Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 603 – Wang Clan As A Stepping Stone, Di Chen’s Intention (1)

Qing Shui could almost see that Red-Lined Snake when he took another glance. At that moment, he had unconsciously entered the dream among the sea of flowers that he had never visited again in the last few years.

Qing Shui stared at Di Chen’s deep but clear eyes. They were beautiful as always. The expression in her eyes, however, was unusual – they were extraordinary yet retained a vast amount of kindness. Unfortunately, as beautiful as her eyes were, she had a look of indifference and coldness when her eyes met with Qing Shui’s.

Qing Shui shuddered at the coldness he felt from her gaze. He had never seen such a desolated but beautiful pair of eyes before. Yiye Jiange was extraordinary, Canghai Mingyue was magnificent and exceedingly beautiful, Shi Qingzhuang was cold but the woman in front of him was an embodiment of the three of them. Her eyes were perfect because it was a combination of the three beautiful aurae. She could easily charm any man in the world with only her pair of beautiful eyes.

She was beautiful; a mystifying kind of beauty. Her charm could even rival Canghai Mingyue and Yiye Jiange. This kind of woman could sweep all kinds of men if she wanted to.

She looked at Qing Shui calmly, like a goddess was gazing upon him. She remained motionless while she kept her gaze on Qing Shui. At that moment, he felt strange. He kept looking at her, from her eyes to her pronounced shoulder blade, and then to her silvery snow-white muslin dress around her chest. Her bosoms seemed firm and supple from the silhouette of the chest draped by the dress.

“A goddess?” Qing Shui looked up and said in a soft tone.

The woman was still motionless. Even the clear beautiful eyes were still looking at Qing Shui without blinking!

It was at this moment that Qing Shui became suspicious about this woman.

“A demon?”

There was still no reaction whatsoever!

Suddenly, Qing Shui reached out and grabbed her chest. He could not contain one of her breasts on his hand because of how enormous it was. Qing Shui was able to feel the shape through the thin lining of the silver muslin fabric. It was the most incredible feeling ever.

The strange dream among the seas of flowers made Qing Shui believe that all of these were real. He couldn’t even tell if he was really in the dream among the sea of flowers or if he was just thinking this scene up in his head.

Just then, he felt a slight twinge around his waist area. In an instant, he was conscious again, as if he had woken up from a dream. It was the same sensation he felt when Di Chen kicked him out of the dream among the sea of flowers. He turned his head and looked at the vexing eyes while laughing in bitterness. Those eyes were pretty…. much like the eyes he saw in the dream among the sea of flowers. However, unlike in the dream among the sea of flowers, her eyes had a layer of mist around them like a faint smog. Qing Shui was stunned when he saw those strange eyes.

“Teacher, you have such great luck to be able to get someone like her as your wife. You two are already a couple yet you are still mesmerized by her…” Lan Tong teased Qing Shui after she saw him being dazed for a few moment.

The surrounding crowd from before had already left after witnessing Qing Shui’s brutality against the men from Wang Clan. All of the members of the Wang Clan had already left as well. Although Di Chen appeared at the last minute, no one else would dare approach her despite her celestial-like beauty.

“Okay, okay. Didn’t I tell you before to find Nian Feng at the Drunken Immortal Inn when you ran into trouble?” Qing Shui frowned while he looked at Lan Tong.

“Wang Clan was a big clan, and I was afraid I would only bring trouble to your friend….”

Qing Shui reached out his hand and rubbed Lan Tong’s head. Perhaps, after he saw the soft side of Lan Tong that he realized this strong lady was actually suffering in silent. Luckily, she still has a bunch of friends who were loyal to her.

“Are the others alright? Go check on them.” said Qing Shui as he stopped rubbing her head.

“Okay!”

“We are fine, we are fine….”

All of them said in an excited tone to cheer up Lan Tong.

“Wait a minute. Why are you guys still here? Why haven’t you guys left yet?” Qing Shui asked after he realized they haven’t left the Jade Sea Country.

Lan Tong glanced towards the Jade Sea, and then laughed, “When you left, we remained here to continue our cultivation. We also hunted a bunch of fishes and sold them to the restaurants to get a few coins. After that, we met Hu Dayong, a friend of that stinky Wang Ruiyuan. He actually tried to touch me with his filthy hands in broad daylight….. So I chopped his hand off.”

Lan Tong seemed embarrassed when she talked about slicing off a man’s hand.

“You chopped it well!”

After that, Qing Shui realized that he had also sliced off one of Wang Ruiyuan’s hands. He even crippled Wang Ruiyuan’s precious cultivation. The Wang Clan would definitely not be willing to let go of this matter. However, Qing Shui wasn’t particularly worried about it, because he wouldn’t mind taking down Wang Clan as his first target, if necessary.

