Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 1629 - Eleventh Heavenly Meridian, Third Earthly Meridian, Bewilderment

Qing Shui did not stop the other’s actions nor did he speak. He was waiting for the old man to speak and to see what he would do next.

“Who are you? Why do you have grievances with the Jiu Clan?” The old man calmly looked at Qing Shui.

Qing Shui didn’t like the feeling of being talked down and said: “You don’t know anything and yet you’re here talking rubbish. You’ve gotten it completely wrong - I was simply strolling with my wife and yet I got in your way?”

Initially, on the account that he was an old man, Qing Shui wanted to hold back his words. But the old man flaunted his seniority and as he was an old man without strength nor character, Qing Shui would not give him any face.

“I saw you consecutively injure two of our Jiu Clan members. This is the San Wu City, there isn’t anybody who have grievances with our Jiu Clan.”The old man wasn’t angry and continued calmly.

Qing Shui laughed disdainfully as he saw the old man trying to lecture: “I don’t know if this is Jiu Clan’s intention or yours, but let me make it clear. Don’t seek trouble for yourself. Otherwise, no one can save you. Don’t waste my time.”

Qing Shui was frustrated. He only came out to look around with his two women but now the mood was ruined. He didn’t have much time to accompany them as it is, so he did not want to waste any more time on this.

The old man was taken aback and with his brows furrowed: “You’re reckless and ignorant. I want to see just how you’re able to utter these words!”

Qing Shui laughed: “A Grade 3 False God is already behaving this tyrannically. It can’t be that San Wu City only has this level of power, can it? I would like to get an explanation for what happened today, bring one of the masters or elders out right now!”

At this instance, the old man got worried as his opponent could discern his strength with just a glance. This means that the opponent was more brilliant than he was, but the man was way too young. Indeed a youth shouldn’t be underestimated. Thus, it seems like he will be unable to bully Qing Shui.

But the old man still believed in talent and decided to leave things to fortune. He hoped that the young man’s power wasn’t all that strong. The gods only recognize the strong and after hesitating for a moment, he challenged Qing Shui: “I’d like to see if you truly have the strength. Don’t be all talk and no action.”

After he spoke, the old man’s hand extended towards Qing Shui. It could be said that once the experts make their move, they will know. The old man’s hand was filled with Heavenly Dao, but although it was decent, it was treated as nothing in Qing Shui’s eyes.

Qing Shui similarly put his hands out and immediately smacked the old man’s hands, causing him to retreat more than 10 meters. His entire arm was dislocated and lost all feeling. It was in this instant that he couldn’t believe Qing Shui’s prowess.

“Get the Jiu Clan master to come out. If you don’t know any better and insist, I’ll cripple the whole lot of you.” Qing Shui casually said.

For warriors, cultivation is more important than their own lives. If their cultivation is crippled, they would rather die. It’s much better to die than to get to this stage of uselessness and unable to get anything done.

Upon hearing Qing Shui’s threat, they panicked. Certainly, there are warriors who don’t fear death. They say once you stopped fearing death, you don’t fear anything else. This is just a bit of self-consolation since those who don’t fear death, fear not dying instead. Death also settles all debts and if you don’t die, you’ll suffer anyway.

Qing Shui initially did not want to make matters worse, but today, they were the ones who tried to create trouble for themselves.

Another old man who seems calm said: “This Little Brother, how about accompanying me to Jiu Clan and we will account to you.”

Qing Shui laughed at him: “Since I’ve already spoken out, I’ve not afraid of you ganging up on me. But now I don’t feel like moving and if no one in charge from the Jiu Clan steps forward, I’ll cripple the whole lot of you.”

The old man decisively stopped talking and immediately flew up into the air and released some fireworks. This was the Jiu Clan’s special signal seeking assistance and it was something precious. This item wasn’t something anybody in the Jiu Clan can possess.

Fortunately, a bunch of people rushed here within the allotted time. It wasn’t very far from the Jiu Clan after all - it was sufficient to make several trips to and fro.

This time, there were at least 30 people who came. There were both the young and old, and right in front of the group was a slightly older man who could be considered mature.

An existence that had reached False God’s great perfection stage. This was someone who had gone through ten False God Tribulations. Qing Shui knew that this slightly old man should be an expert in the Jiu Clan.

“This Little Brother, I’m Jiu Yanzhen. I’m in charge of the matters of the Jiu Clan. If any of the juniors have offended you, I would like to apologize to you. There are many members in our clan so attention might be lacking in some ways. I hope you can understand. If you’ve incurred any losses, we’ll compensate.” The man gently said.

Qing Shui mused to himself as to how sharp that man was. Jiu Clan had already been embarrassed but with a few words, Jiu Yanzhen attributed it to a generation thing - seniors beating juniors would not count as being embarrassed. Among warriors, the strong are the ‘teachers’ so since Qing Shui’s strength is strong, he had the capacity to be considered Jiu Yunlong’s senior.

If they came at Qing Shui full of fire and fury, he could just take them on and beat them up. But now that they had reduced themselves and asked for forgiveness and offered compensation, there was nothing Qing Shui could do.

