Night Without End
Chapter 202 - 130: The Distant Migratory Bird

Chapter 202: Chapter 130: The Distant Migratory Bird

Chasing Light City has existed for a long time, carrying a sense of mottled years. The city contains a fourth level Fire Spring, and after Shallow Night arrives, it can be artificially controlled to illuminate the entire city as if it were daylight.

"Uncle Meng, it’s bustling over there, lots of people are betting, and several markets have opened up." Qin Ming paused, looking somewhat envious.

He now also had a small fortune, with those deceased opponents, such as Wang Nianzhu, Qi Huai’en, Ge Qianxun and others, who had generously gifted him their Day Gold after their deaths.

"Gambling is a bad habit, you should quit it," Meng Xinghai said sternly.

"I’m about to travel far for study and want to buy a house in the corresponding giant city for convenient training," Qin Ming explained.

"The truly influential giant cities, where you can see Four-Tusked White Elephants in the streets and Azure Phoenix Routes in the sky, adorned with natural treasures and outstanding people, have house prices far beyond what you imagine," Meng Xinghai said. "The little Day Gold you have isn’t even enough to buy half a house, let alone one with a courtyard."

Qin Ming realized he was still very poor.

He was lectured, and after thinking, he felt that betting was not a great idea; most of his Day Gold was kept in the City Lord’s Mansion, and he didn’t carry much on him.

Behind him, Li Qingyun smiled and whispered secretly, asking, "Are all these markets reliable?"

"With your profound Daoist experience, why would you fear they might default on payment? I’m certainly not frightened," Meng Xinghai responded.

No one knew Qin Ming’s capabilities better than them; why not join a sure-win situation? The two exchanged smiles.

As for the youngster in front, he only had about twenty pieces of Day Gold in total—what was he thinking, getting involved? Such gambling habits should not be indulged; they needed to be nipped in the bud.

Qin Ming paused and said, "Uncle Meng, we’ve missed out big time. Look over there, Chasing Light City is selling tickets; without them, we can’t watch the match. The prices are outrageously high!"

He finally understood why people on the streets were all buzzing with excitement, even strangers discussing the battle between the two cities—clearly, someone was stoking the flames, intentionally hyping it up.

Meng Xinghai remained calm and said, "No worries, we from Chixia City get a share of these earnings too."

Qin Ming was stunned; everywhere in a battle amounted to business!

Chasing Light City’s Martial Arts Arena was spacious, its floor paved with the hardest Black Gold Stone.

The arena had high stands and even luxurious private rooms where the prices were exorbitantly high, yet tickets had long been sold out.

Upon entering, Qin Ming scanned the audience—the ordinary viewing area had seats in front, while those at the back had to stand, the crowd dense and completely packed.

"Recently, some people outside have been saying that our ’First’ from Chasing Light City is truly just ’Candle Light,’ and if placed in other cities would be severely beaten, unable to compete with brilliant moonlight. Ah, it really leaves a bad taste hearing that."

"Hmm, it’s only really a match against Chixia City, like a sleeping dragon meeting a young phoenix. Let’s see if there’ll be any surprises."

Qin Ming stood there expressionless; the competitors hadn’t yet entered the field, but these spectators had already ’made their move’ with their rather harmful words.

In the VIP seats, he saw a woman in black, her figure graceful and poised, sitting quietly like an Immortal Lotus rooted in the mortal world, exuding an otherworldly charm.

Although she changed her appearance, Qin Ming guessed that she must be Li Qingyue.

That Secret Scripture brought from the depths of Yewu World—if outsiders wanted to view it, they would normally have to visit the Outer World.

Now in possession of a Close Immortal Item, Li Qingyue’s status had greatly risen, surpassing other Core Disciples. If she wished to view it, she could now carry it with her.

It happened that Fangwai Heaven Pure Land arranged an opportunity for her to bathe in a spirit pond rich in immortal charm to enhance her physique; she passed by this place while bringing the scripture to see an old friend.

Qin Ming also wanted to take this opportunity to pass on two scriptures obtained from the Near Immortal Item and the Metallic Fragment to her.

...

