He stood there, but for some reason, s.h.i.+ Hai and the other eight people did not notice him. They didn’t know when the mysterious man had appeared, nor did they know of his existence. Even if they had opened their eyes, they would have only seen an empty s.p.a.ce before them.
"The Great Bird, one of the four great mythical creatures of the Fire Berserker Tribe… They were killed that year by the G.o.d of Berserkers… I didn’t expect that there would be a fragment of its soul here… If the Elder from Black Mountain Tribe hadn’t told me, I would have missed it… Oh well, he might have told me this because of personal reasons, but since I saw the beast, then I’ll definitely satisfy his request.
"There are just two people who have reached the initial stage of the Awakening Realm. They’re not enough for me to spare any of my attention here yet… I’ve heard about Wind Stream Tribe, located at the edges of the western region"s alliance borders. I heard that they were once a weak branch from the Great Tribe of Miao Man¹," the mysterious man mumbled and moved forward step by step towards Wind Stream Mountain, which was in a state of being sealed off once again!
…..
Su Ming returned to the lodgings of Dark Mountain Tribe within Wind Stream City. His face had long since returned to normal, and he looked like the frail, clean, and handsome youth once more. He wore a simple beast skin s.h.i.+rt and sat down within the lodgings of Dark Mountain Tribe.
There was excitement and anxiety within his eyes. All that had happened during the first stage of the test was like a dream to him. It was as if the person who did it was not him, but someone else. It was especially so when he had returned to the field and become the center of attention. It made his heart pound even more quickly. When he remembered talking to Bai Ling right before Si Kong and the old woman, Su Ming felt proud of himself.
He took in a deep breath and finally managed to quell the excitement within his heart. He closed his eyes and felt the vast amount of Qi in his body. The power that erupted from all 160 blood veins filled Su Ming with confidence.
His blood veins had increased during the final moment by four. They had increased from 156 to 160.
"I’m now at the sixth level of the Blood Solidification Realm. There’s not much of a difference between this and the required 245 blood veins for the seventh level of the Blood Solidification Realm…" Su Ming mumbled, and there was a strange glow in his eyes.
‘I can start training Dark Blood Dust… I’ll have to wait a bit longer for the powerful Execution of the Three Evils, though.’
Su Ming sat down with a focused gaze as he recalled everything that had happened during the first stage of the test. A smile gradually appeared on the corner of his lips.
‘More importantly, I’ve mastered fine control! If my mind moves, my Qi will move. If my mind doesn’t move, then my Qi will be hidden… With this, I won’t waste a single shred of Qi. When my battle power increases, my speed will also increase to another level!’
Su Ming took in a deep breath as his spirits were lifted up.
‘With the Blood Scales, the me now should be able to somehow help the elder protect the tribe and my tribe members! I can fight for the tribe!’
He clenched his fists with a resolute gaze.
‘It’s a pity my powers aren’t great enough right now. I only have 160 blood veins… If I could increase them further, that would be great…’
Su Ming frowned. After a moment of silence, a bright light flashed in his eyes.
"I have to buy a large amount of herbs and create more Mountain Spirit… But… Ha…" Su Ming’s eyes darkened. His pockets were empty. He did not have any money to buy anything.
‘Right now, the tribe is faced with a great danger. It would need a lot of stone coins. I can’t add more stress for the elder… I have to think. How can I get a huge amount of money…?’
He scratched his head. While he was thinking, his ears twitched. He heard Wu La’s excited voice coming from outside the house.
Su Ming stood up and opened the front door. From there, he saw Bei Ling, Wu La, Lei Chen, and behind them, the elder, the Head of the Guards, and Shan Hen walking back.
"Mo Su has a really great presence! You saw it, right? The moment he came back, he immediately attracted everyone’s attention! Even Ye w.a.n.g spoke to him! I heard from the others that this is something that is incredibly rare!" Wu La’s face was lit with excitement. Her eyes were bright with enthusiasm as she walked and continued speaking to Bei Ling and Lei Chen.
"Mo Su may look average, but he attracts a lot of attention. I think that powerful people are all supposed to be like this. He reached the top from the last place. When he came back, he was really calm. The presence of a powerful person was incredibly strong on him. I can still remember the words he spoke to Ye w.a.n.g. He said, ‘I won’t enter the second stage of the test.’ It made so many people shocked!" Wu La gestured excitedly. It was clear that Mo Su held a great position within her heart, and she practically wors.h.i.+pped him.
Su Ming stood outside the house and looked at the crowd coming back. He watched Wu La’s excitement and touched his nose. He remembered being very nervous. He found it hard to adapt to the feeling of being the center of attention. He absolutely did not have the calmness Wu La was talking about…
"Mo Su had been unknown, but now, he’s famous. His name has already traveled to the entire Wind Stream Tribe. Before long, all the tribes around the region will know his name!" Bei Ling’s face was no longer aloof but was filled with exhilaration and excitement, which was a rare sight.
"It’s a pity he doesn’t belong to Dark Mountain Tribe. Ah… it’d be great if there was such a prodigy in Dark Mountain Tribe…" Bei Ling sighed. There was no hint of jealousy within him. That was the nature of human beings. They would only compete with those who were around their level. They would find it hard to be jealous of those who had surpa.s.sed them by too much. Unless… they were people who they grew up with, and thus, had no sense of mysteriousness, because both parties knew each other too well. They would still be jealous of those people, then.
