Pursuit of the Truth

Su Ming looked at these Shepherd Tower tribe members charging towards him quietly. He had heard about this tribe before when he was still in the ninth summit. It was one of the tribes that had submitted themselves to the Great Tribe of Freezing Sky a long time ago. They might not be as famous as Phantom Dias Tribe, but they did have their own unique traits.

The use of the warhorses in battle would greatly increase the effectiveness of a person in war. It was a fact. During the great war between the Shamans and Berserkers, numerous corpses of those from Shepherd Tower Tribe could be found on the battlefield after the numerous battles launched between both sides, their blood could spilled on the ground.

‘Compared to the Heaven Gate disciples, the control Si Ma Xin has over these people is much greater… Perhaps it’s because he needs the disciples in the first layer to head out, that’s why he didn’t plant a Seed in all of them.’

Su Ming looked at the endless Shepherd Tower tribe members charging towards him with their battle cries. He did not want to kill them, but these people were all charging towards him in desperation and recklessness, throwing all caution to the wind.

Even if Su Ming flew up, they would follow him in a mad charge. In fact, all those who were injured and had not died by the time they caught up to him, they would immediately choose to self-destruct, and even their warhorses would explode with them. The force formed by the explosion was nothing to Su Ming, but if a large number of them exploded in one go... the power would still be shocking.

When Su Ming arrived to the second layer, he was immediately surrounded by such a large number of Shepherd Tower tribe members that they blotted out the sky and covered the earth. He might not want to kill them, but he was forced to. At that moment, he charged out from their flank and rushed towards the sky. Behind him, all the Shepherd Tower tribe members followed in a mad charge.

’I have to open up the sky here and head straight towards the ninth layer!’ A glint appeared in Su Ming’s eyes, and as he lifted his right hand, the long spear manifested on his palm. He curled his fingers around it, then threw it towards the sky.

The long spear sliced through the air and charged straight towards the sky. The moment it touched it, a loud boom that was deafening to the ears rang in the air, and as it echoed, it stirred up layers of ripples in the sky… but the sky did not break open!

”You can’t open it… this isn’t a Rune, it’s a dimensional barrier. Unless you’ve mastered the power of the World Plane, you won’t even be able to make the barrier shake.

”This is Heaven Gate’s second layer. Su Ming, here’s a rule of this game. Search for the barrier seal to the third layer. If you can find it, then you can enter the third layer.

”Locating it is easy. Since we’re from the same clan, I’ll give you a hint. The barrier seal is in one of the Shepherd Tower tribe members. Once he dies, it will appear.

”So, enjoy... this battle to the death!”

With that gentle tone and obvious delight, Si Ma Xin’s voice echoed nonstop in the air with an incredibly arrogant manner. He even started laughing, and his laughter was filled with cruelty, along with the crazed delight of him seemingly able to control Su Ming as he pleased.

In silence, Su Ming hurled another punch towards the sky in midair. This time, he activated all the power of his Berserker Bones in his body, causing golden light to shine around his entire body. However, only ripples started spreading violently after he threw that punch… It still did not break!

Before Su Ming could continue trying, howling sounds came charging towards him from the distance. The two men behind the old man from Shepherd Tower Tribe and the one thousand blood riders had already closed in on him.

Su Ming frowned. Another round of slaughter and non-stop battles rained down on this world.

At that moment, a black glare flashed in the sky in the world in the second layer. Clearly, the bald crane had stolen a glance at Hu Zi when it was in the world outside, then came flying back, unable to just give up on those treasures. As its eyes sparkled, it started looting the corpses.

Yet not far into its looting adventures, Su Ming’s voice immediately appeared by its ears.

”Open the path to the third layer in the sky. Once you do, everything here will belong to you!” The bald crane had just seized a small bottle from a corpse beside its body and was fiddling around with it to inspect its contents when it heard Su Ming’s voice, and its eyes instantly brightened up.

”Oh well, this is just a small matter, I’ll help you.” It lifted its head smugly, then with a flap of its wings, it steered clear of the battle to arrive in the sky. It lunged forward, executing its unique method to open the path in the sky.

But almost the moment the bald crane touched the sky, it suddenly let out a shrill scream. Its body was originally turning into an illusion, but in an instant, it was bounced off and forced back several thousands of feet.

‘Morning Dao’s Seal?! This damn Morning Dao’s Seal… This… This is impossible! How is there a Morning Dao’s Seal here?! It might be incomplete and was created much later, but this presence… this is definitely Morning Dao’s Seal!’

Terror appeared in the bald crane’s eyes and it started retreating rapidly. As a flicker of light appeared in its eyes, it looked towards the ground.

‘This is Morning Dao’s mainland… I remember now! There was… There was a seal contained here under the ice in the past! It sealed up the second God of Berserkers’… what was it again…? The second God of Berserkers’ left hand!’

The bald crane immediately retreated.

The long spear in Su Ming’s right hand shuddered and turned into a layer of violet fog that started rolling and tumbling through the area, causing the four Shepherd Tower tribe members who were on the verge of self-destruction to be pushed off. Right then, Su Ming saw the bald crane retreating in shock.

‘It can’t open the path as well…?’

A complicated look appeared on Su Ming’s face. Rumbling sounds echoed in the area, and the four Shepherd Tower tribe members who had triggered their self-destruction died as their bodies exploded. Most of the impact stirred up by that explosion rushed towards Su Ming.

