Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 1594 - Conflict, Knocked Out Teeth, Another Mystery

There was an excited spark in Lan Lingfeng’s eyes when he watched Qing Shui, then followed after him in hurry. They had already regarded Qing Shui as their backbone; as long as Qing Shui was around, they wouldn’t have to waste effort worrying and could relax. In addition, his might increased at a swift speed. The only thing that left them helpless was how busy he was, although he did still leave quite a number of items which they could benefit from.

The others followed him out as well. Qing Shui, who had just left Ice Ocean Domain, felt a great change in himself. To his perspective, many of the things in Linhai City and Ice Ocean Domain were not worth mentioning any longer.

Even this Niu Clan that claimed to be successors of Titan Ox Demon King Inheritance weren’t much of a threat to him. He just wanted to know how much might the Demon King Inheritance had now, and figure out his own standing against them.

The issue with Battle God and Demon King had always been on his mind. Yin Tong, Lan Lingfeng and Qin Qing were all successors of Battle God Inheritance, but Qing Shui still felt as though they might still be inferior to Demon King Inheritance. Successors of Demon King Inheritance were stronger than those of Battle God Inheritance back in the day, though there could naturally be exceptions too.

Nothing is absolute!

There was already a crowd by the time Qing Shui got to the lobby of Imperial Cuisine Hall. Qing Shui looked around, the people from Imperial Cuisine Hall were in attendance and only a few were injured. Tian Yizheng was healing them.

Many people were pointing their fingers at the scene.

“Can’t believe anyone would try to wreck Imperial Cuisine Hall, those people truly deserved death. Imperial Cuisine Hall spoke for itself with their actions—my spouse had been diagnosed with a terminal illness and not only did Imperial Cuisine Hall heal her, they didn’t accept a cent from us. They are such great people and yet, they still got attacked? Do these people have any reason left in their bones?” an old man said as his body trembled, his anger evident.

“Exactly. Imperial Cuisine Hall has always been charitable. They must have damaged the business of other medical halls, and those places don’t want Imperial Cuisine Hall to continue operation.”

“Stop being misled by false appearances. Even though the Imperial Cuisine Hall does not charge the poor, the rich have to pay a hefty amount. Some were even rejected by them despite having the money. You talk about how charitable they are but should there even be such a division between patients?” a skinny, extravagant man said.

“We know that. It’s as the saying goes, the most capable people do the most work. I think that’s pretty good. The rich are stifling our finances, and it’s also an ability that there are people who can make them pay the money. About those who were rejected despite having the money, they definitely deserved it. Don’t the rich look down on the poor and love placing themselves on a pedestal? Why the talk about being discriminated against then?”

……

“Look, it’s Miraculous Physician Qing and the others!”

“Right! Miraculous Physician Qing is back. Seems like there won’t be much of an issue here any more. Miraculous Physician Qing, if there’s anything we can do to help, even if it costs us our lives, we will do it!” The person who spoke was one of the commoners Qing Shui had once helped.

“We’ll help too! My life was given back to me by Miraculous Physician Qing. At the very least, I’d return it—it has already been a steal to have it back while it lasted!”

The commotion put a smile on Qing Shui’s face. You can’t ever neglect the power of the crowd, even in the world of martial arts. The crowd was powerful too, words from the crowd could kill a man.

“Don’t worry, everyone. No matter how wrecked Imperial Cuisine gets today, I promise it’ll continue to operate. As long as I’m alive, the Imperial Cuisine Hall will forever remain in operation,” Qing Shui said slowly. He didn’t use a loud voice but everyone could still hear him.

“Miraculous Physician Qing, I’ll help you chase them out…”

“Everyone, please calm down. Don’t be rash. If you trust me, then let me do it.” There was a lot of weight in Qing Shui’s words, especially when there were so many who were willing to put their lives on the line for him but it wouldn’t have been much use. There were many who were also grateful to Qing Shui and would like to do the same, but lacked in courage;life was still valuable.

“You are Qing Shui? The scoundrel from Lan Clan dared to humiliate Niu Clan, so this is just the beginning.” A flamboyant man stepped forward and spoke to Qing Shui.

“Little calf, careful not to break your hoof by overstepping your line. Qing Shui, that’s Niu Fen.” Lan Lingfeng retorted to Niu Fen’s words before informing Qing Shui who the man was. Whoever heard his name would definitely mistake it for cow dung.

Qing Shui observed the man opposite him. He wasn’t all that tall, perhaps around two metres in height, but he was bulky with muscle. His muscles swelled like steel, filled with a barbaric force, just like a strong Ox.

“Accept the battle if you have the guts.” Niu Fen looked at Lan Lingfeng, trying to compel him to fight.

“Who was the one who got defeated so pitifully last time? Didn’t word get to you? I challenged you, I even laid out the conditions.” Lan Lingfeng wasn’t someone who was easy to deal with either. His words were cutting and ruthless.

“Wreck this place! I want Imperial Cuisine Hall razed to the ground!” Niu Fen commanded loudly.

“My brothers, go take a look at who’s causing damage inside. Break their legs and throw them out.” At the look of Niu Fen’s arrogance, Qing Shui gave direct orders.

Lan Lingfeng had been waiting for this, and he wanted more than ever to rush towards Niu Fen and beat him to a pulp.

“Stop them, I must destroy Imperial Cuisine Hall today.” Noticing Lan Lingfeng’s movement, Niu Fen issued instructions.

There were still several warriors behind him and at the sound of his command, they charged towards Lan Lingfeng.

“Go back!”

