Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 735 – Seven Dead Martial Warriors, Head of The Zuoshi Clan – Zuoshi Ziyan

Two more remaining!

Qing Shui could already feel the staggering of their will power, which subsequently meant that they had accepted their fate of losing. As they looked at Qing Shui’s gaze, their hearts were calm and tranquil.

Were their spirits completely dead like dying embers, or did they have other plans for him?

The pair of Black Ember Demonic Tigers had already been taken care of by Qing Shui earlier. It didn’t take a lot of effort to deal with those demonic beasts with the strength of one star because their intelligence and strength were very much lower than his own.

Qing Shui unequipped both the Violet Gold Divine Shield and the Thunder God. After he had done so, two balls of Primordial Flames promptly appeared in both of his hands, which then slowly compressed themselves into the size of an infant’s head before they stopped shrinking.

Instantaneous Diamond Evasion!

Qing Shui swiftly soared upwards!

Cloudmist Steps!

Twin Dragon Explosion!

Qing Shui then took out his Violet Gold Divine Shield and Thunder God once more. The martial warriors who had their strength reduced to nearly one and a half star would never be able to evade the tiny speckles of flames from the exploded Primordial Flame Balls due to the close proximity to the explosion.

Despite the exploded flames being the size of tiny speckles, the intensity of the burn was dreadfully powerful.

ARGGHHHH!!!!

The elderly man on the left side burnt one of his eyes from the speckled flame during the midst of panic, which blinded the eye on the spot. He was also burnt on three other areas of his body. Luckily he was strong enough to endure the burn, but his combat effectiveness had been further reduced to one-third or less of his original strength, thus making him increasingly vulnerable to the burn.

The elderly man on the right seemed to be doing better than the elderly man on the left, albeit being in an extremely difficult position right now. His left arm was covered in blood, but his combat effectiveness was not affected whatsoever.

At that moment, Qing Shui had driven them into complete despair. This young man was extremely versatile, but his every move he displayed was quite proficient – and quite deadly.

Shield Attack!

Sword of Fifth Wave!

In the next moment, Qing Shui decided to go on the offensive and attacked the remaining martial warriors like a wild storm. After a while, everything went quiet. It was then that Qing Shui gradually calmed down and slowly regained his composure.

Seven martial warriors were completely dead!

The Zuoshi Clan’s reserve seven Peak Martial Saints were all dead in their residence. Qing Shui let out a long deep breath before he slowly descended to the grounds of the Zuoshi Residence. The ground was clean – nothing was left. Even now, some among the hundreds of people that came out from the residence earlier were still trying to run away.

Qing Shui took advantage of the situation and released the Gold-Silver Colored Butterflies as well as the Jade Emperor Queen Bee and her legion of Jade Emperor Bees. Those who were above the strength of Xiantian would be killed instantly, and those without any cultivation base – typically women and children – were given a chance to live and escape.

After Qing Shui had stopped his attack, he realized that there was no one around in the radius of ten li from him. However, he could still see the silhouettes of the residents as they escaped towards the far end of the city.

They must have thought that the world was going to end, and that Qing Shui was going to massacre all the residents and conquer their city…….

Qing Shui then turned the Zuoshi Residence into shambles. He tried to find the treasure hidden in the Zuoshi Residence, but it turned out to be fruitless. Still, it wasn’t strange that he couldn’t find it because most clans would never hide their treasures in the compound of their residence or anywhere within a hundred li of their residence, as a prevention against anyone digging up their valuables from three feet below the ground.

When he looked up at the sky, it was still early. He mounted on his Fire Bird and went to the nearest moderate-sized mountain. As he stood at the top of the mountain, the view was spectacular. He was able to get a panoramic view of the surroundings around the Zuoshi Residence.

Qing Shui planned to rest at the top of the mountain for a day before he rushed back to the capital of the Greencloud Continent, in time to catch his enemies unprepared. Worst comes to worst, he would have to escape after the first surprise attack. It would be easier to escape as no one would be able to prevent him from doing so.

In any case, the scenery at the top of the mountain was a pleasing sight after the battle with the seven Martial Saints. The greenery was abundant, which came as a surprise to him as he didn’t expect the top of the mountain to have a cluster of towering trees and luscious plants growing in the area. Nonetheless, most of the trees in this area were tall pine trees that could reach the sky.

