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Novel: [Night Without Borders]
Chapter 39: [The World Has Changed]
Author: [Chen Dong]
Translator: [Shadow Knight AK]
Editor: [Shadow Knight AK]
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The room was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop, yet in this profound silence, Qin Ming inexplicably heard a faint whisper, so close it seemed to be right beside his ear.
He gripped the long-handled Black Gold Hammer, his body tensing like a hunting leopard.
This was no illusion; he had even glimpsed a blurry shadow moments before.
Outside the window, the night was deep and dark. The sunstone in the room gradually dimmed, flickered once, and went out completely, plunging the room into pitch-black stillness.
Thankfully, the murmuring in Qin Ming's ear had also vanished.
After a moment, he reached out to touch the leather-bound Sword Manual again, its pages worn. It remained silent; nothing happened.
He picked up the manual, but the room was too dark to read the text.
With no further anomalies occurring, he wondered if he had imagined the earlier incident.
Qin Ming immediately went outside to the Fire Spring at the village entrance, scooped up several glowing stones, and hurried back home.
Holding the massive hammer in one hand, he flipped through the ancient Sword Manual with the other.
Still, everything remained calm; no whispers arose.
"Did I hallucinate earlier?"
Soon, Qin Ming dismissed the distraction and refocused his attention on the time-worn leather pages, earnestly studying the crystallized wisdom of his predecessors.
"Sigh..."
At that moment, Qin Ming's hair stood on end. Not only did he hear a whisper in the absolute silence, but a distinct sigh echoed in his ear.
Then, a white-haired old man materialized in the dimly lit room, his tattered clothes stained with blood, swaying before Qin Ming's eyes.
The room's temperature seemed to drop several degrees, and even the newly acquired sunstone appeared to dim.
Reacting swiftly, Qin Ming struck the old man with his Hammer-Blade.
The sigh vanished, and the bloodstained, tattered old man disappeared with it.
"What was that?" The world looked different to Qin Ming now.
His expression turned grave.
How could merely studying a Sword Manual lead to such bizarre phenomena?
Clutching his long-handled Black Gold Hammer, he carefully surveyed the room.
The sunstone remained bright, the temperature seemed unchanged, and everything had returned to normal.
"Is this a demonic book?" Qin Ming stared at the Sword Manual.
Bound in animal hide, it looked ancient, its pages worn with age.
"Or could it be that absorbing that liquid has heightened my senses to an abnormal degree, causing me to hallucinate?" He pondered deeply.
Finally, he gritted his teeth, decided to take a temporary gamble, and adopted a wait-and-see approach.
He wouldn't make a preemptive move, choosing instead to observe what kind of demonic entity he was dealing with.
Qin Ming held a hammer in one hand and flipped through the Sword Manual with the other.
The only sound in the room was the rustling of leather pages as he immersed himself in studying various combat techniques.
Just as he became completely absorbed, the whispering voice returned, and a disheveled, bloodstained old man materialized nearby.
"Time is running out," the old man sighed.
"I'll leave this Sword Manual behind. Alas, my sword technique is too profound to be fully recorded, destined to be lost to time. What a waste of half a lifetime's effort."
Qin Ming watched as the old man hunched over his desk, writing furiously.
Stroke after stroke, flashes of sword light erupted, as if tearing through the night sky.
With each completed sword technique, visions of the old man's past training sessions materialized before him, along with his emotions, insights, and understanding of the technique.
Qin Ming immediately realized the profound significance of this experience.
After absorbing the liquid from the "scrap material," his perception of the world had fundamentally changed.
When his mind was fully focused, he could now sense the author's emotions through the ancient book, resonating with his feelings and comprehending the sword techniques far beyond what was written on the page.
Qin Ming had always considered himself highly perceptive, learning new skills with remarkable speed.
When he first studied the Sword Manual in the mountains, he found the techniques easy to grasp, quickly mastering their essence.
But this situation was different.
It wasn't merely about comprehension; he was witnessing the very birth of the Sword Manual, resonating with the spirit of the old master as he practiced his sword technique.
This involved experience, profound understanding, and a fundamental grasp of the sword technique's true nature.
"This Sword Manual carries the lifeblood of an old master's lifelong dedication. By resonating with it, I'm recreating the authentic scenes from his past..."
