Unprecedented

Meng Xinghai knew Li Qingxiao's elders and couldn't directly reprimand him, so he simply waved him away. However, the boy remained smiling and didn't get up. He used Secret Method to transmit his voice, asking Qin Ming how his Golden Silkworm Skill Technique was progressing.

"It's done," Qin Ming informed him.

If Li Qinglei hadn't been there, Old Meng would have gotten up again. He was truly astonished. How could he have mastered it in just five days? Time was tight this time, and Meng Xinghai had planned to help him with the basics using Secret Method, but he hadn't expected him to achieve it in just a few days. Meng Xinghai's expression changed. This young man kept surprising him, always exceeding his expectations and far surpassing his hopes. "Brother Qin Ming..." Li Qingxiao began.

"Get out of here!" Meng Xinghai disliked him even more. Didn't he see how harmonious the uncle and nephew were? They were about to discuss serious matters when another person interfered. Li Qingxiao was stunned, then his face turned bright red. He had been praised since childhood and was proud and arrogant. He immediately felt humiliated.

Actually, Meng Xinghai was just annoyed by him.

"Uncle Meng, if you say that, I'm not happy. I want to challenge Qin Ming, the number one in this city, right here!" Li Qingxiao stood up, his whole body flowing with Heavenly Light Force. "What's wrong with you?" Meng Xinghai didn't tolerate him at all.

Li Qinglei dared not retaliate and said, "Uncle Meng, I am following the rules. Anyone has the right to question and can challenge the city lord's chosen number one during the major examination." After saying this, he regretted it. He was just passing through and wanted to gather some information. He did not want to really offend Meng Xinghai.

"Uncle Meng, I'm sorry, I'm young and ignorant, please don't hold it against me." After realizing his mistake, Li Qingxiao immediately apologized and transformed back into a sunny, smiling young man.

Meng Xinghai said calmly, "Since you've already questioned it, if I don't agree, wouldn't people say I'm being unfair? The 'number one' title in Red Haze City will be seen as a fraud by many. I have to arrange it for you."

Li Qingxiao was in a precarious situation; if he angered Meng Xinghai, his family wouldn't let him off the hook.

"Little Qin, you will face his questions and challenges," Meng Xinghai said, immediately instructing people to prepare a venue and invite spectators.

Qin Ming naturally nodded in agreement. Old Meng was already angry, so how could he sit calmly? He originally didn't want to pay attention to this boy, but since the other boy kept jumping around, he didn't mind warming up.

Besides, he's still a teenager. Why be so mature? He needs to have the spirit of a young man! Otherwise, Old Meng will look at him strangely.

It was too late for Li Qingxiao to say anything. Once the city lord spoke, everything sprang into action. Not only were there guards from the City Lord's Manor, but people from outside also came to the Martial Arts Arena to watch the battle. Everything was arranged.

"Please!" Li Qingxiao didn't want to call him "brother" anymore; he was already furious. The City Lord's Manor's Martial Arts Arena was large enough for New Life to duel.

Li Qingxiao, dressed in fine clothes and adorned with beautiful jade, appeared as a handsome young man, yet he drew a gleaming broadsword, wider and longer than ordinary blades. "Where is your weapon?" he inquired.

"I'm older than you, so I won't use weapons." Qin Ming was dressed in a blue robe, with a handsome face, clear eyes, flowing robes, and a graceful gait, exuding an extraordinary aura, like a banished immortal.

"You're really arrogant. When did you embark on the New Life Path? To look down on someone who has been reborn Seventh New Life times like this." Li Qingxiao spoke calmly, and the onlookers were all shocked. A fourteen-year-old boy had already Seventh New Life?!

Qin Ming was not surprised. His "younger brother" Cui Chongxuan was not even thirteen years old, yet he had already begun consuming the Three-Colored Flower and fusing four kinds of Heavenly Light Force.

The Millennium Aristocratic Family possess unfathomable heritage, allowing them to New Life without waiting for their Golden Age. As long as their talent is not lacking, the only thing that can restrain them during this New Life is the special "buffer period" within a year, during which their bodies cannot undergo frequent mutations.

"Come on!" Qin Ming gestured for him to begin.

