Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 923 – Godly Sword Clan’s Ancestor, Forming An Alliance

Qing Shui stared at the giant sword statue carved from stone. It was emitting a strong killing intent. Qing Shui looked over at Mu Fengyang and noticed that they had both been astonished by the sight of the stone sword.

There were many extraordinary people with varying strengths, the sculptor of this stone sword must have been someone powerful. Only the most astounding of masters could have carved their killing intent into the stone sword. The craftsmanship and strength of the sculpting could not be overlooked.

Sculpting was like Drawing. Masters of the Drawing Realm could cause people to sweat profusely from looking at one drawn word alone. This was the charm of art, not only did the master require exceptional practice but their technique must be brought to the point of perfection.

Looking up ahead at the mountain path nearby, the slope gradient was small but the path zigzags and spirals to the top. At the foot of the mountain, a group of people were standing guard but there were also people moving in and out.

These people were in uniforms, with a sword embroidered at the chest. Sometimes the color of the knife was different but it was always one sword. Even though the shade of the sword was slightly different, without much guessing one could tell these were members of the Godly Sword Clan.

Qing Shui browsed around nonchalantly. Thinking back to the funeral, the middle-aged representative from the Godly Sword Sect had a scarlet long sword embroidered on his chest. Most of the people moving about had red, green or blue longswords embroidered but their strength was weaker compared to the middle-aged representative.

“Those that have arrived please stop where you are at!”

When Qing Shui and Mu Fengyang went to the mouth of the mountain path, a youth walked up from the crowd, extending his long sword to block Qing Shui and Mu Fengyang’s path.

“Young fellow can you please pass on a message that the Mu Clan is here to visit.” Mu Fengyang said with a smile.

“You are from the Mu Clan? I will lead you inside. The upper executives have already notified us that if you arrive you can go directly inside,” the young fellow’s demeanor changed immediately and he said respectfully. His eyes inadvertently looked over at Qing Shui several times.

Everyone knew that the Mu Clan was dependent on a strong young man, but there was no way to be sure if the person standing next to him was the real deal that had razed the Sky Prison Sect.

“Do you guys think that young man was the one? He did not have any resemblance to the descendants of the Mu Clan.” The young man waited till Qing Shui was gone before he spilled his thoughts.

“The younger generation of the Mu Clan only has Mu Qing and some other mediocre people, from what I have seen he is definitely not one of them,” one of the older, more mature youngsters said.

“Brother Yan, then it looks like that young man is a super master,” immediately someone said in surprise.

“Sounds about right, if not him, what use would it be for the Mu Clan to bring a younger generation member for this occasion?”

“That is certainly the case, if not for that young man, the Mu Clan would probably just be as weak as before.”

……

Following the mountain path upwards, the Godly Sword Sect’s youngster was leading the way up ahead, Qing Shui and Mu Fengyang were following from behind. While walking, both of them were surveying the surrounding architecture.

There were rows upon rows of stairs here, although the gradient of the stairs was small. From the distance, looking diagonally upwards to the peak of the mountain, it was difficult to feel the gradient of the slope. While traveling on the mountain path, inadvertently, a small step would show up.

They continued towards the peak of the mountain. On top of the mountain, it was very spacious but there were fewer buildings. There were more than a dozen manor groups, the youngster that was leading Qing Shui and Mu Fengyang lead them towards the manor residing in the highest area. Even though the manor was the tallest, it was not the biggest.

The manor here could not be called luxurious, though it carried a heavy, imposing atmosphere. That is because the buildings were constructed from giant boulders. Although some of the colors looked very bright, the manor standing in front of Qing Shui seemed unchanged from its original look. It was still the color of the original giant boulders, except the surface was polished until it was very smooth.

Two people were standing guard by the manor’s entrance. Qing Shui could see that both guards had a golden sword embroidered on their chest. However, their strength was not comparable to the handsome man that participated in Mu Clan’s funeral.

“Lai San, who are they?” The bold man on the left side asked the youngster.

“Brother Hui, they are from the Mu Clan, by the Elder’s orders, I am to bring them to him.”

“So they are from the Mu Clan, please, the Elder is waiting in the back.”

Although he was smiling, that smile was very stiff, causing Qing Shui to also want to smile. This man was not one to smile much but his effort to force out a smile made people feel uncomfortable.

After the previous youngster said his farewells to Qing Shui, Mu Fengyang and the bold man, he returned downwards. The bold man lead Qing Shui and Mu Fengyang to the inside of the manor.

Similar to the look from the outside, there were not many alterations to the insides, only a bit polished up. The appearance of the manor was particularly old fashioned but it had a different style to it.

Without reaching the backyard, Qing Shui could already smell the fragrance of herbs. Qing Shui could instantly identify that it was the smell of blossoming herbs, it should be an herb of decent quality too.

Once they reached the backyard, all they could see was an area covered by a sea of flowers, about a hundred meters out stood an elderly man in plain clothing.

“You guys enter, I will not enter,” the bold man brother Hui said with a grin ushering Qing Shui and Mu Fengyang to enter.

The two of them entered together. When the Elder turned around, Qing Shui could clearly see the Elder’s appearance. The Elder’s face had a wide forehead with eyes of wisdom. His chin was perfectly round, with slightly meager cheeks. In combination with the long and slender body type, the elder gave off an otherworldly feeling.

