The Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 1959 - Zheng Clan's old master, Qing Clan trying to climb its way up to the Zheng Clan?

"Zheng Xuan, it seems your clan is still noble like usual." Qing Shui smiled as a way of greeting back.

Seeing that Zheng Xuan was already waiting for him at the door entrance, Qing Shui felt that Zheng Xuan was quite a decent man. Certainly, compared to the symptoms of the Demon Lord's Blood, it was really nothing for him to do things like this if all he wanted was to get Qing Shui to treat him. Qing Shui wished that Zheng Xuan didn't do all of this for just that reason.

However, whether or not this was the reason was not important. This was how things worked between men. There would never be love nor hate which originated out of nowhere. Yes, some might say people came to you with too much purpose, but if you start to think about it, who would have gotten close to you if there was nothing about you which could benefit them? Even the term "like-minded" would also only apply when both sides shared the same purpose.

It was perfectly normal for people to get close to you with a purpose. But most importantly, one had to make sure that their heart was sincere when they were doing so. Hence, Qing Shui never looked down on Zheng Xuan. He hadn't made his move even after knowing that he was capable of controlling the Demon Lord's Blood. It would be fine if he truly never intended to make any moves. However, if that was all an act, it would have a negative effect and instead made people despise him.

Zheng Clan was a humble clan. There were very few servants in their house. However, Qing Shui still managed to sense a few formidable auras that were scattered across different parts of the Zheng Clan.

Zheng Clan occupied a very wide area. By just looking across the entire corridor, one could already see at least ten courtyards. Each of the yards was formed by a number of smaller ones. There was also a fake mountain located at the front yard. On top of it was carved a huge word "Zheng",

Each of the huge courtyards would have an enormous tree. It was almost big enough to cover up the entire Zheng Clan. The tree seemed to come from the evergreen tree breed. Hence, it was very rare to see leaves dropping down from it. On top of the tree, bird chirping noises could be heard, it was likely that many birds lived in it. After all, it was a huge tree that was about a hundred meters tall.

Qing Shui walked as he was enjoying the scenery. He really liked the atmosphere around the Zheng Clan. He could see a lot of children playing. There were also a few young ladies with decent quality. They should be the mothers of the children. They all happily greeted Qing Shui and Zheng Xuan.

"Good morning, sisters and aunties."

Zheng Xuan smiled as he greeted the women. After that, he led Qing Shui to the backyard.

At the moment, the person in charge of the Zheng Clan was Zheng Xuan's grandfather. However, he was no longer as involved in the family's matter as he was before. Nevertheless, it was indisputable that this old man possessed the greatest power within the clan.

"Xuan`Er, who is this?"

When he walked up to the third courtyard, a middle-aged handsome man walked out and asked with a smile.

Qing Shui probed the mature-looking man. He was very handsome and manly. The white shirt which he was wearing made him seem very elegant and easy-going. His eyes were also very bright and possessed a kind of unique charisma. This kind of quality was enough to drive both teenage girls and married women crazy. This kind of men could basically cause fatal damages to women of every age.

"Hello uncle, this is Qing Shui, Qing Shui from the Qing Clan!"

At the moment when Zheng Xuan finished speaking, he smiled and said to Qing Shui, "He is my uncle, Zheng Babai. He is also an expert of the Zheng Clan."

"Xuan`Er, you mustn't lose your manners. Nice to meet you, Qing Shui, though it's our first time meeting each other, I have heard quite a lot of things about you. Welcome to the Zheng Clan." The man said in a warm tone.

"Nice to meet you, senior. Please forgive me for visiting without a proper introduction."

"Don't mind it!"

"Qing Shui would like to meet grandpa. Why don't you tag along, uncle?" Zheng Xuan smiled and said.

Zheng Babai moved his sight to Qing Shui. Qing Shui then nodded and said, "Yes, senior, why don't you tag along?"

"Qing Shui, you can call me Babai."

Qing Shui smiled and shook his head, "It's alright, I will go by senior for now. I can still change it in the future."

Zheng Babai, his name actually stood for a dishonest practice. Back then, why would he be given such a name? At the end of the day, it was still just a name, hence, Qing Shui didn't think too much about it.

