The instant Su Ming pressed his finger on his left pupil, the world in his left eye turned red, and when his finger swiped past his entire right eye as well, his entire world was dyed in a bloody, red glow.
As brilliant as blood, and burning as if it was engulfed in flames!
The instant Su Ming executed the burning of blood, powerful flames burst forth from his body. These flames did not have the imposing presence of the gigantic hand formed from the sea of flames, but when it surrounded his entire body, it caused his hair to dance in the wind. As he stood there and lifted his head to look at the sea of fire, he gave off a feeling of a man of great fortitude who could retain his composure even in the face of the sky and earth shattering.
"I am the scion of the Fire Berserkers. If you’re talking about the Art of worshiping the moon, I know it as well!" Su Ming stood in midair and lifted his hands. He wrapped his fist in his palm, then bowed swiftly towards the ninth moon in the sky.
When he bowed, the ninth moon in the sky started distorting, and a shadow that seemed to be overlapping with the moon appeared right beside it!
The hand formed from the sea of fire charging towards Su Ming shuddered, as if it could not withstand the act of Su Ming bowing towards the moon, and started showing signs of extinguishing.
The Golden Thread Sacred Bat’s mouth was hung open in shock where he stood not too far into the distance. A bang went off in his head, and a look of pure, disbelief-filled shock appeared on his face. He already knew just how powerful Su Ming was, and by right, no matter what sort of divine ability Su Ming executed to fight against the sea of fire, the bat’s expressions wouldn’t be changing as they were doing now. However, he absolutely did not expect that Su Ming would be using the exact same Art of worshiping the moon to fight against the sea of fire!
This was something that had never crossed his mind and practically overturned all his thoughts and beliefs. This Art of worshiping the moon was handed down by masters to their direct disciples among the Sacred Bats, and only the Golden Thread Sacred Bats could master it. It was practically impossible for outsiders to obtain it.
This was the Art given to them personally by the moon progenitor they worshiped. It was the sacred Art that belonged to the Sacred Bats!
Yet right at that moment, he saw Su Ming casting that Art right before his eyes, and in fact, when he cast it, the Golden Thread Sacred Bat even had the feeling that Su Ming’s version of the Art of worshiping the moon was even more authentic than his!
After all, if he wanted to cast this Art, he needed to borrow power from the moon progenitor; he could not just perform that Art with his own hands. More importantly, he only knew how to worship the moon, he did not know how to perform the burning of blood!
The moon progenitor would only give the Great Elder and their chief leader the method to practice performing the burning of blood. This was the Sacred Bats’ strongest Art.
But that was not all. What really made the Golden Thread Sacred Bat feel as if his will was about to break was the presence and aura that spread from Su Ming’s body when he performed the burning of blood and bowed towards the ninth moon in the sky. The Golden Thread Sacred Bat actually felt as if he had come face to face with sacred ancestor’s statue in Eternal Li Mountain. Fear and respect grew in the depths of his heart.
"Who are you?! Just who are you?! Why do you know the Art that is given to us by our moon progenitor?!" the Golden Thread Sacred Bat screamed with a voice that signaled he was near a mental breakdown. As he did so, he swiftly retreated.
"The Art of worshiping the moon you speak of is a divine ability only given to the direct descendants of Fire Berserkers. Who even are you?"
Su Ming’s expression was dark and cold wh
en he took a step forward. He swiftly spread out his divine sense to form a wave of pressure, and with the imposing air brought forth after he performed the burning of blood, he started pressing onward towards the Golden Thread Sacred Bat.
"I am a member of the Sacred Bat…" The Golden Thread Sacred Bat had only just begun uttering his sentence when he was immediately cut off by Su Ming’s words.
"I am the direct descendant for the Art of worshiping the moon. I am the only Fire Berserker in the world. How dare you ask me that question?" Su Ming smiled coldly, and his words traveled forth along with that overbearing pressure from his body.
"You Sacred Bats look incredibly similar to the Wings of the Moon. I am the one who is curious as to what sort of connection you have with the Wings of the Moon." Su Ming took a step forward.
"Who is the moon progenitor you speak of? Why does he know this Art?" Su Ming words continued, and he had absolutely no intention to give enough time for that retreating Golden Thread Sacred Bat to think. With the imposing pressure coming from his powerful divine sense, he continued his interrogation as the Golden Thread Sacred Bat’s mind was thrown into complete chaos!
"How did you Sacred Bats start worshiping this so called moon progenitor of yours?
"The Fire Berserker’s Art you practice isn’t complete, you only know a part of it. Do you know how to perform the burning of blood?
"You practice the Fire Berserker’s Art, but how dare you execute it before me. I won’t even be talking about how grossly you overestimated yourself for the moment. Who gave you the authority to launch such a large scale attack?"
After asking several questions in a row, Su Ming’s voice suddenly became louder, and with a voice like a clap of thunder, he asked his next question! "Who let you come?!"
That question was like a roar of thunder, and under the continuous barrage of questions and the pressure from his divine sense, it caused the Golden Thread Sacred Bat’s will to eventually break.
"The moon progenitor…" He staggered backwards, his head filled with buzzing noises. Su Ming’s thunderous question gave him a feeling that he had to answer that question. It was as if some sort of will had descended on his body, and he could not go against that will.
"Where is the moon progenitor?!" Su Ming moved forward once again, and his voice boomed in the air even louder this time.
"Eternal Li Mountain…"
"When did your people start worshiing him?!" Su Ming continued closing in on him, and his voice turned increasingly louder, causing blood to pour out of the Golden Thread Sacred Bat’s eyes, nose, mouth, and ears as his mind continued breaking down.
