At Feixian Academy, Martial Arena No. 1 was paved with bronze bricks. Trampled and honed countless times, they remained undamaged, glinting with a golden hue.
An Youxing was tall, dressed in a soft, moon-white robe with a warm jade pendant hanging from his waist. His eyes were deep and black, radiant with confidence and composure.
Qin Ming had originally declined, but in the end, it was hard to refuse such hospitality.
He reflected on it—he shouldn't be so aloof. It was just a minor effort on his part, so why keep people at arm's length?
"Come!" An Youxing had been identified as an immortal seed early on and had now reached the early stage of the Third Realm, truly a young man riding high.
Those present were all immortal seeds, divine seeds, and the like; none were ordinary mortals. Jiang Ran, Pei Shuyan, and the others all looked over.
Qin Ming smiled and cupped his fists, far more enthusiastic than before. After all, the other party had mentioned the Vermilion Bird baleful substance.
"Can I get in line?" Xiang Yiwu asked, eyes eager.
"Ah, then can I cut in line?" Wu Yaozu asked.
An Youxing's gaze turned slightly chilly. Those on the Newborn path were truly blindly confident—did they think they could fleece him here?
Just who was the sheep here? Did they really think a near-immortal seed of the Third Realm was just a decorative ornament?
"Please!" Ignoring the other two, An Youxing made an inviting gesture toward Qin Ming.
He manifested a mass of spiritual light distinctly imbued with pure yang attributes. Like evening clouds mingled with immortal gold, it was dazzling and sacred, dimming the nearby Fire Spring by comparison.
Standing close before him, Qin Ming extended his right hand, bent his middle finger to meet his thumb, kept his other three fingers naturally splayed, and aimed straight at his forehead.
At once, An Youxing's face sank like still water. Was he intending to flick his forehead? Had he lost his mind?
"Pay attention, this is my ultimate skill, Flicking Thunder!" Qin Ming warned solemnly, aiming at the dazzling conscious spiritual light hovering before his forehead.
He did not reveal the yin-yang diagram, channeling only a streak of utmost-yang heavenly light that belonged to the yang fish.
Instantly, white light swirled at his fingertips, growing increasingly intense until it seemed enveloped by lightning, piercingly bright.
Qin Ming gave an earnest reminder: "This is the result of my training in thunder-fire extraordinary skills over the past month. With a flick of my finger, heavenly light blooms like startling thunder. You must be careful."
A group of near-immortal seeds stared at his fingertips. Was this the heavenly light cultivated through the silk book method?
Cui Chonghe watched the most intently.
Pei Shuyan was born in the outer realm and came from a family of profound heritage. Having some understanding of those who had mastered the silk book method in history, his eyes now gleamed with divine light.
Jiang Ran was like an immortal orchid rooted on a secluded cliff. In her fluttering green robe, mysterious patterns interwove between her brows as she attempted to analyze that miraculous heavenly light.
Qin Ming flicked his finger. Sure enough, what seemed like a blinding bolt of thunder shot forth, sinking into the pure yang consciousness and instantly turning into blazing flames.
An Youxing had originally been very confident, being in the Third Realm after all. But now, he felt his mental field shake violently, as if it were being gouged open and warped.
In an instant, a sharp agony seized his mental consciousness, as though struck by a hammer—a red-hot sledgehammer crashing down with brute force.
He felt a surge of unease. Could he really capsize in such a shallow ditch? The other party was an entire major realm below him!
Qin Ming flicked his finger a second time. A deafening roar of thunder sounded, and brilliant white light flew out, slamming into An Youxing's conscious spiritual light and igniting it.
An Youxing felt his entire mental field shudder, on the verge of being burned through. The pain surged violently, nearly making him grunt aloud.
Yet he had already spoken big words. If he were thwarted by a Newborn of the Second Realm, it would be far too humiliating.
Qin Ming said, "I can fire five such condensed bursts of thunder-fire heavenly light in a short span. If you can't take it, just call out in advance."
An Youxing breathed a sigh of relief. Only five strikes—he could grit his teeth and endure it.
When Qin Ming flicked his finger a third time, with a rumbling boom, the heavenly light grew incomparably blazing and even more terrifying.
An Youxing's mind spun in a daze; that mass of conscious spiritual light was burned right through!
This was truly... unbearable, excruciatingly painful. He found it hard to believe: why was the heavenly light of a Second Realm Newborn so perverse? It could actually harm him!
However, having endured three strikes, he decided to grit his teeth and hold on.
Furthermore, he was prepared. He immediately deployed a mass of pure yang spiritual light refined for him by his master to shield the forefront, bracing for the fourth strike.
Sure enough, he weathered the next strike.
Afterward, Qin Ming actually flicked his finger three times in succession, already exceeding five strikes. Every blow struck his spiritual light, shaking his consciousness until it hummed and buzzed.
