Ancient Strengthening Technique

313 - The Accidental Set of Armor of Frenzied Bull Strength, A Romantic and Pleasant Dream Among The Sea of Flowers

This little fellow was learning to be obedient, but it was still staring here from a distance, reluctant to leave as if being attracted by something.

Just when Qing Shui was about to reel in his fishing line, he noticed the usually silent Thousand Year Old Clam swam towards him.

“Don’t tell me this Thousand Year Old Clam is going to be hooked, too?”

The Thousand Year Old Clam, however, was not as quick witted as the Golden Medicinal Turtle. It hesitated for a while then immediately lunged for the fishing hook as if it was afraid that the fishing hook would escape and bit it. Qing Shui was flabbergasted. How could this Thousand Year Old Clam be so stupid? He thought about it and came to the conclusion that the little turtle was smarter after all.

Just when Qing Shui thought that the Thousand Year Old Clam would be hooked, it actually escaped. But Qing Shui’s eyes widened when he saw what was on the fishing hook.

A golden pearl about the size of a duck egg was “stuck” on the Pure Gold Fishing Hook. It was even glowing a warm gold light, and looked particularly amazing.

“Golden Pearl of the Thousand Year Clam!”

Qing Shui was no stranger to this as there were pearls in his previous world, too. It was unfortunate that they were all artificially reared and were not aged enough. However, the Golden Clam Pearl right before him was not only pure and natural, but more importantly also of one thousand years of age.

Pearls had very extensive application. They could be ingested or used externally. The greatest effect of external use was for skin care. Ingesting was not only for skin care, but also for treating illness, health maintenance and even extending one’s lifespan.

And his Golden Pearl of the Thousand Year Old Clam should be more precious than any pearl from his previous world. Just being one thousand years of age would earn its place at the peak, let alone being the most precious “Golden Pearl of Thousand Year Clam”.

“That’s another good Millennium Medicine!” Qing Shui smiled happily, at the same time recognizing the value of his Pure Gold Fishing Rod. He thought about the possibility of being a “fisherman” in the future and laughed.

Qing Shui looked at the Thousand Year Old Clam in the water. He looked a little dispirited after losing its pearl, just like an idiot. It was as if it had lost its most precious possession.

Qing Shui threw the pearl at the Thousand Year Old Clam. It reclaimed it and happily swam away. Qing Shui thought that it was good to do that. He could always retrieve it and grind for some clam pearl powder when needed, and let the Thousand Year Old Clam nourish it for the rest of the time.

Putting his things away, Qing Shui started his cultivation. His Ancient Strengthening Technique had entered the 99th cycle, which was considered the last phase of the 4th Layer. He could start preparing to enter the 5th Layer as soon as he had fully accumulated it.

He felt that he had slightly improved from cultivating his Ancient Strengthening Technique. It was subtle, yet obvious enough to be felt. When Qing Shui cultivated the Thousand Hammer Technique, he realized that it had been a long while since he last forged any armor or weapon.

Although he had been practising this hammer technique daily, Qing Shui felt that hands-on practice was still important. He looked at his slightly worn out battle armor. There was a dent from the slap of Old Blindee last time.

Restoration. Qing Shui remembered about restoration. Unfortunately he didn’t know how to do it so he finally decided to just try tempering it again with the Thousand Hammer Technique.

This time he used the Heaven Shaking Hammer instead, and on top of that there was the Frenzied Bull’s Strength that had been brought to the point of perfection. The Frenzied Bull’s Strength had the attribute of fire, so Qing Shui felt that it could bring his forging to the next level.

Ding!

Qing Shui started to temper his armor with the Heaven Shaking Hammer after his state was well adjusted. The Ancient Strengthening Technique was combined together with the Frenzied Bull’s Strength. The Thousand Hammer Technique that he had practised everyday hadn’t gone rusty even after being put into real use for a long time. At least every hammer blow filled him with satisfaction.

This time Qing Shui felt the obvious sensation of Familiar realm. After not forging for so long, it had become easier now as though it was in the Ancestor realm. It was as if he had attained the peak in forging, and everything was within his reach.

