In the main hall of the divine temple, the white-robed woman glided forward with airy grace and said, "Could it be that I would suppress you with a higher realm?"
Hearing this, Qin Ming brimmed with confidence, nearly rubbing his hands together in eagerness. He could hardly wait; his heart yearned immensely to battle an ancestor-level figure on equal footing!
However, he also harbored a trace of doubt regarding her background, for the white-robed woman's temperament did not seem ancient at all.
"Senior, if I should have the fortune to win, I would like that five-color bottle, as well as the chance to study the complete scripture inscribed on the hall's walls," Qin Ming said.
"Still don't trust me?" The white-robed woman sounded mildly displeased.
Her dark hair veiled her face, and she wore a plain white dress. Slender-waisted and tall, with shapely, long legs, she stepped gracefully until she stood right before him.
Qin Ming offered an embarrassed smile; some matters were better settled clearly beforehand.
Changing the subject, he asked, "Senior, what path's methods do you intend to use in our spar?"
"I am the sort of person who rises to meet the strong, and when facing the weak... is naturally even stronger. Since it is only the first realm, I will simply use the methods of your Newborn path to exchange pointers with you in the domain you excel at most," the white-robed woman said with a smile.
Though her tone was gentle, Qin Ming could sense a pride rooted deep within her bones. Calling it an exchange of pointers, she was in fact bent on defeating him in his very strongest domain.
And then, unable to help himself, he rubbed his hands together twice.
The white-robed woman immediately tilted her head toward him. "You seem thrilled and excited?!"
This time, her voice pitched slightly higher. Though still pleasing to the ear, she was likely casting a sidelong glare at him.
"Not at all. I'm just nervous and afraid. Whenever that happens, my palms sweat a little, so I have to wipe them dry quickly," Qin Ming replied.
"Fine. Just make sure you don't sweat once the fighting begins," the white-robed woman said softly. She reached up to brush aside the hair over her brow, but stopped herself at the last moment.
"Are you ready?" she asked with a smile, her snow-white robes fluttering as though woven from moonlight and luminous mist.
As she took another dainty step, hazy radiance rippled around her, and white mist rose beneath her jade-like feet, making her appear utterly ethereal and otherworldly.
Clad in coarse hemp clothes with black hair falling past his shoulders, Qin Ming's eyes shone brightly. Looking ahead, he gestured courteously. "Please!"
*Boom!*
The entire main hall seemed to tremble. The white-robed woman, who an instant earlier had appeared as ethereal as an immortal, now resembled a rainbow piercing the sun, blazing with blinding light as she struck like thunder.
Qin Ming grew solemn. He discerned multiple variations in her strike. A seemingly simple palm strike was led by withered wood force and accompanied by earth fire force; the two heavenly light forces could clash at any moment to detonate in a burst of combustion.
Moreover, concealed behind it was a follow-up lethal move from the withered wood force capable of triggering transformations of yin and yang, and further behind that, five-color thunder force might follow to add even more variables.
He had to admit that the white-robed woman's cultivation on the Newborn path was exceptionally profound. A casual strike from her snow-white palm harbored the true essence of two or three esoteric arts.
Departing fire force coiled around Qin Ming's fist, real flames dancing upon it. He punched forward, proactively detonating her withered wood force ahead of time.
Astonishing heavenly light erupted within the main hall. Their garments rustled wildly in the gale as fist met palm, like blinding thunder and fire interlacing and blossoming. Sure enough, Qin Ming had guessed correctly—earth fire force surged from her palm, further fueling the blaze between them alongside a series of violent explosions.
Had any other seven-times Newborn cultivator stood here, they likely would have been burned through and torn apart by the heavenly light forces. The two moved with blinding speed, colliding like two streaks of fire before separating, clashing fiercely again and again.
She truly was adept in the Withering and Thriving Classic. Altering her withered wood force, she manifested transformations of yin and yang, while her other hand struck out with five-color thunder force—unleashing ultimate techniques right from the start.
In the Newborn realm, wielding such supreme methods coupled with terrifying combat awareness, even core disciples from the pinnacle orthodoxies of various paths would be swiftly subdued, unable to keep pace with these shifts.
Yet Qin Ming held his ground.
