Ancient Strengthening Technique (Portraits of Beauty) Ancient Strengthening Technique Chapter 766-767

AST 766 – Donggong Taiqing, Dead

Qing Shui had instilled all of his hope on the unrestrained hammer strike. Just when the Thunder G.o.d touched Donggong Taiqing's head, a strong burst of jade-green light flashed before his eyes.

Bang!

Qing Shui's Thunder G.o.d abruptly bounced off from the flash of light surrounding Donggong Taiqing, who did not suffer any wounds from the impact. Qing Shui had already expected this outcome, but he still felt a little annoyed that he couldn't kill his opponent right away.

Nonetheless, it wasn't too difficult for Qing Shui to kill Donggong Taiqing. It was just that he didn't want to reveal too much of his abilities immediately. As for the jade-green light from earlier, Qing Shui already knew that it was the deadly attack deflecting ability of the Jade-Armored Immortal Garb.

Donggong Taiqing had been given another chance at life because of the Jade-Armored Immortal Garb he was wearing. Although Donggong Taiqing knew he couldn't have died from the hammer attack, he could still sense the presence of death from when the Thunder G.o.d had struck on his head. Thinking about it, he was instantly drenched in cold sweat.

The Jade-Armored Immortal Garb could deflect half of the damage taken, but that didn't matter. The hammer strike could've still crushed his brain even if 80% of the damage had been deflected. Donggong Taiqing was beginning to feel a sudden rush of fear in his heart as he thought about how he would have certainly died from that hammer strike.

Qing Shui was still a bit shocked as he pondered his earlier attacks. The Ten Thousand Great Thunderbolt wasn't able to paralyze his opponent, but the s.h.i.+eld Attack from the Violet Gold Divine s.h.i.+eld was able to stagger his opponent. Could it be that the Jade-Armored Immortal Garb was able to deflect the negative effects of an active skill, but not the negative effects of a pa.s.sive skill?

He still couldn't come up with a definitive answer, so he quickly forgot about it. There wasn't any time to think of those kinds of things right now anyways. That the s.h.i.+eld Attack was able stagger his opponent successfully was truly good news. He also had a feeling that the s.h.i.+eld Attack from the Violet Gold Divine s.h.i.+eld and the s.h.i.+eld Attack technique within his body had a mutual connection. Perhaps it had something to do with the characteristics of the Violet Gold Divine s.h.i.+eld itself.

After Donggong Taiqing had been knocked backwards, a lot of people instantly realized that one of the abilities of the Jade-Armored Immortal Garb had been activated. After a moment had pa.s.sed, a roar of cheers began to burst from the audience below.

"Haha, today will be interesting. This young fellow is indeed powerful. If Donggong Taiqing hadn't been wearing the Jade-Armored Immortal Garb, he would have been dead by now."

"True, true. This is quite exciting. I'm glad that I came to see this fight. If that strike can happen once, it can happen again. Let's see how many times that Jade-Armored Immortal Garb can withstand Qing Shui's deadly strikes." A young lad with brown hair said smugly.

"That Jade-Armored Immortal Garb can only withstand a deadly attack once per day. If Donggong Taiqing doesn't have any other perverse item to withstand another deadly attack, then he will definitely lose this fight." The man who had spoken previously let out a cheerful laugh.

"Elder sister, is uncle winning?" Ye Yan turned to look at Ye Guyan and asked her a question. Her eyes were br.i.m.m.i.n.g with both hope and anxiety.

"He will win."

Ye Guyan was still quite perplexed as she watched the fight. Qing Shui had been pushed around from the beginning of the fight, which obviously meant that Qing Shui had been a bit weaker than Donggong Taiqing. It was only after Donggong Taiqing's speed had been greatly suppressed that Qing Shui had begun to switch to an offensive strategy. Donggong Taiqing had even staggered by the s.h.i.+eld Attack earlier…….

The old man from the Ye Clan had been watching the two of them closely as they battled. There wasn't a shred of emotion on his face, but his fingers had been gently tapping on the table in a rhythmic motion for quite a while.

