Pursuit of the Truth

“Don’t threaten his life,” the old man said with complicated emotions.

The dozen something people charged forward. When they closed in on Su Ming, his shrill laughter echoed in space. With great anger and sadness, he raised his right hand and threw a punch towards the dozen something people before him. With it, he executed the most powerful force he could bring out in this body – the offensive power of those in Solar Kalpa Realm.

Loud booms sounds surged into the sky. As it grew so loud that it was deafening to the ears, the dozen something people’s bodies stopped altogether. In fact, even the old man’s pupils shrank. The power that erupted from Su Ming’s body caused him to be apprehensive!

“So this is my people!” Su Ming spoke with a bark of laughter filled with anger and sadness. However, the anguish in his laughter was an emotion that only those who had lived through his experiences could sense. “This is the people I never forgot and insisted on searching while living a life of trials and hardships, going through dangers that almost cost me my life!” Su Ming raised his right hand and threw a punch forward again.

“I did not come here today for you Dust Burners. I will take the things my father left here, and with just you… you will not be able to stop me!”

Su Ming took a step forward and threw a punch again. The full power of Solar Kalpa Realm erupted from his body at that moment. Booming sounds reverberated in the air, and by himself, he forced the dozen something Dust Burners to continuously retreat.

Su Ming’s punches did not land on anyone’s bod, but struck the area in front of them. Because of that, it formed a powerful impact. It swept up the dozen something people, preventing them from getting close to him. They could only move back continuously.

The old man’s expression changed. His pupils shrank, and a strange light appeared in his eyes as he stared at the body Su Ming controlled.

‘The previous tribe leader left this place ten thousand years ago. This child’s appearance is practically the same as his, and he has the presence of us, Dust Burners. There is no possibility that we could be wrong in this.

‘I might not know with what woman and from what race the previous tribe leader had this child, but the nine marks of the flames at the center of his brows clearly show the purity of his blood.

‘He does indeed belong to the main bloodline of Dust Burners… If we judge based on this, then he should only be some thousands of years old, but with just thousands of years… he has already reached this Realm. His potential… Even if he doesn’t have the main bloodline, he would still become a presence that surpasses all of the others in our tribe.

‘It’s a pity… If Progenitor could egress, then we might still be able to change things.’ As the old man shook his head, he fell into contemplative silence. Suddenly, his eyes shone, as if he had come to some sort of decision, and he spoke swiftly.

“All of you, turn into the Burning Spirit!”

As the old man spoke, the dozen something Dust Burners stopped and wrapped themselves into a ball together. The marks of the flames at the center of their brows fused together, and suddenly, booming sounds reverberated in space. The dozen something people turned into a dozen something large flame giants in the blink of an eye, and as they roared, they charged towards the stranger.

Su Ming saw the old man’s expression change, and a thought formed in his heart. He did not believe that this had not caught the attention of Dust Burners’ Master of Fate, Lives, and Death, not when this happened right at the tribes doorstep. However, that person had still not appeared. There had to be a reason behind it.

Su Ming had a few ideas why that might be so.

There was a large floating continent at the core of the fog. That continent was not too large, but it was big enough for a hundred thousand something Dust Burners to live for countless years.

This was where the Dust Burners’ tribe was stationed.

There was a desert on the continent, and not a single plant could be seen there. Hot air filled the entire area, and there were hot gusts of wind occasionally blowing through the place. There were towers on the ground. Their heights were different, but even the shortest tower was thousand something feet tall. As for the tall ones, they were several hundreds of thousands of feet tall.

If a person cast their gaze across the land, they would find that there were hundreds of thousands of these towers around. They were scattered all over the place, and there were flames burning around them. The most important ones were located at the top of the towers. As for those around the buildings themselves, they were formed by the sea of fire spilling down from the top like flowing streams of water.

The flames at the tops of the towers did not seem too strange at first sight, but if anyone looked carefully, they would find that each of them formed eyes.

Because of it, the continent gave off a feeling that it had hundreds of thousands of eyes that seemed to be looking at all the secrets in the universe for all eternity.

At that moment, at the top of the tallest tower, which stood at one hundred thousand something feet tall, was a middle-aged man sitting under the eye of the flame. His face was blackish red, and his expression gave off an awe-inspiring air. There were nine marks of flames at the center of his brows.

He watched the gigantic eye in front of him, not doing anything.

Standing beside him were nine old men. None of them were speaking at that moment. They only looked at the eye of the flame.

Within it was the image of Su Ming fighting against the dozen something Dust Burners in the fog beyond the continent.

After a long while, the middle-aged man asked faintly while remaining seated, “Has Progenitor shown signs of egression?”

“There’s no signs whatsoever,” one of the old men behind him answered in a low voice.

“No signs, hmm..? Then it means that the old man has already egressed.” The middle-aged man smiled faintly, but there was a dark and sinister aura to it. This was due to the presence of the body Su Ming controlled in the eye of the flame.

“This person is not old, but he has already reached this Realm. It’s clear that he has run into plenty of dangers and difficulties in the years he has wandered outside…” the middle-aged man said softly. “I have never showed any care towards him over the years as his uncle. I feel slightly ashamed to face my older brother.” The middle-aged man sighed softly.

“Oh well, just kill him. The nine of you, go personally. Use the fastest speed you can muster to wipe out all his traces. I feel incredibly uncomfortable just looking at the nine marks of flames at the center of his brows.”

