Chapter 98 Unprecedented 【Thank you for subscribing and supporting us】

Meng Xinghai knew Li Qingxiao’s elders and couldn’t directly reprimand him, so he simply waved him away. However, the boy remained smiling and didn’t get up. He used a secret method to transmit his voice, asking Qin Ming how his Golden Silkworm Technique was progressing.

“It’s done,” Qin Ming informed him.

If Li Qinglei hadn’t been there, Old Meng would have stood up again. He was truly astonished; how could he have mastered it in just five days? Time was tight this time, and Meng Xinghai had planned to help him with the basics using a secret method, but he hadn’t expected him to achieve it in just a few days. Meng Xinghai’s expression changed. This young man kept surprising him, always exceeding his expectations and far surpassing his hopes. “Brother Qin Ming…” Li Qingxiao began.

“Get out of here!” Meng Xinghai was increasingly annoyed with him. Didn’t he see the harmonious relationship between the uncle and nephew? They were about to discuss serious matters when this extra person interfered. Li Qingxiao was stunned, then his face flushed red. He had been praised since childhood and was proud and arrogant. He immediately felt humiliated.

Actually, Meng Xinghai was just annoyed by him.

“Uncle Meng, if you say that, I’m not happy. I want to challenge Qin Ming, the number one in this city, right here!” Li Qingxiao stood up, his whole body flowing with Heavenly Light Energy. “What’s wrong with you?” Meng Xinghai didn’t tolerate him at all.

Li Qinglei dared not retaliate and said, “Uncle Meng, I’m following the rules. Anyone has the right to question and can challenge the city lord’s chosen number one during the grand examination.” After saying this, he regretted it. He was just passing through and wanted to gather some information; he didn’t want to truly offend Meng Xinghai.

“Uncle Meng, I’m sorry, I’m young and ignorant, please don’t hold it against me.” After realizing his mistake, Li Qingxiao immediately apologized and transformed back into a sunny young man with a bright smile.

Meng Xinghai said calmly, “Since you’ve already questioned it, if I don’t agree, wouldn’t people say I’m doing favoritism and cheating? The ‘number one’ in Chixia City will become a fraud in many people’s eyes. I have to arrange it for you.”

Li Qingxiao was in a precarious situation; if he angered Meng Xinghai, his family wouldn’t let him off the hook.

“Xiao Qin, you will face his questions and challenges,” Meng Xinghai said, immediately instructing people to prepare a venue and invite spectators.

Qin Ming naturally nodded in agreement. Old Meng was already angry, so how could he sit calmly? He originally didn’t want to pay attention to this boy, but since the other boy kept jumping around, he didn’t mind warming up.

Besides, he’s still a teenager, why be so mature? He must have the spirit of a young man! Otherwise, Old Meng will look at him strangely.

It was too late for Li Qingxiao to say anything. Once the city lord spoke, everything sprang into action. Not only were there guards from the city lord’s mansion, but people from outside also came to the training ground to watch the battle. Everything was arranged.

“Please!” Li Qingxiao didn’t want to call him “brother” anymore; he was already furious. The City Lord’s training ground was large enough for newcomers to duel.

Li Qingxiao, dressed in fine clothes and adorned with beautiful jade, appeared as a handsome young man, yet he drew a gleaming broadsword, wider and longer than ordinary blades. “Where is your weapon?” he inquired.

“I’m older than you, so I don’t need weapons.” Qin Ming was dressed in a blue robe, with a handsome face, clear eyes, flowing robes, and a graceful gait. His outstanding temperament made him seem like an immortal.

“You’re really arrogant. When did you embark on the path of rebirth? How dare you look down on someone who has been reborn seven times?” Li Qingxiao spoke calmly, shocking all the onlookers. A fourteen-year-old boy had already been reborn seven times?!

Qin Ming was not surprised. His “younger brother” Cui Chongxuan was not even thirteen years old, yet he had already begun to consume the Three-Colored Flower and integrate the four types of Heavenly Light Force.

The ancient families have unfathomable heritage and can be reborn without waiting for their prime age. As long as their talent is not lacking, the only thing that can restrain them during the rebirth stage is the special “buffer period” within one year during which their bodies cannot undergo frequent mutations.

“Come on!” Qin Ming gestured for him to begin.

