Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 294 - The storm after war, he already has a woman with him now

Qing Shui’s expression went blank, and even Canghai Mingyue and Huoyun Liu-li were the same. Qing Shui did not expect that the weakest among the Heavenly Palace's nine halls were Starmoon Hall, the one he was staying in, and Misty Hall, the one the two ladies were at.

Since Misty Hall was full of ladies that verdict was acceptable, but surely Starmoon Hall had its own reasons. Qing Shui looked at Fei Wuji doubtfully, but wasn’t so astonished; there were ranks within the martial arts, with the good ones and the bad ones.

“Are you going to ask why is it the Starmoon Hall and Misty Hall,” Fei Wuji chuckled.

“Martial Uncle, please tell us quickly, don’t leave us hanging,” Huoyun Liu -li said in a childlike manner.

“The Supreme Elder won’t be get involved in the internal affairs of the Heavenly Palace; the Elder, Guardian and 3 generations of disciples will be the main powers. From the duels carried out every 5 years, one will know the difference in abilities amongst the 9 halls. Starmoon Hall and Misty Hall are the weakest because of the lack of successors. Starmoon Hall, especially. The fact that their Chief disciple is a female made the men in Starmoon Hall ashamed.” Fei Wuji laughed.

Isn’t it so, thought Qing Shui, though they talk about gender equality, Qing Shui was agreeing with the gender status in this society - only gender equality on the surface. Just like the issue now, if a male was to be the Chief Disciple, even if he was the weakest, it would not be as embarrassing.

“There are only 2 female Chief Disciples in the 9 halls of Heavenly Palace, one was Misty Hall, the other Starmoon Hall. Misty Hall, because it has only ladies in it. Plus, for every duel, the abilities of the Chief Disciples from the 2 halls were far weaker than the others’. The Chief Disciples fight to build morale, but it’s a pity that they had no chance of doing that…” Fei Wuji shook his head bitterly.

Qing Shui now understood the Heavenly Palace slightly. To be exact, he had only scratched the surface of Starmoon Hall and Misty Hall.

At this moment Qing Shui was still unaware, but the news about Qing Shui defeating Gongsun Jian, the pinnacle of Xiantian, with one blow had spread like wildfire in the Starmoon Hall. This information was spreading rapidly; even other halls had received the news.

“Haha, our Starmoon Hall is set for a revival, the men in our Starmoon Hall won’t have to carry the label of having deficiency in Yang and excess of Yin, how exciting.” Someone in the square of the Starmoon Hall sighed deeply.

“The higher the expectations, the greater the disappointment. It’s better not to carry too much hope,” a woman tutted nonchalantly.

At the same time in the square of Constellation Hall, it was equally rowdy, the imposing atmosphere evidently more powerful than that at the square of Starmoon Hall, made one feel that it was a little more dignified and majestic than the “Starmoon Hall”.

Talent, it was all because of talent!

“Senior Luo! I have looked for you for so long, Fei Fei said you might be here, so here I am.” a coarse voice sounded in a corner of the square, behind a rock.

On the rock stood a crude young man known as Senior Luo. His body was long and slightly burly, his arms fairly long. The entire person looked well-proportioned.

The young man heard the voice and turned around. Big eyes and bushy eyebrows, squarish nose, and lips that are quite thick - not a handsome appearance but he gave off a friendly feel.

“Junior Dan, why’re you looking for me!” The one called Senior Luo laughed lightly. His voice was very charming, with a friendly attraction.

“I just heard something that you’ll be absolutely interested in!” The burly and strong Junior Dan said good naturedly.

“Oh, something i’ll be interested in, let’s hear it.” Senior Luo leapt down from the huge rock and landed silently.

“Heh heh, a newbie from Starmoon Hall defeated Gongsun Jianyun of the Gongsun Family with one bare punch, and it was when the latter was initiating an attack with a weapon.”

The initially calm eyes of Senior Luo flashed with a bright gleam immediately after hearing it, his common features looked very manly that instant.

“Haha, the duel New Year next year will be more interesting,” Senior Luo chuckled.

“Senior Luo, could that person be comparable to Chief Disciples of other halls?” Junior Dan asked in astonishment.

“Chief Disciple? Haha, it would be difficult for the Chief Disciples of Starmoon Hall and Misty Hall to make it into top 10 of other halls,” Senior Luo was still smiling, that tone of his seemingly calm as always.

“Doesn’t it mean he is stronger than Gongsun Jianwu of Constellation Hall?”

“If he defeated Gongsun Jianyun with a single blow like you said, he should be more powerful than Gongsun Jianwu.”

A scene that happened simultaneously on another square!

“A single blow thrashed a man at the pinnacle of Xiantian?” a handsome and sharp man asked.

“Yes, Senior Song, is there going to be any change in the Starmoon Hall?” a young man with thin and small eyes asked, as though currying favour.

“The Martial King Level can also defeat the pinnacle of Xiantian, do you know why it was Gongsun Jianyun who challenged that guy and not Gongsun Jianwu?”

“Oh, Senior Song please do tell!” the frail shadow of the skinny young man with small eyes arched his back slightly.

“Because he wasn’t worthy enough to make Gongsun Jianwu display his moves, and that’s why Gongsun Jianwu was still the Chief Disciple for Constellation Hall until now. This means that guy was just lucky, or he just entered the Martial King level.” The man touched his nose and replied confidently.

