The Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 1488 - Fighting on the Battle Platform, Easy Victories

Since he was to go up, Qing Shui didn't want to waste time. He directly appeared on the platform and just so coincidentally, there was a person there being knocked down.

The one remaining was a sturdy and well-built young man. Of course, "young" was only in terms of appearance.The eyes of this person contained a balefulness and the vicissitudes of time, as though he had experienced many things before.

"Please." Qing Shui directly stated.

That man didn't say anything, instantly waving his hand as a pair of needles shot towards Qing Shui.

Taichi Fist!

Qing Shui's hands slowly pushed out, exuding a hint of metal qi, jolting the sharp needles away the moment they came into contact with him.

The man started for a moment before swiftly following up with more needles. Everything he shot out was jolted away effortlessly by Qing Shui. The needles even failed to penetrate Qing Shui's robes. That man could only sigh and stopped, "I concede. Thank you for showing mercy."

"Thank you for the match." Qing Shui smiled as he nodded.

His opponent stepped down, but a few breaths of time later, another man appeared on the platform. From the beginning till now, it hadn't even been one hour yet. This combat was supposed to last for four hours…

Qing Shui felt somewhat depressed. He didn't want things to drag on. Initially he was supposed to appear last, but he actually chose to come up earlier. There was no choice then. He could only slowly fight through the opponents one by one.

This time, Qing Shui didn't show any courtesy and directly dashed over, throwing out a punch. To Qing Shui, these people couldn't withstand a single strike. Hence, he decided not to waste any more time.

He didn't want to injure anyone, but the power of his strikes could easily fling them through the air. This already could be considered as him showing mercy and it was also the most effective method.

Unknowingly, Qing Shui had already sent over ten experts flying, settling things using only a single round. Now, no people dared to go up on the platform anymore. All of them could tell Qing Shui was extremely powerful. Originally, those who could go up on the platform were all considered experts, the most outstanding of the younger generations. However, these people couldn't even withstand a single strike from Qing Shui.

……

Xue Nuo saw Ying Tong and Ling Fei. Before this, she saw Qing Shui together with them. Hence, she walked directly over as she greeted, "Hi, how are you guys doing? You two should be Qing Shui's friends right?"

"Yeah. Do you know Qing Shui as well?" Ling Fei smiled, feeling a little taken aback.

This was the first time the two had met. The two beauties silently appraised each other, each praising the other in her heart. They silently compared each other, not knowing which among them was more beautiful.

"I don't know him, but I know his wife." Xue Nuo smiled.

"His wife?"

"Mhm. It's a lady a hundred thousand times prettier than me. Don't you all know her?" Xue Nuo spoke as she stared at the two of them. She didn't really go into the details, just choosing to speak simply.

"Are you intending to ask Qing Shui to help you defeat all challengers? You don't really want to get married right?" Ling Fei smiled.

"I will never allow my marriage to be controlled by others, let alone using such a method to select my husband. If it wasn't for my clan restricting me from going up, I would have defeated all those men myself." Xue Nuo glanced at the people fighting against Qing Shui on the platform in disdain.

Although the number of people going up lessened, there were still quite a few. But no matter who went up, they were all defeated effortlessly with a single move from Qing Shui.

After chatting for awhile, the two young women were like bosom friends who had known each other for ages. The atmosphere was very relaxed. As for Ying Tong, he had no one to chat to and he turned his attention towards the battle platform.

……

Right now, Qing Shui didn't feel anything at all. No matter who came, he would just knock them down. For news of Yiye Jiange, he had no choice but to endure this. Wasn't this simply standing on the platform for eight hours?

"My name is Xia Donglai. I'm looking forward to your guidance."

At this moment, a man walked up the platform as he politely greeted Qing Shui.

The surname Xia seemed to be from the Great Xia Dynasty. Seeing that the aura of this man was extraordinary, radiating a feel of nobility, Qing Shui was certain that this person was part of the royal clan of the Great Xia Dynasty.

"I'm Qing Shui. Please." Qing Shui directly wanted to start. He didn't want to have too many interactions with this man. After all, it was clear he would defeat him for sure.

"Brother, please wait. Can we discuss some things first?" The man hurriedly called out.

Qing Shui didn't even need to think. He long knew that this man must have had some intentions. But even so, he nodded his head. "Just say what you want, but I might not agree to help you with it."

"If you win, I hope you can treat Xue Nuo well in the future." The man seriously spoke.

Clearly, Qing Shui was stunned. Many thoughts flashed through his mind before this, but he didn't expect the man would actually bring up Xue Nuo. It esemed like Qing Shui was mistaken about him.

Qing Shui then seriously stared at this man. He had thick brows and an air of heroism. His nose was square and there was resolution in his eyes. This was a determined young man.

"I think this has nothing to do with you? If you are capable, defeat me and dote on her after marrying her. A man is nothing but a weakling and coward if he only dares to talk in this manner to console himself and not actually battle." Qing Shui showed no mercy as he harshly replied.

In fact, Qing Shui actually felt good will towards this man. He even hoped that he would end up with Xue Nuo. But it was most definitely impossible today. However, he didn't plan on marrying the eldest miss of the Xue Clan himself either, so this man would still have a chance in the future.

