Ancient Strengthening Technique (Web Novel)

AST 497 - The King's Aura, Silver Wolf Queen

A wolf queen?

Qing Shui felt astonished by the sight of countless demonic beasts roaming the ground and the sky. Unfortunately, he wasn’t in the mood to enjoy this marvelous sight since he was in the midst of danger. Qing Shui was able to understand why the Flowerfruit Mountain was deemed as dangerous to humankind. He hadn't even reached the deepest part of the mountain, and yet he was already exposed to danger.

He had been gradually losing his strength after the long hours of walking inside the mountain. Qing Shui felt like he was in a dream because of the sight of demonic beasts in the area. He even doubted himself - did he lose his way, or did he go up the wrong mountain?

However, he quickly realized that he was indeed in the Flowerfruit Mountain after seeing the frenzied rage from the demonic beasts, which was considered a common trait of these beasts. Qing Shui even felt that he would be at ease if he ever encountered a pack of wolves later on.

However, he realized he was being naive….

Qing Shui observed the wolves around him as they approached him. However, he wasn’t too worried. The ones currently facing Qing Shui were the vanguards of the wolves, which meant that they were also the weakest of the pack. Most of them were around the Xiantian Grade. There was also about three to five One Horned Silver Wolves at the Elementary Martial King grade amongst the pack.

Qing Shui was more worried about the ‘Divine Black Crows’ that soared the sky above him. It was a good thing that they were outnumbered by the One Horned Silver Wolves, otherwise the wolf pack would be in great danger.

Although the ‘Divine Black Crows’ were stronger than the wolves, they wouldn’t dare to fly down recklessly to assault the wolves. Moreover, the wolves were bloodthirsty beasts in nature, so even if the crows managed to kill a handful of One Horned Silver Wolves, they would still be mauled by the other groups of One Horned Silver Wolves in no time.

Actually, the situation between the Divine Black Crows and the One Horned Silver Wolves had already reached the point of a full-scale war with each other. Qing Shui unfortunately walked into tho predicament and got stuck in the middle of their war.

The wolves lined up in an orderly fashion while howling loudly towards the sky. Qing Shui could feel the charismatic leadership of the wolf queen hidden behind the pack of wolves in front of him.

Qing Shui then imagined the appearance of the invincible ‘Silver Wolf Queen’ and its elegant howling cries - the wolf queen would probably resemble a commander leading thousands of powerful soldiers across the battlefield.

But Qing Shui was getting uneasy about the wolf queen. He was quite concerned that the wolf queen may be potentially stronger than the big tiger he had defeated based on its loud crisp howl and its capability to take hundreds and thousands of One Horned Silver Wolf under its command.

It would take a real dignified and powerful ‘king of demonic beasts’ to be able to control such a vast number of One Horned Silver Wolves.

This situation would be similar to the legendary emperors of the imperial throne who possessed the aura of a true monarch It was rumored that common people would kneel before their presence willingly under the force of their aura.

Whether this was true or not, Qing Shui could not attest to the rumors of the emperor’s aura. However, it was true that during Qing Shui’s previous life, some people would virtually create their own form of authority, calling themselves as ‘bureaucratic officials!’

Most common folk would inadvertently become timid and uneasy during their presence. The aura that has the ability to suppress other people was also known as ‘The King's Aura.’

The King's Aura - only the true king of demonic beasts possess that aura!

Similarly to Tigon Beasts, there would only be one Tigon Beast King out of a thousand, and one Tigon Beast Champion out of a million. However, Qing Shui noted that there were only less than a hundred thousand One Horned Silver Wolves in the area. Unmistakably, there was only one wolf queen giving out commands to the One Horned Silver Wolves.

Tigon Beast King was nothing compared to the wolf queen. The Tigon Beast Champions may not stand a chance either because Qing Shui felt that the One Horned Silver Wolves in the back line were stronger than the ones at the front lines.

Qing Shui felt troubled, but shook it off since the commander of the thousands of beasts may not be a big problem for the time being.

However, the king/queen that were able to command millions of beasts may possibly have an absolute power to ‘suppress’ others unconditionally.

‘Suppression’ was an ability of the ‘king of demonic beasts’ to command an army of millions, billions, or even trillions of beasts. Once activated, any beasts or humans within a certain radius would be susceptible to ‘suppression.’ However, those who had been ‘suppressed’ would be able to break away from the king’s or queen’s control by using a specific releasing technique. Those who were in possession of a greater ‘King’s Aura’ may be able to break away as well.

