Chapter 4

Stepping out of the meeting hall, Qin Yi gazed at the overcast sky, feeling as if there was a giant beast roaring and raging inside him.

The hope he had been waiting for for three years was just erased by someone!

Tian Sheng Academy only took in disciples once every ten years. Was he supposed to wait another ten years? No! He absolutely could not agree to that!

Qin Yi took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.

Ever since his realm dropped to the third level of the Flesh Refinement stage three years ago, he had made no progress in these three years. To break through three levels in twenty days and reach the Bone Refinement stage would be impossible unless heaven opened its eyes.

Qin Yi pondered possible methods, and before he knew it, he had walked to the Qin Family’s garden.

The Qin Family’s garden covered hundreds of acres, planted with various exotic flowers and plants, blooming in all colors throughout the four seasons.

Every evening, the Qin Family’s servants had to ride fast horses to light all the lamps in the garden, hence the garden was known as the “Horse-Riding Lamp-Lighting Garden,” indicating its vast size.

As he walked, Qin Yi inadvertently looked up and saw a tall figure standing not far away, facing away from him. He couldn’t help but pause.

Her black hair, glossy like ink, flowed like a waterfall, and she wore a light green dress that reached the ground, highlighting her slender waist and elegant, long legs, all of which showcased her slim and well-proportioned figure.

Seemingly sensing Qin Yi behind her, the girl slowly turned around. Her eyebrows were as dark as ink, her skin as white as snow, and her lips were a vivid red, a face of unparalleled beauty that could make any man’s heart race.

This person was Qin Yi’s cousin, Qin Yuwei.

Qin Yuwei and Qin Yi exchanged a glance, but her gaze only lingered on him for a moment before turning away. If one wasn’t paying attention, they might not even notice that she had looked at him.

Seeing the girl about to leave, Qin Yi hesitated for a moment before calling out, “Cousin Yuwei.”

If it were three years ago, Qin Yuwei would have taken the initiative to greet him without Qin Yi needing to call her.

But in these three years, Qin Yi had seen the coldness and warmth of human nature, and had become accustomed to the ridicule and sarcasm from those around him. Therefore, Qin Yuwei’s attitude only made him slightly uncomfortable.

Qin Yuwei kept her eyes straight ahead. As she passed by Qin Yi, her voice, as soft as a mosquito’s, reached his ears: “Cousin Qin Yi, I will soon be entering Tian Sheng Academy. We are no longer in the same world. I am greeting you today out of respect for our past relationship. If we happen to meet in the future, please pretend you don’t know me. Thank you.”

Qin Yuwei’s attitude felt like a bolt of lightning striking Qin Yi.

The greatest harm a woman can do to a man is to ignore him.

It wasn’t until Qin Yuwei was out of sight that Qin Yi’s face turned pale and he came to his senses.

The humiliation he had endured today felt like bloody claws scratching at his heart.

“Tian Sheng Academy, Tian Sheng Academy…” Qin Yi closed his eyes, his whole body trembling, his gums almost ground to pieces, and his mouth filled with a metallic taste.

…

In the evening, the moisture in the air seemed to be able to drip, and each breath felt damp in the nose.

On the back mountain, about twenty miles from the Qin Family’s residence, Qin Yi, bare-chested, was sweating profusely as he exercised.

This open bamboo forest was where he used to practice, and because it was rarely visited by people, it had remained unchanged since then.

Stone locks weighing twenty, forty, sixty, and one hundred pounds were lined up, along with various tools such as swords, spears, staffs, and wooden dummies.

Qin Yi was currently at the second level of the Flesh Refinement stage, with a punch strength of one hundred pounds. He was using a sixty-pound stone lock to train his arm strength.

He bound his hands behind his back with a chain, hanging the stone lock, and then continuously jumped to train his leg strength.

He continuously punched the stone dummy, the sound of his punches echoing, and his fists were covered in blood. The stone dummy’s face also bore the marks of his bloody punches, but Qin Yi gritted his teeth and did not stop.

With only twenty days left, the hope was almost nonexistent, but there was still a glimmer of hope.

For that glimmer of hope, he had to give it his all, even though his body had not fully recovered.

Due to years of neglect and unresolved internal injuries, overexerting himself during the evening training, Qin Yi suddenly felt a black haze cloud his vision, stars dancing before his eyes, and his feet felt unsteady. He spat out a mouthful of blood and fell heavily to the ground, his entire body’s meridians burning with pain.

“No… I can’t stop…” Qin Yi struggled to get up.

Rumble!