"Qu Jiao, did you see that? If Donggong Taiqing hadn't had the Jade-Armored Immortal Garb on him, he would have died from the impact. Now, even with that garb, he will still lose and he will still die." Young Master Tuoba smiled at Qu Jiao as he took a sip from his cup of tea.

Qu Jiao also had a smile on his face as he said: "Perhaps. However, I have a feeling that the Eastern Palace Clan will not let Donggong Taiqing die that easily."

"Haha, the old man from the Tantai Aristocrat Clan is among us watching the fight too. Even that old demon from the Ye Clan is here too. The Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan won't dare to make a reckless move in front of them." replied Young Master Tuoba with a confident smile on his face.

"What I mean is that Donggong Taiqing might have other items on him that can prevent his instant death." Qu Jiao remained calm as he explained to Young Master Tuoba.

"Heh heh, do you honestly think that young man over there doesn't have another ace up his sleeves to fight against Donggong Taiqing? He has the Thunder G.o.d, a magical s.h.i.+eld, and a bunch of Heavenly Talismans that he's used skillfully. Do you think he's that simple?" Young Master Tuoba spoke pa.s.sionately. He looked at Qing Shui, who was hovering in the sky, before he turned back to Qu Jiao.

"Young Master Tuoba, when you bet on something, you never lose. Regardless, I will bet with you this time. I know what the outcome will be, but I still want to bet," said Qu Jiao as he laughed merrily.

"Old Man Tantai." Old Man Donggong hesitated for a while before he turned to speak with the old man from the Tantai Aristocrat Clan.

"Oh, what's the matter?" The old man from Taitai Clan replied with a smile.

"I want to save Taiqing, I was wondering….."

The other elders were shocked when they heard his words, but remained silent as they continued to listen to their conversation. Even Old Man Wuma had nothing to say as he silently fixed his eyes on the old man from the Tantai Aristocrat Clan.

"Do you not care about the reputation of the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan anymore?" The expression on the face of the old man from the Tantai Aristocrat Clan remained the same as before. He didn't blink after he replied to the old man from the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan.

"I will think of something to satisfy that kid. Let me have a talk with him…." said the old man from the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan after he thought about the possibilities. Donggong Taiqing was just too important for the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan. In fact, if the old man from the Tantai Aristocrat Clan hadn't been here today, he would have gone up to the arena and killed Qing Shui immediately.

However, every duel had its own rules. Those who defied the rules would be held in contempt by everyone in the audience, or even get physically attacked. If the defier was powerful – like the Tantai Aristocrat Clan – no one would dare make a sound even if they did interfere. Still, the Tantai Aristocrat Clan had always had a good reputation, so they would never do such things.

"Didn't you say earlier that Taiqing had no chance of losing? If you think he will lose, then work this out yourself. Do what you want to do." The old man from the Tantai Aristocrat Clan said in a calm tone.

"Thank you, Old Man Taitai." Old Man Donggong bowed in grat.i.tude.

Old Man Wuma and the other elders were speechless. However, no one uttered a word. They would rather sit back and watch as the whole thing unfolded.

"Old Man Ye will definitely not agree to this." said one of the elders beside Old Man Donggong as he looked towards the direction of the old man from the Ye Clan.

"Wait, I will hold back Old Man Ye in a bit. In the meantime, all of you go up and rescue Taiqing. I will discuss conditions with them after that. The most I can do is give them some compensation." Old Man Donggong said after pondering for a while.

The time that Donggong Taiqing was staggered for after receiving the s.h.i.+eld Attack was too short. The time that the Jade-Armored Immortal Garb took to deflect his deadly attack was short as well. Otherwise, Qing Shui would have inflicted dozens of attacks in the instant when Donggong Taiqing was still in a state of dizziness.

Qing Shui wouldn't be able to inflict critical damage against Donggong Taiqing in the short time remaining. After Donggong Taiqing finally recovered from being staggered, he quickly tapped his azure blue boots a few times in midair, revealing a bright gleam from his boots.

