The Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 774 - The Fight Of The Ultimate Life and Death Against The Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan (4)

"Elder sister, uncle has won again." Ye Yan shouted excitedly while hugging her elder sister with a bright red complexion.

Ye Guyan was happy as well. As long as Qing Shui was alive, everything would be fine. She felt a sense of responsibility towards him or to be exact, she felt like she owed a great deal to him. If Qing Shui died right here and now, she would feel anguished. It didn't help when she knew the reason he came to the Southern Viewing Continent - to obliterate the entire Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan, one of the strongest and influential clans amongst the supreme aristocratic clans.

"Old Ancestor, his demonic beasts are too incredible. Let me go and handle this kid." Donggong Maisun's grandfather, Donggong Nianyun, went up to the Old Ancestor of the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan and requested to be allowed into the battle.

"Equip your Jade Dragon Battle Armor Set. The poison beast will not be much of a threat to you if you have that on. Go now." The Old Ancestor of the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan spoke in a usual calm manner.

'Yes, grandfather!"

This time, Donggong Nianyun addressed the Old Ancestor as his grandfather. The Old Ancestor shifted in his seat and said: "Bring Congxing and a few men with you."

Donggong Nianyun bowed once again and proceeded to lead four old men towards the battle. He then flew up and headed towards the sky to face Qing Shui.

"Haha, did you see that? This is the third time that the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan is sending out their men. They have already lost a total of ten members in this battle. Now that Donggong Nianyun is being sent to fight Qing Shui, things are looking real bad for this young fellow." said a member from the audience, feeling anxious for Qing Shui's life.

"Heh heh, a lot of people said that the young man would not stand a chance from the very beginning of the battle. But isn't he still standing here all fine and dandy? The men from the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan, on the other hand, were all dead." Another person quickly retaliated, unconvinced that Qing Shui would be defeated by the members of the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan that easily.

"Donggong Nianyun is not a simple man. He is one of the top five strongest members in the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan. It will be difficult for Qing Shui to win this time." replied the person who spoke earlier as he disregarded Qing Shui's two-round winning streak.

"Jade Dragon Battle Armor Set?" Someone exclaimed in surprise.

"This set contains the Jade Dragon Battle Armor, Jade Dragon Battle Boots, Jade Dragon Battle Saber and four Jade Dragon Daggers. It is said that the armor set has a force that is extremely powerful in terms of both attack and defense. I'm not sure of the specifics though." Another person explained with an expression of admiration for the armor set.

"I still think this young man will not lose that easily. He is too amazing, which makes people want him to win this battle so badly." The previous man who retaliated for Qing Shui spoke out. Then he turned to look back at the sky, because the battle was starting again.

Screech!

Qing Shui quickly summoned his Fire Bird, and then the Jade Emperor Queen Bee and the Gold-Silver Colored Butterflies with a wave of his hand.

Everyone stared in bewilderment at Qing Shui's actions. The demonic beasts he had summoned in the previous two battles had already given the impression that they were far superior to Qing Shui himself. However, with the sudden appearance of four extra demonic beasts, everyone could not help but be amazed at his formidable strength.

Donggong Nianyun was also surprised as he stared blankly at the demonic beasts surrounding Qing Shui. He wrinkled his forehead and made a deep frown. Normally, if it were other people who summoned these demonic beasts of Martial Saint level, he would not be bothered to concern himself about them. However, it was a different story for Qing Shui because of his capability at such a young age.

Qing Shui remained silent while swapping out his Violet Gold Divine Shield for his Big Dipper Sword.

The substitute of the shield for a sword left many exclaiming in shock, because a sword and a hammer was a weird combination for a martial warrior. Martial warriors would not give off such feelings except for a blacksmith, who would usually forge weapons while holding a hammer. Even if he really was a blacksmith, no one would believe him, because all they could see was the mannerism of a martial warrior.

"Did you really kill them?" asked the old fellow as he stared coldly at Qing Shui.

When Qing Shui was dueling with the late Donggong Taiqing yesterday, this old man was there spectating the fight below the arena. Today, however, he was standing above the arena, ready to fight Qing Shui. Even the old man didn't expect that he would be fighting against this young lad one day.

"Who? Oh, you mean Donggong Maisun and his men?" Qing Shui gave a sly smile at the old man.

