Ancient Strengthening Technique (Web Novel)
chapter-1523

AST 1523 - Hellfire Phoenix’s Rage, Wind Thunder Claw

The Hellfire Phoenix was also black as ink. It was quite stunning as well compared to the Black Dragon in front of them. However, the Hellfire Phoenix appeared a bit more refined and noble. It should be known that the Hellfire Phoenix’s blood type was of a noble grade, too.

The Black Dragon continuously wobbled on its spot, as if it was feeling quite uncomfortable. Meanwhile, the Hellfire Phoenix quietly and gently flapped its enormous wings while remaining at its original position.

Qing Shui gazed at the opposite side and noticed that they were clearly thinking of something as they were also scrutinizing at Hellfire Phoenix. It should be mentioned that phoenixes and dragons were on the same level of existence. Even though the Hellfire Phoenix did not have the pleasing color of other phoenixes, the more one looked at it, the more pleasing Hellfire Phoenix would look. Black wasn’t a magnificent color, yet it exuded coldness and death.

Qing Shui truly didn’t know why these people would block him from going further. He didn’t utter a word either, as he wanted to see what they would do to him first.

A young man was the first to walk out from the group. He was quite young and seemed to look as young as Qing Shui, albeit only from the age of his appearance. This man had a tall and straight figure, and his clothes appeared to be exquisite and respectable. He seemed to be a man who paid heavy attention to how he wore his clothes. This could also suggest that this man was honorable and respectable.

“Greetings. Let’s discuss something, shall we?” The man smiled.

The man talked as if he had met someone he knew and recognized. He had the right tone to get along with others and be friendly in an amiable way as he looked at Qing Shui.

“I wonder what we can discuss between us?” Qing Shui smiled back.

“How about letting my Black Dragon fight with your dark phoenix for a round?” The man looked at Qing Shui and said casually.

Qing Shui didn’t expect that this man would suggest this kind condition. He was shocked for a while, but managed to reply, “I don’t know why we have to involve our demonic beasts in this fight. Why don’t we try it out between us both?”

“Haha, you are very straightforward. How about this? We will let them fight first. If one of us wins, the winner will be able to fight the other party with his demonic beast together. The other party must fight alone. Of course, he can admit defeat as well. How about it?” The man laughed heartily.

Qing Shui could sense that this man might have something up his sleeves. However, he wasn’t able to sense that now. He was aware that this man wasn’t as simple as he seemed. Despite knowing that, it hadn’t come to the point where Qing Shui should feel worry about it yet.

“Alright, sure.” Qing Shui had nothing to be anxious about, so he agreed to the fight.

“How about this? Why don’t we add some prizes?” The smile on the man’s face became warmer. However, Qing Shui could only sense some sort of scheme behind his smile.

Qing Shui grinned and looked at the man, “What kind of prizes do you want to add?”

“Let’s see. We should each mention one thing the other party has that they desire, or have the other do something for them in exchange. How about that? Of course, this is only if the other party is capable of fulfilling that desire.” This man did not think twice and quickly went straight to the point.

“We don’t know each other. Do you know what I have in my possessions?” Qing Shui did not smile as he spoke in a calm manner.

“I don’t know, but we can talk about it. For example, I can request whatever I can see with my eyes.” The man said, his gaze directed at Qin Qing either intentionally or unintentionally.

Qing Shui curved a smile on his lips. Was this guy seeking his own death? However, he managed to shake his head and asked, “Then what do you want from my side?”

“I have fallen in love at first sight with this lady beside you. I wonder if you can give up on her should I win this fight.” The man retained his smile and spoke of his desire quite naturally. However, it felt a bit coercive as well.

Qing Shui smirked, “Women aren’t objects. No one can make the decision to give away a person to someone. I wonder if you have always gifted your women away to others or lost them to your opponents?”

“You….” The man grew furious when he heard Qing Shui’s words. However, he managed to calm down quite swiftly afterward.

“Are you scared? Are you afraid of losing?” The man used the lowest form of provocation against Qing Shui.

