Pursuit of the Truth

Thick green fog tumbled about above the gigantic battlefield. Rumbling sounds could be heard coming continuously from within. Clearly, the battle inside belonged only to the powerful warriors of the Berserker and Shaman Tribe. They were fighting intensely against each other. The outcome of their battle could decide the progression of the battle beneath them. Yet similarly, the battle on the ground could also decide whether these powerful warriors would stay or leave.

Neither one of them could be absent.

It could be said that this battle was already divided into two sections since way earlier. One section was in the sky, while the other section was the battle on the ground, and the battle on the ground was then gradually divided by the Berserkers into four different zones, which were the four warzones as per mentioned.

Su Ming was in the southern warzone.

At that moment, when Zhou De’s four wooden slips burned up and flew into the sky from the southern warzone, there was an old man who was surrounded and protected by a lot of Berserkers deep in the northern warzone. That old man’s face was filled with wrinkles. He was frowning as he counted with his right hand. Occasionally, he would take a few steps forward and observe the changes in the entire northern battlefield with brightly burning eyes.

The area where he stood was not exactly very high. Logically speaking, it should have been difficult for him to see the entire situation of the northern warzone from that spot, but the old man clearly used a unique method to be able to understand most of what was happening without even having the need to look.

He looked as if he continued calculating with his fingers, he could find the laws governing the situation. After a moment, he suddenly raised his head, and in the process of the lifting of a hand, a bone slip appeared on his palm.

That bone slip was seven inches in length and entirely white. It looked as if it was made from a creature’s tooth. The old man flung that slip out of his hands, and in a flash of white, it charged towards the battlefield in the distance before it disappeared into a spot within it.

Right after he flung that bone slip out of his hand, the old man’s expression suddenly changed just as he was about to lower his head and continue calculating with his fingers. A burning wooden slip sliced through the air in a whistle and arrived before him. Once it started floating in front of his head, as the wooden slip burned, the illusionary figure of Zhou De from the southern warzone appeared.

To the easternmost part of Sky Mist was the eastern warzone, which was the spot right before Sky Mist City and also happened to be the part located right at the end of the entire battlefield. The battles within the eastern warzone were the most intense out of all the other battles on the battlefield. The Berserkers within that warzone also looked stronger and tougher than in the other zones. In fact, if anyone took a closer look, then they would find that there was a sort of order within the eastern warzone.

The zone might be quite large, but it felt like a complete entity. The teams fighting there were all doing so meticulously. Orders were repeatedly sent out from the center. There were Hunters who were specially tasked to send the orders of the eastern warzone’s commander to the teams.

The eastern warzone was the area where the number of killings for Shamans were the highest, but similarly, their number of casualties were also the highest. The orders sent to them usually exuded an air of unyielding mercilessness.

There was a woman standing at the center of this warzone. This woman had long hair that swayed in the wind, and she was dressed in black. Her eyes were aloof. Standing by her side were around a dozen Hunters from the Berserker Tribe. These Hunters were incredibly respectful of this woman, which was something that could not be found in Zhou De’s side in the southern warzone.

Yet if anyone looked closely, then they could tell from the masked Hunters’ power and the fluctuations of power coming from the Arts they practiced that most of these Hunters came from Western Sea Clan. Even if there were a few who were not from the clan, they would still belong to tribes that were affiliated with Western Sea Clan.

The woman’s identity was already widely known, and it was made even more obvious due to her appearance, because she looked incredibly similar to Tian Lan Meng. However, their presences were like two polar opposites.

She was Tian Lan Meng’s older sister, Tian Lan You!

Her presence was incredibly similar to Han Fei Zi’s. They were both cold as ice, but there was something different about them as well. Han Fei Zi’s cold demeanor was external, because there was pride within her. That pride was one that was akin to an orchid blooming proudly in an empty valley.

Tian Lan You’s cold demeanor came from her entire being, whether it be from her actions or from the depths of her soul. She was like a block of ice that would never melt, and due to the ice sealing her soul, some beautiful lines could be seen on her soul. These lines intersected with each other to form an ice flower.