Initially, Qing Shui planned to get Jiu Clan’s master to offer an apology and end it there and then. Betraying his expectations, without even making a demand, they have already done it. Before this, he did not lose out. In fact, he even beat up two people. So, he decided to leave it at that.

Qing Shui also did not want to look for trouble. His cultivation had significantly improved. Now he could peacefully deal with the other party, without arguing over the nitty gritty while being magnanimous. He felt that being magnanimous was a good trait but there was also a limit to that. For example, if they were to do it again, there would be no forgiveness because such people don’t deserve it.

“By chance, we arrived here and since we have found a resolution, that shall be it. I always return the respect many times over. I do not want to such a problem again - the bigger your clan is, the more you should restrain yourselves. I don’t mean to lecture you since I know you are full of contempt, but there are many people that Jiu Clan cannot afford to provoke and you don’t even have to consider whether that includes me. As long as we keep our distance, everything will be fine.”

After speaking, Qing Shui pulled the two women with him and left. After this had happened, he had no mood to continue strolling and thus headed outside of San Wu City.

Jiu Yanzhen gazed intensely as Qing Shui was leaving. He wanted to ask him to stay behind and stop by their home for a chat but refrained from this idea. He didn’t know how this young man had attained his power. Even the ancestors’ descendants were not that outstanding.

Jiu Yanzhen was Jiu Clan’s clan head. He might seem young but he was actually nearly past his prime. Moreover, he suffered several heavy injuries when he was young, which affected his lifespan, though this situation was normal. Almost all warriors had injuries to some extent.

“Big Brother, are we just going to let him leave?”An old man with snow white hair said.

“If we don’t let him leave, do you know what would happen, considering that his strength far surpasses mine?” Jiu Yanzhen sighed without looking at the old man who called him.

The old man drew a breath. Jiu Yanzhen is really their generation’s strongest and would be considered the top five within the clan - one who has indeed gone through the False God Tribulation ten times. Yet, such a strong warrior could actually say that the young man’s strength far surpasses his….

Many people shared similar thoughts as the old man but unlike the others, Jiu Yanzhen was not only astonished by Qing Shui’s strength, but also with the other thing Qing Shui said. There are not many who can provoke the Jiu Clan, yet he was certain that the Jiu Clan could not provoke this young man.

There was also the matter of the Jiu Clan’s upbringing, he was already aware of the matter between Qing Shui and Jiu Yunlong. Otherwise, he would not have come forth to apologize. People of the Jiu Clan were not of the heinous sort. Jiu Yunlong was merely conceited and desired to look attractive. This wasn’t wrong in itself. What was wrong was that he couldn’t afford to antagonize Qing Shui.

Qing Shui left San Wu City with both his women. As for whether he’ll have any future intersections with the city or not, he was unclear. It was time to return to Feng Yan Lake anyway.

In the evening, Qing Shui naturally went to both rooms. He really wanted to get both his women into one room but he knew that overreaching was as good as falling short. The latter half of the night was spent in Tantai Xuan’s room - she was hooked once she did it with him and was very automatic. After all, Qing Shui would not remain here for very long.

Seeing the looks of satisfaction plastered on the sleeping Tantai Xuan, Qing Shui also felt contented. As there was still some time left and he couldn’t fall asleep, he entered the Realm of the Violet Immortal.

His strength had taken a big leap once again, clearing one Heavenly Meridian and one Earthly Meridian. At present, he has already cleared eleven of the former and three of the latter.

But now, there was a problem. Qing Shui obtained the eleventh Portrait of Beauty but Qin Qing had yet to couple with Qing Shui and despite that, the eleventh of the Twelve Heavenly Meridians was cleared. The final Portrait of Beauty had not appeared and he did not know when Qin Qing would accept him….

Diamond Staff made his attack adequate as his strength had already improved by a third, thus making his defense, offense, and spirit energy all the more terrifying.

Qing Shui’s current raw strength has reached 80,000 Suns, and this pure strength made him feel an unprecedented power. Even if he were to meet a weak Divine, he would have the confidence to battle with them.

There was also Tantai Xuan and Yu Ruyan’s strengths. Despite being slightly weaker than Yuhuang Guwu, both of them were making great strides to catch up. There was the great advantage of having talent, coupled with the Duo Cultivation which brought immeasurable benefits so they should be evenly matched with Jiu Yunlong. This was also a change brought about by Qing Shui’s arrival.

Qing Shui helped both Tantai Xuan and Yu Ruyan nurture their constitution once and after that, he trained his Nine Palace Steps, Phoenix Fingers etc, sparred with the two women and pointed out the parts where they were lacking. This would result in the best progress.

Qing Shui remained here for three days. After all, he finally broke through the final barrier in his relationship with Tantai Xuan. Furthermore, when he went back this time, he would also bring them both and let Tantai Xuan meet his mother. He will let his family members know of Tantai Xuan’s existence first before holding a banquet the next time he was back.

Qing Yi noticed that both Tantai Xuan and Yu Ruyan were happy, except that the latter was rather awkward. Therefore, all this time, such that after Yu Ruyan and Qing Shui got together, they’ve yet to return to the Qing Clan.