Golden Age

Golden Age

Ripples rose in Qin Ming's heart. The "path" he had once been told he could never master—had it now become whole and seamless, opened through at last?

He had returned from the wilderness. It was as though a flame burned within his body, making even the bitter winter warm. The growing strength throughout his body was no illusion; with a flick of his toe, he sent the stone mill in the courtyard lifting off the ground.

He leaped into the air, hanging there for a long moment, and grabbed a handful of snow from the eaves.

When he exhaled, a stream of white air shot forth like a spear wrapped in thick mist, bursting out with a sharp, thunderous whistle through the air.

Qin Ming moved fiercely with abdominal breathing. His figure drifted and flashed, stirring the snow from the ground into the air until goose-feather snow began falling anew in the courtyard.

At his every movement, all hundred bones followed. With a sweeping arm strike, he shattered every snowflake dancing before him.

The vitality of his flesh and blood rose dramatically. His whole body burned hot, silver patterns weaving through his pores and carrying out great beads of sweat, as though cleansing his body.

Qin Ming felt utterly at ease, his entire body shrouded in a faint silver light.

Such a sight was rare even during "New Life."

He trained for a long time and expended tremendous energy. Only when he truly felt exhausted did he stop.

New Life was a process. Qin Ming believed he was changing, and that his wish would be fulfilled in the coming days.

He did not return indoors. Instead, he sat quietly in the courtyard, letting the snow he had stirred up settle over him. He feared no bitter cold; his entire body was warm.

This was completely different from before. When he had first recovered from his illness, he would shiver all over even wrapped in thick quilts atop the heated kang bed.

Qin Ming closed his eyes and envisioned himself within his mind, repeating the difficult movements from earlier as he trained his mental strength.

The silver ripples that had just faded emerged once more. His breathing was guided by his thoughts, continuously adjusting and becoming extraordinarily complex, with no pattern to be found.

Thought arose from the spirit, breath moved with intent. Because of this, the flowing light across his body brightened slightly.

The courtyard fell silent, and Qin Ming was covered by snowflakes.

Only after a long while did he cease all thought and desire, completely emptying his mind.

Only when the silver light on his body had vanished completely did he slowly open his eyes. Feeling the changes within himself, he confirmed that vigorous New Life Power was taking shape within the body.

Qin Ming calmly lifted the more than two-hundred-pound millstone in the courtyard, then gently set it back down.

"New Life will most likely be complete within two days." He had a clear sense of it now.

At that moment, he felt hunger without any surprise—and it was intense.

Qin Ming cooked a pot of mushroom soup. He treated walnuts, almonds, chestnuts, and the like as his main meal, with red dates and hawthorn as side dishes, eating to his heart's content.

After resting enough, he began a new round of training. He wanted to speed up the process of "New Life."

Qin Ming moved like a bow snapping apart and struck like thunder exploding, setting all the snow in the courtyard swirling as the vitality of his flesh and blood grew ever stronger.

And so, whenever he was tired, he took a short nap; whenever he was hungry, he ate a feast of dried foods; whenever he regained his energy, he trained. From Shallow Night until Deep Night, vigorous life force surged continuously within him.

Before bed, he washed with cold water filled with ice chips, yet felt no chill. His tall, lean body, without a trace of excess flesh, had taut muscles and smooth lines. Droplets clung to his wet black hair. Under the Fire Haze cast by the Sun Stone, his body gleamed with a crystalline luster and an even greater sense of strength.

That night, he slept peacefully without dreams, falling into the deepest level of slumber. As New Life accelerated, his body remained filled with fresh vitality.

The Next Day, Qin Ming's appetite increased dramatically. He was now eating seven meals a day.

The main reason was that Acquired Fetal Transformation required an enormous expenditure.

Even delicious food became tiresome after many consecutive meals, and besides, it was all dried food that he had to swallow down with hot water.

"What a pity. There aren't many mushrooms left. I can't even cook fresh soup anymore." Qin Ming sighed regretfully.

What made him frown was that there was not much stored food left. At this rate, it would only last another day.

"Am I a bottomless pit? More than half a beastskin sack of dried food only lasts me three days." Qin Ming muttered to himself.

The "path" that aided New Life could not stop. When still, he was like a mountain; when moving, like an eagle striking the vast sky. The silver light emerging from his pores grew steadily brighter.

