The Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 1552 - Control, Qing Shui's Magnificent Ability

Qing Shui was getting more and more accustomed to this kind of feeling. He really enjoyed it. It was a sense of conquering the whole battlefield. A feeling of having complete control over something.

Not only Qing Shui, but other people, they all found this young man to be really terrifying. The ability that this young man possessed was too unique. Originally, the gap in strength between Old Man Qin, Qin Baifo and the opponents was small. It took them more than a hundred moves to find out the victor of the matches. But now, one move was all it took for them to decide the winner. It was a completely one-sided, one hit KO battle. What exactly was going on?

Art of Pursuing!

Qing Shui gazed at an old man in black attire who was charging towards Qin Qing. He immediately tossed his Art of Pursuing. Unlike the Emperor's Qi, the Art of Pursuing could only be used one opponent at a time. Hence, for most of the time, Qing Shui would only use it on strong warriors.

Pa!

The opponent immediately slowed down. Heart Toxin Talisman!

Qing Shui hadn't used this sort of Heavenly Talisman in a long time. This type of Heavenly Talisman was very powerful. It was just that he wasn't strong enough before, so the chance for these talismans to succeed was quite low. Now that he was stronger, adding that he was also luckier, he was able to execute attacks by tossing them as he wished.

The reason why he intervened was that he felt that the old man was a very powerful threat.

Heaven Slayer Old Ancestor!

Qin Baifo charged his way forward as he revealed the old man's identity. Only Qing Shui had fought against the Demonic Old Ancestor before. He had no knowledge about who the Heaven Slayer Old Ancestor was.

Nine Leaf Ripple Palm Strike! Thousand Threads Ten Thousand Silk Kill!

The Heaven Slayer Old Ancestor looked at the attacks which he was once able to deflect before in disbelief. Right now, he was in despair.

The massacre continued but in a one-sided fashion. Both the Chai Clan and the Yue Clan were really upset. As for the Gu Clan, they had never felt as regretful as they were now. However, the things a person did was like water that had been poured out. It could never be undone. They could sense danger slowly approaching their clan. Unfortunately, at this point, it was no longer something which they could take into consideration. The reason was that today, all of their lives would end here.

Sometimes, death wasn't the scariest thing. The worst was dying for no reason. Having a smile even down in the underworld was also considered to be gratifying. However, The Yue, Gu and Chai clans were unable to manage even that. They had indeed, died without knowing the reason for their deaths.

The following battle almost didn't have any suspense in it. For warriors at this level, it didn't take long for them to finish. From the beginning till the end, it only lasted for about an hour.

There were a lot of places in ruins around Qin King Manor. There were also a few warriors that had been injured. The majority of the battles took place in the sky. Otherwise, the entire Qin King Manor and nearby areas would have turned into rubble.

Every single enemy was annihilated. This battle was well fought. The damage which Qin King Manor received was minimal, though a few people might have died. To Qin King Manor, they had managed to withstand grave injuries. The people who died weren't the powerhouses of Qin King Manor. Qin Baifo and another old man received slight injuries. But with Qing Shui here, they were healed with relative ease.

As for the corpses, there would naturally be people who would take charge of handling them. The surroundings of Qin King Manor were covered in smoke. It was so quiet to the point not even a trace of sound could be heard. To Qin King Manor, it felt as if their life was renewed after a calamity.

Old Man Qin went to Qing Shui's side. Not only had this young man helped extend his lifespan, causing his position in Qin King Manor to improve, this time he even helped to ensure that Qin Royalty would be safe and sound. Without him, Qin King Manor would have been annihilated.

"Qing Shui, Qin King Manor owes you a debt which I am afraid we will never be able to pay. So long as you find Qin King Manor useful, you can tell us. Everyone from Qin King Manor will put everything at stake for you. Yes, I mean my word and it will be in effect forever." Old Man Qin looked into Qing Shui's eyes and said slowly. He sounded really firm.

Qing Shui smiled and shook his head, "Old man, you don't have to be so formal with me. Do you really think that I would just sit still and ignore everything that's happening to you?"

