Pursuit of the Truth

This tone and this arrogant attitude was one that perhaps not even Dao Ocean would be able to imitate… It was why the black-robed man in the illusion had not said such words during Su Ming’s trial.

Right then, once Su Ming heard it, even with his intelligence, he could not help but be stunned. That confident and forceful tone, that incredibly thick air of superiority, and the meaning behind the words implying that all the people in Arid Triad Expanse Cosmos were barbarians and savages and had to worship him and even immediately commit suicide if he so commanded or else they would be offending him… this was the first time Su Ming had met such a strange and bizarre person in his life.

“Would I be committing a heinous crime if I fought back?” Su Ming stopped for a moment, and when he turned his head around, he looked towards the black-robed man.

“It is not just a heinous crime. All those who fight back should have their entire families slaughtered. You ran when you saw me just now, and that is already a great sin!” the black-robed man said arrogantly after lifting his head. At that moment, his eyes, which were hidden under his black hood, shone faintly.

“Then what should I do now?” Su Ming could not help but smile due to the black man’s words. It had been a long time since he’d heard something so amusing, and he could not help but ask another question.

“Hmph, destroy your own cultivation base, break your arms and legs, and kneel in front of me. Beg for me to punish you, be obedient, let me search through your memories, and then offer your soul to me. Then, your sins will be pardoned.” The black-robed man put on a presumptuous expression and stared at Su Ming with an air of those who regarded themselves superior.

“Lowly barbarian, if you wait for me to attack, you will suffer a hundred times more. You do not know the difference between us. With a raising of my hand, I can turn you into ashes. Giving you a chance to kneel is already a great gift, now kneel!” the black-robed man placed said with arrogance, his hands placed behind his back.

Su Ming remained silent. He stared at the black-robed man without being able to understand this person at all. After some time, he shook his head. He had no idea what to say to such a strange person.

“You do not know what is good for you, you fool. Barbarians are barbarians. I gave you a chance, and you refused it. You’re just asking for death!”

The black-robed man let out a cold harrumph and took a step forward, completely disregarding Su Ming’s level of cultivation. He walked straight up to Su Ming and raised his right hand to grab his neck.

“I will let you know just how great is the difference between you barbarians and us Grand Immortals. I will let you know just what great reward were my words previously. Right now, even if you decide to kneel, I will not give you a chance.”

The black-robed man’s right hand instantly sank into air. A layer of ripples spread out from his palm, making it look like his palm had seeped through space. In an instant, it appeared before Su Ming and went to grab his throat.

“You made three mistakes,” Su Ming said flatly.

At the instant the black-robed man had his right hand come forth to grab him, Su Ming, too, brought his right hand up and grabbed the black-robed man’s wrist. With a shake, the destructive power from his body surged into the black-robed man’s body. Booming sounds reverberated in space, and the instant the black-robed man’s expression changed, Su Ming moved forward and rammed his shoulder against him.

“First, you should not have been so noisy.”

When the black-robed man coughed up blood, his expression changed drastically. However, Su Ming’s right hand held his wrist like a clamp.

At the instant the black-robed man coughed up blood, the vast suction force from Su Ming’s Abyss Gate spread out with a bang through his right hand. The black-robed man immediately cried out in pain, and his body withered. A large amount of life force was instantly sucked into the Abyss Gate.

“Impossible! You… You… You’re not in Mastery Realm!”

As the black-robed man screamed in pain, unprecedented fear and shock appeared on his face. At that moment, the other black-robed man around the tower in the distance spotted a change in his expression. Without any hesitation, he took a step forward and charged towards the place.

“Second, you shouldn’t have gotten so close to me.”

Su Ming released his grip, but in an instant, he seized the top of the black-robed man’s skull. When he tightened his grip, the black-robed man’s shrill screams of pain reverberated through the entire battlefield. As he trembled, wisps of white smoke surged out from his ears, nose, mouth, and eyes. All of them were swiftly absorbed by Su Ming’s right hand.

“Third, you shouldn’t have made me hate you so much.”

The instant Su Ming said those words, he exerted more force with his right hand, and with a loud crack, he shattered the black-robed man’s skull. At the same time, the final hint of life force and the final bit of his soul erupted and were all absorbed by Su Ming.

It was also at that moment that the other black-robed man closed in with a loud whistle. He lifted his right hand and pointed at Su Ming, but before he could cast his divine ability, Su Ming looked at him with a glint in his eyes.

With the first black-robed man in his grip, he quickly spread a hint of his soul and had it surge into the now empty corpse. When he pushed it forward, its cultivation base erupted with a bang, and the Light of Extreme Darkness spread out.

All of this happened in an instant. Immediately after, the divine ability executed by the other black-robed man when he pointed forward appeared in a shocking manner!

“Still!”

With one word, he could immobilize Su Ming’s body. If Su Ming had not seen this Art in the illusion from the trial, he would have definitely suffered greatly, since it would have been his first time seeing it. However, since he had already experienced this strange divine ability before, he was prepared for it.

At the instant that one word reverberated in space, the Light of Extreme Darkness erupted from him. He pushed the black-robed man in his hand forward, and the divine ability was blocked.

