The Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 1617 - The Showdown Between the Younger Generations of the Qing and the Nalan Clan (4)

At this moment, Nalan Linfeng was feeling conflicted. He took out his long sword, knowing that this wasn't the time for him to have protective feelings for the opposite sex. Both of them stayed quiet. Actually, Nalan Linfeng had intended to speak but Qing Yin hadn't even bothered to look at him.

Nalan Linfeng was an arrogant person. He couldn't afford to embarrass himself in front of so many people. At this moment, Qing Yin already had her hands on her Five-String Zither.

Zheng!

A powerful and sonorous sound rang. This was the Phoenix Cry Sonic Attack. Qing Yin was considered to be one of the most talented people in music among the younger generation, along with Qing Yan. However, Qing Yan was the kind of person who found it difficult to kill others. Hence, she only practiced it for self-defense.

Although Qing Yin felt slightly reluctant to stand out, she definitely had the ability to do so. Qing Shui had high hopes for this daughter of his. Qing Yin once again strummed the Five-String Zither. Just like before, the noise made from the Five-String Zither was sonorous. But this time, it felt as if the melody struck directly at one's heart, instilling fear in those who heard it.

The Phoenix Cry Sonic Attack could be used for offense, defense, as well as support.

Nalan Linfeng knitted his brows. He shook the long sword in his hand and a resounding noise of a dragon's cry was heard. Although it couldn't be compared to the cry of an actual dragon, it was remarkably realistic.

Dragon Crying Sword!

The sword in Nalan Linfeng's hand was the Dragon Crying Sword. It was capable of emitting dragon cries in the midst of attacks. The weapon was very effective against both humans and Demonic Beasts. Hence, Nalan Linfeng spent much effort in familiarizing himself with the Dragon Crying Sword.

The dragon cries from the sword were able to help Nalan Linfeng regain a strand of clarity. Unfortunately, he had clearly underestimated the Phoenix Cry Sonic Attack. Phoenix cries might not be as shocking as dragon cries but they were existences of the same level. Furthermore, Qing Yin's Phoenix Cry Sonic Attack was a lot more powerful than the dragon cries emitting from the sword.

Nalan Linfeng charged towards Qing Yin with his sword. Unfortunately, Qing Yin was floating in the sky like flower petals. She didn't seem fast, yet she managed to avoid the attack, constantly playing her Five-String Zither at the same time.

Sweat gradually gathered on Nalan Linfeng's forehead. The Phoenix Cry Sonic Attack took aim at the opponent's Spirit Energy. Furthermore, the attack also consumed the opponent's strength, lowering their endurance and unnerving them.

Qing Yin was merely playing her Five-String Zither. She didn't initiate any attacks. She didn't even bother to look at Nalan Linfeng. By relying on the great mastery she had over her footwork, she constantly moved around the sky. From Nalan Linfeng's perspective, although the melodies sounded really beautiful, he was also in a difficult situation because of them. From the audiences' view however, they couldn't help but enjoy the harmonious melodies. The Sound Killing Force was only directed at Nalan Linfeng.

Nalan Linfeng was reluctant to leave things as they were. The Dragon Crying Sword let out a loud and clear dragon cry. Nalan Linfeng suddenly seemed to be on steroids as he suddenly charged towards Qing Yin at an unbelievably fast speed.

Qing Yin swayed her body, playing an abrupt tune with her Five-String Zither. A high-pitched phoenix's cry was emitted. It was as if it could pierce through even the sky itself. Qing Yin retreated and abruptly kicked out with her right leg. There was only an afterimage left in the air along with the sound of space ripping apart.

Pa!

The kick landed on Nalan Linfeng's arm. The kick that was capable of breaking stones and splitting mountains caused Nalan Linfeng to grunt, dropping his sword onto the arena as the clear sound of a bone breaking could be heard.

The previous, high-pitched Phoenix's Cry caused a disturbance in Nalan Linfeng's Spiritual Sense. In addition, Qing Yin's kick was no ordinary kick. It was one of the killer moves of the Tiger Form.

