Pursuit of the Truth

Chapter 432: To Go Forward, Retreat!

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Tie Mu was already feeling rather regretful in his heart, and his anger towards the trouble the woman caused burned hotly. However, this was not the time for him to think about it. He had to use the chance before this person announced his background and tribe to kill him or injure him badly.

He turned around, and his right leg swept forth like a violent gust of wind. Immediately, a rolling yellow ocean manifested to his west, rolling about and sweeping up a large amount of illusionary yellow sand that raged in the sky.

"Fourth Ode: Northern Sea!" Tie Mu growled, and as his body spun around, he swept his left leg to the north. Soon after, a black sea manifested to the north, and it came crashing towards with roaring waves.

Su Ming retreated, and as he did so, he lifted the spiked club in his hands and swung it around. As his clone fought against Tie Mu, the spiked club in Su Ming’s hand had already been swung around four times, and each circle was bigger than the last. After those four circles, the spiked club had become incredibly long, and it was so heavy that it was the maximum weight that Su Ming’s physical body could bear.

Su Ming’s goal in this battle was to test his combat capabilities, not to risk his life in this. That was why after swinging that club four times, he no longer added to the spiked club’s weight. Even if he had wondered many times in his heart just… how much weight he could add to the spiked club he had taken from the glacier.

The four circles caused deafening sounds in the sky. Each hum caused the crowd underneath to feel fear in their hearts after they heard it. The instant Tie Mu’s Four Ocean Ode crashed into the Earthen Aura Azure Dragon and the ocean formed from the First Transformation from the Nine Transformation Art belonging to Su Ming’s clone, Su Ming’s spiked club drew a big arc, forming the shape of a gigantic fan in the sky, and covered the light from the nine moons in an instant, then crashed down on the illusionary oceans and Tie Mu.

Booming sounds shook the sky and earth. The illusionary oceans immediately shattered, and they were destroyed due to two sources of power. One of them came internally from the clone, and the other crashed into it externally, due to Su Ming’s spiked club landing on it from the sky.

As the oceans crumbled, the sea the clone had made was also blown away, blending into the ocean around it, dyeing the air a faint shade of red. At the same time, the clone quickly retreated, and in the span of a few breaths, he returned to Su Ming’s side.

However, the instant the clone warped backwards, a furious roar came from the disappearing illusionary ocean before him. Looking disheveled, Tie Mu closed in on the clone in an instant. His eyes were bloodshot, and he spread his right hand wide open, seizing the clone just as quickly as he was moving.

He grabbed the clone’s throat, and right when Tie Mu wanted to savagely crush what he thought was a puppet, suddenly, a loud hum echoed in the air around Su Ming’s clone, and he swiftly turned into a large layer of black fog that was spreading through the area quickly.

That black fog was formed of multiple black beetles. In fact, the part Tie Mu’s right hand had seized was made up of black beetles. He did not even catch the real body of the clone. The clone’s real body was staring at Tie Mu coldly as he retreated swiftly.

As those black beetles spread out while Tie Mu was taken aback by the sight, the clone’s appearance was clearly shown before him. Once Tie Mu saw that dried up body and those gray eyes, his expression changed drastically for the first time. His pupils even shrank, and disbelief along with shock rose on his face.

"Ji Yun Hai! You’re Ji Yun Hai!" Tie Mu’s expression changed drastically. He had recognized the owner of those gray eyes. It was Ji Yun Hai, the man who he had been briefly acquainted with in the past!

It was especially easy to remember him when he saw the black beetles pouncing on him from all around with a howl. Those beetles made Tie Mu absolutely certain that this person was Ji Yun Hai!

However, once he was certain that the person before him was Ji Yun Hai, a deep wave of dread rose instantly within his heart. He came to an abrupt stop and looked towards Su Ming.

At that moment, once Su Ming brought that club down, sharp pain shot up his right hand, and most of his body was completely numb. As he quickly retreated, his face turned slightly pale.

The spiked club rapidly shrank, and once Su Ming put it away, his clone returned to his side with a warp.

Tie Mu stared at Su Ming, while a huge storm raged in his heart. He simply could not imagine how such a powerful Latter Shaman like Ji Yun Hai could be turned into a puppet by someone else!

This sort of thing made Tie Mu instantly feel terror towards Su Ming.

He sucked in a sharp breath, and with a jolt of his body, the pouncing black beetles were immediately bounced several dozens of feet away, but they rushed towards him again without fear of death.

‘There’s no mistaking this. These are Ji Yun Hai’s Origin Shaman Bugs… How… How could he be turned into someone else’s puppet?!’ Tie Mu stared at Ji Yun Hai, who was standing beside Su Ming, and his face gradually turned pale.

‘He has valuable treasures, has Ji Yun Hai acting as his puppet, is a Soul Catcher, and his divine abilities are also strange and unpredictable… Just who… is this person?!’

As Tie Mu was feeling shocked to the core, an intense commotion had broken out among the crowd underneath. Even Nan Gong Hen was in a state of disbelief.

"Ji Yun Hai! Senior Tie Mu said that the puppet is Ji Yun Hai!"

"He’s talking about that Ji Yun Hai, the best Soul Catcher under all End Shamans, the one who had disappeared for many years!"

"This person actually managed to turn Ji Yun Hai into his puppet. If he didn’t refine it on his own, it would be impossible for that person to control him…"

"He might be in a disadvantage in this battle, but he’s already incredibly strong to be able to battle against a Latter Shaman up to this point!"

Nan Gong Hen remained stunned for a long time before he eventually started laughing wryly. His estimation of Su Ming’s power had changed multiple times and he had originally thought it would not change anymore, but by the looks of it, he had still underestimated Su Ming by a long mile.

