Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 1189 – Difficult to Join Heaven Secrets Academy, The Mysterious Eldest Princess of the Royal Family

Tian Jiange left without a word. This outcome was particularly shocking to everyone because by now many had known that Tian Jiange was an elite disciple of the Heaven Secrets Academy.

An elite disciple of such a powerful academy was actually defeated by an unknown person just like that. Before Tian Jiange left, he didn’t even glance in the direction of the Third Prince.

In his eyes, the Third Prince had never put him in his eyes. He had no choice but to make a deal with him once in the past for to special reason. He had agreed to help him this once and would try his best despite the outcome. This time, he had indeed tried his best but even so, he had lost.

It was just as what the young man by the name of Qing Shui had said; failure wasn’t scary. Every powerful cultivator had gotten back up on their feet from countless failures before they ascended to their position of a powerful cultivator.

This round of match had allowed him to truly understand that there were mountains beyond mountains and heavens beyond heavens. There were indeed too many reclusive experts. The small recluse hid among the fields, while the medium recluse hid among the forests and the great recluse hid among the cities. All of these meant one thing – those recluses who were disillusioned with human society and chose to hide themselves in the forests were only ‘recluses’ on the surface. Those who could truly achieve the state of being unconscious of the boundary between oneself and the external world were the ones who could find enjoyment quietly by themselves in the midst of the noises and disturbances in the most secular cities and empires. This was because they could only truly spiritually live on the other level by living in seclusion in the cities and empires.

The capable ones wished to rely on their environment to forget about the affairs of the world and hence distance themselves from the world; such is a small recluse. The truly capable ones would choose to hide among the haunts of the common people because this is the place where talented individuals hide themselves; such is a medium recluse. Only the best of the best would choose to hide in all levels of society. Although they surround themselves with the clamoring politics, they are able to conceal their wisdom with folly and treat everything with indifference; such is a true recluse.

Perhaps this time he had to thank this young man. If his achievement in martial arts ever became a focus of attention in the future, today’s had battle played a very big role in that. It had changed his entire mentality. Perhaps this was the turning point in his life.

Now that Tian Jiange had left, Qing Shui also breathed a sigh of relief in his heart. He wasn’t afraid, he merely didn’t wish to be forced to leave. As for the Yan Clan, they would be fine as long as they won. The Yan Clan were powerful enough and the royalty would have to keep their promise too. Besides, Yan Jinyu was also from the Heaven Secrets Academy.

When the old man declared Qing Shui and Yan Clan’s victory, happy smiles were seen on the faces of the Yan Clan people while the faces of the Yu Clan people turned paled along with the Third Prince.

The Third Prince was glaring at Qing Shui, wishing that he could directly kill him a hundred times with his deadly gaze. It was a pity that he couldn’t. Soon enough, the expression on his face returned to normal, as if nothing had happened.

But he looked towards the Fourth Prince. Seeing that man who currently only had a small smile on his face, intense hatred once again welled up in his heart as he gritted his teeth. Among the royal family, the Crown Prince and the Eldest Princess were the most mysterious, followed by even this Fourth Prince, who was seemingly a level more superior than him. This made him feel extremely unpleasant in his heart, so he was thinking of being in control of the Yan City through this, as a foundation for his future development.

When the old man declared the victor, Qing Shui went off the arena. Upon seeing many stupefied expressions among the Yan Clan, he laughed, “I told you already that my chance of winning was higher than that person!”

“You are really secretive!” Yan Yueyin gave Qing Shui strange look and said.

Yan Jinyu looked at Qing Shui with a small smile. The smile on her face was very warm. It seemed like going to the Divine Weapon Street that day was the best move on her part.

The Yan Clan was very happy. The people in the surroundings were getting rowdy, undoubtedly talking about how impressive Qing Shui was.

“To be able to defeat the elite disciple of the Heaven Secrets Academy, who do you all think he is?”

“To be able to exert himself for the Yan Clan, he must at least be a friend of the Yan Clan!”

“I don’t think he’s merely just a friend of theirs. I heard that he had proposed marriage to the two misses from the Yan Clan.”

“What nonsense is that? I know this young man have a very deep relationship with the Seventh Princess while the Fifth Princess is the fiancee of the eldest son of the Yan Clan. It was for this reason the young man helped the Yan Clan, for the Seventh Princess.”

“How do you know that?”

“The younger brother of my seventh aunt’s eighth sister’s husband’s brother’s wife is a normal friend of this young man. They drink together from time to time. I’m pretty close to him, so he told me that.”

“…….”

Yan Dinglang and the rest were ghastly pale. What awaited them was the devastating punishment of their clan’s law. Due to the victory of the Yan Clan, it was impossible for the Third Prince to step in their defense.

Qing Shui and Yan Yangchi had already left along with everyone else. As for the matter between Yan Clan and Yu Clan, it would naturally be settled by Yan Dingtian and the people of the Yan Clan Supreme Elder Association.

At the same time, the Fifth Princess and Seventh Princess left too. However, the Fourth Prince didn’t leave!

“Did you guys see that? The Seventh Princess and the Fifth Princess left together.”

The person from earlier pointed out, a little smugly!

They returned to the Firecloud Blacksmith Store but it was closed!

“I was also worried that the Yan Clan would lose earlier but I didn’t know you were actually that impressive!” the Fifth Princess said embarrassedly to Qing Shui after the few of them arrived at the Blacksmith Store.

“Nothing to worry about. This just shows that you and Brother Yan are very deeply in love,” Qing Shui said with a smile.

The Fifth Princess found it odd that this man seemed to be able to speak very naturally to her. Words like these were rarely heard by her. There weren’t many people who could talk to her this way, let alone being this natural about it. This had just further proven that this man had a lot of experience.

