Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 841 – Qing Shui and Yun Duan’s Wedding

He didn’t feel it last time, even though he had walked past the bamboo forest a couple of times before. Back then, his Nature Energy hadn’t reached the sixth level yet, so naturally the Nature Energy didn’t manage to circulate automatically. He didn’t notice any special attributes either.

Qing Shui had a sudden epiphany and quickly entered the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal towards the field of plum blossoms. He didn’t notice it before but nurturing the Nature Energy in this area felt distinctly faster than in the real world. However, when he went out of the realm, he realized that the field of plum blossoms would prove to be insufficient. He still required the plum blossoms to brew the Plum Blossom Wine, so if he were to cultivate his Nature Energy there, the plum blossoms would exhaust their essence, turning into something less than an ordinary flower.

Because of his usual morning training, he was able to discover the absorption of the Nature Energy from his surroundings unexpectedly. Qing Shui felt like he should give the Nature Energy a shot!

This was a bamboo forest situated in a nearby decorated park. Each bamboo stalk ranged in thickness from that of a child’s arm to that of an adult’s arm, standing tall in a even-spaced distribution. Qing Shui felt great as he entered the bamboo forest calmly.

He decided to see if the bamboo was affected if he tried to cultivate his Taichi Fist while surrounding himself with the bamboo forest. However, he hesitated when he realized that he would soon leave this place in a few days. Doing so might not yield an instant result either.

A line of red light peeked from the horizon, indicating the rising sun from the east. Qing Shui faced the east and slowly circulated his Qi while performing a series of Taichi Fists casually amongst the bamboo forest. The flow of his movements was as smooth as a running river, yet his movements seemed exaggerated, as if he was milling flour at times.

In the midst of his training, Yun Duan was already up and observing from the second floor without any intention of disturbing Qing Shui. When she realized there wasn’t any food in the room, she went to the nearby kitchen to prepare breakfast for the two of them.

Qing Shui finally stopped after an hour of continuous training. He found that the bamboo had little effect on him, almost insignificant, to be honest. Despite that, Qing Shui still felt that there was a shred of hope to this method of training.

This were merely ordinary bamboo. If he were to train amongst a forest of bamboo with extraordinary effects, like a bamboo forest of a few thousand years, would he be able to yield better results?

A bamboo forest of a few thousand years would be extremely rare. Because generally, bamboo would not live more than a thousand years. Moreover, if he had planted the bamboo of extraordinary effects in the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal, the bamboo forest would require only a few years to flourish.

Using his spiritual sense, he noticed there was no difference or changes occurring to the bamboo. He had an inkling that the bamboo would require three days – or less than that – to recover its effect. He could essentially train in the bamboo forest for a three to five days to cultivate his Nature Energy.

When he got back to the building, Yun Duan was already up. She had left the room and was nowhere to be seen. Just when he had decided to make breakfast for the both of them, Yun Duan came in while holding some freshly cooked dishes on a tray covered with an embroidered cloth. The delicious aroma of the food travelled through the room, causing Qing Shui to salivate with hunger.

“Qing Shui, come and eat breakfast!” Yun Duan called out to Qing Shui happily as she served the dishes on the table in the living room.

“Alright!”

Qing Shui gave a short reply and sat opposite Yun Duan while observing the dishes in front of him. Overall, it was a light and simple breakfast, with two bowls of plain porridge, two dishes of vegetables with a side of meat and two bowls of rice. Simple, yet delicate. This kind of breakfast was up his alley.

“You made this, right?” asked Qing Shui as he took over the chopsticks Yun Duan handed to him.

“Yeah, how did you know?” Yun Duan flashed a smile on her face.

“I can tell by your aroma in these dishes.” Qing Shui chuckled as he glanced over to Yun Duan.

“Eat!” Yun Duan picked up a piece of meat from the nearest dish and fed it into Qing Shui’s mouth.

“Qing Shui, I’ve never heard about the Sky Penetrating Grass of 5,000 years above. 5,000 Years medicinal herbs are extremely valuable but if you need them, you can try your luck in the capital of the Central Continent.” Yu Duan had already heard about Qing Shui’s intention of finding the Sky Penetrating Grass.