The countenance of the young man turned somewhat unsightly. No one would be happy when they heard such words. Also, it wasn't set in stone that he would be defeated by Qing Shui. It was just that he felt that jos chances of winning weren't high.

But he knew what Qing Shui said was the truth. A trace of emotion could be see in his eyes. He also felt a pain in his heart. This was the pain of not being able to be together with the woman he loved. It was simply agonising.

"Please."

This time, the young man no longer delayed. He took out a jade sword and rushed at Qing Shui. His movements were bizarre. He was executing the Three Void Steps. Every step he took granted him the mobility to place his foot down on any position within his range at will.

This was quite a powerful movement technique. One must know that a step for cultivators was completely different than a step for ordinary people. His range consisted of an area of about twenty metres. This meant that he could move instantly anywhere within twenty metres when he used this technique.

Qing Shui's eyes brightened. The royal clan truly had many good things. This movement skill wasn't an ordinary one. At the very least, it was of the legendary grade. Despite this, when it was used in front of him, it was just like an apprentice magician in front of a grand master.

Qing Shui's silhouette moved like shadows, dogging Xia Donglai's steps. It was useless. No matter where he tried to evade, Qing Shui matched him step for step.

Peng peng!

Qing Shui's fist blasted into Xia Donglai, forcing him to retreat ten meters. Without waiting for him to steady his steps, Qing Shui's silhouette flashed again. His movement techniques were just as marvellous as the Three Void Steps executed by Xia Donglai earlier.

Three Empty Steps!

Qing Shui's three empty steps were in fact the exact same as the Three Void Steps. However, despite the skill being the same, the effect was much different when Qing Shui was the one using it. His movements were like flowing water, with elements of toughness and softness combining together in a wonderful harmony. He had reached the god-like levels of this technique.

The force in Qing Shui's punch wasn't that great, but was able to force him into retreat everytime. Around fifteen mins passed and although Xia Donglai couldn't even resist at the start, he could gradually follow Qing Shui's movements.

His eyes brightened, but he still conceded at the end. He then sincerely bowed to Qing Shui to show his thanks.

"If you like her, you must persevere. Some things you only see on the surface and they may not be the truth." Qing Shui spoke in a light tone.

"Thank you…"

Xia Donglai thanked him three more times before he left. Qing Shui could sense that this was an upright man. Hence he had casually imparted some things to Xia Donglai when they had fought earlier. He understood the joy of watching one's own strength progress, and in the past, he had received help from others before as well. He wouldn't mind helping others who were weaker than him.

It seemed like Xia Donglai was pretty famous. After his loss, nobody went up as the atmosphere turned heavy with only the sounds of the crowd's discussion.

"This young man is truly strong. Do any of you know his origins?"

"There's already someone investigating, but there are no results."

"By rights, such a powerful young man should have a terrifying clan or sect behind his back. I wonder which power in the Great Xia can achieve this." An old man shook his head in confusion as he spoke.

"Could he be from some other dynasty? Who knows what exactly the strength of that young man is?"

"I think he should be at Peak Martial Emperor." A man gave his best guess.

That old man from earlier only smiled, but he didn't say anything.

……

Qing Shui felt somewhat depressed. He stood there with so many people watching him. He then glanced at the direction of the eldest miss from the Xue Clan and discovered that she and Ling Fei was chatting happily. In fact, she even winked a few times at Qing Shui.

Another half an hour passed. In this half an hour, even more young experts went up. All of them were from powerful sects and clans but sadly, none were a match for Qing Shui. The disparity in their strength was just too great.

Only now did Xue Nuo know why this man could become the man of her elder sister. He was simply too powerful. The strongest of the young generations of the Great Xia Dynasty weren't just a little weaker compared to him.

Eventually...an old man appeared on the platform.

"What? Given how old he is, he also wants to fight here?"

Instantly, people below started commenting.

"Have you gone silly? That's someone from the Xue Clan."

"Oh oh, seems like the battle on the platform is going to end soon."

……

"I'm making the decision now. The battle is concluded. Standing here means you are prepared to marry Nuo`er right?" The old man went straight to the point.

Qing Shui now only wanted to make Xue Nuo step out. He looked at the old man and asked, "Sir, who might you be?"

"I'm the grandpa of Xue Nuo. If you like her and want to marry her, I can make the decision. However, we have to come to some mutual understanding first and the wedding won't be held immediately." The old man replied.

"Old man, your words are just what I wanted to hear. In that case, let's end the battle then."

"Sure. The Xue Clan has also finished preparing a banquet." The old man smiled.

"My two friends and the eldest miss of the Xue Clan are sitting there. I will enjoy the banquet together with them." Qing Shui pointed at the direction where Ying Tong and the others were sitting as he spoke.

The old man had initially wanted to personally head there and invite Qing Shui's friends but Qing Shui held him back. Given the old man's senior status, it wasn't that appropriate.

After Qing Shui went to Ying Tong and the others, he couldn't help but comment when he saw the teasing look in Xue Nuo's eyes. "Are you not afraid that I will spoil things for you?"

"As the man my elder sister admires, how could you possibly fail at such a small task?"

Seeing Xue Nuo's 'as it should be by rights' manner, he could only shook his head. "I can only delay this for you. You have to tell me where Yiye Jiange is later."