Tiger Tailwhip Kick!

Qing Yin stopped moving. This was because if Nalan Linfeng was a sensible person, he would know that he had lost and act accordingly.

Qing Shui revealed a faint smile on his face. In terms of mental state, Qing Yin had one of the calmest minds among her brothers and sisters. This time, there was no suspense in how Nalan Linfeng was defeated.

Nalan Linfeng stayed down. Prior to this, Qing Ming had already managed to beat a few people from the Nalan Clan. Since the beginning, the Nalan Clan had only managed to win a single match. Furthermore, they had won by relying on the Secret Art of the Light Saber. Ten matches had already been fought, and yet they only managed to win one. This was really embarrassing.

However, the winner of the competition wasn't based on how many times the participants won; it was determined by who was the last person that stood on the arena. The Nalan Clan might be furious but they were able to endure and continue to battle. If any of the juniors wanted to go up the arena, they would allow it as long as they were in the right condition to do so. It wasn't a bad thing to have actual matches as they would gain experience. That was why they suffered so many losses.

The benefits that the members of the Qing Clan earned from these battles were a lot more significant than the Nalan Clan's. However, Qing Shui was well aware that the next few participants would be the strongest members among the younger generation of the Nalan Clan.

Qing Shui wasn't worried as he had Luan Luan keeping watch of the situation. Furthermore, Qing Yin had also managed to achieve a decent level in the Nine Palace Steps. If that wasn't the case, Qing Shui wouldn't have allowed his precious daughter to take such a risk.

The next contestant was a girl with a ponytail. She had a tall and slender figure. The warrior's attire she wore made her seem heroic and beautiful at the same time. However, she was clearly eclipsed by Qing Yin's beauty.

The girl was holding a whip. Seeing that, Qing Shui remembered his previous incarnation. With that attire and the whip, adding her tall and upright ponytail, she looked just like the legendary queen. He didn't mean the queen from this world; he meant the kind of queen that could only be seen in his previous incarnation.

"Nalan Yunduo!" The girl said to Qing Yin.

"Qing Yin!" Qing Yin said slowly.

Qing Yin's calmness and magnanimity tend to cause others to feel pressured. This kind of pressure would make her opponent feel like they weren't on the same level as her and hence, it would be difficult or nearly impossible for them to win.

The girl's mentality was considered quite firm, clenching her teeth as she said, "Be careful."

The whip below Nalan Yunduo's feet was brimming with green light. Her figure became a bit blurry. What happened next was that she charged towards Qing Yin like a willow leaf that was floating along with the wind. Her whip was still shining with green light as she struck toward Qing Yin.

The soft long whip instantly became as straight as a sharp sword, as it pierced its way toward Qing Yin.

Qing Yin played the zither with one hand as she took out her snow-white long sword with her other hand. She greeted the incoming whip with her sword. With one move, she immediately trapped the whip in a vortex.

Nalan Yunduo was really concerned about the zither in Qing Yin's hand. She wanted to immediately destroy the Five-String Zither. She looked on as her whip was suppressed by Qing Yin.

She abruptly pulled her whip back and swiftly whipped it towards Qing Yin again. This time, there were no flashy movements and she was simply lashing out violently.

Nalan Yunduo was aware that she was stronger than Qing Yin. Hence, she decided to use the most effective and direct way to defeat Qing Yin. The longer the battle lasted, the more disadvantages it was for her.

Naturally, Qing Yin wouldn't meet her opponent head on. In a flash, she retreated by three meters. But at this moment, Nalan Yunduo revealed a devious smile. The whip she unleashed seemed to be alive. It instantaneously extended by three meters and approached Qing Yin once again.

Qing Yin watched as the whip came closer. The attacks of the whip were very hard to receive. But Qing Shui had taught her before that when deflecting a snake-like whip attack, one had to attack its critical position. That would diminish the force of the whip and would also inhibit its flexibility.

