The Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 1485 - Xue Clan, Yulang Street Dueling Platform, Small Building

The taking of his pulse took a good fifteen minutes. Qing Shui did not disturb her. Instead, he felt a swelling of glee; if she had taken only a short while, Qing Shui would have been able to determine her skills right away. Patience for a physician was crucial, as was conscientiousness; as physicians, they must thoroughly understand the patient's symptoms.

After a long while, Ling Fei retracted her hand, her voice laced with a hint of embarrassment. "Little brother has an Extreme Yang Body. Apart from that, there was really nothing much I could sense, not the slightest symptom."

"That's enough. Sister-in-law's knowledge in medicine is still great. I know a little about it as well. How about this? Let's open a clinic in Great Xia City. If it works out, we will try this route. If not, we'll change our profession." Qing Shui had initially attempted to change the nickname given by the woman; he felt uneasy being called little brother. Alas, his efforts were futile, so he might as well allow her to carry on with it.

The training of that woman lay in her Charm Art but she was Yin Tong's woman, so Qing Shui would never possess any inappropriate thoughts towards her. She was also virtuous. In her eyes, Qing Shui was really like a little brother.

"Have you heard? The lady from the Xue Clan has set up a dueling platform down by Yulang Street. Anyone in the younger generation who manages to win against her can take her as his wife. Should they not wish to do so, she will grant them a request that's within her power."

At this time, a resounding voice blared from around them, or maybe it was just that they had better hearing than the average person. Either way, they could not help but listen on with curiosity.

"The lady from the Xue Clan... Xue Nuo? Forget it. Among the younger generation, who could be a worthy contender against her? I reckon she's feeling troubled these days; only fools would get on that platform and fight." One of them shook his head as he spoke. It seemed like this wasn't the first time the lady had issued a challenge.

"Yeah, do you think there will be anyone challenging her this time?"

"There will be. A lot of them, in fact. There are many brainless people who aren't afraid of death. With such a huge reward laying in front of them, who wouldn't want to try? It's the Xue Clan we're talking about, one of the top clans in the Great Xia Dynasty. For one to be able to marry the eldest daughter of Xue Clan, he will have succeeded in both their career and in bringing a beauty into his life." The person from before chuckled.

The person had the appearance of a middle-aged man, with a wise and meaningful look to his eyes and his own brand of charm. Even if he wasn't anyone of status, he surely wouldn't remain unknown to the public if he had passed away. He was definitely the leader of his social circle.

"Will you give it a try, Brother Tie Lin?"

"Me? Forget it. As much as men are supposed to possess courage and not shy away in face of difficulties, to attempt what you know you lack the ability to do, that's just being a fool." The man named Tie Lin shook his head.

......

The three ate as they listened. Throughout the meal, they had heard quite a few pieces of noteworthy information; the old man of the Xue Clan had inherited his rank and enjoyed more than ten generations of prosperity. In the continent, ten generations was neither long nor short. It amounted to two thousand years of time. Within the Great Xia Dynasty, they must have quite a degree of influence.

This lady in the Xue Clan was considered an outstanding talent within the Xue Clan's younger generation. She was older than Qing Shui, but at this age within such a huge clan, she was still considered one of the youngest. These days, the Xue Clan had hoped for the lady to marry into another notable family to form an alliance through marriage. The other party was the Great Xia Dynasty's Royal Highness; he could be considered part of the royal family, someone of equal social rank. In fact, the Xue Clan was slightly lower in status.

The refusal of the Xue Clan's eldest daughter had already happened a few times prior. The Royal Highness had not been her match when they had dueled in the past, which was why the issue had been dragged on until this day. Even if he couldn't win, would the marriage still proceed?

The Xue Clan's lady was up to her old tricks again. Qing Shui had heard it before as well. There were many who took into consideration the fact that a member of the royal family was participating in this duel, causing some who wished to duel to lose their courage. Still, there were oblivious people who would still be up for the challenge; those people would end up as the lady's opponents.

This time, however, the lady from the Xue Clan had set an even higher wager. In the past, winning against her did not necessarily equate to her hand in marriage. She had to give her own, separate consent as well. This time though, she would agree to marry anyone as long as they won. Of course, the premise was that the contender had to be someone from the younger generation. Even if the winner did not wish to marry her, she still would grant them a request that was within the ability of her and the Xue Clan. She would agree to anything, as long as it was not in violation of their principles.

This was why there was an overwhelming number of participants this time around. After all, there were many who would like to be linked in marriage with the Xue Clan. Since the lady of Xue Clan had given her word, it could be assumed that the Xue Clan had given their agreement as well. The royal family would not force them either. In actuality, the Xue Clan had many generations who were married to members of the royal family; the Xue Clan was essentially part of the royal family.

"Little brother, why don't you give it a try? I will support you." Ling Fei glanced over at Qing Shui teasingly and chuckled.

"I was thinking that Brother might be able to give it go instead." Giving it a quick thought, Qing Shui laughed as he retorted.

Upon hearing his words, Yin Tong almost choked on his glass of wine. With a few coughs, he managed a short, "I'll pass." Ling Fei was beautiful and he had just recently married her. During this period of time, he was enamoured with her. For a person like Yin Tong to be so entranced, there was no way he would have lingering thoughts about other women. Ling Fei hadn't practiced her Charm Act for nothing.

"Alright. I will give it a try if there's a need and use it as an opportunity to be acquainted with this Xue Clan lady. It will be beneficial for us while we are here too." Qing Shui said with a smile. He still had no intention of marrying a woman who he had never met.

