Pursuit of the Truth

At the instant the sword flew out, the sword aura that raged through the entire world swiftly reverberated in the air. As Beiling pointed forward, a black and white glow shot out from the sword and charged towards Su Ming with a howl.

”This punch is your punishment for hurting my senior brother!”

Su Ming’s fist crashed into that small sword. A rumbling sound shot through the air, a wave of impact spread out. Beiling coughed up blood once again and took a few steps backwards. As his face turned pale, he saw Su Ming standing in his spot. He did not even budge a single inch. Instead, he unfurled his fist and casually grabbed the black and white small sword.

”Beiling, your strongest forte isn’t the sword, but the arrow! You don’t use swords like this…”

Su Ming shook the small sword in his grip a little, and his divine sense abruptly rose up to fuse with his powerful will before he sent it charging into the small sword. A shrill sword whistle shot out from the sword, as if it wanted to struggle against him and was calling for its master.

However, that sword whistle did not last for more than ten breaths before it died away, and as Su Ming gave that sword a light wave, it grew to be three feet long. As he held the sword in his hand, his comprehension towards swords, which Hong Luo had gained as part of his inheritance as a member of the Immortals’ royalty and which Su Ming had inherited from him, emerged in his head.

This was a way of wielding the sword. However, Hong Luo himself did not use swords, and that was why he did not practice this skill. Su Ming had also tested it out with the small virescent sword before, but the sword had been unable to handle this different manner of control.

At that moment, as he held Beiling’s sword in hand, Su Ming took a step forward and closed in on his opponent in an instant. He swung his sword towards him!

Beiling continued retreating. At that moment, his eyes were sparkling as he lifted his right hand to form a few seals before he moved his left hand to seize the afterimages left behind by those seals. A low growl fell from his lips.

”Explosion from the Crushed Seal!”

As those words were spoken and Beiling relaxed his left hand, a long string of loud rumbling sounds immediately came from in front of him. They sounded like muffled thunder claps. Turning into a wave of impact, they rushed towards Su Ming.

He remained calm. At the instant that impact came towards him, he lifted his left hand and flicked the sword. It started trembling violently, and a piercing hum sounded in the air. The sharp hum turned into a wave of sound that crashed into the rumbling sounds. The space between them instantly collapsed and shattered, turning into a void that could absorb anything.

At the same time, Su Ming bit the tip of his left hand. When blood flowed out, he smeared it on the body of the sword, and a murderous aura swiftly rose from it. Holding the sword in his hand, he swung it towards Beiling in a violent lash-like swing, as there were hundreds of feet between them. A hum sounded in the air, and a red glare was flung out of the sword to swiftly strike Beiling in a whipping motion. When he coughed up blood, Su Ming shook his head and let go of the weapon in his hand.

A fine crack appeared on the sword. There were few swords in the world that could withstand this extreme vibration caused by that one flick before they turned into a wave of sound and that lash that was as flexible as a whip. Even Beiling’s sword had begun sporting cracks.

If it had been Su Ming’s virescent sword, that full-force flick would have been enough to make it explode. This Art was also supposed to be cast with the Nine Transfigurations, Ten Transformations, and One Voice Art, according to Hong Luo’s inheritance. By then, the effects of this strike would be incredibly terrifying.

Once Su Ming let go of Beiling’s sword, he lifted his right foot and moved forward, then stomped the ground before him!

With that one step, the world rumbled. The clouds above them churned, and the illusion of a huge footprint gathered together before charging towards Beiling with an astonishing presence.

A loud bang rang in the air, and Su Ming lifted his foot again. Once he took seven consecutive steps forward, the clouds in the whole sky started tumbling violently. The banging sounds continued nonstop, and Beiling coughed up fresh blood once again. As he fell back, his hair spilled all over his shoulders, betraying his pathetic state. The cold look on his face was no longer around, replaced by disbelief and dumbfounded shock.

Once Su Ming took those seven steps, he appeared before Beiling, then lifted his right hand and slapped the other’s right arm. Rumbling sounds echoed in the air, and Beiling’s right arm was torn to bloody pieces, splattering his already gravely wounded body.

Su Ming did not stop. He tapped Beiling’s left arm, and the man’s left arm was shattered, with blood spilling into the air. There was deep gash on Beiling’s chest and his arms were a bloody mess. At that moment, his injuries were the exact same as those of Hu Zi.

Su Ming lifted his right hand, and as his opponent staggered backwards, he grabbed Beiling’s throat. As he looked at this person silently, the complicated look from before appeared on his face once again.

”Su Ming!”

An anxious voice called out to him. It was Chenxin. She had traveled to this place without care for anything else. When she saw Su Ming seizing Beiling with his hand, tears fell from her eyes.

Beiling also looked at Su Ming, and a broken smile appeared on his face.

”Su… Ming…”

Su Ming looked at Beiling. This was the first time he heard Beiling saying his name once he woke up.

”So you still remember me,” he stated softly.

”Su Ming, we bear no ill-will. I didn’t know you were here. I… I…” Chenxin cried. As she looked at Su Ming, sharp pain stabbed her heart. The two men before her had left incredibly deep memories within her, and she could not forget either of them.

”We’re different from the others. We… There’s no way we could possibly forget you…”

Chenxin looked at Su Ming. She originally did not think that she would meet Su Ming so quickly in the Berserkers’ world. She had also thought about all sorts of possible scenarios that might occur when she ran into him again, but she had never expected they they would meet again under such circumstances.

”You two… came from the land of the Immortals… Tell me, what was Dark Mountain?” Su Ming asked softly as he looked at Beiling and Chenxin.

”Is Wu La not dead…?

”Is Bai Ling still around…?

”Is Lei Chen well…?

”Where… did elder come from?

”Ye Wang, Chen Chong, Wu Sen, and all the other people I met in Dark Mountain, are they going to appear in my world one after another…?

”Is the world where Dark Mountain lies true… or fake…?” he wondered in a mumble.

”Do you… really want to know?” The person who answered Su Ming was not Chenxin, but Beiling. He looked at him with a complicated expression on his face as he spoke hoarsely and with great difficulty.

Su Ming fell silent. Anguish and loneliness appeared on his face, and he slowly let go of his grip around Beiling’s neck.

”I already know the answer. Both of you… leave…”

Su Ming turned around and no longer looked at Beiling and Chenxin. He walked towards the ninth summit silently, and behind him Beiling’s expression turned even more complicated. Chenxin wept beside him, and as she looked at Su Ming’s back, pity appeared in her eyes.

”Su Ming… We are who we are, but we are also not who we are…” Beiling said softly and turned around before moving towards the ship. Chenxin looked at Su Ming and closed her eyes before she left with Beiling. Once these two people landed on the ship, it turned into a long arc and gradually left into the distance.

Only the Dead Sea Giants in the area continued roaring…

”The answer is, it is fake…” Su Ming said softly while standing on the ninth summit. The sea breeze lifted his hair and covered his eyes.