Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 1176 – State Master’s Lifespan, Yan Clan, Yan Dingtian

The aura on that person was very profound and from afar, he seemed to be standing there like a tall block of mountain, one that couldn’t be surpassed. The moment Qing Shui and Yan Jinyu walked in, the man gradually turned.

He was a mature and handsome man, even more mature than the past Canghai. He seemed to be older as well. Qing Shui wasn’t surprised that he could have children like Yan Jinyu and Yan Yangzhao.

However, Qing Shui couldn’t guess his age. His aura was stable as a mountain, his expression calm as water. Qing Shui couldn’t sense his cultivation. But this was normal. This man was Yan Clan’s clan head, Yan City’s City Lord. Qing Shui really couldn’t guess how strong he was.

Qing Shui felt that he shouldn’t be very young, regardless if Yan Jinyu and Yan Yangzhao were his eldest children. In the four continents, a person with this cultivation would be considered young even if he was over 200 years old. They would be able to maintain their youth for a very long period of time.

State Master level… Even the lowest grade State Master would have a lifespan of 1,500 years; Grade Two State Master 2,000 years; and Grade Three State Master seemed to be even longer. However, Qing Shui wasn’t sure how long to be exact.

“Father!” Yan Jinyu ran over happily and hugged the mature and calm man. That feeling of yearning made Qing Shui think of Luan luan, Yuchang and his other kids. He missed them as well.

It was then when the man broke into a happy smile which was warm like the spring’s breeze. Compared to Canghai, this man was a mature man whom ladies would be fatally attracted to. Regardless whether it was mature ladies or young ladies or even men, all of them would take a few more looks and say a few more words. Of course, men wouldn’t like him but would like his charm. It’d be like the fans from Qing Shui’s previous life, where there would be men and women alike.

“Lass, who is this? Aren’t you going to introduce him to me?” the man looked toward Qing Shui and nodded as a greeting.

“He is called Qing Shui and is my sworn brother. If it wasn’t for him this time around, your daughter wouldn’t be able to see you anymore.” Yan Jinyu spoke happily at the start but ended in a worried tone. She was worried about Yan Clan now.

“Oh.”

Yan Dingtian looked at Qing Shui with great interest. Toward the sworn sibling his daughter had made, he was more surprised. It was because his daughter had almost no friends of the opposite sex. She hadn’t gotten close to any men even at her age. This made him a little worried. After knowing that his daughter was normal, he let her do as he wished. After all, life was very long and there was plenty of time.

He looked at Qing Shui and noticed that his cultivation was mediocre but there was an obscured power in his body. He knew that Qing Shui’s actual strength should be a little stronger. However, he realized that he wasn’t sure how much stronger Qing Shui was.

“Who’s the one who dares to lay their hands on my precious daughter? I’ll go kill him myself.” When Yan Dingtian said this, he was still very calm but an abrupt and sharp aura extended out toward the surroundings. There even seemed to be a layer of explosive waves in the air, creating a strange sound.

“Outer city’s Yang Clan. However, they’re already working together with inner city’s Yu Clan, preparing to take actions against Yan Clan. Father, you’ll have to make preparation soon,” Yan Jinyu quickly said.

“Yu Clan?” Yan Dingtian looked at Yan Jinyu, stunned.

“That’s right, father. You must believe what your daughter says and hasten to make preparations. As for whether there are any other clans taking part in this, I’m not sure,” Yan Jinyu looked at Yan Dingtian and said.

“Alright, I understand.”

The man smiled and said that before he turned to Qing Shui, “You’re Qing Shui? Thank you for saving my daughter. Since you’ve become sworn siblings with the lass, then just treat this as your own home. This is an emergency. When the matter is over, I’ll ready a feast to thank you.” Yan Dingtian smiled and walked up to Qing Shui, reaching out his hand as he spoke.

“Uncle, there’s no need to stand on ceremony. We’ll leave you to your work!” Qing Shui reached out his hand and shook the man’s hand.

The man didn’t try to test his cultivation. He just stood up and left. Before he left, he turned to Yan Jinyu and said, smiling, “Lass, be a good host to Qing Shui.”

“Father, you should hurry,” Yan Jinyu smiled and said but her expression still reflected a hint of worry.

“There’s no need to worry. Although Uncle is a little taken aback, he isn’t anxious yet. It goes to show that things aren’t as bad as expected,” Qing Shui reassured Yan Jinyu.

“Come, let me bring you to look for a room. It’s about time to have our meal as well!” When Yan Jinyu heard Qing Shui’s words and saw that Qing Shui was here, she unknowingly felt at ease. Moreover, she had already informed her father and she believed that he’d be able to make the necessary preparations.

The room Yan Jinyu got for Qing Shui was right next to her pavilion building, However, although the two of them were back-to-back, they didn’t share a common door nor were they connected internally.

Qing Shui wasn’t really worried. He had the feeling that since Yan Clan could stay at the top of Yan City for so many years, keeping themselves deeply rooted here, even the second or third most influential forces or even if more people were to work together, they wouldn’t fall. It was just like how even if Yan City were to collaborate with the other few major cities, they’d definitely be unable to harm the Great Yu Dynasty’s royals.

Therefore, Qing Shui wasn’t worried. He even felt that everything would unknowingly settle down eventually. He was planning to stay here for a few days and then find a location to set up his Firecloud Blacksmith Store. He wanted to get a reputation for himself.

Yan Yangzhao must have gone to attend to some matters. Otherwise, if he were to know that Qing Shui was here, he’d definitely come and see him!

