Chapter 53: Outside the Boundaries
This novel is translated and hosted on Bcatranslation
A thick darkness had settled over the forest, as if someone had spilled a bottle of ink across the sky. The moon and stars were nowhere to be seen, and the towering trees lining the narrow path stretched their branches like skeletal arms, rattling gently in the night wind. Each rustle and creak felt like a ghostly whisper, and the silence was so tight it made you want to hold your breath.
In that unsettling gloom, Qin Ming didn’t hesitate. He lifted his blade, and with a swift slash, the knife’s edge seemed to crack the silence like a lightning bolt cleaving open a stormy cloud. But no sooner had he struck than a swirling blackness rushed at them—like a vicious shadow come alive—ready to swallow them both whole.
For anyone else, it would have been impossible to see in such pitch-black conditions, but Qin Ming managed it, his eyes fixed and focused. He felt a coldness in the air, like something icy slithering toward him. He pressed the mineral coating of his short blade against the darkness, and there was a sharp hiss, as though steel had touched something both terribly cold and strangely alive. Sparks of white heat flickered around the blade’s edge, boiling away the misty gloom that tried to overwhelm him.
Behind him, Old Man Liu’s voice broke through the darkness. “What’s going on?!” he shouted, sounding both alarmed and confused. Despite his age, he moved fast, yanking out his sturdy machete and hacking at the swirling void.
His blade, however, cut through nothing but empty air. It was like swinging at a phantom—no contact, no resistance, nothing.
Qin Ming snapped, “Back off!” His tone was urgent, the way a teenage boy might warn a friend who was blundering into danger. He didn’t want the old man tangled in this fight. Something about this black mist felt horribly wrong.
Then a terrible shriek tore through the silence, high and piercing enough to make Qin Ming’s ears ring. The dark cloud began to twist and shrink, gathering itself into a shape that gradually looked human. Old Man Liu stepped back, his senses alert even if he couldn’t see the threat clearly. Instinct told him it wasn’t safe here.
Within that churning darkness, a figure emerged—young, with a blurred outline, but human enough for Qin Ming to see the anguish on his face. The stranger’s eyes were hollow and furious. Qin Ming realized his blade had cut this person, and an inky, blackish “blood” was spilling out, dripping onto the forest floor. The sight made Qin Ming’s stomach twist.
The wounded figure gasped, then spat out a dark fog that sharpened into a black arrow, aiming straight at Qin Ming’s head. Qin Ming jerked sideways just in time. The arrow of mist whizzed past, but the chill it carried left a tingling numbness along his cheek.
“Whoa, that’s not happening!” Qin Ming muttered under his breath, his tone caught somewhere between fear and teenage bravado. He shook his blade swiftly, causing the mineral coating to crumble away like old paint. In that split second, everything changed. The darkness rushed at Qin Ming, silent and deadly, while the odd young man lunged forward, no hesitation, clearly trying to kill him first.
Qin Ming’s heart pounded. This was no ordinary foe; it was something beyond normal understanding. He could die here—he knew that. He raised the blade, feeling an energy awaken inside it. With the coating gone, the White Jade Alloy Blade gleamed, shining like a captive star in his hand. Its light blazed through the night, illuminating the forest in a harsh, white glow. The strange young man flinched, his form wincing away from the brightness as if it scalded him.
“Stop!” the young man screamed, voice strained and panicked. He tried to dissolve back into mist and slip away into the black sky above. But the blade’s radiance forced him to remain trapped in human shape, unable to fully flee.
Qin Ming’s lip curled. He could see that the stranger’s blood—if it could be called that—was fading like ash on the breeze. “Dude, what even are you?” he whispered, his words low but not friendly. He gripped the blade tighter, stunned that he, a kid from a remote village, could wield something like this. The young man seemed equally shocked, like he couldn’t believe Qin Ming had a weapon of such power.
The White Jade Alloy Blade felt different now. Qin Ming discovered he could pour a type of internal strength—his Celestial Light Force—into it. Normally, a blade wouldn’t accept such power at his level, but this one did. With this newfound connection, Qin Ming realized he could enhance his techniques and hold the creature in place. The blade’s white glow flared, wrapping the young man like a ribbon of flame around a shadow.
“No, just listen!” the stranger pleaded, voice cracking as he tried to push back. But Qin Ming wasn’t interested in conversation right now. He had no idea what this thing was, and letting it escape might mean death for him and others.
Each time the young man spat out more black mist, Qin Ming’s blade burned it away. The sword’s heat and light spread through the creature like fire ripping through dry grass. Qin Ming unleashed his Interception Force, guiding the blade’s energy into every strike. He sensed the mist struggling to break free, but his Adhesive Force held it in place. There was no escape.
