Qin Ming was shocked. Did this knife manual really exceed expectations and keep surprising him?
The old man's sword technique was already impressive, showing him a very high level of swordsmanship. However, he had just made some progress with his own skills and couldn't fully display the power of the strongest move yet.
He hadn't even practiced the old man's technique when this "Rulai Technique" reacted?
Soon, Qin Ming shook his head. He shouldn't have such high hopes. If someone really mastered the Rulai Technique, they probably wouldn't care about this knife manual.
Techniques like the Qingtian Technique and Rulai Technique were stronger than the legendary Juling Divine Technique, aimed at reaching godhood, which was already extremely powerful.
After thinking about this, Qin Ming concluded that the legendary Tianguang Technique couldn't possibly be in this book.
He focused all his thoughts on the manual, immersing himself in it and resonating with the emotions within.
The more he concentrated, the clearer the sounds and images became.
He first looked at the "Rulai Technique." Just a single phrase caused such a strong emotional reaction, showing how deep the writer's obsession was.
In front of him appeared a rugged man with a thick beard, carrying a broad sword, gazing up at the night sky during a thunderstorm.
Finally, he shouted, “Rulai Technique, I’ll practice you like a nail!”
What was going on? Qin Ming was taken aback, almost losing his focus again because of that statement.
After a moment, he understood. The bearded man had followed the clues, faced many hardships, and finally discovered the hidden notes left by predecessors, finding a few pages of paper.
The opening was intimidating, stating right away that this secret technique was related to the Rulai Technique!
However, when the man read carefully and excitedly turned to the last page, he almost tore the paper. The last line said it was a technique with extremely strong penetrating power, like a nail.
The original owner of the paper had seriously informed future readers that the nail technique was definitely part of the Rulai Technique's combination.
Qin Ming was at a loss for words, understanding the bearded man's feelings.
In fact, any major school’s secret technique is a combination of many techniques, eventually merging into the rare Tianguang Technique.
Not to mention those legendary techniques.
Everyone knew that the "true transmission" of the Rulai Technique would be filled with various techniques.
Qin Ming sighed, no wonder the bearded man’s message was filled with frustration. He must have felt confused and bitter back then, especially after putting in so much effort to find the paper.
Then, Qin Ming began to learn alongside him.
The man cursed, but still studied the technique with a strong sense of indignation, feeling cheated.
As Qin Ming resonated with him, he almost got caught up in the anger.
At first, he tried to suppress it, but later realized that the more he got angry, the stronger the resonance became, and the clearer his insights were.
So, he let go completely!
When he closed the book, he was still muttering, “I’ll practice you like a nail!”
Qin Ming closed his eyes and took a moment to calm himself before finally shaking off that emotion.
He went to the courtyard and began to practice seriously. It felt smooth, without any sense of stagnation, as if he had studied for half a lifetime.
The Tianguang energy flowed quickly within him, sparking sharp light at his fingertips, and the nail technique gradually took shape.
He resonated with the emotions of the predecessors, as if he had personally experienced those events. Their insights and experiences became his own “resources.”
But this didn’t mean he had accumulated decades of “power” in the nail technique.
He only witnessed and resonated with those insights and experiences; he still had to practice himself.
In a way, this emotional resonance had the greatest value and effect when facing various techniques, like studying knife manuals, spear techniques, and sword classics. It allowed him to grasp them quickly and efficiently, as if he had trained for decades in a moment of enlightenment.
However, for the elevation of life levels, like Qin Ming’s transition from second rebirth to third rebirth, and the accumulation of Tianguang energy, he still needed to build it up himself.
In those areas, he couldn’t rush it.
“Even so, it’s enough! After all, some techniques are very hard to practice and understand thoroughly,” Qin Ming felt satisfied. Holding the crystallization of the predecessors' hard work, he gained immense benefits on a spiritual level.
He studied carefully, believing that this nail technique was quite powerful. Even if the name didn’t sound impressive, it was very useful in real combat.
With Qin Ming’s understanding, it wasn’t hard to practice the nail technique. With those experiences and insights, he could quickly get started, which he naturally appreciated, as it saved him valuable time.
Qin Ming didn’t exert much force; he just lightly poked with his finger, and it pierced into the stone grinding plate.