Countering technique with skill, he circulated the Heluo Classic. Surging mist and steaming vapors rose to channel her five-color thunder force, followed by a violent burst of wind force.
He broke through her barrage of lightning.
Next, employing sheer strength to subdue all variations, Qin Ming blended his techniques using the silk book method. He clenched his right fist as though gripping a Golden Crow and drove it outward, meeting her yin-yang transformations head-on.
Once the white-robed woman triggered the yin-yang shift, black and white forces coiled around her, followed by a bloom of tricolored radiance—resembling the doctrine of "two produces three" and subsequently "ten thousand transformations" from a certain orthodoxy.
Yet Qin Ming galvanized the heavenly light force throughout his entire body to clash head-on with her. Regardless of how many esoteric arts manifested, the moment his punch landed, he boldly pressed forward.
In an instant, the woman brought her fair, snow-white hands together, clamping down on Qin Ming's fist in an attempt to snap it clean off.
Dense, minute script crawled across her hands—an esoteric art Qin Ming had never seen before—instantly channeling a terrifying surge of power.
As her hands closed top and bottom, it was as if heaven and earth were reuniting, unmistakably a peak esoteric art. The tiny shards of radiance splashed up by the heavenly light force even bore characters akin to dragon-and-phoenix seal script.
Yet though she exerted her strength and twisted twice in a flash, she failed to snap it. Meanwhile, Qin Ming's other palm erupted with light as he struck toward her forehead.
At this moment, in his eyes there was no senior, only an opponent; there was no room for deference or discourtesy.
The white-robed woman drifted aside like a phantom treading across a nocturnal sea, fading without a trace. It was a bizarre footwork technique that resembled teleportation, dodging his palm.
Qin Ming pressed after her. Combining Heluo force with thunderfire force amidst the dense water vapor, a sheet of lightning crashed down, indiscriminately assailing her afterimages.
At the same time, his feet vibrated as he circulated the Wuji Classic to channel the earth's essence. With a resonant boom, the ground shook violently. Taking advantage of the momentary hitch in her steps, he closed the distance.
Circulating the Wuji Classic, Qin Ming seemed to merge into one with the earth. Yellow earthly qi churned around him as he launched a succession of strikes, left fist and right palm.
Simultaneously, departing fire raged, blending into the earthly qi.
The two silhouettes moved at high speed, pursuing and tangling like a pair of birds. Fists and palms collided; hemp robes rustled, the white dress fluttered, long legs swept out, and dark locks danced in the wind.
When enough earthly qi and departing fire had intermingled, even the ground beneath Qin Ming's feet turned faintly crimson.
Immediately, he unleashed thunderfire force crashing straight down upon her crown, while also triggering Purple Palace thunderfire! Combining multiple esoteric arts and force techniques, he ultimately produced: heavenly thunder igniting earthly fire.
Back then, internal tempering with earthly fire or heavenly thunder alone had been formidable; now that so many arts worked in synergy, the might was naturally far greater and thoroughly astonishing.
This was an improvisation Qin Ming executed mid-combat, yet the effect was surprisingly magnificent. Standing face-to-face with the woman, he could clearly sense her lithe, graceful body tense up—for the first time, she showed a hint of nervousness. Furthermore, he was certain that at the stage of seven rebirths, her speed could not possibly evade it unless she... cheated.
*Rumble!*
From the ground rose departing fire and earthly qi; from above descended thunder and lightning. Inherently drawn to each other, they pulled together to create a magnificent spectacle.
Radiance shone beneath the white-robed woman's feet, each step shifting between presence and void as if she were traversing space-time—all because her speed was simply too fast.
Yet she still could not outrun the convergence of heavenly thunder and earthly fire. Trapped in the center with sharp crackling sounds, she took a barrage of lightning, causing her undulating figure to stiffen slightly.
Seeing this, Qin Ming certainly would not let the chance slip. He surged forward, driving his thunderfire force to "add fuel to the fire."
The white-robed woman gritted her teeth, nearly "breaking her rule" and simply committing a foul. But she was proud, and catching the look in his eyes, she ultimately held back.
*Crack! Snap!*
Rather than enduring the lightning purely by force, she circulated a mysterious scripture that seemed to sever a thread of heaven, shearing away part of the earth fire and paring off a portion of the heavenly thunder.
