Pursuit of the Truth
chapter-267

That one slash contained all of Su Ming’s power.

His body became as cold as an ice statue after that one slash. In his mind, there was only one thought – to kill the old Shaman.

Just as Su Ming’s body charged down, and his sword going straight for the old man’s head was only a few dozen feet away, the old man’s eyes suddenly shone and a cruel sneer appeared on his lips once again. Along with it came the disappearance of all the panic he previously had on his face.

"So you’re a Divine General of the Berserker Tribe! You’re finally out! Looks like this sword attack is your final move!"

The old Shaman lifted his head and raised his right hand to point towards the incoming Su Ming.

He was indeed frozen in place by Spirit Plunder just now, and was indeed shocked by the appearance of the divine sense as well as that of Spirit Plunder, but his power was much stronger compared to Su Ming. Even if he froze, it only lasted for an instant. That was why he could recover his ability to move the instant Su Ming rushed out.

He had kept with his act of struggling because a hint of fear had appeared within his cunning mind from all the strange things done by Su Ming. He was not afraid of Su Ming himself, but of whether he had any other strange and shocking methods.

His words to Su Ming might have been filled with scorn, but in truth, right from the moment they started fighting, he had regarded Su Ming highly. With his age, there were many times when his expression was not reflective of what he truly thought. He might be showing scorn on his face, but his true thoughts reflected his high opinion of Su Ming. But he would not show them until when he attacked.

As the Patriarch and leader of a tribe, there was no way his head would be empty.

When he finally saw Su Ming reveal himself and try to cut him down, his worries were lifted. He believed that he hadn’t exposed his true intentions, and that would mean he was giving his opponent a ‘chance’. In a situation where the enemy could not move, anyone would use the chance to use their full strength and execute their strongest move to attack their much stronger opponent.

Because this might be their only chance. The old Shaman believed that if he was in Su Ming’s place, he would do the same!

That was why when he saw Su Ming swinging that sword, the old Shaman’s worries were set aside. With a dark smile, he pointed towards him. He moved his finger and a black scale covered it quickly. In an instant, that finger turned into something that no longer looked like a human finger but that of a beast’s finger!

His black fingernail shot out, and the scales on his finger let out a dark and malicious presence. He tapped his finger at air, and it crashed into Su Ming’s sword with a bang.

Rumbling and booming sounds reverberated through the air. Many cracks appeared on the ice enveloping Su Ming’s Freezing Sky Sword. As those cracks spread out, they caused Freezing Sky Sword to instantly shatter to pieces. Only when it turned from a two-handed sword back to a normal sword did the cracks stop spreading. However, there was still a deep crack on the sword itself.

The layer of ice on Su Ming’s hands exploded under the power of the old man’s finger. As it did so, cracks appeared on the ice on the other parts of his body as well. Once they spread through his entire body, the layer of ice crumbled with a bang.

When it fell, Su Ming once again felt that cold and malicious presence surrounding him. It surged into his body, and as shudders wrecked his insides, he heard the strange, panting-and-chewing filled sound once again by his ears.

He opened his mouth and coughed out a large mouthful of blood. His face turned pale, and as his eyes became dull, that power forced itself into his body. He tumbled backwards in the air, and the Divine General Armor covering his body started crumbling and recovering rapidly but eventually fell apart, causing blood mist to surge out of his body. A wound on his chest was torn open and blood spilled into the air.

Su Ming fell to the ground with a bang. There was a tree behind him. When he fell down, due to the power of the shock, it made blood flow out of his mouth once again. His eyes lost their glow, and he struggled to lean against the tree as he glared at the old Shaman.

Su Ming’s right hand was held loosely by his side. No one could see his palm; they could only see that seemingly powerless struggle of his.

The power contained within the old man’s finger may have seemed ordinary, but in truth, that old man had gathered all of his power to his finger. If Su Ming could fight against that one strike from his finger, then he could fight against all the old man’s other divine abilities as well!

It may have seemed like only one strike from his finger, but it was in truth everything he had!

The disparity between their power caused Su Ming to be powerless to resist against that one strike, especially when the old man had not been frozen by Spirit Plunder and was just baiting him.

The old Shaman lowered his right hand slowly. As he did so, his previously scale-covered finger started returning back to normal. Once he completely put it down, his finger had regained the form of a human’s finger.

A thin wound appeared on his finger pad and a drop of blood fell down. The old man put his finger in his mouth and licked away his blood. With a cruel sneer, he walked towards Su Ming leaning against the tree.

"It’s a pity that such a talent is wasted. How could your Master let you come alone to the Shaman Tribe… He just let me have something so good so easily. Or else, if you’d had more time and your level of cultivation was higher, then when I met you again, I wouldn’t have been your match.

"If you had truly escaped, you would have taken with you the experience of fighting against the Shaman Tribe. The next time I met you, trying to capture you would have been difficult!

