Ancient Strengthening Technique (Web Novel)
chapter-156

AST 0156 – Embarking on the road to the Skysword Sect！

As he returned to the Qing Village, Qing Shui couldn’t help but think how it had already been a year since he last left. The splendor of the city showed an obvious contrast to the destituteness of the Qing Village. Still, Qing Shui liked it here more because this place held a sense of kinship for him.

Upon reaching the Qing Clan, Qing Shui realised that his exploits had already spread far and wide. There was no one who did not recognize him in the village. Many young people would passionately call out ‘Brother Qing Shui!’ as a greeting when they saw him.

The New Year celebrations were extremely joyous, and the village was filled with lights and bright colours!

For the annual competition, Qing Shui no longer had the opportunity to stand up there. The atmosphere had become somewhat bleak because Qing Shui wasn’t going to participate. Maybe it was because of the fact that Qing Shui, who was younger than most of them, was already at the Xiantian level. What was there to compare with someone older who still wasn’t at the Martial General Realm?

So in the end, the victor of the yearly competition did not have the usual attitude of winning. As for those who lost, they were even more depressed!

Mingyue Gelou and her daughter also came to Qing Village. Although no one said anything about it, there wasn’t anyone who didn’t know that Mingyue was already Qing Shui’s woman and a part of the Qing Clan. Say no less of the little girl- Qing Shui and Qing Yi were protective as if they were mother hens, and treated her like a little chick. The 2nd generation of the Qing Clan, including Qing Luo, also incessantly doted upon her.

This caused Mingyue’s broken heart to feel warmth again. The feeling of being cared for and loved by others was extremely marvelous.

After the new year, Qing Shui bade farewell to his family and prepared to go to Hundred Miles City to gather Wenren Wu-shuang before they headed to the Skysword Sect together.

Qing Yu couldn’t help herself and cried. This was the first time Qing Shui was going on such a long journey. This was also the first time that Qing Shui saw Qing Yi openly crying after he grew up. In his eyes, Qing Yi was always an intelligent and strong woman!

However, no matter how strong a woman was, there would also be times when she was weak!

“Mother, there’s no need to worry about me. You must take care of yourself and wait for me to come back. I will bring you to the Yan Clan, demand an explanation, and finally meet Qing Qing!” Qing Shui gently wiped Qing Yi’s tears away as he tried to direct her attention elsewhere.

Qing Qing was none other than the little toddler that the Yan Clan had abducted before. She was the elder sister of Qing Shui!

“I won’t insist on it. Look at your accomplishments today. I’m already very happy. I would rather you carry on with your life and not take the risk!” Qing Yi said, with dread evident in her voice. This was what she truly felt in her heart, but she also wanted to go to the Yan Clan.

“No matter what happens, don’t worry. With your son here, Mother can just place all the burdens on my shoulders. You must take care of yourself, regardless of anything what happens. I will always be here for you.” These few words conveyed Qing Shui’s heartfelt feelings.

With the blessings of the Qing Clan, Qing Shui left the Qing Village!

After he reached Hundred Miles City, he rented a carriage together with Wu-shuang. After that, when he saw Yu He in the Yu He Inn, he felt a sense of unwillingness and reluctance. In the end, he decided to let time test both of their hearts.

“Sister Yu, I’m here today to say my goodbyes. What are your plans for the future?” Qing Shui had caused the Yu He Inn to be in the centre of a storm of commotion for the past few months. Many people were eyeing the business. Although, with his black fish and turtle soup, he was the one who enabled the Yu He Inn to earn about ten to twenty years of income. He still felt somewhat uncomfortable.

“If I’m unable to cope after a period of time , I will sell the inn away. Grandpa wanted me to follow him to cultivate, so I’ve decided to focus on my cultivation. Maybe I will also reach Xiantian. At that time, I will be able to tour the nine continents with you to see many beautiful places!” Yu He smiled. Despite her facade, Qing Shui could still see signs of desolation and sadness in her eyes.

