Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 1242 – Problem Solved, Reputation, Inquiring on the Heart of the Continents

At the moment when Qing Shui heard the old man’s words, he knew that his only option was to give up. Despite so, he still felt really surprised. The reason was, the battle might have seemed to end up as draw today but it could still be considered as his victory as he was the one who challenged the Saint Child.

This battle consolidated Qing Shui’s strength and made it even more stable. It helped him improved a lot. It would have been so sad if he really died together with his opponent as he didn’t want to die yet. It wouldn’t be long until his strength would surpass the Saint Child.

Actually, Qing Shui felt really happy deep down when he saw the old man interrupt the match. Fu Yantian on the other hand, was really depressed. Originally, before the match even started, he already felt that he was defeated. What was worse was, he never expected that the result of the battle would turn out this way at that time. Hence, deep within his heart, it could be said that he already felt that he completely lost.

“Little Fu, say it, what’s wrong?” The old man smiled and asked Fu Yantian.

“He has casted a restriction on my brother. His lifeforce is dissipating slowly. I want him to help remove the restriction he put on him.” Fu Yantian felt really depressed. As he spoke up to this point, he felt a bit helpless.

“Oh!” The old man responded and looked towards Qing Shui.

“I wonder if there has been any hostility between Qing Shui and Little Fu’s brother?” The old man asked Qing Shui with the usual smile on his face.

“He has an attitude problem. He backed away from his promise after losing his bet. I was left with no choice to do so.” Qing Shui said slowly.

“Well, that means that you guys don’t hold too much grudges with each other.” The old man revealed an even brighter smile.

“Yes!” Fu Yantian argued quickly.

Qing Shui was stunned and responded: “Yup..”

Qing Shui never expected for Fu Yantian to change his mind so quickly. He intended to make Qing Shui release the restriction he set on his brother without having to give away anything.

“As the saying goes: ‘It’s better to squash enmity rather than keeping it alive.’ Everyone is a part of the Heaven Secret Academy. How about, since your match today ended in a draw, we will let Qing Shui come up with an appropriate condition to help Little Fu’s brother release his restriction. Does this idea sound good?” The old man said while looking at the two.

“Alright, it’s appropriate for him to suggest a suitable condition. I will treat it as teaching Little Ting a lesson.” Fu Yantian put more emphasis in the word ‘suitable’.

“Well then, Qing Shui, do you have any objections towards it?” The old man looked at Qing Shui.

“No!” This was a face which Qing Shui should spare. He also voluntarily gave him face. No matter what, the old man was considered to have saved his life previously.

“Alright then, Qing Shui, state your condition!” The old man said hurriedly.

“The condition is really simple, I am just going to follow my condition which we came to agreement with before the match started.” Qing Shui said with a smile.

The old man was stunned. Fu Yantian too, revealed a very unsightly expression. However, he was someone with self-esteem, hence, he clenched his teeth and nodded: “I promise you. I hope that you can help my brother release his restriction.”

“I will!” Qing Shui smiled and said.

……

“Just who is this Qing Shui? He is way too powerful!”

“This is my first time seeing someone not showing any concern towards the Saint Child!”

“Exactly, some elders, or even grand elders were very formal to the Saint Child. This time, it could be considered that he was completely slapped by someone else. I wonder if the people from the Saint Child Gang would still continue to act forcefully in the future.”

“Guess this time, the Lord Sect is going to make a huge deal out of this. No, I think the Breezing Wind Veranda will be the one to do it instead.”

……

Discussions could be heard continuously from below. Fu Yanting on the other hand, also went up the stage. Qing Shui effortlessly helped him removed his restriction. However, he also added on a few of his words. “It’s useless to rely on someone else. Even the closest person to you will not be able to help you forever. It doesn’t matter if a person ends up dragging down another person, but the kind of people who brainlessly try to drag someone else down the drain doesn’t even deserve to live.”

