Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 1103 – Kill, Lin Clan’s descendants, Lin Zhanhan’s woes

Though the Shadow Demonic Panther was powerful and had no trouble killing some normal people and cultivators whose strengths were below the restrictions of the laws of Heavens and Earth, it was no threat to Huo Sanxing.

“Lin Zhanhan, after all these years, why didn’t you just hide and lead the remaining days of your life quietly? Do you think I can’t kill you?” Huo Sanxing’s replied disdainfully with a coarse threatening voice.

“If I say that I’m here to collect the debt you owe me, I wonder if you could still laugh aloud.” Despite the previous massacre and outburst, Lin Zhanhan managed to calm himself down so he wasn’t as agitated as before.

“Hahaha! Of course I can. Do you know that you’re just an ant in my eyes. You’re not even worth my laughter.” Huo Sanxing burst into a fit of raucous laughter.

“Grandfather Lin, let’s keep these people here,” Qing Shui leaned over and said to Lin Zhanhan. Lin Zhanhan nodded with a sigh.

“Was anyone from Lin Clan spared?” Qing Shui asked as he looked at Huo Sanxing.

“Who are you? Why should we tell you?” Huo Sanxing replied as he looked at Qing Shui with contempt. How powerful could an associate of Lin Zhanhan be? Huo Sanxing simply couldn’t be bothered dealing with Qing Shui, it was a joke to him that they even declared that they’d deliver justice for what happened to the Lin Clan. Since many members of Lion King’s Ridge were actually involved in that affair, did that mean that they were going to annihilate the entire sect? What a joke!

Qing Shui was dumbfounded. How could that old man spout out such rude words? Seeing that old man’s contemptuous expression and hearing his insolent tone, Qing Shui slapped Huo Sanxing’s mouth traversing the distance between them in an instant.

Smack!

A crisp sound rang out in the air as Huo Sanxing spat out some blood and a few broken teeth. Qing Shui didn’t move that fast, many people even saw a glimpse of Qing Shui’s palm but no one could process what had just happened.

The sudden turn of events stunned everyone, to the extent that some of them even forgot to breathe. Huo Sanxing was the pillar of the Huo Clan and one of the Elders in Lion King’s Ridge. He had a prestigious status and was highly regarded, yet they had just witnessed him being slapped on the mouth…

“How could you speak so crudely at your age? I don’t understand how a person like you has even survived to today. I’m going to ask you the same question. If you don’t answer me properly, I’ll chop off one of your arms. Once I’ve chopped off both arms, I’ll chop off your legs. After that, it’ll be your head. Was anyone from Lin Clan spared?” Qing Shui didn’t use a questioning tone, he just stated his words.

“Kill…Kill him!” Huo Sanxing was caught off-guard when he felt that slap. He boiled with anger when he finally reacted to the situation, totally disregarding Qing Shui’s warning.

Qing Shui shook his head and waved his left arm!

Lion King’s Imprint！

A ferocious gigantic head of a lion lunged at Huo Sanxing. Qing Shui was determined to use Lion King’s Ridge’s own techniques to kill these people.

Roar!

Lion King’s Roar!

Qing Shui revealed his true aura before he used Lion King’s Imprint. Then, his explosively loud Lion King’s Roar filled the air, invading every orifice like an unrelenting flood forcing at least half the people to kneel down holding their heads. Unfortunately, covering their ears was of no help as the sound seemed to tunnel directly into their brains.

Lion King’s Imprint，Confine！

Boom!

The attack exploded upon contact and Huo Sanxing’s left arm disappeared instantaneously. This was followed by his cries and a look of shock. “Who are you? Why do you know Lion King’s Imprint? Why are you attacking members from Lion King’s Ridge?”

Huo Sanxing was bewildered. How could this young man use Lion King’s Imprint with such consummate precision, displaying the technique to such an extent beyond even his own skills? How could that young man have such an insane amount of spirit energy, sufficient to restrict his movements?

“I’m going to repeat myself. Was anyone from Lin Clan spared?” Qing Shui maintained his calm tone but this time his voice sounded more terrifyingly than any thunderstorm those men had ever braved.

“Yes, yes…” Since Huo Sanxing didn’t know Qing Shui’s background nor his purpose, he just braced himself when he answered.

“Bring them here immediately!”Qing Shui commanded firmly, there was no room for negotiation in his tone.

“We don’t know where they are…”

Qing Shui lifted his brows and waved his arm again. A fire snake appeared, whipping out towards Huo Sanxing. With that, Huo Sanxing’s remaining arm was also amputated.

Ahhh….

Lion King’s Imprint had blasted one of Huo Sanxing’s arms to smithereens and now his other arm fell on the ground in front of everyone, cleanly cut off from his shoulder. This sight along with Huo Sanxing’s screams made all the other men tremble in fear as they lowered their heads.

“I’m going to repeat myself again. I’ll spare the person who can tell me the whereabouts of the surviving members of the Lin Clan. Otherwise everyone here will die. There’s nobody else to blame but yourselves for the many evil deeds you’ve done and for following the wrong leader.” The primordial flame snake in Qing Shui’s hand spat fire continuously.

“ l know…”an old man stood up after quite a long silence.

