Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 534 - Death of the Old Ancestor, Arrival of Trials and Hardships

The following days were very peaceful, however, there were many people who came to congratulate Qing Shui. Most of them were people of virtue and prestige.

Some of the reputable family clans and small sects came as well, hoping to establish a relationship. If they were able to obtain protection from the Heavenly Palace, then it would be a matter that they would thank their ancestors for.

Thus, on the second day, there were still tons of people coming. Since the Old Ancestor was still around, Qing Shui intended to not show up and let the Old Ancestor deal with them.

However, the Old Ancestor said that since Qing Shui had already taken the position, this matter should be handled by himself. Despite this, Qing Shui did not want to deal with it.

Nevertheless, for the prosperity of the Heavenly Palace, Qing Shui could only force himself to do it, despite his reluctancy.

Despite Qing Shui’s youth, when he wore that garment made of Lunar Silk, he looked more mature. This was the result of his strength, his experience, and especially that sense of suppression he unconsciously evoked when others stared at him.

There were disciples that dealt with welcoming the guests, Qing Shui only had to stay at the entrance to the study and exchange a few greetings with the guest. After all, they were all cultivators, they had started from the same point and had to help each other …...

Even though there was no one showing up from Sword Tower, Qing Shui was not surprised. Of course, many of those who showed up had suspicions about Qing Shui’s strength, but Qing Shui was no obligated nor interested is proving his strength.

In their eyes, Qing Shui was definitely just a piece of trash!

The miraculous story of Qing Shui killing a few supreme elders had spread outside the Heavenly Palace. However, a large portion of people, even many in the Heavenly Palace, felt that it was a ruse by the Heavenly Palace, to turn Qing Shui into a legend[a].

Only those supreme elders who were in the great hall knew about the terror of this youth. They instructed their disciples on what to do, urged them to exercise restraint, and used Qing Shi to try and stimulate them.

…...

Sword Tower!

“The plot of that old fellow is not much, he is using those old fellows to boost the reputation of the one controlling the Heavenly Palace, this is just an extravagant embellishment that anyone can see through. Only, this is truly a strange move that exceeds all expectations. To use a youth, who once rocked the world, such as Qing Shui. A strange move indeed.” The Old Ancestor of Sword Tower laughed with a few other old men as he drank tea.

“Old Ancestor, I feel that we should still be careful, those people who had met Qing Shui felt that he gave off a strange feeling, they could not see any cultivation but they sensed an unexplainable suppression from him.” Respectfully said a man dressed in black, who looked as sturdy as an iron tower.

“Long Ying, you rarely take something so seriously, could it be that your Heavy Sword Tower is afraid of him?” the old man from the Tan Clan said to the man dressed in black.

“My Heavy Sword Tower is not afraid of him, unlike someone’s grandson, who was beaten till he became invalid for a year and had his woman taken away.” casually said the man dressed in black, causing the face of the old man from the Tan Clan to turn dark.

“Enough, you argue every time you meet, I did not call you here today to argue with each other.” Snorted the Old Ancestor from Sword Tower coldly.

The old man from the Tan Clan originally wanted to shout at the man known as Long Ying, but now he could only keep quiet!

“How is Tan Yang these days?” The Sword Tower Old Ancestor casually asked.

Hearing the Sword Tower Old Ancestor ask about his grandson, the old man from the Tan Clan was immediately radiant with delight. He happily said: “Yang`er is improving at a rapid pace, he is now a Peak Martial King with the strength of four countries.”

“Strength of four countries? So fast?” the Sword Tower Old Ancestor was at a loss for words.

“Indeed, Yang`er was stimulated by that Qing Shui kid. He actually awakened the rarely seen Silver Bloodline of the Tan Clan. Although it is not as good as the Golden Bloodline, it is not that much weaker. In addition to the Origin Returning Pill, his abilities have rapidly soared. I thank the Old Ancestor for his concern on behalf of Yang`er.” the old man from the Tan Clan said without restraint, then he looked at the man dressed in black.

“Good, Very Good!” the Sword Tower Old Ancestor seemed to be quite happy!

…...

Qing Shui only met with the people on the same level as the Old Ancestor. As for the rest, they were delegated to those below him, thus the number of people Qing Shui met was not many.

“The Patriarch is back!” Huoyun Liu-Li could not resist making fun of Qing Shui when she saw him.

“Is your butt itchy again?” Qing Shui laughed.

“Loathsome Qing Shui,[b][c][d] you dare!”

“See if I dare!” Qing Shi laughed as he stretched his hands!

“I don’t dare to anymore, please be gentle.” Huoyun Liu-Li hugged Qing Shui’s arms as she sent coquettish glances at Qing Shui with her sexy eyes. Her intoxicating eyelashes had the power to make men go crazy.

Qing Shui: “......”

In a flash, ten days went by!

In the secret chambers!

There were numerous people in the secret chambers, Qing Shui, Fei Wuji, Cang Wuya, Bai Gui and many others. With one glance, Qing Shui could tell that these were the Old Ancestor’s most reliable and the only trustworthy people.

“Qing Shui, I can feel it, my time has come, I can finally meet her, and I can finally see my son.” The Old Ancestor laughed.

“Old Ancestor……” Qing Shui had a sour suffocating feeling in his heart.

“I am happy, with you around, I feel assured. I can go in peace. Originally, I was worried about Wuji and the Heavenly Palace. Now, with the Heavenly Palace in your hands, it will surely prosper.” The Old Ancestor said as he held Qing Shui’s hands.

“Rest assured, I will do my best to manage everything.”