That ice flower was her.

While Tian Lan Meng might not be cold, but she also had her own pride. However, along that pride was an elegance, a serenity, an ethereal presence sought after in the Dao she pursued, the one belonging to Immortals!

Three people. Three different women. Compared to them, Fang Cang Lan seemed rather ordinary. She did not have pride, did not have that aloof indifference, and neither did she have that ethereal elegance, but what she had was a firm and tenacious spirit underneath that water like gentleness.

At that moment, Tian Lan You held a wooden slip that was no longer burning in her hands. It let out a crack and shattered, turning into black ash that floated before her. An illusionary figure of Zhou De from the southern warzone appeared in that black ash.

”My three fellow commanders, I have a performance here, and I would like to invite the three of you to watch it!” It was a very simple sentence. Once Zhou De finished speaking, his illusion disappeared without a trace.

The old man from the northern warzone frowned and looked towards the south. As for Tian Lan You, she completely ignored it and continued standing on her spot to pay attention to her own warzone whilst sending out her cruel orders.

The western warzone, which was the closest to Sky Mist City and could be said to be the place that gave the most complete assurance when it came to the Berserkers’ safety also heard Zhou De’s words from the wooden slip.

The commander in the western warzone was also a woman. She was Tian Lan Meng. As a citizen of Sky Mist City, she had to become a commander just like her older sister and joined this war, one that no one knew how long it would last.

A large number of the Hunters from the Berserker Tribe beside her were from Freezing Sky Clan. However, Su Ming had never met these people. They did not seem to have come from Frozen Ice Sky but came to this battlefield with another method to protect Tian Lan Meng.

Tian Lan Meng looked at Zhou De’s disappearing figure before her and a light crease appeared between her brows. Sheg cast her gaze to the south, an action different from her sister’s cold attitude.

At the same time, she lifted her right hand and flung it at the space before her. Immediately, crystalline sparks appeared and gathered into a light screen in front of her. Distortions first appeared on the surface of that light screen. After some time, it gradually became clear, and that light screen projected the entire southern warzone within it.

Tian Lan Meng swept her gaze through the things happening there, and with just one glance, she saw a spot that was clearly different within the southern warzone. There seemed to be a team made up of several hundreds of people over there, and they stuck close to each other as if they were one body as they fought.

That team stood out like a sore thumb compared to the chaos in other places.

Tian Lan Meng lifted her right hand calmly and tapped at a spot on the light screen.

Once she tapped on it, the southern warzone projected on the light screen grew closer, and as it was magnified, numerous scenes of Berserkers fighting against Shamans could be seen flashing on the screen until the sight was eventually fixed on a small area.

There was a team consisting of nearly 500 people. They moved forward like the wind and coordinated with one another with incredible rapport. There was also an indescribable presence existing among that team.

‘Could it be that Zhou De wants to show me this team?’

Tian Lan Meng’s gaze swept through the screen and she started observing each and every person in the team. As she looked at them, she lifted her right hand and tapped at the screen once more. The moving pictures became bigger once again and started shifting forward.

After a moment, the tip of the team appeared in the picture. There was a person over there with lightning swimming all over his body and green light shining next to him. Like a God of War, he rained down death as he charged forward!

It was this person’s existence that caused this team to press forward fearlessly!

The instant Tian Lan Meng saw this person, her eyes widened like saucers. Her breathing instinctively quickened and she lifted her right hand swiftly to tap on the God of War’s figure on the light screen.

The picture became bigger in an instant, and by then, there was only one person to be seen - Su Ming!

Su Ming was there, moving forward like the wind!

His long purple hair moved like waves in the air and the blood-red long robes danced in the wind. That familiar look made Tian Lan Meng momentarily stunned, but after that, a faint smile appeared on her lips.

‘He’s… back…’ Tian Lan Meng’s eyes remained fixed on Su Ming on the screen, and she continued watching him.

