The Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 1506 - Thunderous Beast's Tyranny, Kill the Patriarch in Red

Everything was happening at an unbelievable speed. In fact, there was not a whisper of a sound when the Golden Battle Halberd spilled the blood of its foe.

The silence was deafening; no one had expected Qing Shui to behead the old man. The other two elderly who were in the midst of hunting down the Dragon Slaying Beast and Hell Nightmare Beast were left in a fluster by the delicacy of their situation. Dragon Slaying Beast had torn off a chunk of meat on one of the old men's arm, nearly killing them as well.

The Dragon Slaying Beast was sharp, especially towards beasts with dragon's blood flowing in their veins. Still, it had a weakness; for beasts which were much slower, the Dragon Slaying Beast was more than capable of eliminating them in an instant. However, for those that could match its speed or surpassed it, or even if they were just a tad slower, the Dragon Slaying Beast would have to resort to cooperating with another person or beast to kill them.

What the Dragon Slaying Beast relied on was its speed but its power was limited at this moment. Without comparable speed to the old men of such level, it could only remain passive, waiting for the right moment to strike its fatal blow.

The pressure that Qing Shui felt reduced significantly after killing that old man. His composed glance towards the patriarch in red made the man regret ever starting this.

The patriarch in red seemed to have seen the ending to this but the process towards it remained unknown. While he was curious to find out, it was simply too cruel. With a deep breath, he swung the Red Blood Scepter towards Qing Shui.

Invisible Palm!

The old man stayed motionless, but the way the Red Blood Scepter in his hand swung towards Qing Shui felt like a miracle. The shadow of the scarlet red scepter flashed by and passed through the clouds as it charged towards Qing Shui with the speed of an Outer God Specter.

Bang!

Qing Shui didn't have the Hell Nightmare Beast to sustain the blow for him this time, and resorted to using the Nine Continents Mountain instead. The Nine Continents Mountain was decent for its attacks but in Qing Shui's opinion, its greatest forte remained in its defense. Despite its bulkiness, it was still swift and agile, moving as it willed and hence, made for a great shield.

With a huge explosion, the Nine Continents Mountain was knocked away, colliding with Qing Shui as it did. It was fortunate that Qing Shui had control over the Nine Continents Mountain, allowing the impact to be a lot weaker than it would have been. Furthermore, his ability at defending had always been his proudest attribute and so he did not sustain any injury from it.

The patriarch in red was taken aback when Qing Shui appeared before them in perfect condition. Invisible Palm had been his Sure Kill Heavenly Technique, yet in a surprising turn of events, there was not even a scratch on Qing Shui.

The Thunderous Beast was relentless with its Thunderbolt attacks. As lightning rained upon the old man's body without pause, it seemed to them that his company of people was going to die in the hands of this beast.

The Thunderous Beast was wrapped up in bloodthirsty demonic vines and while the attacks from these vines imposed little danger towards the old men, its flexibility and tenacity was still powerful. Even the patriarch in red wouldn't be able to destroy it with the blink of an eye.

Besides, Qing Shui would not have allowed him to do so in any case.

Qing Shui appeared relaxed; the strength of Thunderous Beast had resurfaced, especially when it's in coordination with Qing Shui and the Dragon Slaying Beast.

The old men had been intimidated by such coordination of attack from before and now, the three of them stood together, no longer possessed the courage to fight alone. After all, if the Thunderous Beast was to stun them again while they were fighting solo, then the other two beasts would definitely get an edge and take their lives in an instant.

At the very least, if they stuck together and one of them was stunned, the remaining two would be able to defend against those two beasts. Even they knew that the beasts would be no match for either of the old men when fighting separately from the other. The beasts were powerful and sharp in their attacks, just lacking in individual strength; a casual attack was enough to throw them off and their speed were not up to par either. Should their speed be any faster and more terrifying, they would certainly be able to kill at will.

What a pity, Qing Shui thought. He had intended for the Thunderous Beast and Dragon Slaying Beast to work together once more in eliminating them.

The last time he had cooperated with the Thunderous Beast, the three old men felt a mix of shock, fear and thought it strange beyond compare. At this stage, their exchange of blows could be ended in an instant.

It wasn't that there weren't people who knew the Stun Battle Technique, only that there was a probability of success when using it and the chances were low. In addition, stunning would take a long time and there was no telling when one would be able to encapsulate

the opponent. In other words, no one was able to use it to their advantage to kill the other, and even those with the ability were few in numbers. It was simply too difficult to stun people of their level and ability.

Yet, there was one standing alongside the man opposite them who was not only capable of controlling it, but could unleash it with absolute certainty of success. This was absurd, yet even when it was so bizarre, they knew it would have a sort of limitation. For example, the Sure Kill Heavenly Technique had a limit on the amount of times it could be used, or a cool-down period in between. Still, they didn't dare to risk it and so they stood together; they would advance or retreat in the same manner.

"Miraculous Physician Qing is formidable. One of them has already been eliminated this quickly."

"By the look of things, Se Clan is done for this time. Miraculous Physician Qing is the true Hermit Master."

"Se Clan brought it upon themselves. At the end of the day, they have fallen to this point."

"Se Clan is doomed."

"Se Clan has been passed down for many generations, they wouldn't be finished off this quickly. That said, they are definitely going to exhaust much of their Origin Qi."

……

Since his opponents had gathered together, Qing Shui naturally did the same with Dragon Slaying Beast and Hell Nightmare Beast; with Hell Nightmare Beast fronting as defense and Dragon Slaying Beast's surprise attacks, Qing Shui felt less tense than he was before.

