The Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 1650 - Qi Clan Leaves Dejectedly, Benevolent Golden Buddha

It was agreed upon previously that whoever lost would say that he is not a man.

At that point, neither of them believed that they would lose and that's why they agreed. Thus, Qi Yunhe never expected himself to actually be defeated. His body, full of bloodstains, shook and in a moment of anger actually fainted.

Lan Lingfeng was very gloomy as he originally thought he could hear Qi Yunhe say the words "I'm not a man". Now that he looked at the situation, he couldn't possibly wake him up so that he could hear him say those word. That would really be too much.

"He really knows how to faint. Is he really a man?" Lan Lingfeng couldn't help but say that.

Qi Clan had already sent some people to carry Qi Yunhe away while Clan Master Qi did not have a good look on his face. Looking at Lan Lingfeng, he didn't know who had acted and caused Qi Yunhe's body to get affected so badly but he knew that the person must be in cahoots with the Young Master from the Lan Clan.

Had the Lan Clan always had such a powerful expert protecting them? What was the strength of this person who had acted from the shadows? Within the Ice Domain Dynasty, only the royal clan had mysterious experts other than the royal clan so the Qi Clan held no regard for anyone else.

Clan Master Qi's motioned with his eyes and an elder beside him dashed towards Lan Lingfeng. But in an instant, he was blocked by Old Man Ziche who said to Clan Master Qi: "Today is Little Sha's big day of celebration. What do you mean by this?"

Right now, Old Man Ziche did not bother shouting at Clan Master Qi. If the other party did not want to give him face, why should he do the same? Old Man Ziche was an upright man and it was not in him to grovel at someone else's feet. Because it was a joyous occasion and the other party might have been a guest, even though he knew they probably weren't, he remained polite as etiquette dictated as such.

"Old Man Ziche, we came today especially to propose a marriage. I'm not sure what your opinion is?" Clan Master Qi said in a manner that seemed polite but was obviously filled with condescension.

Old Man Ziche was furious but before he could say anything, Lan Lingfeng interjected: "Today is a joyous occasion for us and we don't welcome you here. You can either leave on your own or we can have you thrown out."

Lan Lingfeng's words were terse and provocative. There were few in the Ice Domain Dynasty who could speak to the Qi Clan's master in this manner and even if they were it wouldn't be this direct. While Clan Master Qi possessed a lot of self-restraint, this time his eyes narrowed and he suddenly reached his hands out towards Lan Lingfeng's face.

"I'll have to say, you're already such an old man. Why do you have to be full of fire and brimstone? Unreasonable people will not see a good ending."

Qing Shui stood up and although no one saw him move, he immediately appeared in between Clan Master Qi and Lan Lingfeng and punched right across!

Peng!

Clan Master Qi immediately coughed out fresh blood as he flew backward. Qing Shui had only just finished saying those words but everything happened as fast as lightning which led to everyone being shocked with disbelief at the outcome.

Clan Master Qi was definitely very strong. He was a Peak False God with one foot in the Divine realm. Yet, he was hit with only one punch and had already fallen to the ground, unable to get up.

No one dared to make a move. As Qing Shui smiled and walked towards him, the 30-odd people in the group couldn't help but take a step back.

"Imperial Cuisine Hall is my home and everyone here are my brothers and sisters. To think that I only got back for three days and someone had already tried to stir up trouble in my home. Don't you think that I should kill the whole lot of you?"

The way Qing Shui calmly said those words made the others freeze in place.

"Senior. we have eyes but failed to see. We're in the wrong. Please give us another chance." Clan Master Qi said while trying to prop himself up despite his internal injuries.

At this point, all pretenses were dropped even though he suffered serious injuries. It was not important anymore. Having offended such an expert, it could bring calamity to the entire Qi Clan.

