Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 634 – The internal branches in Di Clan. The difference in strength, looking for aid

“Third brother, if you still consider me as your brother, stop saying all these nonsense. It’s not up to you to decide what my daughter does.” Di Xuan knitted his brows as he attempted to tell off the middle-aged man who just entered the room.

“Not up to me to decide? So should I just stand aside and wait for you guys to ruin the entire Di Clan? Will I feel a lot better? Don’t think that you are really unstoppable just because you broke through to Grade Eight Martial Saint!” The middle-aged man looked furious.

“I will settle my daughter’s issues myself. I will take all of the responsibility! You are in no position to complain about anything.” Di Xuan looked really gloomy. After all, his daughter has just returned. This may be the only chance for him to fix the relationship between the two of them. Who would have thought that his third brother would join in and cause a commotion?

“Hahaha, you? Settle it yourself? The husband that your daughter found is indeed strong. He actually managed to eliminate the entire Residence of the Sky Tyrant Lord himself. However, have you forgotten that there is still someone from the Residence of the Sky Tyrant Lord who is in the Seven Stars Cloudway Pagoda? Even if there are two or even three of you, will you be a match for him? Do you seriously want everyone from the Di Clan to die with you?” The middle-aged man from the Di Clan mocked him.

“Everyone from the Di Clan is in my daughter’s debt! Di Jing, from now on, we don’t have anything to do with each other, get out of my sight. I don’t want a selfish person like you to ever step into my house again!” Di Xuan waved his hand and furiously remarked.

“Could it be that you want to cut off all ties with the Di Clan? Am I the one being selfish? Is it worth it to sacrifice the entire Di Clan just for a daughter who you once abandoned?” Di Jing responded and glanced towards Di Chen and Qing Shui.

Di Qing glared at her annoying third uncle furiously. Unfortunately, she wasn’t in any position to interrupt them.

Di Chen stood in a corner without any expression. Qing Shui, on the other hand, was holding her hand to make her feel warm and secured. As Di Chen felt Qing Shui’s warmth, she turned around and gave him a smile.

“Thirty years ago, I was really helpless. As father’s son, I took up the responsibility and held in the pain to let my daughter suffer. Now, no one is going to let her suffer ever again!” Di Xuan spoke with an unwavering voice.

“Third brother, what are you doing?”

At this moment, about ten people came into the room one after another. They consisted of both young and old men. The extraordinary aura that every one of them exuded made Qing Shui feel stunned.

This was the strength that an aristocratic clan should possess! Every single one of the warriors who came in were at least at Martial King grade. The people from Di Xuan’s generation were all Martial Saint warriors.

“Father!”

Di Jing called out to the wise old man at the front politely.

“Thirty years ago, I made a mistake. I can’t take back the words I said back then. It’s my fault that Chen`er had to go through all these sufferings. Are you scolding me for this now?”

The old man was none other than the Di Clan’s clan head, Di Xiong. He was a kind and dignified old man. He spoke as he walked towards Di Xuan and his group. He was very imposing, his steps deep and resounding.

“Father!” Di Jing screamed out in fear.

“Shut up! I don’t care if you are doing this for yourself or for others. The Di Clan has always been a united clan! What you are doing today makes me feel extremely disappointed. Do you still see me as your father? Since when have you gotten the authority to decide things for the Di Clan?” Despite his age, Di Xiong’s voice was firm and steady.

“Father, is it worth it to cause such a chaos in the Di Clan just for an outsider?” Di Jing didn’t intend to give up and continued to persuade the old man.

“Till now, do you still not realise your mistakes? What have I done to have such a useless son like you? Elder Hu, Elder Qi, take him out. He is grounded for three years. During this time, I hope he will be able to reflect on all the mistakes he has made.”

“Father… I’m doing this all for the Di Clan.”

“There is no turning back now that things have taken such a development. Do you want to make Di Chen kneel down and apologize to Old Demon Ba? Do you really think that he will forgive us just by doing this? Idiot.” Di Xiong screamed out in rage.

“I don’t think I deserve to be called your grandfather… I have found out everything about you… I admit that I made a mistake at that time. Therefore, I’ll help you settle all of the problems regarding this incident. The old demon from the Residence of the Sky Tyrant Lord should be here in a few days time. I’ll try my best to help you guys.”

