Pursuit of the Truth
chapter-185

After what had happened at daytime and how he had crawled back to life from death, every single one of Su Ming’s actions now tugged at the heartstrings of many who were watching.

They watched Su Ming walking on the seventh section of the Chain. They looked at the person basked in moonlight, and for some unknown reason, the person in the air seemed to let out a lonely presence. This feeling was very faint, and since everyone’s perception was different, what they saw and felt was also slightly different.

‘Elder, please come out…’

Su Ming slowly walked forward. He longed and yearned to see the elder, even if it was just a glance.

Before him was Puqiang Mountain, which laid behind the eighth and ninth sections of the Chain. After being silent for a moment, the delicate voice that the people had heard before traveled forth.

"Sir, you’ve already failed, why do you persist?! Even if you continue on, you’ve still failed! Your challenge has ended!"

The delicate voice spoke slowly, and it traveled all over the region.

The instant this voice reached them, the people in Han Mountain City immediately fell silent. Even Nan Tian and the others frowned, but once Nan Tian looked at Puqiang Mountain, he chose not to speak.

Su Ming ignored them and continued walking forward silently on the Chain. His eyes fell on the end of the seventh section of the Chain, and a hint of longing that was hidden deep within his eyes appeared.

"Elder… elder…" he mumbled.

He did not stop. At that moment, his heart jumped. He saw what other people could not see. The black mist on the Chain was gathering and slowly turning into an old man’s back. That back was familiar to Su Ming, and his eyes lit up with eagerness.

He knew that it was fake, but if he could just see the elder even once, he would be satisfied.

"Your challenge has ended. You have failed. You are fortunate you didn’t die. I suggest that you leave as soon as possible. If you insist on continuing, then you will be treated as challenging the might of Puqiang Tribe…"

That delicate voice resounded once again. The voice had a velvety quality to it, but there was a hint of venom hidden within.

The voice from Puqiang Tribe made the entire Han Mountain City fall into silence. Almost everyone became quiet. In the face of one of the three masters of Han Mountain City, Puqiang, the visitors who came to this city had no power to resist their will.

They were not the ones who set the rules, even if they wanted to change it, they were not the ones in power to do so. Even if this was slightly against the original intention set for the Chains of Han Mountain, Su Ming had failed once, even if that failure was not acknowledged by the Chain itself and he had risen from the canyons.

However, if Puqiang Tribe used this as a reason, it was difficult for them to say anything about it, nor did they have the right to say anything about it.

Perhaps Nan Tian had some right to do so, but he chose to remain silent.

Ke Jiu Si hesitated for a moment before he sighed. He knew that he was in Han Mountain City and he was an outsider to Puqiang Tribe, that was why he did not have any right to refute their decision.

Leng Ying frowned, but he also stayed silent.

Xuan Lun stood in the air in the distance and loosened his clenched fist. Sadistic delight appeared in his eyes. He wanted Su Ming to refuse it, because if that was the case, then it meant he was going up against Puqiang. Xuan Lun himself did not even need to do anything, and Su Ming would be destroyed!

Everyone fell silent. Han Fei Zi lowered her head thinking about something.

Lake of Colors Mountain and Tranquil East Mountain also fell silent when they heard that delicate voice from Puqiang Mountain.

The world suddenly became silent. Even thunder did not rang out.

Pairs of eyes from Han Mountain City became fixated on Su Ming. The owners of these gazes wanted to know what he would choose.

However, they did not know that Su Ming did not have the time to be bothered by the delicate voice. His gaze was completely captured by the old man’s back that appeared from the mist.

He trembled. Tears fell once again from his eyes. He looked at the old man standing not too far away, turning around slowly to look at him. Su Ming’s voice became hoarse.

"Elder…"

That old man was the elder of Dark Mountain Tribe – Mo Sang!

He was still wearing the same clothes as he did when Su Ming saw him last. When he saw Su Ming, a baffled look appeared on his face. There was also a hint of conflict as he looked at Su Ming with a dumbfounded expression, at the child he took care of since he was young.

He looked like he was about to say something, but no sound came out. The bewilderment and conflict in his eyes were replaced by gentleness and love. There was even a hint of praise, as if he was very pleased with the current Su Ming. Very, very pleased.

Su Ming looked at the elder and the tests that would not stop. No matter how much he grew, how much he learned to be indifferent, and how much he embraced solitude, no matter how many people he killed and how many things he went through, the moment he saw the elder, all of these vanished. He was still the carefree child that lived in Dark Mountain. He had Xiao Hong’s companionship and the elder’s love. He would wait for rain to come to collect Dark Dragon’s Saliva, would wait for the bonfire to burn in the tribe, and he would dance around the elder as he laughed happily.

The sky then was very blue, the clouds were very white, but he could no longer recall them as clearly.

"Elder… I miss home…"

Su Ming moved forward. He wanted to get closer to look at his elder. Even if this was an illusion, he did not mind.

The elder looked at Su Ming, and the gentleness in his eyes made Su Ming’s heart tremble, and he could not help but see all the happy memories of his youth surfacing in his mind.

When he got closer and stood before the elder formed from the mist, he cried even harder. He looked at the white haired old man and the same clothes his elder wore in his memories. Su Ming looked at him and forced out a smile on his face.

