The Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 1257 - Copper Body, Shadow Body

In the end, Chen Fuding fled along with his people. From the beginning to the end, he didn't understand how today's outcome turned out like this. Even Hu Yiya didn't really quite get it, but she knew that it definitely had something to do with Qing Shui.

"Thank you, Qing Shui!" Hu Yiya expressed her sincere gratitude to Qing Shui.

"What are you thanking me for? You guys are the one who chased them away with your fists. I didn't do anything." Qing Shui smiled.

"It's fine if you don't want to admit it, as long as I know what is going on in my heart. Come, I'll treat you to some wine. Think of it as a welcome party for you." Hu Yiya said proudly.

Qing Shui didn't decline it either. He didn't know anyone here and Hu Yiya was considered an acquaintance. Moreover, her clan seemed to be quite powerful. If he went with her, he'd probably find out about the Lotus Sect. There'd at least be some clues!

Thinking up to this point, Qing Shui relaxed a little. They found a restaurant nearby and Qing Shui saw that they seemed to be in very high spirits. Perhaps it was due to the victory earlier, so he didn't want to be a party pooper either.

"Brother Qing, let me give a toast to you!" Bei Gele happily held his cup of wine towards Qing Shui.

Both Hu Yiya and Bei Gele could guess that today's outcome was due to Qing Shui's help in the background. The rest could have guessed it, but they didn't really give it careful thought.

"Sister Ya, I'd like to get some information from you." Qing Shui asked Hu Yiya while eating.

"What is it? There's no need to be so polite."

"You know the Lotus Sect?" Qing Shui thought about it after thinking. He was powerful enough now, so naturally, he didn't have to worry about some other problems.

"The Lotus Sect?" Hu Yiya looked at Qing Shui with her eyebrows knitted together.

"That's right." Although Qing Shui saw Hu Yiya's frown, he still had a hunch that she'd know something about it.

"The Lotus Sect is the sacred land of the Divine Might Dynasty. Although it didn't seem like an existence of Grade Four strength, they've stood aloof all this time. But legend has it their strength isn't any inferior to dynasties of Grade Four strength." Hu Yiya looked at Qing Shui.

Qing Shui was a little surprised yet thought it was normal at the same time. He had heard of some hidden powers in the West Oxhe Continent and their rumored strength was inaccurate because it was outdated information since many years ago.

"I have come to the Divine Might Dynasty this time because I wish to find someone at the Lotus Sect." Qing Shui explained his objective of coming here.

"The Lotus Sect is completely made up of women that stand aloof from the worldly affairs." Hu Yiya looked at Qing Shui suspiciously. It wasn't like she suspected Qing Shui, she was just wondering who he was looking for.

"Are you familiar with the Lotus Sect?"

"My sister is part of the Lotus Sect, so I know a little about them." Hu Yiya was a little proud of herself for saying that. It was evident that the Lotus Sect was at a quite decent position among the Divine Might Dynasty.

"Oh, that's even better. Do you know the location of the Lotus Sect?"

"I don't!" Hu Yiya shook her head before speaking again. "I heard that the Lotus Sect has many members, yet not many know about the whereabouts of the Lotus Sect."

"Are you able to get in touch with your elder sister?" Qing Shui was a little gloomy. But since her sister was from the Lotus Sect, things would be easier for him.

"Sister is the one who gets in touch with us, none of us are able to get in touch with her." Hu Yiya was slightly sad when she explained this.

"Is she coming back anytime soon then?" Qing Shui realized that things might not be going as easy as he thought it would be.

"She usually comes back at the end of the year, but sometimes she doesn't return at all. It's already winter now, why don't you come to my place and wait for her return?" Hu Yiya offered after thinking for a moment.

Qing Shui didn't have any better ideas either right now. Hu Yiya's elder sister was from the Lotus Sect. Even so, not even Hu Yiya knew much about the Lotus Sect's location much less the others.

"In that case, I'll think of something else. I'll visit you at the end of the year."

"Well then, you still need to come to my place so you know how to get there next time. I'll introduce you to my clan, the people of my clan are very welcoming towards guests." Hu Yiya said happily.

Qing Shui didn't decline this time. Bei Gele and the rest had already left so Qing Shui and Hu Yiya made their way towards the Hu Residence.

The Hu Clan was a major clan in this area and had quite a number of State Masters among them. Qing Shui knew all this through Hu Yiya. In these great clans, it wasn't too difficult to attain the State Master grade yet only a handful of children was able to achieve it.

However, from Grade Four State Master onwards, the effects of clan inheritance would be greatly reduced and improving wouldn't be as fast as before and it might even be at a standstill.

The starting point of the Grade Four State Master was a great dividing range itself, followed by 2,000 suns, 3,000 suns, and 4,000 suns. The 3,000 suns itself was already a challenging stage.

It was very, very difficult to breakthrough after reaching 3,000 suns.

Hu Yiya was bringing Qing Shui back to her direct clan. The Hu Clan was a large clan as there were too many people in it.

Hu Yiya was the youngest in her family. Her father wasn't really that old of age and was a refined man. Although he wasn't tall and strongly built, he was brimming with vital energy that was akin to Nature Energy on him.

Not only that, he also had a decent strength of nearly 2,000 suns.

The old man was very courteous. He seemed to be particularly fond of his youngest daughter. With Hu Yiya beside him, they didn't seem stiff like those other aristocrat clans. The pair of father and daughter got along very well together. Hu Yiya was just like a little girl to him. This made Qing Shui have a great impression on the old man.

"You are Little Ya's friend, then that means you are part of us. Make yourself at home, no need to be shy if you need anything." The old man said warmly.

"Thank you, uncle!"

