The Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 744 - 10,000 year Cold Steel, Golden Bull Grass, Sunflower

As Qing Shui looked at the warm scene in front of him, he felt at peace. It felt different from before. Perhaps it was because he has experienced a lot of things since and thus cherished this feeling even more.

As per usual, the main street of Green Cloud Continent was bustling with people. It wouldn't change just because someone's disappearance or accident. Many people, or rather, most people were doing their best for their survival and to live a good life.

Actually, even aristocratic clans and families worked hard for their survival. This was because you would never be the most powerful person or family. Even if you had become the strongest person in a city, there were still people outside the city, within the country or within the continent who were stronger than you.

Even the supreme aristocratic clans and sects, although they might look really spectacular from the outside, no one would have known about the different conflicts they had inside their clan. Higher ranked people had to be on their guard against getting overtaken or assassinated, and yet also be careful of divisions within the clan.

"Father, I want that one……" Qing Yin pointed at a wooden puppet and told Qing Shui.

"I want it too." Qing Zun had come down from Canghai Mingyue's arms.

"Uncle, how much are the wooden puppets?" Qing Shui squatted down and looked at the exquisite wooden puppets on the ground. He asked the kindly old man in front of him.

"Five copper coins." The old man smiled.

"Uncle, give me those two." Qing Shui smiled and said.

"Qing Shui, give one to each of us. The puppet looks interesting." Huoyun Liu-Li chuckled and said from the back.

In the end, Qing Shui bought one for each of them as well as one for himself. After that, they continued strolling forward. There were already festive scenes along the street. They were also able to smell the scent of the new year.

Lion dances, playing with fire torches...

The two little brats were only three years old. They were curious about everything they saw. Hence, they would cheer for almost everything they saw and kept on shouting to get closer. Along the way, Qing Shui would say sweet things to distract them. Luckily, children tend to forget about things that they saw very quickly.

"Mister Qing!"

Qing Shui who heard the shout looked around and found out that it was someone from the Qin Clan. He couldn't remember his name but he was certain that it was someone from the Qin Clan. As he thought carefully, they seemed to have never talked before.

"You are?" Although Qing Shui remembered that they have met before, he wasn't really sure when they met.

The Qin Clan used to be the weakest clan among the six greatest factions in Green Cloud Continent. However, it had managed to survive. The Sword Tower and Demonic Beast Sect have been destroyed, whereas the Hai Clan has left Green Cloud Continent.

"I am Qin Shang, since I happened to have run into Mister Qing today, I came by to say hello."

Qing Shui looked at the man who was around thirty year old. His first thought was that he was an earnest man. There was a wise and farsighted radiance in his eyes.

He had the strength of a peak Martial King!

This was considered quite a decent strength in the Green Cloud Continent. At least that was what it seemed on the surface. It's just that after the incidents with the Zuoshi Clan and the Liu Clan, who knew what powers were hidden within the ordinary Green Cloud Continent?

"Nice to meet you, is there anything I can help you with, Mister Qin?" Qing Shui smiled and said.

"After the new year, my grandfather is going to pass the position of the clan chief to me. Can Mister Qing give face and attend?" Qin Shang smiled and asked awkwardly.

"Congratulations Mister Qin! Do inform me when the time comes, I'll be there." Qing Shui smiled.

"Alright then, thank you Mister Qing. Please excuse my interruption of your family time."

Qin Shang was surprised and finished speaking, politely bowing before leaving.

Qing Shui never thought that Qin Shang would be taking over the Qin Clan at such a young age. The reason why he decided to head there was because he had a good impression of Qin Shang.

Other than that, being on good terms with the Qin Clan would only benefit him.

There would definitely be people who disagreed on him taking over the Qin Clan at his age. But if Qing Shui was to be present, probably nothing would happen. This was also the most likely reason why he looked for Qing Shui. It wasn't a coincidence.

Qing Shui wasn't against being used by others, he just didn't like it when people did it openly. To a certain extent, friends were also a way of using each other. It's just that the name was changed to helping each other instead. There is always a party that initiates things, leading to more interactions. To Qing Shui, this time round was just extending a hand. Next would depend on how they acted.

Very quickly, it was already noon. Qing Shui and the group went back to the Qing Clan. Food had already been prepared. In the afternoon, they continued to play outside. Qing Shui wasn't really worried because there were already Martial Saint warriors among them.

Qing Shui still needed to cultivate in the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal in the afternoon.

Interspatial Silk Sachet!

Qing Shui just realized that he had not checked out the many Interspatial Silk Sachets in the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal. He didn't really care much about them because he had been busy ever since he came back. Or rather, he only had the mood to check them out now.

The space within the Interspatial Silk Sachets was limited. Hence, they only contained things that were useful and the best. Qing Shui slowly opened an Interspatial Silk Sachet.

Wound Ointments,Detoxicating Spirit, Spirit Concentrating Pill, a few armors, gold and silver.

Even though the most useful items were contained in the Interspatial Silk Sachets, most of them were items for emergency use. People would also put treasures in them. Unfortunately, very few had treasures. Most of them kept money, clothes, armors, weapons, antidotes and ingredients...

Qing Shui looked through three sachets in a row. To other people, perhaps there were some excellent items. But to Qing Shui, they were basically rubbish. Hence, he only kept the Interspatial Silk Sachets. They were still considered valuable.

Very quickly, Qing Shui has already looked through seven Interspatial Silk Sachets. Only one of them had a palm sized piece of 10,000 Years Coldsteel. This gave him quite a big surprise because even though it was quite small, it was worth a few cities.

