Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 777 – Victory, The Fall Of The Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan

In that instant between life and death, Qing Shui was able to display an incredibly shocking power despite having his arm being contorted and his left rib bones being shattered. His internal organs had suffered severe wounds as well.

Even under the state of Minute Subtlety, Qing Shui was severely injured!

The Old Ancestor of the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan hadn’t expected that Qing Shui would be able to disrupt his attack, especially with his injuries. To be honest, the Old Ancestor was quite surprised when Qing Shui was able to use such a phenomenal power in the nick of time to prevent the attack from utterly destroying him. However, this wasn’t a time to be surprised at the young man. He needed to kill him as soon as possible. There was no option for failure in such a supposedly easy task.

The two of them were very close to each other, almost too close for comfort. The best approach for battling at such a close distance would always be with one’s hands. A pitch black short dagger abruptly appeared in the old man’s hand, and he took the opportunity to aim the dagger at Qing Shui’s heart.

There was no way that Qing Shui could evade the stab, with how close he was to the old man. Furthermore, with Qing Shui’s current condition, it was practically impossible to even evade at this point.

At the precise moment when the tip of the dagger almost touched his skin, Qing Shui activated the Minute Subtlety to evade and began to make his next move too!

Saintly Hands!

Qing Shui had only used the Saintly Hands in the past to save other people’s lives. But this technique had another significant purpose – and that was to kill his opponents! The most important aspect of the Saintly Hands was its astonishing quickness and the fact it could not be avoided by opponents.

Qing Shui’s hand instantly turned translucent, causing the pitch-black Coldsteel Needle gripped between his fingers to stick out like a sore thumb. Then, his hand began to move rapidly, as if it were an illusion of a moving silhouette.

The old man remained adamant on piercing through Qing Shui’s heart with his dagger instead of blocking Qing Shui’s deadly strike.

He stabbed Qing Shui! This should stop him from whatever he had planned on doing.

Before the Old Ancestor had the chance to breathe a sigh of relief, he noticed his arm had bent to the other side like a cloud of smoke. Then he felt a sudden cold sensation on the Fengfu Acupoint at the back of his head, followed by a sharp pain to his nerves.

The Old Ancestor of the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan struggled to make any expression on his face. Suddenly, his body let out a strong aura that felt as if it could swallow and destroy a human being.

“Fuck, self-destructive dantian…….” Qing Shui couldn’t help but spout a swear word.

Luckily for him, he was able to take out his Violet Gold Divine Shield and activate the Godly Armor Shield effect in time. The moment he took out the shield, the old man had exploded into a loud ‘bang’, blasting a force of Qi into every corner. The pitch black dagger was still in Qing Shui’s body, but before he had the chance to take it out, he was immediately blasted away by the force of the exploded Qi.

While being knocked out in mid-air, Qing Shui struggled with all his might and took out a segment of the Golden Buddha Aura Lotus and swallowed it without hesitation. Then he quickly removed the dagger from his body and threw it into the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal.

After he had eaten the Golden Buddha Aura Lotus, he was able to breathe a sigh of relief. If it hadn’t been for the Qi of the [Rebirth] and the Yin-Yang Image from the sea of consciousness, he wouldn’t have been able to block the old man’s attacks. He might not have been able to consume the Golden Buddha Aura Lotus in time.

Most importantly, the Ancient Strengthening Technique that Qing Shui had cultivated was the utmost critical factor explaining the amazing strength and tenacity of his physical body. The strength of his meridians and internal organs had also reached a terrifying realm, but he still wouldn’t have been able to escape his death if it hadn’t been for the activation of his ‘Minute Subtlety’.

A while after consuming the Golden Buddha Aura Lotus, a sudden warm sensation flowed into Qing Shui’s body like gushing water from a spring. The wounds on his body were healing at a terrifying speed. Luckily, the fast healing process was not visible to others because he was covered in blood. A lot of people were hanging on to their hopes as they watched silently at Qing Shui hovering in mid-air.

“Elder sister, uncle is going to be fine, right?” Ye Yan turned to look at Ye Guyan with nervous eyes.

