Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 443 -Debut, Women of the Hai Clan, Trouble?

Qing Shui looked to the stage where the two dead warriors were being carried off, the workers mercilessly efficient. In just a jiffy, not even a bloodstain remained.

“Brother Xi, that man earlier on, to which sect does he belong?” Qing Shui thought it likely that it was someone currently in a feud with Sword Tower or harboring a personal grudge.

“He is actually from Heavenly Palace, except that he is no longer with us. However, he can still participate in this sort of tournament,” Xi Ri chuckled as he replied.

Startled when realizing that the warrior was a renounced disciple of Heavenly Palace, Qing Shui could not help but think of Cang Hai, who was in the same plight.

In the World of the Nine Continents, even if one had been renounced by a major sect, one’s status would still be exceptional, because in some aspects, a renounced disciple was unable to cut off all ties to their sect completely.

Should a renounced disciple die in the hands of a rival sect, his former sect would also be shamed. Hence, whether a renounced disciple lives or dies could only be decided by his former sect; an outsider would have no authority.

“Actually, there are not only people from the Six Sects here. See, over there? Those people are also from a major clan in this region, but it’s just that they are subsidiaries of the Hai clan.” Xi Ri pointed to the ones behind the Hai people.

After processing this information, Qing Shui understood. The Six Sects comprise the strongest sects and clans around the region, but there were some who entered the tournament under the pretext that they were related to the Six Sects indeterminately.

In name, everyone thus belongs to the Six Sects, hence they all stood in the interests and reputation of the Six Sects!

Once again, silence descended on the arena, but conversation momentarily resumed as small groups started whispering among themselves. Gradually, the discussion intensified.

“Heavenly Palace and Sword Tower are still on par with each other!” A short-haired youth from Alchemist Sect whispered.

“Is it even a wonder? This result is expected given how many years they have been fighting each other.” A youth with beady eyes commented, squinting his eyes as he spoke.

“Brother Dongguo, do you think that no clear victor will emerge today as well?” The previous youth questioned calmly.

“I don't think so, haven't you heard? That person is back.” Dongguo Yu blandly replied.

“You mean that Qing Shui?”

“Other than him, who else in Heavenly Palace could oppose those two from Sword Tower, and the rest from Hai Clan and Demonic Beast Sect?” Dongguo smiled as he answered.

“You mean he has the capability to go against Hai Long from Hai Clan in addition to those two from Sword Tower?

“Conversely, Hai Long can no longer be categorized in the same group, even though he only managed to narrowly edge into the peak of a Martial King, which is already a great honour and most likely nobody will challenge him for the time being. However, geniuses with extraordinary talents tend to die easily,” Dongguo smiled as he pondered.

“How about you, Brother Dongguo? You are after all the leader among the youths of our great Alchemist Sect,” the youth gazed enviously at him in admiration.

“Me? Pft!” Dongguo burst out cackling. “I am just a mere alchemist; perhaps I know a couple of killing blows, but my specialty is still concocting medicines.”

“How can it be? Brother Dongguo, you are already the leader of the younger generation with your combat skills. If you use that special ‘medicine’ of yours, you would definitely be ranked within the top few. With your outstanding skills as an alchemist, you won’t even need to get involved in combat,” the youth cajoled.

Dongguo smiled wordlessly, those beady pair of eyes shining with an unfathomable light.

“Wow, the ‘Ferocious Lion’ Kuang Shi from Demonic Beast Sect is up next. This is too unexpected.”

“Wow, it really is him!”

“Shocking! Right at the start too!”

“I wonder who his opponent is!”

……

In an instant, speculation ran rife among the audience. The Demonic Beast Sect was a force to reckon with on the Greencloud Continent, especially with the up-and-coming generation. There were two Beast Tamers from the older generation who owned Demonic Beasts at the Peak Martial King level and had regrettably passed away, leading to the drastic decline of power for the Demonic Beast Sect.

To make matters worse, Heavenly Palace and Sword Tower owned a large number of “high-level demons”. Consequently, after the passing of the two Peak Martial King Beast Tamers, the Demonic Beast Sect was only minutely stronger in comparison to those two sects.

Moreover, their heritage was much shorter in comparison to that of Heavenly Palace and Sword Tower, which was evidence of their stunningly fast progress and the power of the Beast Tamers.