“Qing Shui, just accept his conditions. After we are done with the fight, we can leave.”

At that moment, Qin Qing opened her mouth and spoke to Qing Shui smilingly.

That man was also shocked. He didn’t expect Qin Qing to agree to the condition of the fight. With that, he chortled, “Look at you. Even as a man, you can’t be open-minded like your woman.”

This sentence implied that Qing Shui wasn’t a man at all.

“I will never take you as a bet for anything.” Qing Shui looked at Qin Qing and shook his head with great determination.

Qin Qing felt quite respected in her heart. That feeling was warm, yet there was no expression on her face. She said softly, “I know you can win. Don’t worry.”

“We can talk about anything except this. Not ever.” Even though Qing Shui said this with a soft tone, his determination was quite astounding.

Qin Qing did not say anything more. Qing Shui, on the other hand, faced his opponent and said, “If you want to fight, then let's fight. Letting her become the object of a gamble is impossible. If you don't want to fight, then don't block our way.”

“We'll fight. Why not? Then let's begin!” That man thought that Qin Qing liked him based on her previous words. Because of that, he didn't hesitate to fight. As long as he could win this fight, this beauty would become his.

This man felt superior when he thought that there was no women in the world who didn't like him. He was a self-proclaimed attractive and refined man. His approach towards a woman was like the attraction that a beautiful woman had for a man she liked.

The Hellfire Phoenix soared up the air, followed by Black Dragon upon that man's command. There was a sort of communication between Qing Shui and Hellfire Phoenix. He could control his demonic beast through the subtle use of his consciousness.

Ming!

Roar!

The cries of the Phoenix and Dragon rang out simultaneously. There was an indescribable harmony among those cries. From the beginning, that man was the only one talking from his side. No one else had muttered a single word from their mouth.

Roar!

A more distinct dragon roar pierced through the air. The humongous figure of the Black Dragon extended outward as it rushed toward its opponent. This was the beauty of power. The power of the Black Dragon was considered to be one of the top ranked amongst the other dragons.

The Hellfire Phoenix let out a distinct cry as well. It flicked its giant wings, shooting about ten Underworld Fireballs at the Black Dragon in succession.

Roar roar…..

Even if Black Dragon was considered strong, it could only cry out in pain after being hit by the Hellfire Phoenix's Underworld Fireballs. The Hellfire Phoenix was stronger in comparison to the Black Dragon, but the dragon was still able to withstand Hellfire Phoenix's attacks without any major problems.

The silhouette of the Phoenix flashed and it charged its enormous body toward the Black Dragon.

Its speed was fast, like a black lightning had just struck the sky. When it was about to clash with the Black Dragon, it quickly retracted its giant wings and stabbed toward the dragon at an angle.

Phoenix Wing Cut!

Crack!

Qing Shui was surprised that his Hellfire Phoenix was able to cut a mark on the Black Dragon, causing it to bleed heavily with fresh blood gushing out. The Black Dragon roared furiously at this attack.

The man remained calm as usual. However, while no one looked, a shred of darkness would appear in his eyes, vigorously shooting at Hellfire Phoenix in an invisible form.

Qing Shui was able to clearly sense through his sea of consciousness that the current speed and power of the Hellfire Phoenix had been decreased by 10%. It should be known that a reduction of such power by 10% was still a terrifying deed to be done to a demonic beast.

Qing Shui turned to look at this man, noting that he actually had this kind of move up his sleeves. Not only was he able to reduce Hellfire Phoenix's power by 10%, he could also cause a disturbance using his consciousness. Of course, there would be a certain percentage of success for that as well.

As for the debuff, Qing Shui wasn't sure if there was a certain percentage of success, but it had worked this time.

All of the Hellfire Phoenix's prowess were abruptly decreased by 10%, allowing the Black Dragon to become superior instead. Its wounds had been healed completely as well. A dragon's healing capability was certainly astounding. Currently, the Black Dragon was almost on par with Hellfire Phoenix in terms of strength.

A confident smile appeared on that man's face, as if everything was under his control.

