True Teaching on a Sheet of Paper

The young noble Huang Jingjun wore a faint smile. At a time like this, this boy's eyes were still shining as he stared at the Three-Colored Flower. As expected, he was merely a hunter from some remote place, still unaware of his own predicament.

His older brother, Huang Jingde, remained very calm. Whether this boy was being overly simple and honest or merely pretending to be innocent to stall for time, it did not matter.

"I never imagined there would be such mysterious produce underground. Eating it lets one cultivate Heavenly Light Force?" Qin Ming asked.

He was genuinely asking for guidance. His eyes held the clarity and purity unique to a youth, and he was extremely sincere, wanting to understand knowledge he had never encountered before.

"First, you need to choose a Heavenly Light Force that suits you and cultivate it to the introductory stage. Only then will eating the Three-Colored Flower yield the best results. Hmm, when I return, I'll choose another one. I'll need to think it over carefully."

Huang Jingde smiled cheerfully and answered every question. There was still plenty of time, and he had nothing better to do anyway.

What sort of storm could a young hunter who had only undergone First New Life possibly stir up? As a Third New Life Being, he could slap the other party to death with a turn of his hand.

"There are many kinds of Heavenly Light Force. Is there much to consider when choosing one?" Qin Ming was eager to learn, asking directly without regard for the occasion.

Huang Jingde nodded. "Of course. It is already quite good if someone at Third New Life can barely cultivate one type of Heavenly Light Force. Only as your realm rises can you cultivate more. With proper combinations, you can unleash even more terrifying power."

Qin Ming frowned. "How to choose, how to combine them properly—those should be True Words not lightly passed down in every household's Advanced Willpower Skill, right?"

Huang Jingde smiled. "That's right. True teaching fits on a single sheet of paper, while false teaching fills ten thousand volumes. The core essence is on that one sheet."

Qin Ming sighed. Who would casually tell others the essential meaning of such core True Words?

Since Huang Jingde was cultivating Heavenly Light Force himself, he had some thoughts on the matter. "How do you think those rare Heavenly Light Forces came about? They were all created by predecessors continuously testing and failing, fusing various force arts and combining them. Take the legendary Sky Supporting Force and Tathagata Force, for example—they are even more precious. Who knows how many kinds of Heavenly Light Force were fused into them? Even a few leaked words would be worth a fortune."

As he spoke, Huang Jingde's face was full of longing. Those things were simply too far beyond his reach—visible, yet unattainable.

He sighed. "Let's not speak of those legends. Returning to reality, any Heavenly Light Force with even a little fame has been tempered a thousand times, forged a hundred times, and incorporates quite a few force arts. That is why our path is difficult. Even if True Teaching on a Sheet of Paper were placed before you, you would still have to cultivate all those densely recorded varieties of Heavenly Light Force."

Qin Ming felt somewhat numb. The Silk Scripture seemed to have no record of this? Or was it on the third page? He was completely bewildered. What was he supposed to do?

He asked, "Does that mean ordinary people have no path to advancement? Without True Teaching on a Sheet of Paper, they cannot cultivate powerful Heavenly Light Force?"

Huang Jingde said, "There is. Those rare Heavenly Light Forces, as well as the legendary Sect-Suppressing True Principle, were all formed through the constant fusion efforts of predecessors. You can also learn the more common Heavenly Light Forces circulating on the market, cultivate several of them, and fuse them yourself."

Seeing Qin Ming actually deep in thought, the younger noble Huang Jingjun curled his lips slightly. He truly could not hold back any longer. "Do you think Heavenly Light Force is some superficial learning? It is very difficult to cultivate, and every kind is extremely complex. How many kinds can you cultivate in your lifetime?"

As though coming back to himself, Qin Ming said, "Since you need to return and choose a new Heavenly Light Force, and aren't eating the Three-Colored Flower here, aren't you afraid its medicinal effects will fade?"

Huang Jingde said, "No matter. The weather is so cold that after it matures, it can be preserved for over two months. It will last even longer in a jade box."

He examined Qin Ming closely. "You've asked me so many questions. Are you playing dumb, or do you truly have confidence?"

Qin Ming said calmly, "Zhou Wubing is my martial nephew, and Master Xu Kong is my Senior Brother. He is nearby. Tell me, do I have confidence?"

