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Novel: [Night Without Borders]
Chapter 98: [Unprecedented]
Author: [Chen Dong]
Translator: [Shadow Knight AK]
Editor: [Shadow Knight AK]
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Meng Xinghai knew Li Qingxiao's elders, and couldn't directly scold him. So he simply waved him away, but the youth remained seated with a cheeky grin.
Using a secret technique, Meng Xinghai telepathically asked Qin Ming, "How's the cultivation of the Golden Silkworm Technique?"
"It's done," Qin Ming replied.
If Li Qingxiao hadn't been present, Old Meng would have gotten up again. He was genuinely astonished.
"Five days? How could he have mastered it so quickly?"
This time, they didn't had much time. Meng Xinghai had planned to use a secret method to help Qin Ming get started, but the young man had achieved it on his own in just a few days.
Meng Xinghai's gaze shifted.
This youth continued to surprise him, consistently exceeding his expectations and far surpassing his initial hopes.
"Brother Qin Ming..." Li Qingxiao began.
"Get lost!" Meng Xinghai snapped, his dislike for the youth growing stronger.
"Can't you see we're having a harmonious uncle-nephew moment? We're about to discuss serious matters, and you're just here to cause trouble."
Li Qingxiao froze, his face flushing crimson.
Having been praised since childhood and harboring immense pride, he felt utterly humiliated.
In truth, Meng Xinghai was simply annoyed by his presence.
"Uncle Meng, if you're going to talk like that, I'm not happy. I'm challenging Qin Ming, the city's number one, right here and now!" Li Qingxiao rose, his entire body radiating Heavenly Light Force.
"What's wrong with you?" Meng Xinghai showed him no leniency.
Li Qingxiao dared not retaliate. "Uncle Meng, I'm just following the rules. Anyone has the right to challenge the City Lord's appointed champion during the Great Examination."
He regretted his words the moment they left his lips.
He had only stopped by to gather information and had no intention of truly offending Meng Xinghai.
"Uncle Meng, I'm sorry. I'm just a naive kid. Please don't hold it against me," Li Qingxiao apologized, instantly transforming back into a sunny, smiling youth.
Meng Xinghai replied calmly, "Since you've already issued the challenge, if I refuse, people will accuse me of favoritism and corruption. Chi Xia City's 'champion' would become a laughingstock. I have no choice but to arrange this match."
Li Qingxiao felt trapped.
If he angered Meng Xinghai, his family would never forgive him.
"Xiao Qin, accept his challenge," Meng Xinghai ordered, immediately instructing his men to prepare the arena and invite spectators.
Qin Ming naturally agreed.
How could he sit calmly while Old Meng was clearly furious?
He had initially intended to ignore the boy's antics, but since the youth insisted on provoking him, he wouldn't mind warming up a bit.
Besides, he was still a youth—why act so mature?
He needed to show some youthful spirit!
Otherwise, Old Meng would look at him with that strange expression.
Li Qingxiao wanted to say something, but it was too late.
The City Lord had spoken, and his subordinates immediately sprang into action.
Not only guards from the City Lord's Mansion but also spectators from outside the city flocked to the Martial Arena to watch the duel.
Everything was quickly arranged.
"Please!" Li Qingxiao snapped, his earlier desire to call Qin Ming "brother" long gone, replaced by a burning rage.
The Martial Arena of the City Lord's Mansion was vast, easily accommodating a duel between Awakening-stage cultivators.
Li Qingxiao, clad in luxurious brocade robes and adorned with exquisite jade, cut a dashing figure. Yet he drew a gleaming broadsword, its blade wider and longer than ordinary swords.
"Where's your weapon?" he demanded.
"I'm older than you, so I don't need one," Qin Ming replied, his voice calm.
Dressed in simple green robes, his handsome face and clear, bright eyes radiated an extraordinary aura, like an Immortal descended from the heavens. His robes fluttered gently as he moved, his steps leaving no trace of dust.
"You're quite arrogant," Li Qingxiao said coldly. "When did you embark on the Awakening path? How dare you look down on someone who's already undergone seven Awakenings?"
The crowd gasped in shock.
A fourteen-year-old boy had already undergone seven Awakenings?!
Qin Ming wasn't surprised.
His "dear younger brother," Cui Chongxuan, who was not yet thirteen, had already begun consuming the Three-Colored Flower and fusing four types of Heavenly Light Force.
The Millennial Clan possessed unfathomable depths of power. Their members could undergo Awakening before reaching the Golden Age, provided their innate talent was sufficient.
