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Chapter 885: Elder Feng's Joy

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The expressions of the members of the Lie Shan Family within the chamber differed in regards to Su Ming's voice. Some of them narrowed their eyes, some of them had dubious looks on their faces, and some of them put on scornful expressions.

Lie Shan Xiu was the supreme Progenitor of Lie Shan Family. Forget outsiders, most of the members of the family had never seen his face before. And even if they had, it was only from afar, for it was rare for any of them to be summoned individually.

Right then, to most of the family members, the act of this person with an unknown identity making this request made him seem a little too arrogant and conceited.

However, while the family members harbored different thoughts in their hearts, they did not show it on their faces. At that moment, Elder Feng shook his head before them.

"What a spirited young fellow." Elder Feng's furrowed brows gradually smoothed out. The uncertain look in his eyes remained, but there was a smile on his face.

He looked at Su Ming, and the smile on his face was one full of joy and delight, like the feeling that would come straight from a member of the older generation's heart when he saw a promising member of the younger generation.

As for his act of shaking his head, it was akin to an affable show of forbearance towards that particular member of the younger generation born out of a form of affection.

In fact, that smile continued growing wider, until Elder Feng eventually started laughing loudly. This joy had not been felt by him for tens of thousands of years. His laughter was hearty, and the members of the Lie Shan Family looked at each other while at a loss as to what to do.

"This young fellow is slightly mischievous. Still, how dare a mere member of the Tai Ci Family provoke my scion?" As Elder Feng mumbled under his breath, a domineering presence that looked down on the entire world spread out from his body.

The members of the Lie Shan Family behind him immediately felt fear and lowered their heads, not saying a single word. They had never seen Elder Feng, who had an incredibly high status in the Lie Shan Family, laugh in such a delighted manner before. In their memories, while Feng Lai did not have Lie Shan in his name, he was one of the four great generals of their Progenitor, Lie Shan Xiu.

He had followed Lie Shan Progenitor for many years, and they were so close that Elder Feng was like their Progenitor's right hand. Elder Feng was an incredibly stern person. There was also a sort of pride in his heart. He had been in the Lie Shan Family for many years and had an incredibly high status, but he never had a lover, and neither did he have any children. He spent his days in quiet isolation, and he did not even have any disciples.

There was once an older member of the family who pleaded to meet Elder Feng and begged him to take in some children who showed great potential as his disciples, but all of them were rejected by Elder Feng. He had once uttered a single sentence when he rejected them, and that sentence gradually spread through the entire Lie Shan Family. Then, as time went by, no one came forth to ask Elder Feng to take in disciples anymore.

"I have a disciple. I might not know who this disciple of mine is and I might have never seen them before, but I will have a disciple and will have a scion who will inherit my legacy. This person will be my only disciple.

"Perhaps I might never be able to see this disciple of mine… but I will only take in this one disciple in my life."

As he laughed, his mutters were naturally not heard by the members of the Lie Shan Family standing behind him. He watched the chaos in the auction hall from the screen of light where Yu Rou, the Duke of Crimson Flame, and Yu Chen Hai fought against the cultivators from the Tai Ci Family. The booming sounds from their battle of Arts reverberated in the air.

However, this was, after all, Lie Shan Family's auction hall. The growth of the family for tens of thousands of years had caused the members of the Lie Shan Family to not all be like Lie Shan Kang Jiu. When the family grew in number, parts of it would form their own connections and acquaintances. Among the members of the Lie Shan Family standing behind Elder Feng was one of these people, and he was an old man who had a very close relationship with the Tai Ci Family.

The old man hesitated for a moment before he took a step forward, then wrapped his fist in his palm and spoke respectfully.

"Elder Feng, should… should we stop both parties from attacking each other?"

"Hmm?" The smile on Elder Feng's face instantly disappeared, and the chilly expression returned once again. He did not even bother turning his head around.

However, that one single sound was like a gust of freezing wind that blew on the old man's body, and he trembled instantly. He felt as if his entire body had been frozen, and his face instantly turned pale.

"Why should we stop them?" Elder Feng asked flatly, and the entire chamber instantly turned dead silent. The current Elder Feng was the one the members of the Lie Shan Family remembered.

"Elder… Elder Feng… the Tai Ci Family is one of the three greatest families in the planet. Black Water City is under their jurisdiction, and if any of their family members run into an accident in this place, then the Lie Shan Family will definitely incite Tai Ci Family's fury, this is…" the old man quickly explained as he shuddered. He had a feeling that if he did not explain his reason for his request clearly, he would be immediately frozen to death.

Lie Shan Family's rules were incredibly strict, and Elder Feng had another task in the family - to monitor the members of the Lie Shan Family. He had the right to kill or spare them, and it was not as if Elder Feng had never used the right either. He had used it many times in the past, and every single time he did so, someone in the Lie Shan Family died.

Lie Shan Family's Progenitor, Lie Shan Xiu, turned a blind eye to this. Because of that, the members of the family were incredibly respectful to Elder Feng.

"You are right," Elder Feng said flatly.

When the old man heard this, he immediately let out a huge sigh of relief in his heart. By then, his body was already drenched in sweat. Cold sweat continued seeping out through his skin, but right at the instant he relaxed, Elder Feng's chilly voice reverberated in the air once again.

"Seal off all exits in the auction hall, activate the Segregation Rune, besides those from the Yu Family, do not allow even a single person to get out of the place… If they resist, kill them!" Elder Feng's voice was calm, but there was a freezing tone and a murderous aura contained in his calm speech, which was enough to make all the members of the Lie Shan Family in the place tremble.

They might not understand why Elder Feng had said this, but the reputation he had built over the years made it so that no one dared to refute his words. They immediately lowered their heads and voiced their obedience.

When the members of the Lie Shan Family spread out to execute Elder Feng's orders, the chilling aura on Elder Feng's body gradually dissipated. Delight rose in his heart, and it turned into a kind and affable smile on his face. As he looked at Su Ming, who seemed to be looking at him through the screen of light, he found himself liking this youth more with each passing moment.

"Haha! This boy is good, he's very good!" As he laughed, Elder Feng lifted his right hand and swung it at the screen of light. Wind blew instantly, stirring up a layer of ripples that caused the screen of light to distort.

"Lie Shan Progenitor isn't here, young man," Elder Feng said with a smile. This time, his voice shot through the screen of light and echoed in the auction hall.

Su Ming frowned.

Booming sounds reverberated by his side at that moment. Yu Rou was facing off against the old man, and as they fought, she had the upper hand. However, the old man's entire body was incredibly sturdy, as if he had refined it. Most of the effects from divine abilities and Arts were greatly reduced when they landed on him.

As for the Duke of Crimson Flame, he was fighting against the old guest from Tai Ci Family, and they were fighting on equal ground.

However, this made things hard for Yu Chen Hai, because he was absolutely not the other old man's opponent. Amid the booming sounds, he was forced backwards continuously. If the two big dogs were not constantly beside the old man to occasionally launch nasty sneak attacks on him to hold him back slightly, then Yu Chen Hai would have definitely been heavily injured by now.

"How dare you commit such an act of treason?! This is Black Water City! This is Tai Ci Family's city! How dare you attack the members of Tai Ci Family here?! You won't be able to leave Black Water City! You'll regret ever provoking us! You'll have the fury of the Tai Ci Family upon you!" the young man with the fan in his hand screamed shrilly at that moment. There was not a hint of panic on his face. Although he was retreating, his words echoed in the air.

He had the confidence because this was Black Water City and because this was where Tai Ci Family was located. He did not believe that anyone would dare to kill him in this place. If the puny Yu Family dared do so, then they would have to pay the price of being utterly annihilated.

Su Ming averted his gaze from the air above. He did not even spare a glance at the young man, but instead took a step forward. Then, right before the thousands of people's gazes, his figure distorted, and he appeared right in front of Yu Chen Hai.

Yu Chen Hai was in a disheveled state and was retreating rapidly. The expressionless old man in front of him seemed to have gotten used to the two big dogs' harmless bites and was ignoring them at that moment while closing in on his target.

Su Ming's appearance immediately excited Yu Chen Hai while the incoming old man paused in his footsteps, but right at the instant he stopped, Su Ming lifted his right hand and hurled a punch at him!

This punch contained all the power of Qi within Su Ming's body. It contained all the power within this clone of his and also his Divine Essence. In fact, when he hurled his punch forward, cracking sounds came from his body. With it, wind and clouds stirred within the auction hall. All the currents of wind instantly gathered at the spot where Su Ming was and fused into his fist. Booming sounds created from wind slicing through the air also up, and even space shattered with cracking sounds.

At the instant, the punch landed on the old man's chest.

Bang!

As a loud noise resounded, none of the old man's methods to fend against the punch could block the attack. He coughed up blood and his body immediately fell backwards. Instantly, it started showing signs of crumbling right before the crowd's eyes.

However, there seemed to be some sort of power that reversed the flow of things in his body, for as he crumbled, he started recovering as well. However, Su Ming's punch contained Divine Essence, and it prevented the old man's recovery. As the old man fell back, the two dogs which he was no longer wary against suddenly put on extremely nasty smiles.