"That’s right. If only he was from Dark Mountain Tribe… Mo Su, Mo Sang, their names match so well. Mo Su…" There was a look of awe in Wu La’s eyes, and her face was flushed. As she continued mumbling, she saw Su Ming standing at the house and frowned. Disdain appeared on her face.
She remembered what Lei Chen had said. He had actually suspected that the Mo Su she admired was Su Ming. It only made her think that it was a form of humiliation towards Mo Su.
Lei Chen did not speak. When he saw Su Ming, he trained his eyes on him. After a few moments of scrutiny, his eyes darkened. It was clear that he did not believe that Su Ming and Mo Su had any form of connection either.
As for Bei Ling, he had seen Su Ming standing there a long time ago, but he had immediately ignored Su Ming’s existence. The aloofness in his eyes was so thick, it seemed that it would not go away.
"Mo Su is incredibly mysterious. Up till now, we still don’t know which tribe he belongs to. Maybe we’ll know in a few more days. When that time comes, I’ll represent Dark Mountain Tribe and get to know him…" Bei Ling no longer looked at Su Ming. When he spoke of Mo Su, there was respect in his eyes.
"You have to get to know him. Mo Su… Mo Su… I think his powers have to be really great. It’s a pity he’s not joining the second or the third stage of the test…" Su Ming saw Wu La’s excitement and could not help but touch his nose again.
"Maybe his powers aren’t really that great. That’s why he’s not taking part…" Su Ming could no longer keep it in and mumbled instinctively.
"Su Ming, what did you say?!" When Wu La heard it, a fierce look immediately appeared in her eyes. She looked at Su Ming furiously.
"You have no right to talk about Mo Su. His powers must be really great! He must have something else to do, or because he has no interest in competing, that’s why he’s not taking part in the test!"
Su Ming smiled bitterly and quickly kept his silence. When he saw how furious Wu La looked, he had no idea whether he should happy, or feel helpless.
"Su Ming, you can say all that here, saying this most likely because you heard from somewhere else about Mo Su. But I’m warning you, once you leave the lodgings, you are not allowed to say anything of the kind! This will only bring trouble to the tribe. That Mo Su is not someone who we can talk about this way!" Bei Ling spoke slowly while staring at Su Ming with a serious face. He was the strongest among the youths in Dark Mountain Tribe. It was not out of bounds for him to say that.
"Su Ming… I don’t think you should say that either. That Mo Su… you didn’t see him with your own eyes. He’s just too strong, so strong that even Ye w.a.n.g had to pay attention to him! That person is not someone we can discuss. He’s… really strong!" Lei Chen whispered, too. Once he finished speaking, he hesitated for a moment and looked at Su Ming with a complicated look. It was as if he wanted to say something else, but could not continue.
Su Ming smiled bitterly again.
"Alright. You three have another test tomorrow. Go back to your rooms to recover." The Head of the Guards frowned and spoke with a stern voice. Bei Ling and the other two immediately kept quiet and went back to their rooms.
Mo Sang nodded towards Su Ming. The praise in his eyes was incredibly strong. He did not say anything but went back to his room. The Head of the Guards and Shan Hen followed close behind him. It was clear that they were going to discuss something.
When they went away, Su Ming returned to his room. He knew that there was a high possibility of the elder coming over later. That was why he chose to sit here and wait quietly.
He waited for a long while, but the elder did not come. Lei Chen hesitantly came instead. He went into Su Ming’s room and sat in front of him, looking at him with a dumbfounded expression.
"What is it?" Su Ming looked at the stupidly honest expression on Lei Chen’s face and smiled.
"No… It’s nothing… Su Ming, you… do you…" Lei Chen hesitated, gritted his teeth, then whispered, "Do you like Bai Ling?"
Su Ming was thrown off guard.
"Ah, Su Ming, it doesn’t matter whether you like her. This is a friendly advice… Give up. I’m wondering though. Is Bai Ling really that beautiful? She’s not as pretty as Bai Fang…" Lei Chen mumbled, and there was a questioning look on his face.
"Su Ming, you didn’t go to the field at the foot of Wind Stream Mountain. You didn’t see how Mo Su went to Bai Ling and spoke about walking in circles before everyone’s eyes right at the end! Circles, my a.s.s! I don’t like him!" Lei Chen quickly stole a look at Su Ming’s expression and spoke just as quickly.
"Worse still, that Bai Ling agreed to it while blus.h.i.+ng! Ah, you didn’t see that scene. It’s clear that she likes Mo Su! That Bai Ling is disappointing!" Lei Chen spoke once again.
There was an odd expression on Su Ming’s face. He hesitated for a moment before opening his mouth and whispering, "Lei Chen, let me tell you a secret… I’m actually Mo Su."
Lei Chen was stunned, then he lifted his hand to touch Su Ming’s forehead, which Su Ming dodged. Lei Chen quickly advised him against it and was just about to say something again when they heard the elder letting out a cough outside the room.
Lei Chen quickly stood up. The door to the room was opened, and the elder smiled as he entered.
Without even needing a word from the elder, Lei Chen quickly left. He stole a look at Su Ming, then left the room. There was still worry on his face, however. Su Ming’s words just now had given him a shock. He thought Su Ming was too upset, that was why he said those words.
Translator’s Note :
¹ Miao Man is an aboriginal tribe in China, which was once a great tribe