Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 1519 - The Smug Hua Clan Ancestor

The elder laughed. "I may as well tell you. I am already at the level of Peak False God. How are you going to fight me?”

Qing Shui watched as the old man expressed such genuine self-superiority over him, as though he was not worthy enough an opponent in his eyes. In the old man’s eyes, Qing Shui was akin to a termite. The reason he hadn’t initiated the fight while he was in Imperial Cuisine Hall, and had instead called Qing Shui out here, was that so he could seek such dominance. With this condescendence, he wanted to witness the shock and distress of Qing Shui.

As for the ruthlessness he had reserved for Qing Shui, he concluded that eliminating him without delay would be too easy on the younger man. He was going to defeat Qing Shui bit by bit, and let him experience despair a little by little.

As opposed to the fear he had hoped to see on Qing Shui’s face, the latter merely wore an expression of indifference, upsetting the old man even more. Still, the old man didn’t feel much rage; he would let Qing Shui experience despair.

Although Qing Shui could feel the powerful aura emitted from the old man, it still felt weaker in comparison to Qin Qing. It was even weaker than his own Golden Scaled Dragon Elephant and Hellfire Phoenix.

He wasn’t worried. He would have been able to resolve the situation just by using one of the two beasts, but he didn’t. He wanted to watch the old man’s performance. Qing Shui wanted the old man to feel ashamed for his actions when it’s all said and done.

"Did you seek me out today just to tell me that?" Looking at the old man with ease, he laughed.

"I have made it really clear. Life or death, it’s your choice." The old man looked down at Qing Shui from where he stood.

"I’m not choosing either."

The old man was caught off guard by the answer. Qing Shui continued, "I choose to let you die. There’s no place in this world for someone like you."

"Presumptuous!"

The old man charged towards Qing Shui as he shouted. With a single lift of his foot, he was right in front of Qing Shui, his palm dropping slowly. A False God was like an immortal existence on land. Even the weakest Peak False God should not be underestimated.

Qing Shui had long focused his strength to its peak and awakened it when the old man made his move, but the old man’s powerful vital energy seemed to have locked onto Qing Shui.

Bang!

Qing Shui was struck on the shoulder and flew backwards immediately from the impact. Fortunately, Qing Shui only felt a slight tinge of pain, which recovered in no time at all.

As his defense had emerged right at that moment and been truly powerful, Qing Shui was ecstatic. With his Golden Battle Halberd, he rushed towards the old man.

The combination of the Nine Stances of Ancient Divine Battle Technique and Phoenix Finger was fearsome in power. Still, to use it on the elder was pushing its limits. It would be difficult to land the attack on him.

While the old man had not expended much energy when he had unleashed the strikes before, the attack that had landed on Qing Shui’s shoulder just now was considerably stronger than before. He had intended to disable Qing Shui’s arm with that tackle.

However, he was shocked to see that there wasn’t even a scratch on Qing Shui despite his having flown backwards from the contact. In disbelief, he swiftly bolted towards Qing Shui again.

Bang, bang!

The noise resounded twice. He knew exactly how much power he had packed into the attack, but when Qing Shui recovered from his fall without sustaining any damage once more, he was infuriated.

Qing Shui had guts, but he knew he shouldn’t be careless. The only reason he would personally battle the old man was so he could train himself for the real fight. Actually… why not just summon the beasts to destroy this old man?

Hell Nightmare Beast!

Dragon Slaying Beast!

Qing Shui placed the Hell Nightmare Beast at the frontline as defense, while he and the Dragon Slaying Beast formed the other two corners. In this formation, he pushed towards the old man, ready to launch a full force attack with the Golden Battle Halberd in his hand.

Qing Shui didn’t seek to injure his enemy at this time. What he needed was experience in combat against an opponent. Alongside Qing Shui was the Dragon Slaying Beast which assisted in his assault. When the situation called for it, it could sustain any damage that came their way. Beside it, there was also the Hell Nightmare Beast with them.

Connected by their heart and soul, Qing Shui and his beasts were in their elemente during the fight. The ancestor from Hua Clan felt incomparably dismal, itching to get a hold of Qing Shui and destroy him to shreds.

When the elder saw them approaching, he pulled out a pair of enormous hammers. They were sky blue in color and looked akin to ice. The hammers were shaped like shuttles, tapering at both ends, and could even be used a single bat as they shimmered in icy frost.

They were good hammers. Qing Shui could feel it.

Area Dominance!

Qing Shui wondered if he should summon the Dragon Slaying Beast and Hell Nightmare Beast to exterminate that old thing, but the opportunity to fight was also precious. After some pondering, he decided to battle some more before putting an end to this.

Heavenly Talisman!

Emperor's Qi!

Qing Shui weakened his opponent first. Using the Nine Palace Steps, he retreated in haste.

Seal of Xuantian!

Art of Pursuing!

Qing Shui realized the power of Art of Pursuing now; it was unexpectedly as commanding as the Emperor's Qi. With a reduction of 20% in speed and a restriction that made it impossible to dispel within a stipulated time, it was comparable to the Emperor’s Qi. The only difference was that one could reduce the strength in all areas while the other solely reduced speed.

Speed was also included within all the aspects that were affected by Emperor’s Qi; it had already decreased 20% of speed on its own. Meanwhile, the Seal of Xuantian was fickle in its success rate, and Qing Shui did not bear much hope.

Still, even if the Seal of Xuantian wasn’t effective, he had also managed to lower his opponent’s speed by almost 40%. This was also why Qing Shui had been confident in accepting the battle; his speed was already terrifying to begin with. Even against rivals who were stronger, they were much slower and unable to gain an edge using this attribute. This was an advantage that could not be overlooked, especially since it had contributed to his success in winning over those who were mightier.

