Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 2399 – Mythical Fire Dragon, Su Xianjun’s Challenge

Qing Shui didn’t lodge at the Northern Underworld Immortal Palace. Instead, he and his company settled at a manor not far away. It was bought by the Northern Underworld Immortal Palace, but was left vacant.

The group noted the cleanliness of the place. It had two yards, front and rear, and over ten tinier courtyards. Each was two levels high with fresh flowers, ponds and a pavilion.

It wasn’t considered anything luxurious, but it was decent. Qing Shui wasn’t picky with their lodging. Beihuang Fan, Shen Huang and he stayed in one of these courtyards.

Hao Tian had progressed in his relationship, sharing a courtyard with Tang Xi.

Luan Luan stayed here as well, at a courtyard near Qing Shui.

Once they tidied up everything, Qing Shui saw a huge dragon-shaped demonic beast heading towards them from afar. At the sight of Su Chun, he understood what was going on; it was something he had anticipated.

Qing Shui had decent eyesight. Watching the red dragon, he figured that its blood must be pure. It was a Fire Dragon, but even pure Fire Dragons had strong and weak variants. This one in particular was pretty good; it should be capable of spitting Mythical Fire.

The Mythical Fire Dragon was a decent demonic beast. After all, it belonged to the dragon species and a pure-blooded one at that, which was rare. It wasn’t any of those blue or green dragons which weren’t that strong.

The dragons in this world weren’t like the sacred creatures in Qing Shui’s mind, but more like dinosaurs in western terms. Hence, Qing Shui’s knowledge was restricted to it being a strong demonic beast, in that it wasn’t green or blue. If it were like the Divine Dragons, then it would surely astonish Qing Shui.

Qing Shui could already feel the aura of the man riding upon it from below. He was strong and there was a sense of exhilaration. Qing Shui already figured out the identity of the man. It was Zhongyuan City’s City Lord, a genius. Su Xianjun was well known in Zhongyuan City.

Qing Shui didn’t like looking up at people, but their visitors didn’t seem to have any intentions of disembarking. Qing Shui turned on his heels and headed to his room. There were only a few people outside as it was and with his gesture, no one lingered on…

Su Xianjun had wanted to test Qing Shui’s reaction. Who knew he’d be the one left out to dry?

Su Chun descended from above, just as he had wanted to from the start. He was, however, stopped by Su Xianjun and could only let out a bitter laugh. He was nervous.

Reaching the entrance to the manor, there wasn’t any guard to stop him and so he continued his approach. “I’m Su Xianjun. Is Mr. Qing here?”

“What’s the ruckus? Just because you’re Su Xianjun, you can intrude on a civilian’s house? Don’t you know how to yell from outside?” Hao Tian walked out and spoke in a tone that was less than pleasant.

Hao Tian was outside and had seen everything. This wasn’t being petty. Since it was a confrontation, he had naturally been rude towards them.

“Haha, alright. You have an attitude. I like it. Seems like he will only come out after I defeat you.” Su Xianjun chuckled at Hao Tian.

“Hm, you are? Why do I find you familiar? Have we met before?” Qing Shui walked out and asked in surprise.

Su Xianjun’s face turned stoic as he nodded. “We should have.”

Qing Shui nodded along. “That must mean we’ve met. Like I said, you seemed familiar. What’s your name?”

“Su Xianjun!” Their visitor replied, smiling even happier than before.

“Uncle, I’m sorry about this. It’s just…” Su Chun spoke up at that.

“What have you got to apologize for?” Qing Shui asked.

“Come, come. Let us have a drink. I’ve brought two pots of great wine. You’re in for a treat,” Su Xianjun interjected Su Chun and placed an arm around Qing Shui’s shoulders, guiding him towards the stone table to the side.

Qing Shui didn’t realize that Su Xianjun was comfortable with others on his own. He must be confident but then again, it was only natural for him to be. As the City Lord of Zhongyuan City, who would believe in him if he wasn’t.

His ability was at 10 trillion dao, his cultivation was at the Peak of the Cave Realm.

Qing Shui and Su Xianjun sat there. While the former measured him up, Su Xianjun was likewise looking at Qing Shui. He realized he couldn’t see through him and shook his head at last. “I realized I can’t see through your depth.”

“Why do you have to?” Qing Shui smiled.

“Let’s drink first. This is the specialty of Zhongyuan City. Only the Su Clan has this Tyrant Wine.” Su Xianjun brought up an unappealing jug.

“What an arrogant name. I wonder if it will be as good as its name advertises.” Qing Shui retained his smile.

“You’ll know once you try!”

Su Xianjun poured two bowls, one for each of them, then held up his. “Cheers. To be able to meet is fate in itself.”

Qing Shui laughed and held up his own. With a clink, he chucked down its contents in a gulp.

The wine was like a whirl of fire, burning through the mouth to his stomach. Even though it felt hot and burning, it left a fragrance in his mouth. It was indescribable. With their might, the strength of this alcohol still wasn’t much, but just a single bowl might be fatal for the common folk.

The scalding feeling dulled and became refreshing. Its warmth dissipated, replaced by an unfathomable comfort.

“Good wine!” Qing Shui complimented sincerely.

“It is, isn’t it? There’s too little of such stuff and even I can’t bear to drink it. It was also because of your honor that I get to drink some today,” Su Xianjun spoke nostalgically before pouring another cup for them.

“It’s your wine. Why would the honor of a stranger like me be the reason you can drink it?”

“Isn’t it all for that son of mine? How is it? Will we be able to settle it today?” Su Xianjun looked at Qing Shui.

“There’s no rush. I still don’t have a good understanding of the Su Clan yet. I can’t be irresponsible and let my daughter marry just like that.” Qing Shui waved his hand and smiled.

Su Xianjun froze as he observed Qing Shui. “Mr Qing, are you looking down on the Su Clan?”

“I won’t look down on anyone, even if it’s a beggar on the side of the street.” Qing Shui kept his smile as he returned Su Xianjun’s gaze.

“You’re the first person to compare the Su Clan to a beggar.” Su Xianjun was very calm.

“Beggars are people too. They’re not any lower ranking that anyone. Why is the City Lord Su looking down on beggars, or those weaker than you?” Qing Shui smiled ts Su Xianjun calmly without wavering.

“There’s no meaning to this question, don’t you think? Anyone can be good at spouting good words. Have you done anything for beggars or sat with them? How long did you sit with them for, what did you talk about? Have you had a meal together?” Su Xianjun asked as he retained his attention on Qing Shui.

“True, but why did you claim that I was looking down on the Su Clan. Isn’t this the same?” Qing Shui smiled.

Su Xianjun was stunned. Beating around the bush, he caught himself with his own words in the end.

“I wonder how Mr. Qing plans to understand the Su Clan?” Su Xianjun asked.

“This requires time. There’s a saying that you’ll see a person’s true nature with time. I’ll naturally understand in the future.” In truth, Qing Shui had Nuo Lan observe the Su Clan in secret, to check out how the entire clan was like.

“Why don’t you understand my abilities first?” Su Xianjun watched Qing Shui, a fire igniting in his eyes. It was a desire to battle.

“Your abilities aren’t much. To be honest, I’m not that interested.” Qing Shui met Su Xianjun’s eyes and shook his head with a smile.

“I challenge you!” Su Xianjun remained calm as always, not angered by Qing Shui’s words. At this level, manners were something he definitely retained.