The young man looked to be about 18 to 19 years old. He was strongly built. So much so that he could compete with Lei Chen. In his hands, he held a long spear. The spear was only about five feet long but its black body gave it a shocking and chilling aura. There was also a golden dazzle on the tip of the spear.
However, the spear was essentially not made of stone. It was made out of a material Su Ming had never seen before. He looked back from afar and when his eyes landed on the spear, his heart froze in fear.
It was a very, very familiar feeling.
Yet, he did not know where that familiarity came from. Nonetheless, it made him feel that danger was looming over his head. Su Ming ignored everything else. Only a basic instinctual need for him to remain calm was left.
‘That person is not wearing hides but is wearing sackcloth instead. This sort of clothes… This person must have a pretty high status in Dark Dragon Tribe!
‘I don’t regret going near Dark Dragon Tribe!’
A glint appeared in Su Ming’s eyes as he came to an answer in his heart.
"I did not go within 10,000 feet of the tribe. According to the rules among the tribes, if a person or a pair stands 10,000 feet outside the area of the tribe, he or she bears no ill will! I bear you no ill will. It’s just that one of my friends is within your tribe and I wanted to see her." Su Ming ran at the full speed of a fourth level Berserker of the Blood Solidification Realm. His body was bent so low he was almost touching the surface of the snow in order to increase his speed. No tracks were left on the snow. As he ran, he shouted back towards the man pursuing him.
"Oh? If that’s the case, if you’re truly not an enemy, then don’t run anymore. Come with me back to the tribe and we’ll have the Elder verify your ident.i.ty." A cold glare flitted through the young man’s eyes. He spoke slowly but his speed did not decrease. He increased his speed instead and kept his eyes trained on Su Ming as if he was waiting for Su Ming to hesitate.
"As an outsider, how can I just walk into your tribe?" There were no signs of faltering on Su Ming side as he laughed and spoke to the man.
"True. Then what is the name of the person you know?" The young man spoke slowly once again as he continued giving chase. His demeanor did not change but he did narrow his eyes.
"I don’t know her name but I do know that she wears white and she’s really beautiful." As Su Ming spoke and continued fleeing, he turned back to look at his pursuer.
He saw a hint of murderous intent in the man’s eyes when he heard Su Ming’s words. He understood then. Su Ming had been wondering why the man would attack him with such ferocity even when he had not gone within 10,000 feet of the tribe. He was still not considered a threat with his current level of power. By right, even if he had drawn the attention of Dark Dragon Tribe upon himself, he should not have instigated such an attack.
There had to be a reason behind it. The young man with an obviously high status within the tribe was pursuing him alone and so, an answer formed within Su Ming’s mind.
"I knew it, it’s him!" The young man answered with a snort. He took a big step forward and raised his right hand as he continued pursuing Su Ming. A big amount of black mist immediately scattered around him and gathered around the spear on the man’s back. A sharp cry echoed through the air after the black mist surrounded the spear a few times. Then, as if the spear was guided by the black mist, it floated above the man’s head.
Su Ming narrowed his eyes. It was a Berserker Art!
The presence of Qi coming out from the man also proved just how powerful he was. He was slightly more powerful than Su Ming. Judging by the looks of it, he should have been at the fifth level of the Blood Solidification Realm but had only reached it not too long ago. He should have just had a few more blood veins than Su Ming. Nonetheless, since he had a Berserker Vessel, everything was different.
"You can see her after you die." There was more than 7,000 feet between them. Since the two of them had been running at full speed, they were already some distance away from Dark Dragon Tribe. Even so, the man was still the only one giving chase.
As the black mist surrounded the long spear, the sense of danger became even stronger. As the man spoke, his killing intent became even more obvious in his eyes. He pointed at Su Ming with his right hand in one swift motion and immediately, the black spear rushed towards Su Ming with a piercing trill.
As it traveled forward, the golden glow on the tip of the long spear flashed as though it could tear through a void. It came towards Su Ming at an unimaginable speed and within the blink of an eye, it was already within 3,000 feet away from Su Ming.
‘Berserker Vessel!’
Su Ming narrowed his eyes. He recognized the object! All 49 blood veins within Su Ming immediately appeared. The circulation of blood within his body increased in an instant, causing the Qi within Su Ming’s body to erupt. The act pushed Su Ming’s speed and agility to the peak and at the very moment the long spear was about to touch him, Su Ming ducked. The wind whistled wildly above his head as the long spear missed the top of his head by about seven inches. It fell on the ground with a loud thud.
The force of the strike was by no means weaker than the one from Dark Dragon Tribe just moments ago.
A normal Berserker at the fourth level of the Blood Solidification Realm would have found it hard to avoid the attack but Su Ming specialized in speed and agility. As soon as he avoided the attack, he did not even spare the long spear on the ground a glance. Instead, a cold glare appeared in his eyes as he ran into the distance.
Su Ming did not even think about s.n.a.t.c.hing the long spear from the ground. It was written within the beast skin scrolls that only Berserkers at the Awakening Realm could make Berserker Vessels acknowledge them as their masters. Those below the Awakening Realm would not have been able to do it.
Yet, it was odd that the man threw out the vessel so easily. It could have been taken away by someone else with ease. There had to be something wrong!
It was nearly dark.
Before long, the young man reached the location where the long spear was. An icy glare appeared in his eyes as he snorted. There was a light crease between his brows.
