Through the night mist, a youth appeared. Tall, with slightly broad shoulders, he was not burly, yet he gave off a distinct sense of power.
He approached at an unhurried pace, carrying an uncanny cadence. Each step he took felt like the striking of an extraordinary spirit drum, reverberating deep in the chests of those around him.
Was he making his move already?
Nearby, several youths felt tightness in their chests, deeply uncomfortable as their hearts seemed to resonate with the sound of his footsteps.
Many realized that this newcomer was far from simple.
In the deep night, the wilderness without Fire Springs was as if drenched in ink; an ordinary person could see nothing at all.
As the youth drew near, his eyes shone brightly, resembling two lamps in the dark. His stride was steady, every step seemingly measured with precision—neither the distance nor the force of each footfall was off by even a fraction.
The ground began to tremble faintly. He advanced cloaked in a unique momentum; some of the youths watching nearby felt as though their hearts were being gripped, growing increasingly suffocated.
*Clang!*
A blade chime rang out in the darkness. Standing motionless, Qin Ming drew the mutton-fat jade iron saber on his back a fraction from its scabbard, instantly severing that cadence.
Interrupted, the opposing youth paused in his stride. The peculiar resonance vanished, and wisps of earth essence dissipated into the night mist.
"Yu Zhuohan!" the newcomer announced his name.
The mountains standing not far off were completely swallowed by darkness, without even a faint silhouette visible. Such was the true nature of the night mist world.
Qin Ming possessed superb vision. Having undergone six Newborn transformations, he could clearly discern his surroundings beneath the night mist. Looking forward, he stated his own name as well: "Qin Ming."
Yu Zhuohan had silver hair hanging to his shoulders, every strand glistening and actually glowing in the deep night. His features were sharply chiseled, defined with striking contours.
The two sized each other up, in no hurry to clash.
Where had the Cui clan found such a reinforcement? Even Meng Xinghai frowned slightly, finding this silver-haired youth quite remarkable.
The rules he had set were rather strict; he had stipulated beforehand that Outer Sages were not permitted to participate, fearing Cui He might enlist aid whose cultivation vastly exceeded the boundary.
"I'm afraid he is not a pure Newborn," remarked the ethereal-looking Qi Daoming. A son-in-law of the Li clan, he was here purely to watch the spectacle.
Moreover, direct descendants from three generations of the Li clan—old, middle-aged, and young—had shown up. They were clearly here to give the Cui clan a hard time. Whichever side won or lost, they were glad to see it, all beaming with smiles.
Seeing the direct members of the Li clan, Cui He and Cui Shuning's expressions turned frosty at once. There was not a shred of goodwill or warmth between the two sides.
Suddenly, sensing something, the two turned their heads and discovered that Wang Caiwei's fifth uncle, along with her elder brother born of the same mother, had also appeared on the other side, standing there to watch the battle.
In the past, the Cui clan had been in the wrong for failing to inform the Wang clan in advance about the fake Cui Chonghe's identity; afterwards, whenever they faced the Wang clan's direct line, they felt somewhat guilty and uneasy.
More importantly, ever since stepping onto the Newborn path, this fake Cui Chonghe, who had once traveled alongside Wang Caiwei, was showing faint signs of "transforming into a dragon."
Crucially, the Cui clan had abandoned him earlier, sending him alongside a group of old fellows with little lifespan left to draw the Li clan's main forces, expending whatever remaining use he had by dying.
Even if some within the Cui clan wished to "mend ties," they held deep reservations, believing the rift between them was irreparable and that doing so would be nursing a tiger to bring disaster upon themselves.
In the distance, Zheng Maorong uttered harsh words in a low voice, "Look at Cui He, Fourth Master Cui, who practices the Yimu Art. With that greenish hair and that pale face, he looks as miserable as if he swallowed a dead rat. How dare he slap me! Someday I'll definitely pay him back with interest!"
It was he who, relying on his status, had refrained from acting personally in the past, instead using glances, subtle smiles, and hints to incite others against Qin Ming.
The other peers, male and female alike, all hailed from prominent clans. Their expressions were rather complicated as they gazed at Qin Ming in the night mist, reminded of the past. Some of them had once been very close to him, old friends from his former days.
This time, upon hearing that many acquaintances would come to watch the duel, these prominent clan scions had swarmed along.
More than two years had passed. Among them, some naturally disdained having anything to do with the fake Cui Chonghe anymore, but there were also those who had once wanted to visit him in this remote region and had seized today's opportunity to come.
In the distance, black mist swirled as Li Qingyun appeared. Cradling a wine jar in one arm, he sat upon a large bluestone, raising a wine cup with his other hand to toast Fifth Master Cui for a drink together.
Fifth Master Cui had no desire to respond, finding the whole affair sickening; he had been completely coerced into this. He had already realized that until Qin Ming entered an ancestral court of a grand sect or enrolled in a premier academy, he wouldn't be able to get away.
Beneath the night mist, the two youths made their move!
