The Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 964 - Qing Shui's Formidable Strength, Yet Another Dispute

The wedding reception went very smoothly. The guests offered gifts and blessings. Many of them recognized him as that young man from back then. This greatly astonished them. Some wise elderly men could even tell how extraordinary Qing Shui was.

The opening speech was by Hai Dongying…...

After three rounds of wine, the Hai Clan still had to hold a fight, even if it was for mere formality. The one who went up was one of Hai Clan's core disciples and he was holding the Violet Jade Sword in his hands!

"Welcome everyone, today is my aunt's wedding banquet. As a nephew, I would like to humbly perform a sword dance to liven things up. Ladies, gentlemen and friends please enjoy the banquet!" The youth cupped his fist as a sign of respect to everyone around him.

The sword dance then commenced. Among the gifts that Qing Shui had given to Lady Duanmu were the Nine Palace Steps and Formation Techniques. How much they could learn was up to them. The gifts that he had given to Hai Dongqing's Hai Clan were the same but the people of Hai Clan hadn't started learning them yet.

The sword of this youth was vigorous and the speed was very fast as well. His strength was about Grade Five Martial King and he was also a key cultivation partner in the Hai Clan. He was a little more than 20 years old.

The host clan performed a solo sword dance first. But of course, the other people may go up too. If no one was going up there, someone else from the host clan would go up for a friendly match.

But during this period of time, if no one went up within the next 15 minutes, no outsiders would usually go up again.

At the Shangguan Clan's banquet area!

Shangguan Fei was a little agitated over there. He couldn't help but to be furious whenever he saw that man. It was as if his heart was dripping blood as he watched how intimately they stood together while toasting with others

"Big brother, there are plenty of good women in this world. Do you have to be this stubborn?" Shangguan Jing was looking at Shangguan Fei's clenched fists trembling under the table.

"I know that too, little sister. It's just so difficult to bear. Very difficult." Shangguan Fei let out a long sigh.

"Things like love cannot be forced. Even if she stays with you, you wouldn't be happy. You are infatuated with her but if she isn't happy will you be happy?" Shangguan Jing felt a little frustrated too, seeing her big brother in such a state.

Just then, a youth stood up and walked up to the arena.

"Brother Hai looks a little lonely. I shall be a your company!" A boy who looked about the same age as the Hai Clan's youth walked up there.

The youth from Hai Clan cupped his fist respectfully. "Brother Zheng, please!"

"Please!"

That person was fighting relentlessly on the arena. Even so, the youth from Hai Clan seemed to have the upper hand. By now Qing Shui and Hai Dongqing had already finished toasting to everyone and had taken a seat together with Hai Dongying and the rest.

"That person from Zheng Clan doesn't seem like he can hold it back anymore," Hai Long commented unpleasantly while watching the battle happening on the arena.

Qing Shui looked at Hai Dongqing when he heard that. For a clan with such strength, it was no surprise that they'd have some conflicts with other clans. But clans wouldn't usually make a scene out of it, regardless of whether they were within the same city, country or continent. This was because it was very rare for a clan to be exclusively dominant. There would usually be a few powerful clans co-existing with one and another.

Some would even ally themselves with the influential ones in the city. If a clan had allies, then it would be very difficult for the other clans to keep things even with them. Thus, they would compromise or similarly look for other allies to have their backs.

"The Zheng Clan is also a clan that has suddenly appeared in this Cold Ice City. They have someone behind them. But this time, I'm not too sure what the reason is behind this. Normally, they shouldn't be going up the stage," Hai Dongqing also said doubtfully.

"Do you know who is behind them?" Qing Shui asked curiously. He wasn't worried who it was now. His physical strength had already reached 110 stars currently.

Diamond Qi doubled physical strength, Diamond Protection doubled physical defense and Diamond Crossing Rivers doubled physical speed!