Right then, the yellow dog swung its head. It tore apart, and a gigantic, ferocious dragon head stretched out from within the opened up space. This dragon's head was too big and was completely disproportionate to the dog's body. Once it appeared, it opened its mouth wide and snapped its jaws shut around the old man, who now had an expression of disbelief on his face.

With just one bite, half of his body went into the strange creature's mouth!

The big black dog by the side let out a loud howl and imitated the yellow dog's movements. It swung its head as well and turned it into the bald crane's bald head. Perhaps it had never wanted to bite the old man, but once it saw the Abyss Dragon's actions, it immediately thought that this particular act was incredibly mighty. Which was why when this thought appeared in its head, it let out a weird, shrill cackle and used its sharp beak to pierce the old man's… groin.

Immediately after, it turned into a black gust of wind and started plundering all the things on the old man's body.

The old man died while harboring a great amount of grievances. He did not die because of Su Ming's punch, but had died in the Abyss Dragon's mouth. His soul and Nascent Divinity were all sucked away by the Abyss Dragon. Then, once he died, all his possessions were taken away by the bald crane.

He had never expected that one of the two big dogs… was a dragon!

Chapter 886: Master Who Taught Me My Craft

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Once the old man died and his body was devoured by the Abyss Dragon, it turned back to the big yellow dog and even wagged its tail while winking at the bald crane, which had now resumed the black dogs form as well and was winking back. They were both incredibly pleased with themselves.

"Well? Your Grandpa Crane's plan was great, right? Heh heh~"

Clearly, the dragon, which had the bald crane's constant company, had been corrupted…

"That's… That's a dragon?"

"That's not a dog either! That's a bird!"

"Those two creatures are too despicable! That's… That is… So they've been pretending to be weak all this while!"

"We have to be careful of those two creatures, especially that bird. It's… it's too shameless, too brutal, how could it..?"

The cultivators who had been observing this fight in the area found their jaws falling slack from shock when they saw the bald crane and the Abyss Dragon's transformations. They had never seen ferocious creatures that could be so despicable!

They immediately became cautious and engraved the bald crane as well as the Abyss Dragon's appearance in their minds. The bald crane's intrepid act just now had especially horrified them, and they felt the pain the old man must have suffered before he died.

In fact, their wariness towards the bald crane surpassed that which they held for the terrifying creatures that resided in their memories. After all… that intrepid strike was something that would cause all male cultivators' skins to crawl and their hearts to shudder.

"That bird, I-I saw it take away a storage bag just now and even check it for a while. It didn't seem too pleased with what it saw."

"Damn it, if that bird acts this way, then its master is definitely this sort of person as well! We absolutely can't provoke this person! Absolutely, absolutely can't provoke him!"

In the mid of the shock and the hubbub created by the cultivators in the area, the black dog which was the bald crane swept its gaze around the area with a fierce and displeased stare. It had a… rather simple personality. That intrepid strike just now had been something it thought of on the spot, but when it saw the terrified expressions, it suddenly felt that… it could use this attack more often.

As it pondered over it, it started cackling foolishly. That expression, those cackles, and that gaze immediately caused all the cultivators which it was looking at to feel their skins crawl again.

Su Ming paid no attention to the dirty acts committed by the bald crane and the Abyss Dragon. With an indifferent expression, he continued ignoring the now pale young man and instead walked towards the other old man who was fighting against Yu Rou and whose apathetic expression made him look like a puppet.

Two of the three old men had died. Their expressions before death made them seem more like real people, but during all other occasions, they only had that apathetic look on their faces.

They were clearly puppets, and it was the type Su Ming was familiar with - a Soul Catcher's puppet.

He did not move quickly, but each step he took caused the auction hall to tremble. As he stepped in the air, an endless amount of ripples spread out in space, so even the old man who was fighting against Yu Rou had a hint of change in his expression. He gave up on fighting against Yu Rou and without any hesitation began retreating.

Su Ming let out a cold harrumph. If the old man was truly someone in the later stage of World Plane Realm, then Su Ming would have been unable to kill him with just one punch, but this old man was a Soul Catcher's puppet, and for someone who had mastered the Soul Catchers' Spells, killing this sort of puppet became a natural act of oppression.

The puppet's sturdy and invincible body was as frail as a piece of paper to Su Ming. The strange divine abilities it cast were mostly related to a Soul Catcher, and Su Ming was completely unfettered by these Spells.

Everything about the puppet was suppressed by Su Ming, so it was completely impossible for it to fight back. The suppression on its soul prevented it from bringing out its full power.

When Su Ming saw the puppet fleeing, his expression did not change. However, the young man in the distance and Tai Ci Family's guest, who was fighting against the Duke of Crimson Flame, revealed faint shock.

They understood the three puppets and knew that they did not fear pain. The fluctuations of their emotions were barely noticeable, and they did not know how to be fearful of other manner of beings. However, the moment Su Ming got closer to the puppet, it went fleeing, performing an act that it had never done before. This sort of thing left them in temporary disbelief.

Su Ming walked towards the puppet. He did not do so quickly, but there was a presence of a Soul Catcher radiating faintly around his body at that moment. There was also a profound look in his eyes that looked like vortices. All of these things caused a powerful, suppressive feeling over the puppet.

In fact, at that moment, the small Candle Dragon Su Ming had left behind with the Ecang clone in Western Ring Nebula's foreign land lifted its head and flicked its tongue. Dark light shone in its eyes. It was a ferocious beast that was connected to Su Ming's soul, and it could sense the fluctuations in Su Ming's soul as well as him walking towards a Soul Catcher's puppet at that moment.

It immediately sensed a faint connection formed between its soul and Su Ming's soul. It was this connection that created a faint of image of the Candle Dragon to behind Su Ming as the air behind him distorted while he walked over.

At the instant the image appeared, the old puppet shuddered and gave up on fleeing. Then… as it trembled, it kowtowed before Su Ming, not daring to move any longer.

At the instant he kowtowed before Su Ming, the expression of the old Tai Ci Family guest who was fighting against the Duke of Crimson Flame changed drastically, and he coughed up a huge mouthful of blood. When the blood turned into blood fog that exploded in the area, it blocked off the Duke of Crimson Flame's divine abilities, and the old guest retreated without any hesitation, moving beside the young man who was now so shocked that terror had appeared on his face. The old man grabbed his body and retreated swiftly. At that moment, he also roared at Lie Shan Family for the first time.

"Lie Shan Family, this is your auction hall! Why are you still not showing yourselves and attacking?! If anything happens to the young master, then all of you will have to die with him!"

The old man's words swiftly reminded the pale young man of his status. As he was brought backwards, he immediately shouted shrilly, "Lie Shan Family, I order you to kill this person!"

As the two of them retreated while shouting, booming sounds rose from around the auction hall, and the shadows of people appeared. Needless to say, they belonged to the members of the Lie Shan Family.

In fact, even Song Qing, the member of Lie Shan Family who hosted the auction and Lie Shan Kang Jiu were among these people, and they had the auction hall surrounded.

Their appearance immediately caused the cultivators in the area to let out a sigh of relief, because they knew that Lie Shan Family had finally decided to intervene. After all, this was Lie Shan Family's auction hall. They would not allow any sort of battles in here, much less allow the death of a member of the Tai Ci Family.

This was something obvious, and it was a thought shared by all the cultivators.

It was also what the young man and the Tai Ci Family guest thought. At the same time the two of them let out sighs of relief, they swiftly retreated, intending to leave this place. Once they left, what would come next would be extreme revenge dealt to the Yu Family.

The young man could even imagine it while cruelty boiled in his heart. Once he left the place, he would cry and plead for the members of the older generation in his family to attack. He would have them crush all of Su Ming's bones, but also make sure that he did not die. He would have Su Ming watch how he would violate and torture the maidservant. In fact, as he laughed coldly, he cast Su Ming a look, because the other's handsome looks had caused another licentious thought to appear in the young man's head. Besides violating the maidservant, he could also force himself on Su Ming.

As he thought about this, the young man began laughing in a lecherous manner. However, his laughter frozen several breaths later, because a loud bang had cut it off. Just as they were about to leave the auction hall, his they were both blocked by an invisible barrier, which bounced them back.

This was Lie Shan Family's protective screen of light. It was the Rune that protected the entire auction hall, and it was definitely not something that could be broken in a short period of time. The old Tai Ci Family guest's expression changed, and a hint of disbelief as well as fear appeared in his eyes.

"Lie Shan Family, what is the meaning of this..?" the old man asked strenuously. A feeling as if something terrible was about to happen rose in his heart. He did not believe that the Lie Shan Family would do such a thing, but the truth before his eyes forced him to believe it. In fact, he could see all the members of Lie Shan Family not attacking Su Ming and his group once they appeared. They just stood there, still and unmoving.

The old man instinctively cast a glance at one of the Lie Shan Family members that stood close to him, but that person avoided his gaze, and the Tai Ci Family's guest instantly felt his heart sink.