He could distinctly feel his physical qualities strengthening. It was not achieved in one leap, but through gradual change.

Qin Ming walked to one side of the small courtyard and tried to lift both upper and lower millstones together. He suddenly Exerted Effort and actually hauled them from their original place.

Lu Ze happened to push open the Courtyard Gate and enter, and he was struck dumb on the spot.

"Little Qin, you..." Astonishment filled his face. Yesterday, he had still felt sorry for Qin Ming, believing he would miss New Life during the Golden Age. Yet today, he saw this scene.

In the courtyard beyond the wall, Liang Wanqing heard the commotion and came over as well. When she learned what had happened, she was momentarily dazed.

"Just like Er Bingzi from the neighboring village—he could lift more than four hundred pounds as soon as New Life began." Lu Ze was sincerely happy for Qin Ming.

"To achieve New Life during the Golden Age, Little Qin really did it." Liang Wanqing said that in all these years, he was the first in Double Tree Village.

"Uncle, you're incredible!" Wen Rui ran over too. His large eyes shone as he looked up at Qin Ming, his little face full of admiration.

"I feel like the changes from New Life are still ongoing," Qin Ming said.

He had already realized that it would take longer than he had initially estimated. It was far from over.

Liang Wanqing looked startled. "In our region, even those who undergo New Life during the Golden Age can lift at most five hundred pounds after stabilizing. Could Little Qin be about to reach that point?"

"I heard that in the distant Bright City, there are youths who can lift six hundred pounds." Lu Ze wanted very much to know just how far Qin Ming would go after the changes of New Life ended.

A burst of noise suddenly came from the street.

Liang Wanqing went out and quickly returned. "The old woman from the Zhou Family is failing."

Qin Ming had seen her On the Way just yesterday. Remembering her frail body and bloodless face, her condition had indeed been very wrong.

"What happened?" Lu Ze asked.

Liang Wanqing sighed. "Apparently, she has been eating too little lately. And her health was poor to begin with, so something went wrong."

Qin Ming and Lu Ze went to the street and learned the details.

Grandma Zhou's son had gone out some time ago. He had not brought back any food, and had instead suffered serious injuries. The bone in his right arm had broken.

Every household lacked food this winter. With the family's main pillar stricken, Grandma Zhou had been deeply worried. Every day, she secretly saved the food she ought to have eaten, taking only a little to fill her stomach.

Quite a few people had already gathered in the Zhou Family courtyard. After Qin Ming and Lu Ze entered the house, they saw Grandma Zhou lying motionless. Her face was waxy yellow, and she no longer breathed.

Two children were Shed Tears beside her, kneeling nearby and crying out loudly for their grandmother.

Before Grandma Zhou passed away, she told them where there was food: some Earth Sweet Potatoes and cold, hard steamed buns hidden in a bamboo basket beneath the ice and snow.

As for the nuts Qin Ming had given her, she had not been willing to eat even a single one.

It was only today that the family learned she had scrimped and saved, leaving behind as much of her own rations as she could. She feared that her badly injured son, Zhou Changyu, would never again be able to bring back food. She feared her grandson and granddaughter would go hungry, so she would rather eat less—or not eat at all.

When Zhou Changyu learned the truth, his heart shattered. This man, not yet thirty, was covered in tears as he slapped his own face hard, saying he was useless and unfilial, that he had failed to notice sooner.

His wife knelt there as well, weeping without stop in grief.

Many people in the courtyard sighed. In times like these, disaster had struck the entire region. Everyone lacked clothes and food, and life was terribly difficult.

Qin Ming felt a blockage in his chest. When he had met the pale-faced Grandma Zhou two days ago, she had trembled as she took out several pieces of dried Earth Sweet Potato, trying to stuff them into his hands.

Now, there was no need to think about it. That had been the rations she secretly saved every day.

What a kind old woman. And just like that, she was gone. Qin Ming stood there silently for a long time.

After Shallow Night ended, the people in the courtyard gradually dispersed. Qin Ming came again, carrying a cloth bag holding five pounds of nuts. He handed it to Zhou Changyu and told him to restrain his grief.

"Brother Qin!" Zhou Changyu's eyes were red as he tried to refuse. He knew how difficult it was now to find food in the wilderness.

Qin Ming placed it in his hands and made him accept it before turning and leaving.

