Chapter 8

He was originally the young lord of Thunder Ancient City, with both his parents being nominal elders of the Qingyun Sect. From a young age, he enjoyed a prominent status. His parents doted on him, the city's people cared for him, and he had a well-behaved younger sister, living a very happy life.

Back then, his parents often brought him to the Qingyun Sect, and the elders would pinch his cheeks with a smile, calling him cute. Some elders would pat their chests confidently, saying, "You will be my personal disciple in the future, we have a deal."

Qin Ming was filled with longing for this place and a desire for martial arts.

However...

One night, everything changed.

A sudden incident shattered all the past happiness.

His parents disappeared, their fates unknown, and the Qingyun Sect's furious punishment descended upon Thunder Ancient City.

As the young lord, Qin Ming was forcibly captured and taken to the Qingyun Sect, suffering as a servant and effectively held as a hostage. The city's residents, numbering over 200,000, were all escorted to the Lingstone Mine deep in the Daguanshan Mountains.

At that time, he was only seven years old, feeling anxious and uneasy as he looked at the unfamiliar surroundings, enduring various taunts in despair.

Eight years have passed, and Qin Ming has shed his naivety, stubbornly persevering to this day.

From despair and decadence to resilience and tenacity, his journey has been difficult and bitter.

Over these eight years, he has come to understand many people and many things.

He once naively questioned the heavens about the unfairness of life, but now he understands the most realistic and cruel truth of the world—survival of the fittest, the strong survive!

His young heart also firmly remembered his father's words—weaklings do not die well, and the strong do not live well.

So he has always held his head high, stubbornly facing ridicule and humiliation, and through constant effort, he has found his own attitude towards life and martial arts.

Qin Ming understands that no one will help him; only he can do right by himself. He has vowed to become a Golden Feather Disciple of the Qingyun Sect, to earn his place here, gain the qualifications to challenge that elder, and rescue the suffering Thunder Ancient City.

"Endure for one more year, learn other martial techniques. After a year, I will advance to the Ninth Level of the Spirit Martial Realm."

Qin Ming set his goal; the faster his strength grows, the more he will be valued.

He returned to the warehouse in the late night, practicing the Shengsheng Decision before coming back, and his condition had recovered well. However, his clothes were tattered and bloodstained, and his body was drenched by the rain, revealing strong and muscular lines.

He was hungry and prepared to get something to eat, but he stopped as he walked into the courtyard. "Who is that?"

Inside the warehouse stood a person, not the old man, but a tall girl. The flickering firelight revealed her perfect figure.

Zhao Min? It doesn't seem like her!

Qin Ming was on guard, wondering if Zhao Min had found someone else to take revenge. Choosing this rainy night, it seems she couldn't wait any longer.

Inside the warehouse, the girl was facing away from Qin Ming, speaking softly.

"The Hall Master's injuries have worsened; he may not last much longer. He instructed me to ask you to return."

"Various forces are eyeing us, and the Asura Hall needs someone to hold the fort."

"The only person who can support the Asura Hall and gain the trust of its tens of thousands of Blood Disciples is you."

...

She seemed to be talking to herself, or perhaps pleading with someone.

"Snap!" Qin Ming accidentally stepped on a branch, and the faint crack immediately caught the girl's attention.

She glanced at him indifferently, not really caring. But Qin Ming's appearance was too striking, and she looked back at the courtyard.

Qin Ming tightly gripped three flying knives, electric sparks dancing around him, the bright light illuminating his sharp and handsome face. He narrowed his eyes, alert to the girl and his surroundings, and approached the warehouse. "Miss, you must have come to the wrong place. Men's rooms can't be entered casually, let's talk outside?"

The girl's face turned cold, about to attack, but a hoarse voice came from inside the warehouse: "Don't cause trouble here. It's late, I need to rest. Leave."

"Ancestor..." the girl was anxious.

But there was no more sound from inside the warehouse.

"For the Hall Master, for the Asura Hall, please reconsider seriously." The girl bowed and backed out of the warehouse.

Qin Ming finally saw the girl clearly. She was dressed in a black robe, revealing a stunning face. Her skin was like jade, her eyes like autumn water, her nose straight and high, her lips red and lustrous, truly a beauty that could topple cities, dreamlike and breathtaking. Even Qin Ming was slightly surprised; such a stunning beauty was rare.

Qin Ming was amazed by her beauty but could determine that this girl was definitely not from the Qingyun Sect.

The girl treated Qin Ming as if he were air, passing by him and leaving the courtyard, disappearing into the darkness like a fleeting shadow.

