"All right, your state of mind is fairly steady. Seeing as a direct lineage member of the Cui clan has set their sights on you, I thought you might be somewhat nervous," Meng Xinghai remarked approvingly.
"Last time, Cui Hong came looking for me at Black-White Mountain under orders to pin me down in that remote backwater and keep me penned up. I already knew back then that this matter wouldn't just end there," Qin Ming said.
He had long been mentally prepared and was well acquainted with how those people operated.
Meng Xinghai nodded. "The manual you've set your sights on has an immense background. If you want the full text, chances are slim. Its complete title is the *Yimu Evergreen World-Abiding Scripture*."
"A world-abiding scripture?" Qin Ming was astonished. From those last three characters alone, he knew it had most likely surpassed the realm of wondrous arts.
Meng Xinghai explained, "This is an extraordinarily rare and precious classic. Those who cultivate it can absorb the essence of mountains, rivers, plants, and trees, drastically extending their lifespan, keeping their bodies perpetually youthful, and allowing them to abide in the world for an exceptionally long time."
It was brutally difficult to master, but once completely mastered, it could increase one's lifespan by up to half a lifetime at most!
"The way I see it, if they truly want to intervene and send someone into the ring, they must at the very least put up the *Yimu Scripture*. It's an abridged version of the esoteric classic, but still a wondrous art in its own right."
Qin Ming was not greedy. At his current stage, even if he were given the world-abiding scripture, he probably wouldn't be able to cultivate it anyway. A single wondrous art was already enough for many people to labor over for a lifetime.
He was certain that even Cui He himself had likely not mastered that classic. Otherwise, his cultivation would surely have advanced by leaps and bounds, making him a renowned, formidable powerhouse long ago.
Over the next two days, Qin Ming remained calm and untroubled, showing none of the tension typical before an impending battle.
The duel between the two cities was being methodically arranged. The identity and background of Light-Chasing City's "number one," handpicked by Qi Daoming, were still being kept secret.
Meng Xinghai had stated upfront that if Light-Chasing City's champion was an Outer Sage, then there was no need to fight at all. If they intended to crush him with a higher cultivation realm, Chixia City would not humor them.
*"Look at you, always biased against me. Am I really that kind of person?"* Qi Daoming wrote back in inquiry.
*"Yes!"* Meng Xinghai's reply was a single character.
Qin Ming sat quietly. As he breathed, white light appeared from his mouth and nostrils, and he felt every pore across his body open, bringing a rather comfortable sensation.
This was the Jade Splendor Force he had obtained from Li Tianhe, an unregistered disciple of the Yuqing lineage. Practicing it once a day was like taking a bowl of tonic broth. While such an analogy was a bit exaggerated, persevering through day after day would indeed continuously refine one's physique.
Afterward, he began practicing *Tiger's Roar*. In an instant, it was as if a fierce beast was roaring inside his viscera, causing them to vibrate gently.
If outsiders knew that after only a few days of study he had already driven the technique completely into his internal organs, they would surely be flabbergasted.
Back in the Near-Immortal Land, the Outer Sage who had traded the technique with Qin Ming had said that making one's internal organs produce the tiger's roar was extraordinarily difficult—something not to be expected without several years of work.
In the initial stage, one could only vibrate the throat to send external sounds into the body. To produce the internal sound directly was something even mutants of supreme talent were not guaranteed to achieve.
Qin Ming's body broke into a light sweat from the exertion, the effects remarkably distinct. This was tempering his viscera; the continuous roar of the tiger began within his organs and spread outward into his flesh and blood.
It was fortifying his five viscera and stimulating the vitality of his flesh.
Qin Ming realized that this was an underestimated technique!
He had traded for it thinking it was merely an ordinary heavenly light force, never expecting the results to surpass his expectations so greatly.
For a moment, his thoughts wandered endlessly. According to that Outer Sage, above this manual lay the *Five Thunders Viscera Refining Art*, and even higher above that was the *Eight Views Divine Illumination Art*. This gave Qin Ming quite a few ambitions; he would certainly have to seek them out properly in the future.