The backyard, the last yard… It had a decent size. This was the quietest place in Zheng Clan. Before he went in, he could already feel a formidable aura. It was even more powerful than Zheng Babai's. Qing Shui was able to sense how powerful Zheng Babai was. It should have surpassed two billion Dao Force.

The old man, on the other hand, should be worth almost three billion Dao Force. This was the most powerful existence which Qing Shui had encountered by far. Zheng Clan had managed to hide themselves well. It couldn't help but made Qing Shui wonder as to what kind of forces exactly that was capable of forcing the Zheng Clan to such an extent?

Qing Shui saw Zheng Xuan's grandpa. He wasn't exactly that old. At least he could confirm that he could still live for a long time.

With the old man around, he could still keep the foundation of the Zheng Clan secured for another two hundred years.

Qing Shui, Zheng Xuan, and Zheng Babai… The three of them went into the backyard together. The old man sensed the two familiar auras and also an aura of a stranger. It was very well-hidden. Though he could sense the person's strength, he felt that there was something off about it, it was as if that person never existed, yet he was still able to feel it very clearly.

The old man was fishing by the pond. When Qing Shui first came in, he already saw the old man catch a fish. After that, he immediately took it down and tossed it back into the water. Not long after, he got his second fish… And he released it once again.

Qing Shui and the other two just looked from the side. It took quite a while for the old man to catch his third fish. After that, he once again released it back into the water.

The old man didn't try to pull off any tricks. He was fishing just like a very ordinary man. He looked very serious.

The old man seemed as if he didn't know there was a guest.

Qing Shui was probing the old man. Though he was already aged a lot, he still retained his handsome look back from when he was young. This could be seen from both Zheng Babai's and Zheng Xuan's appearances.

After about the time required to prepare a cup of tea, the old man slowly turned around and looked at the three of them in shock, "Oh! Babai, Xuan`Er, why didn't you call me out when there is a guest! *Cough* I have truly gotten old."

Qing Shui smiled and said, "Greetings, old man!"

The old man had a very thick face. Not only had he made him wait, he even tried to get it over with by using the sole excuse that he had gotten old and had not noticed the presence of a guest. He even blamed Babai for not calling out to him. From here, Qing Shui could already interpret the old man's intention. He was trying to say that he had no intention to get involved in any matters. He had also in a way, helped represent the Zheng Clan's attitude.

"Grandpa, he is Qing Shui!" Zheng Xuan said quickly.

"Oh, that tiny girlfriend of yours also goes with the surname Qing. So it is for things regarding this matter." The old man smiled and said.

"Old man, I am here today with the sole purpose to look around." Qing Shui slightly raised his voice.

The old man's words made Qing Shui feel very upset. He sounded as if Qing Clan was trying to climb its way up onto the Zheng Clan.

"Oh, that's great. I wonder if you have anything you would like to inquire after coming to the Zheng Clan?" The old man put down his fishing rod and stood up slowly.

He was very tall and had an upright figure.

Zheng Xuan looked at Qing Shui with an awkward face. Zheng Babai, on the other hand, didn't really react much.

Qing Shui looked at Zheng Xuan and didn't say anything. The brat really didn't say anything about him. At first, he thought that everyone from the Zheng Clan approved of this marriage, it didn't seem to be the case with this old man… Could there be more people from the Zheng Clan who were reluctant to accept this marriage?

"Apparently, a very formidable clan has appeared in the Dancing Phoenix Continent. I came here with the intention to check things out and to confirm whether or not the rumor is true." Qing Shui smiled and said.

Qing Shui wasn't letting his emotions affect his decision. Indeed, Qing Bei liked this brat and this brat also liked her back. He also felt that Zheng Xuan was a decent man. He didn't want to let Qing Bei down, but if he was to let her get married into the clan like that, she would definitely be the target of the bullies. For example, letting Zheng Xuan get married a few more times. However, if the Qing Clan was powerful enough, even if Qing Bei was to get married to this place, she would definitely have her own rights to speak for herself to a certain extent. Or else, even Zheng Xuan wouldn't be able to stop his clan from bullying Qing Bei.

Certainly, this was just an assumption.

"How do you feel about the Zheng Clan?" At this moment, a voice came through. Following on, about twenty to thirty men entered the room. The person leading the group was a woman. Behind her, there were men, women and also some children.