The Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 596 - Forced, Another New Year, The Brilliant Fireworks

Screech!

Fire Bird spat out a fireball as black as the night sky towards that man's direction!

This man was trying to show his bravery and loyalty towards the Ximen Clan, but he was at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Boom!

A loud explosion rang out, but there was no screaming to be heard. The man had turned into ashes instantly after being hit by the fireball. After the explosion, the remains of the black flame from the fireball were scattered everywhere, which had set a house nearby on fire. Within a few seconds, the house was completely burnt down into dark sooty ashes.

The crowd, having witnessed the entire scene, was reduced to silence. More people were beginning to swarm the area to see what was going on in this part of the street. They also came to see Qing Shui because they heard his voice earlier before the explosion had happened.

There was a commotion of old and young people flocking around the front courtyard to get an idea who caused the explosion. These people were initially furious because of the damage the explosion had caused to the nearby area, but when they saw Qing Shui riding on his giant Fire Bird in mid-air, their faces immediately turned bitter.

"I am Ximen Jian, I was wondering why you, sir, are…."

"Escort Ximen Langyuan out from this building. Your Ximen Clan should know its place by now. If the woman you brought back today was hurt by even a strand of hair, I will be forced to handle this situation in a brutal way." Qing Shui interrupted the old man's questioning in a calm manner.

"Quickly go fetch your bastard son and bring him here. That good-for-nothing scumbag." The old man shouted at a middle-aged man impatiently. He knew that Qing Shui stood at the pinnacle of the Greencloud Continent and that his existence meant the potential deadly power he could unleash to his Ximen Clan.

"Yes, yes!" The middle-aged man replied nervously as he hurried his way to fetch his bastard son.

"Chaoyang, look at this first. I will pleasure you well later." Inside a double-story brothel adorned with various majestic decorations, a moderately handsome young man was passionately fondling a woman's supple breasts with his hands. Meanwhile, a beautiful young woman was tied up in a purple wooden chair at the other side.

The bodylicious woman allowed the young man to fondle her breasts however he pleased while she moaned loudly in exaggeration. But when a loud voice rang out from the outside, she squinted her eyes at the young man and said: "Young master Ximen, someone is looking for you to pay your debt."

"This place belongs to the Ximen Clan. Whoever comes here to look for trouble, will soon become a dead person with no corpse." The young man had a shrewd smile plastered on his face. He continued fondling the woman's breasts intensely, seemingly showing no concern towards the commotion outside the room.

"Did you hear that? Someone is demanding the Ximen Clan to drag you out." The woman wanted the young man to stop fondling her, but she couldn't resist.

"There are many who want to drag me out, but here I am, still inside this room." The young man gave a perverted laugh as he removed the woman's clothes one piece at a time.

The young woman tied to the chair closed her eyes as her face turned pale. The young man shot a few glances towards her and then proceeded to remove the bodylicious woman's clothes completely. Her stark naked figure in contrast with her supple bouncy breasts was captivating and mesmerizing.

Bang!

Suddenly, the door was slammed open in a violent motion by a middle-aged man as he stormed into the room looking enraged. When he saw what had transpired, he grew increasingly furious and shouted: "You bastard, all you ever know is how to play with women all day and night. Even when your life's in danger, you still have no intention of repentance."

As soon as the middle-aged man barged into the room, he immediately hurled all kinds of curses and slurs towards the young man. Then he went over to the naked woman and slapped her across the face. The woman tumbled to the ground as she gasped in shock. She laid motionlessly on the ground, seemingly to have fainted from the impact of the slap. After the naked woman had stopped moving, the middle-aged man then turned his focus to the young woman who was tied up in the chair.

"My apologies. This stupid kid must have been blind to try and mess with you. I offer you my apologies because I did not teach my son the manners and respect of a gentleman. I hope you will help say a few good words about him on behalf of the Ximen Clan. You will have my deepest gratitude for that, and I will personally go to the Shen Clan to express my sincere apology and appreciation."

