Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 0100 – A Disappointed Yu He

Qing Shui quietly spaced out as he walked next to the pond to look at the half foot long back fish in the pond. In reality, two months had passed, and it was almost April. The flowers were blooming everywhere, and the appearance of the environment was thriving.

The thick pear trees in the courtyard were full of snow-white flowers, and the fragrant scent invaded Qing Shui’s nose, making his mood pleasant and joyful. The bees were busily buzzing around the flowers. As Qing Shui looked at the busy bees and the busy crowd outside of the front door, his mood gradually calmed.

Men and animals are the same in that they both want to live a better life.

“You are still thinking about the Yu beauties,” said Qing Shi in a playful voice.

Qing Shui looked at the content Qing Shi and laughed, “Why didn’t you go find little sister Xiang Yuan?”

Qing Shui only knew recently that Qing Shi, surprisingly, liked Xiang Yuan, a lolita with huge breasts. Qing Shui couldn’t really see Qing Shi, such a secretive guy, being able to get together with Xiang Yuan, but he didn’t know how their progress was going.

“What litter sister Xiang Yuan? She’s already eighteen! Actually, she’s a little older than us. I think it’s strange that you are only interested in mature women like Yu He… Could it be that aunty abused you…” Qing Shi said with an evil laugh.

Qing Shui, “…”

At night, Qing Shui went to Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal to gaze at the pond. He observed that the number of black fish increased a lot, and continued to increase. The biggest one was just a little longer than a foot, and probably would not change much in size, but they seemed to be getting more vigorous and nimble.

The number of turtles seemed to grow exponentially. The biggest one looked like the bottom of a washbowl, while the smallest one wasn’t even as big as a matchbox. If it was not careful, it would become food for the black fish.

Now the turtles and the black fish seemed to have a grudge against each other. Both sides were trying to hunt the other side’s offspring, but the numbers keep increasing exponentially despite this situation. Originally, there were only 200 turtles, but now there were at least a thousand. As for the black fish, their number was already too big to count, but there should be tens of thousands. The entire pond looked like it was filled with black fish.

“This is great, now Yu He Inn can add turtle soup to the menu!” Qing Shui looked at the big group of turtles, and reminisced about when he drank turtle soup with Shi Qingzhuang. This made him suddenly gain a renewed appetite. During this time Qing Shui was eating a sufficient amount, but he still wanted to eat more.

Although he could only reach the forty-eighth cycle of the Ancient Strengthening Technique when he cultivated, Qing Shui did not relax, and continued to cultivate every day. Although the total force of the ancient technique did not increase, there was a distinct improvement in its purity.

He already had a little success with his swordsmanship, and could use it with greater ease. The quick progress in his swordsmanship was due to the benefits of Solitary Rapid Fist, and he experienced a feeling as if it were from heaven when he cultivated it. Qing shui knew that once he experienced this feeling, he was having success with this form of sword skill.

As for alchemy, Qing Shui spent the most time refining medicine every day. Qing Shui already planted plenty of herbs all throughout the spatial realm. Except for a few herbs that were meant to mature over a thousand years, he increased the maturity of the other herbs by himself.

Because Qing Shui had seen the power of the Primordial Needles, he would take some time to review it. He was already skilled in his Ancient Flames of Yin-Yang due to his constant practice at refining herbs.

After he had eaten two Agility-Enhancing Fruits, his Ghostly Steps had changed into the Free Spirit Steps. There was an enhancement in both the speed and agility; he even felt improvement in his strength, making his entire body feel as if it were filled with endless strength.

About the Agility-Enhancing Fruit, Qing Shui contemplated about the six that he still had. “These don’t really help me at the moment, so I can give my mother two. I can also give Wenren Wu-Shuang two to help her enhance her strength.”

“For the last two that are remaining, should I give both of them to Yu He, both of them to Yu Donghao, or give one to each?” Qing Shui sighed. There was still too little, and it was not enough for everyone.

Now Qing Shui looked at the many Golden Sore Ointments that he had produced with his practice in alchemy, but he still didn’t know how well this medicine worked. Qing Shui really wanted to try it himself, but dismissed the idea after thinking about how he had to bleed himself. He would find another chance.

Qing Shui awoke the next day and sat cross-legged facing the sun; then he cultivated for forty eight cycles of the Ancient Strengthening Technique, and walked to his mother’s room.

Qing Shui usually woke up quite early to prepare breakfast as a light morning exercise. Now he would eat either black fish or turtle soup at every meal because he found that regular consumption of them could improve his physique.

Qing Shui closed the door, and took out two Agility-Enhancing Fruits.

“Clear Wind Fruit? Did that ancient old man give this to you too?”

With a forced smile, Qing Shui nodded, “I don’t even need to explain this time. That ancient old man really helped me out a lot!”

Qing Yi took the Agility-Enhancing Fruit with astonishment and looked at Qing Shui, then asked with certainty, “You already ate two? Walk around at your highest speed.”

At a loss, Qing Shui could only walk around like a blur using his fastest speed.

Now Qing Yi accepted the two Agility-Enhancing Fruits from Qing Shui with a smile. However, she didn’t ask too many questions. Last time Qing Shui gave Qing Yi eight Energy-Enhancing Fruits, while this time there were only two, but Qing Yi still didn’t ask anything!

