Pursuit of the Truth

Su Ming opened his eyes. For the first time, his eyes shone with a profoundness that looked as clear as ancient stars. He might be sitting inside the cave abode, but it made He Feng feel as if Su Ming had blended together with his surroundings. He could see Su Ming, but he could barely sense him.

Su Ming’s eyes especially made He Feng’s heart shudder. He had never even seen those eyes on Xuan Lun. Only a prodigy like Han Fei Zi could obtain this sort of feeling that made people feel as if they were drawn in when they looked into their eyes.

”Master?”

He Feng was very nervous. As he looked at Su Ming, sharp pain wrecked his entire body. It was as if there was a swift and fierce presence coming out from Su Ming’s entire body. He could not help himself but be afraid.

Su Ming turned his head and looked at He Feng. The moment his gaze met with He Feng’s, tremors suddenly shook the latter’s body. He floated dozens of feet away instinctively, as if his body was about to crumble. He even felt as if a sharp arrow pierced through his heart. All his thoughts were exposed the moment Su Ming looked at him, and he could hide nothing.

”Mas… Master…”

Su Ming smiled faintly. The pressure coming from his body immediately dissipated, his eyes also calmed down and returned to normal. He moved his body, standing up and letting out a long breath.

”Let’s go.”

Su Ming lifted his right hand and grabbed He Feng’s Spirit Body. Immediately, He Feng was absorbed into Su Ming’s body along with the cheering souls of Wings of the Moon.

However, this time, there was no need for the souls of Wings of the Moon to be wary of He Feng. He Feng was docile, remaining still inside Su Ming’s body. He once again felt the small sword and its pressure. Amidst his fear, he grew to be respectful towards Su Ming.

This sort of respect stemmed from Su Ming’s mysteriousness. Up till now, He Feng still could not understand why his people’s treasure would act as if it met its long lost owner the moment it saw Su Ming.

He Feng could not even predict Su Ming’s level of cultivation. He did not know how many blood veins Su Ming had, but he could vaguely guess that with the shining virescent small sword, even if he met Xuan Lun, he could still fight against him without losing.

Su Ming walked out of the mountain cave. It was already noon. The sun was bright and felt warm against his skin. He stood outside. As he looked at the blue sky and the white clouds, a sparkle appeared in his eyes.

‘Chances are hidden within danger… This time, to obtain this sword, I had to face danger. But it’s all worth it!’

Su Ming lifted his right hand and touched the center of his brows. The mark of the sword was still flashing on the center of his brows, but as Su Ming touched it, the flashes became slower, and then disappeared altogether a moment later.

‘This sword gives me an intimate feeling. It doesn’t reject me either… Also, that red meadow absorbs other people’s Qi, making it hard for them to maintain it, but not for me. It fact, it makes me feel safe when I stay inside it…

‘These two things are the legacy left behind by Han Mountain Tribe’s ancestor… Could it be that I’m somehow connected to him..?’

Su Ming closed his eyes and felt the wind against him as he remained unmoving at the entrance of the cave.

‘This sword… opened up a path of flesh and blood within my body. This path… should be able to let me absorb the power from the world necessary to maintain the Branding Art!’

Su Ming opened his eyes. This was the greatest reward for him from this incident besides the small sword. As he stood there, he could feel wisps of aura flowing towards him from all around him and crawling in through his pores. However, they were only flowing in like a small stream as of then, though if he continued like this, some day, the flow would definitely come crashing in like tidal waves.

‘This is a practice different from the practice of Qi… I trained to gather my blood to turn it into the power of blood veins so that my body would become stronger and I would obtain incredible physical strength. That is what is meant by Blood Solidification.

‘This practice is obviously not of blood veins, but one that is connected to the aura that exists in the world. If that’s the case, then I’ll call this practice Aura Convergence!

‘Blood Solidification allows me to have endless power and use my blood to cast various Berserker Arts. There may only be two uses for Aura Convergence now, but it’s really strong!’

Su Ming did not make any signs, neither did he hold any stone coins, but with just one thought, everything that existed within the circumference of 2,000 feet appeared in his mind.

At the same time, the mark of the sword that had dissipated flashed once again at the center of Su Ming’s brows. The moment the virescent light appeared, the small sword charged out of Su Ming’s brows like a bolt of lightning to the distance. It traveled so quickly it could not be seen with the naked eye.

Virescent arcs surrounded Su Ming in an area of 2,000 feet. They continued moving but were limited to that area of 2,000 feet. Once they left the area, the virescent light would become dull, as if no longer able to fly in a stable condition.

Yet to Su Ming, those 2,000 feet were enough.

However, using that small sword was not an easy task. In the span of just a few breaths, he began to feel his head hurting and his vision blur. The Aura that accumulated after much difficulty in the path that was just cleared inside his body instantly emptied out, causing the area of 2,000 feet to continuously shrink in his head, a telling sign that it was due to large drainage.

‘Five breaths is just right for me. If I go over that time, it’ll be hard for me to withstand it.’

Su Ming quickly called the small sword back to the center of his brows. His head was hurting badly at that moment, but he could not increase the rate of his absorption of the aura around him. He could only absorb it slowly into his body and store it in that path.

