The Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 810 - Another Year of Brilliant Fireworks

"Qing Shui, you saw it. What do you think I should do?" Shi Qingzhuang looked at Qing Shui calmly.

"Qingzhuang should decide for yourself. I will support you no matter what you do. Just like what the Old Master had said. As long as you won't regret, then that is the best choice." Qing Shui held Qing Yan in his arm while holding Shi Qingzhuang's hand while they walked around the streets of Hundred Miles City.

They were going to return after buying some goods for New Year.

"I would like to hear your opinions." Shi QIngzhuang turned her head to the side and smiled at Qing Shui.

"You know that I was also raised by my mother all by herself and I have never seen my father. My biggest goal in the past was to go to the Yan Clan to eliminate it so that man could return, because he is the person that my mother loves." Qing Shui laughed as he shook his head. The tone of his voice was very serene.

"Qing Shui, I understand now. Thank you." Shi Qingzhuang smiled happily at Qing Shui.

Qing Shui smiled back at her too. Shi Qingzhuang was an exceptionally intelligent individual. She would definitely understand even if he had only explained up to this point. She loved her grandfather the most and her father was her grandfather's son, no matter what the old man had said. But since she would wish that they would be able to live together peacefully and feel the familial affection between each other, Shi Qingzhuang would express something even if it was for the sake of her grandfather.

"Qingzhuang, I'm not asking you to do anything. I had a similar experience before. But after I knew of my father's death, I still felt the pain although I had no affection for him and have never even seen him. So I wish to give you some choices. I don't wish for you to have any regrets in the future."

"Alright. Thank you, Qing Shui. Ever since I've had the little lass, I've come to realize a lot of things." Shi Qingzhuang latched onto Qing Shui's arm and laughed.

"Is 'thank you' still necessary between us?" Qing Shui said while he teased the little lass in his arms.

"I'm not going to say that anymore in the future." Shi Qingzhuang laughed. She seemed to be especially happy right at this moment.

The two of them went into the shop that sold firecrackers and fireworks and bought quite a lot of them. Qing You and the rest had initially volunteered to go buy these but Qing Shui was already in the Hundred Miles City so he might as well buy them. These were also on sale at the Phoenix Dance Town.

They bought fireworks, firecrackers and some decorations with festive words then conveniently bought some food for New Year. All this took some time. After seeing that the sky was about to turn dark, he returned to the Qing Village with Shi Qingzhuang on Fire Bird.

The festive atmosphere was exceptionally heavy in the village. New Year was still ten days away but they could already feel the rich festive atmosphere. Some children on the streets were wearing extremely vibrant new clothes with firecrackers in their hands. Groups of them were running around and playing. The firecracker noises and children's melodious laughter rang out occasionally.

After Qing Shui returned, he intentionally brought Shi Qingzhuang to walk with him through the village while indulging in the nostalgic feeling. The little lass had fallen asleep so Qing Shui activated his divine energy to isolate her from outside to avoid having her startled awake by the noise of firecrackers.

It was also impossible that there would be no wind noises on their way back no matter how slow Fire Bird flew. So Qing Shui had been protecting the few children with the divine energy. Otherwise even breathing would have been a problem for them.

"You are Uncle Qing Shui, right?" A young and tender voice rang out.

Qing Shui looked at the little girl who was about five or six years old standing before him in surprise. Her little red face was like an apple and she was quite adorable. There were also a few little boys around her.

The children usually called him Brother Qing Shui before, it seemed like his seniority had risen now. He crouched down with little lass in his arms. "What's your name? Do you want something?"

Qing Shui asked gently with a smile. He had given a child a string of the smallest firecrackers earlier, the type that wouldn't cause any injuries, because some other child snatched his so Shi Qingzhuang asked him give the crying child one. Before Qing Shui left, Qing Shui told him, "When someone snatches something from you, you should snatch it back. You're a man."

Shi Qingzhuang just smiled at one side without saying anything.

These few children happened to see Qing Shui's action so Qing Shui could guess why they were looking for him.

"My name is Tongtong. Uncle Qing Shui is a big hero and a great person. I like Uncle Qing Shui." The little girl looked at him with her wide eyes.

"Pfft!" Shi Qingzhuang laughed out loud at one side.

Qing Shui scratched his head. "Is she asking for a firecracker?"

"Uncle Qing Shui is the best." The little girl chuckled.

"Tongtong already knows how to flatter people at such a young age, you will no doubt have a promising future ahead of you." Qing Shui smiled as he shared some firecrackers with them since he had bought a lot. These were also for Changfeng and Changfeng was Qing Zhi's child.

Qing Zhi already had three children now, a son and two daughters. Changfeng was named by Qing Shui. But he wasn't at home when the other two were born, so they were named by Feng Yanfei as Qing Feng and Qing Xin. It wasn't like they must be named by Qing Shui or anything. But typically, a clan would look for people with the most cultivation to name the children. This was said to be to able to bring good fortune to this child.

Qing Zun and Qing Yin were still too young. So now among the Qing Clan's fourth generation, Luan Luan and Yuchang were already adults. The slightly older one would be Changfeng. The moment Qing Shui entered the house, the little fellow ran towards him asking for firecrackers

……….

New Year had arrived within the blink of an eye and this was the time where friends and relatives would visit each other. This year, a lot of people came to visit the Qing Clan. Qing Luo would also visit some old men who had extremely good relations with the Qing Clan.

Of course, the Feng Clan came too. Qing Zhi's wife, Feng Yanfei, was from the Feng Clan. The Feng Clan was a very well-regarded clan among the Qing Village and Hundred Miles City these days due to the Qing Clan.