……..

On this day, in the capital of the Greencloud Continent, the sky was suddenly crowded with a few large powerful demonic beasts. On the back of the demonic beasts were a group of people consisting of about 20 men – each with an imposing aura as if they could devour a random soul violently. Other flying beasts that were flying in the opposite direction would immediately avoid their path.

Leading these people was a young man riding on the back of a Golden Eagle. Riding at the same pace as the young man was an old man wearing a yellow robe. But to be precise, the old man was almost at the rear, behind the young man.

The old man’s mount was also a Golden Eagle, but it was significantly larger than the one Zuoshi Yun was currently riding on. Moreover, his mount wasn’t just an ordinary Golden Eagle, as its head wasn’t an eagle head, but a giant ferocious lion head. The body, however, was still a giant Golden Eagle’s body.

It was a mutated demonic beast – the Golden Lion Eagle!

The Golden Eagle had an extraordinary speed, but its attack was lacking. On the contrary, the old man’s Golden Lion Eagle was different. Not only was its flying ability and speed supremely fast, but it had a powerful attack power as well.

This group of men were also riding on a number of Golden Eagles – some were sitting on the back of the Golden Eagles, and some were standing on their Golden Eagle.

These men were the members of the Zuoshi Clan who rode nonstop to their destination of the Qing Residence.

The leader of the group was none other than the backbone of the Zuoshi Clan, as well as the clan head – Zuoshi Ziyan. His white hair and beard were hanging till his chest, but his body was upright like a towering tree.

He had an indescribable nobility and wealthiness when he wore a full body of yellow robe. His deep sunken eyes were especially calming like an ocean.

“Old Ancestor, just a bit further down.” Zuoshi Yun said in a careful tone.

Zuoshi Ziyan nodded his head slightly without uttering a single word. A number of Golden Eagles could be seen dashing forward through the sky in an alarming speed.

“Nobody?” exclaimed Zuoshi Yun.

From the bird eye’s view, the Qing Residence was completely deserted – there was no one in sight. Zuoshi Yun’s Golden Eagle slowly descended to the ground of the Qing Residence as he went to check alone.

“Old Ancestor, there is no one here.”

The other elderly men promptly went to the neighboring areas to check for any signs of the Qing Clan before coming back to report their findings.

“Raze this residence to the ground, and dig the grounds about three feet deep.” The old man was calm. His long and white brows fluttered in the absence of wind, and his eyes were filled with a slight uncertainty. Then his expression changed.

“Xilu, take three men with you and go back immediately. Take my demonic beast, you know what to do.” The old man pondered for a while before he gave an order.

“Yes, sir!” An elderly man said in a serious tone.

“Go now!”

“Yes, sir!”

Four elderly men rode on the Golden Lion Eagle and immediately flew back towards the direction they came from!

“Xifeng, take four men with you and check this place thoroughly. Yun ‘er, lead the way, we’re going to the Heavenly Palace.” The old man was emotionless when he gave the commands.

“Yes, sir!”

Rumble!

In just a few moments, Qing Residence had quickly turned to shambles. A loud crashing noises could be heard as the structure was falling, turning the once beautiful Qing Residence into ruins.

The neighbors around the Qing Residence were unclear of what had happened either. The Qing Clan was the top clan in the Greencloud Continent, what kind of people were these men if they were able to treat the Qing Residence like this?

“Big brother, who are these men? How dare they provoke the Qing Clan like this?” A lot of people had gathered around the shambled Qing Residence, making random assumptions and discussions.

“Second brother, are you blind? Didn’t you see that there’s no one inside the Qing Residence? Isn’t this weird?” One of the middle-aged man in the crowd laughed at his little brother’s questions.

“I wonder who they are. How can they force the Qing Clan to this situation?” The little brother who resembled the middle-aged man earlier spoke out.

At that moment, three elderly men walked towards the crowd and stood in front of them as he let out a smile: “Does anyone know where Qing Shui and the rest of the Qing Clan had gone to?”

The crowd were silent. One of the elderly men began to shift his eyes around the crowd to search for someone who might have a clue. Then his gaze stopped at the brothers who resembled each other and walked towards them while hanging a smile on his face.