The three commanders from the four warzones were not the only ones who had noticed Su Ming at that moment. There were also people in Sky Mist City who had turned their attention towards him.

There were eight old men standing on the walls of Sky Mist City, their gazes gathered on the southern warzone.

”This child should be the one Zhou De wants us to see!”

”This child’s willpower is very strong. Could it be that Zhou De wants to deploy a battle strategy focusing on willpower in his area of command?”

”Let’s have a look. Since he has the confidence of showing it to us, then it means that he has some confidence in it.”

”Refining your willpower in the battlefield is nothing new. That’s what our Hunters are doing, but only a few people manage to do it. It’s impossible that he could make the others do the same. I don’t think Zhou De’s plan will work.”

It was just as Su Ming predicted. Commander Zhou was not the only one watching this performance of theirs, there were also others who were watching. Perhaps there were still very few people watching them at that exact moment, but perhaps, gradually… there would be more who would notice this… magnificent performance!

Su Ming took a step forward in the southern warzone. Green light shone on his body, and as the small sword charged out, he lifted his right hand and formed it into the shape of a blade, then sliced down three times in three different locations.

Execution of Three Evils, an Art which could even kill Tai Sui! The three evils were also known as the three murders!

Between heaven and earth, there were three forces - Separation, Beginning, and Nurture. Separation was known as the evil of theft, Beginning as the evil of disaster, and Nurture as the evil of time! They were also known as the murders of theft, disaster, and time!

With one slash, cut down theft, then cut down disaster, and finally, cut down time. Cut down all three evils like how the dragon crushes the void!

After using the Execution of Three Evils several times in the battlefield, Su Ming gradually found out that the Art’s destructive power was not really enough in a mano-a-mano, but in this battlefield, it could bring out amazing effects!

And with his current level of cultivation, he could already perform all three slashes!

‘The battlefield, the origin of all patterns of chaos!’

As Su Ming moved forward, his eyes sparkled, and he brought his right hand down in a slice for the first time. The evil of theft appeared in the form of ripples that could not be seen with the naked eye, and with Su Ming as its center, those ripples started spreading out madly in all directions.

‘In the eyes of many, winning is the main point of war, but from the patterns in the world, war is all based on a desire to rob and plunder! The winners are the reason for this calamity! My deeper understanding towards the Execution of Three Evils is not the reason why it’s so effective here. It’s because the patterns that set up this place caused the power of the Execution of Three Evils to increase by several fold!’

Su Ming’s eyes sparkled. Once he sliced down with his palm, the ripples started spreading out, and all the Shamans around them who were covered by the spreading ripples would start trembling as if they were shivering.

The ripples spread in a circular area of several thousands of feet around Su Ming. Once the Shamans within the area started shivering, one by one, their killing intent completely disappeared. It was as if their hearts had suddenly become heavy, as if their fear of death had instantly increased exponentially.

Because their evil desire to rob people of their lives had been cut down by Su Ming!

Without the evil of theft, the massacres stirred up by this battle were struck an invisible blow, and the Shamans were like sailors who lost their ships and were now forced to struggle in an angry sea.

‘The Execution of Three Evils changes the patterns of the world, and as a result, the Art can release a power that can destroy the sky and earth. This arcane power is the power of the patterns in the world!’

As Su Ming’s power increased, he grew older, went through an increasing amount of things, he gained an even deeper level of understanding of many of the words he did not understand prior to this when he casted the Art.

‘I can cut through the three evils, but I wonder if I can also set them in place!’ This thought suddenly appeared in Su Ming’s head, but he had no time to try it out at the moment. He lifted his right hand once again, and as he continued moving forward and slaughtering the Shamans, he swung his hand down once again.

This time, he still cut the air, but as he completed the slash, the ground under his feet started feeling as if it was trembling, but only he could sense these tremors. The people around him did not even notice it.

‘Separation, Beginning, and Nurture. Beginning is known as the evil of disaster. Its pattern is different from the patterns that make up a person. This event itself is a disaster and has grown into a major catastrophe. Cutting down this catastrophe should originally be a good thing, but in this chaotic set up, once I cut down the evil of disaster, it’ll cause a chain reaction, and it won’t be a blessing but a calamity!’