He quietly let the force of that impact ram into his body, and he took a few steps back. Right before him, the old man from Shepherd Tower Tribe formed a seal with his hands, and with a maniacal expression on his face, he swung his arms into the air, and a gigantic ferocious beast appeared under his feet. That beast was one thousand feet in size and had the head of a dragon, the tail of a snake, the body of a horse, and the horns of a bull. Just the sight of the creature alone gave it an incredibly mighty air!

”A tribe fighting for your freedom. You deserve respect…” Su Ming lifted his right hand, and the long spear in his hands disappeared. The violet armor on his body also turned into fine threads and disappeared when they crawled into his body.

”If you die under the Undertaker’s of Evil Spear, you will turn into vengeful spirits that will surround this armor and increase its might… All of you deserve respect. You shouldn’t die under this armor,” Su Ming said calmly.

He looked at the old man coming towards him, and a hint of conflict appeared on his face. He sighed in his heart, then took a step forward and lifted his right hand to form a seal. Then, he swung his arm, and immediately, a whirlwind appeared in the sky. As violent gusts of wind charged forward, the whirlwind started sweeping through the land beneath him.

As a large bang reverberated above, all the Shepherd Tower tribe members in the sky were sent tumbling backwards and coughed up blood at the same time. Only three people remained charging towards Su Ming.

The three people were the two men who were beside the old man previously, along with the old man himself.

The instant these three people closed in and the ferocious beast of a thousand feet roared, Su Ming took a step forward. There was a complicated look on his face, and as he moved forward, he appeared beside one of the men. Then, he lifted his right hand and pressed it against the man’s forehead.

The man started shivering, and all his organs were crushed, but his body remained in perfect condition. However, his eyes turned dark in an instant, and he started falling towards the ground.

”You are fighting for the freedom of your tribe, and I am fighting for the ninth summit. There is no enmity between us… The source of my grudge is Si Ma Xin, and Si Ma Xin alone!”

Su Ming turned around, and his gaze landed on the other man. That man started laughing brokenly, and a large amount of fine threads started crawling out of his eyes. During that instant, his body was engulfed in flames, and as his cultivation base began increasing exponentially, he abruptly exploded before Su Ming.

He knew that he was not Su Ming’s opponent. That was why he chose to self-destruct, and all of it was for the sake of fighting for a sliver of chance that might or might not exist for the Elder of their tribe!

Su Ming did not dodge the explosion triggered by the man’s self-destruction. Han Mountain Bell materialized around his body, and as he quietly bore through the brunt of the attack, he took a few steps back. The impact stirred up by the self-destruction had formed a violent gust of wind, causing Su Ming’s heart to ache slightly.

The Shepherd Tower tribe members who had been pushed away by the whirlwind just now and had coughed up blood due to their injuries started struggling to their feet beneath Su Ming. They charged out once again, and as they roared, they stormed towards him.

They wanted freedom. They longed for it, and now, this was their only chance.

The ferocious beast of a thousand feet closed in on Su Ming from behind while roaring. Shepherd Tower Tribe’s Elder stood on the creature, and his face was filled with grief. As mixed feelings churned in his heart, he gritted his teeth in his anguish.

He saw Su Ming’s actions, saw that he did not want to kill them. He also saw just how strong Su Ming was. And as he gritted his teeth, the ferocious beast under his body came to an abrupt halt in midair.

”Stay back!” He let out a low shout, and as his voice traveled in the air, all the Shepherd Tower tribe members who were rushing towards Su Ming from all around him came to a stop, and they looked towards their Elder simultaneously.

”Sir, do you have the confidence to kill Si Ma Xin?” the old man from Shepherd Tower Tribe looked at Su Ming and asked in a low voice.

The bell around Su Ming faded away, and he turned around to look at the old man from Shepherd Tower Tribe. After a long time, he spoke.

”If he doesn’t die, then I will.”

The old Elder of Shepherd Tower Tribe looked towards Su Ming, and he saw the silent fury burning in his eyes. The old man closed his eyes, and after some time, he opened them.

”If he doesn’t die, then we will die with you. If he dies, then our tribe will worship you as our esteemed sovereign!”

Resolution appeared on his face. Once he said those words, he lifted his right hand swiftly, and right before Su Ming’s eyes, he had one finger pierce the center of his own brows. His face turned pale and he started trembling. As his life force started flowing away, he plunged his entire right hand into the center of his brows and brought out a silver crystal.

”This stone… is the barrier seal… Help… us, kill him…” The old man laughed brokenly. The ferocious beast underneath lifted its head and let out a shrill, heartbroken cry, and the old man’s body fell down, right down into the arms of his tribe members.

The crystal flew out on its own and charged into the sky. The moment it touched the ceiling above, a huge vortex swiftly appeared, and within it was the world of the third layer!

”Elder!”

”Elder!”

Shrill, heartbreaking cries echoed in the air, and the emotionless, apathetic looks on the faces of the Shepherd Tower tribe members were gone. Amidst their grief, they rushed towards the old man’s corpse, and weeping sounds echoed through the land. The large number of Shepherd Tower tribe members knelt down beside the old man’s corpse, and their grief-stricken cries floated into the distance...

Tears fell from the eyes of the elderly folk who saw this from the mountain range, and the children in their mothers’ embraces seemed to have noticed as well, and they started crying silently.

The whole world was filled with grief and a heavy sadness.

Su Ming watched this, then bowed deeply towards the old man on the ground. This was a person who deserved respect.

”Si Ma Xin, if I don’t kill you, then I can no longer call myself a human.”

Su Ming did not shout these words, but instead chose to mumble them under his breath, only to his own ears. Every single word was engraved into his heart, and once he finished speaking, he lifted his head and looked towards the vortex. Killing intent burned even stronger in his eyes, and he charged towards the sky.