“Father, I wish no one would interfere in this incident. In any case, I need to do something for Chen`er to ease my heart.” Di Xuan said calmly.

“In three days time, Old Demon Ba will arrive at the city. He already knows that this brat is in the Di Clan, that’s why he will be heading here. By then, the two of us will work together to beat him. Di Clan doesn’t have wimps, nor do we have no balls who will easily give in.” Di Xiong relayed Old Demon Ba’s message to Di Xuan.

“You guys should spend some time together. We are just nuisances here.”

“Father!”

Di Xiong waved his hand and glanced towards Di Chen and Qing Shui before taking his leave with the others. Actually, considering that so many people came just to greet them, by locking up Di Jing, that was his way of giving an account to Di Xuan. It also represented that they value Di Chen a lot.

Nevertheless, Di Chen didn’t really care about what they did. She hasn’t planned to stay long regardless. To her, the Di Clan only included the people who were currently in the room. Those who came previously didn’t influence her a single bit. Nor did she feel anything for them.

“Chen`er! Don’t take it to heart!” Qing Shui said with a smile.

“I know, they have long since become strangers to me.”

After being interrupted by Di Jing, the casual atmosphere that was built up with difficulty was instantly destroyed. Hence, it was a bit quiet around the dining table. Even talking felt a bit awkward.

As soon as Di Qing saw this situation, she immediately pulled Di Chen and left after greeting Di Xuan and the noblewoman beside him.

Qing Shui could only reluctantly stay behind. After Di Chen and Di Qing left, the atmosphere around them, to everyone’s surprise, managed to loosen up a little. They even began to talk more.

“Qing Shui, sorry for showing you such an embarrassing scene. This is what happens when you have too many members in the clan.” Di Xuan chuckled.

“I can understand. This is quite normal and it happens everywhere. However, I’m sorry for the inconvenience caused.”

“Hai… We were really close brothers when we’re young. Ever since we grew up and separated, no matter how close we are, it would still be really hard to be like how we used to be. Nevertheless, nothing much happened between us. It could be that because we’re facing a life and death situation now that my third brother behaved like this. Humans are indeed fragile creatures.

“Husband and wife are originally supposed to be two birds from the same forest, yet they choose to separate from each other when a catastrophe was descending on them. Animals are already like this, let alone humans.” Qing Shui shook his head and said in grief.

“Yeah, but I have heard about things concerning you and Chen`er. Why do you guys still want to come, knowing that you guys will be in trouble?” Di Xuan drank the wine he was holding.

Originally, Qing Shui could choose to not get involved in this incident. It was also because of Di Chen that he was that hated by the Residence of the Sky Tyrant Lord. However, he ceased having such thoughts after the change in his relationship with Di Chen.

“Chen`er has saved me a number of times. The human’s heart is made of flesh not stone. Futhermore, as her husband, I had promised before to make her happy and make her the most fortunate person in the world. I meant what I said.” Qing Shui said gently with a smile.

“Thank you! I have witnessed it! I can tell she is really happy now!”

“Come! Let’s drink wine together!” Di Xuan raised the glass in his hand and responded to Qing Shui in joy.

……

“Brother Qing Shui, is it true that you managed to eliminate the entire Residence of the Sky Tyrant Lord alone? I hope you aren’t offended by me asking this, I’m really curious to know.” Di Fenxing looked like he has been holding it in for a long time. Not long after Di Chen and Di Qing left, he couldn’t stop himself from asking this question.

“How would I be offended by it. At that time, I was also lucky to be able to do it.” Qing Shui responded with a smile. Qing Shui was still really happy to be able to communicate with a person who was as easy-going as him.

Suddenly, he thought about the things which Di Qing told him about her second brother being a short-tempered person and that he should go easy on him. It seemed like Di Qing didn’t know her brother well.

“This is great! Brother Qing Shui, is it ok for us to have a duel later? Just a normal kind of duel, I have heard from Qing`Er that you have expansive knowledge in terms of martial arts and are exceptional in many fields. Can you show me?”

“Xing`Er, what are you talking about? Qing Shui, please don’t feel offended. This son of mine has always been like this. Otherwise, people in the city wouldn’t have known him as the ‘martial arts idiot’.”Di Xuan quickly attempted to fix the situation. He felt that it’s not polite to request something like this to Qing Shui on his first visit here. After all, his son was not a match for Qing Shui.

