Pursuit of the Truth

At the spot in the center of the nine continents on the first plane used for the Anointment Ceremony in Morning Dao Sect, a piercing light instantly appeared amid the buzzing sounds and uproars in the area once Chi Ling Wei left Su Ming’s platform. In that light was a person, and he took a large step forward. With a bang, he stepped onto the platform, revealing his large and bulky figure as well as a powerful mighty pressure.

“Han Ta, Mountain Arriver. Your Highness, please grant me your teachings!” he said in a muffled voice that sounded like a roar. The man’s eyes were wide open, as if he was angry. He had a ferocious appearance that exuded a fierce air, and when he spoke to Su Ming, his voice was as loud as thunder.

“Han Ta? Even he came! This fight will definitely be interesting!”

“He’s one of the top ten most powerful warriors in the last ten thousand years. Even though he’s only ranked tenth, that ranking was not created by Morning Dao Sect. It’s based on the bounty arranged by Immortals’ Union. Its authenticity is pretty self-evident.”

“That’s right, I heard that Han Ta is also ranked tenth in the war achievement ranking board in Morning Dao Sect!”

Discussions spread through the area around the platform, and Su Ming cast a glance at the man before him. Without his knowledge, a hint of nostalgia appeared on his face. As he stared at the man, he remembered his third senior brother.

Hu Zi was also like this man. He was an honest and straightforward person, but also ferocious.

‘Hu Zi, where are you?’ Su Ming shook his head.

A ferocious smile appeared on the man’s lips. He was very confident, because he knew that whenever he smiled that way, he would deliver a certain amount of intimidation to others. At that moment, as he smiled in that ferocious manner, he lifted his foot and took a swift step towards Su Ming. When he raised his right hand, he threw a punch, stirring up a loud bang.

He was in Mastery Realm and had mastered the divine ability known as Unmoving. With the idea of using the pinnacle of physical power to make the universe tremble, he would attack with physical power.

A loud bang shot into the air, and the punch seemed to slice through the air, tearing apart a large crack in the air while it swept towards Su Ming.

‘If Hu Zi saw someone so similar to him, he’d definitely be very happy.’

Su Ming smiled and also took a step forward. With only physical power as well, he threw a punch forward. When his fist collided with that of the man, a loud bang shot up. The man staggered a few steps back. Su Ming also moved a step back. Blood trickled out of the corners of his mouth. That blood was not because of the man, but due to the injuries Su Ming had sustained in the Striking Lands.

When the man was forced back, his Qi and blood started surging violently due to the tremor from the clash. His body was unable to move even a single inch during that instant.

Su Ming wiped off the blood at the corners of his lips. He then cast a glance at the screen of light covering the lotus platform. With a flash in his eyes, a ray of black light shone around his body and left it with a loud whoosh. That black light was the Light of Extreme Darkness, and at the instant it crashed against the screen of light around him, it distorted before it shattered with a bang, causing everything on the platform to be revealed clearly to those in the area outside.

“How many other challengers are there? Come to me, all of you! You aren’t my opponent if you challenge me alone!” Su Ming’s voice immediately left the lotus platform and echoed in all the cultivators’ ears.

After a short period of silence, long arcs immediately shot out from the crowd. There were seven in total, and they were all using an extreme speed to charge towards Su Ming’s platform.

Two of the seven were women while the rest were men. The oldest had a head full of white, and the youngest was a bald boy. As the seven people charged forward, the power that erupted from their bodies showed clearly that all of them… were in Mastery Realm!

The appearance of those people immediately stirred up a powerful uproar and a loud rumble among the cultivators in the area.

“It’s those seven. Eight among the ten strongest have appeared…

“Besides Dao Xuan Yi, who is ranked first and has yet to return from beyond the True World and Ding Jiu Xiao, who is ranked second and who was taken by the War Chamber to defend our world, all of the ten strongest in Morning Dao Sect have appeared!”

“After this battle, there will no longer be any challengers. All those that have a hint of reason in their minds would definitely not challenge Dynast Dao Kong again!”

“But Dynast Dao Kong will definitely lose this battle. He’s one up against eight. No matter how high his level of cultivation is, it’s useless. Dynast Dao Kong is a little too arrogant… But even if he fails, he has already shocked everyone earlier. His fame will only be second to that of Dao Xuan Yi and Ding Jiu Xiao!”

All the seven people were ranked among the ten strongest. They had intended to fight Su Ming one after another not because they fancied the status of a Dynast, but because they wanted to test his power, and at the same time, they also wanted to test their own power.

At that moment, after they heard Su Ming’s words, the seven of them hesitated for a moment before rising up. They instantly turned into long arcs and closed in on his lotus platform. When they landed, they stood beside the man whose gaze was extremely solemn and whose Qi and blood had only just recovered.

“Your Highness, please grant us your teachings!”

With solemn expressions, the seven wrapped their fists in their palms and bowed towards Su Ming. Almost at the moment they did so, the man similar to Hu Zi let out a low growl. When he leaped up, he threw a punch at Su Ming again.

When he did so, his body shuddered. His aura and essence erupted and reached their peak during that moment. His veins popped up. Cracking sounds gathered on his palm, and when he threw his punch forward, the shadow of a gigantic fist appeared in front of him.

