Chapter – 58
The Grand Competition
Having been refused so bluntly, Qin Mo felt a little embarrassed, but he didn’t really mind. He picked up a stone bowl, poured himself a cup, and drank on his own.
The stone chamber immediately fell into silence.
After an unknown amount of time, Qing Wei suddenly stood up. With her back to Qin Mo, she looked as though she were about to leave.
Qin Mo suddenly felt his heart tighten. A strong sense of danger spread toward him, but he didn’t move—he merely stood there, tense.
At that very instant, a flash of green light appeared in the stone chamber. It was Qing Wei’s sword, as fast as lightning, pointed straight at Qin Mo’s throat, stopping just a hair’s breadth away.
The two faced each other, just like that night in a certain cave in the Blackstone Mountains. Qin Mo looked at Qing Wei with a hint of fondness, while Qing Wei remained expressionless, seemingly unconcerned by the impropriety of his gaze. Compared to that night, however, her expression now was even colder.
Qin Mo had never considered entrusting his life to a strange woman he had met only twice. He did indeed like Qing Wei, but that was far from enough.
The reason he stood there, allowing Qing Wei to point her sword at his throat, was simple—he felt not the slightest killing intent.
Of course, he was still prepared. If he sensed even a trace of killing intent, he would unleash his full strength at once and snap the woman’s neck.
There was another reason as well: Qing Wei’s sword was truly fast—so fast that even Qin Mo felt a chill. But he believed that if a real fight broke out, he could split her in two before she even drew her sword, because his blade was faster.
None of those possibilities came to pass. The sword stopped just short of his throat. Qin Mo could clearly feel the dense sword intent, yet there was no killing intent at all.
Suddenly, the stone bowl in his hand cracked. Half of it fell to the ground with a crisp shattering sound, accompanied by splashing water.
The other half remained in his hand, which began to tremble slightly.
“Gulp.” Qin Mo swallowed, put on a frightened expression, and asked Qing Wei, “What are you doing?”
With a sharp clang, the green sword returned to its sheath, and the dense sword intent vanished with it.
Disappointment showed on Qing Wei’s face. This was the first time Qin Mo had seen a second emotion on her face, and he had never expected it to come from such a test.
Watching Qing Wei leave, Qin Mo finally let out a sigh of relief. Just then, her voice came from outside the door: “I hope you won’t disappoint me too much during the grand competition.”
Qin Mo did not answer. He merely walked to the doorway and quietly watched the green figure disappear. Only after a long while did he turn back and return to the stone chamber.
That’s right—this had been a test. Unfortunately, Qing Wei hadn’t succeeded.
In the entire tribe, perhaps only Qing Wei suspected that Qin Mo was the mysterious man in black, and only she dared to test him. Unfortunately, though her sword carried sword intent, it lacked killing intent.
When playing the role of the mysterious man in black, Qin Mo had made many preparations, but he hadn’t expected the first person to test him to be Qing Wei.
“Perhaps she’ll also be the last,” Qin Mo said with a bitter smile, then sat down on the stone bed to rest.
At this moment, Qing Wei did not return to her own stone chamber. Instead, she walked toward another, much larger one. She pushed the door open and poured some water, her expression still calm and indifferent.
But the water wasn’t for herself. She handed it to the tall man inside the room, then sat down quietly, as if waiting for something.
The man was Qin Lin. He took the water, drank a sip, and asked, “Satisfied with the answer?”
“Very disappointed,” Qing Wei replied, not looking at him, calmly gazing outside the door as if lost in thought.
This test had not been Qin Lin’s initiative, but Qing Wei knew that the tall man harbored the same doubts in his heart.
After this test, however, those doubts had completely vanished.
Thus, genuine disappointment appeared on Qin Lin’s face. He, too, had once hoped that Qin Mo might truly be the mysterious man in black.
Though that would mean enormous trouble, Qin Lin would have been happy to see it.
“I’m leaving,” Qing Wei suddenly stood up and walked toward the door.
Qin Lin shook his head, set the bowl on the table, and asked, “What do you think of him?”
It was a simple question, yet it made Qing Wei—who had already stepped outside—stop in her tracks. She understood the meaning clearly and replied, “Not much.”
“Can’t you give me an answer that’s a bit more satisfying?” Qin Lin said.
“Trying to satisfy others often means dissatisfying oneself. In that case, it’s better…” Qing Wei, still with her back turned, suddenly spun around at this point. Her face was as cold as ever. “…to let others be dissatisfied and let myself be at ease.”
Qin Lin was speechless. He said nothing more and did not stop her from leaving. Ever since she truly came of age, she had always been like this.
She hadn’t changed in all these years. Qin Lin understood Qing Wei even better than he understood Qin Mo, his own son. And for reasons he couldn’t quite explain, he felt a hint of heartache.
