Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 1160 – The Tenth Portrait of Beauty, The Younger Generation of the Four King Aristocrat Clan.

It was a success?

Qing Shui was dumbfounded. He opened both of his eyes and sensed his sea of consciousness. When his spiritual sense scanned through the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal, he discovered a scroll of a painting on the ground within the realm.

I only took one glance for him to confirm that this was the Portrait of Beauty. It was the tenth Portrait of Beauty. Furthermore, this scroll inside the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal was opened. The woman in the painting instantly shocked Qing Shui.

The lady in the painting was fully dressed in palace attire, her soft and silky hair draped over her shoulders. Her face was like the masterpiece of heaven and as translucent as jade. At the same time, the vigor of the brushstrokes that painted this Portrait of Beauty caused Qing Shui to sigh in amazement. Although he was currently at the level of drawing bones, he still felt that he was significantly inferior. After all, the level of drawing bones was also divided into different sub-levels.

The woman in the painting had a graceful figure. He could already feel that elegant and refined figure from the portrait alone. Qing Shui’s level of drawing bones still hadn’t achieved these heights. Her beautiful eyes were as beautiful as poems and paintings. They were as majestic as the starry skies and exuded an impressive aura from the inside out.

She was like the bright moon in the sky. The expression on her face was very calm, yet it exuded a pressure that was akin to the seas and the blue dome of heaven. Her palace attire made her appear a little closer to an ordinary human. Even so, the air of nobility that surrounded her was still extremely overwhelming.

From just the painting alone, Qing Shui could already sense that the strength of this woman was indescribably terrifying through her bones and the aura she exuded. He stared at this painting in a daze. After awhile, Qing Shui’s mind was once again blown.

That was because the figure of this lady on the painting actually overlapped with the lady who rode on the gigantic green dragon he saw earlier. They perfectly overlapped each other. Qing Shui knew that he wouldn’t make a mistake on this because both her grace and bones overlapped with each other. There was no way he would be mistaken about this.

Judging from her palace attire, she was probably one of the people from the dynasty. On top of that, she could control dragons. This kind of ability wasn’t possessed by just anyone from the dynasty. She was probably at least from a Grade Four Dynasty.

There seemed to be only two Grade Four Dynasties among the Western Oxhe Continent. They were absolute chiefs of the Western Oxhe Continent. A sect of the same level probably existed. Otherwise, the sects in Western Oxhe Continent would definitely be oppressed.

Since he had gotten his hands on the Portrait of Beauty, this meant that he had successfully accomplished his objective. However, Qing Shui was a little puzzled. In the situation just now, he didn’t get to interact with the woman on the gigantic dragon at all. Could this be due to the fact that this Portrait of Beauty wasn’t in the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal?

Qing Shui who had just snapped back to reality opened his eyes. He was looking at the two slightly worried ladies. He knew what they were worried about, so he assured them with a smile. “Don’t worry, I won’t lay a finger on this statue. After all, I’ve made a wish too.”

The two ladies had an obvious look of disbelief on their faces. However, since Qing Shui assured them that he wouldn’t destroy the Goddess statue, they were able to finally breathe a sigh of relief in their hearts. Besides, by the looks of it, they reckoned that Qing Shui had probably retrieved what he wanted.

“Qing Shui, you got what you needed?” Yu Ruyan smilingly asked while looking at the relaxed expression on Qing Shui’s face.

“Yup!”

“What is it? It seems like you’re really in a good mood. Do you mind telling us?” Yu Ruyan could sense the way Qing Shui had told them earlier about getting something out from within the Goddess statue that. It was probably not something that was inconvenient for him to share.

“It’s the soul of this Goddess statue.” Qing Shui said in an especially serious tone.

The two ladies were surprised before they laughed, looking at Qing Shui. Yu Ruyan rolled her eyes at him. “You only know how to spout nonsense. Let’s go. We’ve already made our wish. Let’s go explore other places!”

The three of them weren’t too far off from the Wishing Stone before they found themselves being surrounded by a group of people. These people weren’t that old in age. The oldest one among them only had the appearance of a middle-aged man. Even so, each and every one of them were wearing extremely luxurious clothing.

