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Novel: [Night Without Borders]
Chapter 89: [The Young Immortal Wields a Hammer]
Author: [Chen Dong]
Translator: [Shadow Knight AK]
Editor: [Shadow Knight AK]
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Night had fallen over the mountains, and Golden Rooster Ridge lay blanketed in pristine white snow.
A crimson Fire Spring bubbled and surged, its fiery glow illuminating the snowy landscape.
The old man's silver hair cascaded like snow, his face pale and clean-shaven.
At first glance, he resembled a scholarly teacher rather than a ruthless bandit, lacking the bloodthirsty aura of a hardened criminal.
But when his eyes flashed with fury, his entire presence transformed.
A layer of Heavenly Light shimmered around him, tinged with a faint crimson hue—the lingering bloodlust from countless killings, which even a lifetime of cultivating the Heavenly Light Force couldn't purify.
Beneath the night sky, beside the Fire Spring, Qin Ming stood clad in azure robes, his refined features radiating an otherworldly grace.
He seemed like an Outsider, his entire being exuding an ethereal, luminous energy.
The snow beneath the old man's feet exploded with a thunderous roar as he transformed into a soaring eagle, each stride covering ten meters as he crossed the distance in an instant.
Simultaneously, a pitch-black ruler emerged from his wide sleeves, slashing toward the young man with the force of a black lightning bolt.
Qin Ming's right hand swung the long-handled Black Gold Hammer with savage force.
The entire mountain peak trembled as he unleashed a sonic boom with each earth-shattering swing.
The old man arrived as quickly as he departed.
Struck by the heavy hammer against his ruler, he was sent flying horizontally, crashing through a dilapidated wooden hut with a thunderous boom, sending splinters scattering everywhere.
The old man was terrified.
As a Golden Bandit with countless kills to his name, he had never encountered such a ferocious youth.
The young man's azure robe fluttered like a banished immortal, yet he wielded a great hammer that sent the seasoned veteran flying over ten meters.
"Is this truly a flesh-and-blood teenager?" the old man wondered, suspecting he had encountered a mountain spirit.
Qin Ming's eyes were clear and his robes billowed in the night wind. Illuminated by the Fire Spring, his handsome face and jet-black hair seemed to glow, radiating an ethereal aura.
He remained utterly calm, having anticipated the old man's arrival.
The bandit hadn't detected him in the dilapidated hut until he was close, indicating he couldn't have reached a higher realm of cultivation.
"A Golden Bandit who has undergone seven awakenings is nothing more than this!" Qin Ming strode forward, his footsteps crunching lightly through the snow with an almost ethereal grace.
The old man, despite facing a young man with extraordinary presence, felt as if he were confronting a colossal beast lumbering through the darkness, slowly closing in.
This suffocating dread made him gasp for breath.
He had only come to pay his respects, yet he now faced a life-or-death crisis.
He glanced down at the pitch-black refined metal ruler in his hand... it was bent.
Such immense force!
No wonder he had been sent flying.
Suddenly, Qin Ming launched the first strike.
Wielding his Black Gold Great Hammer, he moved with the silence of snow falling, appearing like a wisp of night wind as he closed the distance in an instant.
With a thunderous boom, a white shockwave erupted from Qin Ming.
As the hammer swung, the surrounding snow was blasted into the air, and the dilapidated houses shattered into splinters.
The old man tried to evade, but Qin Ming's speed was overwhelming.
Forced to confront the attack head-on, he braced himself.
With a clang, the black ruler in his hand was hammered into a crescent shape.
Despite the protection of Heavenly Light Force, the web of his right hand tore open, blood gushing forth.
This time, he was sent hurtling sixteen meters backward, crashing through an intact wooden hut.
Beside the Fire Spring, Qin Ming spoke: "You're about the same level as Ge Qianxun. Is this all the Golden Bandits amount to? Just over four thousand catties of strength? Your seventh awakening was probably fueled by forbidden medicine too, wasn't it?"
The old man's pupils constricted. He had heard earlier that Ge Qianxun had met with misfortune, but to think he had fallen at the hands of this youth before him?
He discarded the useless ruler and glared at his opponent.
The young man possessed the bearing of a celestial being, yet wielded such a massive hammer, creating a jarring sense of temporal dissonance.
In the next instant, the celestial youth swung the great hammer, taking a single stride that carried him over a dozen meters in an instant.
He closed the distance in a heartbeat, and with a thunderous crash, the snow-covered ground exploded, and the wooden huts collapsed.
The old man coughed up a mouthful of blood, his clothes torn to shreds, revealing the clanging inner armor beneath.