Li Qingxiao's face was icy cold. He left many afterimages in the arena, appearing and disappearing like a ghost, causing many people outside the arena to change their expressions. With a single swing of his blade, he used the energy-manipulation techniques from a renowned Sword Manual, causing the entire broadsword to erupt with a thunderous sound.

That was his Heavenly Light Force vibrating the longsword, giving it an indestructible power.

Qin Ming dodged the blade and punched the side of the sword, using the force of his Hammer Force to shatter the sword's momentum. In his eyes, Li Qingxiao's swordsmanship was merely decent. Li Qingxiao was so shocked by the immense force that he almost lost his grip on the long sword, his body stiffened, and even his ghostly Movement Method were interrupted.

Qin Ming moved with lightning speed, his blue robes fluttering in the wind, appearing behind Li Qingxiao and kicking the boy in the buttocks, sending him flying. "I..." Li Qingxiao was so angry he almost exploded on the spot.

This was someone he had questioned and belittled, someone he had even subtly mocked with the words of his cousin, Li Qingxu. Yet, when he himself stepped into the fray, he was utterly humiliated. After landing, he moved with the agility of a ghost, wielding his sword once more with a sound like a tsunami—a deadly move from another Sword Manual.

Qin Ming struck the blade with Explosive Force, and even the most meticulously forged broadsword shattered into pieces instantly, the blades hitting the ground with a piercing sound. Li Qingxiao was petrified on the spot; his opponent had shattered his weapon with his bare hands?!

Then, he was kicked in the buttocks and fell to the ground some distance away.

Meng Xinghai knew the elders of the Li Household, Qin Ming didn't want Li Qingxiao to bleed; these two kicks were enough.

Li Qinglei would rather be stabbed than kicked in the butt. If word got back, what would his acquaintances from those Aristocratic Clan think of him? His face turned pale; he had suffered a major blow. He had grown up amidst praise, yet today he was so utterly vulnerable.

Qin Ming objectively assessed him, saying that his strength was actually quite good. But since the other party was so "outrageous" and insisted on provoking him, he wouldn't be polite and would try to suppress this scheming young man in the shortest possible time with a simple, brutal, and overwhelming force.

Otherwise, Li Qingxiao wouldn't have been defeated so quickly.

"Child, are you alright? No one is immune to failure. Just keep trying to improve yourself. Don't be sad," Meng Xinghai comforted him. Li Qingxiao, dejected, returned to the living room without saying a word.

Meng Xinghai said, "I am a man of principle. I would never randomly appoint Little Qin as the number one in the city just because we are close." Li Qingxiao nodded blankly.

After a long while, he recovered and said, "Qin Ming, you are indeed very strong on the path of New Life. I am only fourteen years old, which just meets the requirements of the Beyond the Mundane, and I will embark on the Immortal Path from now on."

"Congratulations," Qin Ming said calmly.

Li Qingxiao said, "Originally, I wanted to pursue both paths simultaneously, but now you've given me the freedom to focus."

"You're not going to tell me next that we'll meet in the Beyond the Mundane after we reach the summit, are you?" Qin Ming looked at him and said, "If I were to set foot in the Beyond the Mundane, things might be different from what you think, and certainly not what you desire."

Li Qingxiao and an old man rode away on a strange bird; he never wanted to come to Red Haze City again!

Meng Xinghai sipped his tea, smiled at Qin Ming, and said, "I've prepared a section of Five-Colored Spiritual Branch for you. Its effects are much more potent than the Three-Colored Flower; it can help you fuse with the Heavenly Light Force and increase its overall strength."

"This... must be very rare and valuable, right?" Qin Ming asked.

Meng Xinghai nodded and said, "Yes, it comes from a Beyond the Mundane, a precious tree rooted in the Heavenly Light Pool. The old branches cannot be moved lightly, but the new branches can be harvested every year. Each branch has five different colored leaves, and its appearance is fresh, Heavenly Light Essence inside is intense."

"An old tree, the Heavenly Light Pool..." Qin Ming listened with longing; what a wonderful place that must have been!

Even a New Life Five-Colored Spiritual Branch in early spring has astonishing medicinal effects; it can only be said that the Beyond the Mundane is unfathomable. "Is its yield large?" Qin Ming truly knew nothing about these things.

Meng Xinghai said, "Every early spring, after the Beyond the Mundane are distributed, a few Millennium Aristocratic Family have a limited allocation. My lineage has no promising descendants this year, so this one given to me is a good deal for you."