No one answered his question. Instead, a chuckle that sounded as if it came from an old person came from the area above the auction hall. Once it resounded, an old man walked out.

That old man had an ancient look that told everyone that he had lived for a long period of time, though no one knew precisely how many years that meant. When he walked forward, wind howled around him, shattering space all around. In fact, there seemed to be the eye of a typhoon at the spot where the wind was coming from behind the old man.

That eye of the typhoon was round… and it looked like a sun!

At the instant Yun Long Hu saw the old man, shock appeared on his face. He staggered a few steps backwards, and his face turned pale. The young man beside him was also trembling so badly that he could not even say a single word. A mighty pressure that almost suffocated him descended on the entire auction hall once the old man appeared.

"Greetings, Elder Feng!" All members of the Lie Shan Family immediately bowed towards the old man.

Right when these words were spoken, the thousands of cultivators in the auction hall lowered their heads and paid their respects to the old man as their bodies trembled under the mighty pressure. Their hearts were filled with shock, because they had heard of this man called Elder Feng before. He was an existence that was a legend in Lie Shan Family.

The Duke of Crimson Flame's expression was incredibly grim. With a flash, he appeared beside Su Ming. He could also sense the pressure coming from Elder Feng's body, and even if it was him, under this pressure, he felt restricted, as if he was enveloped by mud.

"Young master, this person… is at the very least at Solar Kalpa Realm!"

As Yu Rou's veil fluttered, she trembled. The mighty pressure coming from Elder Feng was something she could not bear, and it was even more so for Yu Chen Hai. He had already lowered his head to bow to this man.

Even the big yellow dog that was the Abyss Dragon did not dare to move as it trembled. Only… the black dog that was the bald crane was still wagging its tail in the air, with a look that said 'I-am-the-mighty-Grandpa-Crane-what-can-you-do-to-me-huh?'

Once the entire auction hall had fallen into dead silence due to Elder Feng's appearance, Elder Feng spoke slowly towards Su Ming with a smile on his face. "What is your name?"

Due to his smile and his slow speech, all the members of Lie Shan Family who knew him immediately had countless speculations.

"This member of the younger generation is named Su Ming. Greetings… Master who taught me my craft." Su Ming looked at Elder Feng, and after some time, a smile appeared on his face and he wrapped his fist in his palm to bow to the old man.

Elder Feng's eyes lit up and he laughed in joy.

Chapter 887: Fourth God of Berserkers

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Su Ming's words immediately caused all the cultivators in the auction hall to sport changes in their expressions, especially the young man and old guest from Tai Ci Family. Both of them had expressions of disbelief.

They believed that Su Ming was a member of the Yu Family, then this bow was equivalent to Yu Family forming an alliance with Lie Shan Family. Even though with Tai Ci Family's size they did not need to care about two middle-tier families forming an alliance… the both of them were still in Lie Shan Family's auction hall!

"So this fellow Daoist is an acquaintance of the Lie Shan Family? This is a misunderstanding… a misunderstanding…" Yun Long Hu immediately let out a fake cough and laughed before he wrapped his fist in his palm towards Su Ming.

"This is Tai Ci Family's mistake. I hope that Yu Family and Lie Shan Family won't mind… I…" Yun Long Hu had reacted to this situation incredibly quickly and immediately began to lighten up the situation while putting himself at a low position. In his mind, the Lie Shan Family should not try to kill them. After all… it was not worth it.

Yet before he could even finish speaking, Elder Feng frowned while standing in front of Su Ming.

"Too noisy!" he said in a chilling voice, and it instantly turned into thunderous roars. As they reverberated in the auction hall, the sound shook Yun Long Hu's heart and caused it to tremble. His eyes, nose, ears, and mouth started bleeding as he staggered a few steps backwards. In an instant, his face turned stark pale.

The young man beside him also had a terrified expression, and he shuddered even more violently. He was frightened now. Since the time he was born, this could be said to be the first time he was truly terrified, and he was suddenly incredibly regretful of his actions, but it was already too late. He did not know what was the goal of the Lie Shan Family for making him stay in this place, but he could still not believe that Lie Shan Family wanted to wage war against Tai Ci Family.

"'Master who taught me my craft'... In the wide world and in this boundless galaxy, there is only one person who can call me thus. Perhaps this person is you, and perhaps… it is not you." There was still a smile on Elder Feng's face, but there was a hint of uncertainty hidden deep in his eyes, and it was the reason why he wasn't completely certain of Su Ming's identity.

This was something that should be nearly impossible, because if Su Ming was the scion that the projection he left in the land of Berserkers found, then the connection he would form with Su Ming at that moment would definitely be complete. However… while there was a connection between him and Su Ming, there was also a mighty pressure within it that made even his Qi show faint signs of boiling.

This made a speculation rise in Elder Feng's mind.

"You will know if you test me."

Su Ming wrapped his fist in his palm once again and bowed towards Elder Feng. Once he did so, he straightened his back and lifted his right hand slowly with his fingers pointed upwards, as if he was holding something.

Elder Feng's eyes lit up and as his smile turned even more affable. He too lifted his right hand, making a series of actions that were the exact same as Su Ming's.

This scene immediately attracted the gazes of all those around them, especially those of the Lie Shan Family. They were staring at the scene intently. When they saw that Su Ming and Elder Feng were making the exact same movements as if they came out from the same mould, most of them immediately remembered the words Elder Feng had once spoke regarding his disciple.

"Sun Genesis!"

Su Ming lifted his head and had his right hand seize the air above him in one quick motion. Endless gusts of violent wind instantly appeared out of nowhere in the auction hall. Those gusts rapidly gathered around Su Ming's right hand while howling. When the people below looked over, it seemed as if his right hand had turned into an eye of a typhoon. Violent wind spun swiftly around his hand, and a vast amount of power spread out from it.

"Sun Genesis." As Elder Feng smiled, he said the two words as well and swung his right hand casually. A cyclone that was the same as the eye of a typhoon Su Ming held in his right hand appeared around Elder Feng's right hand.

The two of them took a step forward at the same time and instantly closed in on each other.

Bang!

The loud explosion instantly reverberated in all directions. This was the clash between the two cyclones formed by two people executing Sun Genesis at the same time, a match between the previous Wind Berserker and the current Wind Berserker for them to learn from each other… and a test from the person who passed down the legacy to the person who received the legacy!

Amid the booming sounds, Su Ming retreated several hundreds of steps back. A bright light shone in his eyes as he looked at Elder Feng before and lifted his right hand while hundreds of feet away. Then, he hurled a punch at the space above the auction hall. At the instant he did so, he swiftly rushed upwards.

Even though he was rushing upwards, Su Ming did not travel in a straight line, but started moving in circles. In the blink of an eye, he had already moved in so many circles that others could no longer count the number he'd made. What was more, as he moved in circles, violent gusts roared furiously, then while they gathered around him, they started going around in circles in the direction Su Ming was moving.

At the same time, a hot wave of air spread out each time Su Ming completed a circle, and it would be dragged into the whirlwind before spreading out. Yet soon, a large amount of freezing air emerged from the spot above Su Ming, right where he had hurled his fist upward just then. This freezing air met with the hot air from below, and with the rotating wind acting as the center, one of the gusts of air rose upwards, while the other moved downwards. As they crashed into each other, the wind howled, and at the same time, Su Ming spoke.

"Lunar… Burial!"

Elder Feng laughed heartily, revealing joy that came from the depths of his heart. He lifted his left hand and swung it casually above his head, and at the spot above where his left hand was, freezing wind spread out. He swung his right hand downwards at the same time, and hot air instantly spread out from his right hand. Once he had both his hands meet, hot and cold air intersected with each other… and wind appeared!

"Your Lunar Burial is still not up to standard. You've only mastered its very basics and have not understood its essence. Looks like you haven't trained seriously." Elder Feng clasped his hands together, and wind stirred with a loud howl.

"Look closely. This is… the true Lunar Burial!" Elder Feng abruptly separated his hands from each other, and as he did so, a ball of wind that was rotating swiftly emerged between his hands.

As he pushed it forward, that ball of wind immediately charged towards Su Ming and instantly crashed into the windstorm formed by his Lunar Burial.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Three consecutive bangs shook the entire auction hall. Su Ming was also pushed a hundred something feet backward each time a bang rang in the air. The wind around him formed from his Lunar Burial completely dissipated, and once the ball of wind Elder Feng pushed forward completely destroyed all the wind around Su Ming, it closed in on him, but by the looks of it, it did not seem to want to harm him. Instead, when it eventually touched the center of Su Ming's brows, it dissipated on its own. This was clearly a slight punishment from Elder Feng towards Su Ming, because he was a little displeased with the three styles of his Wind Separation Art.

Just like how a member of the older generation would punish a member of the younger generation slightly when they were not training seriously.

A glint appeared in Su Ming's eyes. He was the Wind Berserker, but his other identity was the fourth God of Berserkers, and another was the Ecang clone which existed between heaven and earth in the universe, and he was even a direct descendant of the Abyss Builders.

