Last time at the old noble's estate, Erbingzi had gone ahead to see the five-meter-tall Xie Lingxi. Upon returning, he had spoken in vague, misleading terms to Qin Ming before abruptly slipping away. Now he was pulling another stunt.
Qin Ming made a mental note of it. The next time they met, he would beat him until he was truly sick.
In Chixia City, Nie Rui was like a beam of light cutting through the nocturnal fog. He was one of the two most dazzling figures in twenty years, and his physical attributes after his Newborn breakthrough had shattered the city's records.
Now that he spoke up to ask, the contingents of the Cao, Mu, and Wei families all showed surprised looks, and many turned their gazes toward Qin Ming.
Instantly, the others understood—this had to be the person Nie Rui was looking for.
For a moment, Qin Ming got a taste of what it felt like to be the center of attention. All the young nobles of Chixia City looked his way, sizing him up from head to toe.
Of course, this was entirely thanks to Nie Rui. Had this exceptionally gifted youth of Chixia City not mentioned him, no one would have paid any attention to a boy from a remote frontier.
Many wore strange expressions as they studied him with critical eyes. Could such a closed-off, petty place really produce a genius youth? It seemed rather improbable.
On the other hand, several noble maidens were quite lively, whispering among themselves.
"He has rather delicate features. If he paid a little more attention to his appearance, his bearing would improve even further. If he stopped letting his black hair hang loose and traded that black armor for bright, shining plate, I think he'd be quite handsome!"
...
Nie Rui offered a gentle smile and proposed a friendly match with Qin Ming.
"Don't feel pressured. It's just a casual spar. I trust the eye of Master Xu's only disciple."
Qin Ming wanted to pummel Erbingzi even more now. At the same time, he realized that this Xu Kong must be truly extraordinary to command such deep respect from the people of Chixia City.
"I cannot compare to you," Qin Ming replied. "Though I live in a remote village, I've heard many speak of the remarkable young man and woman who emerged from Chixia City, dazzling the entire region."
The young nobles present all nodded in agreement, taking his words as plain truth. In the lands ruled by Chixia City, the most outstanding youths in the city were naturally the greatest prodigies of the local realm.
Nie Rui leapt down from the white rhinoceros, his silver armor gleaming brilliantly. Bursting with youthful vigor, his whole person seemed to radiate light. With an affable smile, he said, "You are too modest. I've met You Liangyun. Don't worry, we're just having a casual spar."
The others did not know what he meant, and Nie Rui could hardly state outright that You Liangyun had once been defeated by this boy.
Things having reached this point, Qin Ming could no longer refuse.
Nie Rui added, "I've already achieved my second Newborn breakthrough. I will suppress my strength, so rest assured, I certainly won't exceed the proper bounds."
Qin Ming had considered using that as an excuse to decline, but on second thought, endlessly deflecting would look bad. In the end, he nodded.
"Nie Rui, mind your measure when you strike," Cao Long spoke up, worried he might injure Qin Ming.
"Qin Ming, do you want to switch to a different weapon?" Mu Qing asked.
Everyone present knew that upon his initial Newborn breakthrough, Nie Rui's two-arm strength had reached a terrifying seven hundred and ninety jin. That was precisely why he had caused such a sensation, hailed as the finest in twenty years.
You Liangyun was the same age. Originally outstanding enough to lift a cauldron of six hundred and fifty jin, he had ultimately been relegated to third place.
In everyone's eyes, if Qin Ming used his clumsy, long-handled dark-gold hammer to face Nie Rui and clashed with him in sheer strength, it would be sheer folly.
Qin Ming readily followed good counsel. Setting down the great hammer in his hand, he said, "Aside from the long-handled hammer, I'm fairly skilled with a spear. Can someone lend me one?"
Mu Qing looked at the youths behind him, only to find that most of them used sabers. The few long spears available were of insufficient quality, simply far too light.
