Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 1146 – Being Jealous of, Lei Clan, Weapons Drawn And Ready to Fight

“I’m sorry, Mister Qing, I have been impudent,” Bai Riyi said seriously.

“Alright, you should go back. Before you leave, let me gift you a line. The outside world is luxurious but I stand firm.” With that, Qing Shui returned back toward the forging platform. He had yet to complete the forging of that piece of metal.

Qing Shui’s words basically meant that everything in the surroundings continued to change at all times. For example, people or their strength. There would also be people who suddenly appeared or people who were born, grew old, got sick or even died. Changes were continuous and endless.

The world was very luxurious but it was also constantly changing. What we need to do is to hang onto our true intentions and not let ourselves drown in the waves of changes. Once a person loses their true heart, they will have lost themselves

Bai Riyi walked out of the blacksmith store, as if he had just woken up from a dream. He once again looked toward the signboard which was hung up with a strange expression. Firecloud Blacksmith Store… He called his people and everyone left. However, when he left, there was still a strange gleam in Bai Riyi’s eyes.

…

Qing Shui went about with his forging leisurely in the blacksmith store. Unbeknownst to him, the reputation of his Firecloud Blacksmith Store had already started to slowly spread. The news of a “young and handsome master blacksmith” was also spreading as well.

As his reputation spread, that afternoon, another batch of people came. When Qing Shui saw this batch of people, he shook his head helplessly and smiled. They came too fast.

These people were all tall and valiant looking, giving off a fearless aura. Their clothes were all different as well. Upon entering, the middle-aged uncle who was in the lead said directly, “Old man Wang, why didn’t you inform us that you sold the place?”

The man was tanned and spoke in a low, muffled voice that gave off a powerful feeling. Right now, he was glaring at old man Wang and shouting at him.

“Are the words ‘for sale’ which had been hung at the door previously invisible?”

Qing Shui walked out and said, smiling. His voice wasn’t loud nor was he angry. There was just an indescribable sarcasm in his soft and gentle voice.

“You’re the one who bought this shop? We had actually reserved this shop very long ago. You can ask old man Wang. Old man Wang, quickly return him his money and let him leave,” the man in the lead glared at Qing Shui and said.

When the man was saying this, he did so without even the blink of an eye. The others looked at Qing Shui from the side. Actually, this wasn’t the first time these people had came here.

The reason they had came previously was to watch a good show. However, after looking at the weapons and armor here, they knew that they were wrong. They quickly got together the many blacksmith clans from the Divine Weapon Street, wanting to force this young and powerful blacksmith out of this shop before they tried to recruit him.

There were many people with this plan. After all, this was a good seed and they couldn’t allow him to set up his own place. They wanted to recruit him and then force him to reveal his forging techniques.

Qing Shui hadn’t expected that these people would come knocking on his door on the first day. He had thought that it would take a few days or even longer and not be this early. Since they’d come, he’d just deal with them accordingly.

Old man Wang looked at Qing Shui, perspiration breaking out on his forehead. He really wanted to return Qing Shui the money as he was afraid that they would harm him. He looked toward Qing Shui, wanting to see what his plans were.

“I’ve already got a contract over this place and we’ve even traded the title deed to the land. Are you guys going to just ignore that?” Qing Shui looked at these people calmly.

In this world, trading of contracts were like life and death challenges and could not be violated. Qing Shui didn’t want to have a clash with these people at this point of time since a lot of them came from big clans and they had relied on their forging skills to make names for themselves in Yan City.

In fact, they were actually scared that Qing Shui’s presence would affect their livelihoods. In order to protect their own interests, they decided to come together and assess the situation. If things didn’t go well, they’d let him disappear from this world forever.

“Young man, we’ve had an agreement with old man Wang from very long ago. In principle, the deal has already been made. Your sudden appearance has caused us quite a big loss.” The man seemed to be very agitated. He was very tanned but his heart was even darker.

Qing Shui looked at this man. In his previous life, he had also seen people who were shameless, so he wasn’t shocked to see such a shameless guy. He smiled and continued, “I don’t know why you guys are joining forces to create trouble here. But I only want to say one thing. I don’t like to be bullied and no one can bully me.”

“Hahaha, young man, you need to be clear who is the one bullying the other. You’re too young and not suitable to open such a blacksmith store,” the man laughed and said.

“Alright, our small shop needs to regain its operations. If you’re not here to buy something, please leave!”

Qing Shui made the call for the guests to leave!

When the man saw Qing Shui being so direct, he was stunned as well. He looked around him, clearly seeking for others’ opinions. They were all clearly unhappy. Weren’t Qing Shui’s words saying that he was chasing them away?

They were all master blacksmiths. Who wouldn’t treat them with respect when they saw them?

“I’m saying it one more time. We’ve bought this shop earlier!”

Qing Shui understood that the other party didn’t want him to have his own blacksmith store in this area. And even if he didn’t buy this shop, they probably wouldn’t let him off either. Since that was the case, there wasn’t a need to go easy on him.

“You guys are all from the major blacksmith clans in the area, right? Are you afraid that my small shop will steal your business?” Qing Shui turned and asked with disdain.

“What a joke? What worth do you have? How could you possibly be qualified to steal our business?” a similarly tanned faced man at the back said.

