The young noble Huang Jingjun wore a faint smile. Even at this moment, the boy still had a sparkle in his eyes, staring at the three-colored flower. It was clear he was just a hunter from a remote area, still unaware of his situation.
His older brother, Huang Jingde, remained calm. Whether the boy was overly simple or just pretending to be naive to buy time didn’t matter to him.
"I didn’t expect such a mysterious item to exist underground. Eating it can help one cultivate the Heavenly Light Technique?" Qin Ming asked.
He was genuinely seeking advice, his eyes reflecting the unique clarity and sincerity of youth, eager to learn about this unfamiliar knowledge.
"First, you need to choose a suitable Heavenly Light Technique and practice it to a basic level. Only then will consuming the three-colored flower yield the best results. Hmm, I’ll need to think about which one to choose when I get back," Huang Jingde replied cheerfully, answering every question. After all, there was still plenty of time to kill.
What kind of storm could a boy who had only just become a novice create? As a three-time novice himself, he could easily crush the boy.
"There are many types of Heavenly Light Techniques, so choosing one must be quite important, right?" Qin Ming asked, showing his eagerness to learn without hesitation.
Huang Jingde nodded. "Of course. It’s already impressive if a three-time novice can barely practice one type of Heavenly Light Technique. As your realm increases, you can practice more. A proper combination can unleash even more terrifying power."
Qin Ming frowned. "How to choose and how to combine them reasonably must be secrets that high-level practitioners keep close to their chests, right?"
Huang Jingde chuckled. "Exactly. The true transmission is worth a piece of paper, while the false transmission could fill a library. This paper contains the essence of the knowledge."
Qin Ming sighed. Who would easily share such core secrets?
Huang Jingde, feeling a bit reflective himself as he practiced the Heavenly Light Technique, said, "Do you think those rare Heavenly Light Techniques just appeared out of nowhere? They are the result of countless trials and errors by previous practitioners, blending various techniques together. For example, the legendary Sky-Piercing Technique and the Buddha’s Technique are even more precious. Who knows how many types of Heavenly Light Techniques were merged to create them? Just a few words leaked about them could be worth a fortune."
As he spoke, Huang Jingde’s face showed longing. Those techniques felt so far out of reach for him.
He sighed again. "Let’s not talk about those legends. In reality, any well-known Heavenly Light Technique is the result of 'a thousand hammers and a hundred refinements,' blending many techniques together. So, our path is tough. Even if the true transmission is right in front of you, you still have to practice all the various Heavenly Light Techniques written on it."
Qin Ming felt a bit overwhelmed. Wasn’t this kind of information missing from the scroll? Or was it on the third page? He looked confused. What should he do now?
He asked, "Is there really no way for ordinary people to improve? Without the true transmission, can’t they cultivate powerful Heavenly Light Techniques?"
Huang Jingde replied, "There is! Those rare Heavenly Light Techniques and the legendary true teachings are all results of past practitioners merging their knowledge. You can also learn the more common Heavenly Light Techniques that are out there and practice them yourself."
Seeing Qin Ming deep in thought, the young noble Huang Jingjun couldn’t help but smirk. "Do you think Heavenly Light Techniques are just superficial skills? They are hard to master, and each one is quite complex. How many can you realistically learn in your lifetime?"
Qin Ming seemed to snap back to reality. "Since you’re going to choose a new Heavenly Light Technique and not eat the three-colored flower here, aren’t you worried about the effect wearing off?"
Huang Jingde said, "Not at all. It’s so cold that once it ripens, it can last over two months. Keeping it in a jade box will extend its life even longer."
He looked at Qin Ming with a scrutinizing gaze. "You’ve asked me so many questions. Are you pretending to be naive, or do you really have some confidence?"
Qin Ming replied calmly, "Zhou Wubing is my nephew, and Master Xu Kong is my senior brother, and he’s nearby. Do you think I lack confidence?"
Huang Jingde was stunned for a moment before he chuckled. "You probably don’t know that Master Xu Kong left this remote area with Zhou Wubing yesterday."
Qin Ming was taken aback. So, the second sickly boy had already left. It seemed he wouldn’t be able to beat him up anytime soon.
"Next, we’ll go pick the three-colored flower." Huang Jingde tossed a jade box to Qin Ming, not worried about him breaking it since he had more than one on him.
Qin Ming caught it and then walked aside, burying the jade box under a pile of rocks, looking very cautious as if afraid of damaging it.
"What are you doing?"
"Afraid it’ll break during a fight," Qin Ming replied honestly.
He had already noticed that although Huang Jingde was smiling, there were no flaws in his demeanor. Trying to sneak an attack was impossible; this would be a tough battle.
"You pretending to be foolish won’t change anything." The younger Huang Jingjun stepped forward. "Let me teach you a lesson."
"You can’t. Even Nie Rui and Shen Jiayun aren’t my opponents; you’re far from them," Qin Ming said straightforwardly.
Huang Jingjun wore a cold smile. "You don’t really think you’re something special just because a young man from Chixia City praised you, do you?"
He sneered, "You’re just a novice. You dare to act tough in front of me? Until you reach the realm of a second-time novice, you’re nothing here!"
With a clang, he drew a long knife that shimmered coldly and charged at Qin Ming, aiming to cut him down.
In his view, after becoming a second-time novice, with nearly 1,200 pounds of strength, he could easily crush this boy with a single strike.
Qin Ming made two quick moves. First, he struck the back of his knife against Huang Jingjun’s blade, not holding back at all. The impact made Huang Jingjun’s arm tremble, and he couldn’t grip the handle, dropping it involuntarily.