Blood streamed from his seven orifices, creating a gruesome sight.
His hands trembled violently.
He had unleashed the strongest strike of his life, yet barely managed to block the great hammer with both palms.
"Interesting," Qin Ming murmured, glancing down at the faint palm print on the Black Gold Great Hammer.
He then tossed aside the hammer and stepped forward.
He could have crushed the man with it, but he wanted to test his recently acquired skills.
"Do you know how the Mountain Bandits of Golden Rooster Ridge met their end?" Qin Ming asked, his voice instantly igniting his opponent's fighting spirit.
"I personally sent them on their way."
The old man, who had been listless moments before, now bristled with fury, his eyes bloodshot, his blood boiling, and his Heavenly Light Force surging violently.
"Ah..." he roared like a wounded beast, his voice icy. "My nephew and grandson are buried here! You deserve to die!"
With a whoosh, he leaped down the mountainside, his fighting spirit ablaze. He vowed to survive and exact a bloody revenge on the youth in the future.
As the saying goes: "Revenge taken by an old man is never too late, even after thirty years!"
Qin Ming was stunned.
This was nothing like what he'd expected.
The old man's presence here to mourn suggested genuine sentiment, yet at the critical moment, he fled faster than a startled rabbit.
Despite the old man's surging blood and surging Heavenly Light Force, he couldn't escape.
Having mastered the Grass-Treading Technique, Qin Ming moved as if riding the wind, closing the distance in an instant.
"I'll fight to the death!" the old man roared, his reaction speed suddenly amplified.
This was an ability he'd gained during his sixth awakening: by burning his vital essence, he could double his perception.
As he activated the technique, his blood and spirit seemed to ignite, consuming his very life force.
With a gentle tug of his hand, Qin Ming activated the Silk-Winding Force, instantly sending the old man crashing to the ground.
Feeling humiliated, the old man braced himself with his left hand and swung his body, his right leg lashing out like an iron whip toward the youth's head.
Qin Ming didn't move his feet.
His right hand shot out, and with a hiss, the Nail Force manifested.
The old man's shin armor tore open as if made of paper, leaving several finger-sized holes in his calf.
"Ah!" the old man roared, feeling as if nails had pierced his leg.
He staggered backward.
He leaped to his feet, but his leg buckled under the strain.
His eyes bloodshot, he charged forward again.
Qin Ming tested his Hammer Force.
With a thunderous boom, the old man was sent flying, his left hand mangled beyond recognition, all five fingers severed.
"Again!"
The old man realized that the youth was even more terrifying without the hammer, using him as a training dummy.
Each strike could cripple a seventh Awakener.
How could someone so young have mastered so many Heavenly Light Forces?
In an instant, he experienced an even more terrifying Heavenly Light Force—the Explosive Force, a technique Qin Ming had obtained from the Thunder Fire Alchemy Hall.
As the old man tried to block, his entire arm exploded.
Qin Ming felt that using the old man as a practice dummy had become pointless.
He finally struck with a Yellow Mud Palm, a faint yellow mist appearing on his right hand.
The sight shocked the old man, who exclaimed, "Yellow Mud Palm! How could you have mastered it at your age?"
The Secret Manual of Golden Rooster Ridge had been left behind by the old man himself.
He had only managed to cultivate it to the minor mastery stage before hitting a wall, rendering the manual useless to him.
He could imagine the scene from over a month ago when the young man had annihilated Golden Rooster Ridge and obtained the ancient text.
The old man found it impossible to believe that someone could have reached such proficiency in such a short time.
With a thud, he couldn't evade the Yellow Mud Palm.
The moment the earthy-yellow mist touched him, cracks spread across his entire body.
Then, with a series of splattering sounds, he dissolved into a pile of blood, flesh, and shattered bones—a putrid, muddy mess.
Even in his final moments, he murmured, "Impossible!"
His entire worldview had been shattered.
Wasn't it said that only those at the Outer Sage stage could begin to draw upon the earth's vital energy?
Qin Ming protected himself with Heavenly Light Force, a faint aura radiating from his body.
The old man's splattered blood was blocked, not a single drop touching him.
The night wind stirred his black hair and fluttered his azure robes. If not for the Black Gold Great Hammer nearby and the pile of gore at his side, he would have appeared ethereal and otherworldly.
From the elder's appearance to his swift defeat, the entire encounter lasted less than ten breaths.
"Let's go. The matter at Golden Rooster Ridge should be completely resolved now,"
Qin Ming called Crimson Eagle.
Mounting the raptor's back, he soared into the night sky, heading toward Twin Tree Village.
