The Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 980 - Wedding Banquet, Some Were Happy, Some Were Sad

It would never hurt to acquire more skills. He had the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal, so time wasn't an issue. Qing Shui decided that he would continue his practice, hoping that his efforts would eventually lead to a surprising result. Even if it wasn't anything surprising, it would at least be useful to some degree.

Because of his surge in power and the strengthening of his spiritual energy, the golden lotus the size of a washbasin had become twice as large as before - or even more. The current diameter of the lotus was about two feet wide. It used to be a feet wide at most.

With both of his hands, he continuously struck out with the Blue Lotus Art and six golden lotus flowers flew out in a line. This was followed by a streak of black scratch marks behind the whistled glimmer. The force of each strike was decently strong, but it would be a bit difficult to match up against any Martial Emperor. The deadliness of this skill was quite lacking but the energy consumption was high.

The lotus flowers continued to change its position, with three circling around Qing Shui to shield him from harm, and the other three forming an equilateral triangle before they swiveled outwards in the direction of the sky. The lotus flowers had the ability to change their forms in the air as well. Qing Shui waited until he had recovered some strength in his fists before he released the lotus flowers again, increasing the formidable force of the golden lotus flowers.

Boom!

Two golden lotus flowers clashed with each other, instantly exploding into a burst of golden light. Qing Shui jerked a little when he felt an abundant amount of spiritual energy traveling to the surroundings from the earlier explosion. He was also surprised when he discovered that the golden lotus flowers could act as a barrier between him and his opponent as he could prepare his killer move without his opponent's knowledge.

However, those were just some conceptual ideas he had at that moment. Qing Shui began to condense his energy once more. Controlling the golden lotus flowers required constant scheming, which was why he had decided to cultivate his Blue Lotus Art in the first place. Even though this technique wasn't as powerful as the Hidden Weapon Technique, it wouldn't stay like that forever. Moreover, he had a feeling that the Blue Lotus Art has a miraculous effect that he had yet to discover.

There might only be a slight difference from the growth of the Blue Lotus Art, but the difference was noticeable. This was especially true because he wasn't able to fully grasp the power of the Blue Lotus Art in the past. For that reason, he decided to continue the cultivation of this technique in an attempt to discover the depths of its power.

Suddenly, Qing Shui felt the three lotus flowers that had been surrounding him release a subtle amount of spiritual energy into his body, enveloping him in a warm sensation. He closed his eyes slowly and began to feel the warmth traversing through his body.

Qing Shui then abruptly opened his eyes, visibly shocked to see the three golden lotuses already shifting behind his back. He then took out a golden knife and slit a wound across his arms before he closed his eyes again. Even though his body and self-regenerating ability were strong, he could still feel the spiritual energy emanating from the golden lotus flowers traversing to his wound to regenerate his damaged cells.

Qing Shui pondered on what he had discovered for a while. He then realized the potential of his Blue Lotus Art. Not only could the lotus flowers act as barriers against his opponents, they could also be used to heal him as well. Moreover, these lotus flowers also had a subtle rejuvenating effect on his dantian qi, an effect that he had just realized a few moments ago.

Could this be a special effect that only the six golden lotuses had? Qing Shui was able to grasp the ability of the six golden lotuses, albeit barely. The effect of the golden lotuses would definitely become stronger in the future, and its current appearance of a dignified lotus would also become larger, enhancing its formidable power in the process.

The time inside the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal passed by slowly. Once he entered the realm, he would have to spend about 100 days inside, totaling to about three months. Because of that, he was able to train every day until he had reached a certain level of improvement to his techniques.

At the end of his time spent inside the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal, Qing Shui's golden lotus flowers had grown to about three feet in diameter, with its thickness being about two feet. He had grown proficient in controlling the lotus flowers, and he felt more powerful when striking with them, gaining an incredible amount of prowess in this particular skill.

……...

Two days later, the wedding ceremony began. The entrance of the Guo Clan was flooded with carriages and guests made their way into the banquet. The earliest to arrive was Lai Jiutian, Lai Chusong, and their families from the Lai Clan. Qing Shui smiled and greeted them with the members of Guo Clan at the entrance door.

"Brother Lai, you've arrived!" Guo Yanglong and Guo Polu both greeted them sincerely as the Lai Clan walked in.

After a few words of politeness, Lai Jiutian, Lai Chusong, and the other members of the Lai Clan entered the residence happily.