The "First" of Chasing Light City entered the Martial Arts Arena, taller than most by half a head, robust and powerful, with more pronounced features and bright eyes that seemed to flow with faint fire radiance.

"Eh, it’s not Jiang Hong; who is this? I’ve never seen him before."

Many showed surprised expressions, thinking it would be the so-called genius Jiang Hong from the city, but the "First" appointed by the City Lord was not him?

"I am Chen Yuan." The entering youth introduced himself, his eyes and brows exuding heroism, clad in Crimson Gold Armor, carrying an exceptional demeanor.

Some in the crowd immediately understood—this was a "migratory bird" from the examination period, temporarily "migrated" from another city. To earn the title of "First," he chose a city lacking strong competitors.

Suddenly, many eyes brightened; this was quite a spectacle to behold, likely being the "Second" or "Third" from some giant city.

Clearly, the "migratory bird" Chen Yuan was definitely much stronger than the local Jiang Hong!

"You really do enjoy walking on the edge of the red line," Meng Xinghai said with disapproval, glancing at the middle-aged man next to him with a hint of immortal aura.

Qi Daoming smiled, "It’s not like we’re dealing with a mutant, just an eight-times reborn ’migratory bird,’ just a minor disturbance. Our two cities’ battle, profits divided, can be considered a win-win."

Meng Xinghai glanced at him and said, "You better prepare the ’Falling Fruit’; I’ve heard this year’s quality is excellent, each glistening and flowing with five-colored spiritual light."

Rooted in the Tian Guang Pond, the mysterious ancient tree’s young branches and buds, sprouting in early spring, placed in the external world, were extremely precious Five-Colored Spiritual Branches.

The fruits it bore, without needing to think about it, were of astonishing value!

Now, the old tree rooted in Tian Guang Pond has just bloomed and fruited, far from mature, not yet the season for harvesting.

Although the branches were dense with fruit, they were continuously bombarded by Heavenly Light, mostly unable to hang on, prematurely falling; this was the origin of "Falling Fruit."

The two youths introduced themselves by name, then immediately began fighting without any superfluous words.

They ran swiftly like lightning, quickly colliding and separating again.

Qin Ming had killed some Outer Saints, so naturally, he feared no young challenger before him, but he was holding back, as assaulting Chen Yuan, who had been reborn eight times, right off the bat might startle the snake and make some of the Cui Family restless.

His body radiated a faint Golden Radiance, a testament to his practice of the Golden Light Shield.

According to the ancient book and spiritual resonance with Qin Ming, there was once a woman who cultivated her Golden Light to be thicker than city walls, standing amongst it, seemingly invulnerable to all methods.

Chen Yuan was actually very strong, having been reborn eight times and possessed over six thousand jin of strength, with Heavenly Light overflowing from his body, faintly tinged with Fire Light.

He charged wildly, his footfalls on the Black Gold Stone surface so powerful they cracked it, his thousands of jins of force making him resemble a giant beast.

His Heavenly Light Force was like Fire Light, slightly emerging from his body, making each of his hairs translucent and emitting a fiery red glow.

With a booming sound, he punched, and in the void, there was actually Thunder Fire Light, an astonishing sight.

Qin Ming’s expression was serious; Chen Yuan’s strength was indeed immense. Should he truly advance to the Outer Saint Domain, he would surpass many men Qin Ming had slain at Luofu Mountain.

As Meng Xinghai said, geniuses disdain being Golden Armor Guards. Though, of course, exceptions are made for those few who are invited to assist.

"Rare Thunderfire Technique, plus eight rebirths, indeed worthy of being the first of a city," Qin Ming evaluated him.

With a thud, he reached out and grabbed the fist glowing with Thunder Fire Brilliance.

Instantly, the void seemed filled with dull rumbling of thunder.

Qin Ming’s hands were enveloped in rich Golden Light; his skill in the Golden Light Shield was rare even among those at the newborn stage.

Chen Yuan’s Thunder Fire Power could lightly emit, yet it couldn’t penetrate the layer of Golden Light.

The Black Gold Stone under his feet cracked even more and then burst apart, with Thunder Fire Heavenly Light surging from beneath.

"Blocked the Thunder Fire Power; is he practicing some kind of body-protective technique? It looks different from what’s described in the silk scriptures, but the specifics are hard to say."

