The old man was tall and charged forward with a terrifying speed, like a black tiger pouncing on its prey. His cold gaze could make an ordinary person’s legs go weak.
Qin Ming gripped his long-handled black gold hammer, moving like a swift cheetah. He leaped forward quickly, then changed direction rapidly, avoiding a direct clash. Instead, he swung the hammer from the side toward the old man.
The old man frowned, surprised that the boy's speed was on par with his own. As they nearly collided, the boy managed to dodge and swung the hammer at him!
Qin Ming felt a strong vibration from the metal handle as the old man slapped the side of the black gold hammer with his bare hand, which was quite frightening.
This first strike was just a test for Qin Ming, to gauge how extraordinary the power of a third-time newcomer was. The result made his expression more serious.
The old man rushed past him, surrounded by a white light, leaving cracks in the ground with every step. It was clear how much force he had when he ran.
He felt astonished; if it were another low-level newcomer, their weapon would have been knocked away by his power long ago.
After they passed each other, they had effectively switched places.
The old man looked down at the flattened face of the Golden Chicken Knight, who looked utterly tragic and unrecognizable. When he raised his head, his gaze was extremely cold.
Qin Ming sighed, just trying to tidy up the knight’s remains so that no one would discover the unusual death too soon. But now, the old man had barged in.
He had originally planned to observe the third-time newcomers and test them cautiously, but now he was facing a hard fight directly.
The two moved silently, slowly closing in on each other, like two dangerous beasts ready to pounce at any moment.
“I come from Red Cloud City. Aren’t you afraid of revenge if you kill me?” Qin Ming suddenly spoke up.
He was wearing armor sent by Cao Long and Mu Qing, which was indeed deceptive. However, he didn’t think it would intimidate the old man.
But it might give the old man a moment of hesitation, considering that Red Cloud City was the center of the region, and its big families were not to be trifled with.
But someone as experienced as this old man would surely not hold back in the end.
As soon as Qin Ming finished speaking, he suddenly launched an attack.
Sure enough, the old man only paused briefly, but that was enough for Qin Ming. He seized the opportunity to strike first with his hammer.
They were already very close, and now that Qin Ming had attacked, the old man could only take the hit, slightly too late to dodge.
“Boom!”
A dull sound echoed in the empty cave, and the ground trembled lightly. The old man wrapped one hand around the hammer while extending the other.
However, this strike was far stronger than the initial test. Qin Ming put all his strength into it, causing the old man’s palm to glow white and nearly shatter.
The old man tried to wrap around the hammer like making dumplings, but the “dumpling skin” almost tore apart.
He quickly retreated. This boy, who hadn’t even cultivated the light energy, was shockingly strong, causing his hands to ache and tremble.
Since Qin Ming had seized the initiative, he naturally couldn’t hesitate. He swung the hammer again and again, striking with the ferocity of a novice beating a master.
Each swing produced a thunderous sound, fast and fierce, making the old man nearly spit blood. He moved like a ghost, retreating, but he couldn’t shake off Qin Ming, who kept up with his speed.
Qin Ming was secretly alarmed. The old man had taken seven of his strikes and had managed to block them all with his bare hands. That was quite abnormal.
In terms of pure strength, even though the old man was a third-time newcomer, he couldn’t compare to Qin Ming. But with the protective light energy, he could withstand such a heavy black gold hammer.
Qin Ming's heart stirred; he longed to cultivate his own light energy.
The old man’s face turned red from the overwhelming force, and he alternated slapping the hammer, but he was still struggling, his hands shaking.
At that moment, he didn’t care about his pride anymore. Finding suitable terrain without any obstructing rocks, he lunged to the side, rolling and tumbling like a snake.
Though it was a messy escape, he finally broke free from Qin Ming’s rhythm.
He looked down at his hands, which, despite being nourished by light energy, were swollen and red. He felt like his bones might be injured.
“Unbelievable! I couldn’t break through?” Qin Ming’s expression wasn’t great as he quickly closed in.
The old man’s gaze was sharp, wanting to say, “Who’s the real monster here?” A person without light energy could possess such strength.
He had drawn out the long knife he had on his back, silently vowing never to carry a knife like that again. In a critical moment, he hadn’t even had time to draw it. His hands moved like windmills, striking out, colliding with the hammer that was relentlessly coming at him.
Once the old man had the knife in hand, he used the light energy to clear the blood that had blocked his vision, temporarily alleviating the pain.
