## AST 1602 - Powerful Heavenly Dao of the Old Man from Niu Clan, Arduous Battle

When Qing Shui heard the voice, the glee of victory which had decorated his features disappeared. The voice had an overbearing pressure on him; Qing Shui couldn’t feel the true strength that lurked behind the voice at all.

Lei Ming’s soul seemed to have been sucked away as he fell in dejection. At that moment, Qing Shui thought that this might be the end for Lei Ming. According to normal circumstances, a person of such skills should be able to withstand huge blows, and while the Thunderbird was undoubtedly precious, it shouldn’t have been enough to immobilize such a powerful successor of Thunder Roc Condour Demon King Inheritance.

Qing Shui stood in mid-air, perturbed. He was afraid that his opponent would be a Divine—there was a possibility which he hoped wouldn’t be true. Otherwise, it would bode more ill than well.

Suddenly, their surrounding fell into silence to the point where its stillness felt almost oppressive. Qing Shui stood in the air and calmed his heart. He was waiting for the next fight to find him. If everything went without a hitch, then this should be the last battle he’d face.

A figure appeared not far from Qing Shui and with a flash, it had already arrived before his eyes. He was a tall and mighty, senior cultivator but he was not old.

With just one glance, Qing Shui was sure that he was from Niu Clan. Qing Shui hadn’t expected to face off with another member of Niu Clan. Before, Demon Child Niu was already a successor of the Demon King Inheritance; who knew that that would be another in Niu Clan to achieve that. It seems that Niu Clan was indeed an inheritor clan of Demon King.

Although there was nothing which dictated that there couldn’t be two inheritors, the probability was really slim and almost to the point of none. Yet, there were at least two in Niu Clan who attained the Demon King Inheritance. It seems as though God wasn’t miserly towards the Niu Clan at all.

Qing Shui recalled the arrogance of Niu Clan. From he could tell right now, it seems that the arrogance didn’t come without reason. There was definitely grounds for their obnoxious attitude if they had such strength within their clan. Qing Shui thought back about the words he had reiterated time and again—to have the patriarch of Niu Clan repair damages done to Imperial Cuisine Hall with their own direct descendants.

It didn’t feel like an easy feat now that he think about it. Perhaps, it would even be impossible to achieve, but Qing Shui wouldn’t give up just like that. The fact that his opponent was stronger than him wasn’t something that fell out of expectations. Besides, he wasn’t someone who could be easily defeated.

The tall stature of the man exuded a kind of grandeur much like a mountain. In contrast, his appearance was ordinary with a trace of an indecipherable aura. It was the cause of the imposing quality from him.

"Young man, you have really surprised me. I’d admit that such talent was decent; there are many geniuses in my clan as well, but I had only now realized that the disparity between you and them was akin to a firefly against the sun and moon." The man was earnest in his words, yet regretful at the same time.

"Your might is much stronger than my own. I don't know if I’d still have the opportunity to reach your level." Qing Shui said with a smile.

"There was, initially. Unfortunately, you refused yourself of the opportunity. There was no animosity between us but we are still unable to escape our destiny." The man sighed before speaking.

"That’s right. Do you have regrets about this destiny?" Qing Shui maintained his smiled when he asked.

"Maybe oblivion lies in those involved—as it so happens to be, just like a fool who didn’t understand himself. Do you regret your destiny?" The old man smiled and looked at Qing Shui.

"It's really surprising that there are strong martial artists such as yourself here; I wonder how many of you there are." Qing Shui asked but he knew that it wouldn't be easy to get an answer.

However, to Qing Shui's surprise, the man smiled and shook his head. “You’re be able to rampage as you like if you defeat me. There are many strong successors of inheritance here, but I suppose it’d be difficult to find them in Haohan of Nine Continents. Besides, one would fear getting eradicated if their whereabouts were leaked.”

Qing Shui conceded with the man's perspective. Perhaps it was just as he had said, that there’s only one who was as strong as the man. In fact, Qing Shui felt that it was probably the case too. After all, it would be difficult to find two people of such potential this suddenly, at least in this area. It was said that you could only find them in the depths of Haohan Continent…

"I will do my best. After you, elder!" Qing Shui said with a smile.

"After you. Make sure to give it all you got; don’t leave any possibility of regrets." The old man responded softly.

“I will!”

With that, Qing Shui swiftly increased his current conditions to its peak. Since he couldn’t decipher the strength of the man, he could only raise his own. Only in this way would he feel safe.

That was not all. Qing Shui's Art of Pursuing and Emperor’s Qi had already made its way to his opponent in haste. The old man had remained rooted to his spot, unmoving, but at the moment of his attack, the snow-white eyebrows of his furrowed; watching the glint in Qing Shui’s eyes, it gave him much to ponder about.

Qing Shui summoned the Hell Nightmare Beast, Nine Continents Mountain!

Nine Palace Laws!

Only when everything was ready did Qing Shui breathed a sigh of relief. These were done in the time taken for just one-third of a breath. He didn’t know if the man had had given him the advantage of time on purpose, or perhaps the man was just this confident in his own abilities.

Seal of Xuantian!

No effect!

This was within Qing Shui’s expectations and hence, he didn’t bother with anything else. He merely brandished his Golden Battle Halberd and charged towards his opponent.

Nine Stances of Ancient Divine Battle Technique!

Rising Dragon Stance!