Besides his identity as the Wind Berserker, all of his other identities would not allow Su Ming to have that ball of wind touch the spot between his brows, which was why as his eyes sparkled, Su Ming did not move back. Instead, at the instant the ball of wind closed in on him, the sun, moon, and stars suddenly appeared in his eyes, along with a large amount of Divine Essence Runic Symbols. As they fused together, they activated the strange power from the Three Gates of Heavenly Dao Su Ming had merged into his Illusion of Stars, Sun, and Moon.

"Under normal circumstances, I would not be able to execute Wind Separation, but with the help of my divine abilities, I can execute… another Art that is similar to Wind Separation!" At the same time Su Ming calmly said these words, the sun and moon in his eyes lit up with a brilliant light.

A bang surged into the sky from where Su Ming was. As the brilliant light from the sun and moon shone, and stars appeared under his feet, all the thousands of people in the auction hall heard loud booms in their hearts. Their vision instantly became blurry, as if the world had turned upside down on them, and all of them felt as if they had been forced into some sort of dimension.

The worlds they saw were different for each one of them. Those worlds were based on the memories they did not want to recall the most. Yet all the people couldn't help themselves but get immersed.

"Illusion of Stars, Sun, and Moon: Wind Separation," Su Ming said softly. At that instant, the ball of wind in front of him came to an abrupt halt, stopping only a few inches away from him, but those few inches seemed to turn into a huge ravine separating two sides of the world, and the wind could not cross over that ravine.

The true Wind Separation was to make an entire galaxy in the universe where he was to be void of wind with just one thought… because he was the one who would give rise to wind.

As he had full control over one World.

Su Ming could not do this, but with the Illusion of Stars, Sun, and Moon working together with the strange power from the Three Gates of Heavenly Dao, he could create an illusory world. That illusory world was naturally an illusion, and in that illusion… he could make it so that there was no wind in it.

If it was just this, it would still be just an illusion and everything would still be fake. However, the power contained in the Three Gates of Heavenly Dao was something Su Ming could not fully comprehend and master up to this date. It was… a strange power that could turn illusions into reality, could turn fantasy into something real.

Because of that, Su Ming's illusion was no longer a complete illusion, but had a hint of reality contained within itself.

And the main determiner that would decide whether this illusion was true or false was not Su Ming, but the thousands of people in the illusion. As long as most of the people in here believed that the illusion was real… then it would be real!

All of this might sound abstruse and mysterious, but in truth, even Su Ming himself was still trying to understand this Art, and it could be said that this was the first time he truly executed it.

Su Ming could not use this Art for a long period of time. He had no idea whether this was just a coincidence, but just like the three breaths the malicious spirit that weighed the elephant had mentioned, Su Ming could only execute this Art for three breaths.

The span of three breaths ended within an instant. The worlds before everyone's eyes shattered, and when everything returned to normal, most of the people had dazed expressions on their faces. Only Elder Feng's eyes sparkled brilliantly. He was looking at Su Ming, the ball of wind in front of him having already vanished.

"I've witnessed another form of Wind Separation. You… are good. You are very good. The path of Dao is not constant, and there are plenty of changes that will happen. I cannot say that only my epiphany is right, because the one that suits a person the most is the most accurate path for them to follow.

"This Wind Separation that you've modified is very good!" A smile gradually appeared on Elder Feng's face. That smile was filled with happiness which was incredibly strong, the kind he had not felt for tens of thousands of years.

As Elder Feng smiled, he shook his head, and his expression abruptly became serious. He even took a few steps backwards before he looked at Su Ming with rapt attention. Then, he slowly wrapped his fist in his palm and bowed deeply towards him.

"I, the Wind Berserker of Berserkers, greet… the God of Berserkers! Sir, may I know which generation you belong to?"

Chapter 888: Lie Shan Family's True Strength

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

As Elder Feng's expression became solemn and he wrapped his fist in his palm before bowing towards Su Ming, the cultivators who had snapped out of their daze were immediately dumbfounded when they heard that sentence.

Berserkers, Wind Berserker, God of Berserkers—they did not know the meaning behind these three words, but from Elder Feng's solemn expression, they could tell that this was clearly a secret that an average cultivator wasn't privileged to hear.

Yet now… they heard, and all those with a slightly more intelligent mind could immediately tell what sort of outcome those who heard things they should not hear would face!

In fact, there were even some cultivators who had began withdrawing slowly, but with the Protection Rune the Lie Shan Family set up in the auction… they could not leave.

Elder Feng bow towards Su Ming caused all the members of the Lie Shan Family in the area to have changes in their expressions. They were of the Lie Shan Family, and it was only natural for them to know what sort of cultivation method they practiced. They also understood the origins of their family. However, they had a seal in their blood, because of which outsiders were unable to learn anything about them no matter what sort of Soulseeking methods they deployed.

This secret was also the foundation of Lie Shan Family's rules. Over the course of numerous years, there had been people who slipped, but all these slips would be discreetly solved in the end. All those who needed to be killed were killed, and all those who needed to be destroyed were destroyed, because of which the Lie Shan Family was only a middle-tier family to others over the years.

After Elder Feng bowed to Su Ming, the members of the Lie Shan Family looked at each other. Lie Shan Kang Jiu's heart trembled. He suddenly understood why he had lost his composure when he was previously before Su Ming. He sucked in a deep breath, and became the first person among the members of the Lie Shan Family to wrap his fist in his palm before bowing to Su Ming.

"I, Lie Shan Kang Jiu, greet the God of Berserkers!"

"Greetings, God of Berserkers!"

"We greet the God of Berserkers!"

These words traveled out continuously from the mouths of the members of the Lie Shan Family. Their voices rose and fell, reverberating in the auction hall.

The smile had also disappeared from Su Ming's face at that moment and a dignified expression came to his face. He stood in midair and looked at Elder Feng calmly. At that moment, he was no longer a Wind Berserker… but the awe-inspiring fourth God of Berserkers!

"Elder Feng, please rise. I am the fourth God of Berserkers," Su Ming said softly.

When Elder Feng heard this, he lifted his head and looked at Su Ming. There was a kindly look in his sparkling eyes, along with a deep affection. Ever since he had discovered that Su Ming was his scion, he had acknowledged him and knew that he would be his only disciple who would inherit his legacy.

It was especially so when he found the reason as to why he had felt uncertain about Su Ming previously. That reason had come from the land of Berserkers acknowledging Su Ming, from the will of the Berserkers' galaxy gathering upon Su Ming, and from numerous Berserkers placing the hopes in their hearts towards this God of Berserkers. At that moment, his affection for Su Ming turned into a sense of pride.

"It has already reached the fourth… It has been so many years since I left with the Lord." Elder Feng shook his head. There was a sentimental look on his face, along with nostalgia.

When he shook his head, he lifted his right hand and swung it sideways.

"Lie Shan Family, heed my orders. Activate the Rune and kill all those who participated in the auction." When Elder Feng said these words, a ghastly presence instantly filled the hall, and the thousands of cultivators in the auction hall all showed drastic changes in their expressions.

"You…"

"I'm willing to swear an oath that I absolutely won't reveal what happened today, you…"

"You're just the Lie Shan Family, just a middle-tier family! There are thousands of us here, how're you going to kill us?!"

A ruckus instantly rose and reverberated in the air, but soon, that noise turned into shrill screams of pain. The light from the Rune in the auction hall stretched out endlessly. As booming sounds echoed in the hall, the members of the Lie Shan Family started slaughtering all the people in the area.

However, there were not many people in the Lie Shan Family. Logically speaking, they would indeed be unable to kill these thousands of people… but once the Rune was activated, several thousands of presences descended swiftly. These thousands of presences turned into thousands of men, and Berserker Marks spread out through their bodies. Their eyes were dull, but there was a vast amount of Qi erupting from within them.

For a short period of time, an endless amount of screams rang in the air within the auction hall. A moment later, once the voices disappeared, all the thousands of cultivators were dead. Blood dyed almost every spot in the auction hall red.

This slaughter came so abruptly that the old guest and the young man from Tai Ci Family were completely stunned.

"God of Berserkers, how should we deal with the two people from Tai Ci Family?" Elder Feng looked at Su Ming.

"This area belongs to the Lie Shan Family. Elder Feng, you can handle it." Su Ming's expression remained as calm as usual, but he was shocked by the slaughter just then. Elder Feng's casual attitude to this and the blood soaked auction hall formed a stark contrast against each other.

"All those who offend the God of Berserkers must be executed!" Elder Feng turned around, and for the first time, trained his eyes on the old guest and the young man from Tai Ci Family.

Yun Long Hu's expression turned pale, and at that moment, he grabbed the young man, intending to retreat.

However, just when he started moving, Elder Feng lifted his hand and swung it gently forward.

"Lie Shan Family, how dare you?!"

"If you kill me, Lie Shan Family will die with us! I have my family's Life Jade with me, and the moment I die, the family will immediately know that I ran into an accident in Lie Shan Family's auction hall!" the young man shouted shrilly.

However, the moment he finished speaking, his voice turned into the noise of him coughing up blood. With the one swing of the arm, endless wind appeared around him. As it moved about with loud whistling sounds, the young man lost his flesh and blood and was reduced to bones. In an instant, he was crushed.

