Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 1023 – Buddha Sect’s Test, The Powerful Golden Scaled Dragon Elephant

“Qing Shui, I know you will go to the Buddha Sword Sect, but I want to know how confident you are in winning against them.”

The old man looked at Qing Shui and spoke again. Demon Gate had no choice back then. They have no other way to persuade the almighty Buddha Sect to allow his daughter and their son to marry, so the Demon Gate could only restrain their daughter in their home and prevent her from going outside. If she was found roaming anywhere near Huoyun Peng, the Buddha Sect would use any means to break them apart, resulting in a bad ending.

“I’m not sure. I haven’t pinned down the exact strength of the Buddha Sect yet. But one thing’s for sure – I can’t go back now.” Qing Shui said with a smile.

“Oh, the members of the Buddha Sect have their eyes on you?” The old man’s eye glinted with curiosity.

“Yes. Or to be precise, they have their eyes on Liu-Li. Grandfather, please don’t involve Demon Gate in this matter. I have plans of my own to deal with them.” Qing Shui said after pondering for awhile.

“Qing Shui, to be honest, I don’t know what you will use to deal with them, but I have a feeling that you will end this. I know it’s odd. You’re definitely not a reckless person to be able to stand where you are now, so I will believe you. But no matter what I do, you and I are already on the same page.” The old man laughed, as he shook his head softly.

Qing Shui already knew about it from the moment he met Mo Hongluo. If it wasn’t the case, the old man wouldn’t have allowed Qing Shui to meet Mo Hongluo and reveal her true identity, not unless Qing Shui has sufficient capability to do so. But he knew he wasn’t powerful enough, so no one would know what happen if things had gone to the unintended path.

“If that’s the case, then grandfather should never interfere, even if it’s for your daughter’s sake. Let me and Liu-Li handle things from her, trust me.”

The old man could only muster a sigh and nodded: “The Huoyun Clan has prospered for many generations. Huoyun Peng is the fifth son, but his family isn’t well-liked. However, he was born in the Buddha Sect, so those old fools will never let him marry anyone from Demon Gate. Even if you depend on martial skills alone, it will be quite difficult to defeat them.”

“I will handle the members of the Huoyun Clan slowly, but if someone from Buddha Sect decides to interfere, I will make sure they will never be able to go back alive. I will see how long the Huoyun Clan can endure. Also, I’ve discussed with Hongluo and Liu-Li already. We don’t expect anything else except to take away Huoyun Peng from the Buddha Sect.” Qing Shui smiled.

Qing Shui had a feeling that it would be difficult to make the Huoyun Clan to officially allow Mo Hongluo into their family with a happy celebration. He agreed that using his martial skills alone would be useless in this situation, so he had no choice but to pursue the alternatives – give a brief reunion to the Huoyun Clan and bring back Huoyun Peng. The alternative seemed possible if he managed to put a lot of effort into it.

…….

After spending a day in Demon Gate, Qing Shui and Huoyun Liu-Li decided to go back home. Qing Shui held Qing Yu in his arms while Huoyun Liu-Li stood beside him as the Golden Scaled Dragon Elephant calmly flew towards Fair Wind City.

“Liu-Li, we can free your father soon. When he’s finally out, we can let your parents buy a house near blacksmith store, what do you think?” Qing Shui tightened his forehead as he asked Liu-Li.

“Ah, Qing Shui, I’m thinking the same thing too. The blacksmith store is my home, and they will always be my parents who are close to my heart like my biological parents. If they can stay at the same house, that’d be great,” said Huoyun Liu-Li excitingly.

Qing Shui knew that the Central Continent wasn’t a viable option for Huoyun Peng and Mo Hongluo to stay anymore, so he decided to let them stay in the Hundred Miles City. Moreover, Mo Hongluo was quite grateful to Liu-Li’s foster parents, so that would be great if they could meet each other from time to time.

However, he could also allow Mo Hongluo, Huoyun Peng, and Liu-Li’s foster parents to stay at the Heavenly Palace. Even so, Liu-Li’s foster parents would not bear to part with their blacksmith store, so that was why he suggested her biological parents live in the Hundred Miles City instead. Liu-Li must be happy at the thought that she could be a daughter to both her biological parents and foster parents.

Suddenly, Qing Shui could feel a disturbance of aura from a distant sky. He looked at the direction of the aura with his sharp eyes and saw two small black dots approaching in a fast motion.

“They’ve come!”

