Chapter 98: Unprecedented
This novel is translated and hosted on Bcatranslation
Meng Xing Hai knew Li Qing Xiao’s elders, so he couldn’t directly scold the boy. Instead, he waved him off, trying to dismiss him. Yet, the teenager, with a playful grin, refused to budge.
Using a secret transmission technique, Meng whispered to Qin Ming, “How is your progress with the Golden Silkworm Skill?”
“It’s done,” Qin Ming replied calmly.
Had Li Qing Xiao not been present, Old Meng might have jumped out of his seat. He was genuinely shocked—just five days, and Qin Ming had mastered it! Meng had planned to use a secret method to help Qin Ming get started, but the boy had accomplished it on his own in mere days.
Meng Xing Hai’s expression shifted. This youth kept surprising him, consistently exceeding expectations, far beyond what anyone could predict.
“Brother Qin Ming…” Li Qing Xiao began.
“Stay out of it!” Meng Xing Hai interrupted, clearly annoyed. Couldn’t the boy see that this was a harmonious conversation between uncle and nephew? Li Qing Xiao’s presence was nothing but a disruption.
Stunned, Li Qing Xiao’s face flushed deep red. From a young age, he’d been praised for his talents and had grown proud of his status. Now, he felt humiliated. But in truth, Meng Xing Hai simply found him irritating.
“Uncle Meng, if you’re going to treat me like this, I’m not happy. I want to challenge Qin Ming—the one you’ve declared the city’s number one!” Li Qing Xiao stood, his body glowing faintly with the Celestial Light Force.
“What nonsense are you spouting?” Meng Xing Hai snapped, unwilling to indulge him.
But Li Qing Xiao wouldn’t back down. “Uncle Meng, I’m following the rules. Anyone is allowed to challenge the city’s top-ranked during the Grand Exam.”
The moment those words left his lips, regret hit him like a wave. He had merely been passing through, gathering some information. Offending Meng Xing Hai had never been part of his plan.
“Uncle Meng, I’m sorry. I’m young and impulsive. Please don’t take it to heart,” Li Qing Xiao quickly apologized, once again donning the sunny, cheerful demeanor of a bright youth.
Meng Xing Hai’s tone was indifferent as he said, “You’ve already issued your challenge. If I refuse, rumors will spread that I’m biased, and the title of ‘Number One’ in Red Glow City will be seen as a fraud. I’ll have to arrange this for you.”
Li Qing Xiao froze. If he truly angered Meng Xing Hai, even his family wouldn’t let him off the hook.
“Qin, you’ll face his challenge,” Meng ordered, immediately instructing his men to prepare the dueling arena and summon witnesses.
Qin Ming agreed with a nod. Old Meng was already upset—how could Qin stay seated? He hadn’t planned to entertain this teenager, but since the boy insisted on stirring trouble, Qin didn’t mind warming up. Besides, he was still a teenager himself. Why act overly composed? A little youthful vigor wouldn’t hurt, and it might even save him from Old Meng’s critical gaze.
Li Qing Xiao wanted to protest, but it was too late. A decree from the city’s leader meant immediate action. The guards from the City Lord’s Mansion and even people outside gathered to watch the duel in the training arena.
“Let’s begin!” Li Qing Xiao no longer addressed Qin Ming as “Brother.” His tone was sharp, his temper clearly boiling.
The training arena was vast, large enough for a proper duel between those in the Awakening Stage.
Li Qing Xiao wore luxurious attire adorned with jade, cutting the figure of an elegant young noble. Yet, he drew a broad, gleaming blade, its size and width greater than an average weapon.
“Where’s your weapon?” he asked.
“I’m older than you. I won’t need one,” Qin Ming replied. Clad in simple blue robes, his refined features and clear eyes exuded an aura of extraordinary calm. His movements were effortless, untouched by dust, giving him the appearance of a celestial messenger.
“You’re certainly arrogant,” Li Qing Xiao said coldly. “Since when has someone on the Awakening Path dared to look down on someone who’s undergone seven awakenings?”
The spectators were shocked. A fourteen-year-old who had awakened seven times! Such talent was unheard of. Yet Qin Ming was unfazed. His “younger brother,” Cui Chong Xuan, wasn’t even thirteen but had already started consuming the Three-Colored Flower to merge four types of Celestial Light Force.
The noble families had unfathomable resources. They didn’t wait for their children to reach the prime age for awakening. As long as the talent was there, they pushed forward. The only limit was the “buffer period” required to prevent the body from mutating too rapidly within a single year.
