Night Without End
Chapter 81 - 51 The End of Joy

Chapter 81: Chapter 51 The End of Joy

"To do a good job, one must first sharpen one’s tools," whispered Qin Ming.

He knew that what he was about to do might stir up a storm in this region, possibly even alarming Chixia City. He had to be fully prepared.

Apart from lacking a good blade, Qin Ming also needed to master one or two more Heavenly Light Forces.

He already had a Blade Manual on hand, and with Old Man Liu tentatively convincing a once prominent but now declining household, Qin Ming was likely to acquire another kind of Heavenly Light Force. Coupled with the Three Colored Flower, his strength would undoubtedly improve, so he naturally had to do it thoroughly!

"Who is Qin Ming?"

At the entrance of the village, people from Jinji Ridge were calling out, directly mentioning Qin Ming’s name.

"They’re really paying attention to me," Qin Ming said, somewhat surprised, as the two bandits had obviously instructed their subordinates in particular.

Old Man Liu hurried over, fearing that Qin Ming, after his third rebirth, would be too confident and spirited to humble himself. If he rejected Jinji Ridge, there would soon be bloody disaster.

Despite being indignant about being grabbed by the collar by the bandits, Old Man Liu knew that the current situation was more powerful than will and whispered, "Let’s just get through this."

"Don’t worry, I’m not that impulsive," said Qin Ming. Calmly, he went to the edge of Fire Spring, nodded in agreement to join Jinji Ridge under the Black and White Tree, and let them register him.

"This sheep of yours is really strong; you’ve raised it well," a young man from Jinji Ridge, upon seeing the Black Mountain Goat at Yang Yongqing’s house by the village entrance, took a liking to it.

Then, he simply led the goat away, pulling the sturdy old goat, almost as tall as a person, out of the pen.

"Young man, I’ve grown attached to this goat, you can’t take it away," Yang Yongqing quickly intervened. The Black Mountain Goat was getting stronger and was about to mutate; he truly didn’t want to part with it.

"To protect these villages bordering the great mountain, our losses at Jinji Ridge were huge, even reducing our number of Golden Chickens," the young man said. "This Black Mountain Goat is decent and can serve as a mount."

He glanced at Yang Yongqing and continued, "Hmm, you’re a Newcomer, why not sign up for Jinji Ridge too? After all, you’re the owner of the Black Sheep, and it would be fitting for you to ride it. If someone else were to try, it might not cooperate and would likely be killed for meat."

Yang Yongqing’s expression turned ugly, finding it outrageous. Not only did they intend to take the goat, but also recruit its owner?

Qin Ming spoke up, "Our village is small; just me going should be enough, right?"

"The manpower is scarce now; having another Black Sheep Knight wouldn’t be bad. Come on, I’ll register you," the young man insisted, forcefully recording Yang Yongqing’s name.

During this time, Old Man Liu, who also lived at the entrance of the village, hurried back home and kicked his big yellow dog into its kennel, warning it not to show its head.

The youth from Jinji Ridge rode away on a Golden Chicken, apparently also a Second-time Rebirth. Before leaving, he told Qin Ming and Yang Yongqing to report to Jinji Ridge in five days.

"The time is not very abundant; I must hurry!" Qin Ming said to himself.

Xu Yueping patted Yang Yongqing on the shoulder, "Take it easy, though the people from Jinji Ridge aren’t decent, the treatment there shouldn’t be too bad after you join."

This is why not everyone was against their recruitment, and even some Newcomers from other villages had signed up proactively, not minding the poor reputation.

"Didn’t they almost get wiped out in Dalie Valley?" Yang Yongqing murmured.

"Everyone knows," said Old Man Liu, "that entering Dalie Valley you might fight for mysterious treasures to the death. Those who can remain to guard Jinji Ridge must surely have connections; this batch of people is probably even worse, with any random cut unlikely to be wrong."

Qin Ming looked at him; the old man’s face was ruddy with good health, in the midst of undergoing his third rebirth.

Thankfully the two big bandits from Jinji Ridge were not around, or they would surely see his abnormality.

Afterward, Qin Ming went to Old Man Liu’s house to ask if the matter of borrowing the Secret Manual had been settled.

"They reluctantly agreed, but the price might be very high. Let’s go together tomorrow," mainly because Old Man Liu’s third rebirth was not yet finished.

Qin Ming nodded. The human rebirth was a process, and it seemed it would likely continue until the next day.

"You can’t be like this, with a face flushed red; if a master sees you, they’ll definitely notice something off," Qin Ming taught him ’He Guang Tong Chen,’ which was practical and easy to learn.

If Old Man Liu were exposed, Qin Ming’s situation couldn’t be hidden either.

"Good, I’ve been worrying about it, afraid to run into those two SOBs from Jinji Ridge again," said Old Man Liu.

Then he asked quietly, "Have you mastered the Heavenly Light Force yet? It’s said the more you practice the better, and truly famous powers around the world are all fused. I have one called Coiling Silk Strength, which an old mountain patrol taught me years ago. Take it and try practicing."

