Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 766 – Donggong Taiqing, Dead

Qing Shui had instilled all of his hope on the unrestrained hammer strike. Just when the Thunder God touched Donggong Taiqing’s head, a strong burst of jade-green light flashed before his eyes.

Bang!

Qing Shui’s Thunder God abruptly bounced off from the flash of light surrounding Donggong Taiqing, who did not suffer any wounds from the impact. Qing Shui had already expected this outcome, but he still felt a little annoyed that he couldn’t kill his opponent right away.

Nonetheless, it wasn’t too difficult for Qing Shui to kill Donggong Taiqing. It was just that he didn’t want to reveal too much of his abilities immediately. As for the jade-green light from earlier, Qing Shui already knew that it was the deadly attack deflecting ability of the Jade-Armored Immortal Garb.

Donggong Taiqing had been given another chance at life because of the Jade-Armored Immortal Garb he was wearing. Although Donggong Taiqing knew he couldn’t have died from the hammer attack, he could still sense the presence of death from when the Thunder God had struck on his head. Thinking about it, he was instantly drenched in cold sweat.

The Jade-Armored Immortal Garb could deflect half of the damage taken, but that didn’t matter. The hammer strike could’ve still crushed his brain even if 80% of the damage had been deflected. Donggong Taiqing was beginning to feel a sudden rush of fear in his heart as he thought about how he would have certainly died from that hammer strike.

Qing Shui was still a bit shocked as he pondered his earlier attacks. The Ten Thousand Great Thunderbolt wasn’t able to paralyze his opponent, but the Shield Attack from the Violet Gold Divine Shield was able to stagger his opponent. Could it be that the Jade-Armored Immortal Garb was able to deflect the negative effects of an active skill, but not the negative effects of a passive skill?

He still couldn’t come up with a definitive answer, so he quickly forgot about it. There wasn’t any time to think of those kinds of things right now anyways. That the Shield Attack was able stagger his opponent successfully was truly good news. He also had a feeling that the Shield Attack from the Violet Gold Divine Shield and the Shield Attack technique within his body had a mutual connection. Perhaps it had something to do with the characteristics of the Violet Gold Divine Shield itself.

After Donggong Taiqing had been knocked backwards, a lot of people instantly realized that one of the abilities of the Jade-Armored Immortal Garb had been activated. After a moment had passed, a roar of cheers began to burst from the audience below.

“Haha, today will be interesting. This young fellow is indeed powerful. If Donggong Taiqing hadn’t been wearing the Jade-Armored Immortal Garb, he would have been dead by now.”

“True, true. This is quite exciting. I’m glad that I came to see this fight. If that strike can happen once, it can happen again. Let’s see how many times that Jade-Armored Immortal Garb can withstand Qing Shui’s deadly strikes.” A young lad with brown hair said smugly.

“That Jade-Armored Immortal Garb can only withstand a deadly attack once per day. If Donggong Taiqing doesn’t have any other perverse item to withstand another deadly attack, then he will definitely lose this fight.” The man who had spoken previously let out a cheerful laugh.

“Elder sister, is uncle winning?” Ye Yan turned to look at Ye Guyan and asked her a question. Her eyes were brimming with both hope and anxiety.

“He will win.”

Ye Guyan was still quite perplexed as she watched the fight. Qing Shui had been pushed around from the beginning of the fight, which obviously meant that Qing Shui had been a bit weaker than Donggong Taiqing. It was only after Donggong Taiqing’s speed had been greatly suppressed that Qing Shui had begun to switch to an offensive strategy. Donggong Taiqing had even staggered by the Shield Attack earlier…….

The old man from the Ye Clan had been watching the two of them closely as they battled. There wasn’t a shred of emotion on his face, but his fingers had been gently tapping on the table in a rhythmic motion for quite a while.

“Qu Jiao, did you see that? If Donggong Taiqing hadn’t had the Jade-Armored Immortal Garb on him, he would have died from the impact. Now, even with that garb, he will still lose and he will still die.” Young Master Tuoba smiled at Qu Jiao as he took a sip from his cup of tea.

Qu Jiao also had a smile on his face as he said: “Perhaps. However, I have a feeling that the Eastern Palace Clan will not let Donggong Taiqing die that easily.”

“Haha, the old man from the Tantai Aristocrat Clan is among us watching the fight too. Even that old demon from the Ye Clan is here too. The Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan won’t dare to make a reckless move in front of them.” replied Young Master Tuoba with a confident smile on his face.

