"I am also an outsider." Su Ming lifted his head and looked at the Sacred Bats in the sky, as well as the Golden Thread Sacred Bat whose expression had changed drastically as he stood at the highest point in the sky.
The blood and massacres in this place made Su Ming’s expression turn dark. If he came a little later, then perhaps there would be no survivors in this place. If that truly happened, then he would need to think of some other way to obtain the answers he wanted.
Besides… Even though the people who died were Shamans, these Shamans looked too much like Berserkers. Their cultivation methods and skills might be different, but they were still people. These things in the sky, however, had wings of a bat growing off their backs and were obviously some other race that belonged to this place.
They looked incredibly strange, but to Su Ming, they felt somewhat similar to Wings of the Moon.
As the Sacred Bats’ expressions changed swiftly, Su Ming let loose a cold harrumph and took a step towards the sky. The Golden Thread Sacred Bat in the sky cried out shrilly right at that moment.
As he roared, expressions of madness and ferociousness appeared on the faces of the other Sacred Bats around it. They rushed straight towards Su Ming, and those dozen something Violet Thread Sacred Bats were the ones leading the charge.
Su Ming’s expression remained as dark as ever. Golden light shone on his entire body, and he did not even bother executing any sort of divine ability. Instead, he lifted his right hand, clenched it, and hurled his fist straight ahead!
As of then, a sixth of his bones had turned into Berserker Bones, and Su Ming only had a rough estimation of his power. He had yet to have any sort of comparison for him to arrive at a specific idea of how strong he was at the moment. That was why these Sacred Bats had turned into a great way for him to gauge his strength in his eyes.
The punch landed on thin air, and a loud rumble instantly rang through the entire world. The golden light on Su Ming’s body abruptly grew brighter, up to a blinding degree. It was as if he had turned into the sun. At the instant he hurled his fist forward, a crack appeared in the air before turning into a huge black vortex. That vortex rushed forward, and all the Sacred Bats who came into contact with that vortex would cry out shrilly as their bodies were sucked in, and as they screamed, they were grounded to powder and disintegrated into nothing.
Su Ming took a step forward. The instant his foot landed, the world shook, and a crack appeared in the air, as if it could not withstand the might of that one step. As that crack spread outwards with a huge rumble, the dozen something Violet Thread Sacred Bats closed in on him.
Su Ming did not dodge. With his right index finger, he sliced through the air before him. One of the Violet Thread Sacred Bats roared and pushed down on his finger with his right hand, thinking of using its powerful, raw physical strength to resist that attack. Then, with his left hand shaped in the form of a claw, he swiped against Su Ming’s chest.
He was already prepared to have half his body fall apart. In his mind, even if half of his body was destroyed, it would not matter as long as he got to injure this person. However, he did not expect to feel an indescribable power erupting from his right hand at the instant it came into contact with Su Ming’s finger. In the span of a breath, he lost his consciousness and fell into eternal slumber.
In other people’s eyes, that Violet Thread Sacred Bat’s body exploded when Su Ming pointed at him, turning into a large amount of bits and pieces that tumbled backwards, as if the power contained within Su Ming’s finger could destroy the sky and earth.
He killed a Violet Thread Sacred Bat with just one finger. This did not happen over a long span of time and was over in an instant, and it was so quick that it made the Golden Thread Sacred Bat’s pupils shrink. This brought out a loud cheer from the Shamans underneath when they saw it.
However, right at the moment that cheer shot into the air, it immediately died down, because the Shamans underneath saw the other Violet Thread Sacred Bats closing in on that golden figure. All of them struck at the same time, and all their attacks landed squarely on that golden figure.
Su Ming did not dodge and simply allowed the Violet Thread Sacred Bats’ attacks to land on him. Those Violet Thread Sacred Bats all looked incredibly ferocious, and crazed murderous intent could be seen on their faces, but all of them froze in an instant.
"Too weak."
Su Ming shook his head. As of then, his body had already become so powerful that he could barely feel these attacks. The only effect was that his Qi churned, slightly. He took a deep breath, and all the power from his Berserker Bones burst outwards. This was his power in the Bone Sacrifice Realm, and it was also the strongest power he held within his physical body at the moment!
At the instant that power erupted forth, the golden light from within Su Ming covered an area of one thousand feet. Booming sounds and cries of pain filled the air, and the Violet Thread Sacred Bats who attacked Su Ming just now coughed out fresh blood before they fell backwards. Their bodies started crumbling.
As calm as ever, Su Ming lifted his right hand and seized at the air. Immediately, one of those Violet Thread Sacred Bats who was falling backwards rushed towards Su Ming against his will. Su Ming grabbed his throat, squeezed it lightly, and with a bang coming forth from the bat’s entire body, that Sacred Bat immediately fell to the side and died.
"So weak. You cannot even put up a fight."
Su Ming let go of his hand, and as that Violet Thread Sacred Bat’s body fell to the ground, he lifted his head, with a face as dark as night, to look at the Golden Thread Sacred Bat standing at the highest point in the sky. His words right at that moment were the exact same ones as the words delivered by the Golden Thread Sacred Bat to Fated Kin earlier. He was simply returning them right back to that creature.
The hundreds of Sacred Bats who originally wanted to charge forth all moved back with shock and intense horror on their faces. Not a single one of them dared move even half a step forward.