Li Qingxiao’s face was icy cold. He left many afterimages in the arena, appearing and disappearing like a ghost, causing many people outside the arena to change their expressions. His sword strike, derived from the powerful energy techniques of a renowned sword manual, caused the entire broadsword to crackle with a thunderous sound.

That was his Heavenly Light Force vibrating the longsword, giving it an indestructible power.

Qin Ming dodged the blade and punched the side of the sword, using the force of his fist to shatter the blade’s momentum. In his eyes, Li Qingxiao’s swordsmanship was merely decent. Li Qingxiao was nearly knocked off his grip by the immense force, his body stiffening, and even his ghostly movements were interrupted.

Qin Ming moved with lightning speed, his blue robes fluttering in the wind, appearing behind Li Qingxiao and kicking the boy in the buttocks, sending him flying. “I…” Li Qingxiao was so angry he almost exploded on the spot.

This was someone he had questioned and belittled, someone he had even subtly mocked by referencing his cousin Li Qingxu’s words. Yet, he himself had stepped into the fray and ended up in such an embarrassing situation. After landing, he moved with the speed of a ghost, swung his sword again, unleashing a sound like a tsunami—a killing move from another sword manual.

Qin Ming struck the blade with explosive force, and even the most meticulously forged broadsword shattered into pieces instantly, the blades hitting the ground with a piercing sound. Li Qingxiao was petrified on the spot; his opponent had shattered his weapon with his bare hands?!

Then, he was kicked in the buttocks and fell to the ground some distance away.

Meng Xinghai knew the elders of the Li family, and Qin Ming didn’t want Li Qingxiao to bleed; these two kicks were enough.

Li Qinglei would rather be stabbed than kicked in the butt. If word got back, what would his acquaintances from those aristocratic families think of him? His face turned pale; he had suffered a major blow. He had grown up amidst praise, yet today he was so utterly vulnerable.

Qin Ming objectively assessed him, saying that his strength was actually quite good. But since the other party was so “outrageous” and insisted on provoking him, he would not be polite and would strive to suppress this scheming young man in the shortest possible time with a simple, brutal, and overwhelming force.

Otherwise, Li Qingxiao wouldn’t have been defeated so quickly.

“Child, are you alright? No one is immune to failure. Just keep trying to improve yourself. Don’t be sad,” Meng Xinghai comforted him. Li Qingxiao, dejected, returned to the living room without saying a word.

Meng Xinghai said, “I am a very principled person. I would never randomly name Qin as the number one in the city just because we are close.” Li Qingxiao nodded blankly.

After a long while, he recovered and said, “Qin Ming, you are indeed very strong on the path of rebirth. I am only fourteen years old, which just meets the requirements of the Outer Realm, and I will embark on the path of immortality from now on.”

“Congratulations,” Qin Ming said calmly.

Li Qingxiao said, “Originally I wanted to pursue both paths simultaneously, but now you’ve made me focus.”

“You’re not going to tell me next that we’ll meet in the land beyond the mundane world after we reach the summit, are you?” Qin Ming looked at him and said, “If I were to set foot in the land beyond the mundane world, it might be different from what you think, and it would certainly not be what you want.”

Li Qingxiao and an old man rode away on a strange bird, and he never wanted to come to Chixia City again!

Meng Xinghai sipped his tea, smiled at Qin Ming, and said, “I have prepared a section of the Five-Colored Spirit Branch for you. Its effect is much stronger than that of the Three-Colored Flower. It can help you integrate the Heavenly Light Force and increase its total amount.”

“This…is very rare and valuable, isn’t it?” Qin Ming asked.

Meng Xinghai nodded and said, “Yes, it comes from a place beyond the mortal realm. It is a precious tree rooted in the Heavenly Light Pool. The old branches cannot be moved lightly, but the new branches can be harvested every year. Each branch has five different colored leaves. It looks fresh on the outside and contains a strong essence of heavenly light inside.”

“An old tree, Tianguang Pond…” Qin Ming listened with longing, what a wonderful place that must be.

Even a newly sprouted five-colored spiritual branch in early spring possesses astonishing medicinal effects, which only proves that the realm beyond the mortal world is unfathomable. “Is its yield large?” Qin Ming truly knew nothing about these things.