Qing Shui remained calm and circulated the Qi of the Ancient Strengthening Technique right away. He then slowly enveloped his Qi around his little girl and Huoyun Liu-Li to give them some protection.

Swiftshadow Dragons!

A demonic beast with the dragon bloodline.

The Swiftshadow Dragons weren’t especially large. Their wings were able to extend to about 30 meters long. Their ferocious dragon heads were atrocious and fierce, and they were extremely fast as well. Their bodies were rigid and sharp, so their damage resistance must be strong in that regard. With the bloodline of a dragon, their battle prowess should not be underestimated too.

Unfortunately for them, the Golden Scaled Dragon Elephant was here today. His demonic beast also has the same dragon bloodline, and the power of the elephant was vastly superior to that of the two Swiftshadow Dragons combined.

If the elephant wasn’t a tamed mount, the Swiftshadow Dragons would have run away already!

There were two old men, each mounting on a Swiftshadow Dragon. They were wearing golden monk robes, but their hands were wielding long swords instead. Those were the signature attire of the members of the Buddha Sword Sect.

The old men had a benevolent appearance when they appeared, but quickly tighten their forehead when they saw the giant stature of the Golden Scaled Dragon Elephant. They could sense the dreadfulness of the demonic beast, a power too terrifying to contend against. Meanwhile, Qing Shui made a quick observation on those men quietly and calmly.

They have the power equivalent to 5000 stars!

The Buddha Sword Sect was a powerful existence, and their powers were considered one of the strongest in the five continents. They also had the largest amount of skillful cultivators under their sect. Qing Shui quickly commanded his Golden Scaled Dragon Elephant to stop, so that he could talk to them.

“Why are you blocking our path?” Qing Shui said calmly. At the same time, the Swiftshadow Dragons were twitching their bodies with uneasiness.

“You must be Qing Shui, and the woman beside you is Huoyun Liu-Li, correct?” The old man on the left scowled, as he asked with a murmuring voice.

“You were following us?” Qing Shui raised his eyebrows and said coldly at the elderly men.

He already knew they were following them, but kept quiet about it until they decided to show themselves. He knew the Buddha Sect would come for Huoyun Liu-Li, so he was determined to silence the Buddha Sect from speaking out their grievance.

“You only have to answer my question with a ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Why do you insist on talking nonsense?” The old man on the right said angrily, as he stared at Qing Shui with contempt eyes.

Qing Shui was shocked for a moment. He didn’t think that these benevolent-looking elders would act so harsh on him. It’s undeniable that the Buddha Sect was strong, but these two members seemed abnormally arrogant. Perhaps they were too used to being high and mighty, and being showered with nothing but flatteries from the underlings.

“Are all members of the Buddha Sect as disgusting as you?” Qing Shui remained calm, undisturbed by the words of the old man.

“Impudence!”

“Scram!” Qing Shui’s voice rang out like a thunderous roar that echoed into those old men’s ears. There was a hint of Lion’s Roar in his voice, which was infused with the Qi from the Nature’s Energy and the State of Immovable as Mountains. His voice has the ability to frighten his enemies as well.

The Lion’s Roar was a mastery technique that actually existed, which was simply a roar that had been infused with spiritual energy. However, because of Qing Shui’s powerful spiritual energy, his voice could even ring inside their head besides ringing inside their ears.

Their expression changed after knowing how hard it was to deal with this young man. The old man on the left then spoke out in a soft tone, “Let us take away the woman beside you, and the Buddha Sect will not make things difficult for you.”

Qing Shui sensed a hint of determination in their words, as if he would let them off lightly once they made him think he had gained the upper hand of the situation. Their decision was made with reluctance like they were being forced to slice off a piece of their meat and hand them on a silver platter to this young man.

“Should I be thankful that you’re giving me a choice to live?” Qing Shui revealed a fake smile while facing those old men.

“You, you…. The Buddha Sect doesn’t want to exterminate people needlessly. The woman beside you is a member of our Buddha Sect.” One of the old men choked after he was shocked by Qing Shui’s words.

“Oh, I see. You’re going to exterminate those who stand in your way!”

Qing Shui released an aura of coercion towards those old men immediately. So what if they were from the Buddha Sect? He decided to change his mind – if they have a death wish, who was he to stop himself from granting their wish?

He allowed his little girl to lean on his chest as he held her in his arms, while the Golden Scaled Dragon Elephant casually made its way towards his opponents!