Qing Shui’s aura erupted. Both his palms connected and a large mountain appeared before them. The mountain of Five Elements Divine Refining Technique—even though it was not huge, it was able to obstruct about eighty adults without issue.

“I’ll kill whoever dares to take another step,” Qing Shui said calmly, his gaze fixed on their movements.

“Kill him,” Niu Fen commanded.

For him to be this obnoxious, Qing Shui didn’t know if this calf had someone to rely on, or if he had received orders. The bunch of elderly men pushed towards Qing Shui. With a shake of his head, he took out his Golden Battle Halberd and rushed towards them.

Bang!

He didn’t dodge the sword that was stabbed towards his chest but the old man was surprised that it didn’t break through his defences. Instead, the Golden Battle Halberd penetrated through his chest and a wail escaped him.

After killing the old man, Qing Shui used his Nine Palace Steps and evaded another attack that came from behind the back of his skull.

Nine Continents Mountain!

Qing Shui couldn’t be bothered to play along anymore. The might of these people was nothing in his eyes. With a shift of his thoughts, the Nine Continents Mountain smashed towards the old man.

Nine Continents Mountain was controlled by the mind.

Bang!

The old man spouted mouthfuls of fresh blood from the impact, painting the air around him in splatters of scarlet red, but it disappeared just as soon. The power of Nine Continents Mountain wasn’t something that these people could defend against. The disparity in might was simply too large. The shielding force of Nine Continents Mountain was terrifying as well.

Qing Shui controlled the Nine Continents Mountain and began smashing it against their opponents relentlessly. When dealing with his enemies before, Qing Shui had never been courteous, much less towards these servants. Whether it was voluntary or if they had been forced by Niu Clan, they should have seen this coming the day they chose this road.

At the same time, people were getting flung out from Imperial Cuisine Hall; all with their legs broken. With every single body, the crowd cheered. The outlook and understanding of life in this world are all different from those of his previous life. The latter was a society ruled by law but this was the supremacy of martial arts. Force, morals, ethics, benevolence, etiquette and so on, everything was different.

Niu Fen was scared now. He thought that there would be a limitation on how much stronger Qing Shui would be compared to Lan Lingfeng and Yin Tong, but he hadn’t expected that the ten old men who had been protecting Niu Clan all this time to be defeated by a single strike. These old men could have defeated Lan Lingfeng easily.

Qing Shui smiled at Niu Fen and walked over to him slowly. He didn’t have any inkling of fondness towards such a brainless and arrogant person, but he wouldn’t kill him either. He wanted Niu Fen to send a message, however he couldn’t let him go back unscathed either.

“What are you doing? Niu Clan isn’t a family you want to provoke. Don’t do anything reckless if you know what’s good for you.” Niu Fen said spiritedly, straightening his back as he spoke forcefully but Qing Shui could hear the fear in his words.

He extended the Golden Battle Halberd in his hand.

Crack!

With it, Qing Shui knocked out his teeth. In the midst of Niu Fen’s screeching, Qing Shui said, “Bring my message from before back to your patriarch. Tell him to bring his direct descendants here and repair Imperial Cuisine Hall back to its original state. Three days, that’s all I’m giving Niu Clan. Scram!”

After that, Qing Shui tipped the Golden Battle Halberd towards Niu Fen’s chest and he flew back from the impact. It wasn’t fatal, but he had been reduced to the ability of an average person with it.

Qing Shui didn’t think he went overboard with his actions. Those who didn’t offer others a chance had likewise forfeited it for themselves. Niu Fen had only himself to blame for this. With such an attitude, there was no need for Qing Shui to be courteous. If someone slapped you across the face, would you still put up on a smile in order to please them?

Even though the people of Niu Clan left, Qing Shui knew that this was only the beginning. He really hadn’t expected to meet with such an incident upon his return. Qing Shui supposed that if Lan Lingfeng had found out that they were a Demon King Inheritor Clan, they would have likewise realized Qing Shui and the others were successors of Battle God Inheritance.

Whether it was because of Ziche Sha or if it had just been an excuse, this wasn’t just a coincidence, it was premeditated. Qing Shui looked at Lan Lingfeng—the latter was outstanding but also proud. He would not tolerate the incident with Ziche Sha; he would much rather die. Which was why Qing Shui was glad he had come back.

Cupping his hand in a salute to the crowd surrounding them, he informed everyone that the Imperial Cuisine Hall wouldn’t be open for the next three days. For any emergencies, they could go to their backyard where they would set up a temporary medical hall. A line of people headed there at the news.

“I’m going to take a shower. Everyone, continue drinking, we were rudely interrupted earlier.” With that, Qing Shui returned to his room.

Besides Qing Shui, everyone else seemed to have gone for a shower too, although they hadn’t fought. Still, even those who witnessed the scene would. Despite being used to the bloody scene, it was precisely because of them being accustomed it that they did it. It wasn’t so much a cleansing of their bodies, but more a cleansing of their hearts.

Qing Shui kept thinking about the matter of Niu Clan. They must have a trump card. Qing Shui even dared to make the preposterous deduction that there were others with the skill level of Demon King Inheritance.

Qing Shui’s words were meant to provoke the other party. He was afraid that they wouldn’t take any actions and that was why he had beaten Niu Fen up. Niu Fen was one of the best in the younger generation of Niu Clan; disabling him would agitate Niu Clan. The words he said would spread like wildfire.

In three days, if without incident, the people from Niu Clan would definitely make their appearance.

Qing Shui wasn’t scared, he wanted to use this opportunity to unearth them.