At this moment, An Youxing felt like someone was giving him forehead-flicks one after another!
At his current stage, he had not yet reached the level where pure yang consciousness permeated his whole body; most of his spiritual light remained dormant within his head.
Being flicked like this, which then resonated with his physical body, genuinely felt as though someone were bashing his head.
*Didn't he say five strikes?* He could not help but curse inwardly. Yet how could someone in the Third Realm complain? He wanted to grit his teeth and push through.
However, the youth before him was an absolute rascal. After five strikes came another five, flicking his conscious spiritual light until it was about to burst and rapidly catching fire.
Qin Ming did not cross the line; he did not attempt to shatter the pure yang consciousness refined by the young man's master.
Even so, it was enough. Surging heavenly light bypassed the blocked area and fiercely torched the spiritual light elsewhere.
An Youxing cried out in pain. He truly could not withstand it any longer; if he continued forcing himself for the sake of face, that mass of conscious spiritual light would be completely incinerated, dealing him a grievous loss.
He stumbled backward as the spiritual light retreated into his body.
At that instant, his mental field resonated with his physical body, and his head throbbed as if kicked by a donkey.
He had an illusion that his frontal bone had cracked and a huge bump had swollen atop his head.
Moreover, after his spirit resonated with his body, the physical instinct caused his eyes to redden with tears.
"Brother, are you all right?" Qin Ming asked with concern.
An Youxing despised his own instincts. Fortunately, he managed to control himself at the final moment; his conscious spiritual light circulated, preventing any tears from falling.
He felt utterly humiliated. He really shouldn't have taken on this "dirty job"!
With a barely perceptible, resentful glance, he looked toward Pei Shuyan and Cui Chonghe.
"Flicking over a dozen forehead-thumps like that must have felt great!" Xiang Yiwu marveled.
Wu Yaozu agreed. "The key is that he asked for the flicks himself. That counts as shaking him, right? Brother Ming gets to beat someone up and take the Vermilion Bird baleful substance at the same time."
An Youxing had endured more than a dozen strikes of "Flicking Thunder" in silence, but hearing these words nearly broke his composure entirely.
Then, he noticed that even the immortal path disciples were looking at him with odd expressions.
Sure enough, everyone believed he had just received over a dozen forehead-flicks!
In that instant, An Youxing's head buzzed, and he nearly spat blood from anger. He had lost in a most undignified fashion.
He believed that in actual combat, he wouldn't need to worry about such attacks at all—they wouldn't be able to hit him. Yet now, the situation was painfully embarrassing.
"Brother, where is the otherworldly heterogeneous substance?" Qin Ming was not shy, demanding his spoils directly.
"This..." An Youxing stammered. He had never even considered the possibility of losing.
That Vermilion Bird baleful substance had been captured by his master, who hadn't gifted it to him; he was merely permitted to temper his pure yang consciousness with it recently in preparation for exchanges and sparring matches with the diplomatic mission from a mysterious, distant nation.
"You're not going to renege on your debt, are you?" Xiao Wu piped up.
"A man without trustworthiness cannot stand!" Xiang Yiwu also chimed in.
An Youxing's face flushed bright red. There was truly no way to wrap this up gracefully.
"Once this special period passes, I will give you the Vermilion Bird baleful substance!" he said through gritted teeth. With so many onlookers, he really could not go back on his word.
Qin Ming gave him a cold look. Did immortal path disciples only know how to make empty promises? They couldn't even make their own decisions.
"Indeed, the Vermilion Bird baleful substance is very important to him at this stage, so he cannot take it out for the time being," Pei Shuyan spoke up. In his twenties, he was gentle, refined, and possessed an extraordinary aura.
Stepping forward to smooth things over, he said, "How about this: I shall compensate you with a cultivation technique."
An Youxing added, "Afterward, I will definitely give you the Vermilion Bird baleful substance!"
"What techniques do you have?" Qin Ming was by no means about to be courteous. It was the immortal path that had broken their word first, so he rightfully deserved compensation.
"Junior Sister Jiang, you often study the arts of the Newborn path and have collected some secret manuals, right? I will purchase one from you," Pei Shuyan said, looking toward the green-robed woman, Jiang Ran.
Hearing this, Qin Ming's interest was piqued. He remarked, "The *Immortal-Combating Classic*, *Golden Crow Illuminates the Night Classic*, or *Waxing and Waning Scripture*—any one of those will do!"
Everyone was speechless. This youth of the Newborn path truly dared to open his mouth wide; at the very least, these were all at the level of secret scriptures!
"I cannot afford those, nor can I find them. What I can offer as compensation is merely an extraordinary skill," Pei Shuyan replied with a shake of his head. Handsome as jade, a gentle smile remained on his face throughout.
"I do not possess that many scriptures," Jiang Ran said with a slight shake of her head, her voice soft and melodious.