“I promised you that if you won, I would agree to one condition from you, as long as it is within my capability.” When the Seventh Princess said this, she suddenly realized that it might have sounded a little too ambiguous, so she couldn’t react to it in time.

She was a little worried now and slightly speechless as her lovely face slightly reddened all of a sudden. This made Qing Shui gloomy instead. What was this supposed to be? A seduction?

The Seventh Princess always had a serene and elegant demeanor. She was fully dressed in a phoenix dress and was extremely gorgeous, youthful and had an air of nobility around her. Qing Shui slightly averted his gaze and then smiled. “You’ll really agree to one condition from me?”

“Of course. I’ll naturally keep my words.”

“Any conditions, as long as it is within your capability?” Qing Shui smiled teasingly at her.

The Seventh Princess hesitated, she didn’t even dare to meet Qing Shui’s eyes. Anyone could tell that she was feeling conflicted right now.

“Yes, as long as it is something I can do, I agree to it.”

When the Seventh Princess said this, she breathed a sigh of relief. Yan Jinyu seemed to have a different feeling instead and she didn’t know why. She was certain that she had merely been treating him as a younger brother and didn’t have any other feelings for him. But somehow, something felt a little weird right now.

This was a mentality such that if Qing Shui was her younger brother, he was hers. If she were to give him to someone else, naturally she’d feel uncomfortable. This was also like how a mother watched her son getting married. Although she would be happy, she’d sometimes still feel a little weird when she saw her son pouring all his attention onto his wife. All this was normal.

“I would like you to help me find someone. Sister Yueyin knows the details. I wish to find her as soon as possible. So since you offered to help me, please help me find her,” Qing Shui said with a smile.

The Seventh Princess felt very strange right now in her heart. She didn’t know if she was disappointed or happy. Although she feared that he would make an inappropriate request, she kind of wished that he did.

Such is human nature. Qing Shui’s action had already caused her to be certain of her positive feelings for him, that was why she had thoughts like these.

She rolled her eyes at Qing Shui speechlessly. “Who is it that you want to find? I will try my best to assist you?” She asked happily.

“My wife. I have a portrait of her with me.” Qing Shui had quite a number of Di Chen’s portraits in his hands as he took one out and handed it over to the Seventh Princess.

The Seventh Princess was also taken aback when she heard that he was searching for his wife. As soon as she saw that peerless beauty on the portrait, she couldn’t help but to sing praises for her beauty. The lady on the portrait even made her feel a little inferior. No wonder this man wasn’t attracted to her.

To be honest, both Yan Jinyu and Yan Yueyin had the same feelings. Both of them felt a little inferior to her, despite the fact that they were also the most gorgeous beauties in their region.

After Qing Shui briefly explained the situation, the Seventh Princess thought for awhile before she spoke. “I will use my greatest effort to help you find her and inform you immediately as soon as I receive any information.”

Qing Shui smiled and didn’t seem to mind. He didn’t take her seriously anyway and had waved it off casually. But it was seen through by the Seventh Princess. Although she felt a little bad in her heart, she still assured him with a smile. “Rest assured. I will definitely find her for you. I will seek help from the Eldest Princess.”

Qing Shui didn’t feel anything when he heard at the mention of the Eldest Princess but everyone else seemed to be looking at the Seventh Princess in shock.

“The Eldest Princess is really busy. I think it is better that we try our best to help Qing Shui find her!” The Fifth Princess said after giving it some thought.

“I know my limits!” The Seventh Princess shook her head.

“It sounds like the Eldest Princess is able to really help me find her?” Qing Shui asked everyone with an amazed look on his face.

“The Eldest Princess is known as the number one genius among the Great Yu Dynasty. She is one of the youngest teachers in the Heaven Secrets Academy and is rumored to possess great power and abilities within her. Even the current Great Yu Dynasty sometimes has to rely on her existence,” Yan Yangchi explained softly.

Another mention of the Heaven Secrets Academy. By now Qing Shui had already realized the Heaven Secrets Academy was indeed powerful. He was even considering enrolling himself in there. By the time he had made a name for himself, he could go and find Di Chen himself.

“I wonder what the are requirements for joining the Heaven Secrets Academy?” Qing Shui asked after pondering for a moment.

“The Heaven Secrets Academy doesn’t accept outsiders. Normally, the elite disciples of the Heaven Secrets Academy will be granted a quota after they make an enormous contribution. Apart from that, the teachers of the Heaven Secrets Academy are allowed to bring in one person every year. But of course, these people will have to go through a test. They will only be officially accepted by the Heaven Secrets Academy if they pass the test. I am not too sure if there are any other methods to join them,” Yan Jinyu spoke up at this time.

Qing Shui didn’t expect the procedure for joining the Heaven Secrets Academy to actually be like this. It seemed like it wasn’t that easy to join. For now, he still had to open the blacksmith store first. If that didn’t work out, he’d have to get some apprentices and then let them open their own blacksmith stores everywhere, with the condition that the name had to be the ‘Firecloud Blacksmith Store’.

A chain store. Qing Shui shook his head. After letting his mind run wild for a little while, everyone went in for some wine while they chatted. A more relaxing conversation naturally followed. The victory of Yan Clan this time was an event worth celebrating.

“Come, come. This time we are lucky to have Qing Shui around. Let me express our gratitude on behalf of the Yan Clan.”

The moment Yan Yangchi spoke, the rest raised their cups for a toast. It was difficult for Qing Shui to decline. “It’s fine for a toast but my words still stand. If we are brothers, then there’s no need for such courtesy. I don’t have many friends, even less here, so I treasure them very much.”

“We treasure you as a brother very much too!”

……….

“Oh that’s right. Suya and I have decided to get married next month!” Yan Yangchi announced with a smile when they were enjoying the wine.