Originally, Fu Yanting already felt as if his heart was wounded by a sword. The reason why his brother lost all of his faces today was precisely because of him. The mysterious feeling which he used to give other people had also disappeared. This caused quite a considerable damage to the Saint Child Gang itself. It was very likely that a lot of people would leave the gang. This would also change a lot of people’s original intentions to join the Saint Child Gang.

The other forces would also more or less repelled the Saint Child Gang. The reason being that, anyone could tell that Qing Shui had huge potential. In the future, he would definitely surpass the Saint Child. Also, the battle between the Saint Child and Qing Shui would also never disappear. Hence, to judge the hour and size up the situation, they would definitely get close to Qing Shui and the Breezing Wind Veranda.

“Since things have already been solved, I hope that you two can be friends and help each other. You guys are the future of the Heaven Secrets Academy. Failure means nothing as long as you learn to stand back up. There is no one who never failed. Just because you guys compete against each other, it doesn’t necessarily make you two enemies. There are still huge benefits from looking for a rival. Don’t look into problems too simply.” The old man said.

Fu Yantian, who was originally feeling depressed, turned bright as soon as he heard the old man’s words. He unconsciously gripped his fists tightly. The main reason why he ended up with a tie with Qing Shui was because Qing Shui was someone extremely low profile. If Qing Shui had been the head of the Lord Sect, things would have been more easily dealt with as his abilities would be more widely known.

Since the beginning, he was already in the dark about Qing Shui’s abilities. As Fu Yantian thought about all these, he slowly calmed down his mind. Today’s failure might not be a bad thing. It’s just as the old man said, he could find himself a rival this way.

The old man left. Qing Shui on the other hand, left towards the direction of the Breezing Wind Veranda. The Fu Clan brothers also left, leaving behind only the crowds below. A lot of people were having discussions. It was just that Qing Shui wasn’t in the mood to listen to them.

“Father!” Qing Sha happily approached Qing Shui and grabbed him.

Qing Shui could see her worries and joy in her eyes. He let out his hand and rubbed her head. After that, he left with Yan Qingyu and the Seventh Princess. They all headed towards the Breezing Wind Veranda. The Eldest Princess had already informed them about it.

Qing Sha also went along.

The moment they heard about the Breezing Wind Veranda, the girls stared at Qing Shui. They looked at him without blinking their eyes, as if they had seen through him. Qing Shui had no choice but to shrug. “Just spill whatever you feel like saying. You don’t have to look at me like this, do you? You look just like gangsters.”

“You are the gangster. Since when have you become so powerful? Are you a beast tamer?”

“I also don’t know since when I became this powerful. I am not a beast tamer……” Qing Shui only provided a very unclear answer to their questions.

Back when he was in Yan City, Yan Qingyu was aware that Qing Shui was still really weak. Merely a slightly bigger clan would already be something he couldn’t afford to provoke. How long had it only been? His strength actually became so formidable.

Not long after, the Eldest Princess returned as she smiled at Qing Shui. “You are really someone who manages to always give people surprises. Nevertheless, we are still very happy with this surprise.”

“I thought you are unwilling to see this kind of results.” Qing Shui looked at the Eldest Princess and smiled.

“What are you talking about? Today is a happy day. Lets celebrate it together. We will let Qing Shui prepare the food.” the Eldest Princess said with a smile.

“I agree!” Yan Qingyu smiled and added on.

“Me too!” The Seventh Princess too went along and said.

“Father, you scared me today. You should make some food to amend it for me.” Qing Sha smiled lightly. The smile was very vague, but it was enough to make Yan Qingyu and the others to feel as if they were in an illusion. Things were more precious when they came in small quantity. Qing Sha’s smile was still something very rare.

Qing Shui on the other hand, was also willing to do it. He was still really skilled at making food. Actually, very few men across the continents knew how to cook, especially for cultivators. To them, cooking was a mortal task, and would ‘down-grade’ them in the eyes of others. But after all, Qing Shui was special. To him, men who looked after children were nothing but the best. Besides, most of the famous cooks from his past incarnations were all men.

