## AST 1154 – False Alarm, Qing Shui Is Just A Poisonous Bone

Qing Shui’s voice wasn’t loud but many people in the area and below could hear his clearly. He understood how the people from Bai Clan were now. Although Bai Clan might really be very powerful in the inner cities, he felt that they were a little arrogant and in over their heads. He just didn’t know if the core members of Bai Clan knew about this.

Hearing Qing Shui’s words, the old man frowned. However, he didn’t say much but just looked at Qing Shui for very long before saying, “You’ve already caused Bai Clan to lose their reputation and now that things have come down to this, I wish you good luck. As for the words that you’ve just said… That’s because you don’t understand Bai Clan. With your capabilities, there’s no way for you to even reach Bai Clan.”

Qing Shui really felt very gloomy. The reputations of great clans and influences were really worth a lot. This was the pride and power of those in power and was similar to the dynasties Qing Shui was familiar with. Even if they were in the wrong, they must insist on their stance to the very end.

“Are all of you going to attack together at once or are you going to take action alone?” Qing Shui didn’t care if there were any use for him to prod at his opponents, but he still decided to give it a go. At least, he needed to let the people in the surroundings see the ugly side of this great clan.

“There’s no need for you to prod. It’s useless. But don’t worry, just I alone am sufficient to deal with you,” the old man smiled and said warmly.

“7th Uncle, let me do the job!”

Just then, a middle-aged man from the back walked out. His figure was also upright, like a sword. He wasn’t like a drawn sword with a sharp edge but gave the feeling that a sheathed sword seemed to give more threat than one which was drawn.

“Jingtian, your cultivation seems to be slightly stronger than his and you’re also considered to be one of the geniuses in Bai Clan. However, you must think this through carefully. This young man isn’t as simple as he seems to be.” The old man frowned and looked at the middle-aged man.

“7th Uncle, I know. A cultivator mustn’t fear battles. I treat my opponents very seriously.” The man wore a stubborn expression on his seemingly serious face.

“Go on. Be careful!” The old man waved his hand.

The man called Jingtian bowed toward the old man before walked over to Qing Shui. His steps were erratic and he held a thin sword which had a length of 3 feet 3 inches. It had a width of two fingers and was very thin, to the extent that it was a little translucent. If one didn’t look at it very carefully, it would be hard to notice this.

“You must be careful, blades have no eyes! I wish you good luck!” the man cupped his fists together and said to Qing Shui.

“You must be careful as well. Make your move!” Qing Shui smiled and took out his Big Dipper Sword, dashing over with the Seven Star Steps.

The Nine Palace Steps could actually be taken apart. One Origin Steps, Duality Steps… Five Elements Steps… Seven Star Steps, Eight Trigrams Steps, Nine Palace Steps… Each of them were extremely profound but one would only be able to move freely within the Nine Palace after having mastered the final Nine Palace Steps.

However, currently, Qing Shui was the only one who had reached the stage of the Nine Palace Steps. His mastery of this stage wasn’t very high but it was already considerably terrifying. The ladies and other people were all at a very low level. One reason was that they hadn’t been learning it for long, unlike Qing Shui who had the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal. The other reason was that Qing Shui himself was a unique existence.

Stepping on the seven stars, progressing against the flow, Qing Shui could sense this man’s strength. The man should be around twice as strong as himself. Through sensing his aura, Qing Shui could sense that the full powers of the person was around 2,000 nimbus.

Qing Shui’s strength at its peak was only 1,200 nimbus. However, he wasn’t very worried. He felt that he had the ability to deal with this guy.

Piercing Sword!

Basic Sword Techniques!

Qing Shui thrust out his sword, using a stance in sword arts which even a three year old kid would be able to perform. However, the level of mastery and realm he displayed was extremely high, most importantly, his speed was unparalleled.

This move was too surprising, causing everyone to be greatly astonished. However, everyone was even more surprised when they saw that the prowess of this move had caused the man to be forced back one step.

“He really is exceptional. This young man has definitely practiced this sword stance for no less than ten years. It really does fit the bill of polishing a sword for ten years,” the old man sighed and said, as if he was mumbling to himself.

“Ten years to just polish a sword? He is so young. It should be more that his talent surpasses that of others,” another old man said.

“I’m already understating when I said ten years. His talent undoubtedly surpasses that of others. See how great his level of mastery is? Just this move alone would show that this young man has great persistence and we can’t afford to offend him. It’s considered an eye-opener to be able to see someone performing the Basic Sword Techniques to this level,” the old man who was addressed by Bai Jingtian as 7th Uncle said.

Qing Shui’s single attack surprised Bai Jingtian who quickly dodged. However, Qing Shui didn’t go easy on him. Relying on his amazing footwork, his Big Dipper Sword pointed, pierced, hacked, slashed… All the moves were targeted at Bai Jingtian’s throat.

Everyone present watched the scene in silence. The one who had the worst out of it was Bai Jingtian. After losing the advantage of being able to make the first move, he had been pushed into such a bad predicament and was barely able to save himself.

Bai Jingtian recalled what his 7th Uncle had said. He hadn’t expected Qing Shui’s footwork to be so extraordinary. He could sense the strength which Qing Shui had used. Was Qing Shui really using such a strength against his full powers?

Demonic Beast Armor Manifestation!

As Bai Jingtian retreated, a ferocious aura emerged from his body. Then, as a fierce and violent aura spreaded out, a huge image of a white wolf appeared, causing Bai Jingtian’s speed to suddenly increase by a lot. He also managed to dodge Qing Shui’s pestering longsword.

Shadowless Sword!