“Are you certain? If I find that you lied to me, I’ll definitely let you die in a more painful manner,” Qing Shui threatened.

“I’m not lying. At that time, I felt that those two children were too young so I sent them away secretly. They still live around here. They already have huge families of their own,” the old man sighed and explained without hesitation.

Lin Zhanhan trembled with emotion. He was so happy that he couldn’t say a word. Those must be his grandson and granddaughter. Now, they even have their own families…

“Bring us to meet them!”

“Okay!”

“You can all go first. I’ll follow shortly,” Qing Shui said to Lin Zhanhan and the women.

After a few minutes, the Huo residence was burnt to ashes along with the entire property.

When he walked out of the residence, the old man turned back to look at the destroyed residence. He heard a few short cries and then silence. The young man returned very quickly.

100 li was not a long distance for any of them but they still rode on a beast carriage as that was a little faster. Otherwise, they would have to fly there.

“Old sire, what’s your name?” Qing Shui asked on the carriage.

“I’m Cheng En!”

“How are they now?” Qing Shui asked with a smile.

“At that time, they were very young so they only have very vague memories of what happened. Furthermore, they’re just normal people. Naturally, they gradually forgot about matters in the martial world. A man, with the surname Yu, brought both of them up,” Chen En said with a sigh.

He couldn’t tell if it was his kindness he displayed at that crucial point in the past that saved his life.

After 15 minutes, the beast carriage stopped in a remote place. Transportation was inconvenient,and it even felt a bit like a village. Qing Shui was quite surprised that there were still poor people and underdeveloped areas in such a prosperous place like Sealed Northern Ice Emperor Region.

The buildings here were large; they had two storeys and even a courtyard which meant that they had quite a unrestricted use of land. This was probably because this place was at the edge of Sealed Northern Ice Emperor Region so the powerful and the influential don’t fancy living here.

The house was quarter of a hectare and had a common design. It had a red door and the wall surrounding the property was about three meters. The house itself had two storeys. It was sturdy, big and looked suitable for a big family.

Cheng En brought along Lin Zhanghan, Qing Shui and the others into the courtyard. They saw a dozen children playing, there were girls and boys in thick clothes. A few old men were drinking tea and playing chess,they were also wearing thick winter wear because of the cold weather but looked well-built. Even the young boys were as bulky as buffalo, while the girls were as muscular as leopards.

“Yu Rong, there’s someone here to meet you,” Cheng En said when he entered the courtyard.

“Uncle Cheng! You’re here!” one of the men playing chess stood up and reacted immediately. Over the years, Cheng En had given him quite a lot of help.

Then, he looked at the group of people who just came in. He was shocked when he saw Lin Zhanhan because that man’s appearance was still the same. Even though he didn’t remember the events that happened previously that clearly, he could still remember and recognize his grandfather’s face.

“Bao Hong…” Lin Zhanhan called out to him emotionally, using this name

“Grandfather…you’re my grandfather…” he always remembered that his actual name was Bao Hong, just that his name was changed to Yu Rong.

……

Bao Hong looked almost as old as Lin Zhanhan. Because he was just not a cultivator, he aged at a normal pace so it was nothing unusual. Furthermore, it was precisely because he didn’t practice any martial arts that nobody doubted their identities.

“Bao Hong, where is Bao Lan?” Lin Zhanhan asked cheerfully.

“I’ll call her.” Bao Hong laughed with reddened eyes.

“You don’t have to be so anxious. Are these your grandsons and granddaughters? Can you introduce them to me?” Lin Zhanhan shouted with joy as his tears rolled down his cheeks.

“Yao’er, come over here. This is your great-great-grandfather…”

Bao Hong finally came. She was already an old granny but when she saw Lin Zhanhan she couldn’t help crying. She also had many children and grandchildren but both families were so close that they were like one big family.

Knowing how they led their lives, Lin Zhanhan became extremely happy. Even if they were normal people, as long as Lin Clan had descendants and they were happy, he was already satisfied. But for his Lin Clan to only have these two survivors…

Lin Zhanhan no longer wished for them to become powerful cultivators. He didn’t want to disrupt their peaceful lives since they were already comfortable with their current lifestyles.

“Grandfather Lin, let’s bring them along when we’re leaving. They can come live with Qing Clan!” Qing Shui suggested after considering for some time.

Lin Zhanhan shook his head, “They’ve already lived here for so many years. They’re already accustomed to this place. If any of them wish to become stronger and have been working towards that, we can bring them back to the Qing residence for training. Otherwise, we should just let them continue living here.”

After everything, Lin Zhanhan had already let go of a lot of his convictions. He even stopped reminiscing about Lin Clan’s past glory. To him, he had already realized that there would always be people who were stronger. A normal person might lead the safest life, as long as they led proper lives, they could continue their lineage, generation after generation.

As the saying goes, good fortune doesn’t last past three generations. If they continued as a family of cultivators, there was a risk that they’d get hurt. There were already too many sects and clans which have been erased from existence and Lin Clan had already had an unforgettable experience. Lin Zhanhan had been separated from them for too long so he didn’t want to influence their decisions. After all, they were already normal people who led normal lives.