Pursuit of the Truth
chapter-48

When Su Ming heard those words, he felt his heart quiver. He could somewhat tell that the relationship between his elder and Wind Stream Tribe’s Elder was not as it seems. There was a high possibility that there was some dispute that happened between them in the past.

It probably had something to do with the elder’s constant refusal to travel to Wind Stream. At the same time, the Elder of Wind Stream Tribe must have also been worried because he was still polite towards the elder even though he was only at the Blood Solidification Realm.

Su Ming recalled the sight of the elder and the man in purple walking in midair while they were still on the dark python. His heart raced against his chest.

"You will learn about it later." The elder did not provide any answer. He delivered his words leisurely and brought Su Ming out of the pentagonal altar.

Within the altar, Jing Nan fell silent. As he gazed at the direction Mo Sang left, his face became troubled. After a long while, he brought out a small bottle from his bosom. The color of the bottle was purple and it looked incredibly beautiful. He carried the item around so, it was obvious that the item was something incredibly valuable to him.

Once he opened the bottle, a nice medicinal fragrance was released. Within the bottle was a pill!

It was a Scattering Dust!

‘It’s a pity there’s only one pill… There’s little to no effect if there’s only one pill for me. But if I had eight more…’

A yearning look appeared briefly in Jing Nan’s eyes.

‘I must find the Fallen Berserker who created this! I must find him at all costs… I’ve already sealed off the surroundings. There is no way he can escape!

‘I can feel it. He’s near. He’s very near…’

It was already dusk outside. Night was about to arrive in the mudstone city but there were still many people wandering about and the city was bustling with activity. There were fires in various parts of the city. They were found in appliances Su Ming had never seen before and they floated in midair, lighting up the entire city.

The elder walked forward as Su Ming followed him. The two of them were quiet as they walked.

"The test held by Wind Stream Tribe will begin in seven days. The test is organized by Wind Stream Tribe and all the small tribes who come here to pay homage have to send representatives to enter the test. It is a grand ceremony held for you young ones!"

"I want you to enter the test. You don’t need to worry about your powers being exposed. I have already made arrangements. Take this. Besides Jing Nan, no one will know who you are."

"Su Ming, I can only help you so much. Everything else is up to you…" The elder stroked Su Ming’s head and said kindly. He swung his right hand and immediately, a faint presence of Qi appeared. It disappeared just as quickly and a black straw hat appeared in the elder’s hand.

"I got this when I was traveling in a big tribe a long time ago. I suppose you can consider it a Berserker Vessel. If you absorb it into your blood, it can change your figure and appearance slightly. It’s not much but you’ll look different. This was something I really liked when I was young."

"This thing has served me a lot of times but it’s no longer of any use to me. I’ll give it to you now." The elder slapped the black straw hat on Su Ming and Su Ming immediately felt his body lurch. A cold sensation seeped into his body and the straw hat disappeared instantly.

Even though it disappeared, Su Ming could still feel that the item had done the same thing as the counterfeit Blood Scales. It had fused into his body. The elder also told him how to use the straw hat to change his appearance.

"During the test, don’t follow us. Stay in the house. Once we leave, change your appearance and I’ll arrange for someone to take you to the venue of the test." The elder smiled lightly.

Su Ming wanted to say something but after some hesitation, he chose not to speak. Nonetheless, he was determined not to disappoint the elder even if it meant fighting with everything he had!

‘Top 40…Top 40!’

Su Ming gritted his teeth.

"Su Ming, I’ve always instructed you to think and analyze since you were young because it would help you a lot… Now, I will give you a question. Let’s see whether my little La Su can figure it out…" The elder looked at Su Ming kindly. He winked as he smiled and spoke.

"Listen well, Su Ming. I will only tell you once, 32, 79, 248, 371, 563, 781!"

Su Ming was stunned. He mumbled the six numbers under his breath but could not figure out the meaning behind them. He looked at the elder’s smile and he knew that the elder would not tell him straightaway. Su Ming memorized the six numbers in his head and fell into deep thought.

Moonlight shone on their bodies and gradually, their shadows lengthened. As their shadows gradually became faint, Su Ming and the elder walked into the distance…

Time passed by and soon, it was the sixth night. The grand ceremony held by Wind Stream Tribe would start once morning arrived…

During the six days there, Su Ming sat within the house given to Dark Mountain Tribe by Wind Stream Tribe. He meditated as he activated and circulated the Qi within his body. As he did so, he would be careful. He always felt like he was being watched but he could never identify by whom.

During the time he was under scrutiny, Su Ming would have to forcefully stop his training. When the strange feeling of being observed was at its strongest, he chose to lie down and give up on training. He would close his eyes and sleep as he thought about the six numbers. However, no matter how much he thought about them, he could not find an answer to the riddle.

It was not until the fifth day when the feeling of being observed disappeared completely. Su Ming felt rather nervous about it. He had once tried to guess who had been observing him. The figure of a person would appear in his head but he had never been able to ascertain his guess.

During the past few days, Lei Chen went to Su Ming a few times but the rest of his time was spent with Wu La. Under the elder’s guidance, they trained for the last few remaining days before the test. Although with his personality, he would drag Su Ming out and wander about the city of mudstone after a moment of training. Sometimes if Su Ming was unwilling to go, Lei Chen would go out on his own. Every time he came back, there would be a mysterious look on his face.