The corpse Su Ming had pushed forward came to a swift halt in the galaxy, as if it had been frozen. It had attracted all the force of the Immobilization Art from the black-robed man.

The Immobilization Art locked down souls, which was why even if there were obstructions in the way, they could still freeze a person. However, Su Ming had first had a bit of his soul fuse into the corpse in his hand to pass off an imitation as his genuine self, which had lured the Immobilization Art away from him. Then, he had the Light of Extreme Darkness block the Art, causing him to perfectly defeat it!

All of this might seem simple, and the others might not even be able to find anything strange or astonishing about it, but it was because they did not understand the power of the Immobilization Art. However, the black-robed man who had rushed in and cast the Art showed an unprecedented and drastic change in his expression. Disbelief filled his eyes, and he instinctively took a few steps backwards while his pupils shrank.

He could not imagine that there would be someone from this primitive and barbaric Expanse Cosmos where all the cultivators still borrowed or created laws and where no one understood the power of the celestial origin who would be able to break his Art. This was especially hard to believe when the person had broken the Art by exploiting the weakness which was known by a few people even in the 180 Expanse Cosmoses of Saint Defier.

“Sir, who are you?!”

As the black-robed man retreated, his tone turned incredibly grim. He could not regard this person who had killed his companion and broken the Immobilization Art as a barbarian.

The Light of Extreme Darkness was still spread out, but Su Ming stared at the black-robed man. The other’s face might have been hidden under the black robe, but at moment, it was clear that he was extremely on guard. Su Ming’s eyes narrowed slightly, and a brilliant glint no one could notice shone in his eyes.

“Which number are you among the Grandmasters of Five Fingers?” Su Ming suddenly asked. At the instant he said these words, the black-robed man’s expression immediately changed, and he was also momentarily stunned.

The instant he was taken aback and his guard was broken, Su Ming took a swift step forward, then raised his right hand and formed a sword with it before cutting down in the direction of the black-robed man!

“God Slayer Art!”

Piercing golden light instantly appeared on Su Ming’s palm. At the same time, the power of cutting fate erupted with a bang from his body. Once it changed the laws in the galaxy around him, it turned into a power that would strike all of those he wished to strike.

All of this happened in an instant, and the price for the black-robed man’s momentary pause was the golden light of the God Slayer Art on Su Ming’s palm reflecting off his eyes. The black-robed man’s expression changed, and he raised his right hand to swing his arm forward before he seized the space in Su Ming’s direction with his withered right hand.

Loud rumbles surged into space. The power that would absolutely strike its target caused the golden light spreading out from Su Ming’s palm to turn into a sword aura which could shock even the heavens. Once it clashed against the black-robed man’s right hand, it turned into the third power contained within the God Slayer Art—rebound!

A loud bang shot up, causing the black-robed man to cough up blood and fall back. Since Su Ming had activated the Abyss Gate, all of his divine abilities gained an additional power, which was why the one slash containing three forms of power had a fourth change at that moment. The vast power of absorbing all forms of life force and souls rose swiftly, causing the black-robed man who coughed up blood to instantly wither a little, and even a portion of his soul had been forcefully sucked out of his body.

A glint appeared in Su Ming’s eyes. Without giving even a sliver of a chance to the black-robed man, he yanked up the corpse of the other black-robed man in his hand and charged towards the one who had coughed up blood, moving so quickly that he instantly closed in on him. At the instant the black-robed man raised his right hand to cast the Immobilization Art again, Su Ming fought back against it in the same manner. He then brought his left hand up to strike the black-robed man.

The galaxy and the universe roared. A huge palm manifested in front of Su Ming, and as if it was pushing against the galaxy, it landed on the black-robed man’s body. His robes puffed up. The black-robed man might have been able to resist this attack, but he coughed up a large mouthful of blood. His body fell back like a kite with its string snapped. Shock and disbelief appeared on his face. At that moment, when he retreated in haste, he suddenly remembered something.

After they had been sent to Arid Triad Expanse Cosmos, only one of them had died in a battle in that long period of time. That companion had been killed by Morning Dao Sect. He also remembered that even one of the Ancient Gods had been killed by Morning Dao Sect.

When all these memories came to him, the black-robed man immediately withdrew without any hesitation. At that moment, all forms of status or attitude belonging to those of the Higher Realm were forgotten. He raised his right hand, and as he fled, he formed a seal behind himself. All his power erupted from his body, and when a ripple of power spread out, a gigantic octothorpe [1] was formed.

This octothorpe surrounded Su Ming. At the same time, Su Ming’s eyes sparkled. He raised his right hand. Without even forming a seal, he casually swung his arm.

“Time, turn back to seven breaths ago!”

The universe roared and changed. During that instant, time reversed, and the octothorpe around Su Ming disappeared. The black-robed man stopped fleeing, and instead returned to his previous location where Su Ming already waiting. He lifted his right hand and seized the black-robed man’s neck!

Translator’s Note:

1. Octothorpe: Means this #, the original is actually 井 (jing3), which LOOKS similar to the hashtag. Now 井 means well, so imagine that this guy is about to cast the well Art, but I guess his is a more advanced version, since the one previously formed a circle instead.