During the Awakening phase, the only limitation they faced was a special "buffer period" of one year, during which frequent bodily Mutations were prohibited.
"Come on!" Qin Ming gestured for Li Qingxiao to make his move.
Li Qingxiao's expression turned icy.
He left behind numerous afterimages as he moved, resembling a phantom flitting across the arena.
The spectators' faces paled at the sight.
His blade flashed, executing a technique from a renowned Sword Manual. The broadsword crackled with thunderous energy, as his Heavenly Light Force vibrated through the weapon, imbuing it with an unstoppable momentum.
Qin Ming evaded the sword's edge and struck the side of the sword with a fist, using a concussive force to shatter its momentum.
In his eyes, Li Qingxiao's sword technique was merely passable.
The force nearly wrenched the sword from Li Qingxiao's grip, freezing his body and disrupting his phantom-like movements.
With lightning speed, Qin Ming's green robes billowed as he appeared behind Li Qingxiao and kicked the youth squarely in the rear, sending him flying.
"I..." Li Qingxiao nearly exploded with rage.
This was the man he had doubted, belittled, and even subtly mocked using his cousin Li Qingxu's words. Yet now, having personally entered the arena, he had suffered such a humiliating defeat.
After landing, he moved with ghostly agility, swinging his sword again with a thunderous roar—a lethal technique from another Sword Manual.
Qin Ming channeled explosive Qi and struck the sword.
Even a broadsword forged through countless hammer blows shattered instantly, its fragments clattering harshly against the ground.
Li Qingxiao froze in shock.
His weapon had been shattered with bare hands?!
Then, a kick to his backside sent him sprawling.
Meng Xinghai knew the Li Family elders well.
Qin Ming didn't want to draw blood, so the two kicks would suffice.
He guessed Li Qingxiao would rather take a sword than be kicked in the back.
If word of this humiliation reached his Noble Clan acquaintances, what would they think?
Li Qingxiao's face paled, utterly devastated.
Raised on praise, he had never imagined being so easily defeated.
Qin Ming objectively assessed his opponent.
Li Qingxiao's skills were actually quite impressive.
But since the young man had been so arrogant, actively provoking him, Qin Ming showed no mercy, aiming to suppress this scheming youth with overwhelming force in the shortest possible time.
Otherwise, Li Qingxiao wouldn't have fallen so quickly.
"Child, are you alright? Everyone loses sometimes. Just focus on improving yourself. Don't be discouraged," Meng Xinghai offered timely comfort.
Li Qingxiao returned to the living room, his spirit crushed and without a word.
Meng Xinghai said, "I have my principles. I would never arbitrarily declare Xiao Qin the city's number one just because we're close."
Li Qingxiao nodded woodenly.
After a long silence, he finally recovered and said, "Qin Ming, you are indeed formidable on the path of Awakening. I'm fourteen, just old enough to meet the requirements of Beyond the Mortal Realm. From now on, I will embark on the Immortal Path."
"Congratulations," Qin Ming replied flatly.
Li Qingxiao continued, "I originally planned to walk both paths simultaneously, but you've forced me to focus on one."
"Are you going to tell me next that we'll meet again in Beyond the Mortal Realm after reaching the peak?" Qin Ming asked, his gaze fixed on Li Qingxiao. "If I ever set foot in Beyond the Mortal Realm, it might not be what you expect—certainly not what you desire."
Li Qingxiao and an elderly man rode away on a Strange Bird, vowing never to return to Chi Xia City.
Meng Xinghai sipped his tea, smiling at Qin Ming.
"I've prepared a Five-Colored Spiritual Branch for you. Its effects are far more potent than the Three-Colored Flower. It will help you fuse the Heavenly Light Force and significantly increase your total energy reserves."
"This... must be incredibly rare and valuable, right?" Qin Ming asked.
Meng Xinghai nodded. "Indeed. It comes from Beyond the Mortal Realm, from a sacred tree rooted in the Heavenly Light Pool. The ancient branches are too fragile to harvest, but we can collect the new growth each spring. Each branch bears five different colors of leaves, appearing fresh and vibrant on the surface, yet brimming with potent Heavenly Light Essence within."
"An ancient tree... the Heavenly Light Pool..." Qin Ming's mind drifted into reverie.
What a wondrous place that must be!
Even a small segment of the Five-Colored Spiritual Branch, newly grown in early spring, possessed astonishing medicinal properties. It only underscored the unfathomable depths of Beyond the Mortal Realm.
