Chapter 52: It’s Really Here
This novel is translated and hosted on Bcatranslation
Qin Ming was shocked. Could this blade manual be more surprising than he thought? It just kept giving him unexpected gifts. The old man’s sword skills were already impressive, revealing a very high level of blade mastery—a level Qin Ming hadn’t achieved yet. He had just grasped some of the basics of Light Aura and couldn’t fully unleash the power of that strongest strike. And now, without even starting to practice the old man’s Light Aura, the “Tathagata Aura” had reacted?
Quickly, Qin Ming shook his head, trying not to get his hopes up too much. If anyone had already mastered Tathagata Aura, they probably wouldn’t even care about this manual. Auras like Skyholding Aura, Tathagata Aura, and others were all legendary techniques, even stronger than Giant’s Aura. They were said to lead one to divinity, which made them immensely powerful.
After thinking about it, Qin Ming came to a conclusion—it was impossible for the legendary Light Aura skill to be in this book. He put all his focus on the manual, diving into it and syncing with the emotions within. The more he focused, the clearer the voices and images became.
Qin Ming first looked at the “Tathagata Aura.” Just one sentence was enough to evoke a strong emotional reaction. It was clear that the person who left these notes had been deeply obsessed. In front of him appeared a burly man with a rough beard, carrying a large broadsword, looking up at the stormy night sky, sighing.
Finally, the man shouted, “Tathagata Aura, I’ll train you like a nail!”
Qin Ming blinked, puzzled. What was going on? He almost got distracted by that ridiculous statement, breaking his resonance state. A moment later, he understood. The bearded man had followed the clues, gone through many hardships, and eventually found the hidden treasure—a few pages of paper.
The opening was impressive. The first paragraph told future readers that this secret technique was related to the Tathagata Aura! But as the man read further, excitement turned to disappointment. By the time he reached the last page, he almost tore it apart. The final line said this was a powerful “Nail Aura,” great at penetrating.
The original owner of the pages had been serious about telling future practitioners that the Tathagata Aura included the Nail Aura. Qin Ming couldn’t help but sympathize with the bearded man. Any ultimate technique, like the legendary Tathagata Aura, was made up of many different types of auras, eventually combining to create the rare Light Aura. No wonder the man left a note full of bitterness. He must have felt defeated after spending so much time pursuing these pages.
Despite his frustration, the man still studied the technique, training with a sense of anger, feeling like he’d been deceived. While resonating with these emotions, Qin Ming was influenced too—he almost got mad just by following along. Initially, he tried to suppress it, but later realized that the more he got angry, the stronger the resonance became, and the clearer the insights were. So, he let go completely.
When Qin Ming closed the book, he muttered, “I’ll train you like a nail!” He shut his eyes, taking a good fifteen minutes to calm himself, finally shaking off the emotions.
He went into the courtyard, practicing seriously. Everything flowed smoothly, without a hint of hesitation, as if he had studied this for half his life. Light Aura coursed through his body, forming sharp energy at his fingertips—the Nail Aura was slowly taking shape.
Qin Ming felt a deep connection to the emotions of those who came before as if he had experienced it all himself. Their insights and experiences became his foundation. But that didn’t mean he had gained decades of power in Nail Aura. He had only witnessed and resonated with their feelings and experiences, not received their strength. He still had to train on his own.
In a way, this emotional resonance was most valuable for learning different techniques. When it came to blade skills, spear techniques, or sword scriptures, it allowed for fast mastery—like practicing for decades and suddenly having an epiphany. However, to elevate his life force—to progress from his second awakening to the third, or to accumulate Light Aura—Qin Ming still had to put in the work. There were no shortcuts there.
“Even so, this is enough,” Qin Ming said, satisfied. Some techniques were incredibly difficult to train in, hard to fully comprehend. Holding the crystallized wisdom of those who came before, he felt he had gained an enormous advantage.
After careful study, Qin Ming decided that the Nail Aura was quite impressive. Despite the unappealing name, it would be very effective in real combat. With his natural talent, learning Nail Aura wouldn’t be difficult. But by leveraging the experiences and insights left behind, he could quickly get started. He was more than happy to save that precious time.
