Chapter 42: Rowing Against the Current

  The second day dawned, and Qing Shui would wake up on time every morning. After washing up, he would head to the backyard of the Qing residence to exercise his limbs. The air in the morning was the purest throughout the day. Qing Shui's goal for practicing in the morning was to cultivate his internal energy through simple deep breathing exercises.

  The ancient strengthening technique focuses on tempering the tendons and bones, with Qing Shui persistently practicing his fist every day to achieve maximum coordination of his body, allowing his strength to be exerted to the extreme, making his power exert a hundred percent or even higher effect.

  The backyard was quiet, with only a few small Tibetan mastiffs, about the size of calves, making a low growling sound when they first came in, but after seeing Qing Shui, they lay down quietly and didn't move.

  "Ghost Steps!" Qing Shui's figure quickly darted back and forth in the backyard, because he knew that this set of footwork was extracted from the essence of escape techniques, and was used to flee when facing a stronger enemy head-on. Being able to escape from an enemy stronger than oneself showed just how mysterious and unpredictable this set of footwork was.

  "Lingji Fist!" The combination of Ghost Steps and Lingji Fist made Qing Shui feel that this was the perfect match, which led him to guess that if he were to break through to a higher level in the future, all his techniques would be able to complement each other. Unfortunately, it had been so long since he last broke through, and he hadn't learned any new martial skills or techniques either. However, he had managed to practice his Hidden Weapons, Lingji Fist, Ghost Steps... to a realm where progress was extremely slow.

  But Qing Shui knew that cultivating was like sailing against the current - if you didn't advance, you'd retreat!

  Lingjiaquan emphasizes the word "ling" (spirit), with quick and varied movements, while Guibu focuses on the word "gui" (ghost), aiming to achieve a mysterious and unpredictable state.

  Nowadays, there is even more emphasis on the basic sword technique of thrusting, which emphasizes speed, accuracy and ruthlessness. Speed is like lightning, accuracy is a matter of skill, and ruthlessness is a state of mind. If you don't make a move, then so be it; but if you do, you must win with one move, striking before the opponent!

  Before long, the sky was completely bright. The winter sun rises late, so even though it's light, you can't see the sun yet, but you can tell it's a sunny day.

  From outside, the sounds of vendors calling out and children's laughter can be faintly heard, as well as the chirping of birds, with early-rising birds having insects to eat.

  Returning to the small courtyard, Qing Shui saw that his mother had already prepared a meal and was waiting for him. The dishes on the table were quite sumptuous, with two vegetarian and two meat dishes. The meat was wild boar meat, which was delicious and aromatic, making one's appetite increase greatly!

  "Qīng Shuǐ, eat quickly. Today's match is worth watching. You can practice alone, but it's also helpful to watch others' actual combat. It will be of great benefit to your cultivation." Qīng Yī called out to Qīng Shuǐ to eat while speaking calmly.

  "Hmm, I was just thinking of going to take a look today, it must be very lively!" Qing Shui said while eating, although he looked refined and handsome on the outside, his eating speed was quite fast, not exactly wolfing down his food but also couldn't be considered elegant or refined.

  In the eyes of Qing Shui, everything should be done as one pleases, as long as one has the ability. Whatever one says is what it is, and even if it's rough, it's still a personality, and also elegance. Many people will imitate this, but for those without ability, being elegant will just become pretentious, and effeminate.

  "Slow down, no one is competing with you!" The young woman said, though her mouth was saying slow down, her hands were busy serving him dishes, and her eyes had an uncontrollable smile and joy.

  "Who's going to be in charge and maintain order this time, Mother?" Qing Shui couldn't help but ask as he thought of the question, otherwise he would have just gone to the arena and asked casually.

  "A person will come from each of the Qing, Lan, Feng, and Tong families, as well as from Baili City!" The man in green said without hesitation, apparently this was how it had always been done.

  When Qing Shui arrived at the arena, he found that there were indeed many people. It was estimated that almost everyone who could come from nearby had arrived. It was no wonder that this was a society that revered martial power and held it in high esteem.

  Under the fighting stage, there were people everywhere, but on the wide fighting stage, there was no one. There was only a long table at the back of one side, with several seats behind it. Qing Shui knew that this was where the representatives of several families sat.

  At the bottom, you can clearly see several families standing together, such as the three generations of the Qing family standing together, and those who stand with the interests of the Qing family will also stand on the side of the Qing family. The Lan family, Tong family, and Feng family are also like this. Of course, there are also some scattered people who just stand there to watch the excitement, these people are the most numerous, and on the surface, they are also the ones with the least power and influence.

  Qīng shuǐ zǒu xiàng qīng jiā de qún rén zhōng!

  Translation:

  The clear water flows towards the crowd in front of the Qing's house.

  "Green water has arrived, aren't you always unwilling to watch this fight?" Qingzi saw the approaching Green Water and smiled and greeted him.

  "Everyone says it's fun and lively, besides, let's just take a look this year, after all, I didn't even know where to go after the Coming of Age ceremony." Aoi smiled in response to Aoko.

  Constant greetings came from all around, Qing Shui took a look and said, "Good guys, three generations of the Qing family are all here, but none of the mothers' generation have appeared yet.

  Qīng Shuǐ smiled and greeted them one by one, the Qing family's warriors above level six were all present, Qīng Zǐ, Qīng Yóu, Qīng Huī, Qīng Yáng... Qīng Hǔ was also there, as well as Qīng Bèi.

  Qing Bei is now at the pinnacle of Martial Artist Seventh Layer, with subtle signs of breakthrough, worthy of being the young genius of the Qing family, surpassing most people in the Qing family who are late bloomers.

  Here is the translation:

  After a while, Qing Shui saw his mother and several uncles arriving one after another. Then he saw five people going up to the fighting platform in succession: Old Master Qing Luo of the Qing family, whom Qing Shui naturally recognized; Old Master Lan Yu of the Lan family, whom Qing Shui had met a few times before and thus recognized; a robust middle-aged man from the Tong family; and a still charming young woman from the Feng family. These last two people were unknown to Qing Shui.

  Qīng Shuǐ couldn't help but take a few more glances at the young woman. Her skin was as white and smooth as snow, with a pair of slender phoenix eyes that were particularly charming. The blue pleated skirt accentuated her curvaceous figure, and her mature and alluring face wore a faint smile. Qīng Shuǐ couldn't tell her age, but she probably wasn't too young.

  Qing Shui was astonished by the beauty of the young woman when he suddenly saw that the last one to go up was actually Si Tu Nan Tian. He didn't expect that the one who came from Bai Li City would be Si Tu Nan Tian. Qing Shui couldn't help but look towards the crowd, wondering if Si Tu Bu Fan and Shi Qing Xuan were there. Qing Shui discovered that he unexpectedly yearned to see that cold-faced beauty in his heart.

  Just as Qing Shui had thought, the person who spoke was Si Tu Nan Tian. Si Tu Nan Tian's loud and clear voice rang out in the ears of everyone present.

  Nian's intention is simply not to intentionally kill people, not to use poison or hidden weapons. If the opponent admits defeat, one must immediately stop fighting.

  It was soon announced that the fight would begin, which made everyone feel that a martial artist is straightforward and efficient!

  What surprised Qing Shui was that the rule was actually about who could stand on the stage last, and whoever's family it was would mean that their family had the strongest three generations.

  But it's okay, everyone has three chances to lose, as long as you still have the ability to play!

  After the announcement was made, Situ Nan Tian had just sat down behind the long table at the back when Qing Hu quickly stood up on stage.

  The Qing family knows that they should take the lead in this situation!