Su Ming lifted his head swiftly. For the time being, he still could not see the changes within this small area after cutting down the evil of disaster, but he could already sense that the sky, the earth, even the blood and rocks on the ground, and the wind blowing towards them had seemingly become different.

This was originally the land of the Shamans, but now, as he stood there, he had a feeling that he was standing on the land of Berserkers. He was not the only one who had that feeling, the hundreds of followers behind him all felt the same way.

On the other hand, things were largely different on the Shamans’ side. Gradually, as the crowd charged forth, when some arrows flew towards them in a disorderly fashion, when some divine abilities were successfully evaded by some people and those abilities charged towards this area, Su Ming that once he had cut down the evil of disaster, he had changed the pattern governing the desire to kill in this place!

In a bizarre fashion, those arrows and divine abilities all fell on different Shamans like luck was going against them. Being killed by a stray arrow was the highest cause of death in this warzone, and at that moment, all the stray arrows were missing Berserkers and falling on the Shamans.

Su Ming was shocked to the core, but he did not stop. The final evil among the three evils was that of time. Once he cut it down, a gust of wind blew across the land and surrounded the area, causing the air over there to instantly turn different, and the wounds on the Shamans’ bodies started becoming worse!!

Once the evil of nurture was gone, the sky and earth instantly stopped moving!

There were many principles that still remained unclear to Su Ming, but he could still tell that once the Execution of Three Evils changed the patterns in this battlefield, what unfolded before his eyes was a strange and astounding power!

”Kill them!” Zi Che let out a deep roar behind Su Ming. The Berserkers around them following Su Ming swept through the land like a violent gust of wind. Everywhere they passed through, a large amount of Shamans would die.

Yan Bo followed soon after with a loud roar towards the sky.”The Hunter Su Ming is here! We call out to all our fellow Berserkers, gather to us! Join us to gain glory! Join us to hunt the Shamans!”

Yan Bo was not the only one shouting. Under his arrangements, there were more than a hundred people who shouted along with him. Their voices were like waves that spread throughout the area, causing more Berserkers to join them as their team continued moving forward.

Su Ming did not pay any attention to Yan Bo’s actions. He was right in front, killing and opening the path, bringing the people behind him to charge towards their destination. Blood and carnage filled the area.

As the crowd continued moving forward and their team grew larger, under Yan Bo’s arrangement, gradually, it was no longer only one hundred people who shouted, but two hundred!

The shouts coming from two hundred people were stronger and contained greater piercing force as they reverberated through the battlefield. Soon, the number of people shouting grew to three hundred, causing the waves of sound to thunder in the air in such a manner as if it was shaking the skies.

When the number of people shouting grew to six hundred, their voices could already envelop the entire southern warzone, causing them be heard by all the Berserkers and the Shamans.

”The Hunter Su Ming is here…”

”The Hunter Su Ming is here…”

As the waves of sound spread and more people continuously assimilated into Su Ming’s team, their numbers reached a thousand. These thousand people were like a crowd that contained an astonishing presence, and with that, this team was like a striking flag in the southern warzone, and everywhere they went to, they came with a presence of a tidal wave!

Most of the time, when the Shamans’ Hunters saw the 1,000 man team with the thunderous roars led by Su Ming, their expressions would change, and they would choose to avoid them. If even their Hunters reacted that way, then it was even more so for the other Shamans.

”Sir, with my abilities, even with Zi Che working with me, bringing together a thousand man team is my limit. Once we go over thousand people, it’ll be rather difficult to control them. What do you think..?” Yan Bo took a few brisk steps forward on the battlefield to arrive behind Su Ming and spoke quickly.

”A thousand men is fine. We will break through with these people!”

Su Ming turned around and cast a glance at the group. There was a huge swarm of people gathered behind him. Almost all of the one thousand Berserkers were looking at him. Su Ming did not control this team, but his actions and spirit that pressed on forward boldly gave strength to everyone.