Without exerting much force, Qin Ming gently poked with his finger, piercing into a stone millstone. The Light Aura he had trained from the silk book had multiple properties—sticking, tearing, penetrating—and clearly, the Nail Aura could be integrated into it.
Suddenly, Qin Ming heard crying. He pushed open the door and walked out.
“Old Man Li just passed away,” he overheard someone say on the street.
Qin Ming’s heart skipped a beat. He looked up at the night sky, estimating the direction. The black fog that appeared not long ago seemed to have settled near the Li family home. A chill crept over him. What was going on? Could there really be deathly spirits and ghosts in this world? He didn’t believe in such things—even mountain monsters were just high-level creatures. But he had indeed seen that black fog, snaking through the air like a spirit, moving from far away.
“Is that what Cao Long and Mu Qing were talking about—things invisible to us but feared even by big families?” Qin Ming wondered, feeling uneasy. He casually observed the area, but the black fog was nowhere to be seen.
Twin Trees Village wasn’t big, with only forty or so families. Any disturbance would soon be known by everyone. Xu Yue Ping arrived, sighing, “Now that food from outside is coming in, and the mutated creatures are retreating from the mountains, hunting has become safer. Just when things seemed to be getting better, some of the elderly are passing away.”
Qin Ming frowned. “Lately, have many elderly passed away?” he asked.
Xu Yue Ping nodded. “Yeah, in the surrounding villages, elders have been dying every day recently.” Then, as if remembering something, he added, “Some young hunters who got injured didn’t make it either. People are saying it might be connected to picking up weapons in the mountains, so no one dares to go there now. But there were others who brought weapons back without any issues.”
Qin Ming frowned. He suspected it all had something to do with the black fog. And he had first seen that fog near the great ravine where the weapons were scattered. Qin Ming’s mood soured. He couldn’t talk to anyone about this. The excitement from learning the Silk Twisting Aura and Nail Aura had evaporated. Was that dangerous black fog going to come again?
Qin Ming felt uneasy, a strong sense of urgency gnawing at him. He didn’t want to leave his fate in the hands of something so uncertain. He strode towards Old Liu’s house, intending to ask if there was a blacksmith nearby.
“You want to forge a blade and do it yourself?” Old Liu looked surprised.
Qin Ming nodded. “Yes, I need to find a reliable blacksmith. I need a good blade now.”
Old Liu shook his head. “With all that’s happened recently, and now that hunting’s possible again, the blacksmiths are busy with orders. They won’t be able to make room for you today. You’d better go early tomorrow before they start working.”
Qin Ming thought it over and agreed. It was unlikely they’d let him use the forge now, especially if he offered an absurdly high price—it would draw too much attention. He figured that since the black fog had just passed through Twin Trees Village, it probably wouldn’t come back so soon. If people kept dying in such a small village, it would be too obvious.
“Let’s leave at midnight then. It’s my first time forging a blade, so I don’t know how long it will take,” Qin Ming said.
Old Liu sighed, “Why go through all this trouble? You could just get someone to do it for you.”
The old man was in the middle of his third awakening, so going in person wasn’t convenient.
He nudged his big yellow dog with his foot. “Dog, get up. Deliver a letter for me.”
…
Back at home, Qin Ming carefully studied the manual again to calm himself. He once more saw the old man, this time swinging his blade. The old man had mastered a form of “Intercept Aura,” a sophisticated technique derived from blending several common auras. Qin Ming didn’t know exactly how many techniques were combined because the emotional connection wasn’t as strong and the scene was dim.
Still, he gained a clear understanding of Intercept Aura. As soon as he started practicing, Qin Ming knew this Celestial Light technique was powerful and complex. If he had to figure it out on his own, it would have taken a long time. It wasn’t a simple, single-element force—it was much deeper than that.
In the old man’s memories, Qin Ming saw that he had pursued this force to achieve the fabled “Heaven-Splitting Aura.” Despite his remarkable talent, the old man’s growth in life essence couldn’t keep up, nor could he access the legendary techniques. To develop the Intercept Aura was already his limit.
“Just learning this Intercept Aura is worth using up the three-colored flower,” Qin Ming realized its value. “The intention of splitting the heavens—that’s what lies behind the strongest strike.” He sat quietly, meditating for a long time on the incredible strength of Intercept Aura.