Qing Shui didn't move but Thunderous Beast did not stop with the Thunderbolt attacks. Even if the attacks were weak, he knew that the old men across from them would not continue with this stalemate. After all, to be continuously struck by weak the Thunderbolt attacks could still leave one impaired with time.

In the formation of an inverted triangle, the three old men charged towards Qing Shui with the patriarch in red taking rear and center. Qing Shui couldn't think of a better plan as of now either, he could only continue on with the battle and look for an opportunity while at it.

Bang, bang!

Both Qing Shui's beasts were knocked away by their attacks as per before, but the beasts did not shy away from attacks. In similar fashion, the patriarch in red had knocked Nine Continents Mountain off with his attack as well.

It was as though they had had a discussion prior; they got rid of the obstacles between Qing Shui and them before all three old men were charging towards Qing Shui. Their bodies emitted a bright, red glow in that moment.

Qing Shui felt a wave of panic, a kind of foreboding.

Boundless Sea of Blood!

All of a sudden, a strong pressure pressed down upon him. The sensation was akin to heat, growing more concentrated and intense by the minute. It left one feeling as though their hearts were being congested.

Bang!

Qing Shui couldn't comprehend the feeling either. As though he had just been hit with an enormous water balloon, a strong smell of blood rushing to his brain and leaving him like a block-head in an instant.

Qing Shui grew frantic; if his brain stopped reacting, like it was being trampled upon, then being in this state wouldn't be any better than being stunned.

At that moment, the patriarch in red moved. His expression held a hint of viciousness and ferociousness. It was an unexplainable feeling, but Qing Shui's mind cleared in that instant; this was the effect of the Yin-Yang Image in his consciousness.

Qing Shui summoned Thunderous Beast!

Violet Lightning Strike!

Violet Lightning Strike!

At the same time, Qing Shui released Central Palace Blood Essence Pool's Marrow Nibbling Golden Dragon Silkworm, and right in front of the patriarch in red's astonished eyes, it drilled in through his forehead.

Too close. The distance between the patriarch in red and Qing Shui was too close. The Dragon Slaying Beast and Hell Nightmare Beast had already been knocked away for some time now, and so patriarch in red deduced that he should be safe from harm while Qing Shui gets devoured by his Boundless Sea of Blood.

The patriarch in red wasn't sure if Thunderous Beast could still use the Stunning Battle Technique again for the day, but he knew that even if it could, there wouldn't be any danger. If Qing Shui couldn't move, then the two beasts wouldn't make a difference either, the patriarch in red would still have the older two men to battle them.

Yet, why didn't it occur to him that this young man would have such a terrifying weapon in his possession? He didn't know what it was that had dug into his head, but he felt an unprecedented fear because of the sudden and intense pain that shot through his brain, as though something was gnawing on it.

When the Thunderous Beast shot its Stunning Battle Technique, the patriarch in red's consciousness was already beginning to muddle. Before, Qing Shui had had Thunderous Beast use the technique as an insurance, to ensure that there was no danger of anything going wrong. He was afraid that the patriarch in red might have powerful enough to resist the Marrow Nibbling Golden Dragon Silkworm. While the Marrow Nibbling Golden Dragon Silkworm was formidable, Qing Shui was still afraid of making a blunder.

It was great that it had succeeded then, and even better that it was the patriarch in red that he had eliminated—he was the strongest out of the three old men after all.

Silence filled the air, especially since it was the patriarch in red that had been killed this time round. The sound of him falling had been so clear, and many could hardly believe that one of the strongest in Linhai City had just been killed this easily, and that he died in the hands of a young man.

The Marrow Nibbling Golden Dragon Silkworm returned to Qing Shui, as with the Dragon Slaying Beast and Hell Nightmare Beast. The other two men were still in disbelief.

The death of this old man was enough to make them charge forward. They were now in the dreamlike state; they had underestimated Qing Shui's fighting ability and his beasts…

While it was true that his current opponents were all exceptionally strong, Qing Shui had met his own fair share of adversaries like them. Still, he must have had lady luck on his side when both of Thunderous Beast's Stunning Battle Technique met its target.

Even Qing Shui had felt less anxious this time round, though he knew that if it had not been for the Marrow Nibbling Golden Dragon Silkworm, he would have been put in a dangerous spot. If it wasn't for Thunderous Beast, then today's battle would take an unpredictable amount of time, and even his victory would be unlikely.

Looking at the remaining two old men, Qing Shui told himself that he could not take it easy; he could never take it easy until the very last moment of victory. Once a person let their guard down, judgement and speed would suffer a great reduction without their conscious awareness.

Heightened Focused Concentration!

This ability that Qing Shui possessed allow him to greatly resist some negative effects but it was not able to resist them completely. Some negative effects were like Qing Shui's Emperor's Qi, extremely overbearing.

"Come down, Se Clan has been defeated!"

At that moment, a dignified voice rang out. The voice sounded apathetic, without a hint of emotion.

"Yes, Patriarch!"

The remaining two old men respectfully bowed in the direction of the voice before leaving.

Qing Shui did not stop them.

"This young man is extremely talented, even an old fellow like me had rarely seen such talent in my life. Se Clan has been defeated, name your request. This old fellow will fulfill it to the best of my ability." The old and dignified voice sounded again.

"This junior has something I'd like to ask. I wonder if I can meet you alone." Qing Shui said after some thought.

When strength had reached a certain level, like the old man, the small number of deaths in their clan no longer held much significance. In fact, he had killed some good-for-nothings himself. Although Qing Shui had just killed a few members of the Se Clan, it was to be expected for one to face death upon an invitation for battle. In fact, judging by the lack of emotions in the old man's tone, it seemed like a few deaths hardly bothered him; what the old man cared about was Se Clan's image.