Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 1318 – Imperial Cuisine Hall, People Coming from Li Clan’s Main Branch, Li Husheng

Li Yan’s change was seen by everyone and the impact on them was tremendous. Right now, Li Yan was looking at Qing Shui happily. The increase in her abilities and the increment of her grandfather’s lifespan was considered a double blessing.

“Thank you!” She thanked Qing Shui happily.

“I should thank you as well. Thank you for believing in me.” Although Qing Shui didn’t say much, the others instinctively looked toward the young man called Ye`er. This made him feel even more hatred toward Qing Shui. It was as if he had suffered a double loss.

“Hmph!” The young man called Ye`er left after a cold snort.

No one stopped him, nor did they say anything.

“Sir, he’s called Li Ye and is a member of Li Clan’s main branch. Please don’t bother yourself with him.” Old Master Li stood up and said a little helplessly.

Qing Shui understood from these words. The side branch of Li Clan was incomparable to the main branch. They were under the wings of the main branch. Li Ye was a member of the main branch and the power of the main branch was undeniable. However, they were indebted to Qing Shui and had huge potential. Everyone present could sense that with his medical skills, there was no way Qing Shui would remain a nobody. Therefore, they felt a little at a loss and could only console Qing Shui.

In this world, the interests of the clan were held above others and they appeared to be united. Therefore, Old Master could not reprimand Li Ye. Of course, it would be a totally different issue if Old Master Li was a member of the main branch. However, the thing was he was actually a member of the side branch while Li Ye was a member of the main branch.

“Old Master, you’ve made it sound too serious. I’ve encountered many things over the years and this is nothing. Life is full of ups and downs. I’m still young and there’s still a very long way ahead of me,” Qing Shui shook his head and said nonchalantly.

Old Master Li looked at Qing Shui and nodded, feeling full of praise for him. There weren’t many youngsters who had such great abilities but yet could hold their temper. Geniuses were all arrogant and the last thing they could tolerate was to be doubted by others. In fact, those geniuses didn’t know that doing that would end up putting them at a disadvantage.

There were things than a man should do and things which a man shouldn’t do. Sometimes, brute courage was not something recommended and if one was unable to hold it in when they encounter something, they could end up in trouble. Although this was easy to say, it wasn’t easy to put into practice.

Qing Shui really didn’t think much of it. He just didn’t wish to create trouble for this side branch of the Li Clan. He didn’t care even for Li Clan’s main clan.

“Old Sir, let’s forget about the matter of taking in a disciple. I don’t have that kind of ability. In the future, we can frequently discuss issues on medical skills. What do you think?”

Earlier, the act of Soulsearch wanting to recognize Qing Shui as his Master had made Li Ye felt displeased. If it were to go through, what would he have to call Qing Shui? Therefore, he left directly, interrupting the issue.

The others knew of the Ghost Physician’s abilities. Therefore, when they heard that he had wanted to have Qing Shui be his Master, they were all so shocked that their jaws almost dropped off. How amazing must one’s medical abilities be for him to be able to become Ghost Physician’s teacher?

“We’ll do as you say. Right, please do come visit my Imperial Cuisine Hall. I’d like to get your guidance.” Soulsearch could tell that Qing Shui wasn’t a petty person. A powerful physician would definitely have a high level of attainment in medicinal cuisine.

“Let’s look into it together. I’m also very curious in this area. I’ll need you to provide me with some guidance as well.” Qing Shui had yet to use a lot of his Culinary Arts. He had only cooked for the people around him before and had yet to think of cooking for others. Therefore, he hadn’t studied much into his Culinary Arts.

Very quickly, Li Clan set up a feast for Qing Shui and Soulsearch. Since Qing Shui was still foreign to this place and had forged a connection with Li Clan and Soulsearch, he decided to start from here first.

Fate was something very amazing. Qing Shui had no choice but to believe in its existence. When one encountered something which couldn’t be explained, it was affinity. There were good and bad ones but they were all affinities. He neither believe in them not did he reject them.