At the same time, the bald boy took a few steps back. His eyes shone swiftly, and immediately, two more pupils appeared in his pupils!

Waves of dark light flashed within them, and in his gaze, countless threads appeared on the lotus platform. Those threads were formed by laws. When they landed in his eyes, he raised his hands and swiftly started manipulating the air around him, changing the laws in the area. Because of that, Su Ming immediately noticed a power rejecting him. It was as if his existence did not fit with the area and the universe during that instant.

Soon after, a man and a woman moved and disappeared without a trace. When they appeared again, they were already on Su Ming’s sides. The cultivation method the two of them practiced was clearly the same. Their bodies became vague, as if they were existences caught between reality and illusions. It allowed them to avoid most divine abilities, and coupled with their powerful might, plenty of powerful cultivators had died in their hands when they fought against the Immortals’ Union.

The old man swung his arm. Immediately, a five-colored light appeared. When nearly one hundred rays shined, they turned into a large number of Enchanted Treasures, as if there would be no end to them. Once they appeared, a powerful, sharp presence spread out from them, and all of them charged towards Su Ming.

The second woman let out a piercing roar. She then split into nearly one hundred copies of herself. They surrounded the lotus platform and let out shrill screams simultaneously. It sounded as if there were voices shouting nonstop in the area, and the hearts of all who heard them suffered sharp stabs of pain. The audience even grew dizzy.

One of the other two remaining people took a step forward, and with a loud bang, his body swelled up. He became much bulkier and turned into a giant of one hundred feet. He took a step forward with Han Ta and rushed towards Su Ming.

The last one was dressed in a large, long robe. At that moment, his robe shone. With a loud buzz, a large number of centipedes with wings flew out from within it. Those centipedes let out hissing sounds and rushed to Su Ming as they covered the sky and earth.

The eight people attacked at the same time, and their monstrous presences surged into the air. Su Ming threw his head back and laughed.

“Those in Mastery Realm have reached the pinnacle of physical power. Besides these two, the six of you have all walked down the wrong path. You reached Mastery Realm, but you still treat yourselves as cultivators. I will… only need eight strikes to defeat all of you!”

Su Ming took a step forward to face off against the giant that was Han Ta, since he had been the first to arrive in front of him. At the instant he closed in, Su Ming formed his fists and threw two punches forward at the same time.

Booming sounds reverberated in the air, and Han Ta coughed up blood. His body tumbled backwards, and the giant fist in front of him shattered.

The giant beside him shuddered. As he was sent backwards as well, his gigantic body was torn into pieces and returned to its original form. The man then coughed up blood.

Su Ming did not stop. He simply allowed the laws in the area to turn into threads to surround him before throwing a punch into the air with his right hand. The air instantly shuddered and all the threads were shattered.

“The pinnacle of power can shake the universe and shatter space itself, much less laws.”

The instant Su Ming said those words and his punch landed, not only did he shatter the threads of laws, he also shattered the boy’s pupils. The youth trembled, and blood flowed out of his eyes. He coughed up blood and tumbled backwards.

At the same time, Su Ming look to the right and left, from where the man and woman wanted to attack him. He stretched out his arms and threw a punch in each direction. Ripples spread out, and the two were forced out of being between the state of real and an illusion. They fell back in shock.

“And you…”

Su Ming looked towards the person who had released a large number of poisonous centipedes. He clenched his right hand. With a loud bang, a violent gust of wind stirred up. It swept through all directions, and all the centipedes let out terrified screeches. The person who had released them coughed up blood and took a few steps back.

“You too…”

When Su Ming turned around, he seized the air with his right hand, then with another punch, all the Enchanted Treasures which were charging towards him shattered with a bang. Blood then trickled down the lip of the old man who had brought them out, and he immediately retreated.

“You’re the last!”

Su Ming raised his right hand, then punched the platform. A loud bang shot up, and a large wave swept outwards through the area from the spot where the fist landed, immediately pushing back the hundreds of clones belonging to the woman who had split herself up before they dissipated to reveal her real body in the distance. She coughed up blood and fell back.

“Not enough, again!”

Su Ming laughed at the sky, and blood trickled down the corners of his lips due to his movements tearing at his injuries, but a powerful desire to fight shone in his eyes.

An unprecedented solemn expression appeared on the eight people’s faces. They cast each other a glance before rushing at Su Ming again.

As they fought, a Relocation Rune shone on a continent in the third plane. The old man who had returned from the Barren Lands of Divine Essence walked out from it. With a pale face, he rushed to the first plane with an anxious expression.

He wanted to tell what he’d learned to the sect masters. The news… had shocked him to no end when he’d learned about what had happened. If he was not absolutely certain of it, he would not have believed that Dynast Dao Kong had… stirred up such a shocking storm in Divine Essence Star Ocean!

When he remembered that the sect master who had asked him to head to the Barren Lands of Divine Essence seemed to harbor some animosity towards Dynast Dao Kong, the old man’s heart trembled. Even if he had to offend that sect master, he would absolutely not offend that Dao Kong even a single bit!