“Teacher, the Wang Clan would definitely come for us. They are really strong, so take your wife and run away quickly.” Lan Tong seemed as if she had remembered something when she hastily urged Qing Shui to leave the Jade Sea Country.

“You brat, it’s too late now that you finally remembered that important detail.” Qing Shui smiled at Lan Tong.

“Then what should we do…..” Lan Tong panicked. In that instant, her eyes were filled with tears. She didn’t even cry when she endured being hit by those men. It was when she saw Qing Shui that she finally let out her tears. But now, she was crying again.

“Don’t cry. Qing Shui can defeat them easily.” Di Chen held Lan Tong by her arms and gave her a comforting smile.

“Really?”

“Really!”

“I will trust you then.”

……..

It was just noon when Qing Shui and the others grilled some fishes for lunch. However, Di Chen did not eat anything because she had a veil covering her face. Just when the others were still eating their lunch, a loud and hurried beast call was heard from afar.

The moment had arrived.

A lot of people on the beach knew that it was the Wang Clan’s beast when they saw a few ‘Snow Monarch Falcons’ flying through the sky. A Snow Monarch Falcon had wings about fifteen meters long when extended. Its body was covered in pure snow-white feathers, and its eyes were as black as ink. It had a golden yellow beak, which seemed absolutely majestic. A full grown Snow Monarch Falcon would possess a strength that ranged from Martial King to Peak Martial King. However, in rare cases, Snow Monarch Falcons that possessed the strength of a Martial Saint do exist.

There were three Snow Monarch Falcons coming their way, with about five to six people on each falcon. Most of them were elderly men well past their prime, and the rest were still old but at least a few years younger than them.

Qing Shui carefully observed the men riding on the falcons. He was able to see a young man pointing in their direction to one of the elderly men while seemingly saying about something important. That young man was one of the stooges who had taken a severely wounded Wang Ruiyuan away from the scene.

Now he has come to direct the elderly men to look for Qing Shui and the others!

Smack!

After the young man was done pointing them out, the elderly man slapped him aggressively on the head and that young man tumbled off from the falcon!

Most importantly, the young man’s head was cracked open in mid-air, causing his blood to spill everywhere!

The women below screamed in terror, but soon after that, they stopped screaming by shutting their mouths tightly.

The three Snow Monarch Falcons descended slowly to the ground. The men jumped down from the falcons and walked towards Qing Shui in an orderly fashion!

“Chen…. Dear, take them to the back.” Qing Shui almost forgot about pretending to be a couple with Di Chen. He hesitated for a while before addressing her in a more intimate way. Qing Shui felt unnatural calling her like that, so he did not dare to look at her face-to-face.

Di Chen maintained her composure despite being addressed in an intimate manner by Qing Shui. However, she looked at Qing Shui strangely before she retreated with Lan Tong and the others.

The elderly man who seemed like the leader of the group wore a full green robe from head to toe. It was the purest green Qing Shui had ever seen, but the contrast between his white beard and his robe felt a bit odd. The old man had hollow cheeks and a pair of bright eyes like an eagle’s sharp eyes. His lips were pursed together tightly, which gave one the impression that he was an aggressive person.

The old men behind him came in various sizes. Some were tall, some were short, some were fat, and some were in different sizes of skinny. Despite the differences in size and shape, their lineup was oddly harmonious when they stood together. Around this time, they were less than a hundred meters away from Qing Shui.

“Who are you?” The elderly man had a loud voice that sounded dignified.

“And who are you?” Qing Shui snorted as he looked at the elderly man.

“I am Wang Shunchang of the Wang Clan, and who exactly are you? Why are you picking on our Wang Clan?” The elderly man stared at Qing Shui intensely. He had been staring at Qing Shui ever since he laid eyes on him.

“I am Qing Shui. Why am I making picking on the Wang Clan? You should know the answer to that. You should be clear about the kind of people the Wang Clan are by now.” Qing Shui maintained the smile on his face. He was completely unaffected by the old man’s threatening tone.

Wang Shunchang’s intimidation did not affect Qing Shui in the slightest. When he realized that, he also found that he wasn’t able to sense Qing Shui’s strength either. Because of that, Wang Shunchang was careful not to act rashly.

The elderly man had seen all kinds of things and had been through all sorts of turbulence. He could tell by Qing Shui’s attitude that he didn’t fear them.

Moreover, his name was Qing Shui? Wang Shunchang had never heard of his name before, much less his surname in the Jade Sea Country. With that, he figured that Qing Shui must have come from somewhere else. But what caught him off-guard was that he couldn’t sense Qing Shui’s strength despite his young age.

