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Novel: [Night Without Borders]
Chapter 74: [Standing Shoulder to Shoulder with Legends]
Author: [Chen Dong]
Translator: [Shadow Knight AK]
Editor: [Shadow Knight AK]
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"Once this awakening is complete, will I remember everything?" Qin Ming had already pieced together some fragments of his past.
Yet certain mysteries remained shrouded in mist, waiting to be dispelled.
He had once been Cui Chonghe, the true descendant of the Cui Family.
So why did he leave the Cui Family?
After being critically wounded, why was he abandoned on Black White Mountain to recover?
What silenced him most was the realization that his own relatives had wanted to keep him permanently exiled, preventing him from returning to the world of daylight or reconnecting with his former friends.
Although he was now Qin Ming, no longer Cui Chonghe, he still yearned to understand the full story.
Qin Ming sat quietly, his mind as still as water.
After a simple wash, he lay down on the bed, surrendering to sleep.
Silver light materialized, coating his skin like a layer of Silver Mud. Golden needles threaded through it, crisscrossing his body as he donned the Golden Silk and Jade Suit once more.
Especially around his hair, golden needles wove densely, as if constantly stitching, causing Qin Ming's entire head to glow with golden light.
Qin Ming, still asleep, frowned slightly as a faint sensation stirred within his skull. A dull ache pulsed through his bones, followed by an intense burning heat.
Briefly surfacing from his slumber, he recognized the sensation as harmless and let himself drift back into the depths of sleep.
Three points on Qin Ming's skull glowed with the most intense golden light.
These were the spots where the Feather-Robed Youth had once shattered his skull.
Now, dense clusters of golden needles pierced his scalp, burrowed into the bone, and continued to sink deeper.
The Silver Mud, applied like a medicinal balm, seemed to smooth away the scars of past wounds.
The golden needles stitched the fractures, while the silver light cleansed away old ailments.
Though not fully awake, Qin Ming sensed deep within his subconscious the crucial role of the Golden Silk Jade Robe.
It was connected to his recovery, perhaps even holding the true meaning of resurrection.
Perhaps this was the very essence of the human awakening process.
With no immediate danger, he remained in his deep slumber.
In the pre-dawn hours, Qin Ming entered a liminal state between dream and wakefulness.
He saw the Silk Book again, and the child he once was, waiting for the rough, calloused hand to turn the page.
The fourth stage of Awakening was linked to perception. Beyond enhanced senses, his instincts would become razor-sharp, capable of saving his life in critical moments.
This Awakening specifically involved the head's consciousness, causing the three skull fractures Qin Ming had once sustained to glow throughout the night.
Golden needles stitched the bones together, Silver Mud covered the repairs, and vast quantities of spiritual substance drawn from the Thunder Fire Heavenly Light poured in ceaselessly.
The rough, calloused hand finally moved, turning the Silk Book to the fourth page.
Beyond completing the explanation of training the five senses and instinctual consciousness, it also detailed the methods for achieving the Fifth Awakening.
...
As dawn broke, Chi Xia City gradually brightened.
Within the city walls, day and night had already been established. Some refined cities even regulated the brightness of their Fire Springs, maximizing their intensity at noon.
In the grandest Giant Cities, people would even create artificial sunsets, painting the evening sky with crimson hues.
Yet beyond the city walls, night always reigned supreme.
Even in the capital of a kingdom or the imperial city of a vast empire, gazing into the distance from the ramparts revealed only endless darkness.
Qin Ming pushed open the window.
The sky, gradually brightening with the fiery dawn, was a world apart from the dim nightscape he had witnessed on Black White Mountain.
Unlike Wu Zheng, Qin Ming didn't find this new world particularly novel.
He had experienced it all before.
As his fragmented memories rapidly reassembled, past scenes gradually became clearer.
Qin Ming took a deep breath, his inner turmoil evident. Gripping the Jade Iron Sword tightly, he stepped into the courtyard and unleashed a series of thunderous strikes.
The Sword Technique, Spear Technique, and Hammer Technique from the three secret manuals had been fused into a seamless whole.
Every weapon felt like an extension of his arm, an expansion of his will.
"Brother Qin's killing intent is heavy today," Wu Zheng muttered to himself in the inn.
As the fragmented scenes rapidly reassembled, a flood of images surged through Qin Ming's mind.
He struggled to remain unaffected by these fragments of his past.
Without a past, a person is incomplete.
He needed to embrace all his memories.
"Brother Qin, I brought you breakfast. Are you alright?" Wu Zheng appeared, spotting Qin Ming practicing with his sword in the courtyard.
The sword flashed like lightning one moment, then multiplied into dozens of afterimages as it thrust forward like a spear the next.
Moments later, it crashed down like a heavy hammer, each strike echoing with explosive force.
"I'm fine. I'm undergoing Awakening. I felt restless and needed to stretch my muscles. If only a fivefold-mutated beast would appear right now."
Qin Ming felt that if he were to encounter the fivefold-mutated Old Golden Rooster from Golden Rooster Ridge now, he could kill it with a single spear thrust or crush it with a hammer blow!
Soon after, Xu Sheng arrived at the inn, wanting to check on Qin Ming's condition after the Heavenly Light Infusion.
"I can sense that your body's vitality is even stronger than mine. What exactly is your state?" Xu Sheng asked, his voice filled with astonishment and suspicion.
He was certain this wasn't just his imagination.