The old man smiled and remained silent. He really liked this young man. Not only was he capable, but he also took relationships seriously. While observing her granddaughter who had changed yet again, he felt relieved.

The change in her daughter occurred too suddenly. Prior to this, when Qing Shui didn't come back with Qin Qing, the old man was already aware that something was going on between them. Deep down, he felt really sad about it.

Today, having seen that Qing Shui had come, they all felt as if they had relieved a burden in their hearts. All along, the Qin Clan had been worried about the things that were going on with Qin Qing personally. She was too outstanding, outstanding to the point they didn't know what kind of man would suit her. The fact that she brought Qing Shui back this time already gave a sign of the man who would probably be a match to her.

Hence, everyone from Qin Clan was really happy. They never treated Qing Shui as an outsider. Qin Ying's death had caused a dark cloud in everyone's hearts which they couldn't sweep away for the time being. Not to mention it had even triggered a dramatic change in Qin Qing.

"Everyone, let's head back. This is something which is worth celebrating." Old Man Qin said in joy.

"Little brat, why don't you and Qing Shui both go down and get ready? You have all worked hard. Come down and have something to eat later." Qin Baifo said gently.

Everyone left. They all gave Qing Shui and Qin Qing some time alone. The reason why Qing Shui could make it to Qin King Manor was all because of Qin Qing. The reason why he could get involved in this matter was also because of Qin Qing. Not to say that he could help extend the Old Man Qin's lifespan, it was also because of Qin Qing.

"Thank you!" Qin Qing looked at Qing Shui and said gently. Her pupils looked extremely beautiful. However, from Qing Shui's perspective, those weren't the familiar pupils which he used to see before.

"Is there anything else for us to talk about? No matter what the future is, so long as I know that something has happened to you, I won't just sit still and watch as you fall. I will never do that." Qing Shui shook his head, let out a sigh and said.

"I can feel that your feelings for me have changed. I am aware that you don't like me doing this. But I can't control myself." Qin Qing said softly.

"I didn't change, nor am I against you doing so. Haven't you noticed that after the shock from before, that your heart has been filled with other stuff? As of now, it no longer has any place for me." Qing Shui shook his head and said in an upset tone. Upon receiving a certain shock, a person will change based on what the incident was about.

Qin Ying's death had caused Qin Qing to lose her interest for the affairs between men and women. It was replaced by hatred. This was also the change which Qing Shui sensed from her. Though she didn't do anything to Qing Shui, he was able to notice her resistance.

After being silent for a while, Qin Qing spoke slowly, "No I haven't. Deep in my heart, I still have expectations for you."

Qing Shui smiled, "What kind of expectations?"

"I look forward to you appearing in front of me. At the moment when you showed up, I knew that even if my heart was filled with hatred, it would still have room for you." Qin Qing looked at Qing Shui with her face blushed. For a woman cold as ice like her to have this kind of expression, it was extremely attractive and alluring.

It was the first time Qin Qing said something so affectionate in her entire life. No matter how calm Qing Shui tried to be, at the very least, he would still feel like a deer that was randomly crashing into stuff. Very quickly, she looked away, not daring to come into contact with Qing Shui's eyes.

If Qing Shui was still unable to grasp how she felt even after she spoke up to this point, he would have been really foolish. No matter how much she had changed, her feelings for him would never change.

Qing Shui took two steps forward and pulled her hand. It felt a bit cold. Qin Qing didn't try to break free from his grasp. She lifted her head and looked at Qing Shui, "Let's go back. I would like to take a bath as I am feeling really uncomfortable."

It was normal for her to feel this way after going through a battle. However, when she mentioned the word bath, Qing Shui's heart beat faster. He chuckled, "Alright, I would like to go and take a shower as well. Why don't we go together?"

"In your dreams!"

