Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 902 – Accidental Touch, Qing Shui’s Experiment with Formations

Qing Shui and Mu Qing walked towards her manor. Although Mu Qing appeared to be absent-minded, she would occasionally steal glances at Qing Shui.

“Are you worried about the Yin Clan?” Qing Shui asked with a smile.

Mu Qing sighed and said,“Qing Shui, we have a problem.”

Qing Shui smiled, he really didn’t feel troubled at all. He gently asked, “What is the problem? Is the Yin Clan that strong?”

“It is not the Yin Clan that I am worried about. My concern is whether the Sky Prison Sect will be added to the mix.” Mu Qing’s heart was a mess. She could not say it out loud, but she was worried that Qing Shui might be killed the moment he left. Therefore, she wanted to tell him everything of importance to allow him time to better prepare.

Although Qing Shui also had the Sky Prison Sect on his mind, seeing the hesitation from Mu Qing was already enough to let him know what she was thinking. When she first learned formations he already knew that people were of flesh and blood. Qing Shui was internally grateful for the sympathy he received at that time.

If it wasn’t because she was concerned for his safety, she would see to it that he left this dangerous place unharmed. Qing Shui thought of this while walking, a smile leaking from his face.

If you give me a foot worth of respect, I will return it to you ten times. He would never change his principles and would sincerely aid those that had helped him before.

“Qing Shui, I am not sure how you escaped from the beasts in Sky Penetrating Mountains, but do you have any confidence in escaping the Eastern Victory Divine Continent?” Mu Qing realized she had almost reached her manor and stopped to ask Qing Shui.

Everything about this incident was a mistake. It was merely a coincidence that Qing Shui, Mu Qing and the others had entered the Sky Penetrating Mountains together but it was due to this coincidence that Mu Qing had been rescued from the hands of the Flower Crusher.

However, this created resentment with the Sky Prison Sect. On top of that, the incident with the Yin Clan was another fuse that was lit. She was well aware that this fuse was a short one, and it was ready to explode anytime.

The Jun City and Continent’s Capital area was home to many groups that carried a huge influence. These groups included the Sky Prison Sect, Tyrant Fist Sect, Godly Sword Sect, Mu Clan, Yin Clan and more… Although all these influential powers were huddled around Jun City and the Continent’s Capital area, there weren’t many conflicts or disputes, so their interactions were limited.

Although the Mu Clan was more famous in the area where the Mu Clan and Yin Clan resided, the Yin Clan wasn’t weak by any means. Additionally, since both clans resided in the same area, it was sometimes inevitable that they had to cooperate with each other, which led to conflicts of interest when the distribution of goods appeared uneven on either side.

After hearing what Mu Qing had to say, Qing Shui hesitated “Do they know?”

What Qing Shui was referring to was the incident where they killed the Flower Crusher. If they were discovered then there would be no place to hide. No wall was ever airtight.

“At the time we had missed one, the news of this has only spread recently and the Sky Prison Sect is trying to condemn us now.” Mu Qing looked at Qing Shui, this time everything with a calm countenance.

“If it has been discovered then so be it, it’s not a huge deal. If they come, we’ll cut them down. Let’s see if they still want to condemn us. Do they think we are some small fry?” Qing Shui mumbled while shaking his head. However, the situation was very clear.

Mu Qing looked at Qing Shui with surprise. She knew that this man never lied, nor was he the type to show off. If the enemy hadn’t forced his hand, he wouldn’t expose his true strength.

“Qing Shui, I am being serious here. The Sky Prison Sect is very strong.” Mu Qing gave Qing Shui a glance. She had dragged out her voice a little in displeasure.

Qing Shui rubbed his nose a little and smirked. “Alright, not to worry, there won’t be any incidents. How’s the practice with positioning and footwork coming along?”

“It has been a mess. I have no idea where to start, so the progress has not been good.” Mu Qing felt a headache just thinking about it.

Qing Shui stopped, then suddenly closed the gap between them using One Origin Steps. Although his footwork looked tricky, it was executed elegantly as though he was drifting.

Qing Shui was using One Origin Steps on purpose. If the opposition also knew the One Origin Steps, then they would dodge away like a conditioned reflex.

Mu Qing was shocked by Qing Shui’s sudden movement. Her mind was also confused for a bit, but she dodged instinctively. To her surprise, she was actually moving away with the strange movement technique that she learned recently.

From this single action, she understood what Qing Shui was trying to do and started to dodge seriously. The progression in a real battle was faster and Mu Qing was well aware of this fact.

Qing Shui tried to make his move from different angles, but his attacks were nothing but feints. The purpose of his moves wasn’t to hit his target, but rather to apply pressure. Right now, Qing Shui could freely cast from a variety of angles to force Mu Qing to move.

Qing Shui approached with growing coercive pressure to develop Mu Qing’s potential. His footwork speed, angles and precision were steadily increasing as he observed Mu Qing’s growth in skill. Compared to before, she was utilizing the One Origin Steps with more fluidity. At this point, Qing Shui began to use the Duality Steps, which could also be called Yin Yang Steps.

Nine Palace Steps had nine realms like that of a staircase that rose a step at a time. The higher one reached in the steps, the stronger it became and the further one could see. Each realm was the basis for the next realm.

Mu Qing was barely proficient in Duality Steps. With Qing Shui’s persistent pressure Mu Qing’s footwork became a disorderly mess. Qing Shui’s goal was to put Mu Qing in a difficult position without completely discouraging her. As such, Qing Shui would leave a bit of room for Mu Qing to maneuver each time. This was to help her to fully adapt to the situation.