Qing Shui was confident he would win. The only prerequisite was whether he would take up the challenge, but that was a question that he didn't have the answer to yet.

The meal took them more than an hour to finish, before they finally reserved their accommodation at the inn and went out for a walk after. From the waitress, they got to know that Yu Lang Street was just opposite from where they were.

Yu Lang Street was a very famous street in the main city. The difference between the street and the road wasn't its width. The road was filled mainly with vehicles and almost clear of pedestrians. On the other hand, in addition to vehicles, the streets had pedestrians on either side. After all, the busy street was lined with shops, chambers of commerce, and the like.

Qing Shui and his companions went straight towards Yu Lang Street; after their meal, they had no interest in any of the roadside snacks. Still, they would still buy some little trinkets that they came across.

Yu Lang Street was very wide; the sides of the straightly-paved main road couldn't be seen with just a glance. Even so, it was very organized, perhaps even luxurious. The people who were able to live here must not be the average peasant. The world was not fair: where there were the poor, there were the rich as well. It was impossible for this to change, for there could not be development in society otherwise.

Each time Qing Shui saw this world's streets, he was speechless. The streets could easily go on for thousands of miles, and measured at least a few "normal" streets wide. What was this concept? Such a sight left Qing Shui with an incomparable emotion every time. In his past life, he could only find a single street like this in the entire world, yet in this world, he could see them everywhere.

Fortunately, the distance between the dueling platform and the main street was not too far apart. They soon saw it. About 300 meters ahead, a huge dueling platform exuded an atmosphere of magnificence.

The dueling platform for someone at Qing Shui's level was regarded as a mere decoration. After all, fighting in general always happened in mid-air. The only difference here was in the fact that they were being lifted up by the platform.

At this point, there were many people surrounding the platform, which was crowded every day. Above them, there were two opponents who were locked in a fierce struggle. They were almost equal in strength, both at the level of Martial King.

The dueling platform had two levels; the upper tier was from where Qing Shui witnessed the fight, the one that was 300 meters tall. There was a smaller, lower tier about 10 meters tall. The upper tier was for the use of those who were at the Martial Saint level and above. After all, those who were below that level couldn't fly in mid-air. At least from that shorter height, they would not be critically injured if they fell, much less even dying.

Naturally, the two people were fighting at the lower tier, where voices of cheers sounded from time to time.

The continent held cultivation in high esteem, and their people were also sturdy and strong. There was no saying how often these duels happened on a daily basis, but it was surely too innumerable to count.

They didn't feel much even after observing the duel for some time. Qing Shui had the mentality of a bystander as he watched on, and felt that his group were like adults watching children as they frolicked. Yin Tong and Ling Fei did not hold much interest as well, and they decided they would rather take a look around as they walked along Yu Lang Street.

"Look there. For sale?" Ling Fei said suddenly, a finger pointing towards a sign not far away.

One must understand that they were on Yu Lang Street. While there was no lack of land within the World of the Nine Continents, an inch of land here was equivalent to gold. Following Ling Fei's hand, they headed towards the place for sale.

It was a small place, only about six hundred square meters in size, but its construction was luxurious. Compared to the surrounding pavilions, it wasn't short either. Rather, it was long and narrow, with a distinctive style.

It was on this building that amhuge sign with the words "for sale" imprinted on it hung.

"What a coincidence. We need a place as well. Let's go take a look, and if possible, let's buy it." Qing Shui said and flashed a smile.

"Sounds good, but I predict it'll be difficult to buy such a place with just money alone." Ling Fei said, her tone sounding worried.

"As long as there's a price, there will be a way to buy it." Qing Shui said with confidence.

After several minutes, the three arrived by the small building. The door was open. Six hundred square metres wasn't actually that small. It only appeared small in comparison to the surrounding pavilions. It was almost nine hundred square meters large, taking into account a small yard. The top was obstructed by scattered pavilions in its surroundings.

Upon entry, they found a man coming down the stairs. He was thin and had a slight slouch in his posture. Although it wasn't noticeable unless one looked carefully, his eyes were bloodshot, as if he hadn't had time to rest in a long time. He looked surprised at the presence of Qing Shui and his companions. "Here to buy the house?"

"Yes, we intend to open a clinic and thought this location was great. Furthermore, we saw the sign that indicated that it's for sale and came to have a look. We were wondering how much you're looking to sell it for?" Qing Shui scrunched his nose. He could smell medicine in the air and on that man, but the latter was not the one taking them. If this place had not been a clinic before, Qing Shui speculated that there must be a patient on medication in this house.

"Are you physicians?" The man seemed a bit agitated.

"Mmh!"

"Go away then. I would rather burn my house than sell it to some lousy physicians." The man waved them off decisively.

Qing Shui laughed and looked towards the man. "If you do not have faith in physicians, then why do you still take that medication?"

"That's enough. Go. I have already said that I will not sell it to you." It seemed like the man held a deep prejudice against physicians.

"I have no idea what happened to you, but you can't judge an entire profession by just one person. I dare not boast about my skills in medicine, but I have definitely never misdiagnosed a patient." Qing Shui said with certainty.

"It's not that it's impossible to sell this place to a physician, but I will sell it only on the condition that my woman is cured. If it had not been for that incompetent physician, she would not have turned out like this." As the man spoke those words, his body trembled and his hands curled into fists. He exhaled a faint breath.