Pursuit of the Truth

He knew then, that the person who had appeared before him with the same method in Wind Stream Tribe and fought on equal grounds with Wu Sen was Su Ming.

He knew then, that the person who had placed his blood that was extracted from the center of his brows in his room when he had returned completely exhausted to Dark Mountain Tribe’s lodgings in Wind Stream Tribe, whose identity he had kept trying to figure out… was also Su Ming!

At that same moment, when he saw Su Ming’s back before him, in his dumbfounded state, he also saw the figure of the person who had been the center of everyone’s attention when he returned from the first stage of the test. That feeling was so incredibly familiar that he knew, he knew that that person… was also Su Ming!

All these thoughts appeared like thunderbolts in Bei Ling’s head. They were like lighting travelling through his mind. It made his body tremble. He did not dare to believe all of it, finding it hard to comprehend how it could be true. Su Ming had, at some unknown point of time, silently obtained such an amount of power that even Bei Ling had to look up to him.

In his memories, Su Ming was the one he had always been jealous of, whom he had treated with disdain in his heart, spoken to indifferently, so the change now threw his heart into a state of chaos.

That complicated feeling made him forget that he was still in the battlefield, surrounded by slaughter, and everything else around him. His head was completely blank, and he was at a loss.

”How could this be..?” Bei Ling mumbled. Chen Xin hugged him tightly, tears faling from her eyes. She did not see Su Ming, there was only Bei Ling’s pale face before her eyes and the sight of his back standing before her like a mountain.

This might seem to have happened slowly, but in truth, the moment Su Ming’s spear stirred up the wave of Qi on the ground, and the body of the man with the knife exploded, Su Ming took a leap forward. His speed left behind an afterimage that rushed towards the person who was pushed back by the wave of Qi. That person was in his fifties, but he was only at the fifth level of the Blood Solidification Realm.

He only managed to take a few steps back when his vision blurred. His pupils immediately shrank, and he was about to retreat backwards when he felt a strong sense of danger. But Su Ming was just too fast. Before the man managed to retreat, he closed in on the him just as a loud booming sound reverberated through the air. There was a vicious expression on Su Ming’s face, and it was filled with furious murderous intent. He did not use his fists, but his entire body, and crashed into the man’s chest.

Rumbling sounds echoed in the air. Blood trickled down the man’s lips. His back exploded abruptly, because his body could not bear the incredible force brought by Su Ming’s attack. In an instant, all the bones in his body were crushed. His body was thrown to the back, and before he even landed on the ground, he breathed his last.

The hate in Su Ming’s eyes did not decrease. It only became much stronger. He hated everyone from Black Mountain Tribe. He turned around suddenly and fixed his eyes on the last of the three Warriors from Black Mountain Tribe who had wanted to kill Bei Ling. He was standing not too far away from Su Ming.

That person was sturdy looking, but he was not tall. The vicious smile and excited look he had when he wanted to kill Bei Ling was now gone. That smile was replaced with a horrified look on his face, and his eyes were filled with terror. He could only watch in shock as Su Ming killed a person with a throw of his spear, and then another with his body.

The quick and clean kills made the man feel as if Su Ming was surrounded by cruelty and madness. His heart pounded against his chest. When Su Ming turned his eyes towards him, he immediately let loose a terrified scream and retreated without care for anything. He was afraid. In his mind, Su Ming was definitely at the same level as the leaders in Dark Mountain Tribe. This was not someone who he could fight with.

Yet before the man could even take three steps backwards, a sharp cry cut through the air. An arrow travelled from the distance, seeming to slice through the air. It closed in on the man in an instant and pierced through his neck before sinking into the tree behind him with his blood on its body. The arrow thumped upon contact, causing the tree to jolt.

The man held his neck, but blood continued pouring from his wound. His eyes dimmed, and he fell to the ground. His corpse was soon trampled by all the Warriors who were still trying to kill those from the opposite tribe.

In the distance, the exhausted Head of the Guards quickly turned his gaze away and continued fighting against the leader from Black Mountain Tribe, who was at the eighth level of the Blood Solidification Realm.

Su Ming walked towards Bei Ling and stopped before him, then pulled Blood Scales out from the ground. Once he managed to free it, something flickered in his eyes. He was about to continue fighting against those from Black Mountain Tribe when he heard Bei Ling’s voice, filled with conflict and hesitation, travel into his ears.

”Thank you…”

The voice was caught between the sounds of battle and the moans of the xun. It sounded weak. Su Ming did not seem to hear it. Once he pulled out his spear, he walked away. Yet, he only took a few steps forward before faltering.

”It already happened, so let it go… You have to live for Chen Xin…” Su Ming said,, then bounded towards the crowd closest to him fighting against each other.

The moment Su Ming sped forward, an aloof look from the barricade far away from him turned towards him. That gaze belonged to a man wearing a sackcloth. He seemed to be in his forties. His body was incredibly strong and looked like an iron tower. He was covered in fresh blood, but most of it belonged to the Berserkers from Dark Mountain Tribe.