As the son of the tribe leader in Dark Dragon Tribe, Si Kong was probably not the strongest among the younger generation but he was definitely no common Berserker. He had the strength of a fifth level Berserker at the Blood Solidification Realm and had with him a Berserker Vessel. Killing a person who was only at the fourth level of the Blood Solidification Realm was easy.
Yet the person avoided the attack. The act alone made Si Kong wary and alerted him to the cautiousness of the other person.
‘It’s a pity. If he had picked up my Berserker Vessel, he would have died immediately.’
Si Kong hesitated for a moment but once he thought of something, he picked up the long spear carefully and gave chase once more.
Su Ming ran like the wind in the forest. His speed kept increasing as he ran but Si Kong kept up with him. The long spear would occasionally whisk past him and prevented Su Ming from widening the distance between them. There was still a few hundred feet between them as Su Ming ran into the forest.
However if Su Ming truly wanted to escape, it would not have been hard with his speed and knowledge of the forest. However, he did not have the desire to widen the distance between them. This was the second time he saw a Berserker Vessel. The fact that he had experienced its might, his desire to obtain the Vessel increased. He wanted the Vessel!
As he ran, he occasionally looked at the sky. When he saw that the sky had gradually darkened and the moon had appeared, a bright glint twinkled in his eyes.
‘Berserker Vessels are all rare items. Hence, he must have another trick up his sleeve for him to throw it out so easily. Now, he’s not closing the distance between us. If I were him, I would think about increasing the power of the Berserker Vessel… But looking at how cautious he is, there must be a price for him to pay if he made that move. But I wonder, just how strong is the Vessel’s true might?’
Su Ming made a decision.
As Si Kong continued pursuing Su Ming, he began to grow impatient. He did not expect his opponent to be so agile. It was getting dark and he was getting too far away from the tribe. He had made sure not a lot of people knew of his departure from the tribe. If he went back to the tribe late, it would be hard for him to explain himself. He gritted his teeth and grabbed at the air with his right hand. Then for the first time, the long spear surrounded by black mist appeared in his hands.
At that moment, Su Ming suddenly spoke a few hundred feet ahead.
"With how fiercely you’re chasing me, I can see that you truly want to kill me! There is no hate between us. Even if you want to kill me, at least give me a reason."
"Why should I bother with idle chatter? You came within the area of my tribe and for that, anyone from my tribe could kill you! Even if we did kill you and Dark Mountain Tribe wanted to seek revenge for you, it’s still your own fault!" Si Kong laughed coldly. He held onto the long spear tightly as he continued pursuing Su Ming. Cold waves traveled from the long spear into his arm.
Si Kong’s gaze darkened. He snorted and raised his right arm along with the spear. Immediately, countless voices roared from within the forest. A great amount of black mist flowed out of the spear and gathered around it, turning the spear into an impressive black dragon!
The dragon had numerous claws and its whiskers moved in the air. It looked incredibly ferocious!
"No matter who you are, you must die today!" Si Kong grinned fiercely. His face was pale. Clearly, calling out the might of the spear had brought upon a great toll to his body. Just as he was about to throw the spear towards Su Ming, Su Ming opened his mouth and spoke.
"It’s because I saved Bai Ling, right?" Su Ming suddenly said.
When Si Kong heard the name, he was momentarily stunned. The moment his actions faltered, Su Ming stopped running abruptly and turned around to look at him. He raised his right hand as well and swung it in his direction.
A sense of danger he had never felt before arose in Si Kong’s heart. He narrowed his eyes as his demeanor changed completely. Just as he was about to throw the spear in his hand, he felt his body quivering. It was as if a huge gust of wind blew against him and also a strong blast of light pierced into his eyes. He saw the shadow of the blood red moon within Su Ming’s eyes.
The shadow of the blood red moon became the only thing he saw. He felt a sudden pain in his entire body and coughed out a mouthful of blood. His eyes expressed confusion, bewilderment and bafflement as he fell onto the snow face down.
As he fell, the spear that he did not manage to throw gradually turned back into a common object as the black mist scattered. It fell to the side.
There was blood coming out from his entire body as it seeped into the snow. There was a faint silvery thread around his body which sank deep into his flesh. It felt like with just a slight tug, his entire body would have been torn apart.
He did not die. There was still breath within him. He just became unconscious due to the sudden blast of pain.
Su Ming’s heart pounded against his chest. He looked at the spear with lingering fear. When the true might of the spear had been brought out by the before him, Su Ming had felt death.
"When you are fighting against someone, do not let your focus waver. Do not hesitate. If it is possible to kill your enemy with one strike within the shortest amount of time, do not wait till the last moment to do so." Su Ming mumbled as he remembered the words in his head.
‘He had a Berserker Vessel. It was by pure luck that I won this battle!’
Su Ming squatted down and looked at the unconscious Si Kong. After hesitating briefly, Su Ming chose to bandage his wounds. He did not want Si Kong to die or cause trouble to Dark Mountain Tribe. He deduced that Si Kong would wake up soon.
Soon, a crazed look settled in his eyes as he looked at the long black spear lying by his side. He looked at it carefully and gradually found some clues regarding the spear. On many parts of the spear were tiny thorns that he would have missed if he had not observed the spear carefully!
After looking at it for a long time, Su Ming found and held onto the only small part of the spear that was without thorns carefully. He left the area quickly.