The first spring thunder suddenly roared above Qin Yi’s head. Dark clouds twisted and entangled in the sky like black dragons, and lightning bolts shot down like swords, piercing the night and splitting the clouds.

These dark clouds, layered and piled up, now seemed like a massive island pressing down toward the ground.

“It’s going to rain…” Qin Yi struggled to stand up, but before he could steady himself, a bright white light flashed past him. A loud boom followed, and a powerful shockwave, like a charging rhinoceros, slammed into Qin Yi.

Caught off guard, Qin Yi was thrown backward, smashing a wooden dummy.

Where the white light had struck, a large pit about four to five steps in diameter appeared, over a foot deep, charred black, and emitting wisps of smoke. The air was filled with the smell of burnt objects.

Qin Yi quickly realized, “The lightning actually struck down!”

If he had been standing just a little off, he would already be dead.

“Why did the lightning strike down suddenly?” Qin Yi spat out a mouthful of blood and looked up at the sky. The sight made his heart race.

The sky now resembled an endless vortex, with dark clouds like thick, long pythons, churning and stirring. Thunder rumbled within the clouds, and lightning flashed, shaking the heavens and earth.

Qin Yi had only seen such a scene in books describing disasters.

The churning clouds carried the energy of destruction, the pressure stacking down, the air seeming to stagnate. Thunder rolled like drumbeats in his heart, and lightning flashed, tearing the night sky into several jagged rifts.

Crack!

Lightning, like a dragon, suddenly darted through the clouds, like a celestial blade, tearing the night sky apart!

The thick clouds parted to reveal countless massive lightning balls inside!

“What’s happening…” Qin Yi looked up at the sky, momentarily stunned by the grand scene.

Boom!

The lightning balls wobbled and collided, causing currents to leap across the sky, the thunder deafening, and the earth trembling. Qin Yi felt the ground beneath him shake.

The thunder seemed to strike his entire body, his heartbeat synchronizing with the frequency of the lightning, his internal energy surging, and his whole body feeling unbearably uncomfortable.

His vision went black, and he stumbled, almost falling. He quickly steadied himself, and suddenly felt a burst of white light above his head, as bright as daylight.

Surprised, Qin Yi’s pupils instantly contracted.

The sky seemed to be torn apart by a giant claw, and a massive lightning ball was now plummeting directly toward him, like a meteor, with a terrifying momentum. The bamboo forest on the hillside was swaying, and the surroundings turned into a stark black and white. The powerful air currents cut into Qin Yi’s body like knives, and the electric current, like countless fine threads, instantly penetrated his limbs and bones, reaching deep into his marrow!

The indescribable pain fiercely assaulted Qin Yi’s brain, making his mind buzz as if gnawed by countless venomous insects, wishing he could just die. In the intense lightning, he saw a black light, like a meteor, shoot out from the center of the lightning ball and pierce his forehead.

Boom!

As the black light entered his forehead, Qin Yi felt a flood of information surge into his mind. Before he could examine it, the scene before his eyes suddenly changed, and the pain disappeared. Qin Yi was shocked to find himself floating in the universe!

Countless stars were scattered, flat or spiral nebulae drifting quietly, the Milky Way shining and winding, and massive, pitted meteorites floating in the air, silent. Qin Yi felt as insignificant as a speck of dust amidst it all.

“Where am I? How did I get into the universe?” Qin Yi looked around, his heart pounding. Suddenly, he looked into the distance, and his blood seemed to freeze.

In the far distance, a massive black dragon, as if cast in bronze and iron, was quietly suspended in the universe, seemingly existing since ancient times.

Qin Yi could only see its enormous head, as large as a mountain, and its long body, like a mountain range, extending deep into the universe, its tail invisible to the eye.

Although the dragon was silent, its presence was terrifying, towering like a mountain and deep like an ancient well. Qin Yi felt his body go limp, his teeth chattering uncontrollably, and his body trembling despite his efforts to remain calm.

Daring not to look at the monstrous dragon, his gaze was still drawn to it. Qin Yi was drenched in sweat, almost out of breath, when suddenly a surge of information flooded his mind.

“The Eight Great Techniques? Black Dragon Cosmic Power? What is this?” Qin Yi was astonished. Suddenly, a rainbow of light flashed before his eyes, and he saw the dragon, which had been quietly suspended in the universe, now become transparent, its internal bones clearly visible!

The bones within its body were also connected in a chain of dragon heads and tails!

Countless dragons combined to form a super giant beast that roamed the universe!

PS: Please leave more comments in the book review section, help me spot any typos, and throw all your flowers at me. Cultivation of the Divine absolutely delivers!