"Sure!" Qin Ming naturally wouldn’t refuse; it was emphasized in the silk scripture that ’to fuse’ was key!

"Do you want me to teach you a kind of Heavenly Light Force?" Qin Ming offered, ready to return a favor with another.

"Forget it, I feel that the thing you’re practicing is not simple, and you’re not from around here, you must have some background. It’s better not to get involved. In the Xinsheng Domain, just mastering the Coiling Silk Strength is enough for me to practice. Tomorrow, I might benefit from it by taking a look at the local family’s Secret Book."

"Good!" Qin Ming nodded. The things on the silk scripture couldn’t be practiced by outsiders for sure, and the Blade Manual indeed currently seemed a bit shady.

He returned to his own small courtyard, first to comprehend the Heavenly Light Force he had developed, master it well, and then prepare to explore other techniques.

With a swish, his fingers had only just touched the handle of the hammer when he quickly brought it into his hand.

Even, when Qin Ming used the back of his hand to touch it, the fluctuation of the Heavenly Light Force could also roll the Long Handle Hammer into his hand, this was a "Sticky" characteristic.

If used against an enemy, a slight touch of his hand could directly stick to and tear off the opponent’s flesh.

Trying to exert force, Qin Ming’s Heavenly Light Force surged, sticking and pulling off a corner of the stone millstone.

Furthermore, the penetration power of this Heavenly Light Force was also very strong. When his fingers emitted light, sparks flew, and the tips plunged into the stone millstone.

After some research, Qin Ming found that this Heavenly Light Force was somewhat related in all directions, and most crucially, it was extremely practical.

Not long after, he began to practice Old Man Liu’s Coiling Silk Strength. It didn’t have much content and was fairly easy to learn but indeed had some subtleties. When this strength was emitted it was like a moving thread, with the emphasis on the word "Coiling", focusing on using smart tactics to overpower strength with weakness.

"Is this the Jin Technique that the old mountain patrols over generations have summarized and studied while battling giant beasts in the mountains?" Qin Ming had a moment of enlightenment.

It wasn’t a complex Heavenly Light Technique, but it was quite useful in actual combat.

Qin Ming studied earnestly and managed to learn it after most of the day. He couldn’t talk about mastery, but he was able to use it.

"It seems my talent is not bad."

Now if he were to encounter Huang Jingde again, as well as the elder from Jinji Ridge who had undergone Third Rebirth, Qin Ming thought that without using his immense strength, he could rely solely on the Coiling Silk Strength to beat them both into searching for their teeth on the ground.

"Eh?!" What especially surprised him was that the Coiling Silk Strength fit very well with his own Heavenly Light Force and directly merged into the "Sticky Force."

It was his first time successfully merging another technique, which made him very delighted.

Qin Ming tried it, and the merged Heavenly Light Force was stronger!

"No good, the little Coiling Silk Strength I had just managed to practice was quickly absorbed; I can’t keep doing this, I have to train it alone first. After consuming the Three Colored Flower, I must completely perfect the Coiling Silk Strength before merging it into my original Heavenly Light Force."

Qin Ming sat on the stone millstone in the courtyard to rest, preparing to study the Blade Manual’s techniques later.

At this moment, he felt a sense of joy from his accomplishments, looking up at the night sky, his gaze seemed to already see the brilliant and majestic cities standing in the vast dark land far away.

He wanted to travel far and hoped to gain more Heavenly Light Techniques, to see for himself what kinds of precious treasures and people with extraordinary talent the prosperous lands truly held.

Suddenly, Qin Ming’s pupils contracted, but he quickly relaxed himself, maintaining calm as though nothing had happened.

However, his heart was far from peaceful, and was brewing with turmoil because he had seen a black fog, like a spirit snake slithering, coming from afar, hovering over the village overhead.

In the end, it descended, likely landing on the ground.

Qin Ming’s heart was filled with joy, but in the end, he encountered this event.

What on earth was that? His heart was surging, but he had no choice but to pretend to be calm, acting as if nothing had happened.

Others couldn’t see the black fog moving in the sky at all. Last time in Dalie Valley, even the old mountain patrol who had undergone Second Time Rebirth also felt nothing.

Qin Ming forced himself to be calm. He couldn’t show any abnormality at the moment, after all, his Mutton Fat Jade Iron had not been turned into a weapon yet, and he was still unable to target those special things.

He kept his composure, returned to his room, and began to flip through the damaged pages of the Blade Manual. At first, he couldn’t concentrate, but gradually he got absorbed into it.

This Ancient Book carried the crystallization of the ancestors’ hard work, and Qin Ming could resonate with those lingering emotions, seeing secrets that went beyond the book itself.

Therefore, Qin Ming was very much looking forward to the techniques in the Blade Manual.

"Hm?"

What a day full of surprises — as he was browsing the technique section of the book, Qin Ming sensed two strong emotions.

One was undoubtedly left by the elder who wrote the Blade Manual, the other was from the reading notes left by people afterward.

"To rue not mastering Tathagata power!" The emotion was actually transmitted from this passage.

Qin Ming’s heart leaped wildly at that very moment — could it really have been touched upon by someone?!