None of the other nobles spoke up. After a brief silence, one person chuckled and said, "Take my purple-gold spear. It's a thousand-fold forged weapon. Consider it the fulfillment of a wish of mine to cross hands with Brother Nie indirectly—it's an honor."
Qin Ming noticed that everyone held Nie Rui in extraordinarily high regard; even lending a spear came with such flattering words.
"Nie Rui, you might just lose," said the young maiden seated upon the black tiger. Her eyes were bright, her teeth pearly white, and her dark hair drifted backward in the wind, giving her an ethereal, fairy-like grace.
Her name was Shen Jiayun, and her strength was on par with Nie Rui's. Most importantly, she had already caught the eye of a person beyond the mundane world and was destined to walk an extraordinarily dazzling path.
In the eyes of many young nobles, she had already won at the starting line.
Nie Rui stepped forward, his silver armor shining and his smile radiant. Holding a saber, he said, "Please!"
Qin Ming took the purple-gold spear in hand, weighed it, and gave it a shake, flourishing a cluster of spear blooms. Instantly, ripples of purple radiance surged forth.
"Xiao Qin, be careful! Don't get hurt!" Xu Yueping called out.
"If it really doesn't work out, admit defeat right away!" Old Man Liu was even blunter.
The group of young nobles merely smiled faint smiles. With Nie Rui's strength, he could naturally control his strikes with precision. Such a spar held no suspense whatsoever and would not harm the boy.
Some were privately gesturing, making bets on whether Nie Rui would take the boy down in four moves or a single exchange.
They could not make wagers or discuss it too loudly; overtly slighting a young hunter was poor form, and it would also seem disrespectful to Nie Rui, who had personally stepped forward.
"My guess is Nie Rui will take him down after three saber stances."
"I'll be more conservative—after seven stances. Since Nie Rui wanted to test his measure in person, it means this boy must have some tricks up his sleeve."
*Clang!*
In an instant, everyone's attention was dragged back to the fight by an intense clash of metal. Their eyes darted over, only to discover in astonishment that the two had already traded over a dozen moves.
With a whoosh, they separated rapidly, ending up a good twenty-odd meters apart. The accumulated snow beneath them erupted into midair, fluttering down like a fresh, heavy snowfall. Only then did the distant large trees crack and snap, large boughs crashing down.
Shock ran through everyone's hearts. They focused all their concentration, realizing they had misjudged him. Such thunder-swift exchanges were already pushing the upper limit of a first Newborn cultivator.
"This boy from the remote lands is far from simple!"
"What's his name—Qin Ming, right? I'll remember that."
The crowd murmured, as if seeing the youth in the clearing with entirely new eyes.
Even Cao Long, Wei Zhirou, and the others looked astonished. Though they had spent several days together and knew Qin Ming was unusual, they had never expected him to be this formidable.
Mu Qing, cloaked entirely in black robes, spoke up: "Qin Ming, let loose and fight. Nie Rui isn't the petty sort."
"It's only satisfying if you don't hold back," Nie Rui agreed with a nod.
Old Man Liu mumbled to himself, *Xiao Qin is even more formidable than I imagined. Before he's even set foot in Chixia City, his name might spread there first.*
Qin Ming did not tap into his strongest domain—his raw strength. Instead, he relied purely on spear technique for this duel. Adapting on the fly with lightning-quick reflexes, he imbued his saber techniques into the spear forms without letting the onlookers notice.
Nie Rui moved once more. Moving so fast that he shattered the snow beneath his feet, he whipped up a fierce gale that swept swirling snowflakes through the air. The silver saber in his hand carved out a blinding streak of light, driving wind and snow as though he were riding the tempest itself.
Qin Ming did not meet the strike head-on. Slipping sideways, he dodged the downward cleave. Then, in a flash of flint and spark, he swiftly used his purple-gold spear to press down against the spine of the saber, kicking up a trail of sparks as the spearhead thrust straight toward Nie Rui in an instant.