"Father, what has gotten into you? I was just playing with a woman…..."

"Slap!"

"Shut your mouth if you don't wish to die!" The middle-aged man interrupted and slapped the young man aggressively on the face. The slap was so strong that blood was streaming down from the corner of the young man's mouth.

"Miss, I will get rid of him from your life. He will not bother you anymore. However, I beg of you to please spare his life. The middle-aged man lowered his voice as he begged Shen Chaoyang.

Shen Chaoyang was at a loss for words. She was mentally prepared to commit suicide as soon as the young man intended to touch her. But with such a turn of events like this, she felt as if she had woken up from a weary nightmare.

Her initial guess was that someone had come to save her, and that 'someone' might have been a person of high authority or at least stronger than Ximen Clan. Otherwise, the Ximen Clan would not be as frightful for their lives and treat their son like that. However, the Ximen Clan was not a family that one could provoke and expect no repercussions. If one were to help her escape from the Ximen Clan, the Ximen Clan would most certainly take vengeance on that person….

She nodded her head silently at the middle-aged man. Shen Chaoyang could not do anything in any case. Nevertheless, she was happy that it had turned out this way!

She walked out from the building with the middle-aged man dragging Ximen Langyuan behind him. When she looked up at the sky, Shen Chaoyang could see Qing You, Chaoyun, and a pleasant-looking young man hovering in the air on a flying beast.

"Big sis…..!" Chaoyun shouted happily when she finally saw Chaoyang walk out without harm.

Qing Shui swiftly ordered Fire Bird to fly lower near the ground, and as soon as they landed, Shen Chaoyun quickly leapt from Fire Bird's back and hugged Shen Chaoyang in tears.

"Foolish kid, go and comfort her quickly." Qing Shui nudged Qing You while smiling in relief.

Qing You turned to look at Qing Shui while chuckling, then he went towards the sisters and hugged them both. While on his way to hug the sisters, he shot an angry glance towards Ximen Langyuan's direction.

"Sir, as you can see, Miss Shen was unharmed. We apologize for the trouble and will give you compensation as well. What do you think?" The old man gave a stink eye at Ximen Langyuan before he turned to look at Qing Shui with a smile.

Ximen Langyuan finally realized how much trouble he was in. He began to panic, and he was so afraid of saying the wrong words, he kept quiet and lowered his head!

"Your Ximen Clan's precious grandson, he had the balls to kidnap our Qing family's soon-to-be daughter-in-law. What do you think I should do?" said Qing Shui while giving an emotionless smile to the old man.

This time, Qing Shui decided to take advantage of this incident to once again show the might of the Qing Clan in the Greencloud Continent. He wanted to let everyone know that Qing Clan would not be one to be provoked easily.

Cold sweat was dripping down from the old man's face while he remained speechless. He knew that Qing Shui would use this incident to mark the end of the Ximen Clan once and for all, so he quickly thought of a way to appease the Qing Clan while trying to preserve the Ximen Clan's existence.

"Useless fool. You will be better off dead for causing such a humiliating and burdensome trouble for Ximen Clan."

The old man abruptly turned to face Ximen Langyuan and growled vehemently. With a forceful palm, he hit Ximen Langyuan right on the chest!

Clack…..

Instant death!

"Sir, the Ximen Clan had failed to teach our child in a proper way, and because of that, he had rubbed you the wrong way. We should be punished for this. This was all my fault, of course." said the old man calmly. By admitting his wrongdoings first, he might be able to prevent Qing Shui from giving out a harsh punishment towards his clan.

The middle-aged man, who was also Ximen Langyuan's father, was named Ximen Qiang. Although his son had died, the Ximen Clan would be able to be persevered and continue to exist. The decision to eliminate the young man had saved his entire clan.