There were four men that appeared to be considerably youthful at the front. The one in the middle was wearing a crimson robe. It had a gigantic sword embroidered on it and looked extremely domineering. The remaining three had a broadsword, gigantic hammer and spear embroidered on their robes……

Qing Shui was startled and glanced towards Tantai Xuan.

“They are the people from the Four Kings Aristocrat Clan of the Four Kings Street!” Tantai Xuan said with a frown.

“Brother Xu, it must be fate to be able to meet such gorgeous beauties. Are you interested?” The tall and burly man with a gigantic sword embroidered on his clothes chuckled.

It was as if the people in surroundings had instantly vanished at their appearance. There was not even a single person to be seen within 100 meters around them and they were not that far away from the Wishing Stone. The area became quite spacious. But it was also evident how domineering these people were….

“These women are indeed very beautiful. However, women are sources of calamity. Brother She, do you think we are able to devour them?” the man with a spear embroidery said. He had a lanky figure and his eyes shone.

“Brother Pi, the Four Kings Street is definitely considered to be the most powerful entity in the outer city. If us, the Four Kings Aristocrat Clan, link hands, we will be a rope. Do you think there is still anything we can’t devour in this area?” the man with the gigantic sword embroidery said haughtily.

Their voices weren’t that loud, but they traveled clearly into Qing Shui’s ears. He couldn’t help frowning and then looked at the two ladies who had similar frowns on their faces.

“Is the Four Kings Aristocrat Clan very powerful?” Qing Shui asked Tantai Xuan.

“The Four Kings Aristocrat Clan could be considered a powerful being in the outer city of Yan City. Most importantly, they have some connections to the Black Wind Mountain.” Tantai Xuan looked at Qing Shui and explained.

“The Black Wind Mountain (黑风山)? How is it compared to the Putuo Mountain?”

“The Black Wind Mountain is a Grade Two Sect. On the surface, it is about equal with the Putuo Mountain.” Tantai Xuan looked at the people from the Four Kings Aristocrat Clan who were drawing nearer to them.

Qing Shui’s heart sank. He was hoping that he could pressure them with the Putuo Mountain. By the look of things, he wasn’t sure if it would still be effective.

However, these people were all the younger generation of the Four Kings Aristocrat Clan. In addition, the Black Wind Mountain only had connections to the Four Kings Aristocrat Clan. Unlike Tantai Xuan, she was Fairy Tantai of the Putuo Mountain. She had an honorable position.

Qing Shui stood in front of the two ladies as they watched these people quietly. The person across him had said earlier that the women behind him were sources of calamity. To be honest, Qing Shui shared the same feeling. There were many times that women basically spelled trouble for him.

There are only two kinds of people in this world – man and woman. Human are animals that desire food and sex. When they lead an easy and comfortable life, their lust will surface to a certain extent. This was the only entertainment the profligate sons of aristocratic clans had.

“Who are you all? Among such a big crowd, I saw you all in just a single glance. This must be fate!” The man with a gigantic sword embroidery said with a smile.

“It doesn’t matter who we are. You all are from the Four Kings Aristocrat Clan, right? Let me give you all a reminder – there are some people whom you can’t afford to offend.” Qing Shui knew that he mustn’t show his weakness in front of these people. These people were very arrogant. If he wanted to push them down, then the only way was to be more arrogant than them.

Qing Shui didn’t have any plans to fight with these people right now. His own group could still handle this group of people before his eyes. But if the experts from the Four Kings Aristocrat Clan came chasing, they could only flee and things might even get troublesome.

The man with the spear embroidery frowned. He looked at Qing Shui seriously and then at the two ladies behind him. It was a known fact that the class of the women by the side of a man was an indicator of a man’s status. These profligate sons weren’t actually worthless as they were aware of the benefits of strength. Hence, even though they were from a wealthy clan, they didn’t abandon their cultivation. On top of that, they were also the leading figures among the younger generation of their clan.

They knew that powerful strength was necessary if they wanted to be truly profligate. In their youth, their clans would support them because they were the hopes of their clan. But they’d have to rely on themselves in the future. Hence, cultivation was of utmost importance. Otherwise, even their clans might abandon them.

