Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 728 – The People From The Zuoshi Clan, He Is Still Unworthy

In a blink of an eye, Qing Shui had already spent two months living comfortably in the Qing Residence. After his Fire Bird and Diamond Gigantic Elephant had a breakthrough, Qing Shui took 20% of the power gained by the Diamond Gigantic Elephant and instilled it to his own strength. Within half a month, he had already refined it thoroughly.

Between the power of the strength of 800 countries, the defense with the strength of 1500 countries, and the astronomical speed of the Diamond Gigantic Elephant, Qing Shui had already absorbed 20% from each. Specifically, the power of the strength of 160 countries, the defense with the strength of 300 countries, and a decent amount of speed.

Qing Shui’s overall power had reached to about the strength of 2160 countries, and his defense had reached to a terrifying strength of 3800 countries. Even though the increase in his current strength would not be comparable to his previous one, it could be still considered adequate. After all, it would be extremely difficult for him to increase his strength again, so the bonus he had gained from his Diamond Gigantic Elephant were already quite enough.

Even so, Qing Shui could still reach the strength of 1600 countries and defense with the strength of 2300 countries with his supplementary skills that had crippling effects as well as the boost from the Thunder God.

……..

Today, Qing Shui held the hands of both of his children as he had planned to go outside for a casual sightseeing together with them. He noticed a few people that was apparently led by a middle-aged man and had already walked their way into the Qing Residence.

The man had an imposing countenance and cut a large figure, yet he was still quite handsome. He had straight clean brows and a pair of gleaming eyes that showed the energetic side of his character. He was arguably as handsome as the late Canghai at his prime.

Behind this handsome man were four people, two elderly men and another two who were barely 40 years old. These two fellows had a brawny stature like an antique brass, as if they were made of iron.

On the other hand, the two elderly men appeared normal. Despite their gentle features, they were clearly men of great depth and virtuousness. The men in front of him were all at the level of Martial Saint. Qing Shui was surprised for a brief moment as he recalled about the Zuoshi Clan that Elder Ge had mentioned before.

Now that he had seen a number of Martial Saints throughout his life, Qing Shui would never believe that there wasn’t any Martial Saints in the Greencloud Continent before. There were many of those who had kept a low profile in the vast place like the Greencloud Continent, because they don’t need to reveal who they really were in the first place.

Pingyang Country was considered a small country of insignificance. Which was why countries like this would most unlikely attract the attention of any visitors in the Greencloud Continent. Despite that, there were currently five Martial Saints that had arrived in front of him right now.

Even so, these people were only at the level ranging from Grade Four to Grade Five Martial Saint. The leader and the two elderly men were at Grade Five Elementary Martial Saints, and the other two tower-like men were at Grade Four Martial Saints.

Qing Shui frowned. Why did the leader felt the need to bring those men who could crush both the Qing Clan and the Heavenly Palace with their raw power? The Martial Saint warriors of the Qing Clan were all Grade Four Martial Saints…..

“You guys are?” Qing Shui slowly picked up Qing Jun and Qing Yin before he began to speak.

“You are Qing Shui?” After the middle-age leader pondered for a while, his eyes brightened up while he locked his eyes with Qing Shui.

Qing Shui had remained silent as he stared at the leader quietly. Just then, Di Chen came by and gave Qing Shui a smile. While she maintained an assuring smile on her face, she quickly and gently took over his two children from his arms and left.

Di Chen’s sudden appearance had left the middle-age man baffled. He was captivated by her beauty, as well as her strength – he had only received news that there wouldn’t be any powerful Martial Saints like her in the Qing Clan.

Qing Shui placed both of his hands behind his back and silently watched the reaction of the man in front of him. He did had a thought before that he should establish a mutual relationship with this hidden clan, so that during tough times the Qing Clan would be able to receive aid. After all, being well-protected by an ally was much better compared to falling into an abyss of desolation if ever anyone from the other continents came to cause trouble. A good example was that time when the people from the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan from the Southern Viewing Continent had made their Old Ancestor to bear a lifetime of burden that would not go away even after the Old Ancestor had died. This incident with the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan was a humiliation towards the entire Greencloud Continent.