Qin Ming briefly lost focus, withdrawing from the vivid scenes.
He then tossed aside the Black Gold Hammer, sat before the bronze basin containing the sunstone, and began studying the Sword Manual meticulously from the beginning, his mind fully immersed in its contents.
As expected, the more focused and mentally concentrated he became, the clearer the voices, images, and emotional resonance grew.
In an instant, he saw the old master gazing up at the night sky, contemplating his sword technique, before piercing the darkness with a blade that shone like snow.
The scene shifted to a torrential downpour, lightning flashing and thunder roaring.
The old master, having gained new insights, stood in the rain with a wooden sword, executing a breathtaking strike that seemed to cleave the heavens.
The light erupting from the wooden blade outshone the lightning, shattering the darkness.
Qin Ming trembled with excitement, his mind reeling.
This technique was nowhere to be found in the Sword Manual; it was a profound, indescribable strike, a sword born from spiritual transcendence.
This mystical sensation defied written expression, which was why the old man sighed — his sword technique was destined to lose its essence in transmission.
But now, Qin Ming had witnessed it firsthand.
Through emotional and spiritual resonance, he had grasped the very soul of that strike.
In the subsequent scenes, the old man endured arduous training deep in the mountains, slaying Giant Beasts.
He then journeyed alone through blizzards, battling numerous formidable foes.
Losing an arm in combat, he retreated gravely wounded, burying a broken sword in his twilight years.
Afterward, he secluded himself to heal, remaining in seclusion for five years.
When he finally unearthed the broken sword and drew it once more, the dazzling, heaven-cleaving sword light that had illuminated the rainy night had become even more domineering — a force that split mountains and parted seas.
The older he grew, the more his Qi surged.
He did not seek the path of returning to simplicity or merging with nature; instead, he ascended relentlessly, until the terrifying sword light threatened to consume his withered body, pushing him beyond his limits.
After venturing forth again, the old man swept aside all opponents with his broken sword.
Finally, he returned to the place where he had secluded himself for five years.
There, he buried the sword, left a written record, and breathed his last.
"Alas, confined to this remote place, I lack the secret methods to efficiently elevate my life essence. Though my understanding of the Dao of the Sword runs deep, and I am confident my comprehension rivals anyone's, my physical limitations and lack of access to higher-level scriptures have doomed me to stagnate here for life."
The old man, his time running short, wrote rapidly, each stroke of his brush flashing with blade-like light.
However, when he reached the sections on Heavenly Light, the scriptures blurred, and the subsequent pages became completely illegible.
Qin Ming understood: he had yet to cultivate Heavenly Light within himself, and his emotions and spirit could not resonate with it, preventing him from seeing further.
He closed the Sword Manual, shut his eyes, and let the scenes, sounds, and every detail flood his mind.
The experiences, insights, and newfound understanding of sword technique felt as if they were his own memories.
He hefted the long-handled Black Gold Hammer and stepped into the courtyard.
Unleashing a sword technique not recorded in the manual, he conjured what seemed like lightning under the night sky.
The massive hammer slashed through the darkness, its Black Gold head gleaming with a dark luster.
Moving faster and faster, it carved terrifying arcs across the courtyard, the trajectories intertwining and coalescing into a dense web of terrifying sword-like light.
He lowered the hammer, standing still, deeply shaken by the realization that he had reproduced those sword techniques.
Qin Ming had been confident that, given the complete sword techniques and enough time, he could master them.
But now, through spiritual resonance, he had grasped these techniques — which transcended the Sword Manual itself — in a single night, as if he had practiced them for decades.
Qin Ming quickly regained his composure.
This mastery was limited to technique, experience, and understanding of the sword techniques.
Enhancing his fundamental life force still required cultivation.
Yet even this was earth-shattering!
He pondered what exactly the liquid within the stone was, the substance that had allowed his Spirit to resonate with the mysterious emotions carried by the book.
Qin Ming realized that the mysterious resources within the "scrap materials" might surpass even the treasures born from the fusion of the Ten Pillars of Light and Five-Colored Mist and Haze.
If this news spread, it could trigger an immeasurable storm.
He even suspected that the origins of these "scrap materials" might be far more profound.
Qin Ming's thoughts surged, recalling many things.