Ximen Qiang turned his eyes towards Shen Chaoyang and pleaded her mercy with his expression. He hoped that she would be able to help relay a few good words about the Ximen Clan to Qing Shui, which might further secure the safety of his clan's existence.

Shen Chaoyang took note of Ximen Qiang's pleading gaze, and then turned to look at Ximen Langyuang's corpse on the ground. After a while, she turned to Qing You who stood beside her and said: "So you are a member of the Qing Clan. Why didn't you tell me this earlier?"

"I wanted to depend on my own strength to win you over….." Qing You scratched his head while being honest with Shen Chaoyang.

"You really are a fool….."

"It's fine now. I just want to avenge you for what they have done to you." Qing You was furious again when he was reminded of her kidnapping.

"Qing You, he is already dead. Plus, I am unharmed. Please ask elder brother to let them go." Shen Chaoyang said in a soft tone while looking at Qing You with a happy expression.

"This….." Qing You didn't think she would ask for mercy on behalf of the Ximen Clan. When he saw the sympathy in her eyes, he let out a helpless sigh and nodded his head.

"Brother Qing Shui, I think we should forget about it this time. Ximen Langyuan is dead already." said Qing You in an unnatural manner as he walked towards Qing Shui together with Chaoyang and Chaoyun.

Qing Shui took a glance at Shen Chaoyang, and then he turned to look at the old man who was still smiling. He wasn't willing to leave this old man alive because of his resolute cold-heartedness when he killed his own grandson without hesitation.

"Since you admit that you are the one to blame for not teaching your descendants in a proper way and that you are willing to take full responsibility, then you shall be the one to bear the consequence." Qing Shui returned a smile to the old man as well.

"Sir, please tell me what to do. I will do my best to do it." The old man braced himself for the worse.

"Then choose either one: You will die by your own hands, or I will do it for you!"

Qing Shui said in an assertive yet calm manner. His words shook the old man for a moment, but he recovered his composure and slowly replied: "I will do it myself!"

They knew someone important from the Ximen Clan must bear all the consequences of stirring trouble with a top clan. Ximen Langyuan was not worthy of bearing the blame despite being the culprit of the problem. However, his death was a necessary one.

…….

After the death of Ximen Jian, the rest of the members of the Ximen Clan would be busy squandering for the position of the Clan Master, or break up their family and live apart from each other. In conclusion, the Ximen Clan was destined to fall no matter what. They might even end up being devoured by larger clans. This was the reality of the ruthlessness in the World of the Nine Continents.

"Thank you elder brother!" Shen Chaoyang bowed in respect at Qing Shui.

"Thank you Brother Qing Shui!" said Shen Chaoyun delightfully as she quickly followed her sister and bowed in the same manner.

"You are welcome. We are family now. If you need to thank someone, thank your little sister. She was the one who came and told us the situation." Qing Shui smiled at them and signaled them to get on Fire Bird.

Shen Chaoyun might seem like a small delicate girl, but she was, in fact, a bit older than Qing You. Her strength may be inferior to Qing You's, but like him, she was also a Xiantian warrior.

Qing You had always confessed that he would like to find a 'mature lady' to be his wife. He was willing to be the weaker partner in the relationship, even to the point of being bullied by his potential wife. Qing Shui noticed that even though Shen Chaoyang did not have the appearance of a 'mature lady' that Qing You had mentioned, he felt that Qing You had actually meant that he wanted a woman who was mentally mature rather than physically mature.

"Qing You, let me send you all to the Shen Residence, how about that?" Qing Shui looked at Qing You, hinting him to settle the matter of marriage once and for all.

Qing You had an idiotic smile on his face when he realized what Qing Shui meant. He then looked at Shen Chaoyang and realized her cheeks were flushed in red. She tried to hide her face by lowering her head!

"Then Brother Qing Shui, please send us to the Shen Residence!" Qing You laughed awkwardly.