This sight made many pupils contract. The boy's grasp of the combat situation was astonishing! Beneath such a ferocious saber strike, he had managed to seize an opening in the briefest sliver of time. With the spear pressing the spine of the saber at a razor-thin angle, the spearhead was like a swimming dragon slithering along a mountain ridge, piercing the night as it struck directly toward its target.
Nie Rui exerted strength in his right hand, forcefully thrusting his saber upward to parry the spear aside, while his left hand faintly glowed, preparing to swat the spear shaft away.
Qin Ming gripped the spear with both hands, pressing his full weight down upon the spine of the blade while shaking it violently. The spear tip ahead instantly shuddered with tremendous intensity, blossoming into a broad burst of spear blooms.
At this moment, Nie Rui found it utterly impossible to throw off the spear with one hand, and the spear tips before his eyes converged into a sea of phantom afterimages—like a sky full of stars flaring at once—rushing straight at him.
Forced into a corner, he drew back his saber and dodged frantically sideways.
In this clash, he was actually suppressed into disadvantage. Only after falling back a great distance did he fully regain his footing.
Silence fell over the area. Everyone found it incredible. The boy's improvisation was extraordinary; in his hands, the purple-gold spear seemed to come alive, like a flood dragon baring its fangs and claws to hunt its prey in the night.
"I feel that spear has gained a soul in your hands. You don't stick to conventional forms or standard spear techniques. Whatever you pick up at will becomes a wondrous move," Nie Rui said with a grave expression. Without another word, he suppressed his strength to a set degree and focused his mind entirely before charging back in.
In an instant, he and Qin Ming were locked in battle once more, the saber light gleaming brilliantly as though seeking to hack through the dense night.
Wherever he and Qin Ming passed, boughs snapped and fell in swathes, and the snow on the ground burst into the air. Several large trees toppled with rumbling crashes the moment the pair rushed past, sending up great clouds of snow.
"Though this frontier boy's strength doesn't equal Nie Rui's, it's already approaching seven hundred jin. How fierce!"
"His spear technique looks like a collection of ordinary loose forms. Not a single thrust exceeds the bounds of what we understand, yet it holds a power that turns the mundane into the miraculous."
"Because he has no fixed routine! Most of it is improvised on the fly, adapting to circumstances and turning plain, scattered moves into strokes of genius!"
Eventually, even Cao Long and Feng Xing weighed in with their own praise.
*What spear technique?* Qin Ming thought to himself. *This is saber technique!* A disguised "spear-saber" offered a unique, distinct feeling compared to his hammer-saber.
It grew smoother and smoother under his hands. Refusing to be bound by the lethal forms laid out in the manual, he combined them at will and brandished the weapon with complete abandon. For instance, as he swept the spear across, its tip was treated like a blade edge slicing toward his opponent's flesh while he shook the shaft.
In saber technique, this was Between Sea and Sky; as the blade edge vibrated, the rolled-up light of the saber followed like surging waves.
Now, substituting the spearhead for the blade edge, it similarly stirred up layers of afterimages. Under that vibration, the shaking frequency of the spearhead was even greater, magnifying the saber intent of Between Sea and Sky. At this moment, it was like thunder erupting between sea and sky, with barrages of lightning crashing into the vast ocean.
Nie Rui flew backward in disarray, sweat beading on his forehead and his disheveled black hair clinging to his face. Panic fluttered in his chest; he was about to lose.
In the next moment, Qin Ming took the spear-saber to a new height, actually unleashing a kicking saber form! Thrusting the purple-gold spear outward, he kicked it in rapid succession with lightning speed. Nie Rui dodged desperately, cold sweat breaking out even thicker.
Most astonishing of all, the spear was not kicked away. In the end, it was like a living flood dragon leaping around Qin Ming's body before finally landing back in his grip.
*Clang!*
As Nie Rui's saber was suppressed by the purple-gold spear, his arm shuddered and sparks flew in all directions. Several plates of his silver armor cracked under the thrusts of the spearhead.
Qin Ming stopped and planted the spear into the ground. He felt a twinge of regret; using the spear-saber for the first time had drawn him in too deeply, and while immersed in the experience, he had failed to hold back in time.