His hands were also bleeding, the immense force tearing the soft flesh between his fingers. He was shocked and terrified, quickly retreating.
For his second move, Qin Ming swung his knife forward. Even though Huang Jingjun reacted quickly and jumped back, he couldn’t completely avoid it.
As sparks flew, the fine armor on Huang Jingjun shattered, blood-soaked fragments scattering everywhere.
A horrific wound appeared from Huang Jingjun’s shoulder to his abdomen, nearly cutting him in half. He cried out in agony, collapsing to the ground, where part of his insides were visible through the gaping wound.
"Very weak!" Qin Ming commented, then turned his attention to Huang Jingde.
"Brother..." Huang Jingjun called out weakly, knowing he wouldn’t survive without immediate help, even though he was still alive.
Huang Jingde rushed over with a silver spear, his earlier calm demeanor completely gone.
Initially, he had looked down on Qin Ming, so he didn’t care much, chatting cheerfully with a hint of mockery. But seeing the danger Qin Ming posed, he instantly exploded with rage.
Qin Ming was unafraid. He had fought with three-time novices before and had gained experience. This time, he faced Huang Jingde with the long knife of the elder from Gold Rooster Ridge.
With a clang, he swung his knife, deflecting the fierce thrust of the spear aside, altering its trajectory. He followed through with a powerful push of his knife, the bright blade trembling and surging like a massive wave, ready to drown his opponent.
Huang Jingde’s gaze turned cold. Holding the spear in one hand, he used his other hand to unleash a pure Heavenly Light, striking the side of Qin Ming's blade, trying to deflect it.
He did hit the side of the blade accurately, but he couldn’t completely push it away. The force of that strike was too strong. He felt a strange illusion, as if the blade was a roaring wave crashing down from the sky.
Huang Jingde dodged quickly, but even so, part of his chest armor shattered. After the blade grazed him, he realized just how powerful it was, far beyond his expectations, even surpassing other three-time novices!
A faint bloodstain appeared on his chest.
"How is this possible?" Huang Jingjun, lying on the ground in pain, couldn’t believe his eyes. His brother, a master in the realm of three-time novices, had actually suffered a setback in their first encounter?
But he clearly saw that the opponent hadn’t used any Heavenly Light during the fight, which meant he hadn’t reached the three-time novice level. How could he possess such terrifying strength?
"I was careless. I didn’t expect someone who hasn’t cultivated the Heavenly Light Technique could be this strong, completely rivaling a three-time novice," Huang Jingde said, his expression serious. He gripped the silver spear tightly, fully focused, ready for a life-and-death struggle.
Huang Jingjun, hearing his brother’s assessment, clutched his wound and coughed, more blood flowing out. He couldn’t accept that the hunter boy was powerful to such an outrageous degree.
Qin Ming also grew serious. Although Huang Jingde was much younger than the elder from Gold Rooster Ridge, he might be even stronger.
Sure enough, after they clashed again, Huang Jingde was much fiercer than before. His spear transformed into a dragon soaring through the clouds, clawing and biting, continuously thrusting at Qin Ming’s vital points.
At the same time, Huang Jingde’s other hand would occasionally turn into a palm blade, striking forward unexpectedly when he got close.
However, he couldn’t break through Qin Ming’s defenses even once. Each time, he was blocked by layers of blade light.
What frustrated him the most was that the boy’s left hand was also wielding a large hammer, which struck his palm blade several times, causing him immense pain.
The two fought fiercely for a long time. Qin Ming had no better means against a three-time novice protected by Heavenly Light, so he could only keep attacking, relying on his immense strength and superb knife skills to force Huang Jingde to use his Heavenly Light defense repeatedly, quickly draining his energy.
In the distance, the three-colored flower shimmered, with some petals opening up. The light mist in that area thickened, clearly indicating that the spiritual flower was about to ripen.
Even from afar, one could smell the fragrance of the flower. Especially as the three-colored petals became more translucent, they gradually sparkled, releasing large amounts of light rain, quite mysterious and extraordinary.
"How many types of Heavenly Light Techniques can this spiritual flower help someone cultivate? I’m really looking forward to it!" Qin Ming’s eyes burned with excitement.
His fighting spirit rose even higher. He hoped to end the battle soon and go pick the soon-to-ripen three-colored flower. He unleashed all his power.
In an instant, Qin Ming swung his strongest blade. It felt as if he was in a stormy night, with lightning flashing and heavy rain pouring down. In that pitch-black night, his knife intent surged, and his mental strength elevated. The long knife swept through the air, as if it were going to sever the entire dark sky, cutting through the endless lightning.
Huang Jingde’s face turned pale with fear because that blade was terrifying, seemingly carrying endless thunder and rain, ready to tear apart the underground cave and cut through all obstacles.
He dodged quickly, but the long knife drew closer, impossible to avoid. He raised his silver spear to block, but was knocked aside by a powerful force.
With a pale face, the blade reached him.
Huang Jingde shouted, gripping the spear with both hands, horizontally blocking the long knife. There was no way he would allow the opponent to cut him down!
With a clang, it felt like a mountain had crashed down. His silver spear was sent flying, and at the same time, he felt a sharp pain in his shoulder as his right arm fell toward the ground, blood spraying out.
He had temporarily saved his life, but he had completely lost his fighting capability, staggering backward, half of his body drenched in blood.
"You... are you not just good at spear techniques?" Huang Jingjun, lying on the ground, heavily injured and near death, asked in despair.
"I'm pretty good with a knife too," Qin Ming replied.