Chapter 138: Stepping Into Legend
This novel is translated and hosted on Bcatranslation
The spacious hall glimmered with the brilliance of countless crystal chandeliers. Each held a solar stone within, refracting dazzling, colorful light across the room.
Around a table made of fine green sandalwood, familiar faces gathered, sharing drinks and reminiscing about the past. Their jade cups glowed warmly in the light, the rich aroma of the wine reflecting a kaleidoscope of hues.
As they sipped and laughed, they recounted old memories and spoke of their futures. Time had flowed like a river—faces remained familiar, yet few were unchanged.
Even the once-innocent youths were now seasoned, their toasts laden with both worldliness and the weight of their stories. The girls who had been shy and delicate were now elegant and poised, carrying themselves with regal grace.
Qin Ming, feeling pleasantly tipsy, stepped out to bid farewell to his old friends.
Meng Xing Hai, also flushed with drink, waved at the departing guests with a mix of genuine warmth and playful theatrics.
After returning, Qin Ming’s light intoxication faded, and his gaze sharpened. He turned his focus toward studying the Wood Sutra and Longevity Sutra, eager to strengthen himself. In the Night Fog World, one’s personal power was the foundation of everything.
Meng Xing Hai noticed Qin Ming’s intent and advised, “Don’t rush into practice. Find a seasoned expert from the path of the newly awakened to examine it first. If there’s a flaw in the method, you could face serious problems.”
Qin Ming nodded. “I’ll review it carefully first.”
In truth, he was confident in his ability to discern the authenticity of the texts.
The ink on the hand-copied sutras still carried faint emotional traces—waves of resentment from Cui He himself. Qin Ming realized that Cui He had begrudgingly transcribed the texts, unwilling to share his hard-earned methods.
“The Wood Sutra does have some flaws,” Qin Ming muttered. “They’re subtle, but practicing it as is would lead to incomplete results.” Using his intuition and celestial resonance, he identified the correct passages and corrected them.
He was reminded once again of the risks of using unverified techniques. The Longevity Sutra also contained issues, which he adjusted manually. Surprisingly, he extracted an additional page of the text, expanding it from six pages to seven by resonating with Cui He’s lingering emotions.
Unfortunately, Cui He’s resentment overshadowed much of his focus on the text’s subtleties.
The Longevity Sutra fascinated Qin Ming. Its insights into extending life, preserving vitality, and maintaining peak condition were extraordinary. While it didn’t cover as broad a scope as the Fate-Altering Sutra, the two methods seemed compatible, hinting at future opportunities for integration.
Three days later, Qin Ming noticed his black hair had acquired a faint green tint. His expression froze. “Will I end up glowing green like Cui He when I practice this?”
Experimenting with the Silk Script Method to merge his celestial light, Qin Ming was relieved to find no adverse effects. His unified celestial energy remained stable, and he exhaled in relief.
“Ever since returning from Luo Fu Immortal Mountain, I’ve been recovering. Once I’ve fully adjusted, I’ll prepare for my seventh awakening!” Excitement coursed through Qin Ming. Each transformation would bring a massive leap in strength.
Reflecting on his progress, he recalled his earlier duel with Cui Chong Xuan, who had practiced the Six Rulers Force. At the time, Qin Ming had just mastered the Separation Flame Sutra and the Golden Silkworm Sutra.
“With two advanced techniques, my celestial energy transformed and could suppress Cui Chong Xuan, who had only mastered one Ruler’s Force. According to him, in the realm of the newly awakened, an aberrant practicing two Ruler’s Forces is considered competent.”
By his calculations, mastering four advanced techniques during this stage would allow him to rival the legendary methods. However, he acknowledged that achieving this balance was not merely about accumulation; integration and avoiding conflict between techniques were crucial.
Having acquired the Separation Flame Sutra, Wuji Sutra, and now the Wood Sutra, Qin Ming had the four techniques he needed. The Fate-Altering Sutra, while extraordinary for extending life and improving one’s natural gifts, offered little direct enhancement to celestial energy.