It was already very late, yet the crying from the Zhou Family could still be heard.

Qin Ming sat in the pitch-black courtyard. Others still had relatives to weep for them, but what about him? The few indistinct faces in his heart were growing ever blurrier. He feared that one day he would forget them completely, with not a trace of memory left.

On this icy winter night, he looked up at a night sky where nothing could be seen and sat lost in thought for a long while, seized by an indescribable loneliness.

Within his heart was a hazy patch of lamplight and dim figures. He wanted to approach and see them clearly, but he could never touch those childhood memories that had long since faded.

Suddenly, an aura that made one's heart tremble swept toward him. It was extraordinarily oppressive, making Qin Ming's body tense instantly. In the pitch-black sky where one could not see one's own hand, two golden lanterns appeared—mysterious and terrifying!

Then the calm winter night erupted into a violent gale. All the snow on the ground surged into the air, while the rooftops seemed as though they were about to be ripped away, trembling violently.

In the abyss-black night sky, that pair of golden lanterns crossed the heavens, carrying Astral Wind and an unimaginably terrifying pressure that nearly suffocated people! Qin Ming's pupils contracted. He guessed it was some higher lifeform, enormous beyond belief. As it beat its wings, it was like dark clouds blotting out the sky as it passed over Double Tree Village.

The golden lanterns were its eyes. As it went farther away, the sudden storm rapidly weakened before dispersing.

A commotion broke out in the village. Many people came outside and discussed it among themselves.

The older villagers had experienced similar events. Though their faces were grave, they told the younger people not to panic. It was likely a higher lifeform traveling through the area, merely passing by.

Qin Ming returned from the street and sat in the courtyard for a long time, gazing at the boundless curtain of night.

Darkness shrouded heaven and earth, cutting off the roads leading into the distance and making this world ever more mysterious. Ripples rose in his heart. He dearly wished to go out and look around the vast land.

At last, he rose with firm resolve and practiced set after set of specific movements he remembered most clearly from childhood.

Even if one had things on one's mind, one still needed strength.

Gradually, vigorous New Life Power surged from his body, and a thin mist of light spread over his skin.

Much later, he felt hunger unlike anything he had ever known. The changes of New Life had yet to stop; they even seemed to be growing fiercer.

Qin Ming ate a pile of dried food with hot water, yet still was not full.

When images of the Mutant Squirrel and the Black Mountain Goat from Yang Yongqing's home at the village entrance emerged in his mind, he could not help swallowing.

He truly wanted to eat meat. At the slightest Thought Of it, he seemed to smell rich meat fragrance. He realized his body was sending him a message—it needed nourishment.

Only after Qin Ming ate another pile of nuts did that abnormal craving slowly fade.

"Looks like once Shallow Night arrives, I'll have to enter the mountains again." He had to satisfy his body's call and make sure New Life encountered no problems.

In truth, after giving the Zhou Family five pounds of dried food, his remaining stores were no longer plentiful.

He slept dreamlessly and woke very early. Although his stomach was empty, his spirits were exceptionally high. He had a feeling that, with New Life continuing its changes until now, he should be able to lift more than five hundred pounds.

"Most importantly, New Life is still continuing." Even he looked forward keenly to it. What level would he ultimately reach? He began limbering up.

Then Qin Ming performed Dragon Spine Opening. He first bent his waist, then arched sharply backward. His entire spine formed an exaggerated reverse crescent curve, joints cracking explosively one after another upward as his flesh and blood trembled violently.

Starting from his tailbone, yang energy sprang forth and climbed along his dragon spine all the way to his head.

Qin Ming's entire body went numb, as though electricity were passing through him. Every pore opened, and his whole body felt warm, enveloped in yang energy.

At the same time, a layer of silver light rippled over his body, clearer than ever before.

There was no doubt that this significantly accelerated the process of New Life! Before Shallow Night had fully arrived, Qin Ming had already appeared outside the village. All kinds of dried fruits could no longer meet his needs; his stomach was like a bottomless pit.

Whenever he thought of Blue Sheep, Night Deer, Black Feather Pheasants, and the like roasting over a bonfire, fat sizzling and dripping onto the coals, he could no longer hold himself back. His mouth watered, wind sprang beneath his feet, and he wished he could rush into the wilderness Dense Forest at once.