"Just a Peak False God and you're already this uncontrollable. If you become a Divine, would you have just torn my Imperial Cuisine Hall down? You were doing just fine in the Imperial City. Why come to Linhai City? Just to pick a fight? Is Linhai City that easy to bully?" Qing Shui kept walking towards Clan Master Qi.

The clan master's body was drenched in sweat while the front of his robe was full of fresh blood that he had spat out. He hastily said: "You're a magnanimous man who'll forgive a nobody's mistake. This type of thing will never happen again. I do hope Senior will give me a chance and once the banquet is over, I'll especially come again to offer my apologies."

"I wanted to kill all of you originally but Lan Clan's master and Old Man Ziche are unwilling to see this joyous occasion marred by bloodshed. Miss Ziche also doesn't like to see blood. Even so, if I were to just let you leave, isn't this letting you off too lightly?" Qing Shui murmured.

One did not need to see heads fall even after killing*, but letting people of this ilk off just like that would be too benevolent. Clan Master Qi extended his right hand and immediately smashed his left arm, creating a clear sound of bones shattering rang out.

(*T/N: One doesn't need to go overboard once the aims have been achieved)

The others in the Qi Clan naturally followed suit and smashed one of their arms. Qing Shui nodded and waved his hand dismissively.

The Qi Clan quickly left in dejection.

Lan Lingfeng happily patted Qing Shui's shoulder and said: "It's still my good Brother that's strong after all."

"Alright, today's supposed to be a joyous occasion. Let's not let others affect our moods." Qing Shui laughed.

"They definitely can't affect our mood. In fact, I'm now in a really happy mood."

……

…..

Thereafter the banquet continued in an uneventful and smooth fashion with no one else trying to stir up trouble. What happened today oddly had its benefits. Imperial Cuisine Hall's strength was already unstoppable and combined with their kind-heartedness, their fame would spread even further.

Furthermore, Lan Clan and Ziche Clan will also gain reputation, though Old Man Ziche did not know if it was a good or bad thing. The trees that stand the tallest in the forest will be the first to get blown away*. If the Ziche Clan's strength did not increase as its fame did, it wouldn't be a good thing.

(*T/N: Outstanding people will always be the object of other people's envy, criticism, and typically unwanted attention)

Qing Shui naturally saw through what Old Man Ziche was thinking and smiled: "Don't worry Old Man. As Lingfeng gets stronger, Ziche Clan will also follow."

Lan Clan was happy of course since Lan Lingfeng was the successor. As long as he became strong, the Lan Clan would be strong as well.

Old Man Ziche still felt a twinge of regret. Although he was satisfied with Lan Lingfeng, he originally took a liking to Qing Shui. However, upon seeing the look of bliss on his daughter, all was forgotten. Also, seeing the two women - obviously superior to Ziche Sha - by Qing Shui's side, he felt that Little Sha would not be as happy following Qing Shui as compared to Lan Lingfeng. It was also clear that Little Sha liked Lan Lingfeng too.

Lan Lingfeng's looks and character were top notch and even Qing Shui felt that this man was capable of attracting many women. If he were in Qing Shui's previous world, he would be the quintessential tall, rich and handsome guy. Not just any tall, rich and handsome guy but one that was also very capable.

……

…...

The new year came quickly and the day before new year's, the Qi Clan's master came. His arm still had not healed and Qing Shui met him alone which caused his face to display some panic.

Qing Shui knew what he was thinking the moment he saw his face and said: "Harm will not come to your clan. Don't worry. I've let you guys off so we won't pick on your clan."

A look of relief swept across Clan Master Qi's face who then offered a hasty word of thanks: "Thank you. This is something my clan has kept. While I'm not sure what it is, it shouldn't be too shabby and you won't dislike it."

As he finished saying, he handed to Qing Shui an Interspatial Silk Sachet. Qing Shui did not stand on ceremony and he believed the clan master will not use a piece of rubbish to go through the motions.

As Qing Shui looked into the Interspatial Silk Sachet on the spot, what he saw caused him to be taken aback.

