d probably be paranoid every night while sleeping. It’s alright if he flips his body, but it’ll be fatal if he flips the wrong side,” Beside them, a middle aged woman with a rather good body sneered.

“Haha, Yanhong is right, if the beast in him suddenly comes on, it’ll be quite low but the top would be flat as leaves. Even thinking about it is scary,” Sister Lin laughed out.

“Goodness knows if this fatso can have any fun with women. Even if that thing stands, I doubt it can be seen,” A quiet-looking lady commented weirdly.

Her words caused whooping laughter between Sister Lin and the woman called Yanhong!

Three women makes a show!

“You take off your clothes,” The fatso yelled at a chap beside him.

“Ah, Young Master, you won’t fit!” The young chap responded submissively.

“Damn, I’m asking you to take it off, who cares if I can fit,” The fatso shouted angrily.

The fellow sullenly and quickly took off his top, and the fatso grabbed it. He tried to tie around his waist, but found it to be too short…

“Damn, you take it off!” The fatso yelled at another chap.

After tying two white shirts at his waist to cover his ugly body and the ugliest part, he hurried off.

“Big fatso, did I say I’d let you go?” Qing Shui’s devilish voice made the fatso’s flesh tremble. He looked back with his crying face, at the fellow who humiliated him.

Though he was arrogant, the fatso was a typical bully. His family had some weight in Skysword Sect. He would walk around with a bunch of white-shirt rascals with long swords, swaggering and flaunting on the streets, only bullying the weak.

“You have already reduced me to this, what more do you want?” The fatso morosely said, surprising Qing Shui.

One would not have the heart to hit someone apologising or beat up the meek. What the fatso said had implied his resignation. Shoot, he had already humiliated him utterly. If he was ignorant, it would be unfair to die here.

Qing Shui felt someone tugging at him. He turned around, and it was Huoyun Liuli looking down, her pretty face crimson red. She looked up at Qing Shui.

“Alright, Qing Shui, let’s go. That fatso is humiliated enough, I doubt he’ll appear here again,” Huoyun Liuli whispered, looking fascinatingly charming.

Qing Shui held that soft, boneless, delicate hands. It must be the first time he held her hands “in public”.

“Let me catch you bullying others and I will get rid of that small fellow in between your legs. I will buy that item from the old man. If you want it come get it from me next time, scram!” Qing Shui had no good feelings towards that rubbish, but the adaptive ability of such people could be powerful.

“Old man, sell that to me, it’ll save you some trouble too. Don’t worry, I’ll pay at whatever price you name,” Qing Shui said to the old man after the fatso and his people escaped shabbily.

“Thank you for your help today, I shouldn’t want your money…”

“Old man, one can’t live without money. I helped you today not for this piece of wood, or what difference would there be between me and that fatso. How about this? I overheard you saying 10,000 silver just now, I’ll pay this price then?”

Eventually Qing Shui spent 12,000 silver on the piece of wood.

Qing Shui had purchased it because the name on the wood had made him excited, 1000-year Sediment Wood!

1000-year Gloomy Wood was one of the ingredients to cultivate magic weapons. Other than 1000-year Gloomy Wood, there were Internal Pellets, Dragon Tendons, Heavenly Silk, Black Turtle Shell, Unicorn Blood, Golden Phoenix Feathers, and Heaven Healing Stone.

Internal Pellet; the Internal Pellet from 1000 year beasts would do. Dragon Tendons and Golden Phoenix Feathers and Unicorn Blood were excluded immediately. Qing Shui’s head ached looking at them. Where could anyone find those legendary items? Heavenly Silk was rare but possible to find, while Black Turtle Shell should be turtle shells of 3000 years and above. Heaven Healing Stones were automatically filtered out, wasn’t this a joke?

Qing Shui thought even if three of the ingredients for cultivating magic weapons were found, where would the Eight Trigrams Furnace be found? Was there even an Eight Trigram Furnace in the nine continents!?

Thinking about the magic weapons made Qing Shui feel especially warm, but in the nine continents, items that were more mystical than gems were legendary items.

Just like the Earth Shrinking Ruler, one had only heard of it but no one had ever seen its true form, let alone the rumoured incredible functions. Thinking about Earth Shrinking Ruler led one to think of the Moonlight Jewel Box that was no less incredible.

Qing Shui was not sure if the Art of Invisibility existed, but if it did, magic weapons may actually exist. After all, gems and items that magically enhanced through halo effects did exist. Those that had happened to Qing Shui led him to have high hopes.

‘Gather these items first, I will continue finding clues when I get to the more prosperous and stronger Central continent, or Dongsheng Divine continent where cultivating pellets and Qi is prevalent.’

Qing Shui temporarily casted off thoughts about magic weapons, since they may not exist. More importantly, he should be training his Ancient Strengthening Technique.

He had kept his foothold with the Ancient Strengthening Technique, for the Qi of the Ancient Strengthening Technique was the foundation for everything. Qing Shui shook his head, and realised he had travelled almost half the journey.

He turned back and saw that he had been dragged by Huoyun Liuli all the way. He exclaimed inwardly that what a pity it was to be absent-minded even when holding onto Huoyun Liuli.

When she felt that Qing Shui had gotten back into his senses, she tugged her hand a few times but he did not let go. She glanced at Qing Shui with her charming eyes, but that sexy look made Qing Shui hold onto her even harder.

Huoyun Liuli, being held by this familiar man, felt warm in her chest. She still had some feelings towards Qing Shui.

“Liuli, why do you still want to escape? The golden lock I wore on your neck has already chained you up,” Qing Shui held onto Huoyun Liuli’s small hands with a slight force.

Qing Shui’s words caused a frenzy in Huoyun Liuli, and it was sweet too. Could this be a confession or a hint that he likes her?

It was a beautiful scene as Qing Shui held Huoyun Liuli’s hands and walked into the crowd. It was, of course, the effects of Huoyun Liuli’s beauty and air, but it still made men and women around them envious.

Qing Shui loved the looks of envy and jealousy on those young men. It was very enjoyable!

“Qing Shui, you will be the roc shooting up towards the ninth heavens in the future, there are bigger spaces out there for you to explore. Don’t be too immersed in romantic relationships and be covered in wounds as a result. You have to know that love is a double-edged sword; the sharpest when it comes to hurting others, leaving a wound in your heart that would never heal.”

Huoyun Liuli spoke softly, the woman with the bright eyes and white teeth, with charm seeping through, was the most attractive one Qing Shui has ever seen.

“Lass, where did you hear all those experiences from.” Qing Shui laughed, staring unblinkingly at the fair face that was turning bright red.