Every line, every pounding force, every position……… Qing Shui felt that they should be like that, and could even control it well. It was a type of sensation, or even a type of confidence.

Qing Shui gradually grew to like this sort of feeling - the feeling of self creation. To possess a great confidence in the unknown expectations. It was to the level of obsession.

Nothing short of obsession would bring you success!

Success was guaranteed as long as one could do something as if possessed by the devil. Qing Shui waved the Heaven Shaking Hammer. His usual presence of profound mystery was now tinged with a barbaric aura.

Ding!

A golden ray of radiance was accompanied by a crisp sound. The light shone even brilliantly now compared to the time when it was forged. Qing Shui looked at the battle armor which was obviously way more formidable than it was before.

The battle armor was split between the upper and lower body to ensure easy movement of the waist. Qing Shui looked at the upper part of the battle armor.

Heavenly Vision Technique!

Defense increased by ten percent, but only limited to the protected areas. Endurance +100, Agility +50, Strength +50. At least three more armors or weapon of the same attributes were needed for an additional ten percent effects from the Frenzied Bull’s Strength to be effective!

“It’s part of a complete set!” Qing Shui looked at the battle armor puzzled. The original attribute was Defense increased by ten percent, but only limited to the protected areas, Endurance +50, Agility +30, Strength +10!

Aside from the first attribute, Defense, the rest were doubled!

He quickly took at look at the attributes of the lower part of the battle armor!

Defense increased by ten percent, only limited to protected areas, Endurance +100, Agility +50, Strength +50. At least three more armors or weapon of the same attributes were needed for an additional ten percent effect from the Frenzied Bull’s Strength to be effective!

As expected, it was part of a complete equipment set. Qing Shui was still a little confused. Was it three items for ten percent Frenzied Bull Strength’s effect, or ten percent Frenzied Bull Strength’s effect for each item? At least three more to increase by thirty percent?

It was a pity he only had two items now. Qing Shui was planning to forge the boots again so he could find out how much the Frenzied Bull’s Strength could increase. If it was ten percent increase to each, then it’d be freaking awesome. The Frenzied Bull’s Strength could raise the effects by thirty percent. If thirty percent from three, then it’d approximately be ten percent of whole.

“Ten percent of strength is quite a lot!” Qing Shui thought with a smile.

Through this forge, he had no idea how many times he had hammered. Though he was sure that he hadn’t broken through two thousand, there should definitely be a big breakthrough.

He cultivated the Ancient Strengthening Technique once again and practised the Thousand Hammer Technique once before retrieving those boots. Too bad that he couldn’t use the Heaven Shaking Hammer or even a hammer.

Qing Shui could only replace the hammer with his hands. The crystalline palms of his looked beautiful yet didn’t lose out in strength. Just that sometimes he needed to use his two bent fingers as a hammer. But still, Qing Shui put his whole heart into it.

But he clearly remembered the number of hammer blows he delivered this time!

“Bang bang!”

He quickly reached over one thousand hammer blows. Qing Shui was not surprised at this. He just patiently continued refining and tempering for about ten more cycles.

He had lost count of how many times the Heaven Shaking Hammer was used on the battle armor just now. Although the head of the Heaven Shaking Hammer was big, it wasn’t like one cycle of tempering could be done with just three or five hammer blows. From the view of outsiders, the Heaven Shaking Hammer would appear to be pounding on the same spot for a long time.

Fifteen hundred hammer blows!

Qing Shui was very happy. Until now, he didn’t expect to not succeed yet with fifteen hundred hammer blows. His had improved a lot and it seemed like the days of breaking through two thousand hammer blows were drawing closer.

Sixteen hundred hammer blows!

The moment Qing Shui delivered the blow, a ray of light appeared, indicating that the boots had been successfully repaired!

The surprise today was unintended. Initially he had only wanted to repair the armor because it had a dent on it. He didn’t expect the attributes to be further increased and even discovered that it was not a standalone equipment but rather, was a part of a complete set.

The complete set of equipment in the world of the nine continents was not the same as the one that Qing Shui knew, but he was sure that he would eventually discover some that he was familiar with soon.