Next, he practiced the incantation Li Qingyue had taught him, as well as the technique recorded in the thin booklet passed down by Meng Xinghai's martial granduncle.
Sure enough, only a small portion of the conscious spiritual light and divine wisdom Qin Ming cultivated could settle and accumulate; most of it was absorbed by his flesh and blood, slowly enhancing his physique.
Lastly, he practiced the manual from the depths of the night mist world. Although he currently possessed only three pages of scriptures, it was the overarching outline. It could prolong life, alter bone and constitution, and sweep away the dust clouding the heart.
Qin Ming's heavenly light force was brimming with yang energy, making it rather inhospitable to people beyond the mundane world. It was like a blazing sun hanging in the sky, shedding its radiant light everywhere. This heavenly light force traveled and expanded through his flesh, forming a dense web that reached every part of his body and completed a full cycle.
His interior was illuminated as the heavenly light force poured into every pathway in an endless stream, like golden rivers traversing a land shrouded in night mist, driving back the darkness.
These golden rivers were like trailblazers reclaiming virgin soil, coursing through his entire frame and bringing golden clouds to the lands of flesh and blood awaiting cultivation, dispelling the gloom and manifesting vitality.
These were all Qin Ming's mandatory daily routines. They did not take up much time, but over days and months, through subtle and imperceptible transformation, his already astonishing innate talent could continue to rise!
He resolved to keep practicing without fail, come rain or shine.
Furthermore, the next time he fused heavenly light force, Qin Ming intended to do everything in his power to see if he could unify these techniques that provided internal strengthening with his silk book method as well.
While awaiting the duel between the two cities, Qin Ming also paid close attention to news from the outside world.
The Grand Examinations across various regions were proceeding in an orderly fashion and had reached their later stages, drawing ever more attention. Outstanding individuals and brilliant young men and women from different territories and cities had begun to make their marks, gradually becoming known to the public.
The so-called unified examination was merely the first stage. It was the same every year, rather tranquil and unremarkable. Only in the final stage, when talents were sifted out and prodigies of every stripe emerged, would it trigger a sensation and capture the public eye.
In recent days, night papers everywhere had been ramping up their coverage because the "number ones" of nearly every city had emerged. Friendly sparring matches had even begun between different cities.
"Mountain Lord, I've settled my domestic affairs. By the time you leave Chixia City, my nest of chicks should be fledged and ready to leave. We birds grow up fast! Can I come along with you?" The speech sparrow flew in, entering the City Lord's Manor.
Qin Ming currently resided here; Meng Xinghai feared something might happen to him and wouldn't let him stay outside.
"You're abandoning your wife and children! That's clearly the behavior of a scoundrel bird!" Qin Ming looked at the speech sparrow, which was desperately eager to move up in the world, and felt an urge to lecture it.
The speech sparrow's plumage was azure blue, its eyes gleaming like black diamonds. It wore an utterly innocent look as it said, "That's how we birds naturally are! We mate and raise our offspring together every spring, and then go our separate ways. You can't impose human moral standards on a little bird..."
It then added, "Besides, the spiritual substance the Mountain Lord gave me was so potent, far too much for one little sparrow. I shared it with my mate and chicks, and even diluted, it allowed all of them to undergo an evolution. Right now, every speech sparrow on Black-White Mountain calls me a magnificent husband whose fatherly love is as weighty as a mountain."
Qin Ming truly didn't know how to judge it. This scoundrel bird had actually become a radiant "model bird."
"'The Rise of a Young Grandmaster'..." Continuing to read the night papers, he couldn't help but feel surprised. There was actually such high praise, referencing a youth from Liuguang City who was hailed as an unparalleled prodigy in his region, lavishing him with accolades.
"Liuguang City? That's where Master Wu is," the speech sparrow said with blinking eyes, recalling the purple-eyed crow from Black-White Mountain and Tang Jin, that mysterious woman clad in a black fur cloak.