“What I mean is that Donggong Taiqing might have other items on him that can prevent his instant death.” Qu Jiao remained calm as he explained to Young Master Tuoba.

“Heh heh, do you honestly think that young man over there doesn’t have another ace up his sleeves to fight against Donggong Taiqing? He has the Thunder God, a magical shield, and a bunch of Heavenly Talismans that he’s used skillfully. Do you think he’s that simple?” Young Master Tuoba spoke passionately. He looked at Qing Shui, who was hovering in the sky, before he turned back to Qu Jiao.

“Young Master Tuoba, when you bet on something, you never lose. Regardless, I will bet with you this time. I know what the outcome will be, but I still want to bet,” said Qu Jiao as he laughed merrily.

“Old Man Tantai.” Old Man Donggong hesitated for a while before he turned to speak with the old man from the Tantai Aristocrat Clan.

“Oh, what’s the matter?” The old man from Taitai Clan replied with a smile.

“I want to save Taiqing, I was wondering…..”

The other elders were shocked when they heard his words, but remained silent as they continued to listen to their conversation. Even Old Man Wuma had nothing to say as he silently fixed his eyes on the old man from the Tantai Aristocrat Clan.

“Do you not care about the reputation of the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan anymore?” The expression on the face of the old man from the Tantai Aristocrat Clan remained the same as before. He didn’t blink after he replied to the old man from the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan.

“I will think of something to satisfy that kid. Let me have a talk with him….” said the old man from the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan after he thought about the possibilities. Donggong Taiqing was just too important for the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan. In fact, if the old man from the Tantai Aristocrat Clan hadn’t been here today, he would have gone up to the arena and killed Qing Shui immediately.

However, every duel had its own rules. Those who defied the rules would be held in contempt by everyone in the audience, or even get physically attacked. If the defier was powerful – like the Tantai Aristocrat Clan – no one would dare make a sound even if they did interfere. Still, the Tantai Aristocrat Clan had always had a good reputation, so they would never do such things.

“Didn’t you say earlier that Taiqing had no chance of losing? If you think he will lose, then work this out yourself. Do what you want to do.” The old man from the Tantai Aristocrat Clan said in a calm tone.

“Thank you, Old Man Taitai.” Old Man Donggong bowed in gratitude.

Old Man Wuma and the other elders were speechless. However, no one uttered a word. They would rather sit back and watch as the whole thing unfolded.

“Old Man Ye will definitely not agree to this.” said one of the elders beside Old Man Donggong as he looked towards the direction of the old man from the Ye Clan.

“Wait, I will hold back Old Man Ye in a bit. In the meantime, all of you go up and rescue Taiqing. I will discuss conditions with them after that. The most I can do is give them some compensation.” Old Man Donggong said after pondering for a while.

The time that Donggong Taiqing was staggered for after receiving the Shield Attack was too short. The time that the Jade-Armored Immortal Garb took to deflect his deadly attack was short as well. Otherwise, Qing Shui would have inflicted dozens of attacks in the instant when Donggong Taiqing was still in a state of dizziness.

Qing Shui wouldn’t be able to inflict critical damage against Donggong Taiqing in the short time remaining. After Donggong Taiqing finally recovered from being staggered, he quickly tapped his azure blue boots a few times in midair, revealing a bright gleam from his boots.

After that, Donggong Taiqing flashed towards Qing Shui like a ghost ,moving much more quickly than before. After all, speed was the ultimate power in a battle. Qing Shui could now feel an immense power from the Donggong Taiqing’s poison tooth sword as it sped closer towards his body.

Shield Attack!

This time, however, Donggong Taiqing avoided clashing directly with Qing Shui. No matter how furious he was, he would never get closer again to Qing Shui’s Violet Gold Divine Shield.

Having the advantage of speed once again, Donggong Taiqing easily evaded the Shield Attack before he proceeded towards Qing Shui and aimed his poison tooth at Qing Shui’s head. His speed increased by 30% as he flashed through the air.

Qing Shui quickly used his Thunder God to block the attack while retreating backwards using the force of the impact. As he stepped backwards, the Silver Needles in his sleeves quickly shot out towards Donggong Taiqing, preventing the latter from following up with another attack.

Donggong Taiqing gritted his teeth while simultaneously waving his hands in the air. Suddenly, a jade green colored small eagle appeared on his shoulders. It was at that moment that Qing Shui knew he must fight with all his abilities.

He hadn’t wanted to reveal all his abilities at first, but now, it looked like he had no choice.