"Am I having a lucky day, seeing so many beauties?" Qin Ming looked back for a while, then at the warehouse, not too concerned. As long as she wasn't there to seek revenge, there was no need to pay attention.

"Old man, haven't you eaten all day?" Qin Ming lifted the stove lid, and the food he had made in the morning was still there, untouched and cold.

The old man was sitting in a corner of the warehouse, half asleep, the flickering candlelight casting his aged profile.

"I'll heat it up. Do you want to eat together? There's meat tonight." Qin Ming took a wild chicken from his waist, which he had accidentally caught during his training in the back mountain.

He didn't ask about the girl's identity or her purpose. He and the old man had an unspoken understanding; you don't ask, I don't tell, and it had been like this for eight years.

The old man lifted his eyelids but didn't speak.

Qin Ming took a bath, changed into clean clothes, and started a fire to cook, making a few vegetables and stewing the wild chicken.

The warm, fragrant aroma filled the simple warehouse.

"Smells good!! Old man, come and have some, it's like a midnight snack." Qin Ming called out to the old man.

The old man ignored him and continued to lie there.

"I'll eat first, I'll save some for you." Qin Ming was really hungry and started eating on his own.

But after a while, the old man got up and walked into the warehouse.

Qin Ming shrugged and continued eating. "Old man, I'm going out later, don't close the door yet."

He planned to go pick the Snake Heart Fruit at midnight, so it wouldn't be taken by the Medicine Mountain people.

But soon, the old man brought out a dark, large jar and sat at the wooden table: "Get two bowls."

"Alcohol?" Qin Ming raised an eyebrow, a bit surprised, but still got two bowls and a plate of pickled vegetables. It wasn't high-quality food, just the leftover vegetable roots Qin Ming usually pickled in a salt jar. Sometimes when he was too tired or busy, he would eat a few pickled vegetables with steamed buns.

The old man opened the jar, and a strong alcohol aroma filled the warehouse. He poured a bowl for himself and one for Qin Ming.

"Old man, are you in a bad mood?" Qin Ming looked at the clear, fragrant alcohol in the bowl, even more puzzled. What was going on tonight?

The old man raised the porcelain bowl and drank it in one gulp, his head tilted back, and he let out a long breath, then refilled his bowl.

Qin Ming shook the bowl and tried a big sip. Instantly, a strong, spicy taste filled his mouth, flowing down his throat and into his stomach.

It burned fiercely.

"Phew, this alcohol is strong." Qin Ming winced, having never drunk alcohol before. He quickly ate some vegetables to suppress the spicy, burning sensation.

The old man refilled his bowl and drank another full bowl.

Qin Ming had known the old man for eight years, and this had never happened before. Was it related to the girl? He looked at the alcohol in the bowl, took a deep breath, and drank it in one go. A wave of heat surged through his body.

But upon closer taste, the alcohol was actually quite good.

The old man refilled Qin Ming's bowl.

"Have some vegetables, here's a chicken leg." Qin Ming pushed the plate of food towards the old man.

The old and young man ate the simple meal together. Qin Ming occasionally spoke, but the old man remained silent, as he always did.

The girl hadn't left far. She was about to leave but stopped when she heard Qin Ming call out "Old man." She stood outside the warehouse in the rain, watching the shadows reflected in the window.

"Who is that boy?" Two black figures appeared before the girl, a man and a woman, both middle-aged and seemingly very powerful. The cold rain couldn't even wet their clothes, evaporating before it touched them.

The faces under their cloaks were shocked. The boy could actually sit and drink with him?

They couldn't believe their eyes. This old man had a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood behind him, with a notorious reputation. Who dared to sit with him?

"He's only at the Third Level of the Spirit Martial Realm, too weak." The girl thought Qin Ming was just a small servant, but how could a common servant dare to call him "Old man" and have the right to drink with him? Could this boy have another identity? But how could his strength be so weak?

The middle-aged man said solemnly, "No one in the Qingyun Sect, including the Sect Master, knows his identity. This servant probably doesn't know either, just treating him as an ordinary old man."

"He has been missing for ten years, and the world thought he was dead. If it weren't for the Hall Master's arrangement, we wouldn't have known he was still alive." The woman looked at the unmarked grave in the courtyard, sighing softly. The most lonely thing in the world is this.

The middle-aged man said, "The Asura Hall needs him to return, and he should shoulder this responsibility."

The woman snorted, "He refuses to return. What can you do? Force him to go? You know his character and strength. If he's unhappy, he can wipe us out with one hand."

The girl whispered, "Wait a bit longer. I believe he still has feelings for the Asura Hall."

"Miss, we took a great risk to come here and can't stay long. If the Qingyun Sect discovers us, we..."

"He won't make us wait long."