Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 1597 - Xue Nuo’s Serpent-Elephant Manoeuvre, Yin Tong’s Combat Skills

Qing Shui had wanted to withdraw Xue Nuo from the fight but decided it’d be good for her to gain some experience. After all, he wouldn’t be able to take care of her forever. Moreover, she was young, growth would only be good for her.

Xue Nuo paused for a moment. The Niu Clan sent another old man again, but this time, the contender looked just like the stereotypical image of a Niu Clan member. His figure was tall and burly, wearing a long purple robe. In his hands were two weapons that looked akin to thick iron bars.

From the way he carried himself, to the aura he was exuding, Qing Shui knew that Xue Nuo was no match for the new opponent. On the other hand, he could see the determination in her eyes—he understood in that moment that if he didn’t allow her to continue, it would become a regret that would gnaw at her for a long time.

“Young lady, I don’t wish to bully you. You’d be better off admitting defeat. I trust you can sense that you’re not my match either.” The old man’s voice was filled with vigor, but he was unhurried and frank.

Xue Nuo shook her head. “How will I know if I don’t try? I won’t surrender.”

Xue Nuo realized that her opponent was much stronger than herself but there was no way she would admit defeat right off the bat. The Hundred Flowers Vine Whip didn’t stop moving, like a snake with a mind of its own.

“Since that’s the case, let’s proceed. Blades can’t see, be careful.” The old man’s tone was kind, and even Qing Shui couldn’t sense an inkling of animosity from him.

Xue Nuo didn’t stand on ceremony this time either and rushed towards the old man, unleashing her most powerful attack. As though it was a serpent, the Hundred Flowers Vine Whip lashed at the old man.

Like an elephant, Xue Nuo had steady footing but the whip in her hand was alive with energy. Qing Shui was taken aback by the sight which greeted them. The little girl was pretty talented, she had actually managed to refine the essence of the Serpent-Elephant Manoeuvre.

The Serpent-Elephant Manoeuvre was as steady as an elephant, with the strength of an elephant’s swing, but flexible like a snake. The perfection of this technique was in the combination of its rigidity and flexibility, and along with Laws of Heaven and Earth, its power was even more terrifying.

Shock fleeted across the old man’s eyes but the metal bars in his hands blocked her whip calmly. A pair of metal bars weren’t that swift as weapons but they contained immense strength. As they moved, they seemed to shift his surroundings. The double bars could block her whip well enough.

The Serpent-Elephant Manoeuvre, like an elephant’s foundation, standing in the same place without panic, was able to change her situation with a wave.

Bang, bang…

A series of continuous booming echoed and it was as though the sky was covered in lightning; a concentrated sound of thunder struck down. Xue Nuo’s face grew paler while the old man was like a raging bull; he looked like he could knock down even a mountain.

Like a river that broke through the dam, Xue Nuo’s body began to sway and then staggered back after a while. The weakness of the Serpent-Elephant Manoeuvre, was that it couldn’t be struck back. Once she was, its effect would be like the tilting of a large mountain.

There were still inadequacies in Xue Nuo’s mastery of the Serpent-Elephant Manoeuvre. Agility wise, especially in face of a high-skilled opponent, it was limited and could be swayed easily. If it had been Qing Shui at Xue Nuo’s level of skills, he would be able to move about nimbly and advance or retreat as he pleased.

Bang!

Xue Nuo’s body flew backwards, her mouth spouting fresh blood. With a flash of a movement, Qing Shui was by her side, stimulating her acupoints as a wave of Yang Qi filled her body.

“Brother-in-law, I’m really useless.” Xue Nuo looked at Qing Shui bitterly, her voice filled with regret.

“Did you forget what I told you before? Besides, he is much stronger than you. To be able to fight to this extent is already unexpected enough. Why, did you want to beat him?” Qing Shui smiled at her.

“Really? You don’t blame me?” Xue Nuo asked in surprise.

“Rest well, you’ll be able to recover to your original state by tomorrow. Our young mistress of the Xue Clan is outstanding. I promise you, your might will be ten times stronger than that guy in future.” Qing Shui handed her over to Ling Fei.

Xue Nuo wasn’t critically injured. The Hundred Flowers Vine Whip had a few mystical flowers that helped her block the attack and healed some of her injuries. This was the strongest ability of the weapon.

The Hundred Flowers Vine Whip’s forte was in the consolidation of power. Not only could it heal, it could also increase endurance and might, or serve as an antidote to toxins, cause paralysis and even vertigo…

Of course, these abilities weren’t the strongest but they could help gain an edge over the opponent. Even Qing Shui thought the Hundred Flowers Vine Whip was strong; it was a pity that he was already in possession of a more suitable weapon.

Relieved that Qing Shui didn’t blame her, Xue Nuo beamed, “Thank you, brother-in-law.”

There were times when she feared her brother-in-law, but it wasn’t fear of him as a person; it was fear that he might disregard her.

“Who wants to handle this burly man?” Qing Shui asked with a smile.

“I’ll go!” Yin Tong volunteered after some thought.

Qing Shui contemplated before breaking out into a grin, “Alright.”

A hint of surprise flashed across the old man’s face. At the same time, there was deep animosity. This indicated that he had already identified Yin Tong’s background. Otherwise, there was no way he would regard him in that manner.