Qing Clan were relatives by marriage, but the distance between their hometown and Yan City was quite far apart. But soon after the Lai Clan had arrived, the others guests soon followed suit. Among these guests were mostly those who came from the Continent's Capital. This was the wedding of the eldest daughter of the Qing Clan, which was also an opportunity to shower flatteries to the Qing Clan - an opportunity that they could never miss.

Although Qing Shui had expected such things to happen, he was still shocked for an entirely different reason - there were too many guests paving their way into the banquet.

In the end, Qing Shui and the other members of the Qing Clan had to come out to welcome the absurd number of guests into the residence.

"The Yan Clan has arrived!"

After this announcement, Qing Shui looked into the distance and saw a group of people approaching the residence. The man leading the group was Yan Haoran, walking side by side with Yan Ling'er. When she saw Qing Shui at the entrance, she flashed a wide smile, as if she had forgotten the incident of that fateful day.

Guo Yanglong and Guo Polu glanced at Qing Shui with a smile before moving forwards to greet the Yan Clan. Regardless of the past, they were now guests of the wedding. Before Qing Shui could turn around and enter the Guo Residence, a voice called out to him and stopped him in his tracks.

"Brother Shui!"

Yan Ling'er smiled as she approached Qing Shui with eyes widely looking at him.

When this girl knew about his true identity, she had nothing else in her mind except a glimmer of hope that Qing Shui would eventually forgive the Yan Clan in the future. She hoped that he would stop looking at the Yan Clan with hatred, and stop looking at her with scornful eyes. When she saw Qing Shui leaving, Yan Ling'er took the chance and called out to him amidst the crowd surrounding the area.

Qing Shui stopped and looked at her.

"Bother Shui, today is sister Qingqing's wedding. You see, everyone's happy. I'm happy too." Yan Ling'er held onto Qing Shui's sleeves and let out a soft laughter. However, there was a bit of anxiousness in her eyes when she spoke to Qing Shui.

Qing Shui smiled and understood her meaning. He should have let Qingqing's wedding settle with a happy ending and prioritize Qingqing's happiness before his own selfish desires. This was a simple reason to stop delving into his family feud, so he stopped holding onto his hatred for now. He hadn't even noticed the same friendly greeting she had called him, even after all these years. How nasty had he become?

Qing Shui stood at one side so that the members of the Yan Clan could see him when they came in. They glanced at the man who should have 'Yan' as his surname and a flood of regrets and anguish flushed through their hearts. They recalled what Yan Clan had done to his family, and most importantly, his sister.

If he had kept his surname as Yan, perhaps the Yan Clan could have become what the Qing Clan was today. They were the ones who pushed away a prodigy to the Qing Clan, causing themselves to fall into this situation that they had wrought for themselves.

The members of the Qing Clan had become stronger than before, creating a great disparity between the strength of the Qing Clan and the strength of the Yan Clan. Back then, the members of the Qing Clan didn't even have what it took to reach Xiantian...

Yan Haoran sighed and continued his way inside. At this point, he seemed to have aged considerably. As Yan Zhongyue's father, he felt that he mistreated his own son as well as his grandchildren. Zhongyue would not rest easy if he knew how bad he had mistreated his children in the past!

Yan Haoran frowned as he passed by the members of the Guo Clan.

Qing Shui turned to look at his mother and noticed the depressed expression on her face as she stared at Yan Haoran's back blankly. He sighed and said, "Mother!"

"Qing Shui, he is your grandfather, after all. Regardless of whether you admit it or not, your father is gone. Aren't we a bit too cruel to them right now?" Qing Yi said softly.

"Cruel? Was it not cruel when they treated you like that long ago? Was it not cruel for Qingqing? Was it not cruel to the members of the Qing Clan?"

Qing Shui wanted to seek justice for that man his mother loved dearly, but he was no longer in the living world anymore. However, that did not stop Qing Shui from pursuing the others from the Yan Clan, including the late old ancestor as well.

"Only a few from the Yan Clan were cruel, and they have gotten what they deserved. I'm the luckiest mother to have a son like you, but the blood flowing in your veins are of the Yan Clan's. These people are victims like you too." Qing Yi said as she looked at her son with a confused gaze.

Qing Shui understood his mother's feelings, but he was still displeased that no one helped Qingqing when she was forced to suffer an uneasy life. His father was gone too, so Qingqing had no one to depend on. That kind of pain and loneliness, as if being one was abandoned by everyone in the world - Qing Shui understood these feelings clearly. If Qingqing didn't have an open mindset, she wouldn't be able to hold out on her own for a very long time.

