When Bai Su saw Su Ming turn a deaf ear towards her, she frowned and came to despise him. She turned around and went in the direction Si Ma Xin had left. Her movements were elegant, and when she turned around and left, her body moved in the wind in a manner overflowing with wild beauty.
Even now, Su Ming did not turn his head back to look at Bai Su. This girl was no different from anyone else to him. The only thing special about her was her face that was incredibly similar to Bai Ling’s, which caused the wave of emotions in him previously.
Yet now, that wave had returned to stillness.
There was still some uncertainty in his heart, but it was not about Bai Su—it was the attitude of the fourth summit’s left preceptor. The words he uttered just now clearly held the implications of him somewhat siding with Su Ming.
‘I’m not close with the left preceptor, so why did he do that..?’
Su Ming’s eyes sparkled and his Master, Tian Xie Zi, appeared in his mind.
Hu Zi was still snoring on the ground and there was quite a large amount of drool that had flowed out of his mouth. There was even a silly grin on his face, as if he was having the time of his life in his dream. Zi Che stood by his side respectfully, and once Su Ming got closer, he immediately wrapped his fist in his palm and bowed to him.
"Greetings, uncle master Su."
His respect did not seem faked but came from within his heart. Once he saw Su Ming’s battle against Si Ma Xin, he felt fortunate that he had run into Su Ming’s second senior when he went to try and attack him.
Zi Che had no confidence that he could win against Su Ming at all if he had fought against him and come face to face with all the mystical abilities he just saw.
‘He could actually force Si Ma Xin to use the Great Art of Heartless Berserker Seed… This Su Ming will definitely be an extraordinary presence in Freezing Sky Clan in the future!’
Zi Che was certain of this. When he remembered the killing intent he felt on Su Ming’s body and the calm tone he used when he was in Hu Zi’s cave abode, that respect turned into reverence.
Su Ming nodded his head. The moment his feet touched the ground, He Feng charged back from the sky, looking rather roughed up. When Si Ma Xin left, the soul of the ice wolf also left with him. At that moment, as He Feng came back to Su Ming, his body was trembling slightly, but there was an even deeper reverence within his eyes compared to Zi Che’s when he looked at Su Ming.
He could be said to have watched Su Ming arrive at this state since he was still weak. The person before him now was completely different from the Su Ming in the past. It was precisely because he had witnessed his growth that his respect towards Su Ming was much stronger and deeper compared to the others.
He knew that Su Ming was not a foolishly kind person. His actions could be vicious, and if anyone offended him, he would definitely take revenge.
"Master…" He Feng bowed deeply towards Su Ming with an ashamed look on his face. "Master, my power could not compare to the wolf spirit’s, but don’t worry, I’ll definitely train hard and become your right hand in the future! I definitely won’t let you down."
He Feng lifted his head and patted his chest as he made his promise.
"You should come back now."
Su Ming cast He Feng a look before lifting his right hand and clenching his fist towards the sky. Both Spirit Plunder and Han Mountain Bell charged back instantly and spun around Su Ming a few times before he put Spirit Plunder back into his storage bag while Han Mountain Bell fused into his body and disappeared from sight.
He Feng too quickly disappeared. Only when they were all gone did Su Ming turn around and look towards the goal of his trip this time – the Artifact Storage Hall behind him.
At that moment, standing outside the Artifact Storage Hall was the man whom Hu Zi called a woman disguising herself as a man by pointing and practically shouting at him. When she saw Su Ming looking over, there was a great difference in her expression compared to when she looked at him before Si Ma Xin’s return.
Her expression before had been filled with disgust and resignation, and if she could, she would have avoided them like the plague. Since she disliked Hu Zi, all those who came with him were also hated.
Yet now, there was respect on her face. When Su Ming’s gaze fell on her, she immediately took a few steps forward and bowed deeply towards him with her fist wrapped in her palm.
"I am Chen Xiang. Greetings, uncle master Su."
Chen Xiang was actually very beautiful and looked as pretty as a picture. However, under careful disguise, Chen Xiang’s skin was rather dark, which made it seem like a pearl that had its shine hidden away, causing others to be unable to tell whether Chen Xiang was a man or a woman at first glance.
She was also wearing a loose robe that hid the lines of her body. If Hu Zi had not mentioned that this person was actually a woman pretending to be a man, Su Ming would not have been able to find any clues about it. Yet when his gaze fell upon this person, he gradually saw some hints.
However, he did not stare for a long time. He averted his gaze very soon.
"I’d like to enter the Artifact Storage Hall and choose some papers. I hope you’ll allow me to do so."
Su Ming did not put on the airs of an uncle master as he spoke unhurriedly towards the other person.
Chen Xiang quickly nodded and took a few steps back to open the path with a respectful look.
"Uncle master Su, this way, please. I usually manage the Artifact Storage Hall. Please wait inside for a moment. I’ll bring the papers you need now."
Under Chen Xiang’s guidance, Su Ming walked into the Artifact Storage Hall. As for Zi Che, he remained outside taking care of the snoring Hu Zi. Without Su Ming’s permission, he did not dare follow behind him.
Perhaps before Su Ming fought against Si Ma Xin, Zi Che would have still done so, but it would not have been a matter of whether he dared or dared not follow Su Ming. Yet now, when he witnessed the might of Su Ming’s power, Zi Che had a sudden change of impression towards the ninth summit.