The display of his willpower caused all the Berserkers following him to be able to sense it, and under its influence, he became the soul of the team!

Su Ming averted his gaze. Behind him, Yan Bo and Zi Che went off to pass his orders down the team. After a moment, a loud, lasting roar that shook the sky and earth shot out from the mouths of those thousand people. Gradually, they turned into one sound that shook the entire southern warzone, a sound that could even be faintly heard by the other warzones, a note that spoke of eradicating everything!

This sound was the roars of these thousand people shouting at the same in the loudest voice in their lives!

”Kill them!”

With that roar in the air, Su Ming charged forward from the very front of the team, straight towards a more secluded area with hundreds of Shamans in the distance!

There were hundreds of Shamans over there, several dozens of Hunters, a dozen something ferocious beasts 1,000 feet in size, and a gigantic beast that was 10,000 feet in size. That was… a vital place to the Shamans!

The thousand man team followed right behind Su Ming. The crowd moved like a gigantic dragon on the ground, and as they charged forth, that powerful presence of theirs turned into the center of attention!

Shamans withdrew out of their way, and Berserkers were shocked. Under Su Ming’s guidance, the thousand man team shot forth like a sharp arrow through the southern warzone!

Zhou De saw all of this. He clenched his fists and his eyes shone brilliantly with anticipation. His breathing had also quickened as he continued watching.

‘Su Ming, let me see, let everyone see just how strong willpower is! This is your performance, it is your fortune that you are in the southern warzone, and this is also my chance…

‘If you can be the center of everyone’s attention in this battle, then I will also gain their attention! If you succeed, then in the future, the southern warzone will fight in the unique manner where the Hunters will serve as the leaders, forming their own teams. These different Hunters will influence their teams with their willpower and fight!’

Just as the thousand team led by Su Ming swept through the southern warzone like a violent gust of wind and became an incredibly striking sight, the eyes of the northern warzone’s commander began to sparkle. The old man who seemed to be calculating with his fingers did not need to use his eyes to observe things. With a unique Art, he was able to know things as if he had seen them with his own eyes.

Tian Lan Meng was also paying attention to what was happening at Su Ming’s place. There was a hint of anxiety on her face as she stared at the light screen before her, or more precisely, at Su Ming inside the screen leading the thousand men with the presence of a roaring tiger and leaving… the southern warzone!

The eight old men in Sky Mist City who had been talking to each other were all now completely silent. All their gazes were trained at the distance, at the long dragon formed by thousand men charging out of the outskirts of the southern warzone!

As they watched, all the people paying attention to the sight could sense an indomitable spirit coming from the head of the dragon and filling up the thousand people within, and that spirit turned into an incredible willpower among them!

The old man from Freezing Sky Clan who had taught Su Ming regarding the Art of speed previously at the tip of Frozen Ice Sky was sitting on the sword. He originally did not pay too much attention to the battles in the sky and on the ground; he had his own mission.

Yet at that moment, he appeared shocked, and his gaze was trained on Su Ming and his thousand men who had charged out of the southern warzone!

”Su Ming…” The old man had extraordinary power and his gaze was like lightning. He could see that the person with the blood soaked robes right at the front of the team… was Su Ming!

There was also a person sitting on the gigantic mirror belonging to Western Sea Clan, which was floating in the sky above the southern warzone. That person was a boy, and if Su Ming saw him, he would definitely be able to recognize at first glance that this boy was the Western Sea Clan member who had appeared during that auction.

‘It’s him…’ The boy’s eyes sparkled and his expression changed as he looked at Su Ming traveling on the ground.

Besides these people, the Berserkers at the edges of the battlefield also saw Su Ming and his team charging out of the southern warzone into the land of the Shamans, straight towards the empty spot in the distance with only several hundreds of Shamans situated there.

In the eastern warzone, Tian Lan You turned her head around for the first time and looked towards the southern warzone.

”Foolish!” she said coldly and averted her gaze to continue conducting the battle in the eastern warzone.