Like an enormous golden dragon, the Golden Battle Halberd lunged at the man. Qing Shui's first attack was exploratory, attempting to lure out the rival’s strength. At his attempt of trying to test the strength of the man, he gave it almost all he had but had likewise paved a route for retreat as precaution.

With an outstretched arm, a huge, maroon baton appeared in the man’s hand and smashed towards Qing Shui.

The strike wasn’t flamboyant but the surrounding world seemed to shake from this blow, feeling as though it was falling apart.

Bang!

Qing Shui flew back from the impact, his inner body fell into turbulence but he managed to sustain it. This was enough to amaze him; the Heavenly Dao of this man was truly mighty.

Qing Shui was also deep in his attainment on Heavenly Dao, but it was still a huge disparity from that of his rival. He finally understood now that the man was at the level of False God Peak, just a step away from being a Divine.

However, this one step in between was akin to the distance between Heaven and Earth. To cross this single step was as difficulty to reaching Heaven. Even if the old man was much stronger than Qing Shui, the reason for this distance was because of the Divine. If the man’s Heavenly Dao was at the same strength as Qing Shui, then his might would be greatly reduced.

Heavenly Dao was a crucial criteria to transit from False God and into Divine.

In contrary, the attack had actually calmed Qing Shui. While it wasn’t the strongest attack that the old man could strike, it was already a pleasant surprise. It appears that it would be difficult for him to win over this man.

His Qi and blood were surging but Qing Shui’s self-healing abilities was almost terrifying. In just a short while, he had fully recovered. This time, Qing Shui infused it with Taichi and Phoenix Finger, making the former the focus.

Qing Shui was still thrown backwards but didn’t incur any damage this time. Dragon Slaying Beast was relentless in its attack as it stood beside Qing Shui but being flung back time and again, it was unable to get close to the man.

The Hell Nightmare Beast was strong in its resistance against attacks but it still stumbled backwards with the man’s ferocious strikes. Even if it wasn’t flung backwards like the others, it had still retreated a couple of meters from impact. From that, Qing Shui could tell that the man’s attacking power was strong.

Qing Shui wasn’t used to the old man's fighting style at first; this kind of violence and speed only allowed for Qing Shui to be beaten up. Thereafter, like a whirlwind, he would bombard Qing Shui with his attacks.

The downpour of attacks allowed Qing Shui to regain his composure and began to get used to his style bit by bit. This series of attack allowed Qing Shui to realize that his own combat abilities were slowly rising as well.

Qing Shui knew about the benefits of combat, especially in the case of a real battle—a training session would not be able to attain such degree of effect. Qing Shiu was tense, opening up his spiritual sense. He dared not summon the Thunderous Beast with the knowledge that it wouldn’t be able tot without the old man’s strikes. Even he could barely defend against it.

Unlike Lei Ming, whom Qing Shui could block or even have control over, the old man wasn’t someone whom he could do the same. He could only use force to fight against him, and in a gradual manner. He could only resist and protect himself.

Nine Palace Laws had exhausted much of the old man’s strength. The Nine Palace Laws would be able to exhaust strength no matter the level of might its target had; it was about the consume it strength as long they were within its circumference, and even their energy would be slowly devoured. However, with the old man’s might, the pace was slow but still evident. The effect was apparent.

Meteor Rush!

Venomous Datura!

Qing Shui made use of everything he had, from hidden weapons to toxin. Even so, it could only cause a slight obstruction to the old man. Art of Pursuing couldn’t be neutralized but the old man must had his own tricks up his sleeve, his speed remained incredible.

While he hadn’t divulged much of a reaction, the old man was already shocked beyond words. The young man’s skills were amazing. He had never thought that anyone would be able to cultivate such weakening techniques to this degree, and even Qing Shui’s attacking power was hard to swallow.

Titan Ox Shattering the Sky!

The old man was beginning to grow frantic as he unleashed his Sure Kill Heavenly Technique. The maroon baton in his hand began to glow, shining with a peculiar halo.

Then, with a flash, it smashed towards Qing Shui. Even though the speed wasn’t swift to the extent when it could not be seen, Qing Shui realized that it was too late for him to evade.

Nine Continents Mountain!

Bang!

Nine Continents Mountain was thrown back but the power of the baton seemed to have dulled a little from their collision, still smashing against Qing Shui’s body.

Puu!

The golden light on Qing Shui’s body didn’t appear but it still managed to inflict damage on his internal organs. Qing Shui couldn’t have restrained himself from puking but it was much more beneficial for him to clear the congestion. Hence, while it looked like he had been critically injured, the damage hadn’t been that serious. If it had been fatal, his golden light would surely make its appearance.

The effect of Nine Continents Mountain should not be neglected, as its shield was the best at reducing power. Even though it had retreated from impact, it was still able to slice through much of the original strength. Otherwise, the strike might have been able to cause an emission of golden light in Qing Shui’s Paragon Golden Armor.

The old man sighed. That was his Sure Kill Heavenly Technique which he had though would be able to eliminate Qing Shui’s combat power, and even cause his abrupt death.

He knew that he couldn’t keep the young man around no matter how much he appreciated his might. It was why he decided that death was the only option and since he had already initiated the plan into motion, then it’d be best to end this swiftly.

Without waiting for Qing Shui to catch his breath, the old man charged towards him again.

The people from Imperial Cuisine Hall watched on with concern. Despite their belief in Qing Shui, the sight in front of them wasn’t something that they could ignore. To the outsiders, the battle was skewed from the very start.