Nature Energy raised physical abilities by 70%. State of Immovable as Mountains increased physical abilities by 60%, Frenzied Bull's Strength increased physical abilities by 30%, Heavenly Thunder Slash increased physical abilities by 30%, Shield Attack increased physical abilities by 20%. Heavenly Talismans could increase physical abilities by 50%, this included the Godly Force Talisman, Divine Shield Talisman and Gale Talisman (that increased speed). High level Focused Concentration increased physical abilities by 20%.

Since the Combination Sword Technique required a sword, it couldn't increase any strength right now. The Combination Sword Technique was merely a type of sword technique.

Qing Shui only needed to activate all the cultivation techniques in him to attain the strength of 530 stars. Thunder God could triple strength. Qing Shui's strength had already reached 2,100 stars right now. When he unleashed Raging Blow, he would achieve 4,200 stars!

The most powerful strength among the five continents seemed unable to exceed 5,000 stars. Even in the face of a 5,000 stars strength, the domineering Emperor's Qi could reduce exactly 1,000 stars, rendering it down to 4,000 stars. Qing Shui was already able to achieve 4,200 stars.

Without realizing it himself, Qing Shui had already reached such heights. With his Nine Palace Steps and Formation Technique, he only had to wait a little more before he could help Yiye Jiange topple the Lion King's Ridge.

Then he also had to bring Huoyun Liu-Li to Demon Gate. Qing Shui got a little excited thinking up to this point. Too fast. It shouldn't take more than three years. It was a little difficult to go now, because he still couldn't be certain that there wasn't any being with a strength of over 5,000 stars among the five continents. He feared that a surprise might appear, so he wanted to see if he could exceed 5,000 stars himself…....

Qing Shui was distracted by his own thoughts. By the time he snapped back to reality, he witnessed the exact moment of the youth from Hai Clan being struck down on the arena and it was a different guy standing up there.

However, it wasn't the first guy from the Zheng Clan who went up.

"Brother Hai, you have let me won!"

The man cupped his fist and chuckled.

Two more people from Hai Clan went up next but they were defeated! Just when Hai Long was about to go up, Qing Shui pulled him back instead and told Hai Dongqing, "Don't let anyone go up there anymore. Let's see what he's going to do."

The action of this man was a slap on the Hai Clan's face. On a wedding reception's arena, outsiders would normally only go up to casually entertain the two juniors as a mere formality.

To be defeating the the host clan consecutively like this, it seemed like it was on purpose.

"Hai Dongqing!"

Just right at that moment, the man on the stage called out to Hai Dongqing while smiling.

Hai Dongqing remained seated as she shifted her gaze to the man on the stage. "Who are you to be calling my name this way."

"Hahahaha!" The man from Zheng Clan laughed loudly instead on the stage.

No one below the arena had any reaction but they knew that things was starting to get interesting. Humans are naturally blessed with the gifts of being an onlooker and joining in the fun. Not only that, they also love to crowd.

"Qing'er, let's drink!" Qing Shui held a cup of wine and passed it to her then took another one and emptied it after they clinked their cups together.

Hai Dongqing knew that Qing Shui was trying to piss him off, so she smiled as she slowly drank the wine in her hand.

Disregarded. They were not only completely disregarding him but they were also doing it in front of all the aristocrat clans in the Cold Ice City.

"Hehe, you are really acting like Hai Clan is the biggest clan in the Cold Ice City."

Shagguan Fei's heart sunk immediately after he saw that youth go up.

Hai Dongqing was actually also well aware of this. She had never once thought that Hai Clan was the most powerful in the Cold Ice City. However, it wasn't like anyone stronger than you would definitely push you down or even destroy you. Situations like that only happened when benefits weren't able to be obtained through ordinary means.

Qing Shui hinted at Hai Dongqing to remain silent and see what this man wanted to say. He could already determine this man's strength. He was about the same as Hai Dongqing but the seniors of his Zheng Clan should be stronger.