Benevolent Golden Buddha!

There was actually such a thing. Qing Shui never expected it to be something like the Benevolent Golden Buddha. Although he did not know what it was used for specifically, it was likely to be related to medical treatments. No wonder the Qi Clan did not know what it was used for even though it was sheathed in spiritual qi.

Qing Shui closed the sachet and said: "I don't know what this is used for but I do like the Buddha statue."

"That's great, so I won't bother Senior anymore."

Qing Shui took it as the clan master wanting to come over to obtain his verbal promise and could not be put at ease. Qing Shui didn't feel like exterminating his clan nor would he go as far as doing so.

Qing Shui looked at the Golden Buddha in his hands and peered into it with his Heavenly Vision Technique.

Benevolent Golden Buddha!

When treating others or oneself, strengthening muscles and bones, meridians, as well as Constitution Nurturing will receive double the effect.

Although Qing Shui had thought about it, it wasn't complete. Looking at this effect now made him elated. This was a great object that suited him very well. It was an incredibly mysterious object that's tailored for physicians' use. For example, physicians who know acupuncture would receive double the effect from this.

This Benevolent Golden Buddha finding its way into Qing Shui's hands was akin to finding a good master. Otherwise, it would have just continued to be buried among the treasures.

The day before the new year, the streets were full of lanterns, streamers and festive decorations and the Imperial Cuisine Hall was no different. This was all done by people like Qing Shui and Yu Niang which was a delight. The little lass wore really thick - and new - clothing with only their long braids visible, which was a sight that made everyone who saw it very happy. Tantai Lingyan, Qin Qing and even Ziche Sha and Ling Fei loved to bring her around to play.

The Imperial Cuisine Hall did not cease operations since it wouldn't be the case that there would be no sick people during the new year. A physician's natural duty is to heal the wounded and save the dying so Imperial Cuisine Hall would have someone on duty no matter the time.

As the sky turned dark, the sky was filled with fireworks. In no time, the sky was filled with the magnificent colors that erupted from the fireworks. The Imperial Cuisine Hall really prepared lots of fireworks.

The bell that ushered in the New Year rang out loud and the firecrackers did not stop. Tantai Lingyan seemed to be witnessing such a beautiful spectacle for the first time. She was delighted and the smile plastered on her beautiful face that could overthrow cities and topple kingdoms was even more beautiful than the fireworks in the sky.

As Qing Shui turned to look at the smile that remained stunning amidst the sky filled with fireworks, at that moment he remained awestruck. Her smile did not seem to be filled with the loneliness of before.

Qin Qing was also beside him and she was wearing a snow-white pleated skirt instead of the usual palace garb, which gave her an air of untouched beauty. She raised her head to look at the fireworks in the sky which exuded unspeakable grandeur and magnificence.

Qing Shui walked across and held each of them in each arm, feeling extremely happy. It was yet another year of brilliant fireworks and picturesque scenery.

Lan Lingfeng and Ziche Sha, Yin Tong and Ling Fei, Tian Yi, Xue Nuo as well as Yu Niang and her four children all joyfully looked at the non-stop fireworks in the sky.

All the way until past midnight, they each went to rest thereafter and the next day Lan Lingfeng and Ziche Sha had to go back home for a New Year's visit. Quite a number of people in Linhai City also paid a visit to Imperial Cuisine Hall. Qing Shui's fame had long since spread.

Even the Lan Clan also came. Although relations between Lan Lingfeng and Qing Shui were good, this time Qing Shui had helped the Lan Clan so naturally he was also close to them and treated the elders of their clan with respect, especially Lan Lingfeng's father.

"Uncle, I originally intended to go over to yours to pay a visit for the New Year's but I can't make time at the moment. I'll go over in two days."

Lan Clan's master was naturally welcoming, his heart was full of joy. If not for Lan Lingfeng, Qing Shui wouldn't be so close to their clan.

This Clan Master Lan certainly knew it!