Pursuit of the Truth

The first voice came from within the house under the big tree at the edge of the snow plains and from the Phantom Claw that was extending from the sky.

The second voice… came from Tian Xie Zi.

”You’re exactly right. Bloody hell, are you brats done fooling around?” Tian Xie Zi was wearing a long white robe and a black hood covering his head which only revealed his eyes and mouth, making him look… very odd.

When his words were said, not only did it not make the Phantom Claw from the sky that was working on catching second senior brother stop, it made him move even faster. In an instant, it closed on second senior brother. Yet the moment it got closer, second senior brother did not move. A black bundle of smoke suddenly appeared out of nowhere before him.

That black smoke’s presence seemed similar to second senior brother’s, but in truth, it was completely different. As the black smoke gathered together, a man walked out from within it.

That man’s skin was completely black, and he was 20 feet tall. Like a giant, he stood before second senior brother, and with a ferocious sneer on his lips, he hurled a punch towards the incoming Phantom Claw.

That person was one of the 300 slaves that eldest senior brother owned!

He was constantly lusting for blood and held a crazed desire for slaughter. When he attacked, his fist immediately crashed against the Phantom Claw. A shocking boom reverberated in the air, and the Phantom Claw was forced back several dozens of feet, but the man also trembled and coughed out a mouthful of blood.

Yet even though he had just vomited blood, he was not weakened, instead, he became even more excited. He lifted his head and roared before charging towards that Phantom Claw. As he moved forward, that person lifted his right hand and slammed it against his chest.

”Nine Li Tribe1 relic, Forbidden Curse: Blood Swamp!”

When he slammed his palm against his chest, his body… was bizarrely torn apart!

His arms, legs, head, and body were all instantly split up from each other and turned into wisps of black smoke. As those wisps moved forward, they merged together and turned into a black vortex. Low growls could be heard coming from within it.

That sound seemed to have come from the depths of hell itself and was filled with a desire to slaughter the living and exuded an air of madness. When it got close to the Phantom Claw, a blood-red hand stretched out from within the depths of the vortex. That hand had no skin, only flesh and bone, and there were numerous runic symbols marking its flesh. That hand seized the Phantom Claw and pulled.

The two different hands clashed together in midair and both used the strongest power they could muster against each other. With a loud boom in the sky, a shrill cry echoed in the air, and the Phantom Claw was ripped apart. The ripped portion of the Claw was then dragged into the vortex.

At the same time, the vortex trembled and chewing sounds could be heard from within. Soon, the vortex dissolved into black smoke once again, and when they merged together, they turned into the man once more.

The man coughed out a huge mouthful of blood, then laughed maniacally towards the sky as he wiped off the blood from the corners of his lips and smeared it on his chest.

The Phantom Arm that had lost its hand swiftly vanished into the dark sky. At the same time, an angry voice came from the ice house located at the edge of the snow plains. ”Tian Xie Zi, what is the meaning of this?!”

The hooded Tian Xie Zi lifted his head and cast a glance at Su Ming’s second senior brother. ”Second, get down here!”

Second senior brother’s expression was calm and he slowly descended onto the ground to stand beside Su Ming. Once he did so, he bowed respectfully towards Tian Xie Zi.

”And you, the eldest told you to come, right? Get down here!”

The dark skinned man glared at Tian Xie Zi and looked as if he was just about to go against his words when he seemed to remember something. That rebelliousness instantly turned into obedience and he moved to stand beside Tian Xie Zi.

Su Ming hesitated for a moment before said softly, ”Master…”

”Shut up!” Tian Xie Zi glared at Su Ming and pointed at him, at his second senior brother, then at the dark skinned man as well. Anger appeared on his face, and it did not seem fake. Tian Xie Zi was truly and absolutely livid. ”Look at what you’ve done. Have you grown a pair now, hah?! Are you done fooling around?!”