He looked through another three Interspatial Silk Sachets and found a few bottles of Spiritual Beast Pills. The name sounded powerful while its effect was alright. It could slightly boost the growth of demonic beasts and improve the application of their battle techniques.

"What!"

Qing Shui smiled upon opening another Interspatial Silk Sachet. The space within it was a few times larger than the rest. As for the items in it, Qing Shui saw in one glance that there was a meter long piece of 10,000 Years Coldsteel.

Undoubtedly, this belonged to the Old Ancestor of the Zuoshi Clan. Very quickly, Qing Shui smiled. Within this Interspatial Silk Sachet, there were a number of good items. He actually discovered two of the medicinal herbs needed for the Ren Meridian Strengthening Pill.

Golden Bull Grass and 5000 Years Sunflower.

The Golden Bull Grass was about one foot long. It was entirely gold in color and shaped like a bison, looking extremely lifelike. With a glance, Qing Shui could already tell that it was rich in spiritual qi. Qing Shui was really happy with this discovery. He was just worrying over where to find the medicinal herbs. Who would have known that he would get them so easily.

The rest of the items were considered average, consisting of a few precious medicinal pills and herbs. Although they weren't of much use to Qing Shui, he could give them to his clan members to use.

……

Recently, the changes of the Thunderous Beast was quite huge. Currently, the Thunderous Beast was already about five meters in size and its strength was also rapidly improving. However, Qing Shui knew that it would still be a while before the Thunderous Beast was ready for battle.

By the time he came out, the sky was getting dark. The family was happily talking to each other in the main hall. When they saw Qing Shui coming in, they greeted him with a smile.

The two little brats were always pestering him. Hence, Qing Shui would spend most of his free time looking after them.

Qing Shui had already fed the two little brats with the various fruits to help them stabilise their bodies. These spiritual fruits had the function of slightly cleansing meridians and bones, and help make their little bodies more pliable and tough.

In the blink of an eye, it was already the end of the year. Today was New Year's Eve, the last day of the year. Both the rich and poor decorated their houses to add a festive feeling. A year had ended. Those who could afford a break had all stopped to prepare more delicious food.

Around 11 o'clock at night, the sound of firecrackers could already be heard. There were also lots of fireworks. For a short while, the entire sky had become really colorful and bright. It was so beautiful that it felt like a dream.

"Qing Shui, look! It's so beautiful!" Yiye Jiange looked at the sky and smiled.

"You are more beautiful." Qing Shui chuckled.

"Hmph, we all know that Sister Jiange looks beautiful. Am I beautiful?" Huoyun Liu-Li asked while pulling Qing Shui's arm.

"Beautiful, beautiful……." Qing Shui said hurriedly.

"How beautiful am I?" Huoyu Liu-Li craftily blinked her long and sexy pupils and asked.

"Oh, you are as beautiful as a demoness……"

"Then do you like demonesses?"

"I like demonesses the most……"

Qing Shui and the girls watched the fireworks in the Qing Clan. The three generations of the Qing Clan were all playing with fireworks and firecrackers. The two little brats ran happily amongst the crowd. There were people looking after them wherever they went, hence, there was no need to worry. Qing Yi also constantly followed the two little brats.

Everyone had a mutual understanding to let Qing Shui spend the rest of the time with the girls. Yiye Jiange was considered Qing Shui's wife in the Qing Clan, having Luan Luan as a daughter. She was Qing Shui's earliest wife. But only Qing Shui and herself knew the reasons behind it.

Canghai Mingyue was definitely his wife. This was something which all of the Qing Clan members could see. Everyone also knew that Mingyue Gelou, Huoyun Liu-Li were also Qing Shui's wives. However, when Mingyue Gelou came to the Qing Clan with Qing Shui, everyone knew that she had brought along a daughter with her. Throughout these years, they really respected this strong-willed woman.

Until now, Yu Chang still didn't know that she wasn't Qing Shui's biological daughter. When she was young, she didn't remember how she came to the Qing Clan. Although there was the issue with the Tan Clan afterwards, she chose to forget about it since the memory was quite hazy. She liked Qing Shui as her father, so she stopped thinking about those hazy memories. This father of hers treated her really well. In her heart, she was Qing Shui's biological daughter. Since she couldn't even recall the memories clearly, she chose to not question them.

Wenren Wu-shuang on the other hand, when she had lost her memories, she had basically become Qing Yi's daughter. Since a long time has already passed, Wenren Wu-shuang who has no other close relatives was already considered as a member of the Qing Clan.

Even Qing Shui didn't intend to let go of her. He liked her and could also feel that she liked him. Hence, Qing Shui would rather let go of God than let go of her, feeling that he could make her happy.

Even the girls weren't certain of the relationship between Qing Shui and Yiye Jiange. Qing Shui didn't clarify and the rest didn't question. Everyone had the tacit understanding to not overly question these matters.

Yiye Jiange and Wenren Wu-shuang were the first two to leave. Mingyue Gelou and Shi Qingzhuang also left shortly after. Canghai Mingyue informed Qing Shui that she had to look after the two little brats and departed. In a flash, only Qing Shui and Huoyun Liu-Li were left.

"Ah, they all left. Qing Shui, I think I'll go back to bed then." Huoyun Liu-Li looked around and said while blushing.

"Little demoness, stop running. Don't you feel that it's a really meaningful night?" Qing Shui smiled as he held on to Huoyun Liu-Li who was about to run away.

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