"Who are you?!" the Golden Thread Sacred Bat demanded darkly.
Su Ming might be looking at him with his head lifted as he stood underneath, but it made the Golden Thread Sacred Bat feel as if Su Ming was looking down on him. It made him feel shocked to the core, because the other’s appearance and that astonishing presence he exuded, as well as the swift kills he delivered made the Golden Thread Shaman Bat feel as if he was about to suffocate.
One of the reasons why he brought so many of his kind to the valley where the Shamans’ stayed this time was because they wanted to occupy the altar.
However, they could have occupied that altar anytime they wanted. It could have been earlier, or later, but since this spot was the intersecting point between the three races and they made a promise with the Spirits of Nine Yin in the past, they had to let a handful of the Shamans survive.
That was why the Shamans could remain till this day. If no accidents had happened, the Shamans would have continued weakening. They would not be eradicated within a short period of time, but they would slowly be enslaved and turned into prey.
There was a very great reason as to why he chose to come at this point of time.
This reason was due to the disappearance of the tenth moon.
At the same moment the tenth moon disappeared, the only four Golden Thread Sacred Bats among their entire race felt their sacred ancestor’s call simultaneously.
His will was clearly delivered within that call, and it was a desire for an offering made of the blood and soul of outsiders!
Perhaps that desire was aimed towards one person, perhaps it was aimed towards an entire race. The instructions were rather unclear, but it was the reason behind the massacre just now.
All the souls of those who died just now had been secretly taken away by the Sacred Bats, and it was the same for the blood and flesh they spilled as well.
However, with Su Ming’s appearance and the sudden change in this entire massacre, the Golden Thread Sacred Bat could not help but experience a drastic change in his expression. He had a vague feeling that perhaps his sacred ancestor did not want all the outsiders as an offering, just an incredibly powerful warrior from among them!
With a composed expression, Su Ming no longer bothered himself with that Golden Thread Sacred Bat, but instead turned around and looked at the hundreds of Shamans who were staring at him blankly. His gaze swept past all these people and eventually landed on Nan Gong Hen.
All the eyes of the Shamans who met his gaze were filled with feverish zeal. They lowered their heads in respect. They might not know why Su Ming came to them, but his appearance had saved them from danger. They were filled with gratitude towards him for attacking those Sacred Bats.
Nan Gong Hen was the same. The moment Su Ming looked towards him, he immediately wrapped his fist in his palm and bowed respectfully towards him.
"I am Nan Gong, member of Fated Kin. Greetings, senior. Thank you for saving my people from danger."
"Fated Kin? Brother Nan Gong, it’s been a long while. Who would have thought it would feel as if so much had happened when we meet again after so many years?" Su Ming said languidly, feeling rather sentimental.
"Senior, you are…" When Nan Gong Hen heard Su Ming’s words, he was completely stunned. With wide eyes, he looked at Su Ming closely. Gradually, the confusion on his face was replaced by doubt, then that doubt turned into uncertainty, and eventually, his expression changed completely into one of disbelief.
"Mo Su… You… You’re Mo Su!" Nan Gong Hen was completely baffled. A huge storm raged in his heart, and he cried out in disbelief.
When he saw Su Ming in the past, he had been wearing a mask. Now, there was no mask on Su Ming’s face and he was showing how he really looked like to the world, but Su Ming’s voice, his words, and everything else was like a bolt of lightning flashing in Nan Gong Hen’s head.
"I should have guessed. When you left the treasure gambling event with the two children in the past, you should have gone to the Candle Dragon’s burial ground. You disappeared after that, and the tenth moon appeared in the sky…" Nan Gong Hen’s head buzzed noisily as he mumbled under his breath.
"Mo Su? He’s Mo Su?! I remember that name. I was there during the treasure gambling event as well, and I still can’t forget those miraculous scenes that happened during that time!
"But he… How did he become so strong?!"
"I remember now. This person actually managed to keep up with senior Tie Mu’s attacks in the past, and he was just a Medial Shaman at that time. Now… Now, he became so strong..."
A commotion rose among the hundreds of Shamans. Su Ming’ s appearance and his identity caused them to sink into disbelief. It was difficult to associate the figure in the past with the person before them right then.
Su Ming smiled faintly. When he saw Nan Gong Hen, he was moved deeply, but at the same time, he also learned that time did indeed pass differently in the Undying and Imperishable World compared to the world outside. Not much time should have gone by since then.
Or else, those thousands of years that had seemed like a dream would have caused the outside world to change greatly, and Nan Gong Hen would have also been reduced to a skeleton a long time ago.
"Mo Su! Very well. We won’t let what happened today end so easily. We’ll meet again in the future!" The Golden Thread Sacred Bat gritted his teeth, and flapping his wings, he charged into the distance.
"Let’s go!" As he spoke, all the Sacred Bats around breathed a sigh of relief in their hearts. Coming face-to-face with the terror of Su Ming’s might had left them trembling with fear. They flapped their wings rapidly, but just as they were about to leave the place…
"Are you leaving just like that?" Su Ming turned around and glared coldly at the Sacred Bats who were just about to leave.
Translator’s Notes:
Wings of the Moon: The creatures serving Su Ming after he started practicing Fire Berserker Arts. They later on fused with He Feng, who turned traitor and ran away.