"I was a fool back then. I should have dealt with you right then and there. Because of you, our Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan is going on a regression of power." said Donggong Nianyun as he gritted his teeth.

"Donggong Maisun came to ambush us at night after I had already challenged the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan to the Fight of the Ultimate Life and Death. Luckily I was able to discover them in time. He has completely thrown away the dignity of the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan and ultimately, he is dead." said Qing Shui, unconcerned of Donggong Maisun's death.

"Kid, a slight mistake in my part has given you the privilege to act foolish and freely. I will definitely kill you today no matter what it takes to do so. You and your demonic beasts will not stand a chance in front of me." Donggong Nianyuan spoke with a voice full of malice and hatred. The usual impervious expression on his face had changed, albeit a bit.

"You don't have to say it like that. Today seems like a good day. I will send you off to the depths of hell personally." Qing Shui wielded the Big Dipper Sword on his right hand, while the other hand was wielding the Thunder God.

"We will see about that." The old man rushed towards Qing Shui as soon as he finished talking.

Heavenly Talisman!

Vajra Subdues Demons!

Fiery Golden Eyes!

Emperor's Qi!

Poison Killer Sting!

Qing Shui reserved nothing and used whatever technique he had to weaken his opponents' power. At the same time, the Gold-Silver Colored Butterflies surrounded themselves around Qing Shui while he stood on top of his Diamond Gigantic Elephant, promptly thinking of various ways to eliminate Donggong Nianyun.

Mighty Elephant Stomp!

Everything would turn to ash in the face of an absolute power. Even an old man such as Donggong Nianyuan was required to evade the formidable stomp as fast as he could, not wishing to turn himself into a pancake. Even if he could withstand the overbearing force of the stomp, he would never do it at the risk of overexerting himself.

The other old men naturally evaded without thinking twice. Having observed the first two rounds of the battle, they made the effort to coordinate their actions, forming a harmonized formation. The Fire Bird soared above Qing Shui while spitting out a black flame towards his opponents from time to time. Below Qing Shui was his Diamond Gigantic Elephant and on his left side were the Gold-Silver Colored Butterflies. The Jade Emperor Queen Bee buzzed around on his right side, while the Ten Thousand Poisonous Violet Sable stood firmly on his shoulder.

Their existence in this battle was a great comfort for Qing Shui but they had inevitably given everyone an impression that Qing Shui was a beast tamer and a powerful one at that. Not only could he tame demonic beasts but he was able to tame poison beasts as well.

"It looks like I have to use my hidden weapons to poke you guys around." Qing Shui had a thought about using his two Frosted Iron Balls again. He then urged his Diamond Gigantic Elephant to use the Instantaneous Diamond Evasion to quickly flash over to the old men.

Two Frosted Iron Balls were instantly shot out as well.

Break!

The travel speed of the Frosted Iron Balls was significantly faster than it was before. At that moment when the Frosted Iron Balls were shot out, Qing Shui had consumed the Agility-Enhancing Fruit and a Gale Pellet. After that, he rushed himself towards those old men in a quick motion.

One unfortunate old man had his head split open by the poisonous Frosted Iron Balls and died on the spot. The leader of these old men moved himself to the left side, while the remaining three shifted to the right side. When he saw an opening, his eyes lit up. He then quickly rushed towards the direction of the three old men.

Seven Star Armored Vest!

Combination Sword Technique, Four Moves Combination!

The Ten Thousand Poisonous Violet Sable leaped off from Qing Shui's shoulder and rushed in to make an assault on one of the three old men. Meanwhile, the wings of the Gold-Silver Colored Butterflies flashed in a bright light, causing the speed of the old man to decrease greatly, instead of being petrified due to his current strength. Having his speed decreased in front of a Ten Thousand Poisonous Violet Sable would only mean one thing - instant death.

Qing Shui relied on the ability of his Seven Star Armored Vest to work out with his 'Minute Subtlety' and quickly eliminated the remaining two. In the process of killing the two old men, he had suffered a slight wound, which would not hinder his fighting ability. He had nothing to worry about anyway, because he could use Golden Buddha Aura Lotus to heal himself back.

The Ten Thousand Poisonous Violet Sable had managed to kill one of the old men. With that, four old men were dealt with completely, leaving yet another lone warrior for this round - the old man wearing armor and wielding a battle saber that seemed to be made of white jade. Donggong Nianyun hadn't expected that his men would be annihilated much quicker than the last round.