This time, the dishes which Qing Shui prepared were all precious things from the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal. Turtles, Rainbow Trout Fish, crabs and more. They were all stewed with medicinal herbs. There were soup, steamed dishes, as well as simmer-fried dish. Not only did they look delicious, they also tasted really amazing.

Qing Shui also felt really happy like he just got himself a newborn child. After all, he almost threw away his life this time. It was said that a person would come to understand a lot of things in life and death situations. They would begin to think through a lot of things which they were previously unable to understand. There were only very rare of those life and death opportunities in one’s life. Nor would there be anyone willing to try it. The reason being that, only very few people managed to survive those moments.

The others would also help Qing Shui carry the dishes. The table was soon filled with dishes, with the majority being seafood. Of course, there were also some vegetables.

As for where Qing Shui gathered all these materials for, no one really inquired him on it. Qing Shui had already brought upon way too many surprises for them. They had long since gotten used to it. Besides, the only thing they wanted was to taste this amazing food for now.

“Since you are so good at cooking, whoever that gets married to you will definitely end up a fatty.” The seventh princess said. It was unknown whether she said it intentionally or unintentionally.

Qing Shui took out a few altars of wine. How could there not be wine when there was food? There was no outsiders here, hence, after they drank a cup of wine together, the Seventh Princess said that she wanted to eat her meal and proceeded to do so as she finished speaking.

“Delicious!”

……

“Eh…… The food can also help increase cultivation……” the Eldest Princess looked at Qing Shui in shock.

“Of course. Actually, no matter what you do, you can raise your cultivation given that you find the appropriate time to do it. Eating can be said to be the most important. Hunger breeds discontentment, only upon consuming sufficient food will one gain strength and be able to maintain their health. The legendary immortal fruits, as well as medicinal pills were all consumed into the stomach. Hence, what’s there to be surprised about eating food to increase one’s cultivation?” Qing Shui put down his wine cup and smiled.

“Even though things are said this way, only very few people are actually able to do it. At least you are the first person whom I have seen to be able to do it. Or maybe, you might even be the last one.” the Eldest Princess was sipping her fish soup.

“Oh yeah, Qing Shui, considered that the fight this time ended in a draw, the higher ups from the Heaven Secrets Academy will definitely come looking for you. By then, they might make an exception for you and promote you to higher grades. You will at least end up as an Elder, or maybe even a Custodian.” the Eldest Princess told Qing Shui halfway through her meal.

“Oh, that’s good.” As Qing Shui thought about it, with this kind of identity, he felt that he would have attained himself a huge support in the Western Oxhe Continent. However, he knew that despite being protected by it at the moment, he might still have to return the favor back to the academy in the future.

“Qing Shui, take over the Breezing Wind Veranda. Even though it isn’t huge, it can help you become the Saint Lord Custodian. In the future, the entire Heaven Secrets Academy will be yours.” The Eldest Princess said seriously after she thought for a while.

This was the second time the Eldest Princess said it, Qing Shui looked at her. This time, she was really serious. However, he didn’t really have the intention to do so. He smiled and replied: “My ambition does not lay in the Heaven Secrets Academy.”

The Eldest Princess looked at Qing Shui confused.

“Soon, I will be heading off to search for my wife. I still have other things to do, hence, it’s impossible for me to stay long. But I will forever be a member of the Breezing Wind Veranda. And also, I hope that I can give my utmost effort to help you ascend onto the position of the head in the Heaven Secrets Academy. Of course, this will need a bit of time.”

“Me?” the Eldest Princess smiled and shook her head.

“Do you not believe in me or in yourself?” Qing Shui said with a smile.

“Even though I have decent innate talent, but the chances of me fighting for the position of head in the Heaven Secrets Academy is very vivid. But you on the other hand, you really are different.” the Eldest Princess looked at Qing Shui with a smile.

“As long as you want it, you will surely be able to achieve it. I wonder if sister has ever inquired things about the Heart of the Continent?”