The Tianguang energy he practiced with the silk book had various properties like adhesion, tearing, and penetration, so the nail technique could definitely be integrated!
Suddenly, Qin Ming heard crying and stepped outside.
“The old man from the Li family just passed away,” he heard this news on the street.
Qin Ming’s heart sank, and he looked up at the night sky. He roughly estimated the position of the black mist that had appeared not long ago, which probably fell near the Li family.
A chill ran through him. What was going on?
Did various ghosts really exist in this world? He didn’t believe in such things; even the so-called mountain monsters were just advanced anomalies.
However, he indeed saw the black mist, which others couldn’t see, slithering towards him from afar.
“Is that what Cao Long and Mu Qing mentioned, something that even big families fear?” Qin Ming’s heart tightened.
He observed nearby without making a sound, but he didn’t see the black mist again.
Shuangshu Village wasn’t large, with only about forty families. Any little movement would quickly become known throughout the village.
Xu Yueping arrived, sighing, “Now that food from outside is coming in, the mutated creatures have retreated from the mountains, and hunting is safer. It seemed like life was getting better, but some old folks passed away at this time.”
Qin Ming felt something was off and immediately asked, “Recently, have many old people died?”
Xu Yueping nodded, “Yes, in the surrounding villages, an old person has passed away every day recently.”
Then he seemed to remember something, “There are also a few young people who got injured while hunting and didn’t make it.”
He lowered his voice, “Some say the young people who died might be related to going into the mountains to collect weapons. No one dares to go anymore. However, a group brought back weapons without any incidents.”
Qin Ming frowned, suspecting that all of this was related to the black mist.
Moreover, he had first seen the black mist at the great rift where weapons were scattered.
His mood was complicated; he couldn’t speak about these matters.
His bright feelings from mastering the silk and nail techniques were completely shattered. Would that dangerous black mist return?
Qin Ming felt uncertain, a strong sense of urgency washing over him. He didn’t want to leave his fate to uncertain factors.
He strode towards Old Liu’s house, wanting to ask where he could find a blacksmith shop.
“You want to forge a knife and do it yourself?” Old Liu looked surprised.
Qin Ming nodded, “Yes, I need a reliable blacksmith shop. I urgently need a good knife.”
Old Liu shook his head, “So much has happened recently, and now hunting is back on, the blacksmiths are too busy. They won’t have time for you right now. Why not come early tomorrow before they start working?”
Qin Ming thought for a moment and finally nodded. He figured that if he went now, they wouldn’t be willing, and paying an outrageous price would stand out too much at this sensitive time.
He felt that the black mist had just passed through Shuangshu Village and would probably move to another place for now. If this small village had continuous deaths, it would definitely seem abnormal.
“We’ll leave at midnight. It’s my first time forging a knife, and I have no idea how long it’ll take.”
“Why bother? Just find someone to forge it,” Old Liu said. He was familiar with the blacksmiths, but since he was in the third rebirth, it wasn’t convenient for him to go out and greet them. He kicked the big yellow dog, “Dog, get up and help me deliver a letter.”
...
After returning home, Qin Ming carefully studied the knife manual to calm himself.
He saw the old man again, wielding a sword.
The old man mastered a technique called the interception technique, a very sophisticated Tianguang technique, blending various ordinary techniques.
Qin Ming didn’t know how many techniques he had specifically merged because the emotion wasn’t very strong, and the scene was somewhat dim.
When he practiced the final interception technique, he immediately realized that this Tianguang technique was very powerful and quite complex.
If he had to research and comprehend it himself, it would take a long time, as it was no longer a technique with a single attribute; it was quite profound.
Qin Ming saw the old man’s memory, realizing that his understanding of the interception technique was to pursue the legendary Tianguang interception technique!
Unfortunately, although the old man had great talent and had gone far in swordsmanship, his life level couldn’t keep up, and he couldn’t obtain famous techniques. Being able to research the interception technique was already his limit.
“Just this interception technique is worth the three-colored flower!” Qin Ming understood the value of the interception technique.
“Interception of the heavens, hoping to tear apart the night…” He clearly discovered that even the knife manual was based on this Tianguang technique, and the strongest move aimed to intercept the heavens.
Qin Ming sat quietly, digesting for a long time. The interception technique was indeed remarkable.
Not long after, he showed surprise. His Tianguang technique could indeed integrate with the interception technique!