After some washing and rinsing, Qing Shui and Qin Qing returned to the main hall. At that time, it was almost already midnight. Most of the strongest warriors were all present in the living room. As it was said numerous times, there were only very few people in Qin King Manor. For an aristocratic clan, Qin King Manor was considered to be one that had very few members.

Old Man Qin let Qing Shui take the seat of honor. But naturally, Qing Shui refused to do so. In the end, Old Man Qin was still the one to take the seat. Qing Shui sat below Qin Baifo near Qin Qing.

The gossip around the dinner table was mostly about some relaxing topics. But occasionally, they would also talk about things related to the Chai, Yue or Gu clans. Right now, Qing Shui was no longer considered as an outsider.

Because it was night time, the banquet this time basically consisted of only a plain dinner as a form of celebration. The banquet ended fairly quickly. Other than the night vigils, all of the guests have gone back to rest.

……

On the second day, Qing Shui thought that Qin King Manor would take action against the attacking clans. But what surprised him was that Qin King Manor didn't do anything about it. They acted like nothing had ever happened.

Since Qing Shui had nothing to do , he aided Qin King Manor in setting up their defensive formation. Qing Shui's knowledge in formation was something which no one would ever be able to catch up no matter how hard they tried. The people from Qin King Manor had also learned a lot of things from him. Most of them had to do with formations.

Right at the moment when Qing Shui was thinking of what to do in the backyard, Old Man Qin approached him.

"Qing Shui, why don't you accompany an elderly like me for a walk!" The old man said in a friendly tone.

"I couldn't have asked for more!"

Qing Shui smiled and followed after the old man as they slowly walked along the small and shady path.

"Aren't you curious about why I refuse to investigate on those people and take this opportunity to retaliate?" The old man smiled and asked while walking.

Qing Shui smiled and nodded. However, deep down, he has already had his own assumptions.

"Though Qin King Manor may seem to be really impressive, it has always been in a risky situation. The reason is due to the few members which Qin King Manor has. We are like tigers without teeth. We are respected and feared by a lot of people. Qin King Manor has also done things with benevolence and righteousness. From the outsiders' points of view, they thought that Qin King Manor was hiding a lot of warriors. For example, the matter right ahead of us, it's not necessary for Qin King Manor to take a step forward and get involved. It's better to leave them scared. The most fearful time to a person is right before the moment when we show our fist."

The old man sounded upset when he was saying this. Qing Shui was able to understand why. He smiled and said, "Old man, constantly being tolerant towards others isn't the way to solve problems. There are times when you need to be firm with your decision and make your move. Otherwise, you will have no choice but to suffer the fate of being bullied by others."

The old man's eyes turned bright. He smiled back upon seeing Qing Shui's smile, "I am old now. Qing Shui, you can go pay these clans a visit along with Qing`er. How do you feel about that?"

"That would certainly not be a problem."

After chit-chatting for a while, Qing Shui bid farewell to the old man and returned to the courtyard only to realize that Qin Qing was still awake and standing by the window in the hall on the first floor. She was looking out the window and seemed distracted.

At the moment when she heard Qing Shui's footsteps, she turned around and said, "You're back!"

When Qing Shui saw her smile, it's as if he went back to the past. He nodded, "Why are you still awake?"

Qing Shui walked up to her and looked outside. This place had a very good view. There was a decent amount of people outside. Like usual, they were living their own lives. No matter what kind of changes would happen to their surroundings, it would eventually go on. Life must continue.

"I was just about to go to bed when you came back."

"I thought you couldn't wait for me to fall asleep." Qing Shui smiled and looked at her. He was unable to forget the shy look which Qin Qing had shown just now. It looked so beautiful that it could topple cities.

"I am going to bed now!" Qin Qing slightly shook her head and was about to leave after she finished speaking.

"Sister Qin, the old man is planning to let us go on a trip to the Chai Clan, the Yue Clan, and the Gu Clan. When do you think it would be the right time for us to set off?" Qing Shui stopped Qin Qing.

After a moment of thought, Qin Qing revealed a joyful expression, "Why don't we give them two days to consider it first? I am sure they would be really nervous during these days."