Qing Shui watched the young man on the stage, the one they addressed as “Ferocious Lion”. Kuang Shi with his thick brows, big and bright eyes, and moustache appeared barbaric. His muscular bulk made him look especially aggressive, as if always ready to attack.

“He is the Demonic Beast Sect’s Kuang Shi?” One of the youths who had earlier mocked him exclaimed in surprise.

” “How can this be? And we even claimed he was incapable…”

……

“Brother Xi, this Kuang Shi looks pretty famous,” Qing Shui chuckled.

“The man built like a mountain from just now, Chi Tianhao, has a steady position among the top three of the Demonic Beast Sect. And this Kuang Shi is surely ranked among the top three within the youngest generation, too.”

“His beast is not of the Tigon Beast breed, is it now!” Qing Shui casually asked.

“No, but he has three beasts, all of which are very useful. Many would rather be facing Chi Tianhao as their opponent than Kuang Shi,” Xi Ri replied.

“What do you mean? You seem quite familiar with him.”

“Somewhat, because his three beasts are actually a lot weaker then Chi Tianhao’s Tigon Beast, but at the same time, they are three Martial King Grade Six beasts that are undaunting in the face of death, namely the Golden Haired Ferocious Lions.”

“Three Golden Haired Ferocious Lions of Grade Six?”

” Xi Ri caught Qing Shui’s dubious expression and explained, “The Golden Haired Ferocious Lion is a Martial King Grade Six beast that is of similar size to the Tigon Beast breed, fiery red from head to toe, with the exception that it has a lush, gold mane. They are bloodsuckers and fierce, but more importantly, they are adept at team combat. If they should coordinate well, three of them could easily match up to a Grade Seven Tigon Beast.”

“Ah, to be a beast tamer,” Qing Shui sighed ruefully.

“Jin Changzheng, you won’t come out till I call for you, isn’t it?” Kuang Shi’s voice was not loud but rather a low rumble.

Qing Shui had barely finished sorting out his thoughts when Kuang Shi declared the name of the one he wished to challenge.

Amazing!

Jin Changzheng was indeed the young master of the Golden Throne Palace of the Heavenly Palace’s Nine Halls. Qing Shui’s impression of him was still very clear – a young and sunny, dashing young man in gold armour.

Qing Shui had quite a good image of him, masculine and principled, likely an upright man with righteousness showing through his eyes. This was what Qing Shui genuinely felt from him, but his judgement might be wrong if the man feigned well.

Besides the fact that he had a brief understanding of Jin Changzheng, what surprised him more was his power. The opponent was ranked among the top three of the Demonic Beast Sect and specifically called him out… This must indicate that Jin was equally strong as well.

“Brother Xi, how does Jin fare among the youths of Heavenly Palace?” It was at this moment that Qing Shui became conscious of the fact that his understanding of Heavenly Palace was limited to Starmoon Hall, at most extending to Misty Hall, Starday Hall and Constellation Hall superficially. The rest mostly remained unknown to him.

“The weakest in Heavenly Palace’s Nine Halls would be us, Starmoon Hall, so relatively speaking, he also belongs in the top three positions. He is the chief disciple of Golden Throne Palace and also the successor of the Jin Clan, the number one expert among the youths of Golden Throne Palace.”

Qing Shui was aware that Xi Ri was of Martial King Grade Six level, a breakthrough that was induced by Qing Shui himself, possessing the Gigantic Spirit Divine Fist of Legendary Grade and the powerful Heavenly Thunder Slash. He was not in the least inferior to any Martial King Grade Seven Warrior, hence the uncertainty in the outcome of the battle with Chi Tianhao, assuming that he would not be using any demonic beast.

The Gigantic Spirit Divine Fist of Legendary Grade could increase the attack by threefold, but that was the most extreme aspect of it, whereas the disadvantage was that it expended a tremendous amount of energy. However, Xi Ri took thirty years of cultivation to reach this state solely because of this characteristic. Moreover, the requirements to practise this skill were very stringent and people who were not suited to its practice could end up hurting the meridian channels in their body. This was a method that can be practiced only by the Xi Clan, as the Giant Spirit Divine Fist originated from the Gigantic Spirit Clan and only their descendants could be its practitioners.