The Shen Residence was situated in between the Qing Residence and the Ximen Residence. However, the distance between the Shen Residence and the Qing Residence was a bit further apart from each other. In a few moments, Qing You and Shen Chaoyun were pointing out the location of the Shen Residence to let Qing Shui know that they would be approaching the residence soon.

The Shen Clan was not one of the top clans in the Greencloud Continent. They could only be considered as a third-grade family clan with no ranks. Because of that, the Shen Clan had wished their eldest daughter to be married to one of the top clans in the Greencloud Continent. Not only could their eldest daughter enjoy an easy life, the Shen Clan would be able to rise in ranks as well.

The Shen Clan's manor was distinctly muted compared to the Ximen Clan's manor. Only those with martial arts background would be able to afford a grand and dignified construction work for their buildings, as well as a spacious ground space in inside and outside of the manor. Even if a wealthy merchant or a wealthy family with no martial warriors were to station around the area, they would not dare to show arrogance towards the big clans or cause any trouble because they knew how powerful these clans were based on the structure of their manors.

Everything was naturally negotiable if Qing Shui personally came forward to talk with the members of the Shen Clan. The Shen Clan had initially planned to marry off their eldest daughter to one of the big family clans in the Greencloud Continent. Luckily for Qing Clan, they have taken it upon themselves to become the number one clan in the Greencloud Continent. Moreover, Qing You was willing to marry the Shen Clan's daughter. If it weren't for Shen Chaoyang's sake, Qing You would not even consider about showing respect to the Shen Clan based on her parent's characteristics and behavior.

After everything had been settled, Qing Shui left for home while Qing You stayed at the Shen Residence for dinner. Everybody has the ambition to rise higher in society. But Qing Shui felt that parents should never use their children's happiness in exchange for anything regardless of the circumstances. It was lucky for the Shen Clan that their daughter was blessed with good fortune. And because of that, the Shen Clan was able to rise in rank due to their daughter's connection with Qing Clan.

When he got back to the residence, the ladies had already come back from the food street!

The others knew everything was fine when they saw the expression on Qing Shui's face. However, Qing Bei still insisted on asking Qing Shui about the situation, in which he gave a simple answer that comforted their minds.

"Brother Shui, does Qing You's girlfriend have a chest size as big as his?" Qing Bei giggled naughtily.

"Little Bei, careful! Qing You might kill you if he hears that!"

"Then tell me, Brother Shui, how does Qing You's girlfriend look like?" asked Qing Bei as she kept giggling over her own question.

"I can't say!"

"Then is she pretty or what?"

"She is definitely prettier than our Qing Bei, that's for sure."

Qing Bei: "........."

……...

New Years was already here in a blink of an eye. The most common scenery during New Years in the World of the Nine Continents was the colorful fireworks shimmering brightly in the night sky. It was the most beautiful scenery, especially during the first night of the New Year. Some people would spend the entire night sleepless, watching the fireworks exploding gracefully in the air.

The members of Qing Clan had also bought a lot of fireworks. Qing Shui cradled Qing Yin in his arms while Qing Yi held Qing Jun on her arms. The members of Qing Clan had also become familiar with the families of the two Martial Saints in a short amount of time.

Qing Hui, Qing Shan, Qing Shi, Qing You, Qing Hu…… All of them were responsible to light up the fireworks. At that moment when the fireworks hit the sky above the Qing Residence, the sky was dazzled with bright sparkly lights, illuminating the surrounding area.

After the fireworks had set off from the Qing Residence, the other residences around the area began to set off their fireworks continuously in succession. At that moment, the sky was gleaming with sparkles of bright-lit colors.

Luan Luan and Yuchang were laughing happily with each other while viewing the fireworks. They had a distinct childlike chuckle in their laughter as well. Qing Shui observed the happy faces of their mothers and relatives around him, especially the happiness painted on the face of his beloved woman. She was even more alluring with the lights from the fireworks cast on her face. This beautiful image was imprinted deep inside his mind forever.