Not many people attended the banquet and there were only the people who were from Old Master Li’s group. When the banquet ended, Old Master Li had tried to persuade Qing Shui to stay but it was only after Qing Shui had promised that he would return very soon did he then leave with Soulsearch to take a look at the Imperial Cuisine Hall.

In fact, Qing Shui wanted to have more exchanges with Soulsearch as well. Regardless if he was the Ghost Physician or if he had any other nicknames, Qing Shui knew that for him to be able to cultivate his medical skills to such a level, it meant that he was a man of principles. If it was a person with principles, Qing Shui didn’t mind even if he was someone bad.

They took a beast carriage and headed for the Imperial Cuisine Hall.

“Mister Qing, where are you from?”

“You can call me Qing Shui!” Qing Shui said politely.

“Then how about this, if Brother Qing doesn’t mind, you can address me as Elder Brother!”

“Then Elder Brother, I shan’t stand on ceremony.”

“Haha, alright. I’m too happy today.”

“This is the first time I’ve been to the Dancing Phoenix Continent and I’ve only arrived today.” Qing Shui didn’t try to hide this but he wouldn’t say much either.

Soulsearch was stunned and he smiled and said, “Then we really do have an affinity.”

“What’s the reason you’ve come to the Dancing Phoenix Continent? I don’t have any other intentions. I just want to see if I can be of any help to you,” Soulsearch said.

“Elder Brother, you’re too polite. Although this is the first time we’ve met, I can still sense that you’re sincere.”

“I’ve some things to handle but it can’t be rushed. Therefore, I may need to come often in the future. I might even need to stay here for a very long period of time,” Qing Shui smiled and said. He didn’t go into detail but just made his general intentions clear.

“Brother, there’s no need to stand on ceremony. You can treat the Imperial Cuisine Hall like your own place.”

While they chatted, they soon arrived.

After getting off the carriage, Qing Shui looked toward the street. More than half of the street was filled with food related shops. It was a very wide and prosperous street. Before he entered, he could already smell a strange fragrance from it.

Various fragrances were mixed together. It wasn’t a bad smell but was a strange kind of fragrance. There were many people on the streets and many people could be seen entering or leaving all sorts of “food buildings”.

Those people were mostly cultivators or merchants. Looking at the prosperous scene, Qing Shui was taken aback as well. In his previous life, it was said that food and lust were a person’s instincts. It seemed that this was true. When one’s desire for food was satiated, one would develop a desire for lust.

Eating was a kind of enjoyment. The more powerful and the richer one was, the more particular he would be. It was even the wish of many to be able to try out all the delicacies in the world. Furthermore, sometimes, eating could allow one to improve their cultivation level and extend their lifespans. Food was the most direct form of replenishment for humans and even one’s spiritual Qi could be replenished through food. Medicinal pills could be said to be the condensed form of food made from medicinal herbs…

After a quick look, Qing Shui then turned his gaze toward the Imperial Cuisine Hall. It appeared very exquisite and majestic. This feeling made Qing Shui’s eyes light up. It gave one a feeling of indescribable novelty.

The Imperial Cuisine Hall was only five stories tall but each story was very high. Therefore, it was even taller than other buildings which were over ten stories tall. It took up a large land area as well. Looking at it gave one a comfortable feeling.

There were many people entering and leaving the place.

“Brother, come, let’s go in. I’ll let you have a look at my abilities.” Soulsearch was especially happy at this moment. It was apparent that he held his Imperial Cuisine Hall in high regard and was very proud of it as well.

The moment they entered, Qing Shui could smell an intoxicating fragrance. There were also medicinal fragrances and many other indescribable fragrances. Qing Shui’s sense of smell was very powerful as well and he could differentiate a lot of the medicinal herbs. Of course, there were also many he wasn’t familiar with.