Qing Yin struck the seven inch position of the whip. Although this method seemed easy, the exact location to hit was subjective. Furthermore, the opponents wouldn't just allow you to hit as you pleased. Hence, it was actually quite difficult to pull off such an attack.

Zheng-zheng!

Qing Yin was playing the zither with one hand while her other hand held her sword. The steps she took were beautiful and agile yet they also gave people a feeling of dominance. To everyone's surprise, she managed to completely suppress Nalan Yunduo in just a short while.

The most powerful aspect of the Tiger Form laid in its ability to land continuous attacks. Once one got the advantage in battle, they would be able to constantly pressure their opponent. At this moment, Qing Yin was just like a descending beautiful tiger. She was only displaying the gracefulness of the Tiger Form and not its techniques.

If a person focused only on defending, there was bound to be mistakes. Hence, the saying where offense was the best form of defense. However, Nalan Yunduo was completely suppressed by Qing Yin and had no choice but to defend continuously. In a bout of carelessness, her wrist was suddenly pierced by Qing Yin. The injury was quite serious, where the sword had almost pierced through her wrist.

Qing Yin had no intention to kill anyone. Hence, she didn't follow up with another attack, swiftly increasing her distance from her opponent and letting the other make a choice.

Nalan Yunduo left the arena in disappointment, seemingly unaware of the blood dripping off her wrist.

As one party celebrated, the other was depressed. An elder from the Nalan Clan looked into the sky and said softly, "Chi'er, go onto the stage."

A silly-looking man appeared on the stage. From how he looked, he seemed a bit slow. However, his eyes were extremely clear. He was a member from Nalan Clan's young generation who was obsessed with martial arts. His name was Nalan Chi.

He wasn't old, but he wasn't that young either and was probably double Qing Yin's age. Despite his age, he was still considered among the youngest generation in his clan. This was how the world of martial arts worked. Everyone below a hundred years would be considered the young generation and sixty years of age was considered as being young. This was different from ordinary people, who usually had shorter lifespans. However, their lifespans still reached about two hundred years. Everyone in the continent aged slowly and this had to do with the Spiritual energy in the environment.

Hence, Nalan Chi was considered very young. He carried a sword without a sheath on his back. As soon as Qing Shui saw the young man, he could already tell that Qing Yin would be no match for him. They were on totally different levels.

Qing Yin opened her beautiful eyes, keeping the long sword in her hand. After that, she slowly extended her hand and started strumming the Five-string zither.

Zheng-zheng…

To everyone's surprise, Nalan Chi was totally unaffected by the sounds. It was as if he didn't even hear it. Qing Shui now came to understand this person's infatuation with martial arts. Everyone called him an idiot. But there were advantages as well. One of the most notable traits he had was that he paid no attention to external matters. In other words, it could be said that he never heard or saw anything. Nothing was able to disturb him. For such a person, it was as if he lived in his own world and did not suffer from any disturbances.

Qing Yin had also noticed this problem. After realizing the situation, she immediately put away her Five-String Zither.

Nalan Chi was finally made his move. Just from the way he moved, one could already tell that he was on a whole different level compared to those before him. Every time he swung his sword, Qing Yin was unable to dodge his attack. It was as if his attacks were absolute. No matter how hard she tried to dodge, she was simply unable to. Since that was the case, she gave up trying to avoid them, swiftly striking out with her long sword.

Qing Yin struck out with her sword, borrowing the force from the strike to withdraw more than two hundred meters. Her face was red. The gap in strength was too huge. Qing Shui felt pained to see his daughter like that. Right at this moment, a figure appeared between Qing Yin and Nalan Chi.

Luan Luan!

"Yin`er, you can rest now, I'll handle the rest of the fight!" With such a large disparity in strength, Qing Yin would only sustain injuries and not gain any benefits. Hence, there was no need for her to continue battling.

Luan Luan showing up was much more preferable to seeing Qing Yin admitting defeat or being defeated.