The strength of his Qi spoke of a man at the eighth level of the Blood Solidification Realm. His power was about the same as Ye Wang’s, who had fought against Su Ming some time ago.

The moment he looked towards Su Ming, that man lifted his right hand. There was a long knife made of bone in his hand. The moment he swung that knife down, he decapitated a Warrior from Dark Mountain Tribe who was fighting against him.

That tribe member did not even have time to trigger the explosion of his blood veins. His head was caught by that man, and he threw it towards where he had seen Su Ming.

The head fell by Su Ming’s feet, blood flowing from the severed neck. The blood dyed the snow red, and the heat from the blood quickly melted the snow into a puddle of blood and water.

Su Ming stopped and lifted his head in the direction the head had come from. His eyes met with the other’s through the crowd, and Su Ming saw the cruelty and aloofness in the man’s eyes. The man too, saw Su Ming’s madness and killing intent in his bloodshot eyes.

The moment their gazes met, the man moved. He rushed towards Su Ming, just as Su Ming stomped on the ground and charged at the man just as quickly!

The man wore a sackcloth, not beast skins, which indicated that his status in Black Mountain Tribe was rather high. If Su Ming could kill that person, then it would definitely deal a heavy blow on Black Mountain Tribe’s morale.

The moment the man moved, due to his status, it immediately attracted the attention of a lot of people from Black Mountain Tribe who were engaged in battle. It was as if he stirred up their morale, and the Warriors let out strange cries as they rushed forward and continued their massacre.

The two people closed in on each other, and within an instant, they clashed with a loud bang and engaged each other in an intense battle to the death.

Yet at that moment, right in the forefront of the Dark Mountain Tribe, their tribe leader coughed out blood. His face was pale as he staggered back. Before him, more than half of the people from Black Mountain Tribe had died, but a man who wore black robes similar to those the two who had fought against the elder earlier appeared. With an astonishing force, he injured the tribe leader in one move and forced him to move back.

The man’s, who was dressed in black robes, eyes were blank, but there was a hint of bloodlust within them. He took a large step forward, and behind him, there were two other Berserkers from Black Mountain Tribe. They rushed towards the retreating tribe leader. By the looks of it, they wanted to kill the injured tribe leader with just one move. The other Warriors who fought beside the tribe leader previously had all self-destructed. He was left alone in the front.

Just as the tribe leader seemed as if he could not escape from death, and the people behind him let out cries of anger and sadness, one person suddenly rushed out from the crowd. That man was an elderly person. He was Dark Mountain Tribe’s Nan Song!

The moment he stepped forward, he let out a light sigh and stomped the ground with his right foot. It did not produce a loud sound, but the man in black robes who had attacked the tribe leader and was currently in pursuit of his life trembled suddenly and staggered. As shock appeared on his face, Nan Song walked out before the old man. With his skinny right arm, he swung his fist forward, completely stopping the man’s footsteps. These two people engaged in battle right before the tribe.

Yet there were two other Berserkers by the side of the man dressed in black robes. One of them, who held a big bow in his hands, was the Head of the Guards from Black Mountain Tribe. This person might have been surprised by Nan Song’s appearance, but with the man dressed in black around, he gritted his teeth and continued chasing after Dark Mountain Tribe’s tribe leader. There was cruelty and excitement in his eyes. He could already imagine the glory he would gain in the tribe the moment he killed Dark Mountain’s tribe leader and obtained his head.

The tribe leader smiled brokenly. He was still several dozens of feet away from the crowd protected by the light of the statue. At that moment, he knew that he could not go back.

Nonetheless, there was no regret in his eyes. There was only reluctance. He did not regret dying in battle. He was the tribe leader. Dying in battle for the tribe was a feat of glory. But he did not want to leave them… He did not want to leave the tribe so soon. He had to bring his people to a safe place…

Su Ming saw the danger the tribe leader was in, as did many other people. Yet under the vicious assault by Black Mountain Tribe, no one could rush over to help him. After all, the tribe leader’s life from Dark Mountain was in question. All the Warriors of Black Mountain Tribe started blocking the other Warriors’ path excitedly, trapping each and every single one of them so that they could not save their tribe leader.

Su Ming wanted to rush over, but the man wearing the sackcloth from Black Mountain Tribe sneered coldly, blocking Su Ming’s path and causing him to be unable to rush over. He did not even have the chance to throw his long spear.

At that moment, when Dark Mountain Tribe’s tribe leader could no longer avoid death, dozens of normal teenagers came to the barrier’s edge closest to the tribe leader and stood before the crowd whilst under the protection of the statue.

These teenagers trembled. They were a useless bunch in the tribe. They did not possess the Body of Calamity, nor did they have strong bodies. Usually, while the tribe was busy working, they would be hanging around doing nothing because they were the family members of Warriors who once died in battle. It made them think that they were somehow priveleged, and no matter what they did, as long as they did not betray the tribe, they could live that way forever.

They never forgot the glory their families once had, but they did not choose to inherit the responsibility that came with the glory. Instead, they chose to let the protection offered by the glory be an excuse for their laziness and arrogance.