Just as Tian Xie Zi was giving his disciples a piece of his mind, that old voice once again came from the house at the edge of the snow plains.

”Tian Xie Zi, you must be held accountable for what happened to Phantom Dais Tribe this time!”

Tian Xie Zi did not even glance back to acknowledge the voice. He simply continued glaring at Su Ming and the others. That enraged expression of his made Su Ming instinctively look at second senior brother by his side.

Second senior brother lowered his head and did not speak.

”What are you doing? Tell me, exactly what are you doing?! You ran to other peoples’ tribe and started fighting and killing them, is it fun? Come on, tell me! Are you done fooling around?!

”Bloody hell, I’ve been following you brats all the way, and I can’t watch this anymore!” Tian Xie Zi roared loudly.

”Are you people even stirring up trouble? Are you even killing? Is this what you call breaking into someone else’s tribe? Do people even break into other tribes like this?! There’s not even an ounce of grandness in what you just did! You piss me off! Watch, I’ll teach you right now exactly what it means to break into a tribe and what it means to be arrogant!”

Tian Xie Zi’s anger did not fade, but instead, his voice grew louder as he continued speaking, and he looked absolutely disappointed that they did not live up to his expectations. The only thing missing was him pounding his chest in exasperation.

A voice burning with anger almost at the same intensity as Tian Xie Zi’s rage shot out from within the ice house at the edge of the snow plains. ”Tian Xie Zi!”

”Who? What did you just call me? I’m definitely not that brilliant, handsome, extraordinary, powerful, strapping, and what else is there… wise, valiant and all the other things you can think of Tian Xie Zi!” Tian Xie Zi immediately turned his head around and looked at the house in the distance before he patted his chest with a proud look on his face.

”Just how in the world could you mistake me for Tian Xie Zi? It’s a pity, but I’m not him!” Tian Xie Zi blinked and quickly retorted.

”That’s enough, Tian Xie Zi. You and your disciples trespassed into my tribe…”

Before that old voice even finished speaking, a piercing shout that was much louder than it spilled out from Tian Xie Zi’s mouth.

”I’m not Tian Xie Zi! I’m really not Tian Xie Zi!” Tian Xie Zi shouted out with a nervous expression on his facebefore taking a step forward and grabbing one of the Phantom Dais tribe members who was kneeling down and worshipping in the direction of the house. He lifted him up as if he was lifting up a small creature, and with bloodshot eyes, he stared fixedly at the person who was so scared he was stunned.

”Tell me, am I Tian Xie Zi?!”

That Phantom Dais tribe member shook his head rapidly, his body trembled.

A smile instantly appeared on Tian Xie Zi’s face and he tossed the Phantom Dais tribe member to the side.

”Tian Xie Zi, you’ve gone overboard!”

A furious howl came from within the house, and the big tree beside the house suddenly started twisting and moving bizarrely. The black leaves on its branches fell off, and as they floated down, they turned into eighteen Phantom Shadows that looked like young boys. With savage looks on their faces, those boys opened their mouths so wide they looked as if they were about to split their heads open and turned into thick black smoke that charged towards Tian Xie Zi.

Tian Xie Zi widened his eyes, rage burning within them.

”I’m not Tian Xie Zi, damn it! I’m not Tian Xie Zi!”

As he spoke, he took a step forward and was just about to rush towards the eighteen Phantoms when he suddenly stopped, turned his head back, and glared at Su Ming and the others.

”What are you doing? We’re going together! Are you actually thinking of letting me attack alone?!”

Second senior brother’s eyes sparkled and he was the first to rush out. In the blink of an eye, he passed Tian Xie Zi. A dark smile appeared on his lips and an aloof look settled in his eyes.

The second person to rush out was the dark skinned man. With a bloodthirsty look on his face, the man let out bizarre cries and charged forward like a gust of black wind.

Su Ming may have been the last to move, but with his speed, he only needed one step before he arrived in front of the others. With the Divine General Armor covering his body, the chimes from Han Mountain Bell, and his Origin Lightning, the dark sky started rumbling thunderously.