Qing Shui did not wish to waste any more time because the effect of the Seven Star Armored Vest could only work for one hour. Half of the members from the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan were still alive, so he needed the effect to last for a few more rounds before the effect ran dry.

"Jade Dragon Slash!"

When Donggong Nianyun saw what had happened to his men, his face immediately turned red in rage. The long blade of four feet long unleashed an enormous sword qi that pierced through the air towards Qing Shui, as if an enormous dragon was baring its teeth and branding its claws to devour him.

Donggong Nianyun waited until the suppressing force of the sword qi had inched closer to Qing Shui and quickly unleashed a few more sword qi strikes before he rushed towards him with the Jade Dragon Battle Saber in his hand.

"Jade Dragon Armored Vest!"

Qing Shui flustered when he saw Donggong Nianyun rushing towards him. Not only was he wearing an extremely powerful body armor while wielding a formidable white jade battle saber, he also seemed to have regained his former power of the strength of nearly six stars. Qing Shui had faith that he could withstand Donggong Nianyun's attack due his defense with the strength of seven stars.

Qing Shui had easily reached the attack power of nearly three stars while wielding his Big Dipper Sword and Thunder God. He had a defense of more than the strength of three stars and above but with the Seven Star Armored Vest equipped, his defense had reached to a terrifying amount of seven stars.

Because of that, he was able to go head-to-head against the previous old men for a close range kill. He was able to go on a rampage at all distnaces as long as the weak spot on his body was not exploited.

However, the old man in front of him was different than the previous four. Donggong Nianyun's attack power was double the amount of his own. If Qing Shui's weak spot was carelessly hit, his life would be in great danger. Moreover, his attack power was of no threat to the old man, so his only choice of inflicting critical pain upon the old man was to use his hidden weapons or the Primordial Flames.

Fire Bird, the Gold-Silver Colored Butterflies and the Jade Emperor Queen Bee had already been called back by Qing Shui as soon as the sword qi was released by Donggong Nianyun. The four demonic beasts would not stand a chance if they were to be hit by multiple streams of sword qi. The only beings that could withstand the daunting force of the sword qi would be the Diamond Gigantic Elephant and himself.

The State of One with Elephant had already been activated, which led to the increase of their defense to more than the strength of seven stars, albeit marginally.

Qing Shui was able to block the old man's attack but he was knocked back violently in the process. Donggong Nianyun continued his assault immediately with an unbelievable speed that could rival that of Qing Shui. Moreover, Qing Shui would always be knocked backwards each time he deflected the old man's attack.

If it wasn't for his near-impenetrable defense, Qing Shui would have been dead by now. The swing of the gigantic Jade Dragon Battle Saber seemed bolder as the battle continued. Qing Shui couldn't afford to slip up on his blocking, otherwise he could become a corpse instantly if his weak spot were to be hacked by the saber.

Qing Shui wouldn't dare let his Ten Thousand Poisonous Violet Sable to battle with this old man alone either. Donggong Nianyun's battle saber seemed extremely dangerous. It wasn't a risk worth sacrificing his sable for.

Vajra's Glare!

Body Securing Talisman!

Art of Pursuing!

…….

Qing Shui keep displaying techniques that seemed less powerful than his usual techniques. The Mighty Elephant Stomp could only agitate the old man for a bit, but Donggong Nianyun was not a person who would stand in a fixed position and voluntarily let the elephant stomp over his body .

A certain amount of time had passed and Qing Shui knew he could not drag on like this any longer, otherwise the effect from the Seven Star Armored Vest would wear off after an hour from the initial activation. By then, his opponent would be able to severely wound him with a single attack or worse, kill him on the spot.

Donggong Nianyun started his assault once again with the release of the heaven-shattering force from his battle saber. Suddenly, Qing Shui turned around to face the old man instead of running away. He even gave up on blocking the attack and offered himself to the white jade blade of the saber.

Tiger Grip!

This was one of the Tiger Form that he had not used in a battle up until now. With this technique, he could get really close to his opponent to the point of leaning side-by-side with each other. He never thought of using this technique because of the risk of putting himself in a great danger. However, he had finally thought of using it. When the Tiger Grip was used, his body went into an extreme contortion as he was pulled closer to the old man.

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