‘This practice where I gather the aura around me should not be so slow. Perhaps it’s because I don’t have a method to absorb it that I’m currently like this.

‘But… Han Mountain Tribe’s ancestor might have a method to increase the absorption rate.’

Su Ming touched the storage bag in his bosom with his right hand, and a white stone coin immediately appeared in his hand. When he held it, he could clearly feel that there was the same presence within the stone coin, and it was being quickly absorbed into his body. As he absorbed the aura, he could feel his headache disappearing and his head returning to normal.

However, that white stone coin became slightly duller.

‘No wonder Han Fei Zi and Xuan Lun are after this. If I can coordinate this completely different practice with Blood Solidification, then my power will be… Looks like I should really go to the grave of Han Mountain Tribe’s ancestor…’

Su Ming moved forward and left the mountain cave. He did not turn back but dashed into the deeper parts of the remote mountain.

‘The effects of Mountain Spirit are gone, and I’ve finished taking in all the Berserker Blood. Now, I have sufficient Qi, and my blood veins have increased a lot. This is the time for the burning of blood! If I succeed, then my power will increase once again. From then onwards, I will no longer be a weakling. If I battle with all my power with the help of the small sword, Aura Convergence, and the souls of Wings of the Moon, then would I… still lose to those in Transcendence?’

Expectation and resolution filled Su Ming’s face.

Su Ming continued charging nonstop for nearly half a month. By then, Han Mountain Tribe was already far behind him. He had arrived at a spacious place. The sky was very blue, mountains and mountain ranges were dispersed all over the land, and there were only cries of birds and beasts that could be heard. There were no signs of people around.

This was a desolate place, and it was the place Su Ming chose for his isolation. He would perform the fifth burning of blood here and increase the blood veins in his body once again.

During the burning of blood, a change would fall upon the sky and earth, but at this place were few people traveled, the possibility of people noticing that change would be largely reduced.

Su Ming sat on one of the peaks of the mountain ranges for seven days. During these seven days, he did not move. He simply immersed himself in the circulation of his Qi while he waited for the full moon.

Another three days passed by. When night fell, the sky was dark, but in the sky was the moon, and the moon was not in a crescent shape but round!

The moment the full moon arrived, Su Ming, who had been sitting at the place for ten days, opened his eyes. He Feng had already been covered by the brand inside Su Ming’s body. He could not see what was happening outside.

Su Ming did not want anyone to know about his secret.

The shadow of the moon was reflected in his eyes. He lifted his head and looked at the full moon in the sky. Taking in a deep breath, he circulated his Qi abruptly.

Banging sounds reverberated through his surroundings.

This was the first time Su Ming let out all of his Qi after absorbing all the Berserker Blood.

400 blood veins instantly covered Su Ming’s body. Red light flashed brilliantly and dyed the summit in red. Su Ming’s expression was grave. As the shadow of the moon became clearer in his eyes, more blood veins appeared from within his body once again.

The number of blood veins increased from 400 to 460. They covered his entire body densely, causing the blood-red light around him to become stronger.

But this was not yet Su Ming at his peak. He took a deep breath and red filled the whites of his eyes instantly. That red was not due to anger or excitement, but because Su Ming’s Qi had reached its peak. As he circulated his Qi, it caused his eyes to be filled with blood, which was why his eyes were bloodshot.

This was followed suit by more blood veins appearing on his body once again. 470, 480, 490… and when the number reached 510, a mighty presence erupted forth from Su Ming’s body.

This was his peak after absorbing all the Berserker Blood! Originally, the Berserker Blood would not have created such a huge effect. But the reason why Su Ming could increase such a large amount of blood veins was due to the large amount of Mountain Spirit that he had consumed over the years.

Even if Mountain Spirit had lost its effects, the residue lying dormant in his body still contained some effects. Under the incentive provided by the Berserker Blood, his body seemed to have been cleansed, and his potential was largely developed. That was why there was such a shocking effect.

After the eighth stage of the Blood Solidification Realm, there was no longer a set amount of blood veins required to reach the ninth, tenth, and 11th levels. However, any Berserker that manifested more than 500 veins could be said to have reached the later stage of the Blood Solidification Realm.

Even if the designation given to them was the same, there was still a difference in every person in reality. 500 blood veins were considered the later stage of the Blood Solidification Realm, 781 blood veins were also considered the later stage of the Blood Solidification Realm, and 900 blood veins were still considered the later stage of the Blood Solidification Realm. Even if a Berserker manifested 949 blood veins, he would still be known as having reached the later stage of the Blood Solidification Realm.

Only those who manifested more than 950 blood veins would be known to have reached completion of the Blood Solidification Realm! However, these people were rare. And those who could manifest more than 980 blood veins, they would be given the legendary title of great completion of the Blood Solidification Realm, but these people were rare even in big tribes.

All of Su Ming’s Qi appeared. He looked at the moon in the sky. There was fire within his eyes, and his entire body seemed to be burning. From the distance, he looked like a man of fire.

His expression was calm as he lifted his right hand slowly. Once he bit his finger and blood flowed out, he placed his finger on his left eye with one swift motion. That blood touched the fire and ignited Su Ming’s convictions of a powerful Berserker.

The burning of blood began at this moment!