Qing Shui smiled and nodded and then headed up with the old man. There were many people dining on the first story. There were also people who requested takeaways as well. On the second story, there were a few people standing at the stairs.

Soulsearch and Qing Shui went up to the second story. Those people only stood there upright, respectfully and bowed slightly. Upon arriving at the second story, Qing Shui noticed that there were only half the number of people compared to the first story. Qing Shui could also sense that the smell here was better and the ages of the medicinal herbs were also older. The effects of the medicinal porridge and other cuisine were also stronger.

Soulsearch and Qing Shui walked very slowly and Soul Search spoke to Qing Shui as they walked. The second story onward weren’t open to public and one would require special means to be able to head up to the second story.

Qing Shui understood from hearing it. If it was in his previous life, this would be considered a membership system. Only when one fulfilled certain criteria at the first story, would they then be given membership and a token. One would only be able to gain access to the higher stories subject to the tokens which they held.

The things like medicinal cuisine and medicinal porridge here were all very expensive but there was no shortage of rich people. Moreover, the effects of the medicinal cuisine here were very good. For example, some of them could strengthen the body while others could cure one’s ailments.

The third and fourth stories were more targeted toward cultivators and primarily focused on increasing one’s cultivation level and a small amount of lifespan. There were even fewer people on these two stories but the quality of the medicinal cuisine here was even higher. The fifth story was basically not open to the public. It was a place for Soulsearch to provide medical treatment to patients.

On the way, Qing Shui did not bring anything out. This medicinal cuisine weren’t as good as what he had. In the past, he neither looked at nor cooked the things listed in his Culinary Arts. In the past, he did not hold them in high regard but on seeing the Imperial Cuisine Hall now, he knew that he could have underestimated Culinary Arts.

Qing Shui and Soulsearch hadn’t been at the fifth story for long when a man wearing the Imperial Cuisine Hall’s uniform walked up. He walked very quickly. The fifth story didn’t take up a large area. The higher the story, the smaller the space. They were in a big living hall here and there were over ten rooms surrounding it. Right now, Qing Shui and Soulsearch were in the hall.

Those rooms weren’t intended for people to stay in. They were basically used to store books, medicinal herbs and other things. Of course, the most valuable ones might not be stored here but could be stored in interspatial silk sachets. As for whether they were holding onto the interspatial silk sachet with them, it was unknown.

The man who walked up wasn’t old. He looked slightly younger than Qing Shui.

“Old Master, Mister Li is here and wants to meet you.”

“Let him come in!” Soulsearch sighed and said.

The man quickly headed down.

“Qing Shui, the person who’s here is a direct descendant of the Li Clan’s main branch. He’s the senior to Li Ye. He has contracted a strange illness and I’ll tell you about it later.”

After Soulsearch said this, a man who appeared a little pale walked in.

“Old Physician!”

Soulsearch stood up, “Husheng, you’re here. Take a seat!”

When Li Husheng saw Qing Shui, he quickly asked, “This is?”

“Oh, I forgot to introduce you. He is also a physician but is much better than myself,” Soulsearch smiled and said.

“Oh? How may I address you?” Li Husheng seemed to not believe it but still smiled and asked. He felt that Soulsearch could just be being polite earlier.

When Qing Shui saw this pale-faced man who had lost a large part of the yang energy in his body, he smiled and said, “I’m Qing Shui. Hello, Mister Li!”

“Oh, hello Mister Qing. I’m pleased to meet you. I’m called Li Husheng. In the future, I might have to trouble you.”

Li Husheng was very polite and refined. Although Li Clan was very powerful, it was impossible for everyone in the main branch to be as proud as Li Ye. Or it could be said that Li Ye was too brainless and arrogant, not taking others seriously just because of how great his clan was.

“You’re too polite!” Qing Shui smiled and answered.

Li Husheng smiled and nodded before turning to Soulsearch, “Old Physician, how’s my illness? Can it be cured?”