"A very long time ago… I don’t know… AH!"
By the end, the Golden Thread Sacred Bat could no longer withstand the pressure and let out a shrill cry of pain. He pressed his hands to his head and moved swiftly backwards while his screams echoed in the air.
His eyes were clouded and blood trickled down the corners of his mouth. Su Ming’s voice was reverberating in his head at that moment, and it was becoming louder and clearer with each passing moment. It was as if that voice was trying to make his mind break down.
Su Ming stopped moving and cast the staggering Sacred Bat a glance. He then retrieved his divine sense and his presence of a Fire Berserker after he performed the burning of blood. He lifted his right hand and flicked his wrist in the direction of that Golden Thread Sacred Bat. With that flick, a gigantic shadow immediately appeared behind the mentally breaking down Golden Thread Sacred Bat, and that shadow belonged to a Candle Dragon!
Su Ming frowned and sank into a moment of pensive silence as he stood in midair.
‘It’s not He Feng… By what this Sacred Bat said, this so called moon progenitor has been worshipped for a very long time. The time doesn’t really match. But I’ll still can’t tell just how much time has passed in the world outside while I was in the Undying and Imperishable World.
‘Eternal Li Mountain…’
As Su Ming was gathering his thoughts, he found that the name seemed somewhat familiar to him, but he just could not remember what part of it rang a bell in his head. While was immersed in his thoughts, he turned around and walked towards the valley housing the Shamans.
Even when he saw the valley where the Shamans stayed in the distance, he still could not remember why that Eternal Li Mountain sounded familiar. However, he was absolutely certain that he had never heard of that mountain before.
When Su Ming returned to the valley, he received a grand welcome. All the remaining Shamans walked out of their cave abodes, and when they saw Su Ming, all of them knelt down on the ground in worship.
"We are all people who have been abandoned, and we identify ourselves as Fated Kin. Greetings, Sir Mo Su!"
Hundreds of people bowed down to him, and hundreds of voices fused together to form a wave of sound that echoed in the air. Those voices were filled with sincerity and gratitude, along with zealous reverence.
To them, Su Ming’s appearance was like a lamp in the dark, like a beacon of hope in the midst of despair.
Su Ming descended slowly from midair and stood right before these people who called themselves Fated Kin. He looked at this group of people, who were mostly just skin and bones, who were all dressed in ragged clothing, then looked into their eyes, which were all shining with excitement and respect.
"Why do you call yourselves Fated Kin?" Su Ming asked calmly.
"We were abandoned by the Shamans. We have no future, no hope, and we decided that we might as well create our own future and control our own hope, just as if we are controlling our own fate. That’s why… we call ourselves Fated Kin!" Nan Gong Hen was also kneeling on the ground. At that moment, he lifted his head and spoke firmly.
Su Ming remained silent and swept his gaze past these people once again. He saw a resolve that burned like a flame within those gazes besides the feverish zeal and respect. That resolve was a desire to control their own fate, a desire to become powerful warriors that could decide their own fate so that they could show the Shamans who abandoned them that they… no longer needed anyone to pity and save them. They… were Fated Kin!
There were very few elderly folk among these people. Besides some people who were in the prime of their life, most of this group were young children. These children were born in this place. In their minds, Shamans was just a name. Ever since they were young, they watched their tribesmen die. Even if they were children, their gazes when they looked at Su Ming were similarly filled with zealous respect and resolve!
This was a race born after being oppressed by fate. This was a race that was completely unrelated to the Shamans, a group of people that possessed a will of their own, a will that even the Shamans did not have!
That will was still relatively weak, but if Fated Kin had enough time to grow stronger and eventually develop themselves, then this race would become an incredibly terrifying existence!
"We are all willing to receive you as our master, respected senior Mo. From now on, we will only listen to your orders!" Nan Gong Hen gritted his teeth. As he spoke, all Fated Kin kneeling behind him said the same words.
"We are willing to receive you as our master, respected senior Mo. We will only listen to your orders!"
Those voices were like waves of sound that raged towards the sky, reverberating in all directions, not disappearing even after a long time had passed.
"If the Fated Kin have a master, then can they still call themselves Fated Kin?" Su Ming remained silent, and only opened his mouth to ask slowly after some time.
"We are willing to worship you as our sacred spirit, respected senior Mo. We are willing to worship your sacred statue for all eternity and throughout all generations!" Nan Gong Hen was momentarily stunned, then right after that, he spoke once again.
"How long has it been since I disappeared?" Su Ming avoided answering to Nan Gong Hen’s request and asked what he wanted to know.
"It’s been fifteen years since your disappeared, respected senior Mo…" Nan Gong Hen answered in a low tone.
"Shaman City has been reduced to ruins. The landscape within one million lis has changed. All of you stayed here, but did the others leave? Just what happened during these past fifteen years?" Su Ming’s gaze was grave as he looked at Nan Gong Hen. This was the goal as to why he came to this valley!
Bitterness appeared on Nan Gong Hen’s face. After remaining silent for a moment, he spoke slowly.
"Fifteen years ago, three months after you disappeared…"
When Nan Gong Hen spoke up to that point, suddenly, the small snake on Su Ming’s shoulders lifted its head and opened its eyes swiftly. A freezing glare appeared in its eyes and it let out a piercing howl. A fierce and brutal glint appeared in its gaze, and it was looking straight at a cave abode that was sealed within the valley!
Translator’s Notes:
1. Eternal Li Mountain: 萬黎山 (wan li shan), 萬 is 10,000, but can also mean eternal. 黎 is a surname, and 山 is mountain.