The Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 1593 - Successor of the Titan Ox Demon King Inheritance: Wrecking the Imperial Cuisine Hall

Qing Shui remained quiet. Thinking back on Tantai Lingyan's aloofness, he didn't know if he could use love to redeem her. The only advantage he possessed was that they had once had an intimate encounter by mistake. This should be deeply engraved in her heart, not to be forgotten, right?

Tantai Lingyan was still fine for now, but the blood of the Demon King would emit a strong energy based on strength and events. He was afraid that she wouldn't be able to control it when the times came, and be taken over by the blood of the Demon King which her body was cultivating.

"Brother-in-law, what are you thinking about? Do you have a Demon King Successor whom you want to redeem?" Xue Nuo asked as she recalled his question.

"I do, but it seems like a difficult feat," Qing Shui sighed. He could only wait and see.

"But brother-in-law, the Demon King Successor in the Ice Ocean Domain is a man. How are you going to sway him? Even if you want to, you should find a female Demon King," Xue Nuo teased.

"Are you itching for a beating, little girl?" Qing Shui laughed.

"Hmph, you're acting mature again." Xue Nuo hated it when Qing Shui treated her like a kid, but what she didn't know was that he was doing it on purpose. He wanted her to accept reality.

"Alright, stop keeping us in suspense. We should talk about this person who got the Demon King Inheritance, is it a family or just one person?" Qing Shui smiled at Lan Lingfeng.

Lan Lingfeng cleared his throat before speaking up with a smile. "They're an aristocrat clan, but only one of them got the Demon King Inheritance. They're the successor to the Titan Ox Demon King Inheritance."

Qing Shui was startled. Although he knew that this was just mere coincidence, he had been all too familiar with the Titan Ox Demon King from the mythologies of his previous life. This was a sage they were talking about, an exceedingly mighty existence.

"Is there a problem?" Lan Lingfeng asked, baffled by Qing Shui's reaction.

"It's nothing. I just thought that the name, 'Titan Ox Demon King' sounded powerful." Qing Shui smiled.

"Not just powerful, the Titan Ox Demon King was a powerhouse from ancient times. Not only did it have an extraordinary strength, it was skilled at fire-type attacks. The Titan Ox Strength is terrifying," Lan Lingfeng said as though he had just remembered it.

Titan Ox Strength was brought up again. Qing Shui's own body was one of those with Titan Ox Strength. Who'd guess that the Titan Ox Demon King's expertise was in Titan Ox Strength—he supposed it was a lot stronger than his own.

Qing Shui didn't speak up this time and continued to listen.

"Coincidentally, Niu is also the clan's surname. According to rumors, they're an Inheritor Clan. They have the blood of the Titan Ox flowing in their veins and have suddenly grown forceful in the Imperial City of the Ice Domain. With their great momentum, there's no one who could be a match." Lan Lingfeng didn't go into details.

Qing Shui had wanted to enquire about how strong they were but decided against it eventually. Warriors of the Demon King Inheritance were not only quick at increasing their might, they could improve drastically once as well. The only flaw was that the cultivators could gradually be taken over by the Demon King blood.

The scariest part was that those people whom the blood of the Demon King took over were still conscious. They would begin to have a change in temperament, becoming bloodthirsty and could even kill without hesitation. However, they wouldn't sense a difference in themselves nor would they feel controlled by the blood of the Demon King. They would still be sober.

Just like how one would begin to spend more money as they got richer—they wouldn't think of it as a waste, but a necessity. This applied to the logic of expansion and similarly, to the blood of the Demon King. That was why the successors of the Demon King Inheritance wouldn't find anything amiss.

Good and Evil weren't compatible with each other. Just like how, in the eyes of Evil, those who are Good are mere hypocrites. Maybe there wasn't a right or wrong in this world, just like wolves devouring sheep—were the wolves wrong? Or sheep eating grass—did the grass deserve to be eaten? This was the natural order of things. It's all relative, with no definite right or wrong.

"Have they been up to anything lately?" Qing Shui asked, a smile still evident on his face.

"Yes! One of those fools from the Niu Clan has his eyes set on my woman. Don't you think he is just asking for a beating?" Lan Lingfeng grew furious at the mention of this.

The Ziche Clan was a big clan in the Imperial City of Ice Domain, and the Niu Clan was an Inheritor Clan of the Demon King. Perhaps it was the abrupt appearance of such a strong force within the Niu Clan—their might could overpower the Ziche Clan at this point. It didn't even take very long before a young master of the Niu Clan, Niu Fen, had proposed marriage to the Ziche Clan.

Although Lan Lingfeng and Ziche Sha confirmed their relationship, they had not announced it. With that, Ziche Sha was technically still unattached and their proposal was nothing out of the ordinary.

Old Man Ziche knew about Ziche Sha and Lan Lingfeng's relationship. After all, Lan Lingfeng had been to the Ziche Clan several times. Lan Lingfeng had had plans to propose marriage to the Ziche Clan for a long time, but he was stopped by the Ziche Sha time and time again, saying that they should wait a while longer. Lan Lingfeng knew that she was shy and had naturally chosen to respect her decision. Their marriage was only a matter of time anyway.

As anticipated, Old Man Ziche had told Niu Clan that Ziche Sha had already found someone.

There would always be rumors and news of the engagement spreading around, and so, it wasn't possible for such distinguishable figures like Miss Ziche and Lan Lingfeng to keep mum about it. Hence, there was only one possibility left—Old Man Ziche must have lied.

Despite this, the Niu Clan knew that the old man hadn't lied. Many were aware that Ziche Sha and Lan Lingfeng were always seen together, in the Imperial Cuisine Hall. In addition, the Niu Clan didn't have any disputes with the Ziche Clan. They pointed their spear towards Lan Lingfeng instead.