“Come on!” Qin Ming gestured, inviting him to attack.
Li Qing Xiao’s face turned icy as he dashed forward, leaving behind a trail of afterimages like a ghost haunting the arena. The onlookers watched in awe.
His blade slashed through the air, guided by a famous blade manual’s force techniques. The broad weapon roared with thunderous vibrations as his Celestial Light Force resonated through it, giving it an unstoppable momentum.
Qin Ming sidestepped the blade’s edge and struck the side of the weapon with a hammer-like force. The blow disrupted Li Qing Xiao’s attack. To Qin Ming, Li Qing Xiao’s technique was decent but far from remarkable. The sheer force nearly disarmed Li Qing Xiao, leaving him frozen in place. His ghostly footwork faltered.
In a blur, Qin Ming was behind him. With a swift kick to the rear, he sent the noble youth flying.
“You…” Li Qing Xiao was so furious he nearly exploded on the spot.
This was the same person he had questioned and mocked, even using his cousin Li Qing Xu’s words to belittle. And now, in direct combat, he was utterly humiliated. Seething, he sprang up and unleashed another slash. The blade’s power surged, roaring like a tsunami, a finishing move from another renowned blade manual.
Qin Ming met the attack with an explosive force. Despite the blade’s reinforced steel, it shattered into countless fragments, clattering noisily across the arena floor.
Li Qing Xiao froze. His weapon had been destroyed—by a barehanded opponent!
Before he could recover, another kick sent him sprawling to the ground.
Meng Xing Hai, familiar with Li Qing Xiao’s elders, had no intention of letting the youth bleed. Two kicks were punishment enough.
It was likely, though, that Li Qing Xiao would have preferred a wound. Being kicked—twice—was humiliation enough. If this got out, the noble families wouldn’t stop laughing at him.
His face turned ghostly pale, the sting of defeat heavy on his heart. Raised on praise and accolades, he had never experienced such a crushing loss.
Qin Ming regarded him objectively. “Your skill isn’t bad,” he thought, “but if you insist on causing trouble, don’t expect mercy.” He had made it a point to end the fight quickly and decisively to silence this crafty boy.
If not for that, Li Qing Xiao might have lasted longer.
“Child, are you all right?” Meng Xing Hai offered timely consolation. “Everyone loses sometimes. Focus on improving yourself. There’s no need to despair.”
Li Qing Xiao staggered back to the sitting room, utterly despondent.
“I’m a man of principle,” Meng Xing Hai declared. “I would never name Qin as the city’s top fighter just because we’re close.”
Li Qing Xiao nodded blankly.
Much later, he recovered enough to say, “Qin Ming, you’re strong on the Awakening Path. I’m only fourteen, but that’s enough to meet the criteria for the Beyond. I’ll walk the Immortal Road from now on.”
“Congratulations,” Qin Ming said, his tone neutral.
Li Qing Xiao added, “I had planned to walk two paths at once. Now, thanks to you, I’ll focus on just one.”
“You’re not about to tell me to meet you in the Outer Saint Domain after climbing the peaks, are you?” Qin Ming asked, his tone sharp but calm. He added with a slight smirk, “If I step into the Outer Saint Domain, I doubt it’ll be in the way you all imagine. Definitely not what you’d hope for.”
Li Qing Xiao and an elder departed on an aberrant bird, disappearing into the distance. Li Qing Xiao had made up his mind—he never wanted to set foot in Red Glow City again.
Meanwhile, Meng Xing Hai sipped his tea leisurely, his gaze fixed on Qin Ming with a warm smile. “I’ve prepared a section of five-colored spiritual branch for you. Its effects are far stronger than the Three-Colored Flower and will help you fuse your Celestial Light Force, increasing its overall capacity.”
“Isn’t that… rare and precious?” Qin Ming asked, his brows furrowing slightly.
Meng Xing Hai nodded. “Yes. It’s from the Outer Saint Domain. The branch comes from an ancient tree rooted in the Celestial Light Pool. The older branches must never be touched, but the newly grown ones can be harvested each year. A single branch has five leaves, each a different color. They look fresh and vibrant on the outside, but inside, they’re brimming with concentrated celestial essence.”
“An ancient tree… Celestial Light Pool…” Qin Ming murmured, a dreamy expression crossing his face. Such a place sounded like a paradise. The thought of the medicinal potency in just a single springtime branch left him marveling at the unfathomable depths of the Outer Saint Domain.