After some time, Qin Ming noticed that his Light Aura could indeed merge with the Intercept Aura. Now he understood why the silk book had that note—it was clearly meant to remind future readers to “merge.”
“You must seek within yourself, but also rely on external aids,” he thought. Just seeking within wasn’t enough. Without spiritual materials, slowly improving himself wouldn’t help him ascend quickly. And without other auras, how could he merge?
After drinking the last of his spiritual potion, his body heated up again, and he completed his third awakening that very night. This time it was even faster than his second awakening. Qin Ming could feel the changes in his body—his strength had long surpassed three thousand pounds. His speed, resilience, and other physical qualities had also increased considerably.
Around midnight, Qin Ming opened his eyes and headed out to meet Old Liu. The blacksmith shop was in Silver Vine Town. At that time of night, it was quiet—even with the increased business, no one worked that late. Old Liu was brimming with energy, helping Qin Ming by fanning the flames and raising the forge’s temperature.
But to Qin Ming’s surprise, he couldn’t melt the milky white jade metal no matter what he did. It only turned red-hot.
“What kind of treasure is this? Must be some rare material from the mountains, huh?” Old Liu guessed.
“Keep the bellows going!” Qin Ming shouted.
Eventually, Qin Ming gave up trying to melt it. Instead, he took a big hammer and pounded on the red-hot iron with all his might. Thankfully, they were in the basement, or the noise in the dead of night would have been too loud. Even with his incredible strength, Qin Ming was exhausted by the end—he hadn’t taken a single break, putting all his power into every strike.
“I’m a three-time awakened elder, and I’m here working as an assistant blacksmith?” Old Liu couldn’t stand it any longer and took over. He was a better blacksmith than Qin Ming—he had experience and knew the blacksmiths well, having forged blades himself.
Qin Ming learned quickly, taking the hammer back and, after much effort, finally forging the blade. But no matter what they tried, they couldn’t sharpen it—it simply wouldn’t grind.
Old Liu couldn’t tear his eyes away, sighing, “I think once you reach a bigger place, you should reforge this blade. We just don’t have the means here—this material is too ridiculously good.”
“Yeah, I still don’t know what weapon I’ll end up using. This will do for now.” Qin Ming looked at the blunt knife—it was white and pure, almost like jade. It was too eye-catching. He painted it with mineral paint he had prepared earlier and dried it with fire. When he wanted to remove the paint, his Light Aura with its adhesive properties could just peel it all off with a sweep of his hand.
With limited materials, even counting the handle, the blade wasn’t as long as his arm, but it was enough. Qin Ming found it comfortable to hold. He left the small, blue-glowing piece of alloy untouched—such a small, delicate object would be even harder to forge here.
“Isn’t it a bit early to go borrow that book now?” Qin Ming asked.
“It’s still pitch black, and the breakfast stalls in town aren’t even open yet. It wouldn’t be polite to visit this early,” Old Liu said.
They wandered around town, hoping to grab some breakfast, but nothing was open yet. Qin Ming’s pupils narrowed. Just when he was thinking about something, it really came—the black fog appeared again. It was drifting out of someone’s house, and it seemed to notice them, moving towards them quickly.
“Old Liu, let’s head home,” Qin Ming said, pulling him along and giving him a meaningful look in the dense darkness.
Old Liu, having gone through his third awakening, could see Qin Ming’s expression clearly even in the dark. He nodded immediately, “Alright!”
The two of them slipped into a narrow alley, changing direction. The black fog followed, changing direction as well.
Qin Ming realized they had been targeted. Maybe because there was no one else on the street that late, they stood out. It was also possible that the black fog remembered them from their encounter in the great ravine. Perhaps it had noticed him when he first spotted it the previous day.
Either way, there was probably no easy way out of this tonight.
“Let’s head back to the village. We can hunt on the way,” Qin Ming said, gripping his knife naturally, and leading Old Liu out of Silver Vine Town.
The black fog seemed pleased to follow them into a deserted area, silently trailing behind. As the trees lining the road grew denser, the fog couldn’t hold back any longer. It suddenly lunged at them.
Qin Ming was ready. He had been on guard the whole time. As it closed in, he swung his blade behind him!