His Origin Vessel, the strange fragment that was formed within Su Ming’s body after he refined lightning in the past, was letting out lightning sparks that no one could see. They spread all over Su Ming’s body, causing rumbling bolts of lightning to shoot out in all directions.

Tian Xie Zi grinned, then lifted his right hand and waved it before him. Instantly, a layer of fog appeared before him. That fog rolled about as if it was a gigantic wave and rushed forward. All the ice houses in its path exploded, and the people who did not manage to evade were swept into the white fog, screaming in terror. As the white fog moved forward, it turned into a gigantic ball about hundreds of feet in size.

It charged towards that house by the edge of the snow plains with loud booming sounds.

The instant that gigantic ball of fog got close to the house, an old man with white hair walked out from within and pressed his hand against the ball of fog. Right then, Tian Xie Zi’s body suddenly vanished. When he reappeared, he was within that fog, and he hurled a punch towards that old man.

”I’m not Tian Xie Zi!” One punch!

”I’m really not Tian Xie Zi!” Another punch!

”Damn you! Even if I die, I won’t admit it!” And another one!

Booming sounds reverberated in the air. The white-haired old man resisted the blows with an angry face, but he was repeatedly forced back until eventually, Tian Xie Zi hurled out a punch that caused that house to burst into pieces.

The white-haired old man was pushed to the cliff of the snow plains under Tian Xie Zi’s relentless punches. Then with a low growl and one final punch, the old man was sent flying off the snow plains!

”Third, Fourth, do you see it now? If you kill someone but don’t destroy their houses, can you still call it breaking into a tribe? What you did was fooling around! This is the real deal!”

A proud look appeared on Tian Xie Zi’s face and he turned his head back to look at Su Ming and the others, who were fighting against the eighteen Phantom Shadows.

”Tian Xie Zi, you lunatic!”

The white-haired old man was floating in the air beyond the snow plains, and he was in a sorry state. His clothes were torn, his hair was messy, and blood was running down his mouth.

A vicious look appeared on his face.

Tian Xie Zi was stunned for a moment when he heard the old man’s words before his expression instantly changed to one of agitation. His eyes even became bloodshot.

”Lunatic? I’m not a lunatic! I’m not!”

Tian Xie Zi took one step forward and started shouting at the old man, ”I’m really not a lunatic! I’m not… I’m not crazy!”

There was a hurt look on his face, along with agitation, and even terror, which seemed to have come from having someone discover his secret.

”I’m not a lunatic! I’m already cured! I’m really not crazy!”

As if he had sunk into hysteria, Tian Xie Zi rushed towards the old man in one step. By the looks of it, he wanted to catch that old man to prove something.

The old man’s eyes widened, and terror appeared within them.

Su Ming stood in the distance laughing wryly, and he could only laugh wryly...

Translator’s notes:

This one is interesting. The Nine Li Tribe is an ancient legendary Chinese Tribe, who are also the ancestors of the Miao Tribe. The Nine Li Tribe led by Chiyou were insanely good at fighting and making weapons, but were defeated in the end. Most of their story can be found in the Battle of Zhuolu. The words for Nine Li are 九 (jiu3) and 黎(li2) respectively. The word 九 is nine, and 黎 is actually a surname. Nine Li is actually composed of nine tribes, and the family names of each of the leaders of these tribes were Li. Now then, I searched through the English wikipedia pages and some other sources regarding the Battle of Zhuolu, Nine Li, and Chiyou, and there is one piece of information missing from these English sites compared to the Chinese sites that have information regarding the Nine Li Tribe and Chiyou, one that can be considered as a spoiler [or maybe I missed it when I was searching through the English sites, who knows]. So for the readers who understand Mandarin and who have somehow stumbled across that information, for the love of God and all things cute, please don’t spoil eldest senior brother’s background.