Qing Shui waved his hand and a steel bead shot out!

Pa!

The man who had spoken insolently earlier was left with not a single tooth in his mouth.

“You’re no longer a kid. Didn’t your seniors teach you to mind what you say when you go out?” Qing Shui remained calm, as if he wasn’t the least bit angry.

“Lad, you’re courting death! Everyone, smash this place! Kill him!”

One of the people supporting the tanned faced man whose teeth had been smashed shouted.

“Lad, you’ve got nerve. Which clan are you from? To think that you’d dare to be so arrogant in the Divine Weapon Street.” The leading man frowned as he looked at Qing Shui.

“Stop the thrash talk with him! Do it!”

The man from earlier dashed out toward Qing Shui. Qing Shui took a step forward and casually flicked out his hand, tossing the man aside and flying out of the door.

“You guys are not my match. If you want a fight, go back and call out the experts from your clan. Don’t make me toss all of you out. If you guys were to break your arms, you wouldn’t be able to pick up a hammer in the future. It wouldn’t reflect well on anyone that way.” Qing Shui dusted his hands and turned back.

He didn’t want to kill these people. It was common for cultivators to turn their blades on each other and spill blood if they couldn’t come to terms. In a world of cultivators, everyday was like walking on a tightrope with the end attached to one’s waistband. However, he didn’t want to become sworn enemies with these people. A lot of them were blacksmiths, were the ones taking care of matters for the clan and weren’t very strong. They had probably not expected him to have a higher level of cultivation than them.

The man looked furious with his eyes agape. He hadn’t expected this young man to have such a high level of cultivation. The person who was sent flying was the strongest one amongst them. He had initially expected that this was just a small case. However, it seemed that there was a need for him to go back and report to their clan’s head. If he had known this would happen, he would have reported to their clan’s head earlier. He probably would have to get a scolding now.

The group of people left and Qing Shui looked at old man Wang whose expression was very unnatural. He smiled and said, “Don’t worry. There’re no problems here. Right, old man Wang, do you know them?”

Qing Shui realized that he still didn’t know who these people were, but he could have guessed that they were from the blacksmith stores in the area.

“The person in the lead is from Lei Clan, a blacksmith clan. Lei Clan is a reputable blacksmith clan in this area and the weapons they forged are very well-known. Very long ago, the royalty of Great Yu Dynasty had even purchased a batch of weapons in this area and it was said that there were also some which were forged by Lei Clan. However, they are now on the decline. Despite that, they still have a good reputation in Yan City,” Old man Wang said, feeling uneasy.

“Old Wang, there’s no need for you to worry. You’re not involved in this matter,” Qing Shui said nonchalantly. When he saw that Old Wang was about to say something, he put out his hand, “You still have your grandson. Moreover, I’ll be fine. Remember, if they ask you anything, just tell the truth. Remember, I’m not afraid of them and they can’t do anything to me. You’ll just need to protect yourself and your grandson.”

“What about the others?” Qing Shui saw that the others seemed to hold the man in the lead in high regard.

“The others are also from the blacksmith clans in the area, but they are a far cry from Lei Clan. You were able to chase all these people away today… As long as you can deal with Lei Clan, the others won’t be a problem.”

Qing Shui then asked about Lei Clan. Old man Wang didn’t know about it either. He only knew that they were one of the stronger clans in the area. The Divine Weapon Street was too long and only those who were close by had come to look for trouble. Those who were further away hadn’t heard of this matter yet.

People like blacksmiths and alchemists have great connections. Regardless if they were strong or not, most people wouldn’t offend them.

Although Qing Shui wasn’t very worried, he knew that this wasn’t the end of it. He shook his head. He was still a little weak. Who knew if there would be anyone at the State Master level here.

About slightly over an hour later, another commotion broke out outside. Then, a series of shouts rang out.

“The guy by the surname of Qing! To think that you dare to hurt people here! Scram out here!”

…

“Old Wang, go with your grandson to the south courtyard. Just stay home and rest for these few days and come out again after the matter is over,” Qing Shui looked at Old man Wang and said, smiling.

“Mister…”

“Alright, listen to me, just go!”

Old man Wang and his son left the place, returning to the south courtyard. Qing Shui headed out. Right now, the shouting was still so loud, causing Qing Shui to frown. These people were really unreasonable.

When he walked up to the entrance, he saw that there were actually a lot of people outside, many times more than before. There were also people who seemed to be like ordinary commoners. Right now, the one in the front was the man whose teeth were destroyed. He was covered in blood and was supported by a few other people. He was howling out in agony.

These people were shouting out for Qing Shui to come out and to scram out of Divine Weapon Street!

Qing Shui frowned as he looked at the man in the lead. This man seemed to be middle-aged. What that astonished him that this person’s eyes were filled with pernicious aura, something which one would usually only get after having killed a lot of the people.

Qing Shui looked calmly into his eyes and noticed that the hint of world weary in it. He knew that this man shouldn’t be as young as he looked.

The man looked at Qing Shui as well.

“If you pledge your alliance to Lei Clan, I’ll spare you your life!”

The man’s words were very straightforward, his voice low yet piercing, like that of an owl!