As Qing Shui turned his attention back to the arena, Jin Changzheng had already gone up to take his place, as dazzling as the sun in his golden armour as opposed to the wild and intrepid Kuang Shi. A state of frenzied female gasps and cheers of admiration ensued.

“Such masculinity!”

“He must be very strong…” A woman who looked young and married stared at Jin Changzheng, infatuated.

“You have tried him?” A middle-aged man sniggered vulgarly at her.

The woman turned to the man, the infatuation in her eyes switching to loathing, and then turned her attention back to the stage without bothering to acknowledge the man.

“I am actually very strong too. If you do not believe my words you can always try me.” The vulgar man persisted in trying to catch the attention of the woman.

The woman suddenly shot a sweet smile at the middle-aged man. Her looks were slightly above average, but she was buxom and ripe for plucking, and her flirtatiousness let the imagination of many men roam.

The men surrounding her were instantly captivated by her sweet and flirtatious smile, not to mention the vulgar, middle-aged man.

“Go try your mother, bastard! Scram!” In a moment, the coquettish woman in front of their eyes turned into a snarling monster.

The admonished man startled and turned pale, retreating under the disdainful looks aimed his way.

The woman returned to her original sweet form, but the number of men who were brazenly ogling her bountiful figure now declined.

Jin Changzheng was holding a cutlass, with the blade measuring longer than a meter and slightly curved. Sparkling and translucent like the moonlight, a chilly aura emanated from it.

The cold and clear night, the moonlight illuminates her brows, her smile directing the way to the Netherworld...

Cold Moon!

This was the second time that Qing Shui had seen such a powerful weapon. The first was the Nine Heaven Immortal Silk belonging to the palace lord of Misty Hall. If his capricious memory served him right, Jin Changzheng’s Cold Moon topped that almost by an entire grade.

A worthy mention was his very own Big Dipper Sword, which had completely outperformed its so-called grade, but he believed that the Cold Moon was stronger than that.

However, Qing Shui had already abandoned all his preconceptions, because what he had experienced personally had overturned all of that; furthermore, his memory was just a drop in the ocean in this World of the Nine Continents.

Qing Shui was a fair distance from the arena, but he could feel the dreary, murderous aura of the Cold Moon that was in contrast to the justice and righteousness that simultaneously radiated from the cutlass.

Kuang Shi lifted his head and roared when Jin Changzheng stepped into the arena. Three fiery red Tigons appeared, a mixed breed of a tiger and a lion. 5 meters in length and 2 meters in height, they stood imposingly with a ring of golden mane around their neck.

The Golden Haired Ferocious Lion was no different from Xi R’s description. Qing Shui observed Jin Changzheng who suddenly appeared much smaller. Jin Changzheng did not look flustered and his smiling expression did not waver, but he was clenching tightly to his Cold Moon.

“You better leave Hai Ciya alone. The loser of this battle today should back out!” Kuang Shi hollered.

“Hai Ciya? Is she from the Hai Clan?” Qing Shui asked as he kept his eyes on the arena.

“Yes, she is Hai Long’s sister.” Xi Ri replied as he continued watching the duel.

“Brother Xi, do you know who she likes?” Qing Shui asked with a smile.

“Yes!” Xi Ri laughed out.

“Well, is it Jin Changzheng or that Kuang Shi?” Qing Shui asked with interest.

“The person that Hai Ciya likes is Tan Yang from Sword Tower.”

The last sentence was stuck in his head. Repressing his boiling anger, he asked, “You are saying that Tan Yang and Hai Ciya are together now?”

“Hai Clan is very popular now, with everyone vying to associate themselves with them. There is no better form of alliance than marrying the daughter of their Clan head, Hai Long’s sister.” Xi Ri noticed Qing Shui’s slightly unnatural reaction to what he said.

“Why are the two of them dueling? Don’t they know about Hai Ciya and Tan Yang. Besides that, Brother Xi, how long have Tan Yang and Hai Ciya known each other?” Qing Shui forced a smile to mask his anxiety, aware that he appeared overly concerned.

Perhaps sensing Qing Shui’s impatience, Xi Ri simply said,” Both of them know about the relationship between Tan Yang and Hai Ciya. But they are only qualified to challenge Tan Yang after their match is over. They are proving to Hai Clan that they are up to the task. Tan Yang and Hai Ciya have known each other for 4 years.”