The Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 2326 - Recognizing its Master, Terrifying Divine Battle Puppet

It was difficult to distinguish truth from lies in Qing Shui's words, but Yuchi Ding's heart still lunged at them. The Nine Continents Demon Gate and the Nine Continents Divine Palace both had the words "Nine Continents" in them, which proved their abilities to be in the Middle or Upper Three Regions. Divine Rain Sect was only located in the Lower Three Regions and wouldn't have any advantage in the Middle Three Regions.

The two men left and Qing Shui didn't understand why they would agree to his conditions either. He had felt his own conditions demanding as well and did not expect them to agree. Not only that, but they truly gifted them a unique item. Moreover, he wasn't expecting it to be a Divine Artifact like the Divine Battle Puppet.

It was beyond doubt that this was a Divine Artifact, as it was already this powerful while still damaged. How terrifying would it be if it was in perfect condition?

Qing Shui felt that he had truly earned from the exchange. This item was terrifying in power. In his hands, it would definitely become an invincible tool and be able to crush many adversaries with it. In fact, Qing Shui thought that the Divine Battle Puppet would be able to crush the Divine Rain Sect easily after his refinement. It would be as easy as sweeping autumn leaves with a gust.

"Younger Brother, you're amazing!" Chi Yang was impressed as he complimented in glee.

"Elder Brother, don't worry. Chi Clan's standing is unwavering in the Eight Desolates City. I will pay a visit to the Divine Rain Sect later, so I can have peace of mind. Thereafter, I'd fetch Chi Ao and Chi Feng over."

Chi Yang seemed to recall something and proposed, "It'll be a long travel. Why don't we go with you?"

"I think it'll be better if I go alone, it'll be much faster this way. Going together would take too much time." Qing Shui could return directly to Yehuang Guwu if he went alone and arrived straight to his destination.

Chi Yang pondered for a moment and spoke no more. While he wanted to see his children, a few more days didn't matter much after years of not meeting.

……

Within the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal, Qing Shui observed the Divine Battle Puppet. It was as black as ink and was only the size of his palm, but it emitted an overbearing aura.

Qing Shui suddenly remembered that the Treasure Basin could increase an item's grade. In that case, would it be able to completely restore the Divine Battle Puppet?

With that in his thought, Qing Shui placed the Divine Battle Puppet into the Treasure Basin. If this were possible, then it could at least double its strength…

Qing Shui couldn't believe that, though. If that was really the case, then it would be too terrifying.

Qing Shui practiced his Berserk Dragon Fist and refined the treasures in a methodical manner. Also, he didn't know if the Divine Battle Puppet would be affected by the Spirit Gathering Lamp and the Heaven Shaking Drum either. It wasn't alive and would require his consciousness to activate it; hence, he thought that the possibility was slim.

Time went by quickly in the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal. When Qing Shui retrieved the Divine Battle Puppet, his eyes widened—it had actually changed!

Divine Battle Puppet!

Divine Battle Puppet, damaged but repairable. Its battle prowess can reach up to 6 trillion Dao Force.

It needed to recognize its master to then control it with the mind.

The binding method was to obtain ten drops of blood essence, dripping respectively into ten acupoints: Tiantu, Shanzhong, Lingtai, Shenfu…

It didn't actually double in power, and Qing Shui realized that it was still damaged. However, compared to before, its strength increased by about half, from the original 4 trillion Dao to the current 6 trillion Dao. This wasn't a matter of time. After a long while of pondering, he realized that it was the issue with the puppet. Perhaps it was because it was severely damaged or its grade was too high. If the Divine Battle Puppet's grade was too high, then the effectiveness of Treasure Basin might be reduced like this.

Still, he was satisfied by the fact that its strength increased by this much. The next stop would be for Qing Shui to extract his blood essence and have it recognize him as master.

Everything was smooth-sailing. When the last drop of blood essence was applied, a faint halo appeared above the Divine Battle Puppet. It increased in size and in an instant, turned into a six-meter-tall battle puppet. It looked as though it was made from Black Gold and looked similar to a human being. Its body was more flexible than before and its eyes were opened. They seem to have a bottomless depth.

There was a cold aura to it, like a ferocious, ancient beast. With a shift of Qing Shui's mind, some of his consciousness lunged toward the puppet.

His consciousness was poured into it successfully. Thereafter, Qing Shui felt a jolt and an ability to control the Divine Battle Puppet. Just like moving his limbs, he didn't have to consciously multi-task in order to do it. It was much simpler than that.

Following that, Qing Shui began to control its movements and unleash his own power. The main point was to display Qing Shui's strength with it. After some tries, he could only exhibit some skills. For example, he couldn't use Emperor's Qi.

All of a sudden, Qing Shui's eyes lit up. Berserk Dragon Fist!

The technique was practically made for the Divine Battle Puppet. Its defense was much greater than Qing Shui's, and the latter realized that the puppet's abilities were balanced; every aspect could reach this amount of prowess.

Qing Shui tried using the Berserk Dragon Fist with the Divine Battle Puppet. While its proficiency wasn't as astounding, its strength still increased by much.

Thump, thump!

The Divine Battle Puppet unleashed the Berserk Dragon Fist in midair, and Qing Shui felt as though the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal would collapse. This was the deflection of boundaries. The power of every attack gave Qing Shui palpitations. His defense had reached his max, and with the wave of his divine weapon, he appeared midair in a flash.

Thump!

There was a great blast from the collision of Qing Shui and the Divine Battle Puppet's Berserk Dragon Fist. It was a dull ring which reverberated through his body. It was fortunate that 40% of the damage was waived off, but this fist wasn't weakened in the least. After all, there was the amplification of the Berserk Dragon Fist. While Qing Shui would be able to handle it, it still felt uncomfortable.

Windwhisk Willow!

Subsequently, Qing Shui had the Divine Battle Puppet exhibit the Windwhisk Willow while attacking. This time, Qing Shui felt like he couldn't tolerate it anymore. Every attack felt as though he had been hit by a mountain. He had applied the Battle God Halo Formation on himself and didn't dare add it on the Divine Battle Puppet. He supposed he would be severely injured if he did.

Speed was strength. The Divine Battle God's powers increased tremendously after using the Windwhisk Willow. This increase in prowess was hidden; with greater speed, its strength had naturally increased as well.

Thump, thump…

Qing Shui felt as though he was reaching his limits.

Strength Stripping Force!

Qing Shui combined Taichi with his Berserk Dragon Fist. It reduced his opponent's strength the moment it landed its hit.

It was said that Strength Stripping could completely melt away the opponent's strength when it reached its peak. However, this was just a hypothesis, as attaining this would be even harder than climbing to the Heavens. Besides, it was also dependent on the abilities of both engaging parties. It would be difficult to strip their strength if the opponent's abilities were greater by a drastic amount.

If your strength overpowered the opponent by a great amount then it would be much easier. However, in this case, stripping their strength wouldn't serve many purposes.

Qing Shui's Strength Stripping abilities were merely superficial as of now. It was better than nothing and might suffice for a short period of time. However, it wouldn't be enough to last long. Moreover, merging it with the Berserk Dragon Fist made it unstable, but he kept trying, hoping that it would improve.