Chapter 165: Prelude
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
In the blink of an eye, another month passed by.
Since a month ago, the hidden grounds underneath Han Mountain City became a thing of the past. It was no longer hidden and anyone could go in as they pleased without having to face any limitations anymore.
The secret that had surrounded Han Mountain City for years disappeared.
Besides the leaders of the three tribes and some limited amount of tribe members, very few people knew that an incredible change had happened in this place during the past month. The rest only knew what they saw, that during a night one month ago, as a shocking boom reverberated through the sky, the figure of a person rushed out from the deep canyons underneath Han Mountain City. Behind that person was a gigantic monster roaring as it chased after him.
At the same time, as the person flew out from the canyon, one person flew out from both Tranquil East Tribe and Puqiang Tribe. They intercepted him and fought against him.
This battle did not last long. The person finally died and was beheaded.
Those not involved did not know who that person was, but the leaders of the three tribes knew that this person was Han Mountain’s ancestor…
The death of Han Mountain’s ancestor allowed the three tribes to no longer be slaves. They finally obtained their long-awaited freedom, which allowed them to be free from the chains binding them forever to Han Mountain. They could finally expand and make their tribes bigger.
Lake of Colors Tribe obtained all the legacy of Han Mountain’s ancestor left behind in the sword-ship. Freezing Sky Clan did not demand from them any of it. The old man in red robes took away the sword-ship with him before he left with his people.
As Lake of Colors Tribe had understood the secret behind the four dimensional layer Relocation Art, they were considered to have made a great contribution. Lake of Colors Tribe decided to migrate before the silent Tranquil East and Puqiang. They willingly gave up on the control of Han Mountain City and gave out a notice to dismiss all their guests. They would use a year to move their entire tribe away.
Lake of Colors Tribe also gave all the herbs in the originally hidden land under Han Mountain City to Puqiang and Tranquil East. The two tribes did not take away too many herbs, but left behind most of them to alleviate the tension between them. After all, the three tribes had worked together in developing the city for hundreds of years and some form of alliance had been made between them. If it was destroyed because of this, it would not be worth it.
When the people in Han Mountain City learned about this and explored the previously hidden grounds with their curiosity towards the unknown, some of them managed to find some herbs and obtained serendipity, but most of them came back empty-handed.
Yet because outsiders could come to the place that was once shrouded in mystery and see with their own eyes the place that had bound the three tribes there, their curiosity with the mystery of the place was satisfied.
During this month, the once mysterious place received a large amount of people, more than ever before. Most of the Berserkers from Han Mountain City went there, causing the place to slowly lose its mysteriousness.
Following the act of Lake of Colors Tribe dismissing all their guests, Puqiang Tribe did the same thing as they no longer possessed any desire for the hidden grounds. They also dismissed their guests because they no longer needed their help.
Tranquil East Tribe did the same thing. The three tribes closed their doors to outsiders, which caused certain changes in some state of affairs in Han Mountain City.
Yet these changes were miniscule compared to the largely important event of Freezing Sky Clan coming to Han Mountain City to take in disciples, an event that only occurred once every couple years.
The entire Han Mountain City became lively once again. Most of the time, the only thing talked about by the outsiders was Freezing Sky Clan coming to the city to take in disciples.
It was a desire of almost every single Berserker in the Land of South Morning to either join Freezing Sky Clan or Western Sea Clan. It was also clear that those who came to Han Mountain City had chosen Freezing Sky Clan as their target.
Freezing Sky Clan was incredibly strict when it came to taking in disciples. They had a unique system for those who wanted to join.
Take for example Han Mountain City. If those not from the three tribes wanted to join, they would need to challenge the Chains of Han Mountain to show their worth.
Yet this was only to show their worth. It was still uncertain whether they would be taken in.
At the same time, during this month, one name started circulating among a small group of people until it eventually grew into a discussion of the whole Han Mountain City. This name was uttered by Nan Tian’s lips, was acknowledged silently by Xuan Lun, was searched by Lake of Colors Tribe’s Han Fei Zi, and gradually, no one in Han Mountain City did not know of that name.
That name was Mo Su!
Due to the numerous discussions about that name, the people of Han Mountain City gradually became familiar with it, and from that familiarity they sensed this person’s strength and mysteriousness.
He was a new guest of Tranquil East Tribe, and his level of cultivation could not be estimated. Yan Guang from Lake of Colors Tribe had died at his hands, but Lake of Colors Tribe was not holding him accountable for it.
Tranquil East Tribe had dismissed all their guests but one, and that person was the mysterious Mo Su!
It was rumoured that this person had already Transcended. One month ago, when he was in the hidden grounds of Han Mountain, he was on equal standing to Nan Tian and had managed to stun Xuan Lun. He had also fought against Han Fei Zi.
That battle had not ended in either participant’s death, but once Han Fei Zi returned to Lake of Colors Tribe, she started searching for this person frequently, which made all those watching get an inkling of what had happened.
Each appearance of a powerful Berserker in the Transcendence Realm would cause a ruckus in Han Mountain City. Besides the three tribes, there were originally only five people who had Transcended. Besides Xuan Lun and Nan Tian, there was also Ke Jiu Si from Lake of Colors Tribe.