The Art of Pursuing had broken through after two years and changed

Art of Pursuing: Forced 20% reduction on target’s speed and attack speed, lasts for 2 hours, effects cannot be lifted!

Speed in the Main Continent was more important than might. Only the quick wouldn’t end up broken. Speed was power. Speed was the deciding factor for everything. It was why assassins were able kill people stronger than them.

Qing Shui’s Art of Pursuing and Emperor’s Qi greatly reduced the old man’s speed. After being so familiar with one’s own speed, it took time getting accustomed to a new pace after suffering such a huge decline. There may even be a lapse in judgment when launching an attack. Even when you thought you had gauged the best moment to attack with time to spare, the enemy’s weapons would have already landed on you before you could lift your hand.

Bang!

It had actually dimmed the effect of penetration. The old man was truly unlucky; even though he had been mighty he was still a human. As such, he was fundamentally different than a beast. Piercing such a bulky beast with the Golden Battle Halberd would not be fatal, but this was not the case for a human.

The Golden Battle Halberd pierced directly through the shoulders of the elder.

His bones were fragmented by the collision. The old man grunted, and with his other hand, smashed his hammer towards Qing Shui with full force and in fury.

Qing Shui kept an iron grip on his Golden Battle Halberd. Even if the old man had struck with such rage, he neglected the alteration to his current speed. The Golden Battle Halberd in Qing Shui’s hand shook violently.

Bang!

It shattered the old man’s shoulder and with a twist, the Golden Battle Halberd turned to deflect the huge hammer’s attack. Once again, Qing Shui was sent flying by the collision of the hammer, and his body started to emit a blue glow.

Freeze!

It was uncertain if it was due to the old man’s significantly decreased might, or the incredible effectiveness of Qing Shui’s defense, but while he glowed blue and his body froze into ice, it diminished after only a short period of time.

The old man’s injuries were severe. One of his shoulders was bloodied and limp, its bones broken. Fresh blood continued oozing from the wound rapidly. All of a sudden, the elder retrieved an exquisite porcelain bottle, and poured the contents on his shoulder in haste.

The surge of blood quickly stopped.

Qing Shui was not surprised. This was not his previous life. Medicinal pills with extraordinary effects were still in existence here. The medicine seemed to be particularly effective in treating external injuries, almost to the extent of being miraculous. Whether it could mend his bones remained a mystery.

The old man was angry, absolutely furious. When was the last time he had been this wretched, in the hands of a young man no less? One of his shoulders was disabled; the intense pain had in turn caused his consciousness to turn a little fuzzy.

The old man’s injuries were severe. One of his shoulders was limp, and it looked horrifying.

A hammer fell from high altitude!

Qing Shui had originally intended to summon the Hell Nightmare Beast and Dragon Slaying Beast, but it seemed unnecessary now. The combination of the Art of Pursuing and Emperor’s Qi was simply too formidable.

The old man’s body was trembling. His entire being seemed to be soaked in blood. This young man was too abnormal; just like that he was able to injure him so brutally.

Qing Shui was astounded. There were limits to the human body, and one of the characteristics to his Golden War Halberd was that it could deal considerable damage to even weapons such as Divine Artifacts, let alone the human body. It would be able to pierce through the Hell Nightmare Beast and Dragon Slaying Beast. Normally, gor the Hell Nightmare Beast with a body the size of a hill, it would not be fatal even if it had been pierced through its internal organs. Not to mention the Hell Nightmare Beast had a tough body, it wouldn’t be destroyed this easily.

"Go to hell! Extreme Ice Explosion!"

In a blink of an eye, he was surrounded by a field of ice blue, and a coating of powder-like substance rushed towards Qing Shui from all directions and a huge ball of ice froze Qing Shui in an instant.

The ball of ice grew larger and the fluctuations in energy grew increasingly intense, but Qing Shui and his beasts had already entered the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal.

When the huge energy fluctuation appeared around them, he realized that it must have been the old man’s trump card, his strongest Sure Kill Heavenly Technique. It might even be the Sure Kill Heavenly Technique of a Peak False God.

Hence, Qing Shui entered the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal at the first opportunity and watched everything from the inside.

The ball of ice grew bigger and bigger, until it was almost the size of the hill top, exuding an enchanting azure blue halo, and spreading an aura of destruction.

Bang!

A huge explosion sounded, and Qing Shui watched as the place fell into clear view. He could see the distinctive sun, moon and stars. This picturesque moment lasted for a long time. The world at this moment seemed breathtaking, but Qing Shui knew that once he leapt into the cosmic aura, he would be crushed instantly.

When his surroundings returned to normal, Qing Shui appeared in the distance. Fear crept up to him when he thought about the scene from before. If he had truly been frozen in that moment, he deduced that he would be sent straight into the interspatial dimension and torn into shreds.

The old man was shivering like a candle in the wind, and he seemed to have aged greatly in that short time. Such powerful skills must demand an equally high sacrifice, perhaps even for the price of one’s vitality, such as the loss of years from one’s life…

When the old man saw Qing Shui standing there, unharmed, he looked as though he had seen a ghost. In disbelief, his lips quivered before spurting out a mouthful of fresh blood. His body swayed and staggered, then he fell to the ground.

With a flash of movement from the Dragon Slaying Beast, the elder spouted another mouthful of fresh blood, but he was still alive. Qing Shui disabled the elder, believing that he would know what to do once he became handicapped.

Qing Shui kept the two blue hammers. They were good weapons made of ancient ice crystals, and could be turned into other variations in the future.