The small eagle was only a foot tall, but it was unmistakably a Five Colored Poison Beast. Qing Shui hadn’t expected that Donggong Taiqing would possess a Five Colored Poison Beast such as this Green Crystal Eagle. However, the eagle didn’t seem to possess the power of a Martial Saint – it was much weaker when compared to his Ten Thousand Poisonous Violet Sable.

The eagle was only a Peak Martial King poison beast. Qing Shui had faith that he would be able to instantly kill the eagle.

“Go to hell!”

Donggong Taichi shot a ferocious look at Qing Shui as he flashed towards him.

Qing Shui ignored Donggong Taiqing and quickly disabled the eagle’s aura before he whipped the Demon Binding Ropes towards the Green Crystal Eagle. After being upgraded another level, the Demon Binding Ropes were able to bind a Peak Martial King successfully. If the eagle had been an Elementary Martial Saint, then the chance of binding it successfully would be slightly lower.

At the same time as he whipped out his Demon Binding Ropes, Qing Shui took out his Frosted Iron Ball and released his Meteor Smash ability.

Having its aura disabled and being bounded by the Demon Binding Ropes, the Green Crystal Eagle let out a terrified cry.

Boop!

The pitiful Green Crystal Eagle was killed instantly after its head exploded into pieces. It hadn’t even managed to help Donggong Taiqing a little after it had appeared. From the beginning, it had no chance to evade Qing Shui’s split-second kill with just the strength of a Martial King……..

Qing Shui glanced over at Donggong Taiqing with a shrewd smile on his face as he inched closer.

“Quickly, save Taiqing! I will hold off that old fool from Ye Clan!” Old Man Donggong quickly leapt towards the old man of the Ye Clan, while the other two elders moved towards the arena as quickly as they could.

“Hold your attack!”

The old man from the Ye Clan had already anticipated Old Man Donggong’s sudden leap towards him. Old Man Donggong’s stared at the old man from the Ye Clan, his hair in a mess as a strange creepy light gleamed in his eyes.

When Qing Shui heard the outcry from the elders, he quickly rushed towards Donggong Taiqing and summoned his Ten Thousand Poisonous Violet Sable. Qing Shui and Donggong Taiqing crossed paths with each other as both let out a soft shout.

Suddenly, Donggong Taiqing stopped moving and dropped to the bottom of the arena. It was only at that precise moment that the elders finally appeared behind Qing Shui.

No one would have guessed that Donggong Taiqing would die so quickly. The toxins of the Ten Thousand Poisonous Violet Sable were indeed terrifying. The toxicity level of Qing Shui’s sable was ten times deadlier than any random wild Ten Thousand Poisonous Violet Sable.

Moreover, with its fast speed and flexible body, the sable had been able to land a scratch on Donggong Taiqing’s face. This soft claw had ended his life. Although the sable had also been attacked by Donggong Taiqing’s poison tooth, it had no effect on the sable. Trying to hit the sable was like hitting a stack of cotton – no damage would be taken even if a sharp knife were to pierce through. The sable had managed to go around the poison tooth easily before it had reached Donggong Taiqing’s face.

Qing Shui’s summoning of his Ten Thousand Poisonous Violet Sable was quite sudden as well. Donggong Taiqing hadn’t even had the time to defend himself against the poison beast before it killed him with its poisonous claw.

This was also the first time Qing Shui had seen his sable land an attack. It was so unbelievably fast that no one would dare take his eyes off the poison beast. The poison was incredibly deadly and fast-acting – it could spread very quickly through the bloodstream in the body.

The Ten Thousand Poisonous Violet Sable had already returned to Qing Shui and sat on his shoulders. After that, Qing Shui turned around to look at the two dumbfounded elders.

Thump!

A few gasps simultaneously rang out from the crowd below. Donggong Taiqing’s corpse finally fell on the floors of the arena a few seconds later. Everyone was stunned when they saw the body. Even Old Man Donggong and the old man from the Ye Clan had frozen in place.

“I’m not seeing this wrong, am I? Did he just die? That quickly?” After a moment had passed, someone from the crowd finally spoke out, unbelievingly.

“This is unexpected. Donggong Taiqing was killed even after the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan had the gall to intervene in the fight. This is super exciting.”

The crowd below burst into chaos, making loud noises as they delved into a stream of chaotic discussions and conversations. Most of the topics involved the despicable actions of the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan. It seemed the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan had earned themselves the reputation of utter garbage.

“Qu Jiao, I win this bet. Remember our contract.” said Young Master Tuoba as he flashed a wide grin at Qu Jiao.

“I concede!”