Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 2286 - Dragon River Restaurant, Nie Clan’s Nie Wu

Qing Shui didn’t know of any Cai Clan or Bu Clan, but it sounded like the Cai Clan was very powerful. However, their disciples being crippled and them not being able to do anything simply proved that the Bu Clan was even stronger than the Cai Clan.

“To tell the truth, Cai Zhong isn’t nothing much compared to that Bu Clan garbage. The only difference is that they can still protect him,” continued another guy.

This was the youth at the neighboring table. But as he finished speaking, somebody reminded him, “Little brother, some words are best left unsaid, or else the consequences might be dire.”

“Haha, is the Bu Clan that strong? I don’t really feel the same. That Bu Feihua is just a slightly tainted second generation, treated and pampered like a treasure. No matter what they do, they always cover up for him. They are going to experience the same fate eventually.”

Qing Shui looked at the young man. He should’ve known that these words would piss off the Bu Clan, and they would come and punish him if they had the ability to.

The youth was truly very young, even slightly younger than Qing Shui, a special kind of Qi flowing through his body. It seemed to be slightly mysterious. His strength was even more shocking, as he wasn’t any weaker than Nalan Qing; his accomplishments at this age warranted even more surprise.

This youth was definitely from a powerful clan. Without adequately solid foundations, even a supreme genius wouldn’t be able to reach this level.

Nobody dared to speak at all as words were calamitous. They really resented not leaving earlier, condemning this fool who didn’t know the immensity of heaven and earth. Now it seemed that he wanted to drag everyone to death.

“Can this Bu Feihua beat you?” Qing Shui asked casually with a smile.

“Beat me? What does that ‘thing’ count as? He’s not even strong enough to be pinched by me, and I don’t want to pinch him to death. Hmm, but then his sister is a real beauty.” commented the young man.

“En, it seems to me that you’re also garbage,” Qing Shui smiled cooly and replied.

“Me? Ha ha ha... you’re the first person who dared say that to my face. I can’t say I’m some sort of saint, but I at least have some basic moral guidelines. I won’t ever use my martial strength to bully someone, unless they’re so shameless that I want to pinch them to death.” The youth absent-mindedly smiled.

“Not bad, being able to admit your faults shows that you aren’t that rotten,” Qing Shui said seriously.

“Yi, you are quite an interesting kid. Em… who are the two beautiful sisters to you?” The youth wasn’t completely stunned by Beihuang Fan and Shen Huang, but there was some lingering surprise in his eyes. His gaze was still clean, devoid of lust.

“They’re my women. I already told you that you’re garbage, don’t you agree? You act just like those guys.” Qing Shui said seriously.

“It’s not the same. If I were really just like them, I would’ve robbed them away already,” The youth said very solemnly.

“I think you still can’t gauge our strength. If you could, perhaps you would be acting differently. Some people acted domineeringly without a care for their reputation. These are the real shameless people, foppish dandies that are unreliable, and the second generation wastrels. The other types are those that like to pretend, openly acting one way and then switching gears elsewhere. They are the backstabbing, two-faced bastards who act in the shadows, committing evils and still pretending to be saints, even asking for gratification. They like to show their two faces to satisfy their own perverted minds.” Qing Shui smiled.

The youth looked strangely at Qing Shui. “You do make some sense, but I’m really not that kind of person.”

“I’m not talking about you, I’m just saying that you’ll gradually become like that. At this rate, in just three to five years, maybe around ten years, you’re gonna be just like that.”

The youth started wiping off the beads of sweat that coalesced around his face. “Don’t jinx it, I actually do feel a bit like this. Will I really become that kind of person?”

“I can’t tell. It's hard to judge this kind of issue. You probably have a heartache. If I’m guessing correctly, you must’ve been hurt by a woman in the past. It is best to let the person who tied this knot loosen it. You have a lump in your heart, and only by solving this knot would you have a breakthrough.” Qing Shui began sipping his tea again.

“I’ve failed to recognize a master. I hope you won’t take offense for my rudeness. I’m Nie Wu, you can just call me Little Wu.” The youth hurriedly stood up and bowed.

This knot in his heart was something he held close to himself. He even hid it away from his family members. This was a problem decades ago; when he liked a girl, but she didn’t reciprocate his feelings and eventually got married. In his rage, he killed the man just as they were about to consummate their marriage.

Nie Wu had felt the instant regret as he had no intentions of ravaging this girl. He truly loved her, but a few days later, she entered a brothel, allowing others to enjoy her. This cut Nie Wu like a knife through the heart, and in his rage, he tore down the brothel, killing many of the men who had slept with her.

He then sent people to watch after her. Gradually, a knot had begun to form in his heart. He was unable to resolve it, and it caused him extreme agony each time he thought about it.

He had thought that time would wash away this memory, yet it was like a curse, constantly gripping onto him. He would always dream of the time he had found her at the brothel—the moment when he had taken away all the happiness that belonged to her and ruined her life.

“Senior, do you know how to resolve it?” The youth asked seriously as he returned to his senses.

“I’m not aware of your circumstances, but it’s probably impossible for you to recover. You need to act cruelly to resolve it. As for how, that’s up to you.” Qing Shui smiled.

“Act cruelly? En, if I break an arm or leg, is it possible to recover it?” The youth mumbled to himself.

“Your clan should be able to. Even if they can’t, you can look for me. I’ll be here for a while.” Qing Shui smiled.

The youth completely believed Qing Shui without a trace of doubt, happily bowing at him. “Many thanks to senior! If senior has time, you can consider coming to the Nie Clan and let this junior thank you properly.”

“Okay, I’ll go if there’s an opportunity,” Qing Shui stated casually.

Nie Wu had his dinner and just left after telling Qing Shui of the recent occurrences, as well as asking about Qing Shui’s recent journeys and route, all in hopes of seeking him at another time.

Qing Shui’s group also left after dinner. They needed to find a place to live to get accustomed to the place. They decided to buy a simple courtyard since they weren’t expecting to stay for long.

As they walked around, they saw a massive, luxurious courtyard. It was slightly deserted and had a faint scent of blood. Those who passed by this area would purposely make a loop around to avoid it. Qing Shui thought, looking at the barren surroundings, this must’ve been the courtyard belonging to the exterminated Cai Clan.

They were eradicated just yesterday, and now some ‘cleaners’ had already come to clear the area, even taking away the main signboard.

Sects or clans that were exterminated would just end like that. No one even cared about the alliances with these exterminated clans. Since this world spoke with strength, everything else was simply fleeting and unreliable.

Qing Shui stood outside the gate, deep in thought.