Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 1452 - To the Yan Dynasty Once More, The Demon King Inheritance

As he watched the four slowly faded into the distance, Jin Ci wondered if the Demon Lord was even aware of his feelings towards her. He never had the courage to confess his love nor did he ever decided to do so.

Naturally, Zhan Yu and Hua Rumei shared a mount together on the giant Ancient Fire Snake, they were newlyweds after all. Qing Shui could only brazenly share a mount together with the Demon Lord.

Qing Shui could not understand this woman. She did not show any reluctance sitting beside him but he was completely ignored. However, this was not the first time this happened.

Qing Shui sat on top of the Old turtle with his legs crossed while the woman stood beside him, graceful and cool as always. He was always left speechless and mesmerized whenever he was with her.

Her sleeves flapped against the wind as if she were ready to fly off. Qing Shui snapped out from his mesmerized state, then he smiled and said, "There is still a long way ahead, let's sit down and have a chat. Weren't you trying to trust me more?"

Tantai Lingyan looked at Qing Shui, then decided to sit down beside him. A faint, yet very intoxicating fragrance instantly filled the air. This was not just like any ordinary fragrance, it was a fragrance unique to the woman.

As he looked at her sitting beside him, Qing Shui could not help but laugh. They were roughly one foot apart, Qing Shui tried scooching closer but made sure not to pressure her. Now, they were only one inch apart.

The woman did not give any response to Qing Shui's actions. She just sat there and watched.

Those cold pupils of hers did not make Qing Shui afraid like before. That sensation was not fear, but more like a feeling of inferiority. Qing Shui felt that he was now like a dead pig who was not afraid of hot water anymore.

Qing Shui boldly made eye contact with her. Those lush lashes looked very attractive and her pearl white skin was as smooth as jade that resembled an ice sculpture. She emitted some sort of arrogance which could not be faked, it was not irritating at all but could make people feel inferior

Qing Shui felt inferior, but he knew he should not. He should hold anything back, otherwise, he would not be able to advance any further.

In the end, Tantai Lingyan turned her head. Qing Shui caught glimpse of some uneasiness in her eyes. This made him quite surprised.

"Lingyan, how about you talk more about yourself?" Qing Shui smiled and asked.

Startled, Tantai Lingyan turned around and glared at Qing Shui. Since when did they become that close, to be so daring to call her by her name. "Don't call me by my name," she said, a bit irritated.

"What should I call you then?" Qing Shui laughed. He figured it would be nice to keep lingering on this question.

"Use my full name."

"Wouldn't that be too stiff?" Qing Shui said rather seriously.

"By right, I should've called you Ms. Tantai or Ms. Lingyan. However, calling a woman that from where I came from was considered rude. So I decided to call you Lingyan instead. It sounds nice and friendly too."

"Do you think we're close?" Tantai Lingyan said speechlessly.

"Is there anyone closer to you than me?" Those words accidentally slipped out from his mouth.

"My bad, you know that's not what I meant." Qing Shui quickly followed up.

Tantai Lingyan noticed that Qing Shui was really getting nervous and said comfortingly, "You yourself said that I know that's not what you meant. Nothing to be sorry for."

"I fear that you wouldn't believe me."

"If I really didn't, would an apology have sufficed?"

"Well, that’s true......"

"That matter happened ages ago. The Soaring Dragon Organization was just a part of it. As for the rest, I do not know much about them either, just some clues, However, the clues I have are too little, so let's hope we can get something out of the Soaring Dragon Organization. They were already pretty strong, we don't know how the others are compared to them.

"Don't worry, everything would be settled. I will be with you until the end." Qing Shui comforted her.

She shook her head slightly, "After this matter is over, you should leave."

"Why?"

"These matters are not as simple as you think. You don’t need to involve yourself, it's not worth it." Tantai Lingyan said calmly while looking into the distance.

"You can't decide whether or not it's worth it, that's for me to decide!"

"You have a family." Tantai Lingyan replied.

"I won't leave you behind no matter what. That, I cannot do." Qing Shui said softly, so soft he was not sure if she heard him.

"Stop being an idiot, learn to give and take will you?" The woman stood up and walked towards the head of the old turtle.

……

On the way, Qing Shui continued cultivating his Divine Truth Hearing Technique and also his formations. At the same time, he absorbed some of the Battle God Inheritance. The Battle God Inheritance had increased Qing Shui's strength tremendously. However, it still continued to increase his strength and let him cultivate faster than ever.

A few days later, the four of them arrived at the Great Yan Dynasty and they flew straight towards the palace. Normally it would take a little longer for Yan Zhongyue to arrive.

The old people of the Great Yan Dynasty were delighted about Qing Shui's arrival and Qing Shui was not reserved at all. Instead, it would have been weird to show any reservation. The four of them stayed at the palace in the end.