Ye Guyan was anxious as well. If anyone were to see Qing Shui’s bloody appearance in the sky, he could immediately tell that Qing Shui had been severely wounded. It would be a lie to say that he was fine.

Even though Ye Guyan couldn’t participate in this battle despite being extremely capable in her own right, she could still view the battle quite clearly in the sky. Actually, among the members of the Ye Clan, only Ye Guyan and Old Man Ye had been able to view the proceedings of the battle clearly. This meant that they were also able to get a better understanding of the situation than anyone else.

The Old Ancestor of the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan had died……..

The whole Martial God Street was eerily quiet. Even if someone were to talk, he or she had to whisper in the lowest volume possible. The atmosphere was incredibly tense, almost stifling. Qing Shui, on the other hand, remained still in his position as he felt the wounds on his body continuously repairing itself. It was a sensation of joy and pure bliss.

“He’s reached the end of the rope. Let’s go kill him.” The remaining ten members from the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan were still allowed to join the battle. However, instead of following the rules of the battle, they intended to go up as a gang to kill him together.

After declaring their intentions, the remaining ten members from the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan flew up together to the sky. Despite this being an idiotic thing to do, their reckless action was considered normal after how the current circumstances had played out.

“Don’t you dare!”

Old Man Ye quickly led a few dozen members, including Ye Guyan, with him and flew up to the sky. Although their powers could not be compared to the members of the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan, there wasn’t much difference and they still flew up to stop them from killing Qing Shui.

Qing Shui had already expected that they would do something like this. Without any hesitation, he quickly summoned the Diamond Gigantic Elephant, the Fire Bird, the Ten Thousand Poisonous Violet Sable, the Gold-Silver Colored Butterflies, and the Jade Emperor Queen Bee to counter against them. The legion of the Jade Emperor Bees, however, was not summoned to the battle.

The Thunderous Beast was not called out either. The beast would be able to use the Violet Lightning Strike after a bit cooldown time, so it was best not to call it out yet. As he recalled the Violet Lightning Strike, Qing Shui remembered that he had sensed something strong protecting the late Old Ancestor’s body, but he hadn’t expected that the old man would be completely resistant against the paralyzing effect from the move earlier.

Mighty Elephant Stomp!

Nether Fireball!

Poison Killer Sting!

……….

Qing Shui was still recovering, but as he saw the members of the Ye Clan rushing up to save his life, he was more worried about their lives than his own. He quickly hopped onto the back of the Diamond Gigantic Elephant to face the remaining members of the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan before the members of the Ye Clan could.

The Fight of the Ultimate Life and Death had quickly turned to a warzone. Before anyone knew it, Old Man Wuma had already rushed into the scene with a dozen men and shouted: “You, members of the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan, failed to uphold the rules of the battle. You all have scorned the people witnessing this fight. There is no mercy for people like you, and you all should be punished to death. Kill them.”

Everyone was able to hear Old Man Wuma’s condemnation of the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan despite him shouting from far above the arena. The fight needed an end. One opposition force had to completely perish for the fight to end. Old Man Wuma clearly knew this, so he chose to make an order to kill the remaining members from the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan to bring an end to the battle.

Everyone was shocked at Old Man Wuma’s action, but what he said was justifiable. The Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan had always been a thorn in the side of many. Those who sought to eliminate them would have to pay a high price to do so. However, the tides had turned today. Now, they would only need to pay a small price to be able to annihilate the entire Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan. Furthermore, by helping, they might also be able to befriend the young man of demonic powers, Qing Shui.

After the members of the Wuma Clan had taken action, Old Man Tantai quickly waved his hand, signalling a few of his clan’s members to go up and join the massacre of the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan. The other clans followed as well after the members of the Tantai Clan moved towards the sky.

Seeing how things turned out, Qing Shui let out a sigh of relief. The Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan had indeed done a lot of sinful things. No one was surprised that someone would travel thousands of miles to this continent just to eradicate them. The people from the other clans took advantage of Old Man Wuma’s orders and went to kill the remaining members of the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan to finish them once and for all.