Bai Jingtian’s body exuded an indistinct sword Qi and moved toward Qing Shui and his longsword. Although Qing Shui had a strong power and had also achieved a small success stage for the Nine Yang Golden Body, he didn’t dare to use his body to come into contact with this thin sword which had its killing aura concealed.

Swoosh swoosh…

Something that was akin to a grey net appeared in the air, expanding towards Qing Shui. Moving with his bizarre footwork, Bai Jingtian’s eyes squinted to a very fine gap and locked onto Qing Shui like cold lightning.

Qing Shui smiled. This Bai Jingtian specialized in speed and quick sword attacks. The dark greyish net in the sky was the shadows left behind by his sword which was coming toward Qing Shui. Only one of the swords was true and was extremely lethal.

Heavenly Vision Technique!

Demonic Beast Armor Manifestation!

Buddha Form Reveal!

Qing Shui’s eyes suddenly popped open and he was able to see through all shams. Right now, only one sword was hacking down at him. This sword was very elusive, slithering around the other phantom images.

Qing Shui gripped his Big Dipper Sword tightly, lifting his head and staring at the incoming sword net. His eyes were so clear that they were like clear spring water.

Stepping against the flow of the Nine Palace, he attacked fiercely with his Big Dipper Sword!

Piercing Sword!

Right now, there was still a gap between the two of them but a golden light sword emerged from the Big Dipper Sword.

Golden Sword!

This was the Golden Sword from the Five Elements Divine Refining Technique!

An attack with spirit energy!

Qing Shui attacked at rapid speed in the sword net, quickly as lightning. Although Bai Jingtian quickly changed his trajectory, his wrist was still cut. It wasn’t chopped off but the sword went through one-third of his wrist and even his bones had broken.

The net of swords disappeared. Qing Shui didn’t pursue to attack but just watched from a short distance away. Qing Shui’s victory was thanks to his Nine Palace Steps which allowed him to exercise restraint on the opponent’s advantage.

Bai Jingtian stood there, stunned, letting his blood flow down. He looked at Qing Shui, unable to say a word. This was too big a blow for him. He cultivated the Shadowless Sword which excelled in the speed of his sword and his movements. However, right now, a person who was a lot weaker than himself did not just surpass him in speed of his movements but in the speed of his sword attacks as well.

“There’s no need for you to feel disheartened. You’re strong but it’s just that I have an advantage against an opponent like yourself and can completely counter your attacks,” Qing Shui looked at Bai Jingtian and said calmly.

“Sigh, a loss is a loss. I’m weaker than you…”

Bai Jingtian headed back, dejected, letting his blood flow freely. Right now, he felt extremely disheartened. If he couldn’t get out of this mood, his life would become completely tasteless.

Two people from Bai Clan quickly treated his wounds, stopping the blood flow and bandaging his injuries.

“7th Uncle, I’ve brought shame to you!” Bai Jingtian’s countenance was pale. It wasn’t just from the loss of blood but also because of his emotions. When one’s heart was demoralized, it would be reflected on his face.

“You haven’t brought me shame. You still have a long road to go ahead of you. A cultivator doesn’t just cultivate the body. There’s always someone stronger out there and there are too many people who are stronger than you. A cultivator must first cultivate a strong heart and must be able to face any situation calmly. What’s a little setback? Which powerful cultivator hasn’t came back from setbacks and difficulties? Without a powerful heart, a cultivator wouldn’t be able to progress very far. If you’ve lost, find your way back. If you’ve resigned yourself to the loss, then you can only stop at this level.” The old man’s countenance was still very calm, without any change. His words hammered down hard into everyone’s hearts.

Qing Shui could understand well what the old man had said. This was something that all cultivators knew but not many could achieve. However, it was different today and for many people, it was different than when they heard it under normal circumstances. It was because the impact from today was too great and thus the words had been imprinted in their minds.

Bai Jingtian was in a daze, he fists tightly clenched, causing his bandaged wounds to burst open once again. His expression was that of great conflict and struggle. Someone wanted to step up to him but was stopped by the old man.

Hu!

A very long while later, Bai Jingtian let out a long exhale and said, smiling as he looked at the old man, “Thank you, 7th Uncle!”

“Alright, it’s good that you’re able to accept this. This is a barrier that all cultivators have to experience. Now that you’ve crossed it, you’ll be able to advance further in the future,” the old man smiled and said happily.

Right now, Qing Shui was still thinking about the battle from before. He felt that his current strength should allow him to compete with an elementary State Master and he would probably have a high chance of winning.

Bai Jingtian could only count himself unlucky to have met Qing Shui. The blow was too big for him to be defeated by Basic Sword Techniques. Only Qing Shui knew that his Heavenly Vision Technique and bizarre footwork had greatly helped him to achieve this.

For Bai Jingtian to be able to get out from under this trauma so quickly, he was really a person with a strong heart. What the old man said had played a huge role too.

“Young man, there aren’t many whom I admire and look up to. You’re one of them. We’ll treat the things that happened today as a misunderstanding. You’re a clever person, I hope that you won’t see me in a strange light. In this world, it has always been the survival of the fittest!” The old man looked at Qing Shui and said something which caught him unaware. The old man thought of the words Qing Shui had said earlier and felt that this young man was a poisonous bone and not many people would be able to devour it.

Qing Shui smiled. This was good as well. In his current state, he wasn’t suited for battle. As for the things the old man had said… Qing Shui didn’t pay them much heed. He hadn’t thought of wanting to get himself involved with Bai Clan. It’ll be fine if they don’t come look for trouble. When he got stronger in the future, he would care even less about other things.