After finding a cave sufficiently far away, Bo Qing lied down and immediately fell asleep. The fight with Yuan Shang had taken a heavy toll on him, he needed to rest and recuperate. He was not worried that the clansmen would chase him, they needed to salvage whatever was left of the clan. Besides, he had shown a strong appearance when leaving, for all they knew he was still in peak form.

He slept for two days. Due to his purified body, most of his injuries had healed, but some still remained. Especially that direct hit Yuan Shang had landed, it would take at least a week to heal.

While doing some exercises, he went over his losses and gains. Although he couldn't take blessed spring sword, he still absorbed the remnants inside Yuan Shang. Having reached master rank, he could finally explore the world and attempt the ascension to rank three grandmaster!

Rank one purified the body, rank two purified the mind. Now he was pure enough to be a vessel for the remnants of the ancient god. To reach grandmaster level required an enormous amount of remnants, what he got from Yuan Shang was like a drop in a bucket. The fastest way to advance was to kill a grandmaster, but this was simply too difficult. The difference between a master and a grandmaster was like heaven and earth. This was why many stopped at rank two, only extraordinary people could ascend to rank three.

But this was far away. For now, the priority was finding the other members of his group. Sword Continent bordered Spear, Shield and Bow Continent. Currently, his rough location should be near Shield Continent.

It was a pity they couldn't come up with a method to locate each other after their possession. Everything happened too quickly, they could only resort to this method. But being alive was the most important, only then could he have a chance to try again. The world currently thought they were dead, they had to regroup and act quickly, before they were discovered. Otherwise, the ones that caused their failure would definitely kill them while they were weak.

Shield Continent was to the North. Unfortunately, he didn't remember which road was the fastest way there. This simple issue was fixed by asking a merchant in one of the many small villages surrounding Blessed Lake mountain. He also took some basic supplies. While his body needed a lot less water and food, it couldn't go without.

While inside the village, he spent a couple hours sitting on a bench, looking at the daily life of the people. A loving mother dragged around by her child. An old man haggling with a merchant for some fruit. A group of young men joking around and laughing together. Their existence was insignificant in the vastness of this world, their lives lost in the currents of time. As such, they were satisfied living in blissful ignorance, chasing worldly pleasure. He liked to think that he had a greater purpose, but wasn't he just like them? A mere ant seeking meaning in a meaningless existence.

He stood up. Even if his efforts were futile, even if he would eventually be devoured by history, how could he be satisfied with just giving up? If he failed, he would try again. If he died, it meant he wasn't strong enough.The greatest tragedy in life is not pursuing the ambition inside one's heart.

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His next destination was clear to him after he overheard some villagers talking: "Twin Tournament is approaching, this time I sent my son. Hopefully he'll do good enough to bring something back. " "Hahaha, that twig? You'll be lucky if he comes back in one piece."

Upon hearing this exchange, memories started pouring in. This Twin Tournament, he had participated in his past life. It was hosted by two grandmasters, one from Sword Continent, the other from Shield Continent. It was an annual competition between the two continents, an opportunity for young talents to rise to fame. It had generous rewards for those that did well, many would flock to it, trying their luck.

There was something else, something important to him. But he couldn't remember. He shook his head, there was no point in trying to remember, he had already tried many times.

He immediately set off to the border, where Twin Tournament would be held. Prize money would be awarded to the victorious, and financially he was doing terribly. Many merchants would also gather, there was a high chance he would find what he needed. After traveling for five days, he finally arrived. Surrounded by many small buildings was a large stadium.

He first walked to the reception. After giving a fake title, he received a circular stone. This was imbued with a small amount of remnants and acted as proof that he was a contestant. Almost anyone would be allowed to enter. One of the main goals of this tournament was to find promising talents and recruit them. The presence of two grandmasters deterred those with malicious intent.

He still had about three days until the main event started. His swords were damaged during the fight with Yuan Shang, so he went to a blacksmith. Most contestants would face the same situation, so there was an abundance of blacksmiths.

Honestly, he barely knew anything about forging, and that which he did was forgotten, only common knowledge remained. So he just picked the first one he saw and walked in. A middle-aged man turned to him and smiled: "Ah, a customer, welcome, with what can I help you?" He took out his swords: "Fix these, please." The blacksmith's face changed drastically: "Esteemed sir, these are rank two, I'm afraid I don't have the ability to repair these. Sir should look for Black Iron Forge, they have a forge master."

Bo Qing slapped himself, how could he forget! Only a rank two blacksmith could repair and forge rank two weapons. Forging was something very special, it was invented by the first humans. It was an ability unique to humans, no animal has ever been able to replicate this trait in history.

After finding the place, he once again took out his swords. A small, but muscular man with hair covering his entire face looked at them: "Yes yes, what beautiful swords, I can fix these. Show me your token, if it's your first time, it's free." Bo Qing took out the circular stone, and the hairy man quickly grabbed it. After tinkering with it, he returned it: "Young man, hand me your swords, I'll make these beauties shine again! Hehehe."

Bo Qing looked at the token, he sensed that some remnants disappeared. This was to prevent people from lying and getting their weapon endlessly repaired at different forges. He'd rather not let strangers touch his swords, but he had no choice. If he overused his weapons while damaged, they might get destroyed. That would truly be a waste.

He knew that there was little chance the blacksmith would do something to his swords. Twin Tournament was a major event, the ones in charge wouldn't allow accidents to occur. If weapons were tampered with or stolen, it would absolutely ruin their reputation. But even then, his heart still ached when his swords were taken away.

After waiting for about two hours, the blacksmith returned with his swords: "Here you go, they're as good as new now. Come back soon, I'll give you a discount, hehehe."

After that, he went out to train, further getting used to his body and swords. He could have rented a training hall, but why do that when a clearing in the woods would do just fine.

Three days quickly passed. As Bo Qing entered the main area, he sensed an buzzing atmosphe

re of excitement. The main event had begun!