“Ning Si Qi’s help in bringing me the Separation Flame Sutra was invaluable,” Qin Ming mused. “Without it, I wouldn’t have acquired the Wuji Sutra, and my transformation in the Mountain and River Spirit Nest wouldn’t have been so perfect.”
Determined, Qin Ming began practicing the Wood Sutra to prepare for his next awakening.
With twenty consecutive victories under his belt, Qin Ming met the requirements to enter the Six Rulers Sect. Meng Xing Hai arranged for a golden invitation to be delivered to him.
Not long ago, Qin Ming had been struggling to prove himself in duels across various cities. Now, with invitations from both the Six Rulers and Yuqing Lineage in hand, he faced a dilemma.
Meng Xing Hai explained, “From what I’ve heard, the recruitment standards for the Six Rulers, Sky-Supporting Sect, and Yuqing Lineage have been relaxed this time. Even non-aberrants can compete for core disciple positions. It seems they believe those with exceptional comprehension might improve their innate talents later.”
Qin Ming nodded thoughtfully. “The great sects are clearly preparing for the coming era of expansion.”
Meng Xing Hai, who had been following the latest news, added, “The Exotic Lands and Secret Sect are also actively recruiting top talents.”
He handed Qin Ming a document. “The Six Rulers, Sky-Supporting Sect, and Yuqing Lineage require candidates to pass two trials to become core disciples. Each trial offers valuable benefits, attracting the best geniuses. The conditions across these sects are similar, suggesting they’ve coordinated to avoid malicious competition.”
Qin Ming listened attentively, seeking Meng Xing Hai’s guidance on which sect would be most suitable. However, even Meng Xing Hai hesitated. “It’s hard to say. The great expansion will demand many aberrants and top-tier talents, but there’s a risk that some might end up as cannon fodder. This isn’t a decision to take lightly.”
He added, “Some of these sects are becoming family-run enterprises. Even as a core disciple, you might face biased resource distribution.”
Considering this, Qin Ming remarked, “Perhaps the special academies would be a good alternative.”
Meng Xing Hai agreed. “You have time. Keep researching your options.”
The next day, Meng Xing Hai brought updates. “The initial trials for the Six Rulers, Yuqing, and Sky-Supporting sects offer access to their unique celestial techniques, testing candidates’ compatibility. These trials also take place in areas rich with rare spiritual materials, a benefit in itself.”
Hearing this, Qin Ming, nearing his seventh awakening, couldn’t help but feel tempted.
Meng Xing Hai chuckled. “The spiritual materials in the grand sects’ ancestral grounds are far superior to what you’ll find outside. It’s worth looking forward to. For now, stay away from the Thunderfire Refinement Temple. No unnecessary risks.”
Qin Ming immediately nodded. The opportunity to learn celestial techniques from legendary sects and obtain rare spiritual materials was too good to pass up—even if he didn’t join them in the end, there was no downside.
He was genuinely curious about the ancestral grounds of the Six Rulers, Yuqing Lineage, and Sky-Supporting Sect. Exploring those places could yield opportunities to resonate with ancient scriptures, which would be an incredible gain.
“When does it start?” Qin Ming asked, eager to depart right away.
Meng Xing Hai explained that it would take a few more days. In the meantime, he handed Qin Ming six small pouches. “Here, these are Fallen Fruits for you.”
Knowing Qin Ming’s extraordinary constitution, Meng worried that the single pouch of Fallen Fruits Qin Ming had won from Qi Dao Ming in Light-Chasing City might not suffice for his seventh awakening. Recently, Meng Xing Hai had been flush with winnings, acquiring these fruits either through bets or purchasing them with Daylight Gold.
“There’s no need for thanks between us, Meng Uncle,” Qin Ming said, accepting the pouches. Having already mastered the Wood Sutra, Qin Ming had also developed techniques like Lesser Yang Force, Dragon Claw Force, Golden Slash Force, and Wind and Fire Force. He was ready for his seventh awakening, planning to use the Fallen Fruits to merge these techniques.
The mother tree that bore these fruits was rooted in the Celestial Light Pool, absorbing the purest essence of celestial energy. The fruits’ effects were almost liquid-like in potency—an incredible resource.