Not too long after that, Qing Shui also got to know a few of Hu Yiya's siblings. These were all her step-siblings from different mothers and most of them had already married and established careers.

Hu Yiya's third brother and fourth sister left the deepest impression on Qing Shui. Qing Shui had a decent memory so he already managed to remember their names after Hu Yiya made a round of introductions to him.

Hu Yechong and Hu Yimin could both be considered to have a rare constitution - a copper body and a shadow body, in which the former was suited for physical training and the latter for speed training. It was a pity that they had yet to tap into their potentials.

"Come, come. Have a seat with everyone, Qing Shui. Let's have some tea." A slender and tall man invited Qing Shui to have a seat.

He was Hu Yiya's sixth brother, Hu Yefeng.

"Sorry for intruding then."

"Qing Shui, you don't have to be so polite, it would just mean that you are looking down upon us." Hu Yechong laughed.

"That's right, Qing Shui. If you don't mind, you can call me Sister Min." Hu Yimin also looked at Qing Shui curiously.

They realized they couldn't tell the potential of this young man. Even if they did at the first glance, something still felt off somehow.

"Well then, I shall do that. Please take care of me from now on, Sister Min." Qing Shui smiled at the plump and young married woman.

……...

The atmosphere around them lightened with their conversation.

"Brothers and sisters, do you all know if Sister Qian is returning for New Year this year?" Hu Yiya asked her brothers and sisters.

"Why? Are you missing her?"

"Qing Shui wishes to find someone in the Lotus Sect, but we've no idea where is the Lotus Sect." Hu Yiya helped Qing Shui to explain his situation.

"We are not too sure either if Qian'er will return, but I can bring you to meet someone. She knows the whereabouts of the Lotus Sect. However, I can't be sure if she's willing to share the information with you because she wouldn't even tell me where it is. Apparently, this is a rule." Hu Yimin said after thinking for a moment.

As expected, there was strength in numbers. On top of that, the Hu Clan was also an influential clan so this would be easier for them.

"Oh, so Sister Min know someone from the Lotus Sect. That's great!" Qing Shui was quite worked up in his heart.

"Yes I do, but this friend of mine is rather eccentric, so the success rate will be very slim." Hu Yimin said after pondering for a moment.

"Eccentric?" Qing Shui was a little lost.

"The meridians in her lower limbs are damaged and dead and she left the Lotus Sect. Oh right, she's the eldest daughter of the Diwu Clan from the Divine Might Dynasty in her generation. Her talents were unrivaled. It was a pity that no medicinal pills were found to restore her legs to how they were before and that caused a huge shift in her personality.

Diwu[1] was a surname. He was already aware of the Diwu clan when he was in the Heaven Secrets Academy because apart from the royal family, the Diwu Clan was rumored to be the most powerful among the Divine Might Dynasty.

But it was nothing to be surprised about since Qing Shui had seen the Heaven Secrets Academy which was an equally powerful existence as the Divine Might Dynasty. However, now that he wanted to find someone at the Lotus Sect, he'd need to have someone to guide him. Otherwise, he wasn't going to see anyone.

"I see. I know a little about the art of healing. Maybe I can fix her." Qing Shui said after pondering for a moment.

"The Diwu Clan had given her a medicinal pill made out the Bones of the Living Dead. Even so, that only allowed her to walk like a normal person. The Origin Qi wasn't able to get into her meridians at all." Hu Yimin sighed. She didn't directly comment anything about Qing Shui's medical expertise, but she had stated that even a medicinal pill made out of the Bones of the Living Dead couldn't completely heal her.

Qing Shui was also actually puzzled. A medicinal pill made out of the Bones of the Living Dead should definitely be able to heal her. Her flesh, bones, the meridians between her flesh and bones, the veins and the rest should be regenerated. Even if she lost both of her legs, they could also be regrown. Could it be because she still had her legs, so the effect of this medicinal pill was greatly reduced?

Qing Shui couldn't really wrap his head around this. So the legs weren't going to be regenerated if they were still there? Was she suppose to amputate them before taking the pill?

"When is it convenient for Sister Min to bring me to meet this friend of yours?" Qing Shui no longer mentioned anything about healing that friend of hers.

"Let's make it tomorrow then. I'll bring you there so you can give a shot at it. You have a good rest here for today." Hu Yimin replied after a moment of consideration.

"Alright. Oh right, Sister Min. I'm guessing that your strength lies in your speed?" Qing Shui smiled.

"Oh, so you can tell."

"Sister possesses the rare Shadow Body. It's a pity that its important capabilities aren't awakened yet. If you are interested, I can help you increase your speed by folds and maybe it will increase even more as time passes."

Qing Shui wanted to help her. That way, he'd have another friend here. Everyone actually yearned for many friends. His other reason was that he wanted her to know a little more about his capability so that maybe tomorrow, things wouldn't go so bad that they wouldn't find the door closed to them.

"Hmm Qing Shui, you're really something to be able to tell my constitution. I'm better than anyone else when it comes to speed-related techniques. Grandfather has told me that I have the Shadow Body. It is a pity that I am not able to reveal the real effect of this Shadow Body. I've been hoping for it to suddenly awaken someday. Can you really help me to achieve this?" Hu Yimin looked at Qing Shui in excitement.

"Of course. We are friends, naturally, I'd be willing and very happy to be of help to you. Also, for the third brother, I can help him transform into an impenetrable copper wall."

A look of pleasant surprise appeared on Hu Yechong's face. Since Qing Shui mentioned about an impenetrable copper wall, he probably could tell his constitution too. Their clan had very high hopes for both him and Hu Yimin. They had always hoped that both of them could one day awaken the powerful capability of their bodies.

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Translation Note:

[1] Diwu also means 'The Fifth'.

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