Pursuit of the Truth
chapter-13

The moment Su Ming lifted his head, his eyes were bloodshot. His entire body glowed madly with a blood red light and it lit the entire fire cavern.

His entire body kept trembling. As the blood moved around his body, his heart pounded faster and faster as if it was going to break his chest. It only served to make his face even more twisted.

He was at an important moment in his training so, he was unable to stop abruptly. Nonetheless, he knew and clearly heard everything that had happened earlier.

He saw with his own eyes, the little monkey running out to lure the two outsiders to protect him.

Su Ming had never been that mad before. The little monkey was his only friend in the forest. Over the years, he had come to treat the little one like family. The madness within his eyes caused the veins from Su Ming’s body to pop out and blazing sounds to reverberate throughout his body.

The five blood veins that manifested on his body were now giving off a piercing glow. Within the red glow was the sixth blood vein which was on the verge of completely manifesting itself. It looked like it was on the verge of breaking out of its cocoon.

"This damned second level!" Su Ming roared. He had been gentle in his previous attempts. Even if he did not make it, there were no serious repercussions.

However, the little monkey’s life was now in danger and Su Ming grew more anxious with every passing second. He gave everything he had and controlled the blood in his veins, forcing them to move in the way they should as a Berserker Practitioner. He focused all of his blood towards the sixth blood vein.

There was a loud boom and Su Ming coughed up blood. His entire body trembled as his face turned pale. Such a reckless move was taboo for Berserker Practitioners. It was important for them to arrive at each new rank smoothly and steadily. They could not march forward recklessly.

The booming sound was not as loud to the outside world but Su Ming felt like the world had crashed in his head. The sound kept echoing itself.

‘Damn it!’

Su Ming glared at the entrance to the cave. It was as if he could still see the little monkey’s helplessness, fear and resolution.

There was no time for hesitation. Su Ming once again controlled the blood in his entire body and attempted to break through for the second time!

More blood came out of his mouth and trickled down his chin onto the floor…

The third time... fourth time... fifth time!

During his fifth attempt, Su Ming coughed out a huge mouthful of blood. His face became completely ashen but on his face was also a strong intent to kill. With all that blood, Su Ming looked horrifying.

He immediately picked himself up and the moment he stood up, there was a loud bang within his body. The sixth blood vein had completely manifested itself.

As the sixth blood vein formed completely, a totally different aura compared to the first level of the Blood Solidification Realm erupted from within Su Ming’s body. There was no wind but the aura blew his hair and the sixth blood vein moved rapidly on his skin as if it was alive!

It was the second level of the Blood Solidification Realm!

Without waiting for his body to get used to the second level, Su Ming ran at a speed faster than he previously could by one fold. He grabbed a bow and horn by the side and in a blink of an eye, he disappeared.

He quickly crawled out of the small hole. When he arrived outside, it was snowing heavily and the sun was about to set. It was already dusk outside.

‘One of them is a second level in the Blood solidification Realm…the other in the third level…’

Su Ming’s eyes were bloodshot and cold. No matter how strong his enemies were, Su Ming felt no fear. He only felt a strong urge to kill!

He had already forgotten what fear felt like. The moment the little monkey was captured, the two Berserkers from Black Mountain Tribe became his mortal enemies.

Su Ming would have to be dead if they did not die by his hands!

It did not matter if he was rushing into fire. It had nothing to do with recklessness. Instead, it was a matter of survival! If the fire did not cease to burn, he would be burnt to ashes.

Su Ming did not hesitate. He ran forward at full speed. He was a member of the Berserker Tribe. He had been playing and collecting herbs around the mountains since he was young. He was familiar with these parts of the land and was even better at tracking for answers around the place.

As he ran, he kept his eyes on the ground. He wiped the blood away from the corners of his mouth and his hands. After a while, he saw some messy-looking tracks on the dried leaves ahead. He grabbed some broken twigs and looked at them. The killing intent in his eyes grew even stronger. He threw away the twigs and changed his direction.

Su Ming continued to run at full speed and maximized his body’s full potential. On the way, he found a lot other traces and even a pool of blood.

There were some traces of red fur in the pool of blood. It was the little monkey’s!

However the blood was already beginning to dry up, a clear sign that the two people caught the little monkey there and had left for quite some time.

‘I can’t catch up…’

Su Ming’s eyes darkened. He clenched his fists, his eyes filled with anger.