“Mr. Qing must not be from Jade Sea Country, I presume?” Wang Shunchang began to wind down his threatening attitude and asked Qing Shui for clarifications. According to Wang Shunchang, Qing Shui seemed like an ordinary young man. But if he was from a well-established clan or sect, Wang Shunchang could inadvertently bring destruction to himself and his clan as well.

“No.” Qing Shui knew what this elderly man was trying to do – he was trying to find out more about him. However, Qing Shui wasn’t concerned about that because there was no need to be overcautious in the Central Continent.

“If you are not from the Jade Sea Country, then why did you come here to cause trouble for the Wang Clan? Perhaps you came here to bully my clan because you think that we are nobodies? Is it because we are nobodies in the Jade Sea Country?”

Qing Shui nearly choked when he heard what the elderly man was saying. He had the nerve to play the victim role in this situation while trying to be the bigger person in this conversation. He was trying to twist the truth and make Qing Shui out as the public’s biggest enemy.

“Haha, you are wrong. It is not I who had picked on Wang Clan, it is your Wang Clan who had dug its own grave. I am sure that you are well aware of your grandchildren’s behavior. So don’t bring Jade Sea Country into this, because the Wang Clan is unworthy to stay here. Your clan’s existence is a shame to the entire Jade Sea Country.” Qing Shui observed the surrounding people and knew most of them were locals of the Jade Sea Country. He wasn’t dumb enough to allow Wang Clan to continue playing the victim card.

“You, you….. I see. Then don’t blame me by saying that we are bullying the weak for nothing. Even though Wang Clan is not a big clan, we do not fear anyone who tries to sabotage us.” The elderly man locked his eyes with Qing Shui as he steadily made his first step on the ground.

“I suggest you think thrice about it. Once the battle is initiated, I will not hold back. You said it yourself that Wang Clan is not a big clan, and you are right about that. A big clan cannot afford to house a useless corrupted descendant like your grandson. Can the Wang Clan afford that? As the elder of the Wang Clan, not only have you remained impenitent and never learn your lessons, you still have the nerve to make excuses. The Wang Clan would perish by itself even without the self-immolation of your third generation.” said Qing Shui in a calm manner while he stood there motionless.

Wang Shunchang was about to wage a war against this man named Qing Shui. He knew that Qing Shui was saying the truth, but he couldn’t care less about that. Wang Shunchang was more concerned about Qing Shui’s power as well as his backings.

“How about I challenge you to a duel of life and death? I am not sure if you will dare accept my challenge. You had taken away my son’s hand, so it is fair that I am waging a war against you.” Just when Wang Shunchang was being indecisive, a middle-aged man stood out and challenged Qing Shui.

Qing Shui observed this seemingly ordinary man. The hair around his temples had grown white. His eyes were energetic, which made his unappealing appearance seemed more tolerable. The middle-aged man was calm as he stood in front of Qing Shui with full composure.

“It seems this is all Wang Clan can offer – being timid. Don’t you think this method is childish? Wang Shunchang, I have overestimated you. What a waste for you to live up to this point.” said Qing Shui apathetically. He disliked people who wanted the best of both worlds, yet had no strength to follow up their convictions.

These kinds of greedy people would never bear responsibilities or be firm with their standpoint. They would never be open-minded enough to accept other people’s criticisms as well. Moreover, these people would never be suitable for friends of any kind. Qing Shui shook his head in disappointment. He had overestimated the Wang Clan and it was a mistake to do so.

No one could endure being ridiculed by Qing Shui to that extent, not even Wang Shunchang. The Wang Clan has never been ridiculed before, so why should Wang Shunchang allow such a man like Qing Shui to disrespectfully taunt a Martial Saint like him?

“You are courting death. Don’t blame the Wang Clan for being intolerant towards a person like you.” Wang Shunchang would always put himself on a high pedestal even in a situation like this. It might be a natural instinct to do so, or perhaps it was just a cautious gesture of an old man.

His voice fell low as he warned Qing Shui. Wang Shunchang took another step, and then rushed abruptly towards Qing Shui. He wasn’t particularly fast, but every step he took was filled with an enormous amount of energy. The trail behind him was a bunch of indented footprints on the ground. He had made grooves with each footstep while rushing towards Qing Shui in a stomp-like motion.

Qing Shui smiled at Wang Shunchang who was inching closer to him!

Emperor’s Qi!

No matter how confident he was, he reminded himself that he should not hold back his powers, so he threw out his Emperor’s Qi for insurance.

Nature Energy!

State of Immovable as Mountains!

………

Wang Shunchang went pale when he realized his strength had been reduced by the strength of 120 countries by the Emperor’s Qi. However, he gritted his teeth through the remaining strength of 480 countries as he increased his speed by multiple folds. He swiftly aimed his hand at Qing Shui’s head with the intention of breaking his skull apart.