“If one day he can surpass me, perhaps I’ll be able to satisfy you once,” Qing Wei’s voice suddenly came from outside. She had already walked some distance away. “But you and I both know that’s impossible. So in this life, I would rather keep my green sword as my companion and seek nothing else.”
Hearing the first part, the ache in Qin Lin’s heart faded. But after hearing the latter part, the ache grew even stronger than before.
“Perhaps a miracle will appear,” Qin Lin said while gazing outside. By then, Qing Wei had long since departed.
Hammerstone Tribe once again fell into silence.
The Elders’ Hall was preparing for the upcoming promotions and matches. It was said that the winners would receive generous spirit stone rewards, as well as specially refined Cultivation-Enhancing Pills from the Elders’ Hall.
Thus, beneath the surface calm lay another kind of silent competition. Many warriors wanted to be promoted to Squad Leader, many Squad Leaders wanted to become Platoon Leaders, and likewise, many Platoon Leaders sought to advance to Centurion.
In contrast, very few Centurions aimed to become Thousand-Man Commanders.
According to the human military system, a one-star upper-grade tribe must have at least ten Thousand-Man Commanders, with one hundred Centurions beneath them.
Hammerstone Tribe, however, had only five Thousand-Man Commanders. That was why it could not advance to a one-star upper-grade tribe. If not for Qin Lin’s existence, it was questionable whether Hammerstone Tribe could even survive, let alone firmly suppress the surrounding eight tribes.
Therefore, every promotion competition for military ranks was extremely fierce. Hammerstone Tribe needed exactly this kind of intensity—only in such an environment could more and more powerful warriors emerge.
Although the human race had strong warriors who protected the weak, it never prohibited internal competition. Just as conflicts occurred among the nine great tribes, many conflicts also arose within Hammerstone Tribe itself.
Military rank was something every human envied. It represented not only honor and pride, but also proof of strength.
“I knew you wouldn’t disappoint me.” At the entrance of the Military Law Office, the Centurion looked at the records before him and smiled with relief.
This old man, who had overseen the Military Law Office since the tribe’s founding, was genuinely satisfied with Qin Mo. In less than three months, Qin Mo had completed a five-thousand-jin quota—something that would please any overseer of military law in any tribe.
Qin Mo had already submitted his first task, and now he had a second one: to hunt ten thousand jin within a year.
“Prepare yourself. I’m very much looking forward to your performance in the competition,” the Centurion said, patting Qin Mo on the shoulder. Anyone else would have felt their scalp tingle.
The entire tribe knew that the more amiable this old man appeared, the more serious he would be when it came time to deal with you.
Qin Mo naturally felt uneasy as well. This had nothing to do with strength; it was a fear forged since childhood.
In his memories, the man truly named “Qin Mo” had visited the Military Law Office countless times—so many that even Qin Mo, who had taken over this body, felt a chill.
The old man before him was weaker than Qin Mo in cultivation, yet Qin Mo still feared him, much like how people in his former world were instinctively in awe of the law.
“You’re not going to set some new target for me again, are you?” Qin Mo asked timidly.
He had never been ambitious. After coming to this world, certain reasons had changed some of his thinking—but only some.
He still disliked having goals imposed on him, and even more so being led around by the nose.
“I’m not your father. Why would I set goals for you?” the Centurion said, seeing through Qin Mo’s thoughts, and snorted. “Of course, if you lose too badly in the competition, I might have a nice little chat with you, reminisce about some heartfelt stories from these past years.”
At that, Qin Mo felt another wave of chills. He hastily excused himself and fled the Military Law Office. He had no desire to have a heart-to-heart talk with a septuagenarian—Qing Wei would be a different matter entirely.
What he didn’t expect was to run into someone the moment he left.
It wasn’t the chubby boy, but Qin Yu—the same one who had tried to vent his anger on him at the armory gate that day. The two locked eyes, both somewhat surprised.
“What a small world,” Qin Mo said with a smile.
Qin Yu, whose expression was already unpleasant, looked even worse upon hearing that. They had been sworn enemies since childhood, and even the current Qin Mo had inherited that completely.
“What are you being so arrogant about?” Qin Yu said coldly. “Even if you now have two thousand jin of strength, you’re merely qualified to be my opponent at best. After all, you’re just a white-blooded waste, while I possess the noble red bloodline.”
“Only qualified?” Qin Mo looked at him intently and noticed that Qin Yu had already broken through—he had opened eighteen acupoints. “Is that where your confidence comes from?”
Qin Mo was about to say that perhaps he would soon make Qin Yu understand how worthless that confidence was, but Qin Yu spoke first:
“Even that qualification is temporary. Before long, you’ll realize that you’re not even worthy of being my opponent anymore.”
“Because after some time, I’ll leave you far behind. You’ll understand that the gap between bloodlines is something that can never be bridged.”
With that, Qin Yu left arrogantly, not giving Qin Mo a chance to reply.
With his head held high, he looked exactly like a proud rooster.