"We are a branch of Zheng Clan from Tonghai Country," the man chuckled.

"Zheng Clan of Tonghai Country. No wonder why the Zheng Clan is very powerful here. You have a powerful support behind your back!"

"Even without the support behind them, they are definitely still the strongest in this Cold Ice City," a fatty said loudly.

"Isn't Shangguan Clan the strongest?" Someone asked the fatty.

"Shangguan Clan falls far short of the Zheng Clan."

……...

"Zheng Clan of Tonghai Country is very powerful?" Qing Shui smilingly asked Hai Dongqing, whose eyebrows were knitted together. Tonghai was a neighboring country. But Qing Shui didn't know anything about the Zheng Clan. He only knew about the more famous ones like Demon Gate, Dragon Emperor Mountain and the Tang Manor of the Sky City.

"Zheng Clan's strength is enough to be ranked the top three in Tonghai Country. They are rumored to have early a Martial Emperor among them," Hai Dongqing replied to Qing Shui after hesitating for a moment.

They were really hidden deep enough. The Central Continent was indeed a mixture of all kinds of people. If Qing Shui was weak, he would have never come into contact with such strength. It was just like going up on a stage. One could only see a bit more of the scene as they went up the steps.

"You have me. You don't need to worry." Qing Shui held Hai Dongqing's hand. A teasing smile appeared on his face.

"Today is Qing'er's and my big day. Why are you saying all this? Don't you feel like a 251 year old? Are you showing off?" Qing Shui's voice wasn't too loud but very unexpected. It immediately caused a few to spurt out the wine that they had just drunk from their mouths.

Zheng Chenglong couldn't help but to tremble at Qing Shui's words. The gazes of the people down the arena from him made him felt a little uncomfortable about being the center of attention. He stared at Qing Shui with an ashen face.

"My surname wouldn't be Zheng if I allowed you to marry her without a hitch. You can't blame others when you are the one courting death." Zheng Chenglong calmed down instead while he watched Qing Shui.

"With just you alone? An idiot like you can be Zheng Clan's representative? You ought to take responsibility for the words you utter. If a trash like you caused the downfall of the Zheng Clan, I don't know if the main clan will let you get away with it even after they have become ghosts." Qing Shui remained sitting, showing no signs of moving. But the words he spoke were bone-chilling.

In the World of Nine Continents, every word carries the weight of a nine tripod cauldron. Spoken words are akin to spilt water. If Zheng Chenglong were to take his words back, it would be fine if he offered an apology but he and the entire Zheng Clan would forever be disgraced.

Zheng Chenglong had no idea why he felt as if he was standing there bare naked under Qing Shui's stare. He felt extremely uneasy!

"How dare trash like you come to bark furiously at Qing'er's and my wedding banquet. Break one of your own arms and I will spare you." Qing Shui stood up slowly.

Zheng Chenglong looked at one direction before turning his gaze back to Qing Shui. "Who do you think you are? Don't think that you can scare someone off with just one or two lies. If you have balls, then come up here and fight me."

"If I go up, only death awaits you!" Qing Shui slowly walked towards the arena. He felt that it was necessary for him to help the Hai Clan instill fear to the others at least once and let others know that Hai Clan had him behind them.

When Qing Shui was halfway there, he lifted his feet and then appeared behind Zheng Chenlong who was a metre away in a flash. But Zheng Chenlong was still staring blankly at the spot where QIng Shui was at earlier, as though he was searching for him.

This movement caused everyone to gasp. Just what was this technique? Why weren't there any traces to be seen? Usually a trail of afterimages would be left behind no matter how fast the speed was. It was true that there was an afterimage but Qing Shui only left one single afterimage on the spot where he was standing which instantly disappeared the moment he reappeared behind Zheng Chenglong.

Zheng Chenglong was frightened to death. He instantly swept the longsword in his hands behind him without any hesitation.

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