"His strength is too overwhelming!"

At that moment, in the VIP room, Cui He and Cui Shuning were talking, closely monitoring Qin Ming’s performance.

Both were serious, unanimously thinking that Qin Ming, having embarked on the Newborn Road, surely demonstrated an Abnormal Level performance, or even stronger.

This complicated their emotions, as their family was focusing on nurturing Cui Chongxuan who, with the help of the Six Imperial Heart Sutra, was just transitioning to the Abnormal Level.

Qin Ming and Chen Yuan quickly exchanged blows, his hands lit with golden Heavenly Light Force, colliding repeatedly with the Thunder-fire fist, deafening the large Martial Arts Arena which seemed to quiver slightly.

Li Qingyue smiled; she knew Qin Ming was holding back; otherwise, where would the suspense be?

Yet, the audience around them was boiling over, for this was a performance only expected of a "First" at the Giant City Level.

The "migratory birds" who came for the grand examination were powerful enough, but now, that youngster from Chixia City, being able to compete on equal footing, was also impressive.

In the Martial Arts Arena, Chen Yuan’s fists transformed with Thunder Fire Heavenly Light Force, emitting bursts of thunder.

However, Qin Ming’s Golden Light Shield was practiced to a high degree; his left fist and right hand glinting with Golden Radiance countered fiercely, able to withstand the onslaught.

Suddenly, his expression changed slightly, sensing a fluctuation of Consciousness Spiritual Light on Chen Yuan’s forehead.

Is this a dual-progress person? Qin Ming realized, Qi Daoming really found a formidable person, intending to conquer Meng Xinghai’s Chixia City.

He didn’t want to continue the head-on clash; abruptly speeding up, with a thud, he parried the opponent’s fist mark and rapidly punched the opponent’s body with his other fist.

Clearly, Chen Yuan’s Consciousness Spiritual Light was far from Pure Yang and clashed with the Thunder Fire Heavenly Light, unable to burst simultaneously; he subtly shifted his attack method and was "unexpectedly" struck, getting punched twice in succession and sent flying.

"How intense, that was spectacular!"

"This battle should be on the front page of the Nightly News!" someone yelled.

The spectators clenched their fists, extremely excited.

Those in the know remained silent, feeling this was a battle that should’ve ended much earlier.

Qin Ming paid no heed to the surrounding cheers and left the scene directly.

Meng Xinghai smiled and said, "Today has been quite fruitful. Eh, Qi Daoming, your face looks a bit stiff, surely you didn’t place a big bet? Small bets bring joy, don’t get too greedy."

"Child..." Outside the Martial Arts Arena, an elder with a kindly face waved at Qin Ming.

Qin Ming’s hair stood on end, that was the Cui Family’s Fifth Master, the old rascal who once enticed him to practice the silk scriptures had actually personally shown up, a perilously dangerous moment.

The mist thickened, and a figure silently approached Cui Lao Wu; Li Qingyun appeared, suddenly hugging Cui Lao Wu’s neck, saying, "Old buddy, long time no see, come, let’s have a drink."

"I..." Cui Lao Wu was greatly startled, not even aware of someone getting close, his body tensed, unable to move as he was neck-locked and taken away.

Not far away, Cui He and Cui Shuning felt chills, that was Cui Lao Wu, tremendously powerful, yet ridicule to see him being clamped away, struggling futilely.

Both got goosebumps, truly frightened, and turned to leave.

"Here, I’ve brought you the complete Scripture."

In a quiet room, Li Qingyue smiled, like dawn breaking through clouds, radiant and beautiful, her blue-black hair flowing with a translucent luster, a faint immortal fog swirling around her.

The book was not thin, and after flipping through just a dozen pages, Qin Ming realized he had underestimated it; it contained detailed techniques on how to elevate oneself.

"And this..." Li Qingyue placed some metallic fragments on the table, saying, "The Overlord Spear was too conspicuous, I dismantled it, and extracted the Jade Iron from it."

She continued, "Those Exotic Gold pieces, similar in material to the Furnace of Eight Trigrams, I only managed to get two."

Qin Ming looked at her, smiling, "I also have a gift for you."