In the early hours before dawn, Qin Ming carried the long-handled black steel hammer on his back, a short sword at his side. His steps were swift and powerful, as if he could lift off the ground, charging into the dense forest at incredible speed.
He felt a sense of urgency. Now that the nobles from Chixia City had arrived, once they set foot into the mountains, they would undoubtedly start collecting all sorts of spiritual materials.
He didn't want the Blood Bamboo Forest to be taken first, as it was directly tied to his second rebirth.
The night fog had dissipated, though the forest remained dim. Still, with his eyesight, he could make out the distant scenery.
"The Blood Bamboo Forest won't be easy to enter, there must be dangers." Otherwise, Feng Yian and Shao Chengfeng would've already acted. There would've been no need to die with regrets. "I'm getting ahead of myself."
Cold snowflakes drifted down, some slipping down the back of his neck. The chill helped Qin Ming calm down. Just now, the way he'd rushed off was no different from Old Liu the night before, desperate to grow wings and fly into the Blood Bamboo Forest to scoop up frozen blood snakes.
"Calm down," Qin Ming slowed his steps and regulated his breathing in the mountain forest.
So what if it was a second rebirth? Even without spiritual materials, with his current foundation, he could still break through.
"An unsettled mind leads to mistakes." Stepping through the thick snow, he advanced steadily, gradually regaining composure and calm.
The Blood Bamboo Forest was certainly dangerous. Even with a second rebirth cultivator like Fu Entao, the patrol group hadn't dared to make a move, and this spoke volumes.
Qin Ming moved silently through the dense forest. Eventually, he dug out the blade manual he had hidden. The worn leather pages were curled at the edges and quite frayed, clear signs that it had once been read often.
The book wasn't thick, but it carried an air of antiquity. Who knew where Fu Entao had gotten it?
"Reading the efforts of those who came before to still my mind." Qin Ming sat down in the woods and began to read. Moments later, he was completely absorbed, wholly immersed in the book.
Unconsciously, he stood up in the snow, the book in one hand, the long-handled black steel hammer in the other, wielding it like a saber.
Although it was a heavy weapon, in his hands it seemed as light as a wooden mallet, it was swung casually, yet with a growing elegance, graceful and fluid.
To undergo rebirth, one must practice corresponding scripture techniques, such as the Midnight Meditation, Qi cultivation arts, and others, which enhance strength, flexibility, speed, and overall physical quality.
Combat techniques, on the other hand, were about skill. Using one's physical abilities for effective offense and defense.
Qin Ming possessed exceptional physical strength, surpassing even those with a golden foundation. However, his combat style had never been formally trained. Mostly a mishmash of practical, improvised moves.
Some were drawn from wilderness-style rebirth methods he'd practiced for years; others were techniques learned from veteran hunters in the village.
His combat prowess was forged through real experience in the mountains.
At night, the forest was dangerous. Hunting in such an environment meant facing all kinds of fierce beasts. A slow reaction could mean death.
While his fighting style was mostly improvised—wild, even—its lethality was undeniable. In life-or-death battles with beasts, there were no rules, only strength, speed, and adaptability.
That's why Fu Entao had found him so difficult to deal with. There were no patterns in Qin Ming's attacks, no traces to follow.
As he read the manual, Qin Ming began combining what he had learned through deadly combat with the knowledge in the book. Holding the book in one hand and the hammer in the other, he unconsciously flowed through a series of blade movements inspired by his new insights.
Deeply resonating with the hard-earned insights of those who came before, he began swinging with greater force. Though there was no true blade light, the intent of the saber filled the air. Snow on the ground was swept upward, fluttering into the sky. The long-handled black steel hammer moved like lightning, shattering the silence of the forest.
He slashed toward a massive tree. The thick trunk exploded on contact. The strike was brutally powerful.
Some mutated beasts had been secretly watching him from the shadows. Now, all of them fled in terror, tails tucked. Even a mutated black tiger over four meters long turned and bolted.
"You're still lingering here? Not leaving, huh?" Qin Ming spotted a humanoid-faced vulture far larger than normal beasts, circling close to the treetops, no more than twenty meters off the ground, refusing to retreat.
He had just grasped the "Throwing Blade Form" from the manual and immediately used it. The heavy "hammer-saber" in his hand vanished into the night sky.
Splurt!
Blood burst through the air, feathers scattered. The mutated vulture, with a wingspan several meters wide, had been ferocious, but now, it shattered like porcelain. Qin Ming's "Throwing Blade Form" had blown it apart!
With a thousand pounds of force in his arms, no one could survive this strike. The long-handled black steel hammer smashed the massive bird into bits, leaving only broken chunks and scattered feathers.
Seeing this, other creatures in the distance fled in a panic. To them, this two-legged beast was abnormally vicious. They had to stay far away. This region was no longer safe.
"What a blade technique!" Qin Ming praised aloud, lifting the black steel hammer and continuing his practice.
To him, this blade manual was like a lantern in the fog illuminating his path. It synthesized his combat experience and wild techniques, elevating them to a new level.
He was so absorbed that he completely lost track of time, sinking into practice. He worked through the entire manual from beginning to end. While he hadn't yet achieved total mastery, his combat skills had improved, and his strength had advanced significantly.
This manual was worth studying. It gave him profound insight. Its value was immense.
"If Fu Entao had fully mastered this blade manual, he'd have been a real problem," Qin Ming murmured. If that were the case, Fu Entao likely wouldn't have stopped at just two rebirths.
This wasn't just a blade manual; it also contained research into rebirth techniques, offering new inspiration.
For example, the book mentioned something called "Heavenlight." It first emerged during the third rebirth but would span the entire rebirth domain. Even after achieving a perfect rebirth, further study of Heavenlight remained essential.
In this era of a sunless sky, Heavenlight represented humanity's hope. An endless longing for light.
But the Heavenlight described in the book wasn't literal sunlight. It was a kind of inner light, metaphorically named and deeply revered. After one's third rebirth, "Heavenlight" would begin to manifest, born within the body. It is a sign of life reaching a higher level.
At that point, a rebirther's strength would leap forward. They could fight deadly monsters barehanded thanks entirely to Heavenlight. Once Heavenlight manifested, it would give rise to Heavenlight Force, a unique type of power with tremendous piercing and rending ability. Otherwise, how could a rebirther, small and delicate, possibly battle massive beasts?
Heavenlight Force could tear through a mutated beast's scales and muscles. It was sharp and brutal. But in the early stages, Heavenlight Force could only coat the body's surface, extending slightly beyond the fists and feet. It couldn't yet infuse weapons.
Heavenlight Force was a broad term. There were many variations. This book had passed through many hands. Its pages were filled with insights, annotations, and reflections from different people.
One note even expressed deep longing: "If only I could train the Tathāgata Force!"
For someone like Qin Ming, who was reborn with wild methods, the descriptions in the book were deeply captivating to him. Unfortunately, while the manual mentioned many exotic and powerful forms of Heavenlight Force, it didn't explain how to cultivate them.
Qin Ming drifted into deep thought, pondering for a long time. As he read on, he reached a section beyond his current level of comprehension. It was no longer suitable for him. For now.
Still, among the notes left by previous readers, he found a practical secret technique called "Merging Light with Dust", meant to protect oneself.
After careful study, he broke out in a cold sweat, but also felt lucky to have discovered it.
According to past readers, the gaze of high-level beings was terrifying. They could instantly perceive the vitality of any lifeform, even in total darkness; they could "see" the strong or weak life auras around them.