The young man’s face twisted with fear and disbelief. “There’s no sunlight anymore,” he choked out, as if he couldn’t fathom why he was losing. “I should’ve been safe at this level! How is this happening…?” His voice broke, filled with terror.
Qin Ming narrowed his eyes. “So you’re one of those freaky people who come from beyond the boundaries, right?” he asked, his tone both curious and scornful. “Everyone’s scared of you, but no one can see you. That’s who you are, isn’t it?”
“No!” the young man howled. “I’m human! Just—just let me explain!” His voice was frantic, but Qin Ming’s doubt only sharpened his strikes. A human? Really? All he’d seen was a creature made of mist and strange darkness.
“You’re scarier than any ghost,” Qin Ming muttered, swinging again and again, building a lethal pattern of cuts.
“I’m from beyond the boundaries…” the young man managed to say, voice desperate, but the blade’s growing brilliance consumed his words. Qin Ming’s weapon had sliced him so many times that now it was more the blade’s light than the cutting edge that did the real damage.
When the stranger realized escape was impossible, he exploded into a final burst of mist. Something small—a piece of cloth—shot out of the haze, trying to float away into the night sky. But whatever strength it had before was gone. It drifted slowly, like a wounded bird struggling to fly.
Qin Ming reacted instantly, slashing out and batting the cloth back down. “Huh?” he said, puzzled. The cloth was about the size of his palm, completely intact despite his attack. A faint wisp of darkness still clung to it, like the last breath of the vanquished. Qin Ming gathered his Celestial Light Force, using it like invisible glue to pull the cloth closer, then jabbed it with a sharp flick of his Nail Force, trying to find a vulnerable spot.
“Stop! I’m from beyond the boundaries—” the young man’s voice echoed, fading fast, until at last the mist burned away entirely.
The cloth fluttered onto the ground. All that was left of the mysterious intruder had vanished, as if he had never existed.
Qin Ming stood there, blade in hand, breathing hard. He was starting to understand. This wasn’t just some mindless monster—this was a person, or something close to it, from places he’d only heard rumors about. They could hide in darkness, turn to mist, become invisible to normal eyes. How in the world was anyone supposed to fight that?
Old Man Liu approached quietly, still holding his machete. “So, did you finish it off? What was that thing?” he asked, sounding shaken. “I couldn’t see a blasted thing. Felt like my eyes were stitched shut!”
Qin Ming shrugged, trying to sound cooler than he felt. “Someone from beyond the boundaries,” he said, voice low. The words felt heavy. How had he gotten tangled up in something so strange?
Old Man Liu stiffened. “Beyond the boundaries? That’s… that’s serious business.” He couldn’t believe they had just survived an encounter like that. Qin Ming, barely more than a teenager, had done what older, more experienced warriors might fail to do.
Qin Ming bent down and poked at the cloth with his blade. He focused his Celestial Light Force into the White Jade Alloy Blade once more, letting it glow, but the cloth just lay there, stubborn and silent. No new clues, no further reaction.
Old Man Liu’s mind spun. He’d known Qin Ming as a strong-willed village kid, but now this boy had forged a strange and powerful blade, taken on an invisible enemy, and won. Though Old Man Liu had seen many strange happenings in these parts, this was something else entirely.
Qin Ming straightened up, slipping the cloth into a pouch. Its metallic threads and cloud-like patterns fascinated him, but he didn’t have time to puzzle them out now. They had other tasks ahead.
“Should we head back to the village?” Old Man Liu asked, eyeing the deep darkness all around.
Qin Ming shook his head, his teenage voice carrying a stubborn edge. “Nope,” he said. “We’re going to Silver Vine Town. I’m hungry, and after that, I’ve got to find the family we’re supposed to meet. I’m not hiding out in the village like a scared kid.”
Old Man Liu frowned. “You sure you don’t need a break? That was a tough fight.”
Qin Ming’s jaw tightened. “What’s the point of resting, anyway? This stuff—these mysteries, these monsters—it’s all because I’m not strong enough yet. I need to hit the archives, learn what I can, and train harder. I can’t just sit still while people from beyond the boundaries lurk around. I’ve got to keep moving forward, you know?”
His voice wavered slightly at the end, showing a flicker of the frightened boy beneath the bravado. But it was enough to convince Old Man Liu. Without another word, the pair headed off into the night. The path ahead might be filled with danger, but Qin Ming was determined. He had a long road to travel, countless secrets to uncover, and much strength to gain before he would be ready to face the even greater challenges that lay beyond the boundaries.