Immortal Refiner

In the deep night of the borderlands, the howling gale seemed to finally tire, gradually ceasing its relentless swirl.

Under the bright moon hanging high in the sky, Li Qing, having finished washing his dinner bowl, returned to his tent.

He carried a thick tome under his arm, and only after entering the tent did he carefully take a cloth to wipe off the dust on its surface, finally revealing the four characters on the cover.

”Ancient Mystic Hammer Art”! Gu Xuan?

Li Qing slightly furrowed his brows. Wasn’t Master Gu’s name Gu Tianxing? Why was this hammer art named after Gu Xuan? ”Never mind, I’ll go to the World of Eternal Night to meditate and practice. After what happened this afternoon, no one should come looking for me tonight.”

Li Qing muttered to himself, then closed his eyes, holding the ”Ancient Mystic Hammer Art” in his hands.

After a long while, Li Qing’s figure in the tent gradually faded, eventually disappearing completely.

Sensing the change in temperature around him, Li Qing opened his eyes, his face showing signs of exhaustion.

Not only the temperature had changed, but the surrounding scenery as well, transforming from the endless sands of the borderlands to a peculiar small town.

”Whew!”

”This is even more exhausting than forging a few broadswords!”

In a classically decorated room, Li Qing let out a long breath.

This place was called the World of Eternal Night, a name Li Qing had given it himself. Ever since he was ten years old and could see his own lifespan, he had discovered that he could, in the quiet of the night, use his will to travel to this world of perpetual darkness.

However, this physical traversal was extremely exhausting, each journey consuming a great deal of energy.

When he first traversed here at the age of ten, he nearly collapsed from exhaustion. It was only in recent years that this condition had gradually improved.

Now seventeen, he had grown much stronger, but carrying physical objects during the traversal still placed a significant burden on him.

Through numerous journeys, Li Qing had discovered some unusual aspects of the World of Eternal Night.

For instance, the flow of time here was different from his original world. Three days in the World of Eternal Night equated to only one day in his original world.

This was why his blacksmithing skills had advanced so rapidly, all thanks to the practice and honing he did in this world.

”I have almost a full day here. I need to focus on comprehending the ’Ancient Mystic Hammer Art.’”

Li Qing cherished his time. Without catching his breath for long, he opened the ”Ancient Mystic Hammer Art” given to him by Master Gu and began to read.

The very first sentence resolved the doubt in his heart.

”This hammer art was passed down from our ancestor Gu Xuan. It is a martial art that combines physical conditioning with hammer techniques. Later, I, Gu Tianxing, became a blacksmith and modified this art, incorporating iron-forging techniques. It’s quite useful for a blacksmith to stay fit while working.”

Seeing this first paragraph, Li Qing couldn’t help but show excitement on his face.

Indeed!

His master and those extraordinarily strong soldiers in the army had indeed practiced martial arts! Otherwise, their incredible strength would be impossible to explain by normal means.

Li Qing still vividly remembered the time when he saw a commander in the army, during a public martial arts demonstration, lift a massive cauldron several centimeters off the ground!

At that moment, he was utterly amazed, while the other soldiers all clapped and cheered.

And now, he had finally obtained a martial arts manual!

Thank you, heavens... no, thank you, Master Gu, for this gift!

With an excited heart, Li Qing began to read this hammer art that had been passed down through countless generations.

Contrary to his expectations, the initial stage of this martial art taught him how to stand in a stance, known as the ”stance work”! ”If a person leaves the ground, they become like a rootless duckweed. At the moment of exerting force, both feet must be firmly planted on the ground.”

It must be said that this hammer art provided a very detailed explanation of how to generate and utilize force, making it particularly suitable for a beginner like Li Qing.

After spending about two hours, Li Qing had firmly memorized the basics of this hammer art.

Then he stepped out of his room, casually draped a cotton coat over himself, and went to the private courtyard outside. Bathed in the light of the crimson moon above, he began to practice his stance.

The air around him was cold, not because it was winter, but because in the World of Eternal Night, it was always this cold.

Li Qing’s first attempt at the stance lasted only about fifteen minutes before his legs began to tremble uncontrollably, as if he had just run several kilometers at full speed.

Thud! ”Ouch! Combining the mental techniques from the hammer art with the stance is so exhausting,” Li Qing exclaimed, wiping the sweat from his forehead, surprised by the difficulty of the basics.

”Indeed, martial arts like this are best practiced from a young age. For someone like me, who’s past that age, it’s just a matter of slowly grinding through with time.”

Fortunately, he wasn’t short on time.

After resting for a while, Li Qing got up again and started a new round of stance practice.

The second time, he lasted nearly twenty minutes before collapsing from exhaustion.

The third time, he lasted nearly thirty minutes.