After that, Donggong Taiqing flashed towards Qing Shui like a ghost ,moving much more quickly than before. After all, speed was the ultimate power in a battle. Qing Shui could now feel an immense power from the Donggong Taiqing's poison tooth sword as it sped closer towards his body.

s.h.i.+eld Attack!

This time, however, Donggong Taiqing avoided clas.h.i.+ng directly with Qing Shui. No matter how furious he was, he would never get closer again to Qing Shui's Violet Gold Divine s.h.i.+eld.

Having the advantage of speed once again, Donggong Taiqing easily evaded the s.h.i.+eld Attack before he proceeded towards Qing Shui and aimed his poison tooth at Qing Shui's head. His speed increased by 30% as he flashed through the air.

Qing Shui quickly used his Thunder G.o.d to block the attack while retreating backwards using the force of the impact. As he stepped backwards, the Silver Needles in his sleeves quickly shot out towards Donggong Taiqing, preventing the latter from following up with another attack.

Donggong Taiqing gritted his teeth while simultaneously waving his hands in the air. Suddenly, a jade green colored small eagle appeared on his shoulders. It was at that moment that Qing Shui knew he must fight with all his abilities.

He hadn't wanted to reveal all his abilities at first, but now, it looked like he had no choice.

The small eagle was only a foot tall, but it was unmistakably a Five Colored Poison Beast. Qing Shui hadn't expected that Donggong Taiqing would possess a Five Colored Poison Beast such as this Green Crystal Eagle. However, the eagle didn't seem to possess the power of a Martial Saint – it was much weaker when compared to his Ten Thousand Poisonous Violet Sable.

The eagle was only a Peak Martial King poison beast. Qing Shui had faith that he would be able to instantly kill the eagle.

"Go to h.e.l.l!"

Donggong Taichi shot a ferocious look at Qing Shui as he flashed towards him.

Qing Shui ignored Donggong Taiqing and quickly disabled the eagle's aura before he whipped the Demon Binding Ropes towards the Green Crystal Eagle. After being upgraded another level, the Demon Binding Ropes were able to bind a Peak Martial King successfully. If the eagle had been an Elementary Martial Saint, then the chance of binding it successfully would be slightly lower.

At the same time as he whipped out his Demon Binding Ropes, Qing Shui took out his Frosted Iron Ball and released his Meteor Smash ability.

Having its aura disabled and being bounded by the Demon Binding Ropes, the Green Crystal Eagle let out a terrified cry.

Boop!

The pitiful Green Crystal Eagle was killed instantly after its head exploded into pieces. It hadn't even managed to help Donggong Taiqing a little after it had appeared. From the beginning, it had no chance to evade Qing Shui's split-second kill with just the strength of a Martial King……..

Qing Shui glanced over at Donggong Taiqing with a shrewd smile on his face as he inched closer.

"Quickly, save Taiqing! I will hold off that old fool from Ye Clan!" Old Man Donggong quickly leapt towards the old man of the Ye Clan, while the other two elders moved towards the arena as quickly as they could.

"Hold your attack!"

The old man from the Ye Clan had already antic.i.p.ated Old Man Donggong's sudden leap towards him. Old Man Donggong's stared at the old man from the Ye Clan, his hair in a mess as a strange creepy light gleamed in his eyes.

When Qing Shui heard the outcry from the elders, he quickly rushed towards Donggong Taiqing and summoned his Ten Thousand Poisonous Violet Sable. Qing Shui and Donggong Taiqing crossed paths with each other as both let out a soft shout.

Suddenly, Donggong Taiqing stopped moving and dropped to the bottom of the arena. It was only at that precise moment that the elders finally appeared behind Qing Shui.

No one would have guessed that Donggong Taiqing would die so quickly. The toxins of the Ten Thousand Poisonous Violet Sable were indeed terrifying. The toxicity level of Qing Shui's sable was ten times deadlier than any random wild Ten Thousand Poisonous Violet Sable.