Qin Ming exclaimed, "What is true depth? This is it!"

Because the Beyond the Mundane are powerful enough, they naturally occupy the best resources. Even the smallest thing that slips out, like a tiny sprout, would be considered a rare Spiritual Objects in the outside world.

Meng Xinghai seemed to see what he was thinking and said, "Feeling the pressure? The gap is huge. If I hadn't been discovered when I was young that I could have taken other paths and had the chance to change my fate, if I had only taken the New Life Path, even if I trained for a lifetime and reached the highest achievement, I would only be a guardian outside the gate in the Esoteric Sect."

Clearly, Meng Xinghai's path is related to the Esoteric Sect and has connections to deities.

Qin Ming nodded. He had previously thought he knew quite a bit about the various paths, but now it seemed his knowledge was still limited. Then, a fire seemed to flicker in his eyes, his resolve hardened; now he would focus on improving himself. His arduous cultivation was not for the sake of becoming a follower of those Beyond-Mundane Disciples!

Qin Ming opened the long, rectangular jade box on the table. Inside was a tender Tender Branch, about the thickness of a thumb and over two feet long. Five-colored Five-Colored Haze rose from it, and the Heavenly Light Essence was contained within. It had only five leaves, each a different color, all crystal clear and flowing with rich vitality.

Meng Xinghai said, "The competition for the Beyond-Mundane Disciples is about to begin. You've been staying at the City Lord's Manor for the past two days, consuming the Five-Colored Spiritual Branch to enhance your Heavenly Light Force. After that, you should head there."

Qin Ming felt that it wouldn't take that long; last time he took the Three-Colored Flower, all the various Heavenly Light Force were perfectly unified on the same day.

Meng Xinghai asked, "What kind of weapon do you want? I'll have someone forge one for you, mixed with some rare metals; it will have a wonderful use." "Uncle Meng, I have a knife here; could you have someone reforge it for me?" Qin Ming drew his Mutton Fat Jade Iron Saber.

Back then, he and Old Man Liu forged the Jade Iron Saber using very crude methods, and it still hasn't been sharpened.

"This..." Meng Xinghai's eyes gleamed. This was far superior to the materials he had prepared; the pure Jade Iron Saber was completely free of any impurities. He sighed, "You're quite something, kid. This is extraordinary Jade Iron, but the forging technique... I don't want to comment; it's such a waste."

"I have a small piece left, which I want to refine into an arrowhead." Qin Ming took out a piece of Blue Jade Iron about the size of half a walnut.

"That's too extravagant. Even my arrows aren't made of such material. Be careful when you shoot that arrow, don't be reckless," Meng Xinghai reminded him. That day, Qin Ming consumed the Five-Colored Spiritual Branch in a quiet courtyard of the City Lord's Manor. Immediately, he felt his entire body being scorched by the Heavenly Light, as if he were being torn apart. The Five-Colored Spiritual Branch contained a more violent Heavenly Light Essence than the Three-Colored Flower, but Qin Ming's physique was also much stronger than before.

That night, he pushed the Li Fire Force to its peak and trained the Golden Silkworm Force to the limit allowed by Fifth New Life.

His body surface would sometimes emit Li Fire Divine Radiance, and sometimes wisps of Golden Silkworm Silk; both of these Extraordinary Art Heavenly Light Force, had remarkable protective effects.

In addition, Qin Ming's Vajra Force, Wind Force, and Golden Light Force, which he had recently practiced, were also rapidly improved.

That night, he gathered all the Heavenly Light Force, unified it, and finally merged it all with the New Life Method on the Silk Scripture.

Qin Ming tried it briefly and immediately realized that the power of the Heavenly Light Force had increased significantly compared to before. This was mainly because the Golden Light Force, the Li Fire Force, and the Golden Silkworm Force that it incorporated all had very powerful origins, especially the latter two, which belonged to the category of Extraordinary Art.

At this time, the competition among the Beyond-Mundane Disciples was common knowledge. From Blessed Land to the Millennium Aristocratic Family, and even the major cities shrouded in night mist, many people were talking about it. Qin Ming's strength had increased dramatically, becoming stronger than ever before, and his State of Mind had become increasingly peaceful. He was ready to go to the Beyond the Mundane.