The more the people that came up, the more the power that was used to completely overwhelm the remaining members from the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan. The treacherous members of the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan were completely annihilated. Their clan would forever be gone from the Martial God Street, and now, it was as if they had never existed in the first place.

“Thank you all for the gracious help. You all have my deepest gratitude.” In any case, Qing Shui had to thank them for their help. After all, they had prevented any more possible casualties. If the members of the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan had laid their hands on the members of the Ye Clan as well as Cang Wuya and the others, he would have to rely on the other clans to lend their help to stop the fight.

Making friends would always be a better option than making enemies. This was why Qing Shui did not hold back his sincerity and let the Tantai Clan and the Wuma Clan to handle the matters with the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan. He believed that they would not treat him unfairly, and that they would handle the remaining matters thoroughly without fail.

“Qing Shui, are you alright?” Ye Guyan made it to Qing Shui, a concerned look on her face.

Old Man Wuma gave a light laugh to Qing Shui, “Then it’s settled. We will help you with this matter. Thanks to you, it will be easier to handle this problem. The prizes from the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan should be yours entirely. I will not disturb you and Miss Ye now.”

Qing Shui was shocked to see the concern in her eyes. That raw emotion surpassed what would normally be shown by just a friend. He shook his head and gave her a smile. Then he turned to Old Man Wuma and said: “I will leave it to you now. I will be fine with just one portion of that prize, so please give the rest to the Ye Clan.”

“Haha, alright. I will give everything else to the Ye Clan.” The old man gave a delighted laughter as he waved his hands to bid his farewell. After that, the old man from the Tantai Clan walked towards Qing Shui to have a chat.

“Young man, if you have the time in the future, come by the Taitai Residence. It has been a long time since I have seen an outstanding man such as you.”

“Of course, I will.” Qing Shui replied with a smile.

………

The important figures had left the Martial God Street after a while, leaving behind a few men to clear up the remaining matters. Qing Shui, on the other hand, went back to the Ye Residence with the members of the Ye Clan. Strangely, Cang Wuya, Fei Wuji, and Bai Gui kept fixing their eyes on Qing Shui on their way back. None of them had the chance to speak to Qing Shui even after they had left the arena.

“Are you really alright?” Ye Guyan asked again after they had settled into a beast carriage.

“Look at me, I’m fine.” It felt great to have someone show her concern about him once in awhile. Moreover, that someone was an extremely beautiful woman. On top of that, she didn’t mind the intense smell of blood on his body either.

“Uncle, are you still hurt? Where did you get hurt?” Ye Yan asked multiple questions in one go.

“Heh heh, this is nothing. What’s more important is that being alive feels great right now.” said Qing Shui in a wise manner.

He said it on a whim, but his words felt heavy. Cang Wuya, Fei Wuji, and Bai Gui shared his sentiment, while Ye Guyan was surprised as she stared blankly at Qing Shui. It appeared to her that his young man had the experiences of someone much more wizened.

Qing Shui had also experienced a lot of things in his life, occurrences that normal people wouldn’t be able to experience. His words contained a certain vicissitude of life, as if he were an old man who had already passed his prime.

After he got back to the Ye Residence, he quickly went to clean himself up. He was tired from the fight, and from cleaning all the blood from his body, so he went straight to his room and rested. Everyone knew how exhausted he was, so nobody disturbed him during his sleep.

When it was evening, Qing Shui finally woke up. He sat on his bed reminding himself that the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan had perished. It had been a great burden to bear, but now he could just throw it away, knowing that he had accomplished what he had traveled so far for. At this moment, he felt peace in his heart.

After he got up, dinner was already prepared. However, he wasn’t hungry, and the others didn’t have much appetite either. Everyone just sat around the table together to have a chat and liven up the mood while having only a small portion of food to fill their bit of hunger.

Ye Guyan observed Qing Shui, who had already cleaned himself. Somehow, he still looked the same as he did before. However, the image of him covered in blood had been etched deeply in her heart. By now, she had been already informed about the hatred between the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan and Fei Wuji, as well as the relationship between Qing Shui, Cang Wuya, Fei Wuji, and Bai Gui.

In her heart, Qing Shui was a man of loyalty who would always cherish his friendships.