Even so, she still bore a wave of thunderfire, electric currents rippling through her body. While this was nothing to someone of her cultivation, if she was to maintain that she was at the seventh Newborn level, she had to keep it authentic and could not cross the boundary.
Seeing this, Qin Ming's fists and palms left behind layered afterimages. Fighting to the point of thrilling excitement, he served this "ancestor" with his fiercest strikes.
This was his first time dueling such a figure, and he genuinely felt a sense of achievement. Now, the two were clashing purely head-on.
For after being struck by electricity, the white-robed woman had been unable to teleport away. Engulfed by his barrage of fists and palm shadows, she was forced to trade blows.
Their legs were also in motion, sweeping toward each other from time to time. In an instant, the white skirt would swirl up as a long leg whipped out, creating terrifying sonic booms in the air.
In the end, the woman finally shook him off and retreated at high speed. As befitted the state of a seventh Newborn, her hands were trembling and twitching slightly.
This state made her very unhappy; she had actually been "battered" by someone.
Strictly speaking, in that brief moment just now, she had merely been at a disadvantage, far from being terribly battered.
At this moment, her snow-white dress was damaged. Her two wide sleeves had been pierced by the thunderfire and reduced to ash, exposing fair, delicate arms that gleamed with the luster of mutton-fat jade.
Qin Ming felt this duel was truly exhilarating. He was testing certain ideas, artfully combining various heavenly light forces with utter satisfaction.
At the same time, he realized that she was fair and principled; she truly had not used a higher realm to suppress him, and even her clothes were ordinary silk rather than protective armor.
"You cheated," the white-robed woman said, looking at him.
Even though she was not someone of the Newborn path, her vision, experience, and techniques were all formidable. To be forced into such disarray was completely beyond her expectations.
She felt that his foundation was unrealistically deep, far exceeding normal standards. Could someone at the seventh Newborn rebirth really reach this level? Had she not diffused his attacks with deft force and wondrous arts, her situation would certainly be even worse than it was now.
"I didn't," Qin Ming answered honestly, shaking his head. "Senior hasn't been defeated yet. Aren't you remarkably strong as well?"
Hearing this, the white-robed woman clenched her fair fists. His implication was that if he had cheated, then she, too, had exceeded the boundaries. In fact, she really had stepped over the red line, because certain esoteric arts and special scriptures could not be learned—or at least not mastered in full—at the Newborn stage.
She had employed secret excerpts, which was how she had managed to remain undefeated.
The white-robed woman looked at herself. She truly was in disarray, her sleeves burned away and most of her fair arms exposed—this was truly a terrible experience.
Habitually, she went to sweep aside the dark hair veiling her face, but having parted it only halfway, she remembered something and immediately dropped it back. In that fleeting instant, Qin Ming caught sight of a devastatingly beautiful profile, fair and translucent, holding one's gaze irresistibly.
This proved she was not some eerie, malevolent ghost.
"Senior's cultivation reaches into the workings of creation, and your grace is peerless!" Qin Ming offered words of praise and flattery, mainly fearing that such sparring might offend her. Consequently, the white-robed woman's face darkened slightly. Receiving praise after suffering a setback just did not sit right!
"Again! I'm going to take this seriously!" she declared. Clearly, she was immensely proud and confident; even though this was not her path, she still took falling into a disadvantage to heart.
Taking a stride with her long legs, she was shrouded in pristine moonlight. Her tattered white gown billowed like drifting clouds, graceful and utterly ethereal, yet within her body flowed astonishing heavenly light force, primed to erupt.
Unable to help himself, Qin Ming rubbed his hands together again, his anticipation mounting—he wanted to fight to his heart's content today!
The white-robed woman's expression froze slightly. What was wrong with this kid? Hearing that they were going to fight more seriously, he actually grew even more excited?!
Earlier, she had watched his battle and noticed he hadn't been this excited even when pummeling that old woman—and she already knew about the grudge between him and the crone.
The white-robed woman clenched her fists, finding this kid thoroughly detestable. Displaying such an attitude before her—what outrageous insolence!
"Senior, are you ready?" Qin Ming asked, preparing to strike with all his might!
Chapter 182