“Wuji, you must double your efforts in cultivation, Qing Shui would be able to sufficiently teach you and more. In the world of cultivation, strength comes first, it would not be shameful to ask him to teach you, the most important thing is to be able to live.

“Grandfather, I know……:

“Bai Ji, you are my youngest disciple, and also my most talented disciple. When you follow Qing Shui in the future, treat him like you treat me.

“I will master!” Bai Ji said seriously as he cried as he knelt.

Qing Shui now knew that Bai Gui was also known as Bai Ji!

“Wuya!”

“Master……”

“Now that we are at this point, I shall permit you to return!”

“Thank you master……” Cang Wuya cried as he knelt in front of the Old Ancestor.

“Hai!” The Old Ancestor let out a long sigh, his face looked depressed.

“Old Ancestor, is there anything bothering you?” Qing Shui asked out of concern.

“Indeed, I do not know how to face her or what to say to her, I killed our child with my own hands.” The Old Ancestor leaked out a tear.

“My son was too lascivious, but he knew his boundaries, I only found out afterwards that they seduced my son, then came to the Heavenly Palace to cause trouble. This caused me to kill my son with my own hands. However, they did this out of fun only, I am not satisfied!” The Old Ancestor kept tearing up.

“Putong!”

Qing Shui slowly knelt in front of the Old Ancestor, his life was saved by the Old Ancestor twice. One can not only kneel to his parents but to his benefactors as well!

“Will the Old Ancestor tell me who they were, I, Qing Shui, swear that as long as I’m alive, I will bring martial uncle Fei along. This debt of blood, will be repaid with blood, the heavens and earth will be my witness and I will not regret this!” Qing Shui slowly stooped down.

“Get up, get up, this old man thanks you in advance. It is the Eastern Palace Clan of the Southern Viewing Ministry Continent. Promise me, before becoming a fifth grade Martial Saint, do not go there. Wuji, you are a smart person ……”

Finally, his voice got softer and softer, but his face had a smile full of satisfaction!

The funeral was set to be seven days later!

On the second day, the news of the Old Ancestor passing away was disseminated!

There were some people in the Heavenly Palace who were anxious, but many of the other sects were incomparably happy, especially the Sword Tower! The Demon Beast Sect was especially happy as well.

“He’s dead, It’s good that he is dead, Old fogey, you shall not be able to die peacefully, the day of you funeral, will be the day the Heavenly Palace will be massacred!”

The Sword Tower Old Ancestor looked upwards to the sky as hesaid this, his face filled with a sinister smile that could wither bones!

Seven days passed in an instant!

Today was the day of the Heavenly Palace Old Ancestor’s funeral. The ones wearing mourning clothes were the Old Ancestors disciples and grand disciples, but there were also many heavenly palace disciples. However, where was a limit on the number of people who could attend, or else there would be no space for people to go in and out of the funeral hall.

But more than half of the people of Heavenly Palace were wearing white![e][f][g][h][i]

[TL notes: White and black clothes are for mourning. White usually represent the ”host” when they are the mourners. Black, or dull colors for those coming to pay respects]

The grave was located in the back mountains, on a piece of precious land with good Feng Shui.

Soon, it was late in the day, and the people who came to pay their respects came wave after wave. Those who came were all people who were very reputable, the job of greeting them fell onto Qing Shui’s shoulders.

“The Qin Clan arrives!”

Coming forward was the Qin Clan’s clan head, Qin Lang, and with him was three other old men!

They first went to bow in front of the Old Ancestor’s coffin, then exchanged a few greeting with Qing Shui!

…...

“The Hai Clan arrives!”

Qing Shui recognized the ones who came, they were the Hai Clan’s clan head and a few old men. What surprised Qing Shui was that there was a female amongst them.

The women’s figure’s figure was perfect, it was comparable to Canghai Mingyue, Huoyun Liu-Li, Di Chen and the other girls. She was wearing a veil, but the eyes that were exposed looked at Qing Shui, giving him a favorable impression.

She had a kind of awareness, grace, and poise!

The pair of eyes had the look of elegance and maturity, but also the purity of a young girl!

After paying their respects to the Old Ancestor’s body they then walked to Qing Shui’s side!

Before they could say anything, a large group of people walked in!

The Sword Tower arrives!

Given the situation, it was normal for the Sword Tower to come and pay their respects, but from the expressions of the other party, Qing Shui could tell that they did not come with good intentions. More importantly, they brought a lot of people.

A total of 500 people!

Furthermore, most of them were old men with long white hair!

Supreme elders!

Bringing what seems to be all of the Sword Tower’s elders, it was obvious why they were here.

The Heavenly Palace rapidly gather almost 500 supreme elders!

“Stop them!”

Qing Shui looked down and ordered!

It was a good thing that Qing Shui had equipped all his armor in advance because he knew today would not be so peaceful!

“Ah!”

That scream meant that the Sword Tower and the Heavenly Palace had shed all pretense of cordiality!

Qing Shui did not know how he feel, looking at the surroundings, he said: “Old Master, lead the supreme elders to defend this place, do not let anyone disturb the Old Ancestor.” Qing Shui said to Cang Wuya.

“Then you……”

“Just relax, nothing will happen to me!” Qing Shui gave Cang Wuya a look that lacked concern and walked away, but his blood was racing.

“Are you here to settle things with the Heavenly Palace[j]?” Qing Shui stared at the people from the Sword tower, feeling especially calm.

Qing Shui brought almost 300 supreme elders along with him, the rest of them were responsible for guarding the coffin!

No one was permitted to disturb the body of the Old Ancestor.