"It's your decision, mother. Whatever decision you make, I will listen to you." Qing Shui smiled.

While they were talking, Yan Ling'er kept standing beside them with a face full of hope. At the same time, she showed a grateful expression as she glanced at the woman whom she called aunt.

Qing Yi smiled when she noticed Qing Shui's expression, but remained silent. She had only mentioned about them for a moment, but she knew that it would take more than a day or two for Qing Shui to forgive the Yan Clan for what they had done.

Time passed by slowly, and before they knew it, the sun was already high in the sky, shining brightly. This was the time when most of the guests would have arrived. Qing Shui preferred to stay at the entrance with Guo Polu to greet the guests, especially the people from the Yan City, and the people who came specifically for Qing Shui's sake.

"You are?"

Suddenly, a group of people approached the entrance. The Guo Clan could not recognize them at all. Qing Shui seemed like he didn't want to move forward to greet them, so Guo Yanglong approached them and asked with a smile.

The leader of the group was a middle-aged man who seemed calm and reserved. His eyes were focused on Qing Shui as he replied, "We are from the General Manor. You must be senior Qing. The old ancestor told us to bring a gift as a token of congratulation. Nice to meet you, my name is Ji Sha!"

Qing Shui turned to the leader and gave a respectful bow.

"Old brother is too kind. Mr. Ji, please come in!" Qing Shui was a bit shocked when he heard they were from the General Manor. He didn't think Ji Yunlang would go through the trouble to send someone to bring a gift to his sister's wedding.

The other members didn't have a big reaction towards their interaction. After all, there weren't many who knew about the strength of the General Manor itself, and those who knew them as a family of guardians were even less than a handful. In any case, they would never show their power in a place like the Yan City.

The banquet proceeded quite smoothly without any hastiness. Guo Clan was indeed powerful in the Yan City, but there was also the existence of the Lai Clan and Yan Clan. Most importantly, Qing Shui was a patriarch in the Heavenly Palace, a common knowledge that every household should know by now. Ever since he had annihilated the Xiao Clan and later on, the Sword Tower, no one had dared to cause trouble again.

Because his father was long gone from this world, Qing Shui took over his role and handed Qingqing's hand to Guo Polu.

"Even though I am just a brother, I feel the need to say something to you. You must have known about my sister's past by now. She had suffered a lot during her younger days, and I won't mention the rest for her sake. I don't wish to see her suffer anymore, and no one should make her suffer any longer. Qingqing likes you, so I believe you are the one who can bring her happiness." Qing Shui smiled as he calmly said to Guo Polu.

"As long as the Guo Clan lives, we will not let Qingqing suffer even for one bit." Guo Polu said with a stern voice.

"Good, I will remember your words. Initially, I had wanted Guo Clan to expand their influence in the Continent's Capital, but since it is hard to part from here, I will not force the Guo Clan to move. But your powers are too weak as of now. Go to the Heavenly Palace and train for a few days. That way, you can become stronger and protect those who you love." Qing Shui let out a smile.

"Thank you!" Guo Polu said emotionally. Man's craving for power could not be described with words.

"We are a family now. You're very welcome!" Qing Shui laughed.

Many people surrounding them felt envy towards Guo Clan because they had such a good son. After considering everything between the Guo Clan and the young lady from the Yan Clan, their love was deemed to be true and genuine. A lot of people from the Yan Clan were aware of Qing Shu's existence, and they were also aware of the mistreatment the Yan Clan had forced onto Qingqing, but none had the courage to profess their love no matter how much they liked Qingqing. Guo Polu was the only exception as he forged towards his love with Qingqing regardless of her history or the people around her. They were meant to be with each other.

A lot of people from the Yan Clan felt desolated after witnessing the love between the two souls, but they could do nothing. The Yan Clan had lost their chance of soaring to the heights of power. The elders could only sigh and blame their misfortune on Yan Haozheng…...

A clash of toasts echoed around the banquet, which lasted until late evening. The banquet tables were covered with many servings of dishes, and some guests had to leave in between the servings because of urgent matters. All of the guests eventually left once the sky had turned dark.

Qing Yi and Qingqing were walking together while they had some casual conversation. Meanwhile, Qing Shui and the other brothers of the Qing Clan gathered together and chatted idly. The children, on the other hand, were playing nearby. Qing Jun and Qing Ying were sensible enough to be careful while playing, but Qing Ming was a bit troublesome as he was much more daring and reckless. Qing Shui had a bit of a headache dealing with this particular child - he was a bit different than the rest of his children.

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