The middle-aged man’s voice remained calm. The nine old men by his side hesitated for a moment before lowering their heads and voicing their obedience. In the span of a breath, all nine of them disappeared without a trace.

“How can the old man not feel tempted by the presence of such a prodigy..? But why have you still not said anything..? Could it be that there is something wrong with this person..? Oh well, I’ll help you solve this,” the middle-aged man mumbled and closed his eyes.

In the endless expanse above the fog formed by the sea of fire was a spot far away from the battlefield. It was quiet there, and even the rumbles from the fright could not reach this place.

In the fog was a blurry figure sitting cross-legged. He was not tall and appeared very thin and small, having the appearance of a boy. He was currently staring at the area beneath him, as if his gaze could penetrate all the fog and see Su Ming on the battlefield.

The blurry figure shook its head and said to softly to itself, “There’s nothing wrong with his presence. There’s nothing wrong with the mark of his flame… The feeling of his blood is also correct… and his expression seems incredibly real as well, but why do I constantly sense an unfamiliar presence about him?”

‘When Ze Rong and his brother had a falling out in the past, it was a pity that I had something to attend to outside. When I returned, he had already left the tribe. I predicted that he would run into a disaster that would cause his death, and it was of a kind that could not be resolved, which was why I did not chase after him and search for him. The tribe then obtained a new tribe leader.

‘But in my predictions, Ze Rong did not have children…’ The eyes of the blurry figure sparkled, and a piercingly cold look appeared within them, but there was still hesitation within them.

“Whether or not you are a Dust Burner and Ze Rong’s descendant… will depend on whether you have awakened our people’s inborn ability, Burning Spirit. If you can transform into a Burning Spirit, then I will appear and recognize you as well as let you return to us. If you can’t… then I’d like to see just who is scheming against us Dust Burners!” The blurry figure laughed coldly and no longer spoke.

Booming sounds surged into the heavens from the battlefield and reverberated in space. In the face of the dozen something Dust Burners who had turned into Burning Spirits, which were the flame giants, Su Ming kept going forward and did not stop. Even if these people’s level of cultivation increased exponentially once they transformed, the highest among them was just in Lunar Kalpa Realm. Compared to his current body, which could bring forth the power of Solar Kalpa Realm, the difference was too great.

And this was before Su Ming even activated the power of his Ecang clone. If he did, then he could let this body fight against an Almighty who had reached Mastery Realm, just like Heaven Traversers’ Progenitor. If Su Ming had been in possession of this body created by the supreme treasure at that time, then he was confident that he could have engaged Heaven Traversers’ Progenitor in an intense fight, and even made him frown.

The anger and sadness on Su Ming’s face did not falter. With a cold harrumph and a step forward, he threw three consecutive punches.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The three punches landed in space and stirred up a powerful impact that turned into loud bangs that traveled in all directions, causing the dozen something Dust Burners who had turned into Burning Spirits to look as if they were being blown by violent gusts of wind. They immediately fell back, and with a single move, Su Ming rushed out of their encirclement.

Yet at the moment he rushed out, a sense of danger rose in Su Ming’s mind. Xuan Shang, Hua Yu, Yun You, Nian Yin, and Xu Hui’s hearts felt it as well.

“Careful! Powerful warriors are coming!”

“It’s not just one, there are nine of them!”

The group’s voices all reached Su Ming. At the same time, the expression of the old man who had appeared the earliest changed.

Nine powerful vortices appeared in the space around Su Ming. Then, nine people walked out from them. They were nine old men, and they… were nine Almighties in Solar Kalpa Realm!

Their appearance immediately caused the fog that was the sea of fire to surge like waves, and loud bangs rang out. As the fog fell backwards, a hot wave that could burn everything erupted from the bodies of the nine people.

At the same time, a piercing light spread out. It came from the nine suns behind the newcomers!

Once the nine people appeared, killing intent radiated off their faces. A solemn look appeared on Su Ming’s face, but he did not forget to throw his head back and laugh. Its sound betrayed that Su Ming intended to bid farewell to the world, but it also contained intense anger.

This fitted his status. It also caused conflict to appear on the face of the old man who had appeared the earliest, then it turned into resolve.

‘The previous tribe leader did a favor to me in the past… and I have never been able to repay him. Today, his son came here. Why should I hesitate any longer?!’ The old man gritted his teeth. He did not attack, but instead immediately sent word to Su Ming.

“Young tribe leader, hurry up and transform into a Burning Spirit! With your current level of cultivation, you must have definitely awakened your inborn ability! Transform into a Burning Spirit, then all will be resolved!”

A glint appeared in Su Ming’s eyes. When he saw Dust Burners transforming, he had already recorded the process in his head. He had also seen some clues regarding that transformation. Once the old man spoke, Su Ming took a few swift steps back. He was already certain in his heart that the reason why Dust Burners’ Progenitor had not appeared was because he had not transformed into a Burning Spirit. This was definitely because he was uncertain of Su Ming’s status.

‘Transform into a Burning Spirit!’

The moment Su Ming sent this thought to the bald crane, he also sent it to Xuan Shang and the others. He prepared himself to curl into a ball, but then a thought appeared in his heart. He gave up on that action and instead stood there and executed the transformation into a Burning Spirit in a completely different manner!

As he did so, he began activating Ecang’s presence in his soul and dispersing it.