As for the old guest from Tai Ci Family, during that life-threatening crisis, all his power erupted from his body. A huge green log surrounded his body and resisted the wind around it.

However, it only managed to resist the wind for a few breaths. Elder Feng let out a cold harrumph, and the nine green logs shattered together. The old man's body was torn to pieces as he let out a roar that screamed he could not accept his fate.

This scene caused the Duke of Crimson Flame's eyes to shrink.

Yu Rou also looked at the scene with a look of rapt concentration but remained silent and did not say a word.

As for the Abyss Dragon and the bald crane, one of them was nervous while the other had a lackadaisical expression that said it was completely unconcerned.

Su Ming remained silent for a moment before he looked towards Elder Feng. "Will killing all the members of the Tai Ci Family affect Lie Shan Family?"

"Fourth God of Berserkers, you have just arrived in Black Ink Planet, and there are plenty of things you do not know about. It is fine, let us see the true strength of the current Lie Shan Family."

Elder Feng smiled faintly, then lifted his right arm before swinging it forward. Booming sounds immediately rose in the area, and at that moment, a large illusory screen of light appeared and floated in the air in front of them.

As that screen of light distorted and shone, it gradually became clear. A map of the aerial view that belonged to the entire Black Water City took shape. A gigantic swamp could be seen along with numerous buildings as well as Lie Shan Family's auction hall among them.

The auction hall was incredibly quiet at that moment. The bodies of the thousands of men became blue and gradually disappeared. As for the members of the Lie Shan Family, they began clearing up, occasionally lifting their heads to look at Su Ming and Elder Feng. All of them were silent, and as they cleared up the place, the stench of blood slowly faded away.

Su Ming looked at the screen of light calmly. He was very curious towards Lie Shan Family's strength. With his own power, the first God of Berserkers had been able to rise to power and even create the Berserkers' Dynasty. Now, this sort of person had been in Black Ink Planet for tens of thousands of years. If he had only been able to create a mere middle-tier family, Su Ming would be slightly disappointed.

However, based on Elder Feng's actions and words, it seemed like the Lie Shan Family was completely unconcerned about the Tai Ci Family. In fact… they were not bothered by any of the families on Black Ink Planet.

After looking at the screen of light for a moment, Su Ming suddenly discovered that the entire Black Water City seemed to have fallen into abrupt silence. The cultivators on the stone bridges all lifted their heads.

In this silence, Su Ming heard bell tolls echoing from the great building at the center of Black Water City.

As the bell tolls rang loudly, the sky distorted, and shadows of people manifested in those distortions. The weather changed, and as wind swept up in all directions, a gigantic pressure descended on Black Water City with a loud bang.

Soon after, as more people appeared in the sky, a big hall of several hundreds of thousands of feet appeared in the clouds. It slowly descended, revealing a couple words carved clearly in on the side. They read: Hall of Great Kindness [1]!

"This is the order of the Tai Ci Family. Kill all members of the Lie Shan Family in Black Water City, and from now on, the Lie Shan Family… will disappear from Black Ink Planet!"

An awe-inspiring voice came with a thunderous roar from the Hall of Great Kindness. As that voice reverberated in the air, hundreds of people appeared in the sky. They charged forward, rushing straight to Lie Shan Family's auction hall.

"Black Water City is controlled by a branch of the Shamans who descended in this place from the world outside and later named themselves the Tai Ci Family. Ink Kirin City belongs to Divine Essence Star Ocean's Mo Family, and Worldly Star City was built by the Hua Family, who rose to power due to the help from the four Great True Worlds.

"They are the three greatest families in Black Ink Planet… but Black Ink Planet belongs to us." Elder Feng's voice was calm, but there was a formless, domineering presence contained within his voice, and as he spoke, that presence spread out without any attempt to conceal anything.

As Elder Feng spoke and Su Ming saw the entire Black Water City on the screen of light, the ground trembled violently for a moment, and soon after, the stone bridges started twisting about. Loud roars rose into the air, and Su Ming's breathing froze for a moment, because the numerous stone bridges had turned into stone dragons!

They roared together, and the world trembled. They then rushed into the sky simultaneously.

"Tai Ci Family has been in Black Water City for a very long time. It's about time for the three greatest families to be replaced. Yu Family is quite good; they can take Tai Ci Family's place and become the new greatest family around here," Elder Feng said flatly.

As he spoke, the picture in the screen of light changed once again. Right before their eyes, the endless stone dragons flew up while all the roofs within Black Water City started shining with a dark light at that instant. In the mid of this, it looked like the roofs had been disassembled, and complicated Runes appeared on the now roofless buildings.

The entire Black Water City was occupied by these densely packed Runes!

Pillars of light rose from the Runes with a loud bang, and explosions continuously rang in the air, charging towards the Hall of Great Kindness in the sky!

There were ten thousand pillars of light, ten thousand stone dragons—everything in Black Water City had changed!

Translator's Notes:

1. Great Kindness: Is the translation for Tai Ci, 太 (tai4) is great, very, extreme, and 慈 (ci2) is kindness, respect.

Chapter 889: Black Ink's Order

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Su Ming looked at everything happening in the screen of light. The Duke of Crimson Flame's eyes had already widened in shock by then, and he was pointing at the Runes on all the buildings.

"This is… the fifth True World's Great Bright Light Rune! It's one of the defensive measures within the fifth True World!" His heart trembled. Even to those in the fifth True World, the Great Bright Light Rune was a great mystery. Besides the race who built this Rune, it was difficult for anyone else to understand it.

When the four Great True Worlds had fought against the fifth True World, the latter had used all the planets within its galaxy to build an endless amount of Runes like these. Every single time it was activated, the True Worlds would tremble. The destructive power of that Rune was difficult to describe with words. If anyone managed to survived after seeing it with their own eyes, they would find it a very difficult sight to forget.

"Fellow Daoist, you are a well-learned man. That's right, this is the fifth True World's Great Bright Light Rune," Elder Feng said with a smile after he cast the Duke of Crimson Flame a look, his eyes narrowed. However, once he finished saying these words, he changed the topic and said a sentence that caused the Duke of Crimson Flame's pupils to shrink.

"As expected of the Duke of Crimson Flame, the general of the seventh army in the fifth True World stationed in the eighth southeast region of the galaxy. It's not really that surprising that for you to recognize the Great Bright Light Rune."

The Duke of Crimson Flame's expression changed, but Su Ming remained as calm as usual and only turned his head slightly to look at Elder Feng.

"Fourth God of Berserkers, I know about your heroic deeds in the Barren Lands of Divine Essence and everything that led you into Western Ring Nebula's foreign land, but I did not know that you were the Fourth God of Berserkers at that time. Now that I thought about it, I was able to connect all of the past events together." Elder Feng gave them a well-intentioned smile as he looked at them

"All the stone dragons formed by the stone bridges in Black Water City are created by the divine abilities of the Meteoric Golems in Divine Essence Star Ocean. Spirits will only be born in the stones blessed by their high priest over the course of time, and only then will they be able to absorb the power of the world to grow.

"Judging by the ripples of power on each of the stone dragons, they should have been around here for tens of thousands of years, and when we connect this to the time when Black Water City was built, it'll become clear that when Tai Ci Family built Black Water City, Lie Shan Family had a hand in the construction as well," Yu Rou said elegantly by Su Ming's side.

"Progenitor Yu Rou, the only person who managed to clear the Second Gate of Heavenly Dao thousands of years ago. I've heard for years that you are a very intelligent and perceptive person. You obtained the Moon Goddess' power and became her Apostle, and you know plenty of the secrets within Divine Essence Star Ocean. Looks like it wasn't exaggerated." Elder Feng smiled faintly. The profound look in his eyes made it seem that there were few secrets he did not know about in this world.

Yu Rou's expression remained the same as ever. She was not shocked by Elder Feng revealing her identity with just a few words. After all, this was a family that dared to stand up to the Tai Ci Family and had laid down a vast scheme at the time Black Water City was built. When this was taken into consideration, them knowing the secrets of Yu Family did not seem that surprising.

It was especially so when Yu Rou recalled how Elder Feng had said in a domineering manner just moments ago, "Black Ink Planet is ours."

Without absolute power, no one would be able to say these words, which was why Yu Rou was not surprised. Instead, she lowered her head to show her respect.

Yet while she was not surprised by Elder Feng revealing her identity, Yu Chen Hai's expression had already changed drastically as he stood in the distance. A storm raged in his heart as he looked at Yu Rou's back with a dumbfounded expression. His mind went blank for a short period of time.

He suddenly understood why Su Ming had been completely unbothered by him being infatuated with his maidservant when they were in one of the towers in the Yu Family before they came to Black Water City.

In fact, he could still remember the strange look on Su Ming's face at that time. Only at this moment did he come to completely understand that… the woman which he had been unable to help himself but be infatuated with and had even grown to adore was… his Progenitor!

The blow that came with this realization made him nearly unable to accept the truth for a short period of time. As his face turned pale, he took a few staggering steps backwards. A wry smile appeared on his face, along with a hint of awkwardness.