Meng Xinghai said, “Every early spring, after the lands outside the secluded areas are distributed, the thousand-year-old families have a few quotas left. My lineage has no promising descendants this year, so this one that was given to me is a good deal for you.”

Qin Ming exclaimed, “What is true depth? This is it!”

Because the outer realms are powerful enough, they naturally occupy the best resources. Anything that slips out, even a small piece of new branch, is considered a rare spiritual object in the outside world.

Meng Xinghai seemed to see what he was thinking and said, “Feeling the pressure? The gap is huge. If I hadn’t been discovered when I was young that I could have taken other paths and had the chance to change my fate, if I had only taken the path of rebirth, even if I trained for a lifetime and reached the highest achievement, I would only be a guardian outside the gate in the esoteric sect.”

Clearly, Meng Xinghai’s path is related to esoteric Buddhism and has connections to deities.

Qin Ming nodded. He had previously thought he knew quite a bit about the various paths, but now it seemed his knowledge was still limited. Then, a fire seemed to flicker in his eyes, his resolve unwavering; now he would focus on improving himself. His arduous cultivation was not for the sake of becoming a follower of those outside the sect!

Qin Ming opened the long, rectangular jade box on the table. Inside was a tender branch, about the thickness of a thumb and more than two feet long. Five-colored mist rose from it, and the essence of the heavens was contained within. It had only five leaves, each a different color, all crystal clear and flowing with rich vitality.

Meng Xinghai said, “The competition for the disciples of the Fangwai Sect is about to begin. You have been staying at the City Lord’s Mansion for the past two days, consuming the Five-Colored Spirit Branch. After you have improved your Heavenly Light Force, you should head there.”

Qin Ming felt that it wouldn’t take that long. Last time he took the Three-Colored Flower, all the Heavenly Light Forces were perfectly unified on the same day.

Meng Xinghai asked, “What kind of weapon do you want? I’ll have someone forge one for you, mixed with some rare metals; it will have a wonderful use.” “Uncle Meng, I have a knife here; could you have someone reforge it for me?” Qin Ming drew his mutton-fat jade iron knife.

Back then, he and Old Man Liu forged the jade iron knife using very crude methods, and it still hasn’t been sharpened.

“This…” Meng Xinghai’s eyes gleamed. This was far superior to the materials he had prepared; the pure jade-iron knife was completely free of any impurities. He sighed, “You’re quite something, kid. This is extraordinary jade-iron, but the forging technique… I don’t want to comment; it’s such a waste.”

“I have a small piece that I want to refine into an arrowhead.” Qin Ming took out a piece of blue jade iron about the size of half a walnut.

“That’s too extravagant. Even my arrows aren’t made of such material. Be careful when you shoot that arrow, don’t be reckless,” Meng Xinghai warned. That day, Qin Ming consumed the Five-Colored Spirit Branch in a quiet courtyard of the City Lord’s Mansion. Immediately, he felt his entire body being scorched by the heavenly light, as if he were being torn apart. The Five-Colored Spirit Branch contained a more violent essence of heavenly light than the Three-Colored Flower, but Qin Ming’s physique was also much stronger than before.

That night, he pushed the Fire Force to its peak and trained the Golden Silkworm Force to the limit that five rebirths could allow.

His body surface would sometimes radiate a divine light of fiery energy, and sometimes wisps of golden silkworm silk would appear; both of these extraordinary techniques, the Heavenly Light Force, had remarkable protective effects.

In addition, Qin Ming’s Vajra Force, Wind Force, and Golden Light Force, which he had recently practiced, were also rapidly improved.

That night, he gathered all the celestial energy, unified it, and finally merged it all with the rebirth method on the silk scroll.

Qin Ming tried it briefly and immediately knew that the power of the Heavenly Light Force had increased significantly compared to before. This was mainly because the Golden Light Force, the Fire Force, and the Golden Silkworm Force that it incorporated all had very powerful origins, especially the latter two, which belonged to the category of extraordinary skills.

At this time, the competition among the disciples of the Outer Realms was common knowledge. From blessed lands to ancient families, and even the major cities shrouded in night mist, many were discussing it. Qin Ming’s strength had increased dramatically, becoming stronger than ever before, and his state of mind had become increasingly peaceful. He was ready to travel to the Outer Realms.