The middle-aged man seemed to had realized something before he looked towards Qing Shui with a smile on his face. His set of white teeth had increased a few elegance points, which he continued to flashed as he introduced himself. “I am from the Zuoshi Clan of the Pingyang Country. I went to the Heavenly Palace to look for you last time, but I was not able to meet you. So we came here to your residence today to look for you. It seems that luck is on our side.”

“Pingyang Country? Zuoshi Clan?” Qing Shui clearly understood where that place was and what kind of clan they were from. However, he wasn’t able to shake off the uneasiness in him as he stared at the man with dubious eyes.

“Mr. Qing, I have a feeling that you are not very welcoming towards our Zuoshi Clan, but we didn’t come here to look for you with bad intentions.” The man gave a gentle smile at Qing Shui.

Even though Qing Shui didn’t have a good opinion about the Zuoshi Clan and was suspicious of them, he still guided them into the big living room. He wasn’t particularly concerned about their strength, but he was more worried about the secluded clan that supported the Zuoshi Clan in the shadows.

Not long after, the men from the Zuoshi Clan sat down politely. Di Chen brought in some tea for the guests, but Qing Shui quickly took it from her hands because he didn’t want her to serve them personally.

“My name is Zuoshi Yi. I will briefly explain our Zuoshi Clan for you.” The middle-aged man had looked at Di Chen for the third time. Every time he did so, he did it casually as he swept his gaze at her direction.

Because of this behavior, Qing Shui had completely lost his last hope and interest on them. These people had very poor virtue and character.

Zuoshi Yi didn’t look at her openly or brazenly. Qing Shui didn’t want to cause a ruckus for the time being, so he didn’t feel the need to say something more. He had quickly gestured Di Chen to take a leave from the big living room.

“I was wondering if Mr. Qing knows about those supreme aristocrat families and the secluded clans?” The man turned his attention to Qing Shui after Di Chen had left, his expression was different than before. The way he talked had also changed slightly, especially when he asked this question to Qing Shui.

So it had come to this, Qing Shui thought. Although he knew what was about to happen, he shook his head and said: “I don’t know. I have no idea about these things.”

In that moment, the man’s eyes had showed a brief disdain towards Qing Shui. If one wasn’t attentive enough, they wouldn’t be able to notice anything. The leader had maintained a refreshing smile as he explained: “Supreme aristocrat families are those of the top prestigious families in the entire continent. These families are categorized into various ranks or grades, even the lowest grade of the supreme aristocrat families have several martial warriors of the strength of one star. Secluded clans, however, are those of the supreme aristocrat families that don’t go out often to make themselves recognized. Our Zuoshi Clan is one of the true secluded clan in the Pingyang Country.”

Zuoshi Yi was quite proud as he had mentioned his clan. In the World of the Nine Continents, everyone had wished to be related to those supreme aristocrat families or supreme sects. Even though the Zuoshi Clan from the Pingyang Country was just a branch clan of the main Zuoshi Clan, it was enough to prove their worth as a superior clan.

“So where does Mr. Zuoshi stand among your secluded clan?” Qing Shui smiled at Zuoshi Yi.

“Cough cough, we are one of the important branches of the Zuoshi Clan, and the blood flowing inside us are of Zuoshi Clan as well. We are living together right now as one big clan.” Zuoshi Yi was caught off guard by Qing Shui’s question.

“Oh, how do you categorize the grades of the supreme aristocrat families? Do you know anything about that?” Qing Shui didn’t ask if Zuoshi Yi was comfortable to reveal the rankings, but specifically asked if he knew about it. He knew Zuoshi Yi would talk about it because he didn’t get the chance to show how great he was from the beginning.

“Supreme aristocrat families and supreme sects have three classes, with the third-class being the weakest and lowest rank. To be qualified for the third-class, a clan should have no less than 20 martial warriors between the strength of one star to three stars, and this is inclusive of their demonic beasts. Second-class should have no less than 50 martial warriors between the strength of four stars to seven stars, which is inclusive of demonic beasts as well. First-class are said to require at least about a hundred martial warriors with the strength of eight stars and above. I am not really sure about the first-class ranking because they are very rare. There are rumors also that an Emperor Grade clan exists, but whether they do really exist is another story.” explained Zuoshi Yi slowly.