“Unfortunately, I haven’t mastered my light energy yet; otherwise, I wouldn’t need a weapon!” he said. Every third-time newcomer could generate light energy, but that mysterious light energy was hard to master.
Qin Ming knew that as one’s realm increased, cultivating some rare and special light energy could tear weapons apart like paper.
But achieving that level in the third-time newcomer stage was clearly impossible. Even those who learned the so-called Giant Spirit Technique or the Buddha Technique couldn’t do it without a corresponding high realm to support them.
Qin Ming wouldn’t give the old man time to recover his hands. He swung the long-handled black gold hammer and gripped the short sword, chopping, smashing, slashing, and striking, delivering fifty-eight hammer blows and forty-two sword strikes in one breath, not giving him a moment to breathe.
The old man was furious. When had he ever been so passive in this area, especially being beaten by a boy? His light energy surged violently, and he retaliated fiercely.
Soon, he was shocked. The boy opposite had changed from his previous frenzied state. Though the long-handled black gold hammer was still powerful, it had undergone an astonishing transformation. It no longer resembled hammer techniques but rather sword techniques.
As Qin Ming swung the hammer at high speed, his wrist trembled violently, as if he were shaking a sword. The hammer made a buzzing sound as it came crashing down, creating a terrifying tearing force against the knife.
The old man’s long knife nearly flew out of his hands, and his expression grew serious.
Qin Ming changed his approach again. The hammer fell like thunder, one strike after another. The terrifying black gold light crisscrossed in the underground space. His speed was so fast that the hammer’s fearsome trajectory intertwined like bursts of lightning.
With a loud bang, the old man was sent flying, crashing against the stone wall. His right hand trembled lightly. Even with the protection of light energy, he was struggling to cope.
His gaze was cold as he leaped from the wall, launching a fierce counterattack. This wave of retaliation made Qin Ming feel somewhat pressured.
The old man had gone mad, wielding the long knife in one hand while using the other to take on Qin Ming’s hammer.
With a clang, sparks flew from Qin Ming’s shoulder as the old man’s left hand struck his armor, sending four or five pieces of armor flying. This scene made Qin Ming’s pupils contract. He was wary of the power of the light energy.
Qin Ming became cautious, keeping a certain distance from the old man, no longer giving him the chance to close in. He swung the hammer like a windmill, sending dense shadows of the hammer crashing forward.
The old man was certain that if he didn’t have the light energy to support him, he would have been blown apart by this kid long ago. What kind of monster was this? He hadn’t even cultivated light energy yet, and he was already so outrageous.
Moments later, amidst the heavy shadows of the hammer, Qin Ming’s hammer roared, like clouds parting for the sun, unleashing the strongest strike from the shadows.
His speed was too fast; the other hammer shadows hadn’t even dissipated yet. It was like lightning swirling around as the main hammer crashed down. This time, the old man’s long knife nearly flew out of his hands. He summoned his light energy to withstand it, but it left him utterly exhausted.
After delivering nine consecutive strikes like this, the old man could no longer endure. His light energy dimmed, and he spat blood.
Seeing this, Qin Ming swung the hammer again, this time infused with a sharp sword intent, as if a bolt of lightning was about to tear through the night, causing the entire dark underground cave to tremble with the roaring sound of the hammer, stirring up dust and wind.
The collision between the hammer and the long knife was deafening. The old man could no longer hold onto the knife; his arm spasmed, and the long knife fell to the ground as he coughed up blood.
Qin Ming continued to swing the hammer, forcefully dispersing the old man’s protective light energy!
With a soft sound, the old man’s right hand became a bloody mess. Without the support of the light energy, he could no longer withstand the heavy hammer strike, and his finger bones shattered.
In the next moment, the old man was spitting blood, feeling a sharp pain in his chest. His entire chest caved in as he was sent flying seven or eight meters away by a single strike.
“Third-time newcomers are really hard to kill!” Qin Ming panted, feeling quite exhausted. The light energy was very tricky.
The old man was not dead yet; he spat out another mouthful of blood, feeling that he was speaking nonsense. How could a person without light energy think they could kill a third-time newcomer?
But he also felt a wave of frustration and anger. He was indeed defeated by someone like this and was about to die.
Qin Ming stepped forward, ready to deliver the final blow. “I’ll give you a flat meat pie face as well.”
“I... I’m just clay!” the old man coughed up blood, cursing with great difficulty. He was so unwilling to die at the hands of a boy.