Regardless, Qing Shui’s words had given them some worries in their hearts. For him to be able to still say something like this despite being in the Four Kings Street and knowing that they were part of the Four Kings Aristocrat Clan, he must have someone to rely on.

“Haha, we are not looking for trouble, Brother. We only felt that our encounter is a fateful. Isn’t it better for us to be friends? My name is Wang Xu, this is Wang She, he is Wang Pi and this is Wang Shi. How shall we address you and the two ladies, Brother?” the man with a gigantic sword embroidery laughed heartily.

The man said, while making the introductions. He also extended his hand out to Qing Shui with a smile. This was a friendly gesture.

Qing Shui smiled. “I’ll pass on making friends. We are only passing through here. Strangers come together by chance. There’s no need to know someone whom we have met by chance.”

While speaking, he reached out to shake the man’s hand with a smile. Qing Shui knew that if he didn’t let them know his cultivation and push them down, he reckoned that it would be very difficult for him to get out from here peacefully.

The moment their palms were clasped together, Qing Shui felt a wave of incisive Qi channeling into his meridian. Qing Shui didn’t counterattack. Although these people had decent strength, there was still some disparity between their strength and Qing Shui’s strength. Not to mention, Qing Shui’s cultivation arts were domineering.

He activated the Seven-colored Pellet. The incisive Qi aura that entered Qing Shui’s body was instantly melted away. On the other hand, Wang Xu felt that it was as though his Origin Qi was like a stone dropped into the sea…….

Qing Shui used the Roc’s Might to cohere with his Qi aura in his entire body and unleashed it towards the man standing in front of him. The man’s entire body turned weak, as if about to kneel down by the pressure pressing down on him.

Wang Xu struggled hard against it but his legs were gradually bending down. Right now, he was the only one who could feel this. At least now, he knew how troublesome this man could be and also believed his earlier words.

The man was about to give up and kneel down. Although unwilling, he was already powerless. Just then, the heavy sensation suddenly lifted from his body. That pressure vanished without a trace. He lifted his head up and looked at Qing Shui somewhat thankfully.

Qing Shui loosened his grip. “Alright, we’ll see each other again if it is the will of fate. A man has to rely on himself. It is not safe to rely on the others or outsiders. Those are but a temporary reliance.”

When Qing Shui finished speaking, he held Yu Ruyan’s hand. He hesitated for a moment before holding Tantai Xuan’s hand too and left immediately. Wang Xu and the rest watched as Qing Shui left but didn’t say anything else. The expression on Wang Xu’s face was neither pleasant nor unpleasant. It just looked especially conflicted.

“Brother Xu, we are going to let them go just like this?”

“This man is very formidable. He can’t be stopped even with all of us ganging up on him. You think we can call the seniors in our clan for this kind of thing? Besides, he’s right too. A man has to rely on his own ability.” Wang Xu watched the retreating figures of Qing Shui and the two ladies.

“You can let me go now, right?!” Tantai Xuan didn’t even know what to feel when she said this. She had let this man taken advantage of her again and again, although she understood that it was an expedient measure earlier. She recalled the words of that Joyous Sage. He said that his destiny would intertwine with hers…….

“Ohhh, I’m sorry. Not going to happen again next time……”

Qing Shui hurriedly let go of her, but he was still holding Yu Ruyan’s jade-like hand.

“Let us leave here first!” Yu Ruyan interrupted the two.

They used the Nine Continents Steps on their way back. Qing Shui had just said he ‘won’t do it again’ earlier and those words seemed to still linger by the side of his ears. But once again, he was holding Tantai Xuan’s soft hand right now……

In the blink of an eye, they had returned to somewhere around the Divine Weapon Street. They then went towards the manor they had bought. It was about mid afternoon by now, so Qing Shui decided against visiting the Firecloud Blacksmith Store.

“Ruyan, both of you stay here for a few days this time!”

Tantai Xuan’s body jolted as she recalled the incident last time. The expression on her face instantly turned extremely unnatural.