Moreover, with its fast speed and flexible body, the sable had been able to land a scratch on Donggong Taiqing's face. This soft claw had ended his life. Although the sable had also been attacked by Donggong Taiqing's poison tooth, it had no effect on the sable. Trying to hit the sable was like hitting a stack of cotton – no damage would be taken even if a sharp knife were to pierce through. The sable had managed to go around the poison tooth easily before it had reached Donggong Taiqing's face.

Qing Shui's summoning of his Ten Thousand Poisonous Violet Sable was quite sudden as well. Donggong Taiqing hadn't even had the time to defend himself against the poison beast before it killed him with its poisonous claw.

This was also the first time Qing Shui had seen his sable land an attack. It was so unbelievably fast that no one would dare take his eyes off the poison beast. The poison was incredibly deadly and fast-acting – it could spread very quickly through the bloodstream in the body.

The Ten Thousand Poisonous Violet Sable had already returned to Qing Shui and sat on his shoulders. After that, Qing Shui turned around to look at the two dumbfounded elders.

Thump!

A few gasps simultaneously rang out from the crowd below. Donggong Taiqing's corpse finally fell on the floors of the arena a few seconds later. Everyone was stunned when they saw the body. Even Old Man Donggong and the old man from the Ye Clan had frozen in place.

"I'm not seeing this wrong, am I? Did he just die? That quickly?" After a moment had pa.s.sed, someone from the crowd finally spoke out, unbelievingly.

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"This is unexpected. Donggong Taiqing was killed even after the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan had the gall to intervene in the fight. This is super exciting."

The crowd below burst into chaos, making loud noises as they delved into a stream of chaotic discussions and conversations. Most of the topics involved the despicable actions of the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan. It seemed the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan had earned themselves the reputation of utter garbage.

"Qu Jiao, I win this bet. Remember our contract." said Young Master Tuoba as he flashed a wide grin at Qu Jiao.

"I concede!"

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AST 767 – Showdown, Fight of the Ultimate Life and Death Once Again 

This time around, the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan had not only lost their reputation, but also failed to save Donggong Taiqing. The elder from the clan was so infuriated that he was on the verge of puking blood. Although he didn't show any outward changes in his expression, the others from Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan were stunned.

“Taiqing!”

An elderly man suddenly shot up onto the arena and carried the body of Donggong Taiqing, who had fallen to a horrible death. Tear stricken, he glared at Qing Shui, who was landing nearby.

“You must be Dongong Maisun. How do you feel now?” Qing Shui’s calm voice rang out. The audience in the arena quieted down. They sensed that there was something unusual going on.

“Lad, you’ve killed my grandson, I must kill you!” The old man glared at Qing Shui with bloodshot eyes and had a strong urge to go up right now and tear him into pieces. However, he couldn't yet break the arena rules.

“Haha, the people from the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan can kill others as they wish, but others aren't allowed to kill people from the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan in the arena just to defend themselves?” Qing Shui laughed out loud without any restraint.

“People from Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan ma.s.sacre others as they wish?” Someone spoke out in astonishment.

“What’s so weird about it? Has there been any shortage of cases where people from the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan killed people as they wish? What are you so shocked about? You’re really ignorant.” Someone immediately shot back and threw him a look of contempt.

“Seems like this young man has a grudge with Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan and is now here to seek revenge.” Someone gave the matter some thought and spoke his conclusion.

“I think so too. Think about what he had said. It seems like the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan’s past acts of killing as they wished impacted him somehow.”

…

“Who are you?” Donggong Maisun looked at Qing Shui. Although fury still clouded his eyes, there was also a hint of doubt. Of course, he had also sensed the meaning within Qing Shui’s words.

“It doesn’t matter who I am. Do you remember the event from 60 years ago where you and a few others from the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan forced an old man to beat his son to his death in Greencloud Continent?” Qing Shui asked calmly.