‘They’re from the Black Mountain Tribe, so surely they’ll return to their tribe…If that’s the case…there’s still a shortcut from here to the Black Mountain Tribe!’

Su Ming turned around and leapt forward, lithely disappearing into the snow covered forest.

‘Faster!’

Su Ming ran ahead quickly like he was flying through the forest. Yet, he still felt his speed was too slow. As he traveled, he left his footprints on the snow. Just as he was about to take another leap forward, the snow before him flew up from the ground.

A small creature that looked like a fox but was entirely covered in white fur and had the horns of a deer leapt from the snow. Its speed was so quick it almost reached Su Ming in an instant.

‘Mink raccoon!’

Su Ming did not slow down. When the little creature jumped out from its hiding place, he swung his right fist towards it.

Previously, Su Ming’s strength would not have been enough to kill a wild beast with just one punch. However, he was now a Berserker in the second level of the Blood Solidification Realm. He already had six blood veins manifested and he was controlled by an almost boundless amount of blood lust. This caused not just his speed but also his strength to increase exponentially.

The punch landed squarely on the mink raccoon’s body and it let out a cry. It narrowed its eyes, wanting to change its course midair but Su Ming rushed forward and cut the creature apart with the horn in his left hand. He had equipped himself with it sometime during the encounter.

Fresh blood poured out of its wounds. The little creature struggled and cried in the snow. Its blood stained the snow a bloody shade of crimson.

It was a clean cut. Su Ming looked at the dead mink raccoon and lowered his body. He raised his right hand as he took in a deep breath. After that, he began controlling his blood. His body emitted a red light as if it had fused together with the blood on the ground. The six blood veins manifested themselves on Su Ming’s body.

He placed his right hand slowly on the dead creature and a strange glow appeared in his eyes. One of the blood veins on his body began to twist around oddly as if it came to life. It crawled along his right arm to his palm and into the little creature’s body.

Suddenly, the dead carcass began shaking. Its fur fell off and its body began withering rapidly. Within the blink of an eye, it turned into bones. At the same moment, wisps of white mist rose from its body to create an image of its former self. But it was a vague image, like it would disappear as soon as the wind blew.

This was the first time Su Ming had cast the Spirit Devourer. According to the information he obtained about the spell, he would usually need to refine the spirit first before devouring it. However Su Ming did not have the time. He opened his mouth and breathed in the spirit form of the mink raccoon.

Su Ming’s body trembled. He could feel that he had just obtained additional strength but it was also rapidly disappearing. It would not be long before it disappeared completely and his strength would return to normal.

Su Ming did not linger. He immediately rushed forth. This time, his speed was slightly faster than before and it was increasing. He became more and more like the wind.

As the wind blew past his ears, there was only one thought in Su Ming’s head. He had to catch up to the other party, stop them and then save the little monkey.

As for the method, he was not a reckless person to begin with so, he already had a plan.

An hour later, the additional strength Su Ming obtained disappeared but it allowed him to cover more distance. He had already left Black Flame Mountain and was near the Black Mountain Tribe.

He was at a small hill which looked like a slope. If he stood there, he could see quite far ahead and his peripheral vision would also increase.

As he was near his destination, Su Ming’s eyes became fierce. He kept his gaze on Black Flame Mountain and very soon, he saw his targets. Two figures appeared and one of them was holding onto a motionless Xiao Hong!

Su Ming stood there and took out a small bottle with his right hand. There was a red pill within the bottle. Once he made sure there was no fresh blood on his hands, Su Ming took the pill out and held it in his hand.

The pill was his trump card!

He stabilized his breathing and took out his bow. His eyes were calm, almost like dead water. The two people were approaching him, with only a few miles between them. They would have seen him if they paid attention.

The two people were big and burly. They looked strong. The man holding onto the little monkey was only wearing a thin piece of hide even though it was winter. His upper body was bare. There was white mist coming off his body as if he was dispersing the cold with the energy emitted from his blood.

Su Ming only cast him a glance before focusing on the other person. He was also big in build with several long spears slung over his back. He was slightly shorter than his companion. However, Su Ming could feel that his Qi was much stronger than his companion and much stronger than his own.

This person was powerful.

Su Ming narrowed his eyes and lifted his bow before pointing it towards the second man.

Just as Su Ming looked at the person, the man also saw Su Ming. His eyes became cold and fierce.