This was the third time Su Ming saw that mackerel pike and that woman.
The first time he saw them, he had just Awakened and was on the way to Freezing Sky Clan. He saw this woman coming towards Sky Mist Barrier and heard the booming clashes of her fight against Bai Chang Zai.
From that moment onwards, the image of that mackerel pike and the woman was forever engraved in Su Ming’s memories.
The second time he saw them was during the battle of Sky Mist City. He saw the woman joining the battle and also saw the mackerel pike’s strange power.
It was also during that time that the woman extended a hand to him in secret and helped Su Ming escape the battlefield.
However, it was only during the third time that Su Ming could see them at such close proximity - the woman and the sacred beast that would leave behind an unforgettable image once a person saw it… the mackerel pike.
Su Ming stood in the tribe and watched the clouds tumbling in the sky, looked at the numerous mackerel pikes who were much more smaller compared to it letting out howls of respect, and stared at the beautiful woman whose hair danced in the air as she held a flute in her hands and swept her gaze across the land.
At that moment, the woman’s eyes landed on Su Ming, who was standing within the temporary tribal village built by Autumn Sea Tribe in the land.
But her gaze did not stay. It was as if Su Ming did not exist in her eyes. When the gigantic mackerel pike eventually stopped and floated in the sky above the tribe, the woman walked down with light steps. Her robes fluttered in the air gracefully. When she landed in the tribe, she turned into a white arc and flew towards the center of it.
The time from her appearance to subsequent disappearance into the tribe was not long, but it made all the members of Autumn Sea Tribe fired up. They might not be crying out and causing a commotion, but Su Ming could still see the excitement and fanaticism in all their eyes..
"The Sacred Lady, Wan Qiu…"
Ya Mu, who was standing 100 feet away from Su Ming, was staring at the spot where the woman disappeared with a fanatic but complicated look in his eyes. After a long while, he shook his head and walked into the distance with the wine pot in his hand.
As he left, the area around the bonfire where Su Ming was sitting gradually became silent. Besides the crackling sounds coming from the bonfire as it burned, not many other sounds could be heard. Su Ming remained silent for a moment, then went to the old Berserker whose name he still did not know.
With just one glance from Zong Ze, this old man was sealed within his own body. As time went by, not only did the seal not become weaker, his soul also seemed to have frozen up and his eyes became blank.
Su Ming waved his arm beside the old Berserker, and immediately, he was placed in the storage bag where the Fire Ape was kept. Once he straightened out his robes, Su Ming turned his head around and cast a glance at the temporary tribal village built by Autumn Sea Tribe, then turned back and started walking out.
He was going to leave and search for his own path.
Before he left, he did not visit the End Shamans in Autumn Sea Tribe or the Sacred Lady Wan Qiu. They saved him because they wanted to speak to his eldest senior brother.
This was a trade.
Besides, all the others beside Ya Mu were aloof to him. Once they finished speaking to his eldest senior brother, they had completely ignored him. Su Ming might not be bothered by it, but he would not go asking for trouble on his own.
If they wanted to ignore him, then he would also ignore them. As he turned around, Su Ming gradually walked away. His back seemed to look a little bleak and lonely, making him not fit in with the rest of the people around him.
There was always a veil of confusion surrounding him. However, Su Ming usually hid that confusion deep within him. Only when he was alone would that confusion show itself.
As he continued moving forward, Su Ming walked past several bonfires. Some guards from Autumn Sea Tribe who were on night duty saw him when he walked past, but they also seemed to have received an order. When they saw that Su Ming was leaving and not moving towards some important parts within Autumn Sea Tribe, they did not stop him. They only looked at him coldly.
Right the moment Su Ming was about to walk out of Autumn Sea Tribe, his footsteps suddenly froze, because there was a raspy voice traveling slowly towards him from the deeper parts of the tribe behind him.
"Are you leaving just like that?"
Su Ming was not unfamiliar with this voice. It belonged to the old female End Shaman.
"My tribe saved you twice. Are you not going to repay us?" The old woman’s voice was cold and contained no emotion as it echoed around Su Ming.
Su Ming remained silent.
"Leave your bracelet behind. It is the Shaman Soul of our Nine Li Tribe, it doesn’t belong to you." The old woman’s voice came from behind Su Ming, causing ripples to form around Su Ming.
"This is a gift from your Shaman Lord of Nine Li to me." Su Ming turned around and looked around, but he could not see the old woman.
"Or you can choose to stay until the Shaman Lord comes back." Almost the instant Su Ming finished speaking, the old woman spoke once again. As her words were said, the originally empty s.p.a.ce before Su Ming suddenly distorted and the old woman walked out from within.
"I’ll give you the span of ten breaths to make your choice." The old woman stood there and cast Su Ming a cold glance before ignoring him. To her, Su Ming was just a tool for their tribe to contact their Shaman Lord. If the tool wanted to leave, they would only allow him to do so if he left the bracelet behind.