Fei Wuji was already tear stricken. Because of Donggong Maisun, because of the people from Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan, he had become an orphan from a young age, and his grandfather had died full of regrets…

Ye Guyan looked at Qing Shui in astonishment. Only after seeing Fei Wuji in tears, did she truly understand that Qing Shui was trulyto seek revenge…

The old man from the Ye Clan still appeared very calm but was actually paying attention to the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan’s actions. After seeing the Ten Thousand Poisonous Violet Sable on Qing Shui’s shoulder, his gaze, which could cause other people’s hearts to stir, once again became extremely strange.

“Who are you to him…”

Donggong Maisun asked in astonishment, but regretted it the moment he said this. How could he admit he had done something like this in his past? He quickly followed, “What are you saying? I don’t…”

It was fine if he hadn’t accidentally admitted his despicable past actions, but he regretted it once he did. He might have lost his grandson and he might be grieving, but Donggong Maisun had always thought that he was very intelligent. Now, he had made a mistake. To some extent, this had happened because he had disregarded Qing Shui, because of his own domineering character.

“The tables have now turned. The people from the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan are really inhuman. To think that they’d force someone to beat his own child to death. Is this something that a human would do?” There were many people who exacerbated the situation by calling out.

“Seems like it's time for retribution to fall on them. Someone with strength has come knocking on their door.”

“However, this young man is really foolish to want to challenge the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan all by himself.” Someone looked at Qing Shui on the arena and towards the Ye Clan.

“To think that the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan presented themselves as some great, reputable clan. Reputable clans own up to their own actions. This is really disappointing. It’s clear to people whether you’ve done something despicable like this or not.” Qing Shui smiled. It felt good to be the one taking initiative.

“That’s right. Back then, I made someone kill his own son. Who asked his son to molest my younger sister?” Donggong Maisun bellowed at Qing Shui.

“Hahaha, you’re not a man. To think that you don’t give a d.a.m.n about your sister’s reputation because you’re scared that I'll take revenge. What’s done is done, why try to hide it? Do you think that anyone will believe what you say?” Qing Shui stared at Donggong Maisun, powering up his Nature Energy and throwing it towards him.

What was wrong with him today? Why did he feel like trying to escape? Donggong Maisun didn’t know that he had been affected by Qing Shui’s Nature Energy from the very start.

“Ha, that’s right. I did push him to his death. So what about it? Today, I’m still going to kill you.” Donggong Maisun suddenly bellowed out.

Qing Shui had drawn back his Nature Energy and with the release of pressure, Donggong Maisun was like a tied up wild beast that had finally gained its freedom. His loud bellow could be heard by everyone in the area.

Qing Shui’s goal was to let everyone know why he was here today and what the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan had done. This would justify his actions.

Moreover, many people had suffered under the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan and their loud comments and jeers made the people from Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan feel guilty.

In a battle, mental attacks would always have some effect.

“Kill me? Alright. Today, I, Qing Shui, issue a challenge to the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan for a Fight of the Ultimate Life and Death.” Qing Shui said calmly to Donggong Maisun, his voice heard by a number of listeners.

His words caused ripples across the crowd like a rumble of thunder, causing everyone to be shocked. The Fight of the Ultimate Life and Death was a battle used between reputable clans and sects.

However, he was now challenging the entire Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan by himself. How could this not astonish everyone? Many people thought that they had heard wrongly, but after seeing other people’s reactions, they knew they had heard correctly.

Donggong Maisun was astonished by Qing Shui’s words and just stood there, unmoving. His brain wasn’t even processing the situation anymore.

“What a guy! He’s too powerful! It’s completely astonis.h.i.+ng to be issuing a challenge to the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan for a Fight of the Ultimate Life and Death.” Someone suddenly shouted out excitedly and commotion broke out in the area.

“The surprises that this young man are giving really are coming one after another. Even I doubt that he can really accomplish what he's claimed with that confidence of his.” A young, tall lady said to an older married lady.

“That’s hard to say. Maybe this time around, you've guessed it correctly.” The charming married lady smiled and said to the younger lady dotingly.