“No one will reveal such a valuable item easily. Most importantly, I don’t even know where I can find one in the wild. Even if the herb is below 5,000 years, I will still gladly take it.” Qing Shui frowned helplessly.

“You can forget about finding the medicinal herb in the Heavenly Beast City. You can try the larger medicinal stores or auction houses in the Central Continent’s capital. Perhaps you might find the herb there,” Yun Duan suggested after a brief moment of thought.

“Hmm, I can try that.” said Qing Shui. In any case, he would eventually pass the Central Continent, making it convenient for his journey. If the search in the capital was a bust, then he could try his luck in the Eastern Victory Divine Continent, where it was rumored that people with special powers would gather. Moreover, there was a rumor that the rare heavenly treasures and valuables were abundant in the Eastern Victory Divine Continent as well.

After having breakfast, Qing Shui finally made up his mind and said, “Let’s go out today, how about it?”

“Alright!” Yun Duan said gleefully.

The reconstruction of the hall in the Cloud Adventurer Guild was scheduled to commence today. This sort of issue would be handled by the Elders instead, as they were more than capable of doing so. Ever since the incident, they had gained a lot of trust in the public’s opinion, as well as countless new members to their guild. Even though most of the new members were defectors of the former Mighty Tiger Adventurer Guild, Yun Duan was more than happy to welcome them as they would contribute to the future expansion of the guild. After all, humans were prone to make mistakes – some things were inevitable.

Moreover, the Cloud Adventurer Guild had also appointed some of the loyal members to fill in the crucial positions within the guild to avoid treacherous acts in the future.

Most importantly, the Cloud Adventurer Guild had gained a formidable support and protection. Qing Shui’s appearance had become the key to the reporter’s headline material due to the instant annihilation of the Grand Elder, Hu Yunlong, as well as Hu Langsha from Hu Clan. This young man had surpassed everyone’s expectations in just a few days.

The first kill may be a lucky attempt from a hidden attack but the succession of kills after that would prove otherwise. Only a fool would dare to look down on Qing Shui without the consideration of his accumulated achievements.

Qing Shui wanted this kind of reaction – he wanted to stun not only the outsiders but also his wife. He took the opportunity to clarify their relationship to everyone – that Yun Duan was his woman – so that no one would dare to stir up trouble with Yun Duan or the Cloud Adventurer Guild in the future.

Despite Yun Duan being an intelligent woman, she only realized Qing Shui’s love for her after he had told her everything – including things he had done for her. This made her extremely happy. All those years of suffering were worth this moment.

The two of them walked out of the building and mounted on the Fire Bird, rode towards the Tiger Gorge Mountain. While flying in the air, they also took the time to view the scenery below.

“How is the situation in the Heavenly Palace now?” asked Yun Duan while they had some spare time riding on the Fire Bird.

“It’s still alright. The Heavenly Palace is under my jurisdiction now,” said Qing Shui as he turned to look at Yun Duan.

“You are the Patriarch now?” Yun Duan exclaimed, shocked.

“Yes!”

Yun Duan revealed a smile. When she was still in the Greencloud Continent, the Old Ancestor of the Heavenly Palace was still an elderly man. Back then, Qing Shui was just a chief disciple. She didn’t expect that he would eventually become the Patriarch of the Heavenly Palace.

“Qing Shui, tell me what has happened to you and the Heavenly Palace during those years.” Yun Duan was curious. She wanted to know more about Qing Shui, negative or positive – anything was fine.

Qing Shui didn’t hold back and told her most of the major events he had been through, as well as the fact that he had a number of wives and children.

“You are a lucky guy. All the nice ladies seem to like you very much,” Yun Duan said with a smile.

“You are a nice lady too!” Qing Shui rubbed his nose and let out a snicker.

“If you come back next time, bring your children along. I want to see them. They must be beautiful,” Yun Duan giggled.

“Our child will be beautiful too!” Qing Shui chuckled.

Yun Duan blushed instantly after hearing those words.

“Do you think one is enough or should we have two?” Qing Shui asked gently.

“Two. Wait, I didn’t say I would make a child with you, dummy!” Yun Duan slipped up for a moment. Her face was flushed in red as she dodged Qing Shui’s gaze.

