Pursuit of the Truth

“His Dao is wrong,” Su Ming said faintly.

“All lives have a small chance of survival… If they truly have that chance…” Su Ming did not finish his sentence.

“It doesn’t matter whether it’s wrong or right, whether you acknowledge it or not, if you serve to be an obstruction to this person who will provide this chance of survival… then no matter who you are, you are my enemy.”

A brilliant glint shone in Lie Shan Xiu’s eyes. When he spoke, a powerful presence erupted from his body.

“You cannot win against me.”

Su Ming stared at Lie Shan Xiu. No matter how astonishing his presence was, in Su Ming’s eyes, he was so weak that he was like a candle flame that could be extinguished easily if Su Ming ever so desired.

Lie Shan Xiu closed his eyes. When he opened them again, fighting spirit burned in them. He took a step forward and instantly closed in. When he lifted his right hand, he clenched his fist and threw a punch in Su Ming’s direction.

When it struck space, the galaxy roared. Space distorted and tumbled about as if the galaxy had turned into an ocean. It swept up a huge wave that charged towards Su Ming as if it wanted to drown him. Su Ming did not move. He simply allowed the galaxy to distort and charge towards him, but at the instant it touched his body, it was as if he had turned invisible. Nothing about him changed.

Lie Shan Xiu narrowed his eyes. He moved again. This time, he appeared to Su Ming’s right. He formed his left hand into the shape of a claw, then went to attack Su Ming… but his hand just seeped through Su Ming’ body. What he touched was merely an illusion. It was as if Su Ming was standing before him and was real, but under his Art, he turned into a mere illusion.

“His Dao… Oh well, since you insist in believing in his Dao and that there is that small chance of survival… I will let you leave and let you follow Old Man Extermination so that you can pursue his Dao.

Su Ming closed his eyes. When he opened them, he said softly, “Three hundred something years later, let’s see… just who is wrong.”

Fatigue appeared on his face, and he swung his arm. Immediately, a vortex appeared not far from them. It led to Heaven Lacking Expanse Cosmos.

Su Ming was tired. His heart was tired, and his body was exhausted. Everything about him screamed fatigue when he saw Lie Shan Xiu’s determination and saw him attack even though they should not have been enemies.

All of it left Su Ming incredibly tired. He still remembered how he had sensed Lie Shan Xiu’s hesitation when he was still in Black Ink Planet, of how he had felt before he left the mountain.

At that moment, Su Ming finally understood what Lie Shan Xiu had been hesitant about. It was about Old Man Extermination’s Dao, and once he chose to leave, perhaps in the depths of his heart, he had already come to believe in it.

Lie Shan Xiu stopped moving. He quietly pulled his hand back and stared at Su Ming with a complicated expression. He then turned around and walked towards the vortex. In his heart, he did not want to attack Su Ming either, but he believed that Old Man Extermination’s choice was correct, which was why… he had to attack.

At the instant he stepped into the vortex, Lie Shan Xiu stopped. He did not turn his head back, but he spoke slowly,

“You are truly, without a doubt, the God of Berserkers… I am very happy to see that you have grown to reach such heights. If I am proven wrong three hundred years later…”

Lie Shan Xiu fell silent. He did not continue speaking, but instead lifted his foot and walked into the vortex until he disappeared.

Disappearing with him was the galaxy created for him as well as the Su Ming in it.

Within the second layer of the galaxy, Su Ming sat cross-legged in front of a black-robed man. He had already pulled back his hood to reveal a kindly face. There was gratification on his face along with a gentleness that a person would have when they looked at someone who was considered their junior.

That smile and that gratification would only be worn by two people when they were before Su Ming, one of them was his elder, and the other was Tian Xie Zi.

“You’ve grown up. You’re no longer the child I took away from Han Mountain City in the past.” Tian Xie Zi smiled faintly and stared at Su Ming as he spoke with a sentimental tone.

Su Ming looked back at Tian Xie Zi in a daze. This person was his Master in its truest sense. The old man had taught him how to calm and clear his heart, and it was this old man who had taught him to experience changes of the heart. If he did not do it, Su Ming would have definitely not accomplished his feats.

It was also the old man before him who had allowed him to experience the warmth of home. He brought Su Ming with him see what it meant to be powerful and showed the land of Shamans to tell him what it meant to hunt. After Su Ming went missing, the old man had stepped into the land of Shamans many times to search for him… until the moment he went missing himself.

Without him, the ninth summit was no longer complete. Without him, Su Ming and his senior brothers always felt pain in their hearts…

Su Ming stared at the old man and remembered his journey while searching for Tian Xie Zi in Divine Essence Star Ocean… In the end, he had reached the fifth ocean, and only during the very final moments he was there did Su Ming come to realize that Tian Xie Zi was there, but he had not noticed his Master.

“Master…” Su Ming’s eyes were slightly moist as he murmured that one word.

“You resent me for not going to all of you, I know. Your eldest senior brother could take up the responsibility as your leader. Your second senior brother needed to experience even more trials, and as for Hu Zi… he is still young, but his potential is so great that it surpasses that of your eldest and second senior brothers. If he doesn’t change that trouble-making attitude of his however, it will be difficult for him to accomplish great things.

“Only you…

“Your accomplishments are something I never expected. When I learned from Old Man Extermination that you have become the strongest in this aeon, I was very happy.