“It’s alright, brother Xing is an easygoing person. I really like this way of communicating.” Qing Shui responded with a smile.

“Alright, alright, well then, brother Qing Shui, we’ll wait for the things revolving around Old Demon Ba to be settled first. After that, let’s duel with each other, how’s that?” Di Fenxing asked with a fiery expression.

“No problem!” Qing Shui smiled and nodded.

“Qing Shui, since Chen`er and Qing`er aren’t around, can I ask you one more question? Can you really manage to reduce Old Demon Ba’s cultivation? This is really important. Furthermore, Old Demon Ba still has a powerful Red Jiao. It’s at least a Grade Eight Martial Saint. Even warriors at the peak of Grade Nine Martial Saint was also not its match. Apparently, it was as strong as a Grade Ten Martial Saint warrior.” Di Xuan knitted his brows and explained.

“Grade Eight Martial Saint Red Jiao……”

Qing Shui was surprised. To think that it would be a Jiao…… It’s said that a Jiao would transform into a Flood Dragon after ten thousand years. After that, it’s possible for it to transform into a True Dragon through cultivation as well.

A Grade Eight Martial Saint Red Jiao…… It should possess around five thousand countries worth of strength. That was equivalent to the strength of a Grade Ten Martial Saint warrior. Originally, Qing Shui thought that it wouldn’t be too hard if it’s only Old Demon Ba who was coming. Who would have expected a Red Jiao to suddenly appear from nowhere? It seemed like it might be quite tough to actually beat them in this case.

“Senior, if you don’t mind, can you tell me how strong you are?” Qing Shui asked after thinking for a while.

“Three thousand and five hundred countries!l

It’s just as Qing Shui thought. Considering that this was the case, he felt that things were going to be tougher than he expected. After all, Old Demon Ba and his Demonic Beast far surpassed Di Xuan’s strength.

“Senior, is there anyone as strong as you in the Di Clan?” Qing Shui contemplated and concluded that teaming up would be the only way to beat him. At this moment, Qing Shui felt that he was still far from being strong. His strength was nothing compared to them.

“Originally, the Old Ancestor was as strong as Old Demon Ba. Unfortunately, he passed away three years ago. My father and us brothers are still quite inferior to them.” Di Xuan let out a sigh as he explained.

After hearing Di Xuan’s words, Qing Shui could already figure that that Di Xuan and the other experts from the Di Clan were either around Grade Six Martial Saint or at most Grade Seven Martial Saint. Hence, they stood no chance in the battle. The main reason was that they would be wiped out by the Red Jiao instantaneously .

Once a person reached Grade Five Martial Saint, it would be really tough for them to progress even further. Di Xuan possessed great talent and was guided by the Di Clan’s Old Ancestor before the latter passed away. He managed to break through to Grade Eight Martial Saint and was the pillar supporting the Di Clan at the moment. In Seven Stars Country, a Grade Eight Martial Saint was already considered to be a top existence. Di Xuan was just shy of being listed as one of them.

Qing Shui wanted to get Lady Duanmu to help in the battle. Except, as he thought about it, Lady Duanmu was hardly in Duanmu City. He feared that his effort to go and find her would be futile. For a moment, he didn’t know who he could look for.

At such a crucial moment, he wondered if the Di Clan would be able to find someone powerful to assist them in battle. However, the chances of this happening was virtually none. People around here must have heard about the incident that’s soon to happen. If they wanted to help, they would definitely have shown up earlier. At this point of time, even if there were a past relationship, no one would risk the lives of their entire clan on a gamble with no hope.

“Senior, how far is Seven Stars Country from the Village of Mo Clan?”

Qing Shui remembered that the old woman has informed him before that no matter what, he must look for her if he was in trouble. He only remembered that the Village of Mo Clan was in Duanmu City. He just didn’t know which part of Duanmu City it was located in.

“The Village of Mo Clan is at the side of Duanmu City, it’s near Zhongyuan Country’s Capital City!” Di Xuan explained as he pointed towards a direction.

When Qing Shui heard this, he felt excited. If that’s the case, it would only take him two days to travel back and forth which meant he could still make it in time.

“What’s wrong, Qing Shui? Why are you asking about the Village of Mo Clan?”

“To look for a granny to assist us.”