“If Duan`er says she wants two children, then I will make sure to make that happen. We will have to work hard from now on. There’s not much time left,” Qing Shui laughed teasingly.

Yun Duan gave the stink eye to Qing Shui for a while but quickly flashed a mesmerizing smile onto her face.

“Duan`er. Tomorrow we will send out some wedding invitations to your friends and the important figures of the Heavenly Beast City. We will have a ceremony in three days.” Qing Shui said with a determined tone after pondering for a while.

Yun Duan stared at him blankly, forgetting to speak for a brief moment.

“You don’t want it?” said Qing Shui softly as he carefully interrupted her train of thought.

“I do.” Yun Duan allowed herself a genuine smile. Her contented smile was as beautiful as the bright moon in the night sky.

“Duan`er, I am not a good man. I fell in love with a couple of women all at once but I still got you by my side in the end. You and the ladies at home are all my wives – not concubines. I may not be capable enough right now but soon I will. By then, we can all live together forever.” Qing Shui said apologetically with a heavy heart.

“Don’t say that. It is impossible for just one woman to tame you. If that was the case, you would have given up on that woman by now.” Yun Duan tried to cheer up Qing Shui while showing him a pleasant smile.

Qing Shui was shocked. This was the exact thought in his mind, as if she had spoken his mind. Regardless of who it was, it would be impossible for one woman to separate him from the other women. He didn’t expect that Yun Duan would be able to understand him on a deeper level.

“You understood my thoughts.” Qing Shui was still bewildered at the fact that she seemed to understand him well.

“Because we are the same, only that I am a woman – a traditional woman.”

The two had already dismounted from the Fire Bird and settled into their spot on a mountain peak. Qing Shui and Yun Duan strolled around while chatting idly. They knew that their time together would be cut short, probably after the wedding ceremony in three days time.

“Duan`er, take this Beauty Pellet. This can maintain your youth for another 30 years.” Qing Shui took out a Beauty Pellet and handed it to Yun Duan.

“Really?”

“When have I ever lied to you?”

Besides the Beauty Pellet, he had also saved other medicinal pills for her, like the Spirit Concentrating Pill, Aroma Concentration Pill, Great Revitalizing Pellet, Tiger Vitality Pill……

Since she would soon become his wife, Qing Shui would naturally share everything with her. He gave her everything she needed to become stronger because he would be away for quite a while. If he didn’t have a schedule, he would be able to increase her strength faster in a short amount of time.

In the afternoon, both of them returned to the Cloud Adventurer Guild and started sending out invitation cards to their wedding. In a short span of time, the news of Yun Duan and Qing Shui’s wedding had spread to the whole city like wildfire.

In these past two days, almost everyone now knew Qing Shui’s name by heart. The news of Mighty Tiger Adventurer Guild’s annihilation was still the talk of the town but that was soon followed by the auspicious news of Yun Duan and Qing Shui’s wedding.

Hosting a wedding ceremony in the World of the Nine Continents was considered rare. Most common folks would only organize a small banquet as that was the cheapest way to get married while publicizing their marriage. Those with substantial wealth or an influential position would choose to host a bigger banquet with family members and guests of authority, making their banquet as lively as they could.

“Brother-in-law, I should call you that from now on,” said Yun Tong as he flashed a grin at Qing Shui.

“We are a family now,” said Qing Shui.

“Brother-in-law, thank you so much. Not because you destroyed the Mighty Tiger Adventurer Guild for us but for making my elder sister smile again.”

“I’ve known your sister for many years, so we are meant to be with each other. Don’t mention it. Come, let’s go inside and have a drink. They’ve called us a few times already.” Yun Chi, Yun Yang and the others were waving at them enthusiastically.

Then in a flash, three days had passed.

The wedding invitations sent out by the Cloud Adventurer Guild were limited, yet there were more than anticipated that came to attend the ceremony. Essentially, almost all of the influential figures from the Heavenly Beast City had attended the wedding. However, there were some who had attended without an invitation. But that was fine as these attendees had brought valuable gifts for the couple. In any case, the more people who came to the banquet, the merrier the atmosphere would be.

At least these people would be able to spread a positive news to their neighbors for once!