The fourth time, he couldn’t hold on for more than five minutes. It was too exhausting! Drenched in sweat, Li Qing took off his cotton robe and clothes, sitting shirtless in the courtyard to rest.

His muscles were clearly defined, and sweat continuously dripped onto the ground.

Although the surrounding temperature was cold, he felt warm all over, with white steam rising from his body.

Just as he was about to start practicing again after a long rest, a clanging sound suddenly came from outside the courtyard.

”Damn it, Old An, don’t push your luck!”

”You dog, relying on your master’s power, get out of here! Tell the Yan family that my granddaughter will never marry into the Yan family!” an angry, elderly voice rang out.

”Then you and your granddaughter can starve to death. Offending the Yan family, see how you’ll survive in Blackrock City. You won’t get a single Dark Wheat Mushroom from now on!” the shrill voice shouted again.

Li Qing didn’t want to get involved or meddle in others’ affairs. He continued to half-close his eyes, regulating his breathing according to the ”Ancient Mystic Hammer Art.”

The World of Eternal Night was not a peaceful or harmonious place; in fact, it was even more chaotic than Maple Country.

Because it was perpetually night, food was scarce, and the population was sparse, with nine out of ten houses often empty.

Laws and regulations were mere empty talk. Everyone was already doing their utmost to avoid starvation, and no one was willing to expend even a bit of energy on others’ affairs.

Take the independent courtyard where Li Qing currently resided, for example. In truth, this courtyard wasn’t his. It was just that there were hardly any residents on this street.

He had moved in without any fuss, and no one bothered to question it.

Because of this situation, even when Li Qing disappeared for long periods from time to time, no one paid any attention.

Knock, knock, knock! Soon, there was a knock at the door. Li Qing, who had originally intended to ignore the outside world, furrowed his brows slightly.

In the end, he decided to open the door.

Creak~ The courtyard gate opened, revealing a thin, shifty-looking man standing outside.

”Yo! Master Li, you’re home. I’ve knocked on your door several times recently, and I’ve finally caught you.”

This man was Yan San, one of the lackeys of the Yan Family. Originally, he didn’t bear the surname Yan, but after gaining the Yan Family’s favor, he changed his surname to show his loyalty.

”Yan San, if you have something to say, just say it directly. Don’t beat around the bush,” Li Qing said indifferently.

Only then did Yan San get a clear look at Li Qing’s current state. He was shirtless, his body steaming with heat, and his muscles were extremely solid and well-defined.

A hint of wariness flashed in Yan San’s eyes before he switched to a fawning tone. ”Master Li, the Yan Family recently needs a batch of new farming tools for harvesting Dark Wheat Mushrooms. I was wondering if you’d be available. The payment will be the same as before—three sickles for half a pound of Dark Wheat Mushrooms!”

Dark Wheat Mushrooms were a specialty of the World of Eternal Night. For the common folk, they were basically the staple food.

As for this fungus that tasted like moldy wheat flour, Li Qing had no interest in it whatsoever.

He pondered for a moment before speaking. ”I heard that a few martial arts schools in Blackrock City went out of business recently, and the Yan Family managed to gather their martial arts manuals in exchange for a bit of food. I don’t want the Dark Wheat Mushrooms. Go ask the Yan Family if they’d let me borrow those martial arts manuals.”

This statement caught Yan San off guard, and a glimmer of delight flashed in his eyes.

In these times, who still practiced martial arts? It couldn’t put food on the table.

Those martial arts manuals gathering dust in the corners were practically worthless now.

Martial artists had big appetites, and even the Yan Family couldn’t afford to waste resources on raising so many fighters. Nowadays, no one practiced those martial arts manuals anymore.

”So Master Li is interested in martial arts? Leave it to me! I’ll make sure to get them for you!” Yan San said gleefully.

There weren’t many blacksmiths left in the city, and with the low yield of Dark Wheat Mushrooms, being able to use some useless items as payment was naturally the best option!

With that, Yan San hurriedly left the street.

Standing at the courtyard gate, Li Qing watched Yan San depart and couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

”Ah, I wasn’t cautious enough in handling this. I should have used a more subtle and tactful approach to get what I wanted.”

”But with the impending chaos at the border, there’s no other choice. Desperate times call for desperate measures, desperate times call for desperate measures.”

Returning to the courtyard, Li Qing engaged in deep self-reflection, continuously summarizing the areas where he could improve in his recent interaction with Yan San.

As a blacksmith forging in the city, his background was not something people would typically investigate.

However, in this era, it was unusual for someone to reject Dark Wheat Mushrooms and instead seek out obscure martial arts manuals. This would inevitably draw the attention of a few inquisitive minds.

Although it was unlikely that anyone would guess his secret of traversing between two worlds, it was still somewhat reckless.

TL/N: If you are liking the story so far, please let those spirit stones, comments and reviews pour in.

(End of the Chapter)

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