"My body's Awakening is nearly complete, and my senses are still improving. I'm currently in a state of full recovery, without any concealment, which is why my aura appears so powerful."
Xu Sheng was stunned by these words.
Had everything he'd seen of Qin Ming's abilities been merely a fraction of his true strength?
Wu Zheng's eyes flickered with a strange light.
Xu Sheng said, "Stop concealing yourself. Come with me to get tested. Let's see how strong your physical attributes have become after your fourth awakening. As for your sensing domain, that's too mystical. We're not Outsiders, so we don't have any way to measure it for now."
"I don't want more people to know," Qin Ming replied.
His current situation was precarious, and the future remained uncertain. Before he became powerful enough, if news of his abilities reached Qing He City, Qian Xing City, or other places, the consequences would be unpredictable.
Qin Ming didn't bother hiding anything from Xu Sheng, who already knew he had entered the Thunder Fire Refining Hall.
Concealing it now would be pointless.
"No problem. We're going to my friend's Training Hall. She has all sorts of equipment there to test your physical capabilities," Xu Sheng said, his curiosity piqued about what level Qin Ming had reached after his four awakenings.
Qin Ming recognized Xu Sheng's friend, Zhou Lin, as the woman who had accompanied them on the Snow Lotus expedition, only to have their harvest stolen.
She was remarkably down-to-earth, peppering their journey back to the city with colorful language.
Zhou Lin's Training Hall specialized in guiding people onto the Path of Awakening, and business was booming, with students primarily in their teens.
In this city where land was as precious as gold, the training hall's sprawling grounds were truly impressive.
Moments later, Xu Sheng stood frozen in disbelief, unable to comprehend the sight before him: Qin Ming, after four awakenings, could lift a cauldron weighing 4,500 catties.
Wu Zheng gaped, awestruck by such divine strength.
"Brother Qin, is that really just four awakenings? Are you sure it's not six... or even seven?" Wu Zheng asked, thoroughly shaken.
Xu Sheng murmured to himself, "So such people really exist. The records in ancient texts weren't exaggerations or myths meant to deceive future generations. I've witnessed it firsthand."
"What do those records say?" Wu Zheng asked.
Xu Sheng replied, "One book mentions a young prodigy who, upon his first awakening, possessed nearly a thousand catties of strength in each arm—He was considered a terrifyingly high innate talent."
Wu Zheng grew visibly excited. "Legends have become reality! Someone right here beside me can rival the young prodigy described in those ancient texts!"
He quickly corrected himself. "Wait, I've calculated it. Brother Qin's strength during his first awakening must have exceeded eleven hundred catties in his arms!"
Xu Sheng was completely stunned, finding it utterly unbelievable.
"Brother Qin, when you first awakened... did you really have that much strength?" Wu Zheng's voice trembled slightly.
"I never tested it precisely, but it should have been over a thousand catties," Qin Ming replied.
Xu Sheng sighed. "Xiao Qin's initial strength must have surpassed eleven hundred catties. For other awakeners, such innate talent is like a legends."
He then asked, "With early spring approaching, the ancient Dao Traditions, mysterious organizations, and prestigious academies in the radiant lands... will soon begin recruiting disciples. Xiao Qin, have you decided where you want to go?"
"It's too early to worry about that," Qin Ming said, his thoughts still in disarray as fragmented memories resurfaced, most of them already reassembled, with the rest still coming into focus.
"There's still time. I just need to make a decision before summer."
Zhou Lin appeared, her expression suspicious.
"What are you three doing? You moved the glazed stele, the museum's centerpiece? Did you all work together?"
Xu Sheng laughed heartily, offering no explanation.
On the way back, Qin Ming stopped at an old-established bookstore and bought a stack of Night Reports, a compilation of the past three years.
The Gazette was an official publication, inaccessible to the general public.
The Night Report, privately operated, was more widely available.
"The content here is very general," Xu Sheng remarked. "It avoids sensitive information, and many major events are only briefly mentioned."
"That's fine," Qin Ming replied. "I just want a rough overview of the major events from the past two or three years."
Back at the inn, Qin Ming locked himself in his room, refusing to go out again.
While waiting for his awakening to fully complete, he pored over the Night Reports, focusing on major events and news related to the Cui Family.
"Dynasties rise and fall like flowing water, but the great families endure like iron," Qin Ming sighed.
Some ancient aristocratic families had existed for two to three thousand years.
As the Night Report had mentioned, shaking such a millennium-old family was exceedingly difficult.
Despite enduring countless wars, Mutated-Creatures-stirred storms, and other calamities, they had suffered grievous wounds but never fallen.
"Two years ago..." Qin Ming rapidly searched for the information he needed, cross-referencing it with the increasingly vivid memories surfacing in his mind.
The Cui Family had weathered a major upheaval two years ago, but the Night Report hadn't delved into the underlying causes, merely mentioning a brief clash between two colossal forces before they each retreated.
From two years ago to the present, Qin Ming skimmed through a series of major events.
He set down the thick stack of Night Reports and gazed at the hazy images before him.
Giant cities bathed in the glow of sunset, spirit mountains shrouded in celestial mist—all gradually sharpened into focus.
Figures came and went, and familiar faces emerged one by one: his parents, uncles, aunts, siblings, and countless clan members.
Then came the Feather-Robed Youth, Li Qingyue, and his old friends and acquaintances—a procession of figures advancing toward him.
Qin Ming watched calmly, as if observing scenes from someone else's tragicomedy.
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END OF CHAPTER
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