“You, where did Qing Shui and the others go?” The elderly man asked the guy who was called as the second brother earlier.

“Who are you people? Why do you want to look for the people from Qing Clan?” The second brother asked suspiciously.

Clack!

Ah…….

The elderly man smiled as he twisted the second brother’s arm and broke it.

“Tell me, where did Qing Shui and the others go?” said the elderly man as he broke the young fellow’s arm.

“Let go of my second brother!” The big brother threw a punch at the elderly man while demanding to free his second brother.

“You’re asking for it!”

The elderly man threw a punch back nonchalantly at the big brother, whom then flew out to the other side of the street as he vomited a mouthful of blood. The big brother had died on the spot.

“Ah, big brother!” Even though his arm had been broken, his heart was feeling the most pain as he was enveloped with an overwhelming emotion of hatred. In the midst of anger, he swung his other arm quickly to scratch the elderly man’s face.

Unfortunately, the disparity in their strength was like heaven and earth – the elderly man easily caught the other arm before he could be scratched.

“If you don’t want to die, then tell me now.” said the elderly man without the care for his live.

“Ptoo!”

The second brother spat a mouthful of saliva across the elderly man’s face in retaliation. Being the obviously stronger one between the both of them, the elderly man did not expect to be spat on the face like that…..

“Go to hell!”

He grabbed both of the man’s arms and tore them apart from his body. Even so, the anger in his heart was still burning greatly, so he went on a rampage and killed about a dozen more in the crowd in a split second.

“Ao ‘er, enough.” Zuoshi Ziyan growled lightly before he was about to leave for the Heavenly Palace.

Zuoshi Ao finally stopped, then he turned his gaze back to the crowd and said: “Whoever knows the whereabouts of the Qing Clan, I will reward them with one Royal Grade medicinal pill.”

……….

Zuoshi Ziyan and Zuoshi Yun as well as the other ten men mounted the Golden Eagles and flew towards the Heavenly Palace. Zuoshi Yun was anxious as he rode the Golden Eagle. He wasn’t stupid – he clearly understood why Zuoshi Ziyan had ordered his men to go back to the Zuoshi Residence immediately after they were informed of the Qing Clan’s disappearance from their own residence.

No matter the case, he knew he had made a huge mistake this time. He had caused the unnecessary sacrifice of Peak Martial Saint warriors of the Zuoshi Clan because of a woman. Too bad he had no idea that the seven Martial Saints back in the Zuoshi Residence were also killed by Qing Shui. If he knew about it, he might even go berserk.

As the Heavenly Palace drew nearer, Zuoshi Yun’s heart was in a mess. If he were to choose again, he would definitely choose not to pursue the matters further. He had become the ultimate sinner of his own clan because of one woman.

Zuoshi Yun’s heart was overwhelmed with a mixed feeling of confusion. He was on the verge of going mad, and the more he thought about the whole incident, the more he wanted to tear Qing Shui apart. But ultimately, he was unable to do anything because he remembered the terrifying power Qing Shui had possessed.

Heavenly Palace!

When they arrived at the Heavenly Palace, Zuoshi Ziyan knew he had come to this place for nothing. He couldn’t sense any strong auras in this place, which meant that they had already left long ago.

Zuoshi Ziyan was quite perplexed: “Where could so many people hide in such a short amount of time?”

The Heavenly Palace was not a place for anyone to enter either. Suddenly, a dozen people came out, and quickly the numbers turned to thousands. In a few seconds, the members of the Zuoshi Clan were surrounded by the members of the Heavenly Palace.

The spot they were on was coincidentally the square of the Heavenly Palace.

“Who are you all? Why have you barged into our Heavenly Palace?” One of the officers of the Heavenly Palace asked as soon as he came forward through the crowd.

“Yanlang, go ask where the higher-ups of the Heavenly Palace could have gone to. And see if you could get any answers. If you need to kill a few to get the answers, do it.” said Zuoshi Ziyan without looking back at his men.

“Yes, Old Ancestor!”

The elderly man behind him gave an affirmed replied, then went towards the officer and asked: “Where did the person-in-charge go?”