Yin Tong didn’t participate in battles often and so there weren’t many who knew of his strength. The only reason one would regard him in this manner was if they found out about his inheritance.

Yin Tong was low profile. Ever since Qing Shui met him, he had only seen him display his skills once out of anger. He did fight thereafter as well, but it was without temper. These days, his might had increased a lot but other than his practice sessions with Lan Lingfeng, he didn’t usually fight.

Yin Tong’s inheritance was destined to go through many changes and he didn’t have a fixed weapon. Qing Shui had customized a pair of Tri-Edged Daggers forged from Yang Stone for him. They could be categorized as legendary grade, albeit barely. The strongest effect was to disregard 20% of an enemy’s defense, plus a 1% chance of disregarding up to 90% of defense.

The weapons were sharp in nature and along with their ability were mighty indeed. Yin Tong’s battle technique would be to attack in succession and relentlessly so. Not just twice in combo but even more than that—the powers of his inheritance allowed increased damage if they were inflicted at the same spot within a specific amount of time.

In Qing Shui’s perspective, Yin Tong’s inheritance was sly in nature. Every battle technique was strange, additionally Yin Ting was a master at using toxins, even if Qing Shui had rarely seen him do so.

“After you!” At the sight of Yin Tong, the old man greeted courteously.

“After you!” Yin Tong smiled as he reciprocated. Under such circumstances, he would naturally not forget his courtesy. Whatever situation they were thrust into, they had to regard it with a calm attitude. Only in this way could their potential be unleashed to the fullest.

This time, it was the old man who didn’t stand on ceremony and charged towards Yin Tong at once. His footwork was steady and strong, his speed wasn’t as fast as others but it gave the impression that he was working steadily, as though every step was imprinted in his mind.

Yin Tong’s footwork, on the other hand, was fluid and peculiar; there was no way of predicting where he would step next. The pair of shimmering Tri-Edged Daggers emitted a piercing light.

Hrmph!

With a loud shout, the metal rods in the old man’s hands unleashed a Twin Dragon attack towards Yin Tong.

Yin Tong stepped backwards slightly, dodging the attack just in time. Even his clothes rose from the Qi force from the metal rods’ attack. If not for the fact that Yin Tong had poured his own Qi force into his clothes, they’d probably have been shattered by that attack.

Golden Jade Chain of Pearls!

Yin Tong slammed his right fist forward, swiftly slamming them against the old man’s chest successively.

Bang, bang!

Two clear, metallic sounds emitted from the impact and the old man was struck back by Yin Tong. Even so, his footsteps were not muddled. If one observed carefully, they would notice that every step the opponent took had landed in his previous steps.

This could actually reduce the strength he had to endure.

Qing Shui had an inkling about this. There was nothing too strange in this world and even though this was peculiar, it was still acceptable. The old man rushed towards Yin Tong along his previous steps again.

His speed and strength seemed to have increased.

Demon Ox Mark!

This was the Demon Ox Mark. Qing Shui had gained some of inheritance memories from the Golden Battle Halberd at one point, and one was about the Titan Ox Demon King Inheritance. He didn’t have time to process the information before but now it floated into his mind ever so vividly.

Qing Shui kept his voice low, enough only for Yin Tong to hear. “That’s the Demon Ox Mark. It seems like they’re really the Inheritor Clan of the Titan Ox Demon King. The Demon Ox Mark he cultivates is good, you’ll have to find a way to mess up his footwork, or it will only get stronger.”

Qing Shui had just realized the the Golden Battle Halberd gave him some pretty useful information. The information was messy and Qing Shui hadn’t even bothered tidying it up. Now he realized that there was no need to do so, as it would surface when the situation called for it.

Yin Tong understood Qing Shui’s word of caution. In all honesty, while it wasn’t much, he had still distinctly felt the increase in that old man’s might.

Frenzied Golden Jade Slash!

Seizing the opportunity once more, Yin Tong’s silhouette was like a flash of light, charging toward the old man. His speed was already significantly faster than the latter and considering he had readied himself for the attack, Yin Tong’s speed was undoubtedly beyond the range the old man could evade.

Bang, bang…

The pair of Tri-Edged Daggers pierced towards the old man at an astounding speed. Just like that, even with a decent inner armor, the strong and sturdy old man stumbled backwards ceaselessly from the impact, as blood poured from his mouth and nostrils.

Puu!

The attack disregarded the defense of the old man’s armor by a surprising 80%, reducing his health immensely. Yin Tong stopped in his tracks, and the old man fell from the arena.

From beginning to end, Yin Tong didn’t take more than five minutes to defeat him—the disparity between them must have been huge. As a successor of the Battle God Inheritance, even if he hadn’t been strong enough now, he still wasn’t a character whom one would want to provoke.

After meeting Qing Shui, Yin Tong’s might had increased drastically. His improvements would happen swiftly in the future, and would remain so for a long time.

Yin Tong didn’t expressed much glee at defeating the old man. Instead, he just remained standing on the arena. At this point of the duel, where anger had risen from both parties, no one would show mercy anymore—Xue Nuo had thrown up blood from the fight, as did the old man from before. Even though it was inevitable to get injured in a battle, it was just as easy for rage to manifest in the process, whether from deliberate intent or not.