Chapter 91: Crossing the Long River of Time to Meet You

It took Jiang Qin a full hour to finally tidy up the wooden cabin.

Although it still looked dilapidated, it was far better than before. There was a vegetable plot in front of the cabin and the kitchen still had some grain, enough to last until the next harvest.

He truly did not know how many more trials like this he would have to endure before earning the Human Dao Sword's recognition.

Just as that thought surfaced in Jiang Qin's mind.

His hand grew heavy. He gripped it on instinct and looked down, his numb expression fading into surprise.

Because at that moment the Human Dao Sword was in his grasp. But compared to the golden radiance it had in Cangling's hands, the blade was now covered in cracks, dull and lusterless — a broken sword through and through.

Stranger still, he discovered that a faint connection had formed between him and the Human Dao Sword.

This connection was strikingly similar to a blood-bond.

He had not yet completed all the trials — why would the Human Dao Sword…

Afterward Jiang Qin spent some time studying it, but even as the sky darkened, he could find nothing unusual about the sword. Apart from that vague connection, it seemed to be an ordinary blade.

"Forget it. I'll cook first."

Jiang Qin set the broken sword on the table, turned, and walked into the kitchen, skillfully starting the fire to prepare a meal.

After that day, aside from planting and harvesting vegetables, Jiang Qin spent every day studying the broken sword. After three months, he finally figured some things out.

Every time he recalled the experiences of those outstanding figures of Cangling, a crack on the blade would vanish.

And also… unlike before, when he could move about freely.

The moment he tried to leave the cabin beyond a twenty-meter radius, an invisible barrier would block him.

So Jiang Qin guessed that this trial might not be about waiting to die of old age, but about repairing the cracks in the blade.

Once every crack on the blade was mended, he would likely be able to leave this illusory space. So he began recalling those memories every day.

The seasons turned, and three years passed in a flash.

During this time, people did pass through the area, but they seemed completely unable to see the cabin, nor perceive Jiang Qin's existence — as if they existed in a different dimension.

Until one day, a reckless little girl broke into the cabin's range.

The little girl, dressed in clothes covered with patches, gazed curiously at the young man lying in the chair. It was her first time seeing such a strange chair — one that actually rocked back and forth.

"Big brother, your chair is amazing! Can I have a try sitting in it?"

A childish voice rang out beside his ear.

Jiang Qin opened his eyes, turned his head to look at the little girl who had appeared beside him at some unknown moment. Surprise flashed in his eyes, but it quickly faded. The flood of memories had, at some point, made his emotions a little colder.

"You can see me?"

"Can't I see you? You're so weird."

Seeing the curiosity in the girl's eyes, Jiang Qin stood up, gave the rocking chair to the little girl, and turned to walk into the cabin.

After all, once the trial ended everything would vanish, and there was no need for them to know each other.

But from that day on, the little girl came running over every day. Sometimes she would fight Jiang Qin for the chair, sometimes she would sit obediently beside him and tell him about things happening in the tribe.

The current era was already the period after the great war between the Cangling Human Race and the gods.

Human civilization had regressed several hundred years, falling from a feudal ruling era back to a tribal one. Not a single person remembered the empire once founded by Cangling's First Ancestor, because the heavens had erased their memories.

At this time, the heavens were still trying to brainwash humanity, and Fierce Beasts had not yet appeared in the world.

The land was ravaged and scarred.

The little girl called herself "Ya Ya." Her tribe was the Heavenly Wolf Tribe, with a population of only about a hundred.

The tribe was mostly elderly, so the young and able-bodied had to form a Hunting Team every day to go out and hunt for food. Food was distributed according to contribution, and even with such hard work, it was only barely enough to sustain the tribe's basic survival.

In the blink of an eye, another ten years passed.

Through Jiang Qin's tireless daily efforts, the cracks on the broken sword were nearly fully repaired.

"Brother Jiang Qin!"

Right on time, Ya Ya's clear, bright laughter rang out from outside the cabin.

Over those ten years, the little girl had grown into a young woman, much more mature than before.

Ya Ya pushed open the door and walked in from outside, sitting herself down at the dining table. "Brother Jiang Qin, you didn't finish telling me about that other world yesterday. What happened to those people who fought the Fierce Beasts later? They must have won, right?"

"I don't know either."

"Hmph, what the heck… got my hopes up for nothing all night."

After saying that, Ya Ya sighed, but soon a flicker of dejection crossed her face.

Jiang Qin noticed her mood was off today, so he asked, "What happened?"

Ya Ya did not hide it. In low spirits, she began, "Recently a lot of refugees have come to the tribe. They say the Evil God is transforming humans, and the monsters he's made are killing people everywhere. My dad yesterday was…"

From her words, it was not hard to deduce that the gods' plan to turn humans into Fierce Beasts had already begun.

Perhaps due to some rule in place, the gods could not directly harm the humans of Cangling Jie, and could only unleash natural disasters to indirectly slaughter them. Because of this, the Cangling Human Race still had many survivors at this time.

After a brief moment of grief, Ya Ya's gaze grew firm.

"Brother Jiang Qin, I've decided. Once I turn sixteen in two more years, I'm going to join the Hunting Team and kill monsters to avenge my dad!"

Jiang Qin did not doubt her resolve.

Throughout history, nothing drives a person to strive and grow more than the power of hatred.

Ya Ya did not stay long before leaving. According to the tribe's rules, although children her age could not join the Hunting Team, they still had to go out and forage for food.

After she left, Jiang Qin returned to the bedroom.

He pulled back the blanket and picked up the dull, lusterless Human Dao Sword from the bed.

At this point, apart from one last crack near the hilt, the blade of the Human Dao Sword was flawless. But no matter how Jiang Qin tried to recall, he could not mend that final crack.

Night fell.

As was his custom, Jiang Qin closed his eyes. This time, in his unconscious dream, he no longer dreamed of those sages of Cangling Jie, but of his own past — every experience from transmigrating to Lanxing, to everything he had gone through along the way.

Those people he could not forget, those things too hard to let go of.

Having fallen into slumber, he did not notice that the Human Dao Sword resting in the corner — the crack on its hilt was slowly healing under the effect of certain specks of light, and those memory specks of light had come from Jiang Qin himself.

When the crack was fully repaired, Jiang Qin, who lay on the bed, suddenly dissolved… and was absorbed by the sword.

At this moment, the Human Dao Sword bloomed forth into its true form.

Jiang Qin's Thunder Dragon Dharma Image transformed into golden dragon patterns engraved upon the sword's body.

The Slash Domain resonated with the sword, its ability fully merging with the Human Dao Sword — from this point on, the Human Dao Sword could cut through anything!

A soul phantom, invisible to the naked eye, drifted through the room.

In soul form, Jiang Qin had taken in the entire scene that had just occurred; the shock in his eyes was impossible to hide, and he clearly perceived the changes in his body.

Before, he had been unable to sense Spirit Energy, so he could not employ his Dharma Image nor the abilities of his Talismans, yet now he could feel them with perfect clarity.

And just now, his Slash Domain had vanished!

The Dharma Image had likewise merged into the Human Dao Sword.

In an instant, Jiang Qin understood many things — he knew why he had appeared in this wooden cabin.

All the doubts he had harbored before had now been answered.

"So that's how it is — the trial actually… ended long ago!"

The trial had long since ended.

But the reward for passing the trial was not granting him power — it was sending him across the river of Time to arrive in the Cangling Jie of several hundred years ago!

This possibility was utterly absurd.

Yet after eliminating every other possibility, this most impossible one was the truth!