Pursuit of the Truth
chapter-236

Si Ma Xin was shaken. Su Ming’s Berserker Mark gave off a huge, threatening presence. This threat far surpassed how he felt when he first saw Su Ming in Han Mountain.

However, it was merely a threatening feeling. Besides the grave expression on Si Ma Xin’s face, a pattern was appearing faintly on his skin. That pattern looked like a flower, and it was blooming in a manner that outshone all other flowers!

Yet if anyone took a closer look, then they would clearly see that the blooming flower was actually an ice flower! There was a faint layer of frost around it, causing Si Ma Xin’s face to look as if he was covered in a layer of frost.

"You’re one of the few people who can force me to use my Berserker Mark. Today, I’ll let you see the power of my Berserker Mark!" Si Ma Xin slowly said, and as his voice fell into the people’s ears, the words turned into a layer of frost that covered their bodies.

The moment he finished speaking, ice and snow gathered around Si Ma Xin and turned into a gigantic ice flower. The sunlight reflecting off the ice flower shone with a seven colored light, causing Si Ma Xin to be surrounded by it, and it crashed into the Dark Mountain Tribe that was formed from Su Ming’s Berserker Mark.

There were no banging sounds, only mere rumbles. When Si Ma Xin’s Berserker Mark appeared, its presence also manifested along with it. Soon, under the rumbling sounds, the illusionary Dark Mountain Tribe Su Ming had created in the sky was instantly covered in a layer of frost, just like how Dark Mountain was previously. In the blink of an eye, all the houses, plants, and trees in Dark Mountain Tribe turned into ice sculptures.

"Even if you activated your entire Berserker Mark, you… are still too weak!"

As Si Ma Xin spoke, the gigantic ice flower behind him gradually rose into the air, glowing with the seven colored light. The gigantic flower was the center of the seven colored light, as if it wanted to fight for the glory of the position of being the only source of light in the sky with the sun. It charged towards Su Ming.

The petals opened up like a big mouth, as if they wanted to swallow up Su Ming whole!

The entire process of the fight between Su Ming and Si Ma Xin may have seemed to have happened slowly, but in truth, all these happened in a few short moments. The two of them may be hundreds of feet apart, but this sort of battle between Berserker Marks was incredibly dangerous. If one party was slightly weaker, that person would instantly be gravely injured.

This sort of battle between Berserker Marks was an Origin mystical ability that only the Berserkers of the Berserker Tribe could cast after they reached the Awakening Realm.

Su Ming’s expression did not change even the slightest even though the ice flower formed from Si Ma Xin’s Berserker Mark was quickly charging towards him. He stood in his spot calmly, and he looked not towards Si Ma Xin, but towards the frozen Dark Mountain and his equally frozen tribe.

"My Berserker Mark… is not yet complete…" he said unhurriedly.

This was the first time he spoke ever since he started battling Si Ma Xin. As he spoke, a shocking wave of murderous intent erupted forth from his body. In an instant, his right eye was stained with a bloody shade of red.

That bloody red look was clearly the blood moon!

At the same time, the illusionary Dark Mountain and tribe in the sky welcomed a new addition – a blood moon. There was an enchanting air to the blood moon. The moment it appeared, the sad presence that shrouded Dark Mountain and Dark Mountain Tribe changed abruptly.

There was no longer any grief coming from within, but a shocking amount of killing intent. It fell upon the entire layer of ice on Dark Mountain and colored the place a bloody shade of red. The ice on the houses in the tribe was also illuminated by a bloody red glow.

It was as if the entire world had just been dyed in a blood-red color!

The Picture of the Blood Moon and Dark Mountain!

Booming sounds spread in all directions like thunder. The ice layer on Dark Mountain completely shattered and exploded into pieces with a bang. The ice on the houses in the tribe also cracked and turned into ice shards that tumbled backwards.

Even the gigantic ice flower charging towards Su Ming turned into a blood-red flower under the illumination of the blood moon. Before it even got close to Su Ming, it was torn to pieces and exploded.

"This… is my complete Berserker Mark!"

Su Ming took a step forward and lifted his right hand, then slammed it downward before him!

The moment he did so, Dark Mountain rumbled and charged towards Si Ma Xin. Whispering could also be heard coming from the houses in the tribe, causing Si Ma Xin’s expression to change. He instantly retreated.

Yet before he could move too far back, he found himself unable to leave the area of the blood-red light.

The entire Picture of the Blood Moon and Dark Mountain seemed to have come to life and turned into a gigantic Sealing Rune. Si Ma Xin was within the Rune, and he… could not seem to escape.

Not only did the expression on his face drastically change to shock, his pupils also shrank. Su Ming’s Berserker Mark had once again surpassed his expectations. This was completely different from the Su Ming in his memories!

He suddenly understood why Zi Che would fail. He could sense that at this moment, Su Ming had the power to fight against those in the later stage of the Awakening Realm with just his Berserker Mark alone.

‘He still has that Origin Lightning of his… He also has Han Mountain Bell and that sharp sword…’

As Si Ma Xin retreated, he bit his tongue and coughed out a mouthful of blood. That blood immediately turned into blood mist before him.

"Your Berserker Mark may be complicated, but my Berserker Mark isn’t easy either!"

As Si Ma Xin spoke, the blood mist before him immediately charged towards him and stained his face, then with a bizarre speed, seeped into his skin.

