The Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 2337 - Demon King Domain, Village

Demon King Domain!

This was a place where great demons ran unhindered. Of course, not everyone here were demons. In a world like the Middle Three Regions and the Upper Three Regions, nobody cared if you were a demon or a human as long as you were powerful.

There was an endless horizon of barren mountains once Qing Shui entered the Demon King Domain. He used Nine Continents Steps before realizing the vastness of the mountains. After several days, he still didn't manage to reach the end of it. He didn't keep count on the number of demonic beasts he killed during this period, with some powerful ones included.

'What an expansive Demon King Domain.'

Even the entirety of the Lower Three Regions wouldn't be able to compare, and his Nine Continents Steps seemed less than useful here. He had thought that a day's time would have been enough.

Now though, Qing Shui deduced that he would need half a month, perhaps even longer. It was fortunate that he didn't meet any Heaven Rebelling Beasts, thus, this trip was easy enough. During the trip, he didn't meet any humans; the only thing he had met was a Demon King which he had killed easily.

"Hm, there's chimney smoke up ahead."

Qing Shui was startled at the sight of rolling chimney smoke from afar, indicating that there were humans in there. He advanced in haste, noting that it was a village when he neared. It was a small village with hundreds of households from the looks of it.

It was such a small village, yet it could survive in such a dangerous area. This surprised Qing Shui. Even though it was near the outskirts, it was still dangerous. Unless the villagers were powerful?

The strange thought floated into Qing Shu's mind. Qing Shui didn't notice anything as he neared the village either. On the contrary, with his appearance, many turned their attention to him as they sized him up.

The guileless and folkways could be seen on their faces. Everyone here had some form of cultivation, and though they weren't high, there were several Xiantian cultivators. Some men were Martial King and Peak Martial King grade, with at least three Martial Saints among them.

This existence in a village seemed against nature, but with the village's location, Qing Shui didn't find it all that weird either. Still, even with that, it would be difficult to survive in this area.

"Young man, do you have any business here?" An elderly smiled as he approached him.

"Elder, I'm on an adventure and passed by your village. Apologies on my intrusion." Qing Shui thought the people in the village seemed alright and didn't instigate any bad feelings.

"Oh, since that is so, then come rest in our village. Have some food to eat. It's just a small place, hope you don't mind." The elderly welcomed Qing Shui warmly.

"Thanks, Elder. My hometown is a village too, why would I mind? It feels familiar this way, as though I'm back home." The place reminded him of the Qing Village.

Soon, they began to slaughter chicken and wild beasts and began preparation of wine and dishes. Qing Shui felt a little embarrassed by it. After all, they were so welcoming despite having no relations with him, making him feel apologetic.

A row of dozen people entered the village. He could tell they were villagers at first sight; they were all young men returning with wild beasts and a few demonic beasts. Each of them had a blissful smile tugging at the corner of their lips.

They knew they had a guest at the sight of Qing Shui. Among them, a strong and outgoing man walked over. "What's your name? To come here alone, you must be strong. I'm Da Zhuang."

"How do you do, Da Zhuang. My name is Qing Shui. My cultivation is so-so. You, on the other hand, seem formidable. It seems to me you're pretty strong."

Qing Shui didn't look old, but Da Zhuang was surely younger.

"Haha, Brother Qing Shui, I suppose you should be a few years older than me. Although we all have the Clan Technique and brute force, we only hang around the sidelines. If we did meet Demonic Kings, then it would be a struggle to cope," Da Zhuang said forthrightly.

"Brother Qing Shui, I'm Da Xiong, I wish to compete in strength with you." A young man snickered.

"Go, go. This little brat wants to compete with everyone he meets just because he gained a bit of strength," Da Zhuang scolded teasingly.

"Hm, not bad. Your body isn't bad at all. It's a pity that you don't have the essentials and can't unleash your potential." Qing Shui clicked his tongue as he observed Da Xiong.

"Oh!"

Many villagers looked at Qing Shui, surprised. They could tell from the start that Qing Shui wasn't a normal passerby, but now they were sure.

"Compete in strength? How about this, you can use any methods. If my feet leave the ground, then we'll count it as your victory, alright?" Qing Shui chuckled.

Qing Shui was strangely calm ever since he had arrived at the village. The attitude of its villagers was peaceful. It was as if they had forgotten about many things, relaxed and content.

"Don't belittle others, Brother Qing Shui. Be careful now!" Da Xiong got into position and said.

Da Xiong wasn't an adult yet, but it wouldn't be long before then. At this age, he was fearless. Da Xiong was also the strongest among the children here and hadn't met many others. He was like a frog in the well and thought himself to be the strongest.

Though the village had always warned them that there were more talented people in the world beyond, they had never taken the words to heart.

"Come at me! There's a prize for winning, even when losing, too," Qing Shui said after some thought.

"Ah!"

Da Xiong roared and ran sturdily like a bear towards Qing Shui. Following his steps, the earth beneath seemed to tremble.

Even though Da Xiong was young, his innate strength was decent. Once his potential got unleashed, it would be impressive.

Bang!

Qing Shui allowed Da Xiong to collide against his own body. The latter yelled out in misery, feeling as though he had just collided against a mountain. The pain surging through the impact left him shrieking in pain and didn't dare to attempt again. Standing up, he looked at Qing Shui as though he was a monster.

"Heh, heh… You have yet to mature. I have something which would suit you, do you want to learn it?" Qing Shui smiled.

"Yes, yes…"

Da Xiong was almost seeing stars now. He didn't have any hobbies; he just liked eating and training. He could eat a lot too. He was one of the greater eaters of the village and could eat a whole cow.

Qing Shui taught him Bear Form without hesitance.

As though he had just received a treasure, Da Xiong neglected sleep and food, going straight to train…

The villagers were even friendlier to Qing Shui now. There were a few bold children who mentioned that they wanted to learn too. Qing Shui saw that they weren't suited with bear forms and taught them Yu Emperor Fist, Back Connecting Fist, and Taichi Fist instead.

Qing Shui taught them all. Since he was here, then he might as well incur some good karma and gift them with something. This would allow them to survive better here. However, Qing Shui didn't wish to disrupt the current peace. Though, peace wasn't something that would be that easily broken, either.

Tiger Form, Bear Form, Deer Form, Crane Form, and Elephant Form… Those were something that they wouldn't be able to learn.

Without realizing it, he had been staying here for three days and made acquaintances with quite a number of villagers. Even so, it was time he left. The villagers persuaded him to stay but he knew he had to go sooner or later. It was already decent that he stayed for a few days.

Clatter, clatter…

It was then when a clatter of hasty beast hoofs sounded. Dust lifted and filled the air a distance away as a big group of demonic beast riders headed towards them.