The look on his face seemed somewhat familiar no matter how Su Ming looked at it…

"Su Ming, you don’t understand. There’s actually such a place within this mudstone city… I’ve never seen so many women in my life…"

"Su Ming, there’s a type of water here they call wine. Its taste is… Do you want to try it?"

"Su Ming, guess what I saw today. I saw Black Mountain Tribe approaching on a black cloud. But the Elder from Black Mountain Tribe didn’t come. I heard that the one who brought them here was their tribe leader."

"Su Ming, stop sleeping! Listen to me! I met a member of Black Mountain Tribe today at the place I drank wine. He’s about the same age as us and he’s seriously arrogant. If it wasn’t because we weren’t allowed to fight, I would have gone and beaten him up!"

"Su Ming, I saw Bai Ling today! It was weird though. You think she was really tricked by us? She didn’t even ask about the stone coins. But when she saw me, she asked me about you."

"Su Ming, I think I like someone… It’s the person I talked to you about yesterday. Didn’t we see Bai Ling? There was a girl beside her. She’s also from Dark Dragon Tribe. She’s really busty and she looks way prettier than Bai Ling…"

"Su Ming, I finally know her name. She’s called Bai Fang. It’s such a nice name…"

During the past few days, Lei Chen would drop by and talk to Su Ming about what he saw and his thoughts about them. It was especially so during the last few days. Almost every single sentence out of his mouth was about that girl called Bai Fang.

As for Bei Ling, he was usually out. Even if he was in the house, there were a lot of young men from Wind Stream Tribe who came to see him. They looked really friendly with each other.

However, on the sixth night when Su Ming went out of the house to look at the moon, he saw Bei Ling being dragged away by his Wind Stream Tribe friends in the distance. He did not seem willing to be taken away.

"I don’t want to go today…" Bei Ling hesitated for a while when he was at the door and said in a low tone.

"You don’t want to? Sure. But Bei Ling, you were personally invited by Wu Sen to join the ritual. If you don’t join, you won’t be able to obtain our Elder’s Berserker Blood!"

"Don’t forget just how you were able to get a place in the top 50 the last time." The person from Wind Stream Tribe who was dragging Bei Ling was a boy in his late teens. He smiled as he spoke slowly.

There were two other people with them. They cast their eyes on Bei Ling and in them were hints of mockery.

Bei Ling was silent and nodded his head slowly. He followed the three people and disappeared into the dark.

Su Ming stood in the distance and watched with a slight frown. He fell into brief silence and looked at the moon in the sky. Then he walked out of the house.

‘Wu Sen…’

Su Ming could still remember Bei Ling mentioning that name. According to him, Wu Sen was one of the three strongest among the younger generation in Wind Stream Tribe. Almost everyone was certain that he was bound to get a place in the top three in all three stages of the test that year.

Bei Ling did not go into detailed explanation about him. He only talked about him briefly and moved on to the next person.

As he walked through the darker parts of the brightly lit mudstone city, Su Ming’s body began changing. After a while, he grew seven inches taller and his body became bulkier. Even his hair became longer. His face was no longer handsome and clean. Instead, it just looked simple. He gave off a strong presence and looked completely different from his usual frailer self.

Even his clothes changed. It was a strange sight to behold.

Su Ming moved his body and found no discomfort with his new image. In fact, he felt just as he usually did. As he activated the Qi in his body, the 49 blood veins did not appear on his skin but a strong presence erupted from his body.

‘Under the moonlight… even a Berserker at the fifth level of the Blood Solidification Realm is no match for me… Besides, I have Blood Scales… what can a sixth level Berserker of the Blood Solidification Realm do against me?!’

Su Ming’s eyes flashed and he lifted his head to look at the moonlight before walking forward.

‘Bei Ling has just entered the sixth level of the Blood Solidification Realm. As for his father, the Head of the Guards and the chief of the hunters, they are both at the eighth level. Among the younger generation, it’s extremely rare for anyone to arrive at the eighth level. They would have to surpass their peers by leaps and bounds to arrive there. Wu Sen and the other two are about the same in terms of power so it’ll be safe to say that they have not reached the eighth level!’

Su Ming’s footsteps were not quick. The path he took was strange as he only walked in dark corners. He watched Bei Ling and the other three people from afar. He followed them from a distance.

‘The other three people should only be at the fifth level of the Blood Solidification Realm but judging from how wary Bei Ling is of them, Wu Sen’s strength must be greater than his. If it’s above the sixth level but weaker than the eighth level, Wu Sen should most probably be at the seventh level of the Blood Solidification Realm!

‘I cannot win against a Berserker at the seventh level of the Blood Solidification Realm but I have the moonlight. Even if we do end up fighting, he won’t be able to make me stay against my will.’

Su Ming was extremely confident with his own speed.

He did not follow them out of curiosity. It was because Bei Ling had seemed unwilling to follow them. Since he used to call Bei Ling his brother when he was young, Su Ming followed them with mixed feelings.

Time passed by slowly. The moon hung high in the sky. Bei Ling and the other three people disappeared into a common looking mudstone house. The place was rather secluded. It was located in a corner of the city.