Su Ming did not pay attention to Yu Chen Hai. Instead, he looked at Elder Feng and asked calmly, "Has the First God of Berserkers found the Fifth True World?"

"I will answer that question later, Fourth God of Berserkers. Now, let us continue witnessing the true might of the Lie Shan Family in Black Ink Planet." Elder Feng avoided the question and shook his head with a smile.

As the people spoke, wind stirred up and clouds surged into the sky within the image of Black Water City in the screen of light. The hundreds of cultivators who were closing in on Lie Shan Family all experienced drastic changes in their expressions; they were clearly shocked by the scene before them. In disbelief, they quickly retreated without any hesitation, intending to return to the Great Kindness Palace.

However, the stone dragons were faster than them. The dragons closed in on them within an instant, and loud booming sounds shook the sky, drowning out of the shrill screams of pain as fresh blood poured down.

Most of the hundreds of cultivators from the Tai Ci Family died in an instant. The ones still alive fled swiftly with terror on their faces, even if many of the stone dragons behind them had crumbled. However, the stones from the stone dragons that had crumbled gathered together once again as they fell from the sky to transform into stone dragons once again and chase after the remaining cultivators.

It was at this time that the powerful light from Black Water City's Great Bright Light Rune rose from the ground. Then, with what seemed like a screen of light, it crashed into the Great Kindness Palace. As booming sounds surged into the sky and reverberated in the air, the Great Kindness Palace began trembling intensely.

The confrontation lasted only the span of a few breaths before the palace exploded right before Su Ming's eyes. It was reduced to countless shards that tumbled backwards while hundreds of cultivators rushed out from inside, but they did not manage to escape too far before the Great Bright Light Rune swiftly crashed into them, and they shattered into pieces.

At that moment, the clouds in the sky tumbled about, and a furious roar came from above. As it did, gigantic shadows swiftly gathered together in the sky, and in the blink of an eye, several dozen massive palaces took shape.

All of these palaces were Great Kindness Palaces. They appeared together, and the mighty pressure they brought with them descended on the ground. Within that pressure was a will that would allow no resistance, along with fury that burned the nine heavens.

"Lie Shan Family, you've planned for many years and hidden yourself well, but Black Water City belongs to the Tai Ci Family! You're… just asking for death!"

As the enraged roar reverberated in the air, the entire Black Water City started trembling. Red light started shining at its edges, and in the blink of an eye, those rays of red light connected with each other to form a red screen of light. It was set over the ground like a bowl turned upside down. Once it covered the entire Black Water City , it started contracting swiftly.

Wherever it went, all towers would crumble. In fact, some of the cultivators in the city who had not managed to flee in time screamed in pain right when the red light touched them, and their bodies began decaying. All the blood in their bodies was instantly sucked away to become part of the blood-red screen of light.

Su Ming looked at everything happening within the screen of light, and Elder Feng's faint voice echoed in his ears.

"Black Water City was built by the Tai Ci Family, but the people who set the Runes, structured the city and built it were from the Lie Shan Family, even if at that time we were not known as such." While speaking, Elder Feng lifted his right hand and pointed at the screen of light.

Right away, that red screen of light that was contracting around Black Water City swiftly froze, then like a bubble bursting, the part above burst open. While shining brightly, the red screen of light let out a bang, and it moved towards the spot where it had burst open to turn into a blood-red figure.

That person was a dwarf who had long blood-red hair. Once he appeared, he lifted his head and let out a roar. As he did so, all the cultivators in Black Water City had a feeling of their blood wanting to escape from their bodies.

The red screen of light began to rush even faster to that one spot, and in the blink of an eye, it was gone, all of it absorbed by the blood-red dwarf.

"A blood-red Rune Spirit! Damn it, why is there a Rune Spirit in the Rune?! When we built this Rune in the past, we eliminated all possibilities of a Rune Spirit being born within it!" someone immediately shouted from among the dozens of Great Kindness Palaces in the sky.

The blood-red dwarf licked his lips, lowered his head, then bent his back to bow in the direction of Lie Shan Family's auction hall before he lifted his head and roared. As he did so, his body turned into a sea of blood and charged towards the sky.

At the instant the blood-red Rune Spirit rushed upwards, Su Ming saw a blood-red moon appearing on the Rune Spirit. That moon was the symbol of the Rune Spirit's level of cultivation.

At the same time, the dozens of Great Kindness Palaces in the sky moved swiftly and placed themselves on top of each other to form a structure in the shape of a tower before it swiftly pressed down on the incoming blood-red Rune Spirit.

Bang!

The tall tower formed by dozens of palaces pushed down forcefully on the blood-red Rune Spirit. Then, the tower shook, and thousands of cultivators flew out from within, all of whom had outstanding power. Once they flew out, they stood close to each other in the sky before charging towards Lie Shan Family's auction hall.

"The Tai Ci Family has grown over tens of thousands of years, and they have plenty of people in their family… but how many of those with the blood of the Lie Shan Family flowing in their veins are among them?" Elder Feng suddenly smiled, and it was a smile that was enigmatic but also slightly ghastly.

As he smiled, he brought out a black plate and threw it towards the screen of light.

Su Ming saw the plate fusing into the screen of light before appearing above Black Water City. When it appeared, the plate grew much larger until it became as big as a small hill.

There were two big words on it.

Black Ink.

Not even a single word was uttered. When this plate appeared, most of the thousands of people from the Tai Ci Family rushing to the Lie Shan Family came to an abrupt halt. Their expressions changed drastically. All of them hesitated for a moment, then they instantly turned around… to wage war against the cultivators who had been their family members just moments ago.

This scene brought a brilliant light to Su Ming's eyes. He had been able to accept everything he saw just now, no matter whether it was Black Water City's Runes, the screen of light, or everything else. They were all logical and understandable. However, the significance behind internal strife within the members of the Tai Ci Family due to the appearance of a single plate… was incredibly great.

As if he had noticed Su Ming's shock, Elder Feng turned his head around to look at the youth and smiled kindly at him.

"This is just the tip of the iceberg. The First God of Berserkers was able to create the Berserkers' Dynasty in ten thousand years, so how is it possible that he would have been able to only create a middle-tier Lie Shan Family in Black Ink Planet? We are the secret owners of Black Ink Planet!"

After Elder Feng said those words, the tower in the sky above Black Water City shuddered and shattered with a bang. The dozens of palaces collapsed while the blood-red Rune Spirit's roars rang in the air.

However, at that moment, a leisurely sigh came from the sky.

Chapter 890: The Shadow Kings

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"Black Ink Dao… the kings that hide in the shadows of Black Ink Planet and dominate over all the families here… You had disappeared for tens of thousands of years. Who would have known… that you were supporting the Lie Shan Family."

As the sigh echoed in the air, eighteen shadows manifested in the sky, which were eighteen black mountains. They stood erect between the sky and earth and descended slowly down to the ground with a mighty pressure that had the ground trembling.

Eighteen old men sat on those mountains. The old men's faces were dark and sullen, and the words just now had come from one of them.

These eighteen mountains were known as Great Kindness Mountains, and the eighteen men were the Progenitors and the faces of the Tai Ci Family. All of them were at the later stage of World Plane Realm.

When the eighteen mountains appeared, the sky behind them twisted, and hundreds of Great Kindness Palaces appeared in the sky.

At that instant, the entire sky was occupied by the Tai Ci Family. Pressure and aura filled the world, showing off the strength of one of the greatest families in Black Ink Planet!

"Twenty thousand years ago, a Progenitor of our family discovered traces of Black Ink Dao lurking in the shadows of Black Ink Planet. Once we linked the destruction of various families over the course of tens of thousands of years in Black Ink Planet, we deduced your strength. We spared no pains in giving up our base in Black Water City and opened up a dimensional crack, which we then used as the base of our family.

"Many of our family members have cut themselves off from the world, never leaving the dimensional crack. I'd like to see how you people from Black Ink Dao will assimilate these members of the Tai Ci Family to become your people!" stated the old voice coming from one of the eighteen Progenitors in the Tai Ci Family, its power shaking the entire area.

"All members of the Tai Ci Family, hear our orders. Destroy… Black Water City! Kill all the cultivators there… and completely annihilate Lie Shan Family!

"Everyone is allowed to use the Relocation Runes to head to where Lie Shan Family's base is located, ignoring the cost! You must uproot the Lie Shan Family!

"Notify all families in Black Ink Planet that Black Ink Dao has appeared once again, and that there its people are part of each family. Have them… come and help us! We will use this chance to eradicate Black Ink Dao from Black Ink Planet!

"You must especially tell Mo and Hua Families! Tell them that if our family is destroyed, there will come a day when their families will be destroyed by Black Ink Dao's hands as well!

"Look at Black Ink Planet's history! Look at the four greatest families before the rise of our three families! Look at… how they were destroyed! They are… a warning to us!"

As the eighteen Progenitors sent these orders, countless cultivators flew out with a bang from the hundreds of palaces behind them. At first glance, there were tens of thousands of them around. These people were the hidden power of the Tai Ci Family, and it had mobilized almost all of them.