“Qing Shui, your big bird doesn’t seem so strong anymore.” Qin Qing smiled when she looked at Qing Shui.

Qing Shui’s eyes twitched. He did so because in his past life, ‘big bird’ was another word for a man’s ‘thing’. Qing Shui felt his heart plummet to the ground when he heard the words ‘your big bird doesn’t seem strong anymore’. How could a man not be strong in terms of that?

“Sister Qin, my big bird is strong. Do you want to try it?” Qing Shui said with a grin. He felt a bit frivolous in saying those words.

Qin Qing felt that there was something wrong with those words but she couldn’t tell what was wrong exactly. She gazed at Qing Shui with a strange look on her face.

Qing Shui chuckled, which made Qin Qing ascertain that there was something strange with these words. She huffed in anger while giving him a stink eye.

Qing Shui quickly used the Phoenix Battle Intent!

This quickly replaced the debuff effect from before. He then used the formation and Battle God Halo to increase the Hellfire Phoenix’s power to its peak.

At that moment, the expression on that man changed slightly. He could feel the Hellfire Phoenix’s sudden surge of power, yet all he could deduce was that the increase in power was just part of Hellfire Phoenix’s innate ability.

Before the man could do anything, he was forced to see an unforgettable sight!

Suddenly, Qing Shui used his Art of Pursuing and Emperor’s Qi!

The Black Dragon, that was already far weaker than Hellfire Phoenix, suddenly had its speed reduced to about 40% and it strength reduced by 20%. Meanwhile, at that exact moment, the Hellfire Phoenix quickly pierced its sharp claw into the Black Dragon’s reverse scale area.

The reverse scale was considered to be a special existence known to a dragon. The Dragon Reverse Scale was a definite kill to the dragon when touched. Hence, that area could never be touched. If there was any physical contact with the reverse scale, the dragon would become furious and kill everything that intended to strike that area. In spite of that, it was still a bit troubling for the dragon as that area was considered to be its area of weakness - the weakest point of its body.

The strength of the Black Dragon was naturally incomparable to that of the Hellfire Phoenix. The current strength of the phoenix had reached its peak, which was nearly two billion sun. After the Black Dragon had been debuffed, its strength already less than one billion sun. The speed of the dragon couldn’t even catch up to the speed of Hellfire Phoenix. The piercing strike that the Hellfire Phoenix used was a skill that would surely kill the Black Dragon.

Wind Thunder Claw!

The attack and sharpness had been increased to the maximum!

Roar!

A distinct cry rang out. The Black Dragon’s silhouette flew outward with its large head drooping, as if it was about to fall down. This strike was a fatal one. The disparity between their powers was too great.

Qing Shui was also surprised but was able to accept the reality of the fact. However, Qin Qing was way beyond shocked and surprised. Qing Shui was aware of the Black Dragon’s power, but the fact that Hellfire Phoenix was able to flare up all of the sudden was too terrifying. Even if he were to strike like Hellfire Phoenix, he wouldn’t have the power to do so either.

The man couldn’t remain calm any longer. He couldn’t resist twitching his face either. He replaced his beautiful face with a ferocious expression as he looked at Qing Shui, eager to tear him apart into pieces.

This Black Dragon had the real bloodline of the Black Dragon. It had just reached an adult age, so its power was still continuously improving and growing. However, it was dead now. The body of the Black Dragon continued to convulse as it died. Qing Shui, on the other hand, was looking at him with a smile. There was no change in his expression in the slightest.

“I am sorry. Your Black Dragon is very powerful. I didn’t tame my beast properly. Should we start the next fight?” Qing Shui said softly.

That man had lost the mood to continue the fight. He was now more focused on killing Qing Shui. He turned to the two old men and asked, “Dear uncles, what do you think?”

Qing Shui could guess what that meant next. It seemed like he wanted the old men to fight him, or to make the two old men join hands to fight him.

“That’s not surprising. I think it’s alright. However, you should think carefully about starting a feud with such a strong opponent.” The old man on the left with the figure of a straight rod pondered for a while before he spoke.