“Is its yield abundant?” Qin Ming inquired, his curiosity piqued.
“Every spring, the harvest is distributed among the factions in the Outer Saint Domain,” Meng Xing Hai explained. “The thousand-year clans receive a small share. This year, my family didn’t have any promising young disciples, so the branch sent to us ended up being a gift for you.”
Qin Ming couldn’t help but marvel. This was what true heritage looked like.
The Outer Saint Domain, with its immense power, naturally held the best resources. Even the smallest fragment of what they considered ordinary could become a rare treasure elsewhere. Meng Xing Hai seemed to read his thoughts and remarked, “Feeling the pressure now? The gap is vast. If I hadn’t been tested as a youth and found a different path, granting me a chance to rewrite my destiny, I’d have spent my life on the Awakening Path. At best, I’d have ended up as an enforcer stationed outside the mountain gates of the Secret Sect.”
Clearly, Meng Xing Hai’s path was intertwined with the Secret Sect, one steeped in divinity.
Qin Ming nodded thoughtfully. He had believed himself well-versed in the various paths of cultivation, but it was clear his knowledge had limits.
Still, his eyes flickered with a burning determination. Now, his focus was on improving himself.
He was not cultivating so arduously just to become a follower for the disciples of the Outer Saint Domain!
Qin Ming opened the long jade box on the table, revealing a branch as thick as a thumb, over two feet long. Five-colored mist swirled around it, the celestial essence within restrained yet potent. The branch bore only five leaves, each a different, translucent hue, exuding vibrant vitality.
“The competition among the disciples of the Outer Saint Domain is about to begin,” Meng Xing Hai said. “Stay at the City Lord’s mansion for the next two days, consume the five-colored spiritual branch, enhance your Celestial Light Force, and then head over.”
Qin Ming smiled faintly. He wouldn’t need that much time. Last time, he had consumed the Three-Colored Flower and perfectly unified his Celestial Light Force within a day.
“What kind of weapon do you use?” Meng Xing Hai asked. “I’ll have someone forge one for you, blending in some rare metals to make it exceptional.”
“Uncle Meng, I already have a blade. Could you help me refine it?” Qin Ming pulled out the White Jade Alloy Blade.
He and Old Liu had crafted the blade using a crude forging method, and it still lacked a proper edge.
“This…” Meng Xing Hai’s eyes lit up. The material was far superior to what he had prepared. The pure White Jade Alloy had no trace of impurities.
“You’ve done well, kid,” Meng Xing Hai said with a sigh. “This is extraordinary jade alloy. But the forging method… I don’t want to criticize, but it’s a waste of its potential.”
“I also have a small piece left. I want to use it for arrowheads,” Qin Ming added, taking out a blue chunk of jade alloy about the size of half a walnut.
“That’s too extravagant,” Meng Xing Hai said, shaking his head. “Even my arrows don’t use material like this. When you fire these arrows, use them wisely. Don’t waste them.”
That evening, in the quiet courtyard of the City Lord’s mansion, Qin Ming consumed the five-colored spiritual branch. Instantly, he felt the celestial energy searing through his body, as though he were being torn apart.
The celestial essence in the five-colored spiritual branch was far more intense than that in the Three-Colored Flower. However, Qin Ming’s physique had also grown significantly stronger.
Throughout the night, he pushed his Separation Flame Force to new heights and trained the Golden Silkworm Force to the limits of what his Five-Time Awakening could allow.
On his skin, radiant Separation Flame Divine Light flickered alongside faint threads of golden silk. Both techniques provided exceptional protective effects with their Celestial Light Force.
In addition, Qin Ming quickly enhanced the Vajra Force, Wind Force, and Golden Light Force he had recently practiced.
By dawn, he had unified all his Celestial Light Forces into one and fused them using the Awakening Method inscribed in the Silk Script Method.
A quick test confirmed the dramatic increase in his Celestial Light Force’s power. The combined strength of the Golden Light Force, Separation Flame Force, and Golden Silkworm Force—all extraordinary techniques—played a key role in this breakthrough.
Meanwhile, the Outer Saint Domain disciples’ competition was the talk of every Blessed Land, thousand-year clan, and major city in the Night Fog World.
With his strength at an unprecedented peak and his mind calmer than ever, Qin Ming was ready to set foot into the Outer Saint Domain.