Besides, Su Ming’s level of cultivation was absolutely nothing to her. The weak had no right to bring up any conditions before the strong; they could only submit to the strong.
She was not bothered by Su Ming’s ident.i.ty in the Berserker Tribe either. Even if she heard that he possessed a hint of the G.o.d of Berserkers’ power, she had never seen that power before. In her eyes, with her status in Nine Li Shaman Tribe and her power as an End Shaman, there was no way that so called power of the G.o.d of Berserkers could kill her, especially when she was in her own tribe.
Besides, she also came here on orders. Someone asked her to come and test the power of the G.o.d of Berserkers which she did not believe in.
Su Ming lowered his head and looked at the bracelet on his wrist. Time trickled by, and when the sixth breath arrived, Su Ming no longer hesitated and took off the bracelet.
He lifted his head and looked at the old woman. He knew that she paid absolutely no mind to him. In fact, her gaze when she looked at him was that of a superior being looking at an ant, and she did not bother hiding it.
Saving him was so that she could speak to his eldest senior brother. Saving him was all for the sake of this bracelet.
In truth, the old woman was not the only one who did it. Even that Zong Ze was the same. Su Ming smiled faintly and looked at the old woman before he threw that bracelet to her.
"From now on, there is no longer any connection between Autumn Sea Tribe and me. You saved me once and obtained a chance to speak to your Shaman Tribe. That is a trade.
"The second time you saved me, you asked for the bracelet. I will count this as a trade. Now, everything has ended. I beg my leave!" Su Ming’s eyes were calm as he turned around and walked down the road.
The old woman caught the bracelet, then cast a glance at Su Ming. Her eyes sparkled. She might respect the Shaman Lord, but she was still a powerful Shaman in Autumn Sea Tribe. Besides, the situation in the land of the Shamans was rapidly changing. They could not place all their hopes on the Shaman Lord.
In her eyes, this Su Ming was weak. If he left alone, then he would definitely die in the land of the Shamans. Once this person died, then all his treasures would be taken away by someone else, and that someone else might even be privy to the things on this person that still remained a secret to her.
If that was the case, then it would be better if he stayed!
"The two trades have indeed ended, but since you’re a Berserker, why do you have the Soul Catcher Pearl of the Shamans? Leave the Soul Catcher Pearl behind and also explain to us why you have the presence of the Candle Dragon on you. You can leave after that.
"Our tribe won’t make things hard for you either. We’re just taking your things to keep it for you. When the Shaman Lord comes, I will naturally give them to him.
"Or else…"
Before the old woman even finished speaking, she was interrupted by a long string of laughter from Su Ming.
Su Ming had put up with this for a very long time. If they wanted the bracelet, he could give it to them. This item never belonged to him to begin with. However, Autumn Sea Tribe had deliberately continued to make things difficult after he gave them the bracelet and demanded for his Spirit Plunder, even seeking to examine the secret of him possessing a Soul Catcher’s presence.
If Su Ming yielded to their desires in this matter, then what awaited him would be even more instances of him submitting to them!
"Autumn Sea Tribe, do you really think that you have everything about me in your control? You’ve already taken away the bracelet. This is a warning, do not go overboard!" Su Ming turned around swiftly and a freezing glare appeared in his eyes.
As his words echoed in the air, a large amount of Shamans immediately appeared around him and looked at him coldly, but besides that cold look, there was also scorn.
As for that old woman, a cold sneer formed on her lips and displeasure appeared on her face.
"You ungrateful wretch. The Soul Catcher Pearl will only bring disaster to you. I’m doing this for you own good so that you won’t be in so much danger when you’re venturing outside. Instead of thanking me, you’re acting so arrogantly? I’m curious, on what grounds are you threatening me with your level of cultivation?" A glint appeared in the old woman’s eyes, and as she spoke, she took a step forward.
With that one step, the entire ground seemed to tremble. The s.p.a.ce between her and Su Ming also seemed to have instantly frozen up. The power of the world around them charged forward at that moment and rushed towards Su Ming.
She did not use any shocking divine abilities, but with just that one step, she could already gather up the power of the world and push it towards Su Ming. That level of strength was not something a person in the Bone Sacrifice Realm could compare to!
She did not want to kill Su Ming. She only wanted to injure him badly so that he would know how exactly a weakling should act before the strong.
Yet the moment she took that one step and the instant the power of the world charged towards Su Ming, he did not do anything else but lifted his right hand and stretch out his index finger. The strand of hair tied on his index finger instantly started burning, and an indescribably mighty power burst forth.
The power was so strong that the instant it burst forth, it created a large amount of booming sounds in the area. The power of the world called upon by the old woman started immediately shattering layer by layer, as if it could not withstand the indescribably great power that had burst forth from Su Ming’s body. The shattered power of the world started sweeping past the area.
All the Shamans around him immediately experienced drastic changes to their expressions. They retreated simultaneously, but even so, they were still struck by the force that was spreading in all directions. All of them coughed up blood and fell back like kites in the wind whose strings were snapped.