The old men went pale instantly. They were always treated with respect and honor wherever they went due to their background as members of the Buddha Sect. No one would dare disobey their orders like that.

They were ordered specifically to only probe Qing Shui today, but because of their tendency to act recklessly, they had inadvertently forced themselves into a sticky situation.

Roar!

The Golden Scaled Dragon Elephant let out a rumbling roar. Qing Shui had already put up a noise barrier around himself, so that Qing Yu would not be deafened by his demonic beast’s penetrating cry.

Vajra Subdues Demons!

The Golden Scaled Dragon Elephant used its debuffing ability once more. When Qing Shui sensed the power of the old men, he curled a smile. The power of the two elderly men had been decreased by 10%, almost to the amount of 500 stars.

Diamond Sword Qi!

A ray of subtle golden aura locked onto the old men instantly.

“Hmm, the Diamond Sword Qi had turned golden. Two targets….”

Qing Shui was surprised, but smiled nonetheless. The Diamond Sword Qi was used to decrease the speed of these two opponents by 20%, prohibiting them from evading the next attack. In this situation, only the tough could confront toughness with equal strength.

Instantaneous Diamond Evasion!

Ferocious Diamond Attack!

Qing Shui held Qing Yu tightly in his arms while holding Liu-Li tightly with the other arm, as the Golden Scaled Dragon Elephant rammed towards the enemies. While being struck with absolute fright as the group of old men stared at the incoming demonic beast with a pale expression, the Golden Scaled Dragon Elephant was able to bash one of them away towards the air. The Swiftshadow Dragon that was standing at the front line was rammed into a pile of minced meat, a clear outcome of the great disparity between his power and that of the demonic beast.

The old fool’s blood splattered everywhere as the other shocked old man quickly went to catch his wounded partner and fled instantly without leaving a trace behind.

Qing Shui did not pursue them, nor attack them. This was just the beginning and if he was right on his money those old men would surely come back for Huoyun Liu-Li, who was standing next to Qing Shui with a calm demeanor.

“Were you scared?”

“I will fear nothing as long as I stand beside you.” Huoyun Liu-Li tightened her grip on Qing Shui’s hand and smiled.

That dimpled smile was as beautiful as a blooming flower. He glanced at her breathtaking and seductive eyes and moved forward to kiss her luscious lips. Qing Shui could feel a momentary tension on his face, before she quickly leaped on him and hugged him tightly.

The Golden Scaled Dragon Elephant continued to soar towards the direction of Fair Wind City. It was when Qing Shui felt a tug on his clothes that he realized Qing Yu was looking at them with a pouting expression.

Huoyun Liu-Li was instantly flushed red, as her eyes were shrouded in a layer of mist. Qing Shui felt an itch in his heart when he saw her expression. This woman had unintentionally enticed him with her deadly, yet seductive mannerism.

She was the epitome of his adoration and passion!

Both Qing Shui and Huoyun Liu-Li pecked on Qing Yu’s dainty face at the same time, causing the little girl to giggle with amusement.

“Liu-Li, the Holy Bracelet your grandfather has given you can increase your speed of cultivation by ten times. If you take the Spirit Concentrating Pill at the same time, your cultivation will progress even faster. Take heed of your cultivation so you can go to the other four continents as soon as possible. In the meantime, I will gain a foothold for you first.” Qing Shui said with a smile.

“Mm, Sister Chen has gone to the four continents, so everyone is worried. I will definitely make it there one day.” Once she was done speaking, Huoyun Liu-Li turned to look at her little girl in Qing Shui’s arms with a frown on her forehead.

“Don’t worry about this little kid. There are bound to be someone left in the Qing Clan, so she will have a good start ahead of us. If the remaining members of the Qing Clan can’t make it to the four continents this time, they will eventually reach that level of power in the future. Once the children grow older, they will not cling onto us like this anymore.” Qing Shui comforted Huoyun Liu-Li, as he knew she could not bear to part with Qing Yu.

Huoyun Liu-Li thought about it and laughed, “I will need a longer period of time to cultivate despite the rate of my cultivation. You’re right, our kids will no longer cling to us once they grow older and independent.”

After they went back to the Qing Residence in Fair Wind City, Qing Shui did not stop to rest but went ahead to lay a few Nine Palace Eight Trigrams Formations around the Qing Clan’s manor. This formation was by far the best and trusted formation he had ever tried. At any rate, it would be impossible for anyone in the five continents to break the Nine Palace Eight Trigrams Formation he had put up in the past solely with brute force.