Qing Shui brought out two Energy-Enhancing Fruits as well as two Agility-Enhancing Fruits. As Yu He consumed the fruits, Qing Shui channeled his Qi to aid her in her digestion. However, he did not tell her of the fruits’ effects. This could be considered his way compensating her.

“Give this to your Grandpa, and tell him that it’s from me. This will enable him to increase his strength by a significant amount!”

Yu He’s gaze was filled with confusion as she watched Qing Shui walking over to Wenren Wu-shuang. Seeing how beautiful the woman waiting for him was, she could feel a sense of intense pressure, as though it were pressing against her heart and leaving her breathless.

“Yu He, why are you still clinging onto that hope? Both of you belonged to different worlds. Being able to stay friends could already be considered a fortune of sorts. Don’t dream about it anymore. He is a dragon among men. Sooner or later, he would surely be flying in the skies.”

Yu He’s feelings grew more and more chaotic as she saw Qing Shui and Wu-shuang get in the carriage. Her heart was cloaked by a layer of depression as she stupidly watched the horse carriage drive away from her sight.

“Why can’t you bear to part from that great beauty?” Wenren Wu-shuang gazed at the slightly depressed Qing Shui.

“I can part. I’m just thinking about my family!” Qing Shui wanted to pass two Agility-Enhancing Fruits and two Small-Revitalizing Pellets over to Yu Donghao, so that he could have enough power to help the Qing Clan if they were faced with trouble in future.

Qing Shui and Wenren Wu-Shuang had rented an enormous tentage carriage that was pulled by four metallic bull beasts. They could eat and stay within the carriage; thus, they had brought many kinds of dried rations along. After all, the road to Cang Lang Country was still extremely long!

The drivers of the carriage were two burly men about 30 years of age. When they saw Wenren Wu-shuang, they froze slightly at her beauty before quickly recovering.

Qing Shui was somewhat impressed by their calmness. Perhaps they had met many beauties in their line of work before!

After he set off, Qing Shui asked the burly man that was driving the carriage, “Big brothers, how long would it take if I want to go to the Cang Lang Country?”

“About two months.”

Qing Shui was speechless. The nine continents were too vast! Even Cang Lang Country would need about two months worth of traveling using the metallic bull beasts. Although the speed of the metallic bull beasts weren’t quick, they had astounding endurance, and only needed six hours of rest per four days of travel.

The road was long and boring. Luckily, inside that immense tentage carriage, there were several small chambers built within. Qing Shui purposely rented a large carriage that was meant for the use of a big family. Thus, with only two of them inside the carriage, it felt extremely spacious and wide!

Initially, Qing Shui was still worried about where he could cultivate. After seeing their spacious tentage carriage that actually had some small chambers in them, he heaved a sigh of relief.

‘Qing Shui, it’s so boring. Tell me a joke!” Wenren Wu-shuang gazed at Qing Shui.

“Joke? Hmm… alright, I know a lot.” Qing Shui smiled and appeared very confident.

“Tell me some to ease the boredom!” Wenren Wu-shuang happily exclaimed.

“Okay, listen to this. There was once a mountain village in which a certain chicken had unparalleled speed. It boasted to be even quicker than demonic beasts. The owner often bragged to people, saying that his chicken was the fastest.”

A rich man came to the village and fell in love with the chicken at first sight. Speaking to the owner, he stated, “I will give you two hundred thousand taels of silver to sell me the chicken.”

The owner replied, “I’m not selling.”

The rich man replied, “Five hundred thousand.”

The owner seemed unwilling as he replied, “I’m not selling.”

The rich man got nervous after hearing that answer, and made a final offer of one million taels of silver. Although the heart of the owner was moved, he still replied, “I’m not selling.”

The rich guy angrily exclaimed, “It’s only a chicken. You aren’t willing to sell it even for one million taels of silver? Is there something wrong with your brain?”

In the end, the owner helplessly replied, “I would, but I can’t catch it…”

“Haha, the owner is so funny!” Wu-shuang’s lovely laughter was extremely comfortable to the ears as she laughed along cooperatively when she understood the joke. With her bright eyes, beautiful teeth, and incomparable gracefulness, she was a peerless beauty within her generation!