“The people from Golden Chicken Ridge are too rough; they curse at the drop of a hat,” Qin Ming shook his head, bringing the hammer down to flatten the old man’s face, causing his forehead to cave in.
He began to search the old man’s body and tidy up his remains.
“If those mutated beasts rush in later, they should be able to take care of two corpses for me.”
Qin Ming wandered around the vast underground cave, his brows furrowed deeply. He had discovered at least three old men in other passages, likely all third-time newcomers.
“This is troublesome!” He didn’t want to take risks or act recklessly.
“Hm?” He spotted another familiar figure, the Golden Chicken Knight who had once scolded them and had whipped an old man, leaving a deep cut on his face.
“Kid, where did those villagers go? Come here, I have questions for you!”
Qin Ming directly unleashed a “Great Qin Flying Hammer.” With a bang, the area fell completely silent.
He dragged the man’s corpse into the darkness.
In the underground cave, various spiderweb-like passages were present, and a group of strange creatures rushed in from one of the paths, causing complete chaos.
Qin Ming retreated to a distance, entering an area where light energy intertwined. He didn’t need to hunt down the people from Golden Chicken Ridge or the Three-Eyed Sect for now; he began to seriously search for mysterious treasures.
He continued to delve deeper, moving quite far away.
Threads of light mist flowed, preventing the underground world from being completely dark.
“Could it be that luck is really on my side?” Qin Ming felt a weak fluctuation in a place where the light energy was denser.
Soon after, he crushed a fist-sized stone, revealing a blue glow, seeming like another type of jade iron, about the size of half a walnut.
“It can only be made into an arrowhead.” Qin Ming was still very happy; having any gain was good, especially since it was incredibly precious.
“Hey, what a double blessing!” Two people emerged from another passage, their faces lighting up at the sight of the jade iron in Qin Ming’s hand.
Qin Ming recognized at a glance that these were people from Red Cloud City. Unknowingly, he had wandered so far and encountered another group.
“Hey, you’re Qin Ming?” One of the young men showed a strange expression.
Qin Ming carefully observed. He remembered this young man from when he had fought against Nie Rui and Shen Jiayun; he had been watching from the sidelines.
“Oh, so this is the boy who amazed everyone with his spear skills and defeated Nie Rui and Shen Jiayun?” said another middle-aged man.
He looked to be in his thirties, wearing red armor, and smiled faintly. “Qin Ming, right? Come over, let’s chat.”
Qin Ming didn’t move, standing his ground.
Earlier, he had a good impression of the nobles from Red Cloud City, from Cao Long, Mu Qing, and Wei Zhirou to Nie Rui and Shen Jiayun; he thought they were all decent.
But now, he sensed malice from the two nobles ahead, likely coveting the blue jade iron in his hand.
Clearly, not everyone was kind, or rather, some smiles and elegance were only suitable for public display. In a place like this underground world, those hypocritical masks could be torn away.
Qin Ming remembered that young noble from earlier, who had warmly talked to him when he had defeated the Twin Stars.
“Qin Ming, come here, help us with a task,” the young noble said, now devoid of his previous smile, his tone quite flat.
“Third-time newcomer?” Qin Ming ignored him and looked at the middle-aged man in his thirties, who revealed light energy as he lightly clenched his fist.
“Hmm, you should maintain the respect I deserve. In this dark underground world, the boasts of others are useless,” the middle-aged man said.
Qin Ming remained silent as he approached them.
The two men had never worried about him escaping; after all, Qin Ming had fought Nie Rui and Shen Jiayun with a strength close to seven hundred pounds, being just a first-time newcomer.
Qin Ming wanted to get closer to them, but the middle-aged man glanced at him, so he didn’t approach any further, following them into a very spacious area.
“What is that…” Qin Ming was astonished. Ahead, the light mist was incredibly dense, with a large amount of vapor rising. In the center was a three-colored flower, dazzling and about to bloom.
The middle-aged man smiled. “Little brother Qin, I see that your body seems fine after being eroded by light energy. Help us out, will you? Once this three-colored flower fully matures, pick it for us from the light energy.”
“What’s it for?” Qin Ming asked.
The middle-aged man replied, “It’s very useful. It can help people cultivate light energy. After reaching the third-time newcomer stage, who wouldn’t want to cultivate more types of light energy? But it’s hard to even master one. This flower is extraordinary!”
“It’s really tempting!” Qin Ming exclaimed.