The woman also treated Qing Shui quite well, so well people might say that they were siblings. Man or woman, people who could achieve this were wise and open-minded people.

The three children were extra friendly towards Qing Shui. They could already call him 'Brother' quite naturally now on their second meeting. Although Yan Qingting could already call him that on their first meeting, it was less awkward on their second.

"Brother, I've been looking forward to your arrival." Yan Qingting said happily as she held Qing Shui's arm.

"Looking forward? I think you've been craving me!"

"Of course not. I just missed you, that's all."

"Okay, very good. I was planning on bringing some snacks for you, but I forgot. Next time, okay?" Qing Shui chuckled and said.

"Ah, you're so cruel......" Yan Qingting made a dissatisfied face.

The others just smiled and watched them. After making a few more promises, Qing Shui went into the living room along with the old man and the woman.

"Has there been any activity from the Soaring Dragon Organization since we left?" Qing Shui asked as soon as he sat down.

"No, there hasn't been any,"

"After thinking a bit, I think it would be better to slowly advance into the inner parts of the Soaring Dragon Organization." Qing Shui looked at the old man and said.

Previously, he planned on infiltrating the Soaring Dragon Organization and kill the Patriarch. However, on second thought, they would be in danger if anything were to happen to Old Man Lu at the Great Yan Dynasty.

With his age and experience, the old man understood Qing Shui's thoughts. For a brief moment he was silent, then he said out laughing, "That old fart will surely be impatient, he doesn't have much time left after all."

Hearing the old man's words, Qing Shui realized that he didn’t need to hurry. Instead, it was the opponent who should be panicking right now. With the current situation, the impatient one would likely lose. After some thought, he said, "Then, while waiting for the opponent to make a rash move, we could utilize this time to do something like weakening the forces around this country."

"Do as you like. With your abilities, as long as people of that old fart's level don't interfere, there shouldn't be any problems," the old man laughed and said.

"Old Ancestor, let me follow Brother too," the girl interrupted.

This made Qing Shui worry. Good thing the old man gave consent, only then did he relax.

Now that things were decided, they only had to wait a few days for Yan Zhongyue to return.

"Old man, let's go visit the Great Sun Dynasty tomorrow. We could wipe off some past acquaintances along the way too." Along the way here, Qing Shui got to know how the Soaring Dragon Organization went against the Demon Lord Palace in the past.

The old man did not stop them, he just smiled and said, "You guys be careful then. You know how strong the Soaring Dragon Organization is right? Remember the forces that you must avoid facing. You are small in numbers, threats may not be just people and beasts."

"Thanks for reminding us, we'll take note of it." Qing Shui said in a serious tone.

"Yup, what you see on the surface of this world is only a third of it, so never let your guard down. Come, have a drink with me!" The old man seemed to be in a good mood.

Last time, Qing Shui forgot the wine and tea but this time he gave quite a lot to the old man, so he opened up some of them. Even the old man was in awe. The last time they celebrated the old man's birthday, he helped them recuperate, cooked for them, and even treated them to a precious wine of his. That was why Qing Shui did not take out his gifts last time, even though they might be better than the old man's, it was then he decided to return the favor the next time they met.

Qing Shui had plenty of these things anyways since the plum blossoms were all fermented to become wine. Precious Dew Wine, Snake Bile Wine, and Tiger Bone Liquor, with the exception of the Precious Dew Wine, the others were in abundance. As for other wines like the Nv`er Hong, all he needed to do was to throw them into the Realm of the Violet Jade and wait until the right time.

The next day, the four of them bade farewell to the old man and set off towards the Great Sun Dynasty. It was one of the Soaring Dragon Continent's three Great Dynasties. Originally, they did not plan to go, since they were a force to be reckoned with. However, the Great Dynasty was something they would have to deal with sooner or later. They speculated that the top guns in the Great Dynasties would not interfere because they were not in good terms with the Soaring Dragon Organization.

However, another thing had to be considered and that was the Demon Lord Palace's bad reputation. Although most forces in the Soaring Dragon Continent did not have much contact with the Demon Lord Palace, it did not prevent them from following the crowd seeing the Demon Lord Palace as enemies. It was terrifying how much harm rumors can do. Another thing Qing Shui wondered was, why the Demon Lord Palace was called ‘Demon Lord Palace’?

"Lingyan, why is the Demon Lord Palace called the Demon Lord Palace? And why are you known as the Demon Lord?" Qing Shui asked the woman beside him without hesitation.

What Tantai Lingyan replied made Qing Shui stood frozen.

"The Battle God Inheritance you obtained is the opposite of the Demon King Inheritance, also known as the Demon Lord Inheritance. And I am the Demon Lord Inheritor. Who knows, one day we might be facing each other with our swords at each other's throats. The battle to the death which took place in ancient times was between the Demon King and the Battle God." Tantai Lingyan looked at Qing Shui and said slowly.