Huang Jingde first stared blankly, then sneered. "I'm afraid you don't know that Master Xu Kong left this remote place yesterday with Zhou Wubing."

Qin Ming froze. Er Bingzi had already gone traveling. It seemed he would not be able to beat him up anytime soon.

"Take this. You'll pick the Three-Colored Flower later." Huang Jingde tossed Qin Ming a jade box, unafraid that he would damage it, since he had brought more than one.

Qin Ming caught it, then walked to the side and buried the jade box beneath a pile of rocks, looking exceedingly cautious, as though afraid it might be damaged.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I'm afraid it'll break during the fight," Qin Ming answered honestly.

He had long seen through Huang Jingde. Though the man smiled pleasantly, he had no openings whatsoever. A sneak attack was already impossible. This would be another hard battle.

"Playing the fool won't change anything." The younger Huang Jingjun stepped forward. "I'll teach you a lesson first."

"You can't. Even Nie Rui and Shen Jiayun were no match for me. You are far inferior to them," Qin Ming said truthfully.

Huang Jingjun wore a cold smile. "You wouldn't seriously think you're something extraordinary just because the young people of Red Haze City praised you a few times that day, would you?"

He sneered. "You, someone at First New Life, dare put on airs before me? Before you reach the Second New Life Realm, you are nothing in my eyes!"

With a clang, he drew a long saber that gleamed with chilling light. "You excel at spear techniques, yet you do not even have a decent weapon."

"It makes no difference what weapon I use," Qin Ming said, drawing a snow-bright long saber from his back. Its quality was even slightly better than Huang Jingjun's.

After all, this was the weapon of that Third New Life Being from Golden Chicken Ridge.

Huang Jingjun's face was cold. He said nothing more, suddenly accelerating as he charged at Qin Ming. The long saber in his hand streaked out a dazzling arc of light as it cleaved downward.

In his view, after undergoing Second New Life, he possessed nearly twelve hundred pounds of strength. That was enough to crush this young hunter. A single strike could chop him down.

Qin Ming made only two moves. First, he swung horizontally with the back of his blade, smashing it against the flat of the other man's saber without holding back in the slightest. On the spot, Huang Jingjun's arm trembled from the impact, and he could not grip the hilt at all, involuntarily letting go.

Moreover, his hand was covered in blood. The tremendous force had torn the soft flesh between his fingers apart. He was utterly shocked, then became terrified and retreated at top speed.

Qin Ming's second move was to swing his saber forward. Though Huang Jingjun reacted quickly and leaped backward, he still failed to evade it completely.

Amid a shower of sparks, the fine armor on his body exploded. Fragments of bloodstained armor flew everywhere and scattered across the ground.

A terrifying wound appeared from Huang Jingjun's shoulder to his abdomen. He had nearly been sliced into two from the shoulder down. Howling miserably, he tumbled to the ground. Through the massive gash torn across his chest and abdomen, parts of his internal organs could already be seen.

"Very weak," Qin Ming judged, then ignored him and looked toward Huang Jingde opposite him.

"Brother..." Huang Jingjun called out shakily. Though he had not yet drawn his last breath, he knew that if he was not treated immediately, he would certainly die.

Huang Jingde charged straight over with a silver spear in hand, all the calmness and indifference gone from his face.

Earlier, he had looked down on Qin Ming and thus paid him no mind. While chatting cheerfully with him, he had not been without the intention of toying with him. Now that he saw how dangerous Qin Ming was, he erupted at once.

Qin Ming was fearless. He had fought a Third New Life Being before and already had experience. This time, he wielded the long saber of the old man from Golden Chicken Ridge to meet his enemy.

With a clang, he slashed out, knocking the fiercely thrusting spear directly aside and sending it off its original trajectory. He followed the motion by pushing his saber forward. The snow-bright blade light trembled and surged like a vast expanse of white waves between sky and sea, seeking to drown his opponent.

Huang Jingde's gaze turned icy. Holding the spear in one hand, he sent white Heavenly Light bursting from the other and struck the side of the blade, intending to knock it aside as well.

As a result, he did strike the side of the blade precisely, but he could not knock it fully away. That saber contained far too much force. He vaguely had the illusion that amid the flashing blade light, he truly stood at the Sky-Sea Line, with roaring white waves crashing toward him.