“I remember arguing privately with Lie Shan Xiu at that time about whether you belong to the Berserkers or whether you solely belong to the ninth summit. I can tell you that he is very happy. He is happy that such a powerful warrior appeared from the Berserkers,” Tian Xie Zi said with a smile. His kindness and the gratified expression on his face were real.

Su Ming had already grown up. In fact, he had become so smart that he was already like an old monster. His wisdom was so great that it was larger than the galaxy. He was a darkness that night could not cover, but when he was before his elder and Tian Xie Zi, Su Ming felt as if he had returned to the past. He was still the child from Dark Mountain and the youngest in the ninth summit.

“Old Man Extermination’s Dao… isn’t as what Lie Shan Xiu had said. It isn’t that accurate. Lie Shan Xiu isn’t very certain whether Extermination’s Dao will be successful either.”

When Tian Xie Zi spoke, no surprise appeared on Su Ming’s face. Tian Xie Zi could sense what Lie Shan Xiu had said. It was something Su Ming had realized from the moment he saw Tian Xie Zi.

Compared to Lie Shan Xiu, Tian Xie Zi’s presence was not great, but there was a feeling about him that bordered on bizarre. Even Su Ming had to observe him carefully before he could tell what it was.

After all… Change of Heart was an Art created by Tian Xie Zi!

“He did not choose it, but only believes in it, because if he did not believe in it, his beliefs would crumble. Not everyone can be free of their burdens before they die. Sometimes that burden isn’t their own lives, but for the most important things in their hearts. Because of that, Lie Shan Xiu cannot take a gamble.

“It is just like how the ninth summit and your tribe are the most important things to you. To Lie Shan Xiu, the most important thing is the Berserkers. He does not want their bloodline to end.

“That is why Old Man Extermination went to him. Once he made Lie Shan Xiu understand everything, he spoke of the small chance of survival, and naturally, Lie Shan Xiu chose to obey. Lie Shan Xiu is very smart. You are one of the paths for the Berserkers, and he is the other one. He does not care who is right and who is wrong, what he cares about is that in the end… someone must be right,” Tian Xie Zi said slowly while looking at Su Ming. There was a profound look on his face.

“Old Man Extermination… came to me when I experienced my ninth change of heart. He turned all the ideals I had gained through my various changes of heart unstable, and he planted the thought that I couldn’t fuse them together in my heart. That is why I have to see whether he is correct. If he is, then my thoughts will be clear and I will complete my Dao. If he isn’t… my thoughts will still be clear, and I will still complete my Dao.

“What exactly do cultivators cultivate? To me, what we cultivate are simply beliefs. Lie Shan Xiu harbored no guilt in using your appearance to slaughter those from Dark Dawn and Saint Defier. He was not merciful, and he couldn’t be merciful. This is related to his personality. Since he wants to gamble, he must put everything on the line.

“I don’t like Lu Ya. He’s far too sinister. I don’t care if he has an evil heart, but that sinister and cold presence makes me disgusted When he kills, he never feels any sort of discomfort, because it is just what he wants. After all… before you he was the one known as the strongest in this aeon!”

Tian Xie Zi smiled softly and looked at Su Ming. Without him even needing to ask anything, Tian Xie Zi told him all of it.

“Do what you should do. The path is under your feet, and no one can interfere with it. They’re not allowed to. Those who do… just kill them.”

Tian Xie Zi stood up slowly and cast a glance at Su Ming again.

“I’ll be leaving now to return to Old Man Extermination. Since he insists on interfering with my ninth change of heart, then I will either cut him down, or he will do it to me. This is my business. You can’t interfere with it, and you don’t need to. Three hundred years later… If I fail, come and take revenge for me. That will be enough.”

Tian Xie Zi smiled in a manner that said he was free of his burdens and swung his arm, then walked into space.

“Tell your eldest senior brother that a head isn’t a symbol of his aspirations. Not growing it is just him not being able to reconcile with himself. What does he think he is? Does he think it’s cool? It’s just plain stupid.

“And your second senior brother too. He had long since gone past his change of heart regarding love. Phantoms might receive the disaster of love most commonly, but he can’t act this way. He just had his heart hurt once, so tell him to stop moaning about nothing. I can sometimes see him, and even I get angry when I see him being so useless.

“As for Hu Zi, tell him to sleep more. Entering Dreams is his Dao. When he needs to drink, let him drink. When he should sleep, tell him to sleep. When he wants to peek, let him. Why isn’t he practicing his cultivation but getting addicted to fighting? With all that fighting, his whole body is covered in blood. Does he think it makes him look charming?”

Tian Xie Zi reached Su Ming’s ears from a distance, and a smile slowly appeared on his face. He watched his Master disappear, but his words still lingered in his ears, which made his smile grow brighter.

That was the Tian Xie Zi Su ming knew. That was their Master. He did not have any inhibitions with his words, and when he scolded them, it made Su Ming feel as if he had returned to the ninth summit of the past…

Suddenly, Tian Xie Zi poked his head out from space. “By the way, I don’t like Lu Ya. If you can kill him on the way, it’d save me the time of killing him myself.” Once he said that, he disappeared once again…

Su Ming was momentarily stunned, then his smile became even wider. He stared at the spot where Tian Xie Zi had disappeared, and the love of a disciple for his Master was very obvious in his expression.

“Master, don’t worry. Lu Ya will certainly die.”.