The other two people did not join any tribes. Their goal in going to Han Mountain City was clear—they wanted to join Freezing Sky Clan.
These five people were like the brilliant sun during noon. If any one of them joined any tribe, they would all become chief guests.
Yet the sixth Transcended Berserker appeared, causing the discussions revolving around him to grow. The cause of this was largely related to this person still refusing to appear.
It seemed like the mysteriousness surrounding Mo Su increased because this person had yet to appear. The people only knew that he dressed in a black robe and that the most obvious characteristic on his person was the black mask he wore.
No one knew what his face looked like underneath the mask.
Nan Tian had even once casually said one sentence.
"Mo Su is someone I can’t compare to, neither can Xuan Lun, nor any of the Transcended Berserkers in Han Mountain City!"
The meaning behind the words itself was astonishing, but when he said it and Xuan Lun agreed to it silently, along with Ke Jiu Si, who nodded, it caused a ruckus within Han Mountain City.
This mysterious sixth Transcended Berserker in Han Mountain was the most discussed topic besides the event of Freezing Sky Clan coming to take in disciples.
Perhaps this obviously instigated discussion caused all of those within Han Mountain City to pay attention to everyone beside them. They were all subconsciously searching for that mysterious Mo Su.
Han Fei Zi sat quietly in a chamber on the mountain belonging to Lake of Colors Tribe. Sitting before her was a middle-aged man with a pleasant demeanor. This man wore a green robe. He looked at Han Fei Zi and chuckled lightly before he spoke.
"I’ve already done as you wished and pushed this person to the teeth of the storm, even though I don’t know why you’d want to do that."
"Thank you, senior Jiu Si," Han Fei Zi said calmly.
"It’s fine, I’m just curious. Just how good is this person? Not only are you looking for him, but even Tranquil East Tribe is working with you to cause a storm, all for the purpose of finding him as well.
"It’s a good thing that Puqiang Tribe has closed off their tribe once they’ve dismissed the guests and no longer has any connection to the outside world, or else if they joined in as well, I’d be even more taken aback by this Mo Su."
The middle-aged man smiled faintly.
Han Fei Zi fell silent and did not speak. After a long while, the middle-aged man let out a chuckle he could not stifle before he stood up and left.
A short moment went by after he left, and a strange glow appeared in Han Fei Zi’s eyes as she mumbled, "Mo Su, I won’t believe that you died. You still owe me a promise!"
Tranquil East Tribe was also searching for Su Ming. Under the persistence of the tribe leader of Tranquil East Tribe and his little sister, Han Cang Zi, the entire Tranquil East Tribe was called into action and started searching on a large scale, which included searching the area where Su Ming had disappeared – the once hidden grounds of Han Mountain.
Yet no one managed to find him even as another month passed by, and so Mo Su became increasingly more mysterious.
In the deep canyons hundreds upon thousands of feet under Han Mountain City, the silhouettes of people could often be seen running among the valleys underneath the ground.
During these past two months, there were plenty of people who came searching, but no one knew that a strange mountain cave existed within a certain valley.
No one would be able to notice this cave.
Right then, a mumble could be heard echoing within this cave.
"Who am I..?"
Su Ming was sitting inside the cave with his eyes open. His eyes were filled with red and his gaze was dazed and blank. He had forgotten about time and forgotten where he was. All he could think about was the question that had no answer.
The mountain cave was not dark. During these two months, red light gradually filled the cave. The red light came from Su Ming’s body. Many blood veins covered his body densely and let out flickering light as they continued increasing.
The Berserker Bone within him had melted and was absorbed by his Qi as it circulated in his body, causing Su Ming’s blood veins to have increased to 926!
His blood veins were still increasing, but Su Ming did not notice any of it. His whole mind was submerged in one single thought. This was the first time in his memories where he pondered about his destiny and… who he was with such a strange state of mind.
During these two months, he lived in a muddled state as if he was lost. As he continued thinking in this condition, his presence changed. This change was faint and difficult to discover, but it was there. It was just like how he had changed when he treaded through the red path and came to an understanding.
People seldom sank into a train of thought where they thought about their own identity. They would, naturally, speak out words such as "I am who I am", yet these words were spoken without prior thought, it was simply a false affirmation that the person himself could not ascertain was true because he did not know the answer himself.
"If I am who I am, then who… am I..?" Su Ming muttered.
He could not wrap his head around it. He wanted to know the answer.
The answer seemed vague and distant. Perhaps no one could explain it to him.
At that moment, it was as if he was in the midst of a crowd of people who had their eyes closed, and only he had managed to force open his eyes a slit that would close up at any moment, the second he could no longer withstand it any longer.
It was as if he was struggling to climb up an abyss, and as he was faced with the danger of falling back at any moment, he fought hard to lift his head and look at the world outside the canyon.
He did not know what he saw. He could only struggle to try and see it more clearly.
In his muddled state, he remembered a sentence left behind by someone in the beast skin scrolls that the elder had given him. It was also the sentence that he could not understand the most.
"You cannot see the world… that I see…"