Tie Mu waved his arm in the sky, and once he shoved all the black beetles around him away, he forcefully shifted his eyes from Ji Yun Hai’s body and looked towards Su Ming.

"I’ll ask you one more time. Which tribe do you belong to?!" Tie Mu voiced his question word by word.

"It’s just a small tribe. You wouldn’t have heard it before, senior Tie Mu." Su Ming’s answer remained the same, and his expression was calm. His power circulated in his body, and his fighting spirit continued burning in his eyes.

"What an ungrateful brat. Even if you have Ji Yun Hai as your puppet, but I was only using a portion of my power just now… I gave you a chance, if you’re not going to tell me the truth, then I will capture you today and have the adults in your tribe come and get you!"

Tie Mu’s thoughts had already changed, and he was beginning to be unwilling to kill Su Ming. He already had a plan in his head. If this person really had some background behind him, then someone would surely come to help him shortly.

If no one came, then it would mean that this person truly did not have any sort of background behind him. If that was the case, it would still not be too late for Tie Mu to kill him.

"If that is the case, then I will have to ask to learn from you once again." Su Ming smiled faintly. With a freezing glint in his eyes, he waved his right hand, and immediately, black smoke appeared and thickened beside him. When it gathered together and shrank, his Poison Corpse formed!

The appearance of that Poison Corpse and the presence he exuded clearly showed that his original status was that of a Berserker in the initial stage of the Berserker Soul Realm!

There was no light in the Poison Corpse’s eyes, but the imposing presence, the dark shade that covered all of its body, and the distortions that appeared in the air because of the poison that was clearly spreading from him not only caught the crowd around the area completely off guard, it also stunned Tie Mu momentarily. Right after, his expression immediately changed!

As his expression changed, Tie Mu also began laughing wryly in his heart.

‘Just what is this person’s background? Not only does he have Ji Yun Hai, he also has a puppet made from a Berserker in the Berserker Soul Realm, and this puppet is clearly filled with poison… And the boy has way too many skills at his disposal. By the looks of it, he still has a lot he hasn’t revealed. Damn it, just how in the world did I run into this monster?!

‘He isn’t a Medial Shaman, this is… he’s just plain going too far!’

Tie Mu could not stop laughing wryly in his heart. If it was just Ji Yun Hai’s puppet, he still had the confidence of fighting against him at full power… but if this person threw in that clearly extraordinary Poison Corpse into the mix... Even if he could win this battle, there would be grave consequences for him.

If they were outside, it would have been fine, but they had just entered the World of Nine Yin, and Eastern Goosefoot Tribe had yet to execute their plan. He could not get hurt.

He was right. Su Ming did indeed still have some skills he had not revealed. He had still yet to use his three Wind Separation Slashes, and that was if he did not mention all his other attacks. Through this battle, as Su Ming’s puppets appeared one after another, he found the difference between him and a Latter Shaman.

If he attacked alone, he would not be able to hold his own in the fight. If his clone appeared, he could still somewhat put up a fight, but if he also brought out his Poison Corpse, then he could fight against an initial stage Latter Shaman, and he would not necessarily lose to that Shaman!

This was the first time Su Ming felt himself becoming stronger in the land of the Shamans. This sort of feeling made him experience a myriad of emotions.

‘Some of my attacks are external forces. I wonder when will I be able to use my own true power to fight against a Latter Shaman without using a clone or a puppet…’

Tie Mu hesitated for a moment and let out a long sigh. He cast a complicated look at Su Ming, then without another word, he turned around and charged towards the ground, landing beside the woman who was now struck dumb by Su Ming’s attacks, then he lifted his hand, and slapped her across the face.

The woman coughed out blood and fell to the side. Her cheek became swollen, and she lowered her head, not daring to speak. While she was observing Mo Su and the old man’s battle, she had already known that she had caused trouble…

"Sir, you killed several of my tribe members, and I’ve now punished her as well. Let us now put this matter behind us. If you still want to continue fighting, then I will fight you to the end!" Tie Mu turned his head around and looked at Su Ming coldly.

"Senior, your level of cultivation runs deep, and I am not your match. Even if I used all my strength, I am still in a disadvantage, I wouldn’t dare continue…" Su Ming smiled wryly and wrapped his fist in his palm towards the old man with a respectful expression.

When Tie Mu saw Su Ming’s attitude and heard his words, his expression warmed up slightly. This person might have attacked and fought against him, but he still remained rather polite. He always addressed Tie Mu as his senior, and he was even helping him retain his dignity before these people.

His tact made Tie Mu be unable to feel too angry towards him. In fact, he even had the feeling that there was a high possibility that his own people were the ones who provoked him first.

Subconsciously, he dispelled the thought of hunting down Su Ming after he was done with his task. Tie Mu even grew slightly fond of him.

In addition to his wariness towards Su Ming’s varied methods and his suspicions towards his status, that slight fondness grew in Tie Mu’s heart, and he cast a deep look at Su Ming.

"Well, you young folks do need to be impulsive in certain things. Since my tribe was the one who was unreasonable in this matter, I can understand why you attacked. You don’t need to be humble about this either. This battle ended in a tie!"

Tie Mu’s expression became much warmer. Once he finished speaking, he turned around and had his tribe members bring the boy and woman to leave through the air. When they left, there was a yellow spot at the cloth between the boy’s legs, and there was the stench of urine coming from there.

The boy who was not even a Fledging Shaman, he would never forget the battle this day.

Once the people from Eastern Goosefoot Tribe left, the people around the area looked towards Su Ming. Their eyes were filled with non malicious envy and respect. No matter what, Su Ming’s strength were deeply etched into all their hearts. Before long, the entire Shaman City would know about the battle between Mo Su and Tie Mu.