After he ate breakfast, Qing Shui decided to start refining herbs at the Qing residence since he was bored. He used fire dirt, the cheapest ingredient, because he only needed the experience.

“Why is the failure rate so high when I’m not using the primordial flames?” Qing Shui failed five times successively. His cauldron had even exploded on the last time.

As he looked at the wreckage that had been his alchemy cauldron, he realized that the people who sell these cauldrons were actually very shady. The cost of a cauldron was not a light financial burden for beginner alchemists; he again lamented at how alchemy was a profession that burned money. With the rise of every alchemist comes a mountain of gold that was spent in the process.

After witnessing his situation, Qing Shui decided to not practice anymore. After all, he did not really care much about the time. Since he had the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal, he had about ten times more time than other people.

He visited the Hundred Medicinal Gardens and stealthily watered the herbs with the pond water from the spatial realm. Now Qing Shui was responsible for taking care of the entire Hundred Medicinal Gardens because Qing Shui said that the ancient old man was also his master, and had taught him a few methods for tending medicinal plants. During this time, the herbs in the Hundred Medicinal Garden suddenly improved in both the quality and appearance, so Qing Shui was basically given the responsibility of taking care of the Hundred Medicinal Gardens.

Maybe it was because Yu Donghao often ate the black fish from the spatial realm, but his body also recovered quicker than expected. Many others were also coming to the same conclusion. Everyone who ate the black fish from the Yu He Inn, especially the ones who ate the dish often, all found their physiques to have improved by a lot. This was another reason the Yu He Inn was becoming even more famous.

However, there had been a reduction in people with bad intentions towards the Yu He Inn because of Yu Donghao’s unexpected recovery. After all, the Yu clan was a clan that used to have a Xiantian cultivator.

Even the descendents of the Yu clan, especially the leader of the Yu clan, started to regain their confidence from ten years ago. Many of the hedonistic sons from the Yu clan started causing trouble on the streets, or flirted with women without a worry.

Now they had a backup again. These hedonistic sons, especially the incompetent ones, could not act in such a troublesome manner without a power to back them up.

Before, the most arrogant clans in Hundred Miles City were the Situ clan and the Xiang clan. The Situ clan had the most people at the peak of Houtian, and an alchemist Lei who was a step away from Xiantian. The Xiang clan had the first person named Xian Lang in three generations. There was a rule in Hundred Mile City: In a fight within three generations, the eldest one could not attack, but when one of the four clans had a Xiantian, these kinds of rules would lose their purpose since their true strength was superior.

All of this did not have much influence on Qing shui’s daily life. Qing Shui’s vision was not limited to just Hundred Miles city; he looked towards the vast sky outside. Once his true strength broke through the fourth level of the Ancient Strengthening Technique, he would travel around the nine continents. He would visit the most famous and beautiful places around the nine continents, meet fighting techniques from the outside world, and the chase after the most remarkable women to experience the culture around the world.

However, he could only concoct Golden Sore Ointment, and he was still a long way from breaking the fourth level. However, Qing Shui still felt content with his current life. He cultivated, then spent half the day wandering around. Sometimes, he would shop for rare treasures with Qing Shi and Qing Shan. The only thing that would put Qing Shui in a bad mood was when other youngsters would try to fight him.

Ever since his arrival, Qing Shui continuously won against all of the more famous youths, so now one dared to challenge Qing Shui anymore.

After his breakfast, Qing Shui went outside. Not after long, he “coincidentally” met Yu He. Qing Shui’s mood was much more pleasant after seeing Yu He, a mature beauty.

“You are glowing, and your smile is like a flower. Why are you so happy?” Qing Shui smiled and asked Yu He.

After hearing Qing Shui’s compliments, Yu He’s eyes were smiling, and she reached out her hand to pinch Qing Shui’s handsome cheeks. “I’m free. When my husband’s family heard about my grandfather’s recovery, they took the initiative to explain this to me!”

“Congratulations. You could find another ideal husband in the future. Remember to invite me to your wedding.” Qing Shui said seriously and smiled genuinely.

Yu He stared blankly for a moment then said happily, “Yes, of course!”

Qing Shui did not see the disappointment behind the happiness in Yu He’s eyes. It felt as if a wound was opened by a knife. Yu He quickly exchanged a few pleasantries with Qing Shui, and turned around to leave after saying she had “something else to take care of.”

Yu He turned around and left. The moment she took a step away, tears fell uncontrollably. “Why do I still hope to be with him when I clearly know it’s impossible? Why does my heart still ache when I already know the outcome? He is like a dragon hibernating on the ground; he is destined to fly away into the sky one day.”

Yu He didn’t know when she had found her heart full of Qing Shui’s shadow. Was it when he kissed her? Or was is when he took advantage of her and complimented her with his sweet nothings? Or perhaps was it when he helped her grandfather regain his strength?

Yu He felt perplexed. Now, she only knew that she would have an unforgettable feeling for Qing Shui. When he seriously said, “You should find another ideal husband in the future. Remember to invite me to your wedding,” it was as if she could hear her heart breaking, and feel the pain of her heart being torn apart.