Chapter 33: Fighting for a Future
This novel is translated and hosted on Bcatranslation
The night stretched, with distant mountains rising like dark, watchful giants. Their outlines barely cut through the starlit sky.
“The intel is wrong!” someone whispered urgently from the shadows of the forest.
In the dense undergrowth, the group surrounding Qin Ming froze. Panic flashed across their faces as two of their comrades collapsed. The boy standing before them had changed, his demeanor shifting from innocent and calm to something far more deadly. His once-clear eyes now sparked with a fierce intensity, like flashes of lightning in a storm.
Qin Ming stood there, his hand gripping a spear that impaled one of their fallen comrades. The lifeless body hung in the air, blood dripping from the wound and painting the snow beneath a deep crimson.
The scene chilled them to the bone. If any of them had been standing in the dead man’s place, they doubted they’d have survived.
The aura around Qin Ming had changed entirely. His tousled black hair whipped in the wind, and his delicate features were set with a grim determination. A suffocating power radiated from him, pressing down on everyone nearby.
Instinctively, they took several steps back. How could someone who had just experienced his first awakening possess such terrifying strength? The two who had fallen were both seasoned warriors, one of them having reached the second awakening over a decade ago.
“This is… unexpected,” Qi Huai En muttered, stepping forward. His voice held a hint of surprise, but his sharp eyes were still cold and calculating. “You’ve got secrets, don’t you? Advancing to the second awakening so fast… Most people take time to stabilize, but you didn’t even pause.”
Qi Huai En was built like a predator, moving with the smooth grace of a tiger or a leopard. His handsome features were hardened by a cruel frown.
He hated being caught off guard. The young man he had kept an eye on was no longer within his control. Qin Ming had become a dangerous wildcard. But Qi Huai En knew he had no choice now—the situation was out of his hands.
His family had been gathering rare spiritual materials for months, preparing a potion meant to strengthen his foundations, giving him a chance to elevate his potential and make him a top candidate. If it worked, he could study secret arts under the old master in Glimmer City, enough to change his fate.
But Qin Ming was a problem, a big one. He might even surpass You Liang Yun, the genius Qi Huai En had grudgingly accepted as an ally. No, this boy wasn’t just a threat—he was an obstacle. One that needed to be removed.
With a sharp motion, Qin Ming swung his spear, flinging the body impaled upon it toward Qi Huai En like a discarded rag doll.
Qi Huai En reacted in an instant. His blade flashed through the air, swift as lightning. The flat of his sword struck the flying corpse and the sickening sound of cracking bones followed as the body crashed into a tree with a heavy thud.
Branches snapped under the weight of the impact, and the mangled body tumbled to the ground in a broken heap.
Qin Ming didn’t stop. He sidestepped smoothly, picking up a large metal hammer from the snow. Now, he held the spear in one hand and the massive hammer in the other.
Ordinary people wouldn’t be able to lift either weapon with both hands, let alone one. But with his strength—two thousand pounds in each arm—they felt no heavier than toys.
Qi Huai En was impressed despite himself. This kid was no joke. It had only taken a flick of his wrist to hurl that body with the force of a speeding vehicle.
Qi Huai En turned to the four men still standing beside him. “What are you waiting for?” he snapped. “You think I’m going to handle this alone while you lot just stand there?”
These men were loyal to him, either through fear or devotion to his family. They readied their weapons, tightening their grips as they circled around Qin Ming, preparing to strike.
The first to move was a seasoned warrior, already in his second awakening. He brandished his spear with both hands, bringing it down in a crushing overhead blow, pouring all his energy into the attack.
The others followed suit, their movements coordinated. Qi Huai En struck, his blade slicing through the air with lethal precision, like a serpent hidden among the other warriors’ attacks.
But Qin Ming was ready. He raised his black metal hammer and met the oncoming spear with an upward swing. The force of the impact reverberated through the forest.
The man gripping the spear stared in disbelief as his weapon flew from his hands. Despite his tight hold, the shock tore through his arms, and his grip gave way. Flesh ripped between his fingers, and the spear spun out of reach. How was this possible? Was this boy truly only in the second awakening?
At the same time, Qin Ming parried the other warriors’ strikes with swift, fluid movements of his spear and hammer. His attackers stumbled back, arms aching from the sheer force of the blows. At least they had managed to keep hold of their weapons.
Qin Ming wasn’t just powerful—he was fast. Far faster than any of them could have anticipated. How else could he have blocked all their attacks in an instant?
Qi Huai En, who had only meant to test the waters, retreated quickly. This boy… he was completely out of control.
He had underestimated him. Badly.
Without hesitation, Qi Huai En pulled a small vial from his belt. The red liquid inside shimmered ominously as he uncorked it and drank it all in one gulp.
He had no choice. Even if he fled, it wouldn’t change anything. If he didn’t kill Qin Ming now, his fate was sealed. The Raven would have him killed for failing.
He knew there would be consequences later. The potion would take its toll on his body, but he couldn’t think about that right now. He needed more power—immediately.
Meanwhile, Qin Ming wasn’t about to slow down. In the chaos of clashing weapons, he found the weak link—the man whose spear he had disarmed.
He moved like a shadow, slipping past the strikes aimed at him with terrifying ease. In one powerful motion, he swung his hammer down on the man, who had been trying to retreat, blood still oozing from his hands.
Despite the man’s desperate attempts to dodge, and the efforts of his comrades to intervene, he couldn’t escape. The hammer came down with a sickening crunch, smashing into his right shoulder. Bones shattered, and the impact sent him flying through the air.
He hit the ground, gasping for breath. His right arm dangled, useless, and broken beyond repair.