As battle erupted, the surrounding wilderness fell completely silent; not a sound remained.
In the dark, astonishing heavenly light force flowed across both of their bodies. Like two bolts of lightning piercing the deep night, illuminating the wilderness, they clashed violently.
Yu Zhuohan fell back rapidly, his chest heaving violently as he gasped for breath. In that brief exchange of fists and palms, he had experienced pressure heavy as a mountain.
The Cui clan members looked calm, without any sign of worry.
The Lu clan members, uninvolved and present purely to watch the excitement, also revealed strange looks. It now seemed confirmed: Qin Ming was a mutant!
Lu Yuzhi gazed fixedly. She truly hadn't expected that Qin Ming, whom she had run into by chance in Jinrui City, possessed such startling comprehension and might even be a mutant. With a foundation like his, he was unquestionably qualified to enter the Yuqing lineage.
"In such a short time, he has grown to this point?" Zheng Maorong's expression shifted, looking rather sour.
In the night mist, Qin Ming remained composed and unhurried. His tall, slender frame loomed like a great mountain, carrying an oppressive presence as he closed in on his opponent.
He knew this opponent was extraordinarily strong—capable of taking his fist without sustaining injury, and seemingly still holding plenty of confidence.
He evaluated him: the silver-haired youth possessed an extraordinary constitution, wielding just over eight thousand jin of strength. He was virtually a mutant; if he nourished his body with the Six Imperials Heart Scripture or the Rulai Scripture, he would certainly step into that realm in short order.
Yu Zhuohan raised his head in the night mist. His entire body turned translucent, as if mysterious patterns were spreading and expanding within his flesh and blood, and silver light blazed brilliantly across his skin.
Regardless of what confidence his opponent held, Qin Ming was fearless. Taking a single stride, traversing the uneven terrain of the wilderness, he arrived before him in an instant and pressed forward with a palm strike.
Silver-white fire seemed to surge around Yu Zhuohan, his temperament changing dramatically. This time, he still dared to clash head-on, actually driving forth a terrifying fist radiance.
Sure enough, his strength had surged by a considerable margin. Exchanging blows with Qin Ming like lightning in rapid succession, earth qi seemed to rise beneath his feet while his body was bathed in flames.
Qin Ming was thoroughly surprised. At this stage, Newborns could hardly absorb earth essence at all. Had his opponent also practiced the Wuji Classic? And mastered a fist art of the fire path? Combining the two seemed to yield extraordinary power.
In the next moment, the soil layer beneath Qin Ming's feet quaked as earth essence steamed upward. His Wuji Fist erupted, striking forward in an attack as fast as lightning.
The two collided like meteorites, sending brilliant sparks flying as heavenly light force surged violently. Through a flurry of massive impacts, wherever they passed, giant boulders across the wilderness shattered and towering ancient trees exploded.
With a heavy *thud*, Yu Zhuohan was blasted backward over a great distance, shattering a century-old tree before stumbling to the ground, panting heavily.
Across the night sky, a brilliant rainbow seemed to streak past. Refusing to give him a moment to catch his breath, Qin Ming closed in at top speed. His departing fire force erupted, his right palm blazing dazzlingly as he pressed forward—resembling a Golden Crow traversing the sky, blindingly radiant, crushing and dispersing all the night mist.
With a roar, sand and gravel flew across the area while ancient trees splintered and silhouettes tumbled. Qin Ming pressed his advantage, relentlessly pursuing Yu Zhuohan. The Cui clan members' expressions changed slightly, though they still felt no panic.
Someone commented, "This Qin Ming... is unimaginably powerful for the Newborn stage. To calmly suppress such a formidable opponent—he is truly remarkable."
Then, the Wang clan members turned their eyes toward Cui He, and Wang Caiwei's elder brother asked, "Just how many Newborn transformations has this Qin Ming undergone?" For many could sense that something was amiss.
Yu Zhuohan was virtually a mutant, yet Qin Ming had forcefully suppressed him. As far as they knew, Qin Ming had been on the Newborn path for less than half a year. One must know that within this timeframe, a red line stood in the way: Newborn transformations could not exceed five!
Meng Xinghai smiled and said, "The child Qin Ming had some good fortune. Back when he worked as a hunter to avoid starving, he dug up an 'ethereal bamboo shoot' in the Black-White Mountain. After consuming it, he received its purification, so the red line restricting one to no more than five Newborn transformations in a year no longer binds him."
Many were stunned. Could someone really have such luck? An ethereal bamboo shoot was priceless, worth tens of thousands of gold, capable of dissolving toxins, curses, and the like—a rare and precious medicine.
Of course, if allowed to grow into ethereal bamboo, its value would be even greater; one wouldn't even need to ingest it, as merely carrying it along would constantly purify one's flesh and blood.
Meng Xinghai had no choice but to invent a story; otherwise, the ramifications would be far too severe.