There used to be a match between the Qing Clan's third generation. Every year during the New Year, the third generation would learn from each other over the match. But ever since they left the Qing Village, there had never been any matches between the third generation up until now.

Although Luan Luan was from the fourth generation, she had attained the highest achievements. Qing You, who had the Earth Rock Beast was not in the least bit inferior to Qing Bei now. Who asked Qing Bei to tame a flying sparrow hawk that had only the strength of about Grade Two Xiantian.

The Qing Clan no longer needed to prepare for that so called 'Third Generation Match' now. When they were at the Greencloud Continent, they would compete against each other for their cultivation on the arena at the rear courtyard. But it was uneccessary to compete now that everyone clearly knew where they stood. Competing any further would be meaningless.

Tonight was New Year's eve. The Qing Clan had prepared a grand feast for dinner during the evening. Everyone from the Qing Clan was gathered together, including Di Qing though she felt a little uncomfortable.

This world was different than his previous world. There was less entertainment here, so it was very lively outside on New Year's Eve night. There were no Spring Festival Galas here but there were fireworks filling the sky. This could also be considered an impressive sight. On this night, many places would have fireworks lighting up the sky. Brilliant fireworks that were picturesque.

After dinner, everyone went out in a hurry. The sky turned dark earlier during winter. The light stones outside were glowing faintly. The moon in the sky was bright and the sky was filled with stars, just like in the fairytales.

Xiuuuu!

Xiu xiu……

Trails of light suddenly shot up into the sky and then exploded. No one realized when the fireworks started but the sky was very quickly filled with the exploding fireworks.

The Qing Clan's people weren't slow either. Qing You, Qing Hu, Qing Shan and Qing Shi started to light up the fireworks too. Within an instant, the fireworks continuously soared into the sky with Qing Zun, Qing Yin and Qing Zhi's children excited cheers.

Qing Ming and Qing Yan stayed in the bedroom because they were too young and they might be frightened. Fortunately the bedrooms here were well soundproofed. Despite the endless noises outside, it was extremely quiet inside the room.

Qing Shui looked at the smiling faces of his family members around him and the few women by his side who were still as beautiful as always. He felt the small happiness in his heart. It was another year of brilliant fireworks with beauties around him.

It was a pity that Di Chen wasn't around around. The smiles among the fireworks were bright. Qing Shui lifted his head to look at the vast starry sky. All of a sudden, he felt a little lost about the direction of his life.

This vast starry sky stretched on endlessly. Just what was breaking through the void? Were there any cultivators of False God and Divine grades in the World of the Nine Continents? What was on the other side of the Southern Sea and Eastern Sea?

He looked at the people around him and all of a sudden, he had the thought to cease moving forward. He shook his head. It was still too early for him to be content. Yiye Jiange's problem wasn't resolved yet and he hadn't satisfied his curiosity towards the World of the Nine Continents either. God had given him this chance, so he must cherish this opportunity.

Then there was the third Treasure Map. Just what kind of a place was that otherworldly paradise depicted on it? There were nine continents and he wasn't even done with exploring three yet. He then remembered about Eastern Victory Divine Continent. That was the continent with the most eccentric people among all the nine continents, so Qing Shui decided to make for the Eastern Victory Divine Continent via the Central Continent some time in the future.

Di Qing turned her head to the side and glanced at the man who was watching the fireworks.She only realized at this moment that Qing Shui looked like someone who had been through the vicissitudes of life. He looked a little unruly and had a deep nostalgic expression on his face. At this exact moment, he was giving off the impression of a great imposing mountain. She was kind of infatuated with that figure that was not too tall yet standing straight in between Heaven and Earth. Not only that, she was also infatuated with that enchanting and earnestly handsome face of his.

"Qing Shui, do you think my wish will come true if I wished upon the fireworks?" She asked Qing Shui at this moment.

Qing Shui was startled as he looked away and laughed. "Miss Qing believes in this too?"

"I do, you don't?" Di Qing asked softly.

"I've never tried it and neither have I thought of believing it or not." Qing Shui was telling the truth. He had never made any wish so he had never thought about whether he believed in it or not.

"If you have never tried it, that means you don't believe in it." Di Qing pointed out to Qing Shui.

"Then have you tried it before?" Qing Shui asked her with a smile.

"Yes, I did."

"Did it come true?"

"No."

"Then why do you continue believing in it?" Qing Shui continued to ask.

"Because I hope that my wish will come true. That's why I believe in it." Di Qing raised her head to look at the gorgeous fireworks that decorated the whole sky. She then slowly shut her beautiful eyes.

Qing Shui was tactful enough to stop questioning further. Just then, Huoyun Liu-Li came over and laughed, "Qing Shui, I made a wish. Guess what I wished for?"

"You can't talk about your wishes. Otherwise it will not come true." Qing Shui laughed.

……….

New Year had passed very quickly!

"Qing Shui, accompany me home?" Huoyun Liu-Li asked Qing Shui after New Year had passed.

Qing Shui was startled before he apologetically looked at Huoyun Liu-Li. They had returned for half a month yet the thought of accompanying her home never crossed his mind. Now that he thought about it, everything about her home was unfamiliar to him.

"Sure. Are your parents still well?" Qing Shui remembered about that uncle who was a blacksmith.

"Hehe, I don't have any parents." Huoyun Liu-Li chuckled.

Although she was laughing, she seemed to be slightly at loss.

"What about that Huoyun Blacksmith Store?" Qing Shui was startled. He had never really asked her about this because that was her home, so naturally her parents would be there. He had always assumed that the uncle there was Huoyun Liu-Li's father and felt happy for that uncle for having such a beautiful and refined daughter.

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