Now he finally understood why there was that note in the silk book; it was indeed a reminder for future readers: just one word—integrate!
“Seek within yourself, but also borrow from others.”
Clearly, just seeking within oneself wasn’t enough. Without spiritual materials, how could he quickly elevate his life level by slowly grinding it out?
And without other techniques, how could he integrate?
Qin Ming drank the last spiritual material, and that night, his body heated up again, completing his third rebirth even faster than the second.
He felt the changes within himself; his strength was definitely above three thousand pounds, and his speed and physical resilience had also improved significantly.
In the middle of the night, Qin Ming opened his eyes, stepped outside, and met up with Old Liu.
The blacksmith shop was in Yinteng Town, and it was very quiet at this time. Even if business was good, no one would be working in the middle of the night.
Old Liu was full of energy, personally helping Qin Ming fan the flames to raise the temperature of the furnace.
However, Qin Ming was stunned to find that he couldn’t melt that piece of mutton fat jade iron no matter what; it only turned red.
“What kind of rare treasure is this? You really have something here; it must be a mysterious product from the mountains, right?” Old Liu guessed immediately.
“Keep fanning!”
In the end, Qin Ming didn’t expect to melt it. Taking advantage of the mutton fat jade iron being red hot, he swung the heavy hammer with all his might. Luckily, they were underground; otherwise, the noise at this hour would be too much.
With Qin Ming’s immense strength, he ended up exhausted because he never stopped, putting all his effort into each strike.
“I’m in my third rebirth, and I’m actually here to be a blacksmith’s assistant?”
Old Liu couldn’t watch any longer. He stepped in, his skills slightly better than Qin Ming’s since he was familiar with the blacksmiths and had forged knives here before.
Qin Ming learned quickly, taking the heavy hammer again and using all his strength, finally forging the knife.
After the final quenching, neither of them could manage to sharpen it; it just wouldn’t budge.
Old Liu couldn’t take his eyes off it, sighing, “I think when you get to a bigger place, you can have this knife reforged. We really can’t do anything with it here; the material is just too much.”
“Yeah, I still can’t decide what weapon to use in the future, so I’ll just make do with this for now.” Qin Ming looked at the knife, which was as white as jade; the material was too eye-catching.
He applied the mineral paint he had prepared in advance and then dried it with fire.
If he wanted to strip the paint off, with the adhesive properties in his Tianguang energy, he could easily wipe it all off with a flick of his hand.
Due to limited materials, even including the handle, it wasn’t even as long as his arm, but it was enough, and Qin Ming felt it was quite handy.
As for the small piece of blue jade iron, Qin Ming didn’t touch it; such delicate items couldn’t be forged here.
Qin Ming asked, “Isn’t it a bit early to borrow the secret book from that family now?”
“It’s pitch black outside, and even the breakfast shop in town isn’t open. It wouldn’t be appropriate to go this early.”
The two of them wandered around the town for a long time, but couldn’t even find breakfast.
Qin Ming’s pupils contracted. Whatever he was concerned about seemed to appear; he saw the black mist again.
It was actually lurking in the town, just coming out of a house, and seemed to have noticed the two of them, quickly approaching.
“Old Liu, let’s head home first,” Qin Ming said, pulling him to turn around, signaling Old Liu with his eyes in the thick night.
Even after his third rebirth, Old Liu could still see his expression clearly in the dark night. He nodded, “Alright!”
The two of them slipped into an alley and changed direction.
The black mist immediately followed, changing its course as well.
Qin Ming realized they had been completely targeted. It was likely that in the late night, with no one else around, they were too conspicuous.
There was also a possibility that they had encountered the black mist at the great rift before, and this wasn’t their first meeting. The black mist probably remembered them.
“Another possibility is that when I discovered it yesterday, the black mist also noticed me?”
Regardless of the situation, it seemed unlikely to end well today!
“Let’s go back to the village and hunt some prey to bring back!” Qin Ming said naturally, gripping the knife handle as he and Old Liu left Yinteng Town.
The black mist seemed to be more than happy to follow them into the deserted area, silently trailing behind.
As the trees along the road grew denser, the black mist couldn’t hold back anymore and suddenly lunged at the two of them.
Qin Ming didn’t hesitate. He had been on guard for a long time and, as it approached, he swung his knife back at it!