"Could he really be the successor of that special sect Master Wu pledged himself to?" The speech sparrow leaned over to look at the paper, actually capable of reading!
No wonder it claimed to have birthed divinity and wished to walk the path to godhood; this bird truly was out of the ordinary.
Qin Ming remarked, "If he's a disciple of that sect, would he even need to participate in this Grand Examination and duel people from other cities?"
The speech sparrow nodded. "Master Wu briefly mentioned it to me. The sect he joined is extraordinary, and in the early stages, they require all kinds of real combat to temper themselves."
Then, lowering its voice, it whispered, "That woman in black, Tang Jin—her master is unfathomably formidable. Otherwise, how could Master Wu have willingly joined his lineage? Word has it that person is carving out an entirely new path and might even become a founder-level figure!"
Reading further, Qin Ming found that the night paper held that youth in exceedingly high regard, stating that every move and gesture he made was exquisite to the utmost degree, already displaying the bearing of a young grandmaster!
The speech sparrow hesitated a moment before saying, "Mountain Lord, I have a piece of news for you, but please don't get angry."
"Speak," Qin Ming said, looking over at it.
"From what I know, while that woman in the black cloak was astonishingly gorgeous, the thing is..."
Qin Ming said, "Why the hesitation? Just say it. I won't get angry."
The speech sparrow revealed the inside story. "Back then, you actually caught her eye as well. Only, it seems she didn't choose you. Instead, she chose someone else as her master's personal disciple—most likely this very young grandmaster mentioned in the night paper."
Qin Ming nodded with a simple hum. What was there to be angry about? Having been through so much, such missed opportunities could no longer stir up any ripples across the lake of his heart.
"Let's go. It's time to set out," Meng Xinghai arrived, informing Qin Ming that they were heading to Light-Chasing City, making it an "away match." He mentioned with a smile that the prize this time was quite remarkable; if they won, the other party would likely feel immense heartache.
"You took that five-colored spirit branch last time, and its effects were extraordinary, weren't they? It came from a blessed land, originating from a precious tree rooted in the Heavenly Light Pool—and that was merely a tender new shoot from early spring. This time, the prize Qi Daoming put up is a fallen fruit from that ancient tree."
Light-Chasing City was similar in scale to Chixia City, and the two cities were not far apart, only four hundred li away. Riding high-level flying mounts, Qin Ming and Meng Xinghai arrived swiftly.
"Elder Li!" Here, Qin Ming saw Li Qingyun, completely surprised that he had come as well.
"Fight with all you have. No one will dare cause trouble," Li Qingyun said with a smile. His hair was snow-white and crystalline, his complexion ruddy, making him appear exceptionally gentle and kindly.
He was giving Qin Ming peace of mind, but it also indicated that there was probably more to this matter under the surface. Since he had personally come, there shouldn't be any issues. "Did someone try to interfere?" Qin Ming asked quietly, looking at Meng Xinghai and Li Qingyun.
"Not to that extent. It's already resolved," Meng Xinghai said, offering no further explanation. Throughout Light-Chasing City, many people were discussing the upcoming duel.
At the same time, people were also bringing up the brilliant prodigies from other regions.
"Liuguang City actually had a young grandmaster rise up? That's ridiculous!"
"Our Light-Chasing City is having a duel with Chixia City. Can our winner fight that young grandmaster?"
"Keep dreaming! What is a young grandmaster? Like a bright moon hanging high in the sky! How could the candlelight of Light-Chasing City and Chixia City possibly compare!"
Walking along the street, Qin Ming, Meng Xinghai, and the others overheard these discussions. Clearly, duels everywhere were stirring up heated talk, drawing attention from all sides.
The following day, Qin Ming went to keep the appointment, ready to face Light-Chasing City's "number one."
"Qingyue will be watching the fight here," Meng Xinghai told Qin Ming. Li Qingyue had brought the complete text of that mysterious classic and had already quietly arrived in Light-Chasing City.
Chapter 129