A portion of them had not arrived, but it was because they had already stepped into the Relocation Runes in the dimensional cracks and were headed towards Lie Shan Family's base.

Yet the moment the members of the Tai Ci Family flew out to charge towards Lie Shan Family's auction hall, the exact same thing as what happened before… came to be once again!

Among the tens of thousands of members of the Tai Ci Family, almost half of them turned around and attacked their own family in an aloof and merciless manner, without any hint of hesitation.

The sky was enveloped in a state of chaos for a short period of time.

The expressions of the eighteen Progenitors changed drastically, disbelief taking over their faces. The old man who had sent the orders just then looked over with shock. No matter how hard he tried, he could not begin to fathom just how these family members had been drawn into Black Ink Dao.

With a furious roar, he moved, and the seventeen people behind him followed in his steps. The old man turned his head around and cast a look at the seventeen Progenitors of the Tai Ci Family, who shared the same status as he did. As of then, the only people he could trust was them.

He believed that these seventeen would definitely not betray the Tai Ci Family, but at the instant he turned his head around, a deafening boom rang out behind him.

Fourteen of the seventeen people attacked the other three at the same time. As booming sounds echoed in the air, the three old men coughed up blood and fell backwards. The others did not chase after them, but instead rushed towards the old man.

Anguish, grief, confusion, and all kinds of other mixed feelings rose within this person, who was the mightiest among the eighteen Progenitors. Light covered his eyes, and loud booms rang in his ears nonstop.

None of the members of the Lie Shan Family even walked out of their family's auction hall in Black Water City. They were all watching the screen of light with a dumbfounded gaze; after all, there were some secrets in their family that even they did not know.

Su Ming was silent for a moment, then asked calmly, "How… did you manage to do this?"

"We've been doing these things since the time we served under the First God of Berserkers in the land of Berserkers. How else could we have created the Berserkers' Dynasty in the middle of all that chaos? How else could we have made the Immortals and all the other races in True Morning Dao World bow down and worship us?

"In fact, even the Kalpa Lord Dao Chen was shocked and attacked us despite his status." Elder Feng smiled.

Su Ming fell silent once again. He suddenly realized that he had never truly understood Lie Shan Xiu. The Lie Shan Xiu described in the ancient scrolls depicting their history had been extremely mighty and a supreme existence like no other, but everything that he saw at that moment overturned such beliefs.

Su Ming looked at the screen of light and said in a low voice, "Since Tai Ci Family managed to become one of the greatest families in the planet, it's impossible for them to only have these few powerful warriors."

"That's right. The ones who appeared are just the strength of what the Tai Ci Family wants to show us," Elder Feng said with a smile.

As he said these words, a violent boom reverberated intensely in the now chaotic sky above Black Water City. That booming sound spread in all directions, replacing all the other sounds that in existence. The sky trembled, and a gigantic crack of several tens of thousands of lis long appeared in the sky!

That crack was the one which the Tai Ci Family used to enter the dimension in which their family was located. Once it showed up, the shadows of people swiftly shot out to form groups that stood in the four directions!

Their appearance immediately brought the four of the eighteen old men who were being attacked in an encirclement a boost in their morale. The other members of the Tai Ci Family in the area also became excited.

Red, blue, white, black!

There were four different colored groups of armor, and there were three thousand people for each armor group. This troop that stood in four directions… was the secret force of the Tai Ci Family. Red symbolized bloodthirst, blue symbolized overflowing vitality, white symbolized endless age, while as for black… it was pure destruction.

They numbered to twelve thousand people. Yet at the instant this troop appeared and got ready to fight against the Lie Shan Family, chaos broke out among them. Internal strife… did not escape them either.

Despair rose in all the members of the Tai Ci Family who were fighting back against their own family members.

"Black Ink Dao, just how much power have you hidden among our numbers?! Shadow kings of Black Ink Planet… why must you destroy our Tai Ci Family?!" the old Progenitor who was being attacked by the familiar faces of his own family members shouted out in a shrill voice.

"Because you've offended someone you should not have offended," Elder Feng answered him, his voice echoing in Black Water City.

"Who?! Who have we offended?! Tell me! Who… have we offended?!

"You too! You are all members of the Tai Ci Family, the blood of the Tai Ci Family flows in your veins! Why did you betray us?!"

The old man had already descended into madness. Under those intense questions, most of the traitors of the Tai Ci Family snorted coldly and attacked even more ruthlessly.

One of the traitors that besieged the old man licked the blood at the corner of his lips before they curled up into a cold sneer. A hint of derision appeared on his face.

"Tai Ci Family's blood? It's been a long time since we were those people. The blood of Black Ink Dao's Progenitor flows in our bodies. We are… Berserkers!"

The old man laughed brokenly and retreated continuously. He saw that the four armored groups that had been hidden by the Tai Ci Family were fighting furiously against each other and all the members of the Tai Ci Family were dying and getting injured. During all of this, not a single member of the Lie Shan Family appeared. All of this turned into a joke - a joke in which the Tai Ci Family was torn apart by internal strife.

This made him remember that quite a number of families throughout the history of Black Ink Planet had been destroyed by internal strife. By the looks of it now, all of this… was laughably ridiculous.

"Grand Ancestor, I… have done my best!" The old man closed his eyes.

At the instant he did so, three presences descended abruptly from the crack in the sky, and three suns manifested in the sky. The mighty pressure spreading out from those suns revealed a great power that belonged to those in Solar Kalpa Realm, and in an instant, all the people who were fighting below stopped and looked towards the sky in shock.

There were three ancient figures in the three suns, and they were… the ancestors that isolated themselves all year long within the Tai Ci Family. They were all powerful warriors in Solar Kalpa Realm.

"Those three old coots have finally appeared… but their strongest, the one who discovered us while we lurked around in the shadows… has not appeared." Elder Feng smiled faintly, formed a seal with his right hand, and pointed at the screen of light.

"Nie Li, based on the promise we made to each other in the past, it is time for you to attack."

At the instant Elder Feng said these words, Su Ming felt the ground trembling. Black Water City shuddered, and in the screen of light, he could clearly see that the gigantic swamp in which the city was built… was surging about as the water in it boiled.

Roars that did not belong to a cultivator shot through the swamp and rushed up to the nine heavens. At that instant, Su Ming saw a colossal dragon head charge out of the swamp water with a bang, rushing straight above.

That dragon head was ten thousand feet big, and it was an incredibly monstrous sight. When it rushed out, it brought with it a large amount of swamp water, and as if it had turned the universe upside down, the water made the clear sky rain. When the dragon head appeared, it rose up and roared, and its roars shook the world so much that endless cracks appeared in the planet.

Soon after, another dragon head shot out of the swamp, and a third rose with a roar after it. Three dragon heads that were ten thousand feet big and one hundred thousand feet tall swept through the sky and charged towards the three Tai Ci Family Progenitors who were in Solar Kalpa Realm.

"Nine-Headed Dragon!" Su Ming's pupils constricted as he sucked in a deep breath. He had been able to recognize with just one glance that the ferocious creature hidden in the swamp… was a living Nine-Headed Dragon!

Elder Feng pondered over it for a moment before he smiled. "You know this creature? Then I believe you must have inherited the bell we left in the land of Berserkers."

As the three dragon heads roared, muffled words could be heard in their voice.

"Nine… Headed… Dragon…"

Chapter 891: To Rise to Power

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

As Su Ming looked at the three dragon heads roaring from the swamp in Black Water City through the screen of light, Su Ming sucked in a deep breath, because he had just been given very shocking information in regards to Lie Shan Family's strength.

Su Ming remained silent for a while, then he looked at Elder Feng. "It doesn't matter whether it's Runes or the stone dragons, even the Great Bright Light Rune is not that shocking once I think about it logically, and it's the same for the Nine-Headed Dragon forming a promise with all of you… but how did you manage to divide the members of the Tai Ci Family and make them… betray their own family at such a crucial moment?"

"Black Ink Dao did not exist on Black Ink Planet in the past. When we came, Black Ink Dao was born. Our followers are in every single one of the families here. We are the kings that lie in the shadows, and we can decide the rise and fall of each family.

"We can stir up internal strife within the Black Ink Planet and can bring about a disaster that will shock the four Great True Worlds, such as… the change in Black Ink Planet in the past." Elder Feng smiled as he said the words that left Su Ming's heart in shock once again.

If he looked at the timeline, the time when the change in Black Ink Planet occurred was also the time when Lie Shan Xiu arrived in the Barren Lands of Divine Essence.

"As for us being able to turn the members of these families into Berserkers so they would betray their own family when we needed them to… Well, you might be able to guess the reason behind it." Elder Feng cast Su Ming a glance. He did not reveal everything, but instead let the ghost of a smile linger on his lips.

Su Ming remained silent for some time before he said in a low voice, "That is a divine ability the Second God of Berserkers created on his own."