The young lady looked at the married lady with her beautiful eyes before looking in shock at that young man on the arena. She then smiled and didn’t say anything else.

Cang Wuya didn’t say anything either, but inside, his blood was boiling. It was the same for Fei Wuji, but he ached over the fact that although it was his problem, Qing Shui was the one facing it alone.

Ye Guyan was now puzzled. She was stunned when Qing Shui issued the challenge for a Fight of the Ultimate Life and Death against the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan. What was he trying to do…

“Why, does Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan not dare to pick up this challenge?” Qing Clan’s laughing voice rang out again with a powerful penetrating force.

“Of course our Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan will take you up on your challenge. You have been challenging the authority of our Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan. Throw us everything you have, we’ll take them all head on.” This time around, Donggong Maisun's grandfather spoke, his voice clear and powerful.

“Then that’s fine. I’m leaving my life on the line. If I don’t die, the one to die will be you guys.” Qing Shui smiled and said to the old man from the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan.

“Young man, I admit that you’re very outstanding, but you really haven't seen much of the world yet. What you’re saying is truly ridiculous and I expect that you’re tired right now as well. How about we meet here tomorrow morning?” There was no grief reflected on the old man’s face as he said this.

“Grandfather, I want to kill him now!” Donggong Maisun said to the old man from the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan, his eyes flushed red.

“Shut up. Come back with me.” The old man said calmly.

Qing Shui agreed. He was not afraid that the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan would come up with any new schemes, especially because the people here witnessed everything. He was considered the weaker side and the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan could theoretically bash him up openly. There was no need for them to do so in the dark. Otherwise, if news were to leak out, people would look down on them even more.

Old Man Wuma had been watching the events unfold with great interest. However, when Qing Shui brought up the Fight of the Ultimate Life and Death, his expression turned into one of radiance.

Even OId Man Tantai, who had not been silent the whole time, took an extra look at Qing Shui before he turned to leave.

Qing Shui came down from the arena and sighed helplessly as he walked up to Ye Guyan. She seemed to be out of sorts, along with Cang Wuya and Fei Wuji.

Ye Guyan looked at Qing Shui in a daze, not saying a word.

“I’m sorry.” Qing Shui felt that he had lied to her in the past and apologized. He felt that he had done Ye Guyan wrong.

“You didn’t do me any wrong. It’ll be fine if you can live with your decisions.” Ye Guyan put up a forced smile and said.

“Mister Qing, if you’re free, please do drop by my Wuma Clan.” Old Man Wuma smiled and said to Qing Shui when he pa.s.sed by.

“Oh, thank you. If I have the time, I’ll definitely go.” Qing Shui smiled and replied.

Old Man Wuma left after this. Many people nodded to Qing Shui kindly and there were even a few who greeted him.

When an old man and a young man walked up, the young man had his eyes fixed on Qing Shui. Qing Shui recognized him because his crimson red clothes stood out a lot.

Qu Runie. This young man was Qu Runie. Seeing that Qing Shui was looking at him, he drew back his gaze and left with the old man. That day, if his grandfather had not called him back, he would've ended up in the same spot as Donggong Taiqing.

“Let’s go back first.” The old man from the Ye Clan smiled and said. He walked as if nothing had changed and his expression was very calm.

They walked toward the north direction under everyone’s gaze and then left on the beast carriage. Only the old man Donggong remained and he only returned with the people from the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan after Qing Shui and the others had disappeared.

Very quickly, all the main characters in the fiasco had left. However, over 90 percent of the people remained, gathering in groups of different sizes heatedly discussing what had just occurred.

They were guessing the results of the Fight of the Ultimate Life and Death tomorrow, guessing who would be the winner, guessing what tricks Qing Shui had up his sleeves, and guessing how many people would come out from Qing Shui’s side. In a Fight of the Ultimate Life and Death, each side could send out a maximum of 5 partic.i.p.ants.

It was noon when Qing Shui and the others arrived back at Ye Residence. The chefs had prepared the food and served them, but no one really had an appet.i.te.

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