There weren’t many known techniques that were able to resist this kind of ‘suppression’ since the ‘King’s Aura’ would absolutely suppress anyone without fail. It would require the purest and most refined energy in the world to resist the ‘suppression’ technique. As such, techniques that could resist the aura of the ‘King’s Aura’ were considered rare.

Although demonic beast kings who were able to control countless beasts under their command were said to have the ‘King’s Aura,’ it was not the only method used to control demonic beasts. Some demonic beasts were born with an aura akin to the King’s Aura. This kind of aura flowed through their blood from their ancestors and later on would flow to their descendants in the future. Moreover, this kind of aura was considered stronger than the ‘King’s Aura’ obtained during later stages of their evolution.

The ‘Golden Light Violet Winged Tiger’ from the Northern Sacred Lu Continent, the ‘Silver-green Water Dragon King’ from the Southern Viewing Ministry Continent…. These demonic beasts with a noble bloodline were all naturally born with the King’s Aura.

Moreover, those who were born with violet and golden veins were said to possess the ‘King’s Aura’ as well! They were blessed with such an aura due to the strength of their bloodline.

The ‘King’s Aura’ not only has the ability to decrease the opponent’s strength while suppressing their power, but the user would be able to gain extra strength for themselves. In conclusion, this was an ability that allowed the user to increase their strength by weakening their opponents.

In other words, the King’s Aura would suppress 10 percent of the opponent’s strength and allows the user to gain an extra 10 percent of power!

The might of the King’s Aura was no joke. It would be one of the top three skills and techniques that every demonic beast kings and humans should acquire in order to survive in the battle of life and death.

This technique would ensure the survivability of the user during a massive massacre, which was why it was considered as the formidable power of a real ‘king of demonic beasts.’ Weakening opponents in order to strengthen oneself - creating a distinct difference in terms of their power.

Moreover, a ‘king of demonic beasts’ would have multiple strong beasts standing guard beside them. Even though they were not as strong as the king, they were still considered the best amongst the demonic beasts. Their duty was to guard and protect their kings/queens.

Qing Shui recalled having read the records of the king of beasts in the Archives of Demonic Beasts. The capability of these kings of beasts was shown to have developed by observing the leaders of the demonic beast of the same grade and magnitude.

Only those with the King’s Aura were able to control millions of demonic beasts by making them acknowledge their allegiance and follow their commands willingly.

Howl!

Suddenly, Qing Shui was able to sense the ‘King’s Aura’ emanating from the wolf queen. The suppression force was subtle, but he could feel it nonetheless.

Howl!

The howling grew louder and sharper. In an instant, a force as strong as a gust of wind blew towards him. Qing Shui could feel something changing inside him.

Inner Sight!

Qing Shui noticed a gray area appearing around one fifth of his dantian! He couldn’t extract energy from that part of his dantian no matter what...

Qing Shui clicked his tongue in frustration. It was a howling cry that could suppress any opponents, but he never thought the technique would suppress 20 percent of his overall strength without having to meet him face-to-face. Not only was his physical strength suppressed, but his speed, power, defense, and healing ability were all suppressed by 20 percent as well.

Blasphemous! No wonder it was considered as one of the top three abilities and techniques in the world of martial arts!

“No wonder the Divine Black Crows will not dare to attack them. 20 percent was not a small amount. Additionally, their overall strength will become unbalanced. They may have high attack power but low defenses, faster speed but low attack power and defenses, slow speed but higher attack power….. ”

As he thought about it, he discovered that the weaker aspects of their overall strength would only become weaker…. And those who were with higher overall strength would still become weaker. These two scenarios were nothing short of devastating.

Qing Shui was beginning to show some fascination with the King’s Aura. He wanted to have this ability quite badly!

There were different grades of King’s Aura, which meant that the different grades of the aura would have different weakening effects on their opponents. It was rumored that the peak of the King’s Aura would be able to cripple their opponents instantly.

Two breaths of time had passed. He gazed at the pack of wolves about 30 meters away from him and began to activate his Ancient Strengthening Technique as quickly as possible, releasing an imposing aura!

The Mental State akin to the Immovable Mountains!

Nature Energy!