On that night when flames devoured the entire village, the Feather-Robed Youth had appeared ethereal and otherworldly, wielding a shimmering purple bamboo staff.
His transcendent aura hinted at immense power and unfathomable origins, while the sect behind him likely possessed even greater terrors.
Now, Qin Ming felt a newfound composure, a solid foundation that would allow him to journey to Luoyue (Fallen Moon) City and confront the bloody past head-on.
Meanwhile, the two women who had appeared at the village entrance had clearly taken a different path than his, as if they were looking down on those who followed the Awakening Path.
Qin Ming now believed that his path was no weaker than any other.
As long as he advanced quickly enough, he could break through any obstacle.
After calming his mind, he began to assess his own strength.
His arms now possessed a force exceeding 2,000 jin, nearing 2,200 jin.
Combined with his mastery of the Sword Manual's hidden essence — techniques not even recorded in the manual itself — his combat prowess had become terrifying.
"Can I measure myself against the old masters who have cultivated the Heavenly Light Force?" Qin Ming wondered.
He silently calculated that even if those old masters could lift 600 jin during their first Awakening, their strength would only reach around 1,800 jin after three Awakenings — still less than his own.
This was precisely why everyone placed such immense importance on the first Awakening, striving to establish a Golden Foundation.
Subsequent Awakenings merely built upon this initial foundation.
Qin Ming believed that the most dangerous aspect of Third Awakening practitioners was their mastery of the Heavenly Light Force.
If they managed to entangle him in close combat, his death would be certain.
This unique force could pierce and tear through even the scales of Giant Beasts, possessing terrifying destructive power. It was the fundamental reason why humans, despite their physical disadvantages, could contend with aberrants.
However, in the Nascent Realm, the Heavenly Light Force could only be applied to the surface of the body, extending slightly beyond the fists and feet, but not yet capable of being channeled into weapons.
Qin Ming muttered to himself, "If that's the case, as long as I keep my distance from those old Third Awakeners, I should still be able to fight them."
The prerequisite, of course, was having a suitable weapon.
Swords and blades were out of the question; they would likely be torn apart by the Heavenly Light Force.
A long-handled Black Gold Hammer, however, seemed promising. With his raw strength, he was confident he could crush his opponents.
"Looks like another sleepless night," Qin Ming sighed.
His mind remained sharp and alert.
He only managed a brief nap in the early hours of the morning, estimating he wouldn't need sleep for the next few days.
During the rest of the night, he studied sword techniques, thoroughly dissecting the old man's experience, insights, and understanding.
He adapted them to his own style, incorporating flashes of inspiration and personal insights.
The next day, Cao Long, Mu Qing, and Wei Zhirou informed Qin Ming that they would be returning in a few days if they made no further significant discoveries or gains.
That day, they presented Qin Ming, Old Liu, and the others with an Intermediate Qi Cultivation Manual as compensation, granting them permission to share it with their companions.
The people of Twin Tree Village were naturally immensely grateful, as this was their first exposure to a Awakening Technique of such high level.
The main reason was that they had genuinely been a great help to the three teams.
For instance, the Fire Bat Cave had yielded significant gains for Mu Qing, Cao Long, and the others.
That night, Qin Ming studied the Intermediate Qi Cultivation Manual but found it inferior to the techniques described in his Silk Scroll.
Moreover, since the manual was a hastily copied version, it lacked the intense emotional resonance necessary for spiritual resonance.
"It seems only the crystallized essence of past masters' lifeblood will suffice," he mused, gaining a new insight.
Later that evening, when Qin Ming delivered the manual to Old Liu, he asked, "Grandpa, you wouldn't tell the three Chi Xia City teams about all the places with Spiritual substances just to repay your debt, would you?"
"Don't worry, this old man knows what he's doing," Old Liu assured him, patting his chest. "Once my injuries heal and you achieve your Second Awakening, and when the Great Mountain is completely tranquil, we'll venture into the mountains together to find Spiritual substances for our Third Awakening. I've saved the best spots for us!"
Qin Ming then inquired, "Grandpa, are there any ancient, completely fallen sects in this region?"
"Why do you ask? What are you planning?" Old Liu eyed him suspiciously.
"I want to borrow their books," Qin Ming replied. "Don't worry, I'll offer them Night Silver they can't refuse!"
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END OF CHAPTER
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