Originally, he hadn't wanted to slight himself and had intended to end the match in a draw. Yet with a lapse in attention, he had gone and defeated his opponent outright.
The clearing was dead silent. No one could believe their eyes. Nie Rui, Chixia City's most dazzling prodigy in twenty years, had actually lost to a young hunter in this remote frontier.
The crowd stood slack-jawed, truly sizing Qin Ming up for the first time, feeling their worldview severely shaken.
Was Black-White Mountain, a forbidden ground of five hundred years, about to revive and return spiritual vitality to this remote frontier? Many wondered inwardly.
Shen Jiayun, the young maiden seated upon the black tiger, broke the heavy silence. "Nie Rui, are you all right?"
Nie Rui shook his head. "I'm fine. I lost, and I'm thoroughly convinced."
"Are you really fine? Did you take a blow to your pride? Does your heart ache?" Shen Jiayun asked with a playful grin, genuinely unconcerned about sparing his feelings.
"What could possibly be wrong with me? Brother Qin has knocked me awake, making me realize I might truly not be suited for this path." Nie Rui sheathed his saber, then shook his head with a sigh. "Since that's the case, I'll just choose the path of becoming a god."
Qin Ming had been turning over words in his mind, wondering how best to smooth things over, only to hear such an utterly deranged statement.
First came You Liangyun, who upon losing was to return home to inherit a noble title and spend his life in silken robes, fine dining, and sensual indulgence. Now this one was even more absurd—upon losing, he was going to go become a god!
Qin Ming's breathing grew somewhat heavy.
Seeing his reaction, Nie Rui finally smiled. "It's not what you think."
It was clear Nie Rui was not a petty person; he bore no grudge over his defeat. Now, he seemed to have let it go completely, resolved to embark on another path.
"So-called gods are merely beings that we, being young, lacking in strength, and limited in understanding, cannot yet comprehend. When you think about it, they are simply stronger creatures. An elder of an esoteric sect took an interest in me, saying I possess rare 'divine wisdom' and can walk their path. Ah, I originally wished to stride through this boundless dark world in mortal flesh and blood, walking my own path. But now I have no choice; I've come to know my own measure." Nie Rui sighed.
"Stop sighing!" Qin Ming couldn't take it anymore. "If you keep sighing, what are the rest of us supposed to do?"
"Qin Ming, I'd like to spar with you as well," said Shen Jiayun from atop her black tiger. She leapt lightly to the ground, her dark hair fluttering. Holding a longsword, she had already arrived before him.
Instantly, the woods grew lively again. The people from Chixia City could no longer hold back, bursting into fervent whispers and heated discussion. Today's turn of events was simply far too unexpected.
"All right!" Qin Ming agreed with a nod. Since he had already beaten one, he didn't mind having a second match.
In an instant, sword light arched like a rainbow across the snowy ground, accompanied by the rumble of wind and thunder as though a host of lightning dragons were descending. Shen Jiayun was remarkably strong; in the eyes of ordinary people, it was like the dance of a sword immortal.
Yet she, too, was defeated. Qin Ming used the tip of his spear to flick away a cluster of glowing blue pearl hairpins from her hair, then brought the heavy spear down to rest against her right shoulder.
The clearing fell silent once more. Everyone stared in a daze. Chixia City's two greatest prodigies in twenty years had both fallen to the very same person.
Shen Jiayun smoothed her fine hair and smiled. "Young man, there's no need for ten years. If we meet again a year from now, you won't be a match for me by a long shot."
She showed not the slightest hint of dejection or disappointment. Her smile was exceptionally brilliant, carrying the kind of charm that could topple a city—a captivating allure that dazzled the eyes.
"We shall see," Qin Ming said. Lifting the spear from her delicate shoulder, he gave it a gentle shake. The cluster of glowing blue pearl hairpins fell, and with a deft, light tap of his spearhead, he sent them sliding neatly back into her cloud-like hair.
Chapter 41