"Barren Core, divine sense, Divine General, and the power from that one slash that contains a similar structure to that of the Shaman Tribe… Just how many secrets do you hav..?"

The old Shaman slowly approached Su Ming. His gaze was like a knife that cut through Su Ming as he sized him up. Once he did so, he became certain that the youth had lost all ability to fight back.

"Oh, that’s right. There’s also the thing you did when you hid your presence and your body. All these will belong to me… Don’t be afraid, I won’t kill you, I couldn’t bear to kill you… I’ll turn you into a Shaman Puppet…"

The old man came to Su Ming’s side and crouched down. He looked at Su Ming, and the smile on his face could not hide the ecstasy within his heart.

Su Ming’s eyes were dull, but there was still an aloofness within them. He wiped away the blood from his mouth and met the old man’s gaze.

"What a nice look you have in your eyes. Once I turn you into my Shaman Puppet, I’ll make sure that look in your eyes remains."

"How did you discover me?" Su Ming asked hoarsely, and his voice came out incredibly weak.

"Once I bring you back to my tribe, you’ll know."

The old man waved his right hand and a gust of wind instantly charged towards them. It lifted Su Ming’s body into the air, and at the same time, the old man took a step towards the sky. He was just about to turn into a long arc and bring Su Ming back to his tribe…

Yet at that very moment, in the wind, a brilliant light suddenly burst forth within Su Ming’s dull eyes. He had been waiting for this chance. He had taken his injuries for this chance as well.

A chance where his enemy had shed all defences around him and was completely relaxed in his presence!

This chance should not have existed. The old man was cunning and would not have given Su Ming this chance. He had to create this chance himself.

Tthe moment that light flashed in Su Ming’s eyes, he clenched his right hand tightly, and the white scale he had kept in his palm all this while as he waited for this chance was crushed.

The instant the scale was crushed, the old Shaman’s, who was about to fly back with Su Ming, expression suddenly changed. Before him, an illusionary hand covered in white armor appeared around Su Ming. That hand came out of nowhere as if it had come out of thin air itself and struck its palm against the completely defenceless old man’s chest.

The old man let out a shrill and pained cry and coughed out a large mouthful of blood. There were even pieces of torn flesh from organs along with that blood. His chest crumbled and he tumbled backwards as he continued coughing out blood.

His face was filled with hatred and madness. As he fell back, he lifted his head and roared towards the sky, then raised his arms and pressed them against his ears. Once he did so, his crumbled chest started recovering at a bizarrely swift speed.

Yet the scale which uncle master Bai had given Su Ming containing some of his power was definitely not so simple and over so quickly. The right hand that stretched out in midair tore through space at its side and with a boom a crack was torn open in midair. Then from within, a man walked out covered entirely in white armor!

That man’s face could not be seen clearly. The only thing that was clear about him was the aloof look in his eyes. He stared at the retreating old Shaman and killing intent appeared in his eyes. However, his body was not real and seemed to be an illusion. White mist floated out from the lines of his body.

"Bai Chang Zai!"

The old Shaman’s pupils shrank. That white armor was like a nightmare in his memories. Practically no Shaman, especially those living near the borders, did not know that there was an incredibly terrifying entity stationed on Sky Mist Barrier.

That person was a Divine General and had a set of white armor with him. The Shamans who had died at his hands could not be counted. He was so terrifying that even his presence was more alarming that the Berserkers in the Berserker Soul Realm!

"You’re just a Divine Clone! You won’t be able to kill me when I’m here in the land of Shamans!"

The old Shaman’s face was deathly pale, and as he continued retreating, a serious expression appeared on his face, one that had never appeared on him prior to this. He groaned in his heart. If he had not suffered that strike to his chest just now, then he would still have confidence that he could fight against Bai Chang Zai’s Divine Clone until it disappeared.

However, now… the old man’s chest throbbed in pain. That strike had almost shattered his heart!

‘So this is the little Berserker bastard’s true final attack. Damn it, how could he be so cunning when he’s so young?!’

The old man did not have time to pay any attention to Su Ming, but his hate towards him had already reached an intensity that could burn the heavens.

With his experience, he had already understood that when he was plotting against Su Ming, he had also fallen into a trap. He had pretended to be frozen to lure him out and baited him to use his final attack.

Yet while Su Ming had fallen into his trap, he did not bring out his true final attack. Instead, he used his injuries to create a chance where the old man would shed all his guard around him!

‘This child’s level of cultivation isn’t that high, but he has a lot of attacks. The Barren Core, divine sense, his identity as the Divine General, and he even has Bai Chang Zai’s Divine Clone protecting him. He must be a prodigy in the Berserker Tribe, revered by others.

‘He’s a person of such status and is already so cunning… If he has enough time to grow, then he’ll end up a disaster to the Shaman Tribe!

‘Even if I give it everything I’ve got, I have to make sure this Berserker Tribe prodigy dies here!’

The instant the thought formed in the old Shaman’s head and he looked back, the person in white armor in the sky took a step towards the old man.