Pursuit of the Truth

2nd: Mo Su, 781 steps!

There was a serious expression on Ye Wang’s face that was never seen before. He had his own dignity and pride. To him, there was no one who could be his opponent. The one that he wanted to compete against was himself!

Yet all his pride was shaken the moment the mountain roared and shook. It was as if at that instant a strong and unimaginable presence surged from the surroundings, shaking Ye Wang’s heart.

He could not remain steady, but neither could he ignore it. He stared at the plate in his hands. Never in his life had he been so aware and taken so much notice of someone!

This person had far surpassed Wu Sen, Chen Chong, and everyone else besides Ye Wang himself. Now, he was only twenty odd steps away from him. This sort of distance had aroused a sense of pressure and anxiety that was rarely seen and nearly nonexistent within Ye Wang!

‘Mo Su… Can you qualify to be my rival?’

There was a cold glint within Ye Wang’s eyes. Anyone who would meet that cold look would feel the pride of one not allowing anyone to surpass him.

Ye Wang was prideful and aloof. Since young, he surpassed all his peers with his incredible talent and stood at the top. He was also the Berserker’s Son within Wind Stream Tribe. His status within the tribe could be seen by how people treated him when they saw him.

He did not need to form cliques with other people, nor did he need to be enigmatic, or be surrounded by other people and revered, because no matter where he went, he would automatically destroy all those cliques. As long as he was there, he would become the brightest existence within the crowd. If he was in the area, then his brilliance would outshine even the most admired person!

He was Ye Wang! He looked down on all his peers, or perhaps more accurately speaking, he did not look down on them. He was simply indifferent towards them, ignoring their existence. He was indifferent towards all his peers because he believed that no one had the right to make him notice them and become his opponent!

Yet now, with Su Ming’s appearance, for the first time in his life, Ye Wang had the feeling that he found his opponent, and the rare sight of him paying attention to something came to be!

‘Then… let’s compete against each other!’

Ye Wang took in a deep breath. He may have looked as if he was gradually returning to his normal state of mind, but he was unable to calm down. If he was truly calm, then he could have waited until daylight before he started moving towards the top of the mountain. This was his plan beforehand.

Yet with Su Ming’s appearance, this plan changed! This was the first time in Ye Wang’s life that he changed his original plans due to someone around his age.

With a swing of his sleeve, Ye Wang lifted his feet with a serious look on his face as he walked towards the 804th step. The moment his footsteps landed, his body trembled and his breathing became a bit swifter. Yet, he did not stop. He continued onwards.

At that moment, Su Ming stood on the 781st step. His right hand was trembling. The moment his blood touched his right eye, he felt the entire mountain trembling. He felt the strange aura that came from all around Black Flame Mountain expand by leaps and bounds in this place. This was not something that the tiny Black Flame Mountain could compare. It was just a tiny bit of blood, but the aura that erupted forth far surpassed the amount when he finished covering his eyes with blood the second time in Black Flame Mountain.

The black mist in the entire mountain started rolling forth violently at that instant. The moment it seemed like a wild beast roared towards the sky from the top of the mountain, and the thunderous roars echoed madly within the mountain, the mist started rolling even more furiously, causing the entire mountain to seem to be alive with excitement.

Wisps of air quickly surged into Su Ming’s body, causing him to tremble violently, and the sensation as if he was about to explode surged forward once again.

Su Ming had once felt the force of the sensation when he previously tried the third burning of his blood, yet the force had become much stronger than before. A trickle of blood appeared at the corner of his mouth. His right hand trembled, and he had no choice but to put it down.

The moment he placed his hand down, the roars from within the mountain stopped, and the mist returned to its calm state. The strange aura coming from all around him also disappeared without a trace.

Everything returned to a state of calmness. It was as if that scene had only been an illusion, and it had never happened.

Su Ming panted harshly and stood on the 781st step. He looked at the summit before him, but did not sit down. He chose to close his eyes while standing instead, and used the very last step with the balanced pressure among the numbers the elder told him to begin refining his body!

At that moment, an incredible uproar stirred up a wave of discussions within the field located under the foot of the mountain. Due to the seal, they did not sense the incredible sight that happened within the mountain just moments ago.

They only saw the rankings on the nine eagle statues. They saw the person called Mo Su reach the 781st step, and there was only twenty something steps left between him and Ye Wang, who was in first place. The shock they felt stemming from within their hearts, and the looks filled with disbelief and dazedness in their eyes lashed against their bodies, causing their minds to become blank. They were reduced to a state where they could only let out cries of shock.

They even saw Ye Wang moving! Among the hundreds of people in the field, there were a large portion of them who did not think too much into why Ye Wang decided to continue moving up the mountain. They only thought that Ye Wang should have been moving in the first place. If they were in his place, then they would surely get up from their rest and continue moving.