“It’s no wonder that Mr. Zuoshi is a member of a supreme aristocrat family since you are well-informed. I was wondering what class is the Zuoshi Clan at?” Qing Shui could make a guess about their ranking, but he would still rather ask about it anyway.

“Third-class. It is still an honor to be regarded as a third-class supreme aristocrat clan in the World of the Nine Continents. We are still the best that the Greencloud Continent has ever seen.” Zuoshi Yi chuckled as he looked at Qing Shui.

“Mr. Zuoshi, I think I have a firm grasp of what you had told me today. Thank you for coming all the way to inform me this.” Qing Shui replied with a smile.

“Cough cough, well, we actually have something else to talk about with Mr. Qing.” Zuoshi Yi gave two awkward coughs before he continued. The introduction of being a supreme aristocrat family was just an entrée for what was to come next. The following matters would be left for Qing Shui to decide while keeping in mind of the Zuoshi Clan’s current status.

“Oh, you still have more things to talk about. Go on, go on.” Qing Shui gestured Zuoshi Yi to continue.

“The second master of Zuoshi Clan has his eyes on Miss Wu-shuang. As a proposition, we were told to bring Miss Wu-shuang back to our clan today, so if there is anything the Qing Clan needed help from our clan in the future, you can go to the Pingyang Country to look for us. How about it?” Zuoshi Yi looked at Qing Shui’s calm expression and stated his true intention.

Qing Shui was shocked. They actually came to the Qing Clan all the way from the Pingyang Country just for Wu-shuang, and he could feel that they wanted to take Wu-shuang back to their clan after this meeting was over. Qing Shui was furious under the pretense of a smile

“Take away Wu-shuang?” asked Qing Shui while he looked at Zuoshi Yi in the eyes.

“Zuoshi Yun is the direct descendent of the Zuoshi Clan. He is exceptionally talented, and he has a lot of influence in the household. His grandfather is the current head of the Zuoshi Clan, and Zuoshi Yun his favourite. Zuoshi Yun is still quite young, about 30 years old, and he had already reached the Grade Nine Peak Martial Saint stage even before he hit the age of 40. Miss Wu-shuang will have a happy life if she follows the second master.” Zuoshi Yi quickly explained.

Indeed, these words had enough significance to persuade anyone to submit to their wishes. A direct line of the supreme aristocrat family who achieved the strength of a Grade Nine Peak Martial Saint at a young age, Wu-shuang would have a glorious life if she were to follow him for the rest of her life.

To had reached the strength of 5,000 countries, this young man could be considered to be outstanding in his generation. This fellow would be one of the best in the Greencloud Continent, and he would have every rights to be proud and arrogant about it. However, a Grade Nine Peak Martial Saint was nothing in Qing Shui’s eyes.

Also, Zuoshi Yi said to ‘bring’ Wu-shuang back, and not ‘marry’ her, which meant that the second master would most likely make her a play thing. And the part about looking for the Zuoshi Clan if they have any troubles clearly showed how much power they had if they were able to make that statement. However, Qing Shui felt nothing of the third-class supreme aristocrat family like them, so they had no rights to act this presumptuous in front of him.

“Their strongest is no more than the strength of three stars. I can easily display the strength of two stars with an extra strength of 2000 countries. If I have to fight with one who have the strength of three stars, it will not be a problem.” Qing Shui smiled as he went through a monologue in his head. However, he was a bit worried because the Zuoshi Clan had about less than 20 martial warriors between the strength of one star to three stars.

“So you came today specifically for this?” Qing Shui retracted his smile. Since they did not put him in their eyes and had shown little significance towards the Qing Clan, then he had stopped being polite naturally towards them as well.

“Heh, that’s right. What do you think? The Zuoshi Clan will not mistreat the Qing Clan, so why don’t Mr. Qing state your conditions?” Zuoshi Yi quickly lowered his tone when he saw the unhappy expression on Qing Shui’s face.

“I have no conditions, so you all may leave now. Go back to that Zuoshi second young master or whatever, and tell him he isn’t worthy.” Qing Shui stood up. And when he did that, it was already clear that he wanted them to get out from the Qing Residence immediately.