Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 2359 - The Powerful Divine Battle Puppet. Killed

The Ghost King did not even consider that this Divine Battle Puppet would pose as a threat. If it was powerful, it would have already been used previously. There was nothing on the surface of this big stone that suggested that it possessed any meaningful power.

The Ghost King used his powerful bone weapon and hurled it at the puppet. A trail of grey smoke was left behind the flying bone, its speed already exceeding the shadow. 

This battle area was bigger than many others. Even the almighty Ghost King would be unable to carve a black hole in the ground, and the stars and moon were unable to be seen.  

Berserk Dragon Fist!

The Divine Battle Puppet was directly controlled by Qing Shui. It launched the Berserk Dragon Fist to combat the bone weapon.

Bang!

A deafening sound shook the skies. The puppet was pushed backward but the Ghost King was also forced to retreat some distance. The puppet’s Berserk Dragon Fist could not match Qing Shui’s. Otherwise, one punch would be all it took for the Ghost King to be killed. Still, they were even.

At this point, the Ghost King was in a thorough mess. The demonification was supposed to be his trick to wipe everyone out but now he only had several minutes left till it wore out. Furthermore, after using this trick, there would be a time period of weakness where his bodily strength would be halved. His strength would only be recovered after twelve hours. Moreover, this technique could only be used once in three days.

The extent of which he had trained his Devilish Transformation was still not enough. If he had reached a higher level, he would not have a period of weakness, and the time which he was in the Devilish state would be longer. The frequency that he could use this technique would also be increased.

But now was not the time to think about such a matter. Instead, he should be thinking about what he was going to do when time ran out. The opponents would never let him off the hook and the stone creature was unexpectedly strong. All this was still happening despite him using the Deity’s Decree. Had he not used it...

Upon seeing the Ghost King’s eyeballs roll around as if he was pondering something, Qing Shui could already tell he was preparing to flee.

Qing Shui would never allow him to retreat. He used the Nine Palace Laws to confine the area while simultaneously controlling the Divine Battle Puppet to continue attacking the Ghost King, not allowing him to have a chance to catch his breath.

The advantage of this puppet was that it was like a killing machine, never tiring out unless Qing Shui’s consciousness was gone. 

Qing Shui didn’t know how long the opponent could maintain this state, but he knew it wasn’t for long. The more terrifying the technique used, the more restrictions it had. Previously seeing that the Ghost King was thinking of running away, it was obvious he wouldn’t be able to sustain this much longer.

All of a sudden, a yellow Rune Seal appeared in the Ghost King’s hands, his face showing fear and defeat. 

“There’s no use! You can’t run away!” Qing Shui exclaimed. 

At the same time, the Ghost King felt the Rune Seal in his hands slowly losing its effectiveness. This made him panic on the inside and caused him to cower in fear. Although his situation previously was dangerous, at least he felt that he could run away if things went wrong. Now, he realized he could not run. 

This was the imperial palace’s battle area, filled with boundless energy. However, to guard against special escape methods, confinement was necessary. Confining an area was supposedly a legendary ability, requiring a certain comprehension of the Heavenly Daos.

This realm was said to be merely a fable, with those able to touch upon this realm capable of killing others with just a thought. Seemingly only true gods could achieve this level as no one had ever seen such an existence.

Qing Shui’s technique was the Nine Palace Laws. It was only a small law, and could only confine existences that were not as powerful as him. It was also a regional confinement, not allowing anyone to leave the Nine Palaces Region. 

But a skill like this was already considered powerful. At that moment, the Ghost King was trembling with terror, sensing that he was very close to death. 

The Divine Battle Puppet continuously attacked; the Berserk Dragon Fist was like a torrential downpour, showering punches non-stop. The Berserk Dragon Fist’s power allowed the puppet’s strength to be almost on equal footing as the Ghost King’s, but comparing endurance, the puppet was many notches above.

Bam!

Perhaps due to the Ghost King’s negligence, or Qing Shui’s unsuppressed fist dao, the Ghost King was hit on the left shoulder and was sent flying.

Ka-cha!

The sound was very clear and brittle, signaling that the bone on his left shoulder was broken. The scene was a mess of blood and flesh. The Ghost King’s eyes were ferocious, the bone weapon was suddenly sent flying towards the puppet’s heart. Qing Shui immediately reacted fast, not faltering one bit as he sent a punch towards the bone weapon. It flew back toward the Ghost King’s heart.

A metallic clashing sound, and then a dreary sound. 

Puff!

The puppet’s strong punch sent it returning to the Ghost King’s heart, creating a gaping dent in his chest. Because the puppet’s strength was too great, it had basically destroyed half of the Ghost King’s body. 

All was silent; all had ended.

The Divine Battle Puppet stood there like an invincible deity, causing the Beiyuan family to feel a mix of fear and respect. If it turned onto them, they would be helplessly massacred.

The Water Emperor was also in shock. He never thought that Qing Shui still had such a powerful card. Just how strong was this fellow? His strength was almost equivalent to that of the Water Nation’s Guardian Beast, and this thought alone felt absurd.

“Water Emperor, do you want all these people to be killed?” Qing Shui asked at this moment. 

He didn’t speak loudly, but still loud enough for the Beiyuan Clan and members of other powerful families to hear him. All of them started to panic. They were now nothing more than fish on the chopping block.

“Water Emperor, we were wrong. We had no choice but to let it end up like this. Please forgive us, just this once!” A man from the Cheng Clan plead. 

“Please, Water Emperor! We were also forced into this by the Beiyuan Clan.” Once someone opened his mouth, the rest followed suit. 

 The Beiyuan family knew that there was nothing to be said. The Nalan family would never let them off the hook. If it were just a normal battle, it wouldn’t be too big of an issue, but it was mainly due to the fact that the Ghost King had used dirty methods. There was a serious attempt to exterminate the Nalan Clan, so no mercy was expected.

This time, there were many strong individuals among their opponents. The Water Emperor was not planning to kill all of them, though of course he wouldn’t let the Beiyuan Clan off the hook.    As for the other families, he would cripple the crucial characters from the various clans, while letting others replace the previous dukes.

The battle had ended and this was Qing Shui’s first time using the Divine Battle Puppet. Even though the rune had prevented him from exerting maximum strength, it was still overwhelmingly strong. If not for this puppet, it would be scary to think of how the battle might have developed. After all, it was easy for unexpected circumstances to occur.

Even though Qing Shui’s demonic beasts had special powers, they were of little threat to the Ghost King. The Dragon Slaying Beast might be powerful but it was unable to break through the Ghost King’s protective layer of white air. The beast might be invincible, but one could use some magic to bind or trap it. 

The Dragon Slaying Beast was best suited for sneak attacks, able to instantly kill unprepared opponents.

As for the thread of the Dragon Spider, the estimate was that it would be unable to break the protective layer of air surrounding the Ghost King. The difference in strength between the weakened Dragon Spider and the Ghost King was too big. All tricks were nothing before absolute might.

The Blood Strengthening Pill could enhance the beasts’ strengths, but pure-blood ancient beasts were difficult to encounter, and were ludicrously powerful. They could even claim Qing Shui’s life.