Even he, upon learning that Qin Ming had undergone six Newborn transformations and possessed nine thousand jin of two-arm strength, had found it unreal and been thoroughly dazed. If word got out, he feared some terrifyingly formidable old seniors would come in person—not limited to experts on the Newborn path—and dissect and study Qin Ming's body.
If that time came, even with Li Qingyun nearby, Qin Ming could not be protected.
Hearing this, Wang Caiwei's elder brother gave Cui He an indifferent glance and said, "He embarked on the path later, yet he is stronger than Cui Chongxuan, whom the Cui clan nurtured with the Six Imperials Heart Scripture. If this continues, might he rival Cui Chonghe, who possesses the talent of a near-immortal?"
Somewhat displeased, Cui Shuning said, "How could someone on the Newborn path possibly rival a near-immortal seed from the outer realms? Even if he were the cream of the crop among mutants, before Chonghe, he would merely be a divine-armored guard, or at most a slightly higher-ranking follower. That is his absolute limit!"
Cui He spoke up as well, disliking the Wang clan's words: "His ceiling is set; he faces insurmountable hurdles. Newborns are countless, but how many in the end become grandmasters like Qingtian, Rulai, or Six Imperials? Even the patriarchs of such grand sects had to grind out their realm over vast stretches of time..."
Meng Xinghai interrupted him bluntly, "You people sure talk a lot. Have you prepared the Yimu Scripture and the World-Abiding Scripture remnants?"
"It's far from decided who will win or lose!" Cui Shuning retorted. Though night mist clung to her face, one could still see the icy chill in her expression.
*Boom!*
As if in reply to their words, Qin Ming's body surged with wind force. Seeming to ride the air as he trod upon fresh wild grass, he pursued the already hurled-back Yu Zhuohan. His departing fire force erupted like blazing flames searing the night sky, blasting his opponent away once more.
The group of youths looked on in shock. This old acquaintance, exiled to a remote land and nearly crushed out of existence, had actually reached this stage relying on himself alone?
"You are too conceited and proud!" Seeing things go awry, Cui Shuning shouted toward the silver-haired youth.
Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, Yu Zhuohan stood in the wilderness and said, "I am not merely fighting on your behalf, but also sparring to temper myself."
In the next instant, the unusual phenomena about him became even more pronounced. Silver flames materialized and flowed around his body, radiating blinding light. Every strand of his glistening hair seemed to ignite, and brilliant flares of light surged from all the pores across his body.
Amid the heavy night mist, he appeared as though standing within a burning silver moon!
"A sorcerer from the outer calamity lands?" Some wore looks of surprise. As for the group of youths, they were thoroughly astounded.
"He belongs to the esoteric sect, and an exceptionally rare one at that—a born empowered!" someone spoke up, revealing the silver-haired youth's true background.
This was rather astonishing: Yu Zhuohan's physical body was already close to that of a mutant, yet what he excelled at most were the esoteric sect's arts. This young expert clearly had extraordinary origins.
Fearless, Qin Ming pressed forward with a calm and steady demeanor, completely unbothered by which domain his opponent hailed from.
Radiant from head to toe, Yu Zhuohan stood within the burning silver moon. With a fierce wave of his hand, a crescent-shaped wheel of light flew forth, slashing toward Qin Ming.
Qin Ming did not pause his stride for a second. With merely a slight tilt of his head, he evaded the strike, advancing forward with powerful ripples of heavenly light force.
Yu Zhuohan's hands traced through the void. Dense clusters of fire blossomed, transforming into blade after blade of silver carrying searing flames, slashing swiftly ahead.
Qin Ming continued his approach without any intention of stopping. But around his body, golden light surged brilliantly to envelop him completely, his heavenly light force extending three inches beyond his flesh.
His defensive technique—the Golden Light Shroud—expanded in full force.
Every flame spirit blade struck the Golden Light Shroud, producing faint metallic clangs, ringing sharply, yet unable to breach that layer of defense.
Yu Zhuohan formed hand seals, rapidly shifting gestures before condensing a silver spear. Streaming with dazzling radiance and carrying a blaze that seemed capable of setting the night sky alight, he hurled it forward with full force.
Qin Ming stood resolute. The Golden Light Shroud receded as golden threads wrapped and spread over his hands, extending three inches beyond his skin. He clapped both palms forward, catching the glaring flame spirit spear between them with a heavy thud. Then, twisting his hands with tremendous force, he shattered the spear with a boom, turning it into brilliant flowing light that dispersed straight into the night sky.
Taking steady strides, Qin Ming closed in on his opponent like an arriving mountain!
Someone sighed in admiration, "Unfazed and composed, he effortlessly neutralizes even such a powerful born empowered of the esoteric sect. Lately the night papers keep talking about the so-called aura of a youth grandmaster—I feel this youth before us is the one who truly possesses that presence!"
Qin Ming's left fist and right palm both radiated blinding golden mist, resembling two golden blazing suns traversing the night sky, shining with sacred brilliance as they bore down to suppress his opponent!
Chapter 135