"Is its yield plentiful?" Qin Ming asked, genuinely curious.
Meng Xinghai replied, "Every early spring, after Beyond the Mortal Realm distributes its share, the Millennial Clans receive a small quota. This year, my lineage lacks any promising descendants, so I'm giving this branch to you."
Qin Ming sighed in admiration.
"This is what true foundation means!"
Because Beyond the Mortal Realm possessed such overwhelming power, it naturally claimed the best resources.
Even a mere trickle of their bounty—a small segment of new growth—became a rare spiritual object in the outside world.
Meng Xinghai seemed to sense Qin Ming's thoughts.
"Feeling the pressure now, aren't you?" he said. "The gap is vast. If I hadn't been identified as having other paths open to me in my youth, giving me a chance to change my destiny, I would have been stuck on the Awakening path. Even if I cultivated for a lifetime and reached the pinnacle of achievement, I would have remained nothing more than a gatekeeper outside the Esoteric Sect."
Clearly, Meng Xinghai's path was connected to the Esoteric Sect and intertwined with the divine.
Qin Ming nodded.
He had previously believed he understood the various paths quite well, but now he realized his knowledge was still limited.
Suddenly, a fiery light seemed to ignite in his eyes, his conviction hardening.
All that mattered now was to focus on improving himself.
He had endured arduous cultivation not to become a mere follower of the Outsider disciples!
Qin Ming opened the long, rectangular jade box on the table.
Inside lay a thumb-thick, tender branch, over two feet long, radiating Five-Colored Mist and Haze.
The Heavenly Light Essence was contained within, and only five leaves adorned the branch, each a different color, crystalline and translucent, pulsing with vibrant life force.
Meng Xinghai said, "The Outsider disciples' competition is about to begin. Stay at the City Lord's Mansion for the next two days, consume the Five-Colored Spiritual Branch to fully refine your Heavenly Light Force, and then you should head there."
Qin Ming believed it wouldn't take long.
The last time he consumed the Three-Colored Flower, his Heavenly Light Force had achieved perfect unity within a single day.
Meng Xinghai asked, "What weapon do you use? I'll have someone refine it for you, incorporating rare metals for enhanced properties."
"Uncle Meng, I have a sword here. Could you have someone reforge it for me?" Qin Ming drew the Jade Iron Sword.
He and Old Liu had forged the Jade Iron Sword using crude methods, and it remained unsharpened to this day.
"This..." Meng Xinghai's eyes lit up.
This was far superior to the materials he had prepared—pure Jade Iron, completely free of impurities.
He sighed, "You've got quite the find, kid. This is Extraordinary Jade Iron. But the forging technique... I won't comment. It's a complete waste."
"I also have a small piece I'd like to refine into an arrowhead," Qin Ming said, producing a walnut-sized fragment of blue Jade Iron.
"That's extravagant! Even my arrows aren't made of such material. Be careful when you fire it—don't waste it!" Meng Xinghai warned.
That day, Qin Ming consumed the Five-Colored Spiritual Branch in a quiet courtyard within the City Lord's Mansion.
Immediately, he felt his entire body burning with Heavenly Light, as if being torn apart.
The Heavenly Light Essence contained within the Five-Colored Spiritual Branch was far more volatile than that of the Three-Colored Flower, but Qin Ming's physique had also grown significantly stronger.
That night, he pushed his Li Fire Force to its peak and cultivated his Golden Silkworm Force to the maximum limit allowed by his fifth Awakening.
His body flickered between the divine radiance of Li Fire and shimmering strands of golden silkworm silk, both extraordinary techniques providing extraordinary protective effects through their Heavenly Light Force.
Additionally, Qin Ming rapidly advanced his recently acquired Vajra Force, Wind Force, and Golden Light Force.
By dawn, he had gathered all his Heavenly Light Force, unifying it before fusing it completely with the Awakening Technique from the Silk Book.
A brief test immediately revealed a dramatic increase in the power of his Heavenly Light Force.
This surge stemmed primarily from the fusion of potent techniques like the Golden Light Force, Li Fire Force, and Golden Silkworm Force—especially the latter two, which belonged to the extraordinary cultivation techniques.
Meanwhile, the competition among Outsider disciples had become common knowledge.
From the Blessed Land to the Millennial Clans, and even the major cities shrouded in the Night Mist, everyone was discussing it.
With his strength now unprecedentedly formidable and his mind increasingly serene, Qin Ming felt fully prepared to venture into the Beyond the Mortal Realm.
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END OF CHAPTER
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