In his eyes, all the people in that summit were weird, but even if they were weird, everyone besides Hu Zi should be powerful Berserkers. That gentle man who loved flowers was so, Su Ming, whose killing intent was revealed just now, was also a powerful Berserker. There was also their eldest senior fellow disciple, the person who was in constant isolation. By Zi Che’s assumptions, this person should be an even more powerful existence!
‘This is the true ninth summit. The other rumors are all fake… Only when you’ve entered the ninth summit will you be able to understand the terrors of the oddities staying there…’
Zi Che sucked in a deep breath. He had a feeling that perhaps entering the ninth summit this way might not actually be something bad for him. It might even be a sort of chance for him.
While he was immersed in his thoughts, Hu Zi’s rhythmic snores fell into his ears. That sound might not seem loud in broad daylight, but in the quiet night, if anyone heard that sound in the forest, they would definitely think it was some big insect or a ferocious beast and their expressions would definitely change to that of fear.
Those snores were like roars that sounded like rumbles when it fell into a person’s ears.
Zi Che turned his head around and cast Hu Zi a look, and curiosity gradually appeared in his eyes.
‘This person is most likely not someone mediocre as well…’
He remembered how this man had grabbed his hands when he was in his cave abode and forced him into deep slumber. The things that had happened in his dreams made his face gradually turn pale.
‘Entering Dreams… if he could bring any person into his dream anytime he wanted, then his power would be terrifying! They’re monsters! All the people in the ninth summit are monsters!’
The more Zi Che thought about it, the more shocked he was, yet similarly, the more shocked he was, the more tempted he became!
Su Ming sat in one of the chairs in the Artifact Storage Hall. There was an oil lamp on the table by his side. It might still be bright outside, but the light from the fire still let out a light that spread to its surroundings.
The Artifact Storage Hall was not very big, but it was not small either. There were rows upon rows of shelves stocked with all sorts of things. Some of them looked slightly broken and worn down, while others still looked new.
He could see Chen Xiang’s body occasionally flitting through the shelves. She was walking through them briskly and picking out different types of papers from the shelves. After a moment, she brought the papers before Su Ming and placed them respectfully on the table, then took a few steps back and whispered with his head lowered, "Uncle master Su, the items in the Artifact Storage Hall are not complete. We only have these types of papers here. Please take a look to see which on you want, and I’ll bring more of it for you.
"These papers are used by the disciples from the other summits for recording purposes. If you think it’s not enough, we still have bamboo slips in store."
As Chen Xiang spoke, she started sizing up Su Ming from the corners of her eyes.
Su Ming nodded his head and looked at the papers on the table. Most of them were rough and dark brown in color. Some of them were even of a quality worse than beast skins.
When Chen Xiang saw a light crease appear between Su Ming’s brows, she quickly said, "Um… uncle master Su, we only have these here. You could take a look around and see whether you can find anything to replace these papers."
Su Ming got up when he heard the words and walked towards the shelves. Before he walked too far away, he suddenly stopped and pointed towards an item at his side as he looked at Chen Xiang.
"How many of these do you have?"
Chen Xiang followed behind Su Ming and immediately turned towards where he was pointing. She saw a white wooden block about the length of an arm and the breadth of a palm on the shelf.
Its color was so white that it seemed spotlessly clean.
"This is Solid White Wood. This sort of wood doesn’t exist around Freezing Sky Clan. It’s rumored that it’s only produced in a place hundreds of thousands of lis to the east of Freezing Sky Clan. Since the color is nice, it’s usually used to make chairs… I have some of this wood here."
While speaking, Chen Xiang quickly took a few steps forward and brought out several wooden blocks of the same type.
"Uncle master Su, these are the only ones we have."
"Thank you. That will be enough."
Su Ming smiled faintly and took the white pieces of wood. With a flick of his right wrist, these wooden blocks instantly disappeared and were put away into his storage bag.
"About the price for these wooden blocks…"
Su Ming looked at Chen Xiang and found himself not knowing what to say.
"Uncle master Su, you’re being too distant. You just arrived in Freezing Sky Clan. These things aren’t really expensive, so I can still make the decision on how to deal with them. You can just take them away."
Chen Xiang quickly waved the question away and smiled. In Su Ming’s eyes, that smile now revealed hints that Chen Xiang was truly a woman pretending to be a man.
However, he believed that Hu Zi was not the first to see through this. Everyone had their own secrets and stories they did not want to tell others. There must be a reason as to why Chen Xiang always dressed up this way in Freezing Sky Clan.
"Thank you."
Su Ming did not reject the offer and nodded towards Chen Xiang.
"Oh, that’s right. Uncle master Su, you must be thinking about making your own wooden slips from that Solid White Wood. If that’s the case, you’ll need some special string…"
As Chen Xiang spoke, she brought out a white reel of thread and gave it to Su Ming.
"When I was looking for the other Solid White Wood, I saw this. It has been lying around the hall for many years. I heard that it’s the tendon from a ferocious beast and is very sturdy. It’ll definitely be able to connect the wooden slips together."
Su Ming did not take it. Instead, he looked at Chen Xiang with the ghost of a smile on his lips. If this person had decided to give him the wooden blocks, he could still marginally think of it as Chen Xiang trying to express goodwill to him. Yet if she wanted to give him the beast’s tendon, then this was definitely not something as simple as trying to get into his good graces. After all, Su Ming did not really fit into the description of an uncle master.
When Chen Xiang saw that expression on Su Ming’s face, an awkward look appeared on her face. After a moment of hesitation, she gritted her teeth and bowed deeply towards Su Ming.
"Uncle master Su, please help me…"