However, the small circle that consisted of all the prodigies from Wind Stream Tribe ranked within the top fifty were familiar with Ye Wang. Their understanding towards Ye Wang was much better than the rest of the people’s in the field. Once they saw the number behind Ye Wang’s name change, the shock they felt in their hearts was much greater than of those who were not familiar with him.

"Ye Wang… looked at the plate!"

"He must have looked at the place. With his personality, once he looked at the plate, he should have felt indifferent towards him, but Mo Su is just too amazing. Even Ye Wang can’t remain calm because of him!"

"He changed his rhythm. Once Ye Wang makes a decision, he won’t change it easily. He must have been thinking about waiting until daylight before he started moving, but now, because of Mo Su, he changed his plans!"

Wu Sen’s face was pale as he sat far away in a corner. He looked at Mo Su’s name on the eagle statue and remained silent. He had been treating Bi Su as his main suspect earlier, but now, he felt that Mo Su might be the real person he should be suspecting… But…

‘This is just the first stage. We don’t compete on our strengths in this stage, but our potential. From what I can tell, it’s not as if I don’t have a way to get a definite answer as to who stole my Blood either…’

Wu Sen clenched his fists.

There were also the leaders of all the other tribes on the field who were staring at the eagle statues and the ranking. They all had their own thoughts, but the only thing that was similar was how they had similar looks of cold detachment as they watched Wind Stream make a fool of themselves. After all, since the past, forget the top three, there had never been any outsider who managed to make it into the top thirty, much less the top ten ranks in the test.

Yet now, not only were there two outsiders who made it into the top 10, but by the looks of it, that person called Mo Su might very well have the ability to compete for first place!

While this made them shocked, it also made them laugh within their hearts.

‘Mo Su… Mo Su… just which tribe do you belong to..? Why is it that there has never been such a person that appeared in my tribe… If you’re willing to join my tribe, then no matter what price I have to pay, I’d be willing to negotiate with you…’ the old woman from Dark Dragon Tribe lamented, but she also knew that it was impossible.

The Head of the Guards was astounded as he stood among those from Dark Mountain Tribe. He let out a huge breath, and he harbored a similar thought as the old woman from Dark Dragon Tribe.

Bei Ling, who stood beside him, had a hint of extreme passion within his eyes. He looked at Mo Su’s name. He knew of everything that happened during the first stage of the test. The strongest person he could get in touch to was Wu Sen. Yet right before his eyes, he saw a stranger manage to obtain the second place and even earn the right to compete for first place. This was something that made him extremely excited.

"This Mo Su is very strong!" Bei Ling spoke softly.

"That’s right. He’s really amazing. I wonder which tribe he belongs to… Ah, it’s a pity he’s not from our tribe…" There was admiration within Wu La’s eyes. She admired powerful people, especially Mo Su. She saw him rise since the beginning. That sort of feeling, as if she saw the scene personally, made her addicted with it.

"Don’t you think… this… Mo Su’s name, is a bit familiar…?" Lei Chen hesitated for a moment and spoke since the first time he came back.

"Familiar? Lei Chen, what do you mean?" Wu La was momentarily taken aback and turned to look at him.

"Perhaps I’m thinking too much… I just thought that the elder’s name is Mo Sang, and this person’s name is Mo Su… No matter how I look at it, it seems like it’s the combination of the elder and Su Ming’s names…" Lei Chen scratched his head and there was uncertainty in his eyes.

"You’re thinking too much!" There was a hint of scorn in Wu La’s eyes, and she turned her head away to ignore Lei Chen, choosing instead to look at the ranking on the eagle statues.

"Mo Su, why aren’t you moving? Ye Wang is already at the 827th step!"

Bei Ling did not speak, but the faint hint of disdain in his eyes showed his thoughts towards what Lei Chen had said.

Lei Chen fell silent.

As the people were discussing and looking at the ranks, the air twisted and suddenly two wisps of black mist appeared and travelled to the field before turning into Chen Chong and Bi Su. They arrived almost simultaneously on the field, and they immediately glared at each other when they saw the other.

When they returned, the people around them immediately cast their eyes on them. They also caught the attention of Wind Stream Tribe’s Jing Nan and Mo Sang who were located at the further end of the field.

"Chen Chong is pretty good," Mo Sang spoke, smiling faintly.

"Compared to Su Ming, he’s not much." Jing Nan still looked calm, but he had been inwardly astounded since a long time ago. He may have been somewhat expecting this for some time now, but he did not expect Su Ming to surpass his expectations so much and manage to reach this point.

"Mo Sang, let me take care of Su Ming!" Jing Nan turned his head and looked at Mo Sang as he spoke seriously.

"Let’s continue watching. We can talk later," Mo Su smiled and said.

At that moment, a cry of surprise rose abruptly. At the very instant someone shouted within the field, everyone noticed the change.

"Mo Su’s finally moving!"

"This is the final battle!"

Within the mountain shrouded by black mist, Su Ming stood on the 781st step with his eyes closed. He opened them suddenly, and a bright glint flashed briefly through his eyes.

There were only two blood veins left on his body!