This method of practice was forcing her to dodge while drilling her with attacks, the effect was immediate but this approach cannot be used persistently. Continuously using this method would slow down her realm level up. Nonetheless, this method would allow her to hone her skill more, to the point where she will become able to execute the steps as though it was second nature. Therefore, if it was required, they could ask the elders of her clan to drill her later.

Almost two hours had passed since they started the drills. This was the door to Mu Qing’s manor. Just like that, their footwork interaction had brought them to Mu Qing’s garden.

Her garden was anything but small, its length was several hundred meters long with three pavilions, one building, one arbor, a crescent corridor, a pond, a bridge…

Mu Qing could feel her usage of the Duality Steps improve as the practice went on. She also felt that her actual combat abilities had powered up a bit. However, as she was thinking this, she had accidentally lost her composure for a split second. That was when Qing Shui’s strike hit its mark.

Had she already turned sideways, then Qing Shui’s strike would have missed. Although Mu Qing had turned, she was one step too slow. Qing Shui wasn’t aware that she had lost her focus. In addition, he wasn’t using much force with each strike, so he knew he wouldn’t cause any injuries even if he did hit her.

Thus, his hand moved towards the soft bosom of Mu Qing’s slanted body. Although part of the blame could be placed on how voluminous that part of her body was…

At this instant, both of them froze. Mu Qing blushed red in embarrassment and instantly glared at Qing Shui with a hidden bitterness and took two quick steps back. At the same instant, Qing Shui could feel the exquisite softness and elasticity that represented the charming tenderness extenuating from Mu Qing’s body.

“Sorry!” Qing Shui said after hesitating slightly.

“I lost my focus, it’s not your fault, I’ll lead you to your room.” Mu Qing tried to calm herself down, almost saying it as though it was the least bit of concern to her.

The pink building was where Mu Qing resided, it was half the height of the other buildings.

The other buildings were pale gray with a color that reflected the natural atmosphere.

The interior of the building was spacious. Qing Shui chose a room directly on the first floor. The center of the first floor had a living room, with a few bedrooms and a kitchen surrounding it. The second and third floor should have a similar floor plan.

This was a norm on the Eastern Victory Divine Continent. Unlike buildings in the Central Continent and the Greencloud Continent, the first floor only comprised of the living room with a kitchen on the side. The second and third floor were mostly bedrooms. At most, there would be a very small public area that could be shared.

Mu Qing didn’t enter the room with Qing Shui, but said while smiling, “There are beddings and blankets inside the closets in the room, all of which are brand new.”

“Okay, thank you!” said Qing Shui.

“You must be tired, you should rest. See you tomorrow!” Mu Qing said with a smile.

Qing Shui walked Mu Qing to the door and watched her graceful figure disappear from view before returning to his bedroom. Qing Shui’s mood was a mess, but what he wasn’t aware of was that someone else’s state of mind was even more disorderly.

Mu Qing!

Once she left the building that Qing Shui was staying in, she headed straight for her own building. From the time she was at the building where Qing Shui was until her first couple of steps into her own building, she had endured. Mu Qing let out a breath as her heartbeat began to accelerate and her face flushed to a beet red.

Her face felt hot. Mu Qing quickly walked into her room and closed the door behind her, as if she was afraid someone would see her. It was a shame that nobody could see her stunning charm in this moment.

……

Qing Shui was inside the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal. He held a few pebbles that were about the size of cobblestones in his hands. He looked towards the area around eighty meters to the North-West and started throwing stones towards that direction. This time the ground had already collected a dozen of stones.

Qing Shui was experimenting with formations. This was his first experiment in setting the formations, especially when it was the Nine Palace Eight Trigrams Formation.

This formation was the most powerful one that Qing Shui could cast especially since only one person was needed to use this formation. Thus, Qing Shui set aside the Duality Minutest Formation for now. If the Nine Palace Eight Trigrams Formation was unsuccessful, then he would move on to the Duality Minutest Formation.

In comparison, the Duality Minutest Formation was like a smaller and simplified version of the Nine Palace Eight Trigrams Formation. Therefore, Qing Shui opted to practice setting the Nine Palace Eight Trigrams Formation instead of the Duality Minutest Formation.

In addition, Qing Shui’s Nine Palace Steps resonated perfectly with the Nine Palace Eight Trigrams Formation’s effect. This was also the reason why Qing Shui wanted to practice the Nine Palace Eight Trigrams Formation.

Although Qing Shui wasn’t practicing the Duality Minutest Formation right now, he knew that he must understand how to use it later. Even if he doesn’t use it now, other people will want to learn it, like people from the Qing Clan or even someone like Mu Qing.

He had to at least teach her something. In the case of Nine Palace Steps, he wanted to see what realm she could reach. For the Duality Minutest Formation, it was a formation used to trap the enemy and aid the user in killing them. On top of that, he could also teach her the Five Elements Minor Formation. This should be enough for now. If she could practice the Nine Palace Steps and the two formations meticulously she should be able to get on without much trouble.

Qing Shui continued to throw pebbles while shaking his head. At least the fountain side wasn’t short of pebbles. His pebble tossing speed was slow. Sometimes he would even go back and pick up some pebbles that he had thrown. Qing Shui also drew the Nine Palace Diagram and in the middle he drew the Eight Trigrams Diagram.

The Eight Trigrams Formation was based on the idea of the Eight Inner Gates: Healing, Life, Pain, Limit, View, Death, Wonder and Opening. The Eight Trigrams Formation was already a powerful technique by itself and it was now encompassed by the power of the Nine Palace, the difficulty to master this formation wasn’t simply one plus one, so its strength wasn’t simply additive either.

When Qing Shui held the last pebble in his hand, he was a bit hesitant, yet he was also excited. Placing this last pebble as the eye of the formation would let him know if his setup was a success or not.