In an instant, the gray area around the dantian began to glow a brilliant gold. He was pleased to see that Nature Energy was able to disintegrate the gray area since Nature Energy was the purest energy known in the Heavens and Earth.

Mighty Elephant Stomp!

The Diamond Gigantic Elephant rushed towards the pack of wolves and began stomping them!

Dash…..

Cracks appeared on the ground and formed a ravine. The rocks on the side of the mountains broke loose from the vibration and fell to the ground. Some of the weaker One Horned Silver Wolves were buried under the heavier rocks that were broken from the top of the mountain.

A number of One Horned Silver Wolves were stoned to death by the larger falling rocks. However, most of them were also in the Xiantian Realm!

Qing Shui patted the Diamond Gigantic Elephant, signaling it to dash towards the pack of wolves gathering together over the hills!

Shield Attack!

Qing Shui infused a large amount of energy into his Violet Gold Divine Shield and bashed against the pack of wolves near the hills!

Bang, smack!

After a loud clunk rang out, the area where the pack of wolves were became empty. The air was filled with the heavy smell of blood, painful cries, and wailing noises.

Howl!

It was a familiar loud howling sound. The howl shook the pack of wolves, which made them stand up in an orderly fashion. In a split second, these wolves rushed towards Qing Shui without a shred of fear in their eyes.

Mighty Elephant’s Recklessness!

The Diamond Gigantic Elephant emitted a golden light from its body as it barged towards the pack of wolves, sending the wolves crashing to each other.. The pack of wolves were shoved and crushed without mercy - tearing them into pieces.

With such a formidable defense, no wolf was able to touch the Diamond Gigantic Elephant. As long as the Diamond Gigantic Elephant was using the Mighty Elephant Stomp and the Mighty Elephant’s Recklessness, anything or anyone that bumped into the beast would certainly end up dead. The Diamond Gigantic Elephant was like a tiger walking into a lamb’s den - it would crush anything to death instantly.

However, there were countless One Horned Silver Wolves in the area. Even though they had killed quite a number of wolves, more wolves would come back and fill their dead comrades’ position. Qing Shui felt that he had ran quite a distance, but nothing had changed except for the blood-filled air.

An army of ants could kill an elephant, an army of wolves could do the same. Many of the One Horned Silver Wolves stood there motionlessly. However, it would take forever for the Diamond Gigantic Elephant to kill every single one of them in the field!

Not to mention the mighty wolf queen at the back of the line!

A group of ‘Divine Black Crows’ circled the sky around the wolves, trying to seize an opportunity to kill the One Horned Silver Wolves below. The wolves, however, turned towards the crows in the sky and began howling in a loud voice!

The predator could become the prey in mere seconds!

Qing Shui’s and the Diamond Gigantic Elephant’s massacre attracted other One Horned Silver Wolves to their direction. These wolves surrounded them fearlessly and charged towards them in hopes of tearing them to pieces. Qing Shui was alarmed at the possibility of the wolves shredding them into a bloody mess.

The Diamond Gigantic Elephant ran towards the direction of the wolf queen’s howl. Qing Shui continued to assault the attacking One Horned Silver Wolves with his Big Dipper Sword.

Qing Shui’s main purpose in the Flowerfruit Mountain was to find and gather treasures. So if he could avoid fighting, he would avoid them at all cost rather than wasting precious time killing them off one-by-one.

Qing Shui kept bashing the rows of wolves running towards them with his Big Dipper Sword. After a while, they were all dead. The Diamond Gigantic Elephant’s formidable defense was able to hold off the One Horned Silver Wolves without any injuries despite being stabbed by their sharp horns.

Eventually, Qing Shui could see an ambiguous fork in the road ahead. Without much consideration, Qing Shui and his Diamond Gigantic Elephant rushed straight into that fork. However, as they went towards the road, Qing Shui was dumbfounded.

There were no sounds from the back because there were no more One Horned Silver Wolves left. Regrettably, there were five wolves standing at the gorge right in front of Qing Shui.

Five One Horned Silver Wolves!

He was stunned when he saw five One Horned Silver Wolves in front of him. Whatever he didn’t wish to come true, it came true!

Qing Shui’s focused his gaze on the One Horned Silver Wolf in the middle. This wolf has a silver-white coat that gave off a subtle silvery gleam like the moonlight. It was as beautiful as an artistic masterpiece.