“Senior Song’s eyes are like flaming torches, Junior is filled with admiration…”

Qing Shui did not know that for the large half of the day, he was the topic of many people’s conversation, even the Gongsun Family was no exception.

“Grandfather, Grandson is ashamed!” Gongsun Jianyun stood before Gongsun Yikong,

Gongsun Yikong’s hair was half white, with only a few locks of black hair, making one suspect if his youth was being restored. The old man was calm and collected, his eyes were especially charming and especially bright. From the contour of his face one could see that he was definitely a handsome young man when he was younger.

“Haha, the Gongsun Family is not afraid of losing face, but afraid of weak rascals who don’t dare to come forward for fear of losing face. Jianyun, what the Gongsun Family has today, the prosperity we have today is not because of luck, but hard work. If one loses confidence over a little failure, the Gongsun Family would still be just a common family on the streets.”

“Thank you Grandfather, I know what I have to do.” Gongsun Jianyun respected his grandfather the most in the family, hence he listened to every word of Gongsun Yikong.

A little while after Gongsun Jianyun left, Gongsun Jianwu appeared!

“Grandfather, you were looking for me,” Gongsun Jianwu was an obedient girl in front of Gongsun Yikong; her demure appearance now would make Qing Shui shocked, for she looked a little bewitching right now.

Although that pair of eyes was still unmatchedly sexy, the glow that was revealed and her exterior were at different extreme ends; was it natural or a guise?

“Lass, come, let us grandfather and granddaughter have a talk.” Gongsun Yikong’s face lit up with an amicable smile when he saw Gongsun Jianwu.

Gongsun Jianwu smiled and sat down. “What could have made Grandfather so happy.”

“Lass, what do you think about Qing Shui that chap?” Gongsun Yikong chuckled and asked.

Gongsun Yikong was shocked,as her face looked embarrassed. Gongsun Jianwu looked at Gongsun Yikong and bantered, “Grandfather, what do you really want to know!”

“I want to know if you dislike Qing Shui?” Gongsun Yikong laughed.

“Why do you ask that?” Gongsun Jianwu blushed, but asked eventually.

“I want to look for Old Cang, to marry away my granddaughter who still isn’t hitched,” Gongsun Yikong looked at his tomboyish granddaughter, whose standards were so high that none of the other Chief Disciples from other halls matched them. But the “old and cunning” Gongsun Yikong happened to witness the conversation between Qing Shui and Gongsun Jianwu under the oak tree the other day.

Gongsun Yikong still had high expectations for his granddaughter, and he could definitely feel that Qing Shui was uncommon, and did not halt the conversation then. He had just found out Qing Shui’s identity, as he was the one who defeated his grandson with a single blow.

His motive was not just that, as he also he knew that Qing Shui and Cang Wuya were unrelated!

“Grandfather, what are you talking about, I’m not marrying him.” Gongsun Jianwu suddenly seemed bashful like a young girl. She discovered her rapid heartbeat, and had no explanation for it.

Qing Shui gave her the feeling of being out of the ordinary. Although he was also good-looking, she had seen too many good-looking ones who were lacking in their abilities. However, she had never seen any who thought nothing of her. Many men were unable to hide the desires in their eyes after they saw her, which irritated her.

There were also many who pretended to be gentlemen with high morals, but after turning her back she would feel hot gazes on her sensitive parts. Such people were less than those who gawked at her openly.

Qing Shui was different. His clear eyes were attractive, and when he looked at her, that pair of eyes was filled with admiration and, due to some unknown reason it was not desire but hatred. This stirred up the competitiveness in her.

She could feel that Qing Shui did not deliberately act so as to attract her attention, because even a good performance would have flaws! But she did not see any flaw in Qing Shui!

Never had anyone said anything cruel or stinging to her. Only him. He insulted her without any tinge of consideration or pity, making her speechless.

She suddenly thought of the 2 women beside him, so beautiful, comparable to the Chief of the Misty Hall. No one had ever seen the full appearance of the Chief of Misty Hall, but that pair of eyes already made other women ashamed of their own appearances.

They were very intimate, and there were two of them...

“Grandfather, I’m not marrying him, he is already taken.” Gongsun Jianwu was still blushing a little, with the demure and proper look of her. The sensual poise and air she exuded was that of a great beauty.

“He indeed has two women beside him.” Gongsun Yikong said, frowning and touching his forehead.

“Lass, would you mind if your future husband has other women?” Gongsun Yikong thought for a while before asking again.

Gongsun Jianwu was silent. Her eyebrows were slightly knitted, as she frowned!

“Lass, capable men will not be lacking in women. Only useless weaklings will have difficulty even finding old wives . How about this, you think about it, Grandfather won’t force you. Grandfather has said before, you will decide your own future. I will support you no matter who you choose to marry, anyway the Gongsun Family has alot.” Gongsun Yikong smiled generously, extending his hand to pat Gongsun Jianwu’s head.

“Thank you, Grandfather, Grandfather is the best to me!” Gongsun Jianwu grinned and replied, not attempting to hide any of the reluctance in her eyes.

Gongsun Yikong looked at Gongsun Jianwu and smiled dotingly, “Silly lass, I’m your grandfather, there’s no need to be polite!”