The Lan Clan was a big clan in Linhai City, but the Niu Clan had never regarded the Lan Clan to be on the same level as them. Niu Fen brought their people straight to the Imperial Cuisine Hall.

Who was Lan Lingfeng? He was the successor of the Battle God Inheritance, and the Lan Clan was a prominent clan in Linhai City. When Niu Fen came to challenge Lan Lingfeng, he was defeated quickly.

Lan Lingfeng's progress was swift these days. With the medicinal pills that Qing Shui left, along with his understanding of the Battle God Inheritance, he was able to advance by leaps and bounds in recent years. Compared to when Qing Shui first met Lan Lingfeng, his might had increased drastically but it still wasn't comparable to Qing Shui.

Niu Fen was also one of the best among the younger generation of the Niu Clan. Although he wasn't the one who attained the Demon God Inheritance, he was still of high standing in the clan. In fact, he might take over the Niu Clan in the future.

Niu Fen might have lost but there were others in the Niu Clan who had issued a duel challenge to Lan Lingfeng. At the mention of that topic, Lan Lingfeng presented one for Qing Shui to see.

The invitation wasn't issued all that long ago. On it stated a two out of three victory; if Lan Lingfeng loses, he would have to give up Ziche Sha, and if the Niu Clan fails, they wouldn't probe into the issue any further.

"The Niu Clan treats you like a fool," Qing Shui said to Lan Lingfeng with a grin.

That's how humans are. It was obvious to everyone involved that this was a deliberate move, this sort provocation has been proven to work many times.

There was an underlying meaning in this as well. First, the Niu Clan was looking down on him. It was a way of saying, "If you know what's good for you, you'll give up Ziche Sha." Second, it was to provoke Lan Lingfeng, banking on his arrogance and pride to anger him into agreeing.

It was a pity that the Lan Lingfeng now was different from before; he wouldn't get agitated over such a small issue. Now that Qing Shui was back, his tolerance was even stronger.

"We don't even know who's the fool. I've never seen such an idiot. How could my woman become an item to wager? I wouldn't even change it for his mother," Lan Lingfeng huffed.

"Rascal, what are you going on about? How vulgar," Ziche Sha scolded in annoyance but she was inwardly pleased. To be cared about by your man was a type of bliss too.

"I said something wrong but I'm simply too angry. That Niu Fen really thinks he's something. I think he's just cow dung."

(T/N: Cow dung is a play on his name, Niu Fen. They sound exactly alike in Chinese.)

Although Niu Fen lost, the challenge was to be fought on his behalf. Three matches, though it was unclear who his opponent would be.

"Have you agreed?" Qing Shui asked.

"The invitation was sent here by a messenger but I've told them to send a message back," Lan Lingfeng laughed.

"What message?" Qing Shui smiled.

"I told them that it's possible for me to accept but there has to be a change in conditions. If I lose, I won't seek any trouble from the Niu Clan, but if I win, Niu Fen's mother will have to sweep the courtyard of the Imperial Cuisine Hall," Lan Lingfeng said calmly.

Those were impulsive words that were said in a moment of rage but while he knew it was rash, he didn't have any regrets. Now that Qing Shui was back, he was even more sure of this.

Qing Shui smiled but didn't say much. He did want to observe the Niu Clan. After all, he would have to fight against the successors of the Demon King's Inheritance at some point in the future; this would be a good opportunity to sound them out.

At this moment, someone from the Imperial Cuisine Hall came and knocked on their door urgently. Lan Lingfeng let him in.

It was a young man, doing odds and ends at Imperial Cuisine Hall. He looked ordinary and was in equally ordinary garb. In spite of how he looked, he was actually stronger than the average person.

The moment he came in, he began speaking in a frantic manner. "Someone from Niu Clan is standing outside. They said they would wreck Imperial Cuisine Hall if you don't go out there within the next ten minutes."

"How dare he!? I would love to see what they plan on doing." Lan Lingfeng grew anxious.

Qing Shui pulled him back. "Why the rush? Drink up. Tell him to wreck the Imperial Cuisine Hall if he has the guts, but tell him this: If he dares to wreck Imperial Cuisine Hall, I will make their patriarch and all his direct descendants repair it for me. Go, tell them exactly what I said." Qing Shui waved with a smile.

Lan Lingfeng sat back down and beamed. "Our Master Qing is still the most courageous. Here, let's make a toast."

Xue Nuo giggled. "This is the first time I've seen my brother-in-law this valiant, and I've always thought you were rational."

"Little girl, are you trying to say I'm irrational?" Qing Shui held up his cup and made a toast.

"I didn't say anything, you said it yourself."

Xue Nuo laughed happily but she was still indicating that he was being irrational with that sentence.

"Little girl, you're bound to act rashly at some point in your life. You can't label me irrational just for this." Qing Shui faked an expression of deep ponder as he said.

"I realize you've been great at acting mature now, huh. Are you trying to provoke me?" Xue Nuo said with slight annoyance.

Bang, bang!

The crashing sound came from the front of Imperial Cuisine Palace. Qing Shui's lips curled into a smile before breaking into a laugh. "Come on, let's go take a look, we don't want anyone to get hurt."

"Brother, whatever you said before, does it still stand?" Lan Lingfeng asked in glee.

"What did I say?" Qing Shui smiled.

"The part about having Niu Clan's patriarch and their direct descendants repair our damage." Lan Lingfeng said in anticipation.

"When have I not kept to my word?" With a smile, he led the group out to the front of the Imperial Cuisine Hall.