Though he was still alive, he was clearly out of the fight, left lying in the snow, broken and defeated.
The sheer brutality of Qin Ming’s attacks left the others frozen in place. Fear etched across their pale faces. What kind of monster were they up against?
Even with their families waiting for them back home and their loyalty unquestioned, a cold dread crawled up their spines. This opponent wasn’t someone they could defeat. The urge to run gripped them all.
What had this young man built during his first awakening? His power and speed were beyond what they could comprehend, as if he belonged to an entirely different realm.
“Don’t lose your nerve!” Qi Huai En’s voice rang out, harsh and commanding as he tightened his grip on his blade. “I can take him down. You just need to keep him distracted!”
A faint red glow spread across Qi Huai En’s skin, and a strange mist, tinged with blood, seemed to rise from him.
Qin Ming’s eyes locked onto him, calm and unbothered. His efforts were futile unless the potion Qi Huai En had taken could somehow push him directly to the third awakening, which usually took days.
“This power… it’s incredible,” Qi Huai En muttered under his breath, flexing his fingers as if testing out his newfound strength. “It’s almost intoxicating.”
He looked up at Qin Ming, desperation and determination clashing in his eyes. “I’ll admit, I let greed get the better of me. But even knowing that, I’d still make the same choices.”
His voice was bitter as if he needed to confess these things out loud, even to his enemy.
“You know,” Qi Huai En continued, his gaze drifting upwards toward the sky, “I come from a place much smaller than Scarlet Dawn City. Back when I had my first awakening, I could lift seven hundred and twenty pounds—way more than anyone my age. But when a noble passed through town, they didn’t even look at me. It crushed me inside.”
Qin Ming listened quietly, saying nothing.
“My family sacrificed everything for me,” Qi Huai En went on, his voice lowering. “They gave up one of our most valuable mines just to get a rare spiritual material that could change my core and enhance my potential. With that, I could have spent years studying under a great master and changed my fate.”
His eyes hardened as he met Qin Ming’s gaze. “But then you showed up. You’ll become a candidate, and I’ll lose everything. If I don’t kill you now, I’ll end up as nothing. I’ve got no other choice.”
Qin Ming didn’t flinch, his voice steady. “You’re fighting for your future, for a life that could be. Me? I’m just trying to survive.”
“Exactly!” Qi Huai En barked, raising his blade. “Our paths crossing was never meant to happen. But now that it has, I can’t walk away. Either I kill you here, or I die trying!”
With a roar, Qi Huai En charged forward. His blade sliced through the air in a dazzling arc, cutting through branches and underbrush alike as it tore towards Qin Ming.
The rest of the group followed his lead, rushing in unison.
But Qin Ming stood his ground, his movements fluid and controlled. Facing four skilled warriors, he showed no fear, matching their attacks with calm precision.
“How… how is this possible?” Qi Huai En’s voice wavered with disbelief. Even with the potion coursing through him, amplifying his strength far beyond its normal limits, he couldn’t overpower Qin Ming.
When Qi Huai En drank the potion, his strength doubled to eighteen hundred pounds. Yet, somehow, he still couldn’t break through. His arm was numb from the repeated clashes with Qin Ming’s weapons.
“What kind of monster is this kid?” one of the other attackers muttered, the fear clear in his voice.
They all knew Qi Huai En’s strength, especially after taking the potion. Yet, even with their combined efforts, they were no match.
“Unless that potion pushes you straight to the third awakening, you’re wasting your time,” Qin Ming said, his voice calm as ever.
With a swift motion, Qin Ming thrust his spear into another attacker. The man’s body was flung backward, landing hard against a tree, where it hung lifeless.
Boom!
The sound echoed as Qin Ming’s hammer collided with another man’s blade, the impact caving in his chest. The man crumpled, the light in his eyes fading.
Desperation surged through Qi Huai En. His attacks grew wilder but sloppier. His strength was fading. Qin Ming parried with ease each time he swung, moving gracefully between strikes as if he were dancing.
Qin Ming’s movements weren’t rigid, following no formal technique. Instead, he adapted on instinct, adjusting to each moment and clash, catching Qi Huai En off guard again and again.
Finally, after several more exchanges, Qi Huai En stumbled back, realization dawning on him. He couldn’t win, not like this.
With one final, powerful swing, Qin Ming’s hammer connected with Qi Huai En’s right shoulder. Blood sprayed into the air as the bone shattered, sending Qi Huai En sprawling onto the ground.
“How… how strong are you?” Qi Huai En gasped, pain twisting his face.
Qin Ming stepped forward silently, his weapons at the ready.
A bitter laugh escaped Qi Huai En’s lips. “I get it now. You were probably at a thousand pounds of strength during your first awakening. And now, after your second, you’re at two thousand, right?”
The few remaining attackers, barely clinging to life, stared at Qin Ming in horror. Power like his was unheard of.
Qin Ming’s voice was low but steady. “Guess I’m sending you off now.”
He moved swiftly, ensuring that each of his opponents was truly defeated, leaving no loose ends.
With the battlefield now eerily silent, Qin Ming took a moment to erase any evidence of the fight, carefully covering his tracks.
Satisfied, he turned and began walking towards the crevice he had found earlier.
“Huh?” he muttered to himself as he neared it, sensing something strange. The spot that had once made him feel sick now seemed… different. It felt like the air itself was healing him, washing away the exhaustion from the battle.
Scanning his surroundings one last time, Qin Ming slipped into the crevice, drawn by the silver light that shimmered beneath the earth.
As he descended, he noticed the threads of silver weaving together, beckoning him deeper into the unknown.