Pursuit of the Truth

The young man called Lei Chen lit up brightly and moved towards him, the boyish smile still on his face.

”I could have returned earlier, but we ran into a mink deer on our way back. I remember you said that you needed mink deer blood for your medicine so I followed it. That’s why I came back late.”

Su Ming knew that while his friend spoke of the encounter like it was no big deal, mink deer were exceptionally hard to kill and were very dangerous. Hence, he felt touched when he heard his friend’s words.

As the two of them spoke, the cheers around them gradually grew silent and the crowd made way for the elder. The elder wore a sack cloth and held a black cane made of bone in his hand. He walked towards the teenagers as he was escorted by a few tribe members.

His appearance brought about silence. The teenagers looked at him respectfully, obviously afraid of the man.

”Offer the sacrifice to our Berserker Ancestors!” His grandfather’s eyes were bright as he looked at the people gathered around him, his gaze pausing momentarily on Su Ming. As he spoke, he waved the black cane in his right hand. Immediately, several well built men stepped forward from within the crowd. Each of them carried with them a tied up wild beast on their shoulders.

The wild beasts were still alive and crying out in rage. They struggled fiercely but to no avail.

There were 49 different types of beasts and they were all lifted up moments later to be placed around the teenagers. Their cries resounded throughout the settlement, and their cries sounded like they had the power to pierce through souls. Yet, they were surrounded by the tribesmen of Dark Mountain Tribe. They were pressed down, making it impossible for them to break free.

The men standing by the beasts did not hesitate. All of them lowered their heads at the same time and took out sharp stone knives in their left hands. They then stabbed the beasts’ throats, cutting off their heads in the process.

Their cries were cut off abruptly as they were beheaded. It was a shocking sight and it made some of the La Sus partaking in the ritual turn pale in fear.

Su Ming also looked pale but he bit his lip and bore through it. He cast a glance at Lei Chen and saw that his friend’s eyes were filled with a scary glint. His eyes were filled a thirst for blood as if he was used to it or even enjoyed it. He looked completely different from the good-natured person Su Ming spoke to earlier.

More fresh blood spilled forth like a fountain and filled the air with a foul stench. The blood splattered onto the La Sus, on their hair, their bodies and the ground under their feet.

”You are fortunate because there are no longer any wars between tribes. But at the same time, you are unfortunate…” The elder looked at the teenagers standing before him and spoke softly.

”When I was young and went through my Awakening, I had to behead one of our enemies and drink their blood to complete my Berserker’s Awakening.”

”Compared to the present, you are fortunate… but you are also unfortunate because you only saw the blood of beasts and have never touched the heads of your enemies…” The elder mumbled and looked at the La Sus before raising the bone cane in his right hand and pointing forward.

He raised his left hand, which was clenched in a fist and opened it. Immediately, a powerful gust of aura blasted forth from his body. The aura surrounded them and formed a powerful blast of wind that surrounded the entire Dark Mountain Tribe.

Marks manifested on the elder’s face, which then intertwined with each other and formed a picture that looked like a python.

The python looked as if it was alive and real. It appeared on the elder’s face in the form of an illusion, raising its head and roaring into the sky. Even if they could not hear it, all the members of Dark Mountain Tribe, including the stronger leaders shivered and took a step back.

‘The Mark of the Dark Python…This is the elder’s Berserker Mark…’

Su Ming stared at the elder with a dumbfounded expression. As he looked at the Marks on his face, he was filled with awe. The last time he saw this was nine years ago. When he saw it again this time, the shock was even stronger than before.

‘The elder could destroy the entire tribe alone if he wanted to. He has such power and yet, he is only at the ninth level of the Blood Solidification Realm… Just how powerful are those who have Transcended then…?