"When I left with the First God of Berserkers, I saw three people who had the qualities to take over the First God of Berserkers' position. I don't know whether the Second God of Berserkers you speak of is one of them. If he is, then good for him, but if he isn't, it doesn't matter either. However, the Great Art of Heartless Berserker Seed was not created by the Second God of Berserkers, like what you're claiming. Instead… it is the Art the First God of Berserkers used to enslave the worlds, and it is also known as… the God of Berserkers' Art!

"In this universe, only Lord Lie Shan alone could create this Art with his unprecedented talent," Elder Feng said in a languid manner while shaking his head.

As they spoke to each other, the weather changed above Black Water City. Booming sounds shook the sky and earth, and the was the sound of space shattering as the three heads from the Nine-Headed Dragon fought against the three old men in Solar Kalpa Realm.

This was the first Nine-Headed Dragon Su Ming had seen. Its might was incredibly astonishing, and in fact, Su Ming believed that if the Candle Dragon had met this Nine-Headed Dragon at its prime and they had fought against each other since they were mortal enemies, it would be difficult to determine just who would win or lose.

However, Su Ming had a feeling that… this Nine-Headed Dragon seemed to be slightly stronger than the Candle Dragon.

'It has nine heads. Right now, only three of them have appeared, and it can already fight on equal grounds against three cultivators in Solar Kalpa Realm. If all nine heads appeared together, then even if it had not reached the state of being a Master of Fate, Lives, and Death, it would still be powerful enough… to be the strongest being among all those below the Master of Fate, Lives, and Death.'

Booming sounds came through the screen of light and echoed in Lie Shan Family's auction hall. Su Ming looked at the city, then said calmly after some time, "No wonder you weren't worried about the Tai Ci Family relocating members of their family to where Lie Shan Family's base is located. If you have so much firepower hidden in Black Water City, then you will have even more forces hidden in the family's base."

Elder Feng lifted his right hand and swung it before himself. The air in front of the screen of light distorted, and nearly a hundred screens of light in various sizes appeared. Each one showed a different scene, and they all were the bases that belonged to the families in Black Ink Planet.

"If you're curious, then you can take a look. You'll know when you see it," Elder Feng said with a smile.

Su Ming swept his gaze over the near one hundred screens of light and fell silent.

He saw long arcs which were members of the Tai Ci Family heading to seek help from the families in Black Ink Planet.

One of the light screens showed the Chen Family, a middle-tier family in Black Ink Planet.

A long arc arrived before them with loud whistling sounds. It descended in the span of a breath, revealing itself as a middle-aged man. He was dressed in a Hanfu and had an anxious expression on his face. Once he descended, he immediately wrapped his fist in his palm and bowed towards the Chen Family in a greeting.

"I am Tai Ci An of the Tai Ci Family. With the letter from my family's Progenitor, I have come in hopes to meet Chen Family's Progenitor. This concerns a drastic change in all the families within Black Ink Planet! Chen Family's Progenitor, please allow me to have an audience with you!"

"Kill him!"

Almost at the instant the middle-aged man finished speaking, an ancient voice came from the Chen Family. Once it spoke, several dozen people charged out from inside the building.

The middle-aged man's expression changed. He wanted to retreat, but there was quite a number of powerful warriors whose levels of cultivation were higher than his. When they attacked, they did not give a single chance for him to fight back, as if they could not wait to immediately kill him since there was someone watching their actions, and the Chen Family were eager to show their sincerity.

Everything lasted for only ten breaths before a shrill scream of pain reverberated in the air. The middle-aged man from the Tai Ci Family who had come to seek help had both his form and his spirit destroyed. It was also during this moment that an incredibly tall and built man with a flowery-patterned mask over his face walked out from the Chen Family. Accompanying him was Chen Family's Progenitor, who was standing right behind him as many other powerful warriors from the Chen Family trailed behind them.

"Sir, you don't have to worry. The Chen Family has long since found the Tai Ci Family unpleasant to our eyes. Even if you did not come today, we would have killed that person from the Tai Ci Family." Chen Family's Progenitor wrapped his fist in his palm respectfully.

The man nodded and took a step forward before he turned into a long arc and left. Once he disappeared, Chen Family's Progenitor wiped off the cold sweat on his forehead.

Su Ming saw this in the screen of light. In fact, he could see something similar in all the screens of light in front of his eyes. All the members of the Tai Ci Family who were sent out had been swiftly killed by the anxious families.

However, there were some who did not die, and those were the people who went to the Mo Family in Black Kirin City and the Hua Family in Worldly Star Family. These two families who were part of the strongest trio of families in Black Ink Planet did not kill the people who came to seek their help, but instead chose to shut their doors and refuse to see them.

As for the members of the Tai Ci Family who were heading to Lie Shan Family's base, Su Ming saw a gigantic tentacle suddenly extending from the layer of clouds in the space before the thousands of cultivators who were charging forward. There were plenty of polyps on that tentacle, and as it swept through the sky, it looked as if it had pushed the planet to make it rotate on its axis. The sea of clouds then tumbled about to reveal a huge creature that was one hundred thousand feet big.

It was clearly a big octopus. With the clouds serving as the ocean, it swam around in the sky. At that moment, it appeared with an unknown method and executed a brutal slaughter of the thousands of cultivators from the Tai Ci Family.

In fact, when Su Ming looked closer into it, he saw an old man sitting cross-legged on the octopus' head.

The old man's face was indistinct and could not be seen clearly. However, there was a layer of moisture that seemed to be surrounding the old man, creating a hazy feeling. When sunlight shone on it, a seven-colored light was produced by the refracting light.

"That's the old Rain Berserker." Elder Feng smiled.

Wind, rain, lightning, fog—the four generals under the First God of Berserkers' command!

Su Ming remained silent. When he averted his gaze from the screens of light, he had already formed an estimation of Lie Shan Family's might in Black Ink Planet. It was as Elder Feng had said, with this sort of power… they were the shadow kings of Black Ink Planet.

Their methods might be a little despicable and not something ethical, but since Lie Shan Family had chosen to be the kings of Black Ink Planet lurking in the shadows, those that exist in the dark naturally can not choose to do things in an honorable manner.

Su Ming acknowledged this, because he knew that the brighter a ball of flames burned in the dark, the more a person's attention would be attracted to it. Then, the one that would be first extinguished would be that ball of flames burning in the dark, which all the people could see.

The one that would last would instead be the existence that stayed hidden in the dark, having fused together with it. This would make it so it would never be destroyed but would turn into an existence that destroyed others.

This was the path Lie Shan Xiu had chosen when he came to Black Ink Planet. It was also precisely because of this that he managed to make Black Ink Dao in to a force that could overturn the entire Black Ink Planet after tens of thousands of years of administration.

This was… a power that belonged to the Berserkers!

"The Lord God of Berserkers once said that he is a Berserker, and we are also Berserkers. Then… everything that we do, no matter how despicable and how vile… is for the sake of Berserkers existing in the entire universe.

"It isn't easy for a race to rise to power. Originally, the Lord God of Berserkers had thought that the Berserkers had already risen to power and he had been prepared to change the rulers of True Morning Dao World so that he could turn True Morning Dao World into the Berserkers' True World… but the ancient will from Yin Death Region had been easily able to destroy everything the God of Berserkers had done with just a flip of its hand, forcing him to obey its ancient will and leave the land of Berserkers to help Yin Death Region search for their entrance.

"Did you think that we did not want to leave behind some semblance of hope or some treasures for the Berserkers before we left? That we wanted to watch them gradually fall to ruin..?

"Did you think that we truly left to search for some turning point that would allow us to reach a breakthrough? Did you really think that we did it for ourselves..?

"Did you think that the stone monument heritage Lord Lie Shan left behind talking about how it would all end when it came to the third generation was a show of how carefree he had been and how he truly did not care about the Berserkers' rise and fall?" Elder Feng asked softly, but the impact that came with his words touched Su Ming's heart.

"I don't know why you left Yin Death Region, but I can guess that you were forced to leave as well! After all, Yin Death Region had threatened to kill all the Berserkers in the past, forcing our Lord God of Berserkers Lie Shan Xiu to leave our homeland and find the entrance to the Fifth True World for Yin Death Region's will.

"If he did not obey them, then all the Berserkers… would have been destroyed. He could only obey them in humiliation and bury all his hatred and madness in his heart as he chose to leave. Then, to make Yin Death Region's will not worry about him, he had to harden his heart… and make a clean break with the Berserkers!" When Elder Feng said these words, his expression became twisted, and a hint of madness as well as hatred appeared in his eyes.

"We spent… every single moment over the course of tens of thousands of years longing for our home. We think about our people, we think about all of you… All the buildings of Lie Shan Family map the land of Berserkers. You can't see our grief when we look at the map of the land of Berserkers. You can't see the pain we feel in our hearts when we remember our homeland.

"Over the tens of thousands of years, we have worked tirelessly. We gave up on our pride, gave up on being honorable and hid ourselves in the dark just so that there would come a day when we… could fight our way back to Yin Death Region and kill all the wills in Yin Death Region so that… the Berserkers could move out… and become the strongest race in the entire universe!"

Elder Feng's words were like a windstorm that crashed into Su Ming's heart with a bang.