Over the following days, Qin Ming prepared intensively. A light practice of the Wood Sutra still caused faint green hues to appear in his hair, but he didn’t let it bother him.
He also enlisted Meng Xing Hai’s help to refine some Jade Iron and Exotic Metal into weapons. The remnants of his Overlord’s Lance, dismantled by Li Qing Yue, contained black jade iron. Though there wasn’t much of it, Meng managed to forge the fragments into a dozen arrowheads.
Qin Ming found his White Jade Iron Blade satisfactory and decided not to alter it. Instead, he focused on a precious piece of snow-white Exotic Metal. The material, smooth and lustrous like jade, held a mysterious inner radiance and was far superior to White Jade Iron.
The near-immortal Eight Trigrams Furnace had been forged using this type of exotic metal among others. Qin Ming had discovered a cache of it at the bottom of a giant pit, though the elder powerhouses who took it away only returned two small pieces—one white and one purple—to Li Qing Yue. Now, he and Li Qing Yue each held one piece.
After several days of painstaking work, Qin Ming now possessed twelve black jade iron arrows. Their dark, glossy surfaces carried a faint jade-like sheen but radiated lethal energy. He also gained a pendant—a thumb-sized, pure white, crystalline object shaped like a hiltless sword or a sharp spike.
Weapons forged from exotic metals were incredibly rare and valuable. Even a small piece could pierce through celestial energy, consciousness auras, and Divine Wisdom. Defending against such a weapon required extraordinary means.
Meng Xing Hai eyed the pendant with admiration. “That thing is worth more than all your jade iron weapons combined. Don’t go losing it.”
Qin Ming laughed. “If you like it, Meng Uncle, why don’t you take it?”
Meng Xing Hai shook his head. “What are you saying? I’m too old to covet your stuff.”
Recently, Qin Ming felt his body had fully recovered. He was ready for his seventh awakening and looked forward to entering the ancestral grounds of the legendary sects.
Finally, the long-awaited news arrived—the Six Rulers Sect would begin their trials first.
“How convenient,” Qin Ming mused as he packed his belongings. “I hope the Cui family doesn’t think I’m targeting them deliberately.”
The Six Rulers Sect held a lofty position. Their mountain gate, located within the Da Yu Dynasty, commanded such authority that no one dared to cause trouble near its borders. It was a place that instilled awe across the lands.
The journey from Red Glow City to the Six Rulers Sect spanned 15,000 miles. Li Qing Yun personally arranged for his flying mount to escort Qin Ming, ensuring a swift and safe journey.
As they approached, majestic mountain ranges unfolded before them, shrouded in ethereal mist and faintly glowing with spiritual light. Each peak resembled the head of a dragon rising from the earth, exuding an imposing presence.
The Six Rulers’ territory was remarkable in every sense.
Li Qing Yun advised, “Do your best. Seize any opportunities you can. They say that mastering the final stage of the Six Rulers Heart Sutra would make even the most powerful figures from the Exotic Lands wary.”
He had already sent Cui Fifth Master back home, tired of seeing his perpetually sour expression. Having delivered Qin Ming safely to the gates of the Six Rulers Sect, he felt no lingering concerns.
Qin Ming smiled. “Don’t worry, Li Uncle. Whether or not I stay here, I won’t bring shame to your name.”
Outside the Six Rulers Sect’s mountain gate, a large crowd had gathered. Many were youthful faces, elite talents from across the Night Fog World, drawn to this legendary trial.
In recent days, Qin Ming’s name had spread in whispers among ancient aristocratic families, causing considerable unease for some members of the Cui family.
When news reached them that Qin Ming had entered the Six Rulers Sect’s ancestral grounds, certain expressions darkened.
The next day, one of the Cui family’s core figures—Cui Fifth Master’s elder brother, Cui Chang Qing—personally arrived at the Six Rulers Sect.
A figure from the Exotic Lands, Cui Chang Qing possessed formidable strength and practiced the Longevity Sutra to extend his life. His long hair was a vibrant green, and his smooth, youthful face betrayed no sign of age.