The Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 1921 - Lin Clan, Lin Zhennan

“Big brother, why are we doing that?” Dongfang Zhiqiu said in a depressed tone. Her eyes were firmly fixed on Qing Shui as his figure disappeared into the huge door of the Imperial Cuisine Hall.

The man’s heart moved as he looked at Dongfang Zhiqiu. It seemed that his arrogant sister might have found someone she liked. This young man seemed to be not that simple. He was the first person who his own sister was looking up to... He then turned around and smiled. How could a person, who was capable of killing a Grand State Master from the Great Confucian Empire, be simple?

“Do you hate your brother for being unreasonable and unfriendly? And that I only care about myself when the danger comes?” The man smiled and looked at Dongfang Zhiqiu.

“I know you have your own reasons for that. However, not letting me stay behind would cause a knot to be forever tied up in my heart.” Dongfang Zhiqiu said without turning her head.

“You like him?” The man smiled and asked.

Dongfang Zhiqiu’s body trembled and she immediately came back to her senses. She looked at the man for quite a while. At this moment, she realized that her heart had become rather complicated. Prior to this, she actually never noticed this problem. She never thought about such a possibility. After all, because of the background she was born in, it was impossible for her to have someone she wanted to marry.

To put it simply, people like them could never like nor be liked by anyone. Since it would only bring forth a lot of pain if that happened. In comparison, men were slightly better. Other than the marriage arranged by their own clan, they could still get married to other people, or maybe even share an adulterous relationship with them. However, it was still up to the clan to decide who was the original wife. In the future, the baby given birth by the original wife would hold the highest position in the clan.

Though men and women stood equally across the continent, in Qing Shui’s perspective, it was about the same as the world from his previous incarnation. When it came to men and women’s affairs, this place had more freedom. However, in the cases of the men here, they could publicly get married to many wives. Women, on the other hand, must only stick to one man from the day they got married until the day they died. Luckily, when it came to other things, women shared equal rights with men. There were even some clans where the clan’s head was a woman. Certain sects would also have female Sect Lords.

Nevertheless, it was very rare for powerful women to openly have multiple men a once. Though no one could really do anything to her, discussions would definitely go on behind her back and she would be called with names unbearable to hear. However, the women also had the alternative to look for only one man instead. The man, in return, must have her as his only woman.

There were many cases like this. Actually, quite a majority of people would also have only one wife and husband across the continents, but the woman must be very, very outstanding. Otherwise, it would be very difficult for them to reach this stage. After all, men with a good background wouldn’t lack women around him.

“I don’t hate him. He is a person whom I am indebted to for taking care of me but yet also doesn’t harbor any intention for me.” Dongfang Zhiqiu said after stopping for a while.

“How do you know he doesn’t have any motive?” The man smiled and asked.

“His medical expertise could be said to be unmatched in his generations. His cultivation can absolutely be regarded to be outstanding. He also doesn’t lack any sorts of treasures. Have you seen the women around him? Each and every one of them, they are beauties who could topple over cities. Yes, I admit that I also look very beautiful, but when in front of him, I can’t find anything about me which stands out to him.” Dongfang Zhiqiu looked at the man and smiled.

“Though that’s what you said, I don’t find my sister half bad too. I can only say that at most, you are at the same level as them.” The man smiled. Deep down, he was very amazed. This bewitching man had actually managed to influence his sister. It was very rare to see his sister like this. She had never once praised a man. But today, she managed to say so many good things about one man.

“I don’t know what he can possibly ask from me.”

Initially, the man wanted to say the Heavenly Chess Immortal Palace. However, deep down, he knew that it wasn’t the answer. He had good eyes and was able to tell that the young man would definitely achieve great things in the future, but the obstacle in front of him at the moment was quite a difficult one to pass through. Nevertheless, he felt that the young man should be able to pull it off just fine.

“Little sister, actually, we don’t intend to run away. We want to help him in bothering the Five Poison Immortal Palace.” The man said.

“Why didn’t you say so earlier?”

“I don’t have to. He is a smart person. Saying it will only make it sounds like he is indebted to us. There are some things in which actions talk louder than words.”