Huang Jingde dodged at top speed, yet even so, part of the armor on his chest shattered. A grazing strike from that saber carried such overwhelming might. Its strength was far beyond his expectations—even greater than that of a Third New Life Being like himself!

A faint bloody mark appeared across his chest.

"How is that possible?" Huang Jingjun, lying on the ground in unbearable pain, could not believe his eyes. His brother, a great expert of the Third New Life Realm, had actually suffered a loss in their very first exchange?

Yet he had clearly seen that no Heavenly Light flowed from the other party during the fight. That meant Qin Ming had not reached Third New Life. How could he already possess such horrifying strength?

"I was careless. I did not expect someone who has not cultivated Heavenly Light Force to be this strong, fully capable of matching a Third New Life Being." Huang Jingde's expression was grave. He gripped the silver spear with both hands, concentrating completely. He adopted the posture of a life-and-death battle and prepared to go all out.

Upon hearing his brother's assessment, Huang Jingjun clutched his wound and began coughing violently. More blood flowed out. He truly could not accept that this young hunter could be powerful to such an outrageous degree.

Qin Ming's expression also became solemn. Though this Huang Jingde was much younger than the old man from Golden Chicken Ridge, he might be even stronger in terms of ability.

Sure enough, when the two clashed again, Huang Jingde was far fiercer than before. The spear in his hands seemed to transform into a dragon soaring through clouds and mist, baring fangs and brandishing claws as though it had come alive, continuously stabbing at Qin Ming's vital points.

At the same time, Huang Jingde's other hand would occasionally form into a palm blade. Whenever he came slightly closer, he would suddenly chop toward Qin Ming without warning.

Yet not once did he break through Qin Ming's defense. Each time, he was blocked by layer upon layer of blade light.

What frustrated him most was that the youth still carried a large hammer in his left hand. Several times, it smashed precisely onto his palm blade, making him feel searing pain.

The two fought for a long time in an exceptionally fierce battle. Faced with a Third New Life Being protected by Heavenly Light, Qin Ming had no better method. He could only keep attacking, relying on his great strength and exquisitely peerless saber technique to force his opponent to use Heavenly Light for defense again and again, rapidly draining him.

In the distance, the Three-Colored Flower shimmered with flowing radiance. Some petals had opened, and the light mist surging through that area grew thicker. Clearly, the spiritual flower was about to mature.

Even from far away, they could already smell the floral fragrance. In particular, the three-colored petals became increasingly crystalline and gradually more brilliant, actually flowing with broad showers of light. It was exceptionally mysterious and extraordinary.

"How many kinds of Heavenly Light Force can this spiritual flower help one cultivate? I truly look forward to finding out!" Qin Ming's eyes burned.

His fighting spirit rose even higher. He wanted to end the battle sooner and harvest the nearly mature Three-Colored Flower. He erupted with all his strength.

In an instant, Qin Ming unleashed his strongest slash. It seemed as though he had arrived on a rainy night, amid flashing lightning and rolling thunder, while torrential rain poured down. In that pitch-black night, his saber intent boiled over, and the power of his heart seemed to be sublimating. His long saber swept out as if to sever the entire dark sky and cut apart the lightning filling the heavens.

Huang Jingde's face showed terror, because that slash was too frightening. It seemed to carry endless lightning, rain and mist, ready to split this underground karst cave apart and cleave through every obstacle.

He dodged swiftly, but the long saber drew ever closer. There was simply no escaping it. He raised his silver spear to block it, but it was knocked away by an immense force.

Against his deathly pale face, that slash arrived.

Huang Jingde roared and held his spear horizontally before him with both hands to brace against the saber. How could he allow the other party to split him in two with one stroke?

With a clang, he felt as though a great mountain had crashed down upon him. His silver spear was sent flying by the blow. At the same time, agonizing pain tore through his shoulder, and his right arm fell toward the ground as blood sprayed forth.

Though he had temporarily preserved his life, he had completely lost the ability to fight. Staggering backward, half his body was dyed red with blood.

"You... aren't you only skilled with a spear?" Huang Jingjun, lying on the ground severely wounded and near death, asked in despair.

"I'm not bad with a saber either," Qin Ming replied.