Seeing Qing Shui and Mu Fengyang, the Elder walked over with a smile.

“Honourable guests have arrived, please excuse the lack of welcome.”

“Elder you are too kind, Fengyang thanks Godly Sword Sect’s for paying a visit.”

The Elder took a glance at Mu Fengyang and Qing Shui, sighing while laughing.

“Don’t mention it. Don’t call this old man realistic but everything on this Earth happens with cause and reason, don’t you think?” Elder said while lightly shaking his head.

Mu Fengyang smiled as well, except there was a hint of bitterness to his expression. He fully understood what the Elder was trying to get at, the funeral earlier did not happen without any cause.

However, Qing Shui was not a descendant of the Mu Clan, had Qing Shui been a member of the Mu Clan, he would not hesitate to pass the leadership to Qing Shui’s hands.

“You should be Qing Shui, a member of the younger generation that will surpass us in time, a true prodigy,” the Elder said after observing Qing Shui for a good while.

“This inferior one has seen the Elder,” Qing Shui said while bowing.

“Good, come, let’s go inside and sit!” Elder pointed straight ahead.

That place was a stone house but it was many times taller than a normal stone house. It looked rather large but it was not the size of a pavilion building. The three of them walked towards the direction of the stone house, Qing Shui still could not fully grasp the strength of the Elder. In addition, the Elder did not appear senile from old age.

Qing Shui did not weigh the strength of people based on their appearance but instead by their aura of vitality. If their vitality was weak, even if they were young, they would be like an old person. However, if their vitality was strong, even if they were old, even if they looked senile, they would live for a long time.

Although the area of the stone house was large, it only contained one floor. After entering, it gave off an air of comfort. The centerpiece of the room was a statue, not overly tall but slightly taller than a regular person. The statue was colorful, even the weapon in its hand was colorful. The weapon was a general type long sword.

Qing Shui surveyed the surroundings and concluded that this was the Elder’s cultivation location. He did not understand why the two of them were brought here.

Glancing to the bedroom on the side, Qing Shui figured that was where the Elder lived. Bringing them here was a type sincerity.

There were no tables or chairs, only some light futons. Qing Shui saw the Elder’s plain attire and thought it was strange. However, seeing that the Elder was a follower of Buddhism, the lifelike statue holding a weapon with such killing intent seemed out of place. If a normal person walked in, they would be frightened.

The three of them sat on the futons inside the stone house, between them was a stone table that was one foot tall. The middle of the table had a small stove, with water boiling on top, that was making bubbling noises. With a Yixing clay teapot and yixing clay tea cups on the table… …

Drinking tea and talking about their daily lives, Mu Fengyang was also a senior, in terms of being slick and sly he would not be less experienced than the Elder. Besides, he was not talking right now, the control of the discussion was in his grasp. Although he was not sure what sort of control they had, he knew that the Godly Sword Sect had an important matter to speak with the Mu Clan.

“I know that we are all perceptive, so I will cut to the chase.” The Elder placed his tea cup down and smiled.

“Elder, what would you like to talk about? If it is something that the Mu Clan can do, we will not brush it off,” Mu Fengyang said seriously.

Mu Fengyang’s words were as blunt as they could be. If it was within the Mu Clan’s powers, they would complete it without hesitation. But If it was something beyond the Mu Clan’s strength, then it was up to the Mu Clan to decide if they would attempt it.

“Fengyang, don’t misunderstand. I just want to form an alliance between the Godly Sword Sect and the Mu Clan. The purpose is to increase our strength since I feel that in the coming years, there will be unforeseen change in the Eastern Victory Divine Continent,” the Elder thought for a bit and said slowly.

Mu Fengyang was silently thinking.

“Elder, excuse my bluntness, there are many clans and sects within Jun City and this Continent’s Capital that would want to ally themselves with the Godly Sword Sect. I am well aware of our own strength and the Mu Clan’s strength is at the very bottom of that list, because Qing Shui is bound to leave at some point.” Mu Fengyang did not want to take advantage of the situation. The Elder had spoken what was clearly on his mind, so Mu Fengyang also had nothing to hide. In addition, the Elder should have expected that Qing Shui was going to leave.

Given that the result could have been properly predicted, allying themselves with the Mu Clan seemed unrealistic.

“This I know, Qing Shui is one of the most talented youngsters I have seen through my years. It is unlikely that he would be content with being secluded in a corner of the continent. In the future, his brightness will shine across all Nine Continents,” the Elder said while laughing.

Qing Shui never thought that the Elder would compliment him with such high praise but he remained silent. Once the Elder had proposed the alliance, Qing Shui had already predicted it would succeed.

“The alliance between the Mu Clan and I, given the Mu Clan’s potential, my terms will not change. Especially since I heard about the battle that occurred between the Mu Clan and the Sky Prison Sect before. Although Mu Clan may not be strong now, given time, the Mu Clan’s strength will not be weak. If Fengyang is to accept, we will find a good day to hold the ceremony to celebrate our successful alliance,” the Elder said while looking at Mu Fengyang.

“Exactly what we need,” Mu Fengyang said happily. He did not thank the Elder, since an alliance was mutually beneficial, this did not warrant gratitude, else the alliance would be unbalanced.

“Elder and the Mu Clan are the best of my friends, if the Godly Sword Sect has any use of me in the future, please do not hesitate, Qing Shui will not decline to help,” Qing Shui said with a smile.