……

Qing Shui and the group returned to the Imperial Cuisine Hall. They didn’t find anything that was out of the ordinary. He didn’t entrust his hope to the Heavenly Chess Immortal Palace. If you want something to be done well, do it yourself. Hence, he didn’t find the man’s action to be weird. He believed that there must be a lot of people that did things this way. If it had been himself, without enough confidence, he also wouldn’t want to dig his own grave.

Qing Shui didn’t want to put Dongfang Zhiqiu in an awkward position. That was the reason why he told her to leave earlier. Actually, he and Dongfang Zhiqiu didn’t actually share any relations with each other. They had only known each other for a while. Dongfang Zhiqiu hadn’t exactly fallen for Qing Shui, meanwhile, Qing Shui was also not the kind of men who couldn’t hold himself when looking at beautiful women. There were many beautiful women in the world, who wouldn’t enjoy looking at them? But liking them didn’t mean that one must have them. If truly, a person would fall for each of the beautiful women he saw, could he possibly fall for all of them since there were so many of them in this world?

Other than that, the man whom Qing Shui saw previously, the formidable man. He felt that this man wasn’t a shallow person, nor was he someone who would easily forget the person he was indebted to. He might have his own reasons to do things like that. Qing Shui flung back his head and threw away all the thoughts he had inside him. Generosity made a good man.

On the next day, a group of people visited the Imperial Cuisine Hall. What Qing Shui was shocked about was that these people were from the Lin Clan. He found out about it after the visitors announced their names.

About twenty people came to the Imperial Cuisine Hall. The person taking the lead was a middle-aged man. He had a huge figure and wore a light armor across his body. He had a firm look, but at the same time, he also expressed a bit of courteous and warm aura. This was a mature and earnest man who was at the same time easy to get along with. At least this was how he felt about the person.

Before this, back when the three masters from the Great Confucian Empire left, he had a feeling that the little emperor might show up. Or rather, he might also get someone to come and notify him about things. However, he never would have thought that the Lin Clan would come. As to why they were here, he was also unclear about it.

Qing Shui also didn’t know how he suddenly ended up as a person, that several forces would seek for. If he wasn’t mistaken, they should be here to get him to join their respective forces.

Qing Shui didn’t invite the people in. Instead, he walked out. He boldly walked up to the front, on a spot not very far away from the group of people.

“You should be Mister Qing!” The middle-aged man leading the group smiled and said. He looked very friendly.

“How shall I address you?”

“I am Lin Zhennan. It’s my pleasure to meet you, Mister Qing.”

“I don’t deserve your praise. You can just call me Qing Shui.” Qing Shui smiled. He was feeling very relaxed.

“If you don’t mind, I will call you Brother Qing.”

“Alright, Brother Lin, is there anything you would like from me?” Qing Shui asked straightforwardly.

“Let me make it straightforward. The little emperor and the Fox-Wolf Immortal Master both hope that you can join the empire. Brother Qing, what do you think of this proposal?” Lin Zhennan looked at Qing Shui with a serious expression.

Qing Shui was a bit shocked. It wouldn’t be that shocking if the little emperor wanted to convince him to join the empire. What he found weird was the Fox-Wolf Immortal Master. After all, he killed two of his Grand State Masters. Logically speaking, he should hate Qing Shui to his core.

“To the Fox-Wolf Immortal Master, he doesn’t consider losing a few Grand State Masters to be a great loss. If he can get you to join us, it will be worth it even if he loses a few more Grand State Masters.” Lin Zhennan who seemingly managed to see through Qing Shui’s shocked expression continued on speaking.

Qing Shui didn’t continue on with the conversation. He only looked at Lin Zhennan with a serious expression.

Qing Shui enjoyed freedom. Once he joined an organization, no matter how much freedom they gave him, he would still think that he had lost a partial portion of his so-called freedom. Deep down, he didn’t want to rely on anyone. As long as there were other alternatives, he would take those, instead of giving in to this.

By now, Qing Shui also already understood the reason behind Lin Zhennan’s visit. His original plan was to convince him to join the empire. But after talking to him, he changed his mind. Qing Shui found Lin Zhennan as a person he could get along very easily with. Not only did he have good eyes, but he was also very bold and possessed tremendous strength. In the future, he was bound to achieve great things.