Qin Ming was pragmatic. In the end, he chose the *Dragon Tiger Daoist Scripture*, which suited the path he was currently walking.
He looked toward Pei Shuyan. This person was no simple character; slightly older than the rest, his cultivation depth was unfathomable.
The other man was also looking at him, but his smile held an aloof distance—he had no intention of drawing genuinely close to Qin Ming.
*Hm?* Qin Ming grew suspicious. Could this be the immortal seed from that lineage in the pure land that had once pressured Qingyue, seeking to become Dao companions with her?
The Pei clan was illustrious in the outer pure land, commanding an immortal orthodox lineage.
"The silk book method truly lives up to its reputation. To injure someone in the early stage of the Third Realm while only in the Second Realm is remarkable!" Pei Shuyan praised.
Without hiding it, he cast a glance at Cui Chonghe.
Qin Ming frowned. Although people had speculated in the past, no one had exposed it openly. Had the Cui clan made it public now?
Eventually, the group departed.
Li Qingyue was the last to leave. She told Qin Ming that the people of the immortal path now all knew he was practicing the silk book method, likely due to a leak from the Cui clan.
Regardless of whether he was practicing it or not, once the rumor spread like this, false would become true in the eyes of others.
Even though the immortal path paid considerable attention to the silk book method, several old fellows believed that no matter how Qin Ming had embarked upon this path, he would ultimately fail to escape the fate of exploding into pieces.
Because historically, even several creators of the silk book method could not escape that destiny.
Although the joint training had not yet concluded, that portion of auspicious beast blood was distributed.
Qin Ming smiled brightly. Having someone help him temper his extraordinary skill while also receiving auspicious beast blood made this quite a splendid assignment.
That day, he asked Xiang Yiwu to help deliver some auspicious beast blood to Ning Siqi.
For the time being, he did not want to get too close to his former good friend, avoiding bringing him trouble.
However, Ning Siqi declined it.
"He said he has his own fortuitous opportunity and doesn't need this for now, but he was very happy," Xiang Yiwu reported.
Qin Ming did not send it again, saving it for the future when he could hand it to Ning Siqi in person.
Aside from Yu Gensheng and Zhao Ziyuan, he had also previously sent some to Meng Xinghai and Li Qingyun.
Naturally, all of these were distributed in small portions, as a complete portion of auspicious beast blood was not required to produce an effect.
During this period, he had asked Yu Gensheng and Zhao Ziyuan to pass word to the Cui clan inquiring about his grandfather's whereabouts, yet the response was just as it had been in the past.
Yu Gensheng said, "They said that after your grandfather entrusted you to them, he embarked on a long journey alone."
Qin Ming did not believe it; that excuse was far too perfunctory.
*Grandfather, where on earth are you? I've prepared auspicious beast blood to extend your life.*
In truth, Qin Ming knew that at his grandfather's advanced age, he might have already passed away.
Thinking of this, he felt dejected and sorrowful.
A few days later, the joint training came to an end.
The immortal path disciples took time to rest, preparing to receive the diplomatic mission from the mysterious, distant nation.
Subsequently, confirmed news spread across Kunling City.
The elven race, born bathed in the sun's afterglow, had emerged from the depths of the night mist world and was about to visit Great Yu.
Rumor had it that this group of humanoid beings was exceedingly formidable.
People of the immortal path had already set out for the Dayu imperial capital, where they would meet the "visitors" from afar and engage in cordial, friendly exchanges.
"I think we should invite the seed disciples of the esoteric sect and the Newborn path to accompany us. If necessary sparring takes place, it would be more dependable."
"The sun elven race claims to be born bathed in solar fire, but that surely isn't the whole story. Their population is small; one path from our side alone is plenty."
"The esoteric sect appears peaceful on the surface, but is actually full of wild ambition. And as for that declining Newborn path, a patriarch-level battle just erupted between us; it is not suitable to invite them right now. Our immortal path has hardly fallen so low!"
The Dayu imperial capital was exceedingly bustling, teeming with heavenly treasures and outstanding talents. At night, a "bright moon" even hung high in the sky, making it one of the ten famed cities of the contemporary world.
...
Kunling was directly adjacent to the state of Great Yu, making it easy to obtain the latest news from there.
At present, the diplomatic mission of the sun elven race had not yet entered Great Yu's borders; they were still en route.
"Something is wrong!"
Over the past two days, patriarch-level figures sensed an anomaly within the Kunling domain.
Even now, some of the patriarchs had not yet departed.
Evidently, they were aware of certain matters and were observing something.
"The Ancient Kunling we resealed might have some issues—there could be flaws, or even loopholes!"
That day, a patriarch-level figure ventured forth along a rift in the folded space to investigate.
"Disaster! A monster is about to emerge!"
That evening, an extremely ominous piece of news spread.
"The Mad God has left Yujing!"
Chapter 263