"Bad news! The Golden Bandits have appeared in Yinteng (Silver Vine) Town!" Even from a great distance, Qin Ming could hear Speaking Sparrow's urgent cries cutting through the night air.
"Ah, Mountain Lord Qin, you've arrived! Four fierce bandits have appeared there. The two sent from Chi Xia City couldn't hold them off and fled Yinteng (Silver Vine) Town."
Qin Ming's heart sank.
The Golden Bandits weren't just operating in isolated pairs within the Blackwhite Mountain region; the situation was deteriorating rapidly.
"Let's go and take a look!" He wasn't recklessly rushing to his death.
He knew the two guards stationed in Chi Xia (Silver Vine) Town hadn't yet reached the Heavenly Light Emission stage.
Chi Xia City's influence stretched far and wide, with Black White Mountain being just one part of its vast territory. It was impossible to station an Outer Sage in every town.
"The fact that the two guards managed to escape Silver Vine Town suggests the four Golden Bandits haven't yet broken through to a higher level," Qin Ming reasoned.
The wind howled, the night mist churned, and Crimson Eagle carried him across fifty-odd miles.
Speaking Sparrow chattered incessantly, relaying the details of the situation.
Qin Ming's expression grew grave.
Silver Vine Town was now only a few miles from Twin Tree Village, a truly dangerous situation.
Soon, the Crimson Eagle carried him closer, and from afar, they could see flames erupting from Silver Vine Town.
Several houses near the town entrance had already been set ablaze, accompanied by raucous laughter and the sounds of weeping.
"Golden Bandits, come out and face your deaths!" Qin Ming roared.
The Crimson Eagle landed with a thud, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Qin Ming leaped down and charged into Silver Vine Town.
Four Golden Bandits, their bodies stained with blood, dragged the corpses of two elderly men.
Evidently, the two seasoned experts from Chi Xia City, despite their age, had been slain by the bandits even after fleeing outside the town.
Their bodies were now being tossed into the burning houses, the four bandits grinning savagely as they watched.
Panic gripped the town.
Women and children fled toward the town center, weeping in terror.
The bandits looked up and saw the young man charging toward them. Cold grins spread across their faces.
"Little whelp," one of them sneered, "you want to die too?"
The youngest of the Golden Bandits was at least sixty years old, while the eldest was over eighty.
One of them, his grizzled beard splattered with his opponent's blood, looked particularly ferocious.
"Uncle Hong, did you hear that shout from the sky just now? It sounded familiar, almost like Chonghe, but not as immature as before."
A young man in luxurious brocade robes, his face etched with confusion in the night, was none other than Cui Chongyi, the one captured by the white owl under the Purple Lightning Beast's command.
He had originally come out to train and meet his "cousin," but after failing to connect with Qin Ming, he ultimately chose to wander the Black White Mountain region.
"It... seems to be him," Cui Hong replied, his expression complex.
They were now less than half a mile from Silver Vine Town.
Sprinting at full speed, they quickly closed the distance and saw a lone youth facing four Golden Bandits, their figures illuminated by the flickering flames.
"Chonghe, I'm here to help!" Cui Chongyi shouted from afar.
Then, he witnessed Qin Ming unleash his full power.
In one hand, he wielded an absurdly large hammer, while the other erupted with Heavenly Light Force.
"Pfft!"
One Golden Bandit was smashed to pieces by the hammer!
"Ah..." Another bandit, after clashing palms with Qin Ming, had his arm shattered.
A subsequent palm strike reduced his entire body to fragments.
"You..." The two older Golden Bandits were horrified.
This youth was terrifying.
Although they had also been injured by the earlier shockwave, they hadn't been rendered completely helpless like this.
Instead of being hindered by his allies' arrival, it seemed to have spurred him to even greater heights.
What kind of logic was this?!
The youth's speed surged again as he struck another Golden Bandit, shattering him into bone fragments and bloody pulp.
Then, with a swing of his Black Gold Great Hammer, he obliterated the last bandit.
Without a backward glance, he charged into Silver Vine Town, whistling sharply.
A Crimson Eagle swooped down from the sky, and he leaped onto its back, soaring into the night.
Cui Chongyi, who had just reached the town entrance, shouted, "Cousin! It's me! Don't go!"
Cui Hong, a middle-aged man with unusually long arms, sighed. "He no longer trusts me. You should chase after him."
"Chong... Qin Ming, wait for me!" Cui Chongyi yelled, his voice carrying through the night sky. "Some old acquaintances are here, including that damned Li Qingxu, who's seeking the Great Medicine at Black White Mountain. Be careful in this area!"
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END OF CHAPTER
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