Yan Jinyu brought Qing Shui to the building. Everything inside was brand new and everything required was prepared. The room looked very warming and comfortable. The only thing was that it seemed to be a little feminine. However, that was normal. After all, that place was right next to Yan Jinyu’s.

…

Yan Dingtian left Yan Clan and flew toward the direction out the back. There were no changes to his expression, except that it was a little grim. There was a small mountain range not far from Yan Dingtian and the vegetation was very dense on the mountain.

The plants covered the entire mountain peak and not even a road could be seen. The environment was especially beautiful. Yan Dingtian came to a scenic valley. This valley was neither big nor was it too small. There was a big lake in the middle which had water that was so clear that you could see the bottom. There were various fish in the water.

Occasionally, a flock of birds would come to drink water. There were no large-scaled demonic beasts here. At most, there would only be some small-scaled wild beasts which would appear.

There was a pavilion next to the lake as well as on the lake. There were quite a number of old men here, those who were past their prime. Some of them were fishing, some of them were playing chess, some of them were drinking tea…

Yan Dingtian landed in the valley and walked over. The moment he came over, some of the old men looked in his direction. They continued to do what they were doing but would nod at Yan Dingtian, indicating that he could enter.

The walls on the valleys were filled with stone houses. Yan Dingtian bowed in all four directions before heading for one of the stone houses.

“It’s Dingtian right? Come in!”

An old-sounding voice rang out. It sounded very amiable but ordinary, as if it was from the most ordinary old man.

“Grandfather!”

Yan Dingtian walked in and bowed to greet the old man.

The stone house wasn’t big but it looked very rustic and impressive. It seemed to be able to let one feel that the luxurious room was something very vulgar. A tall old man with a good build stood in the room.

The room was very simple. There was a stone table in the middle and the old man was standing before it, writing something with a brush.

“Come and have a look to see how these few words look.” The old man seemed to be in a good mood today as he spoke to Yan Dingtian.

On the big piece of beast parchment, the words ‘Awe-Inspiring Righteousness’ were written!

The words were written with great force and exuded a powerful aura. Just from the words alone, one could tell the old man’s character.

“It’s written in bold and vigorous strokes, exuding a feeling of great righteousness. It seemed that Grandfather has attained yet another breakthrough in calligraphy,” Yan Dingtian smiled and said.

“Hahaha, this is what you say every time. Alright, there’s no reason that you’d come here if nothing was up. Has something happened?” The old man led Yan Dingtian to another room.

This room wasn’t big. There was a stone table with a small stove in it. Tea was being boiled on the stove and a faint fragrance filled up the entire room.

The old man took out two small porcelain cups and Yan Dingtian quickly filled the two cups to 70% full and then said, smiling, “Grandfather, Yu Clan is thinking of laying their hands on us.”

“Yu Clan… Haha, I knew that they wouldn’t be content. They must think that our Yan Clan hasn’t had any developments for all these years and that they would be able to wipe us out. However, in this fight, even if our Yan Clan were to win, we’ll still suffer from great casualties. This is the most important thing.” The old man picked up the tea cup, took a sip and spoke slowly.

“Jinyu came back today. To think that Yang Clan are in cahoots with Yu Clan. Yang Clan tried to lay their hands on Jinyu but four Elders from Yang Clan and Wu Clan were killed by Jinyu.”

“The lass’ cultivation has increased?” The old man asked.

“The lass said that a young man had saved her and the four Elders were also killed by him. He’s Jinyu’s sworn brother…”

“Oh, it seems that this young man isn’t simple. I know that lass’ character well. People she thinks well off, especially a young man… This should be the first after so many years.” The old man seemed to be very happy and didn’t seem to care much about the matters concerning Yu Clan.

“I’m was worried about the matters with Yu Clan and thus only briefly observed him. This young man is very concealed and should have some unique abilities,” Yan Dingtian gave it some thought before saying.

“Mmm, we’ll just leave it to fate. The lass is very headstrong and blessed with great fortune in her life. She’s of age now and we can just leave her alone. If she needs anything, just satisfy her wishes.” The old man’s smile grew increasingly amiable.

“Alright. Grandfather, then what about Yu Clan?”

“Haha, I’ll make a trip to Yu Clan. They aren’t fools. Upon knowing of our abilities, they’ll naturally not dare to take action recklessly. We know what they’re thinking of as well but it’s hard to get them to stop. Moreover, we still have Dingyi who’s a member of the royalty and there’s nothing we need to be concerned about.” The old man gave it some thought as well.

“Grandfather, although Dingyi is a member of the royalty, Yu Clan also has someone who is a member of royalty. This time around, they’ve planned this out for very well and they probably won’t stop so easily,” Yan Dingtian gave it some thought and said.

“There’s no worry. I’ll propose to have a Junior Competition. The losers will leave Yan City.” The old man said calmly.

A Junior Competition was a competition between the young forces in a clan. It decided which clan would become more powerful in the future. Therefore, a powerful young force in the clan would guarantee the clan to become powerful in the future. Of course, the clan would also do their utmost to protect the clan’s outstanding young members, to the extent that they’d let a State Master level cultivator protect them.

“That’s good as well. It’ll be good if we can settle this with a few rounds of the Junior Competition. Sigh, this is really a period of great trouble. Yan Clan has already suffered a lot from Scarlet Flame Region and other matters. I wonder if they’ll agree to this,” Yan Dingtian said bitterly.