There was a sense of pride beaming from its azure blue eyes. Its two-meters long horn also gave off a subtle moon-like gleam. The wolf was ten meters in length, and four meters in height. The body was proportional and well-built. Most importantly, there was a strong King’s Aura emanating from this particular wolf!

This was the Silver Wolf Queen!

Qing Shui was very certain that this was the Silver Wolf Queen. All of the sudden, he felt extremely helpless because he has nowhere else to hide. He took back his gaze from the Silver Wolf Queen and place them on the other four One Horned Silver Wolves beside her.

These four seemed larger and more savage than the Silver Wolf Queen. They were all twelve meters in length, and five meters in height. However, unlike the Silver Wolf Queen, they lacked the King’s Aura in their body. Their coats did not have the lustrous sheen of the queen’s fur, and they also lacked the imposing manner and charisma as well.

Howl!

Silver Wolf Queen tilted its head upwards and let out a sharp howl!

Qing Shui’s expression changed!

He quickly activated his Nature Energy to the maximum level to counterbalance the Silver Wolf Queen’s King's Aura!

At the same time, the four large One Horned Silver Wolves rushed towards Qing Shui with the shocking speed of a blast of wind, leaving trails of ghastly shadows behind them.

Man Elephant Unison!

Shield Attack!

Seven Star Armored Vest!

The Diamond Gigantic Elephant that was under the influence of Qing Shui dashed towards the four One Horned Silver Wolves rushing towards him!

Under the effects of the Man Elephant Unison technique, Qing Shui has achieved a terrifying defense with an equally terrifying strength of nine countries, and that was before he had equipped the Seven Star Armored Vest.

Bang!

Bang bang bang!

Qing Shui managed to hit one of them, but in return, he was hit by the remaining three wolves. Fortunately, he wasn’t hurt badly due to his strong defense. It seemed that these four wolves had a similar pattern of attack to the three demons from the Sword Tower - all of them were skilled in making joint attacks.

Qing Shui promptly retreated backwards, creating a distance between him and the remaining wolves. He glanced towards the One Horned Silver Wolf that had been bashed to one side. The wolf was badly crippled from the Shield Attack with the strength of nine countries.

The strength of the “big tiger” could not even compare to the strength of the One Horned Silver Wolves that have been guarding the Silver Wolf Queen all this time…..

If he didn’t learn Man Elephant Unison technique earlier, he would be destroyed in a few minutes. Even so, he still had a difficult time dealing with the One Horned Silver Wolves because of the presence of the unfathomable Silver Wolf Queen.

Wolves were cunning in nature. Qing Shui was worried that the Silver Wolf Queen would try to execute a sneak attack against him when he was least mindful of the situation….

Thinking about it only made him paranoid. He felt cold sweat fall down his back!

Caw caw!

All of a sudden, the Divine Black Crows flew towards his direction as if it was gliding through the sky. Right at this moment, the Silver Wolf Queen finally moved.

The Silver Wolf Queen revealed its white body, which radiated like a piece of gleaming white jade. The Silver Wolf Queen thrust herself towards the sky while emanating a ring of subtle halo around its body!

Twack!

Caw!

The crow let out sharp painful cry. When the Silver Wolf Queen had landed on the ground, the Divine Black Crow was still falling from the sky!

Bump!

The Divine Black Crow remained motionless after it had hit the ground!

A sincere thank you to everyone who commented for their feedback!

1) For the slow plot: It's currently building up, and things should start livening up in around 20- 30 chapters.. and given our release rate... I suggest just holding off this novel for awhile and come back in a week or two to read a bunch of chapters so it doesn't feel 'slow'.

2) For the more rewards (early access to chapters) on patreon: We are actually currently reaching out to the author for the translation rights for this novel. Once the talks are concluded, will start offering even more rewards for the patreon pledgers!

3) to address @GunerX specifically: you guys can read his comment here, I can't really comment on anything as I don't personally read the story he translates but I can promise you that our team will definitely stick by what we promise and keep to it.

4) Lastly, for those who like to support but don't have the means too... I'm happy that the thought exists, I just like to thank all of you. We will add a total of 3 bonus chapters to the bonus queue as tribute :p

Target Goal: Our team will try to get AST up to chapter 1000 by the end of this year! Continue reading and we will continue translating <3

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