Qing Shui looked at the attributes of the battle boots in excitement!

Speed increased by ten percent, Strength +100, Agility +50, Endurance +30! At least three more armors or weapon of the same attributes were needed for an additional ten percent effects from the Frenzied Bull’s Strength to be effective!

The Frenzied Bull’s Strength increase effect appeared every time for all the three refining processes, and the attributes were also increased tremendously. The original attributes of the battle boots were increased Speed of ten percent, Strength +50, Agility +30 and Endurance +10!

It seemed the forged items always had this kind of effect as long as he activated the Frenzied Bull’s Strength during forging. What made Qing Shui feel puzzled was that he was the one who named it the Frenzied Bull’s Strength and the same name actually showed up on the “forged” equipment! How magical!

“Let’s try it on!” Qing Shui immediately put on the battle armor and battle boots. Since the armor was separated into upper part and battle pants, it could be counted as three pieces.

However, nothing out of the ordinary happened after he put them on. Qing Shui was puzzled. He clenched both fists and abruptly struck out with his right fist.

Taichi Single Whip!

The same Taichi Single Whip was already different from before, even though it was still in the Obscure Realm. And Qing Shui had a feeling that maybe it was going to stay there for a very long time.

Only the knowledgeable one could assess the true power of this punch. The slightly fluctuating and indistinct presence on the arm was like a tiger crouching on the mountains, yet at the same time like a resting drowsy giant tiger.

The change in the attacking force with the battle armor and battle boots that were under the influence of Qing Shui’s Ancient Strengthening Technique and Frenzied Bull’s Strength could be felt.Taichi Single Whip, Taichi Cloudhand, Deflect Parry Punch……...

“Three pieces only increased the effects of Frenzied Bull’s Strength by ten percent, three pieces also only increased the Frenzied Bull’s Strength by ten percent. Although there was a significant increase in power, Qing Shui still felt a little pity.

A man who was never content was like a snake trying to swallow an elephant. Qing Shui calmed himself down and thought back about the sentence - at least three more armors or weapon of the same attributes were needed for an additional ten percent effects from the Frenzied Bull’s Strength to be effective!

At least three more meant it could be four, or five more. If he had six pieces, then could it be increased to twenty percent.........?

The most important question was if the Frenzied Bull’s Strength could break through. If he managed to break through both the Ancient Art of Forging and Frenzied Bull’s Strength, then would the percentage be raised if he forged battle armors or weapons again?

Qing Shui laid on his bed and slept right after he exited the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal .

He hazily discovered that he was at a weird place. There were mountains and water, beautiful scenery, the sky was high and the fields were wide. The fragrance of fresh flowers was in the air.

Fresh flowers… Qing Shui saw a sea of flowers on the side of a big river nearby. The countless fresh flowers bloomed brilliantly. They were of different sizes and colors. Red, orange, yellow, green blue, indigo, purple, white, black……...

At this very moment, Qing Shui realized that the number of colors that he knew was so few. He couldn’t even name a lot of the colors he saw. The dreamlike illusory colors made him felt like he was in paradise.

It was his first time seeing a black flower. It looked strange or even sinister among the sea of flowers!

Qing Shui suddenly squinted his eyes because he saw a figure standing near the river at the other side of the sea of flowers. Silvery white gauze draped on her body, that soft and lithe figure was a woman’s. She must be extremely beautiful. Qing Shui didn’t know how to describe her because “her gracefulness”, “the way she gently swayed”, “her fine black hair” were not enough to describe her silhoutte.

Qing Shui unknowingly walked towards the most beautiful silhouette he had ever seen. When he entered the sea of flowers, he realized how hazy everything was.

The closer he got to her, the more he was amazed by the beauty of the woman’s figure and her otherworldly presence.

The woman suddenly turned around. Qing Shui was thoroughly shocked!

A familiar face reflected in Qing Shui’s eyes!

The woman in the portrait of beauty that he got was standing before him alive. Although she was wearing a veil and he could only see the outline of her face, Qing Shui was immediately lost in her uncovered pair of beautiful eyes.