"Elder, your La Su grew up. Look, I grew much taller…"

The elder smiled as he looked at Su Ming. Then he sighed softly, and the gentleness in his eyes was once again replaced by conflict. Within that conflict was a hint of compassion. A hint… of profoundness that Su Ming could not understand.

Eventually, Su Ming saw a hint of resolution and determination on the elder’s face. He saw a strange glint suddenly appearing in the elder’s eyes. That glint went into Su Ming’s mind, making a boom resound in his head, as if his mind trembled.

At the same moment, he clearly heard the voice that only existed in his memories!

"Su Ming… you…"

Su Ming shuddered, but the moment the voice began speaking, the elder’s body suddenly trembled and abruptly dissipated before the words could even be clearly heard. That mist seemed to be blown apart by a strong force that came from behind it, causing everything before Su Ming’s eyes to completely disappear!

The mist disappeared, the elder disappeared, and even his voice turned into a faint lingering echo in his mind, causing Su Ming to be unable to hear it clearly. But all of this was not due to him missing a step, neither was it due to something going wrong with the Chains of Han Mountain. All of this was due to the strong force charging towards him at that moment.

The source of that strong force was a black bone ring. That bone ring whistled as it flew out from Puqiang Mountain and charged towards Su Ming. It was the thing that shook the Chain, causing the illusions from the Chain that were reflected in Su Ming’s eyes to disappear.

Su Ming’s eyes immediately turned red. He had originally learned how to remain calm and not be reckless, but there were certain things that he could not tolerate, that he absolutely refused to take lying down!

The elder was among these things!

The incoming bone ring dissipated the mist that turned into the elder, scattering away the beautiful and happy memories of his youth that had appeared in his heart. This scene was like when he saw the gaze that appeared when Dark Mountain was eventually shattered by a giant hand when he was walking through the blood path leading to the isolation grounds of Han Mountain’s ancestor.

The bone ring and its owner broke the bottom line that Su Ming refused to let anyone stain, causing him… to fall into madness!

He let out a roar that had not come from his mouth for a very long time. It spread through the land swiftly and blended with the thunder that rang in the sky at that very moment. It was as if his anger was the sky’s anger.

As he roared, Su Ming lifted his head swiftly and the shadow of the blood moon appeared in his eyes. He looked at the bone ring closing in on him and took a huge step forward. His Qi surged out of his body, and as it erupted forth with astonishing power, a large amount of moonlight rapidly descended upon him. The Branding Art also burst forth, causing green light to flash on the center of his brows, and the small virescent sword turned into a ray of green light that gathered all the power of his Qi, the shadow of the blood moon, and the Branding Art. Then the green light flashed!

Light illuminated the sky. There was no lightning, but at that moment, the world was illuminated by green light in an instant. Thunder rumbled, and the green light charged into the incoming bone ring. The instant it touched the ring, the light cut through the ring with one slash!

There was a loud crash, and the world trembled. Tremors shook the land. Su Ming coughed out a mouthful of blood and staggered backwards, but each time his feet landed, they would fall precisely on the Chain.

The green light dissipated and tumbled backwards into Su Ming’s body. The green light only appeared for an instant from its emergence to the moment it dissipated. No one managed to see what it actually was!

Before Su Ming, the black bone ring remained unmoving. A thin crack appeared on its surface, and it abruptly shattered, splitting into half before it fell into the canyons!

At that moment, the man who looked like a mountain of flesh trembled furiously and coughed out a huge mouthful of blood on Puqiang Mountain. His face instantly turned deathly pale, and the flesh on his body mysteriously shrank by a large portion.

"How dare you! We’ve already warned you that if you continue, then you will be treated as provoking Puqiang Tribe. This is your final chance, turn back now! You have failed!" the man who looked like a mountain of flesh yelled out with a weakened, venomous voice.

"I refuse!"

Su Ming wiped off the blood at the corners of his mouth and glared at Puqiang Mountain coldly. At that moment, he had returned to being calm.

"You refuse? What right do you have to refuse? You’re just an outsider in Han Mountain! The three tribes make all decisions within Han Mountain! Within three breaths, if you don’t leave, then don’t think about leaving ever again!"

The one who spoke this time was not the man who looked like a mountain of flesh, but another old man who stood beside the Elder of Puqiang Tribe. That old man had an arrogant and wild look on his face, and his cold laughter carried contempt.

The moment he spoke, the man who looked like a mountain of flesh immediately frowned. He looked as if he was about to say something, but did not voice his thoughts.

As for the Elder of Puqiang Tribe, he remained silent, but the freezing look in his eyes revealed his thoughts.

Su Ming fell silent.

Some of the people in Han Mountain City had clenched their fists. They were also outsiders in Han Mountain. Even if they had lived in Han Mountain City for many years, the city belonged to the three tribes. As long as they were not from the three tribes, then they were all outsiders!

They did indeed not have any right to refute, but gradually, more people’s gazes turned cold as they looked at Puqiang Tribe. Some sort of acknowledgement slowly arose within them towards Su Ming, because they were all outsiders.

Nan Tian, Ke Jiu Si, and Leng Ying looked at Puqiang Mountain coldly when they heard those words, but they still chose to remain silent.

"Then do I have the right?"