It was quickly followed by Si Ma Xin lifting his head to growl at the sky. The Berserker Mark of the Ice Flower appeared once again on his face and body. However, this time, there was not just one ice flower, but two, three, four… until eight flowers appeared on his body!

The eight ice flowers covered his entire body. However, the sizes of these eight flowers were clearly slightly smaller than of the first. Yet when the eight ice flowers appeared, it made Si Ma Xin’s retreating body instantly stop.

He no longer retreated but lifted his arms and swung them sideward.

With that one swing, the eight ice flowers formed and spun around him to turn into an ice typhoon.

"Freezing Sky Berserker Art, Ten Creations!" Si Ma Xin stated in a low, booming voice and clapped his hands together to point in Su Ming’s direction. The ice typhoon around him instantly grew bigger, as if it wanted to tear the world apart, and crashed into the illusionary world that was the manifestation of Su Ming’s Berserker Mark.

Rumbling sounds echoed in the air. The ice typhoon became smaller, but similarly, the Dark Mountain Tribe formed from Su Ming’s Berserker Mark scattered away like dust in the typhoon, like a picture that was ripped to shreds.

When Dark Mountain Tribe completely disappeared, Dark Mountain too trembled and shattered. Only the blood moon remained and crashed into the now greatly shrunken ice typhoon for the last time.

The greatly reduced ice typhoon turned into eight ice flowers once again and charged towards the blood moon while connected to each other. Under the blood-red light and the rumbling sounds, the first ice flower exploded, the second ice flower shattered, the third ice flower crumbled, and the fourth ice flower disintegrated, but the fifth ice flower broke through and crashed into the blood moon.

The blood moon trembled and started showing signs of not being able to remain stable amidst the thunderous rumbles. At the same time, the sixth ice flower came forth and crashed into the blood moon.

Soon, the seventh and eighth ice flowers crashed into the blood moon. A loud boom shook the skies, and when the blood moon broke down, the ice flowers disappeared.

"What a strong Berserker Mark!"

Si Ma Xin found himself unable to say that Su Ming was too weak anymore. At that moment, he was breathing rapidly. His Berserker Mark was already complete, but it only managed to reach a tie with Su Ming’s Berserker Mark.

‘This must be the limit for his Berserker Mark. This sort of Berserker Mark will not change anymore!’

Killing intent appeared in Si Ma Xin’s eyes. In truth, he had harbored killing intent towards Su Ming since a long time ago but had always kept it hidden. After all, he was in Freezing Sky Clan. Yet when he witnessed the might of his Berserker Mark, he could no longer hide his killing intent.

In the instant their Berserker Marks disappeared from the clash, Si Ma Xin made a sudden move. He turned into a long arc and charged towards Su Ming.

He wanted to kill Su Ming!

Yet at the moment he charged forward, Su Ming also took a step forward. He did not retreat, but used a similarly shocking speed to rush at Si Ma Xin.

The two of them were not far from each other in the first place, hence with that rapid speed, in an instant, they closed in on each other.

Once they were close, a large amount of electrical arcs immediately began swimming through Su Ming’s entire body. As he swung his fist forward, an innumerable amount of lightning gathered together and charged towards Si Ma Xin with a thunderous rumble.

Si Ma Xin also lifted his right hand and as he clenched it into a fist, seven colored light appeared in his hand. Lightning and light clashed with each other, and as rumbling sounds spread out, the two of them let out muffled groans and tumbled backwards.

Si Ma Xin moved 30 feet backwards, and Su Ming moved 50 feet back. At the moment the both of them came to a stop, they rushed towards each other once again.

This time, Si Ma Xin tapped at a few spots on his body with both hands and seven colored light immediately started shining on his body. There was a layer of ice underneath that seven colored light which turned into ice armor on his body. This was the Seven Colored Ice Armor Si Ma Xin had created himself!

Similarly, black fog surrounded Su Ming’s body. As a Divine General of Awakening, he also had his own armor. The black fog turned into armor, and at the instant it appeared, the stunned crowd that had been watching all around them immediately let out loud cries of surprise.

"A Divine General of Awakening!"

"He’s a Divine General of Awakening?!"

"No wonder he could fight against senior brother Si Ma. He’s a Divine General of Awakening, he has extraordinary power, and the complexity of his Berserker Mark is simply outrageous and unheard of!"

The uproars had been stifled due to the intense battle between Berserker Marks just now, but erupted forth now with such force that it filled the air with buzzing sounds in an instant.

In truth, Su Ming’s identity as a Divine General was hidden from the crowd largely due to the fourth summit. For some unknown reason, the left preceptor in the fourth summit had locked down all information regarding Su Ming. The other people in Freezing Sky Clan only knew that there was a new disciple in the ninth summit. As for his status, level of cultivation, and all the other things—it all remained fuzzy.

As for Chen Yu Bing and Xu Ru Yue, once the two of them returned to Freezing Sky Clan, they were placed under a gag order and were told not to talk about Su Ming.

"Is… he the one who made big brother Si Ma angry..?"

The girl’s who was on the Seven Colored Mountain gaze was fixed on Si Ma Xin, who remained mighty and powerful in her heart, all this while. As for Su Ming, her first impression towards him was bad, and since he was Si Ma Xin’s enemy at the moment, she recalled the things that had happened when she was playing chess with Si Ma Xin, and her gaze towards Su Ming turned even more hostile.