Pursuit of the Truth 285 The Legend of the Phantom Equal

"Cut off his birdie and eat it?" Hu Zi was stunned when he heard those words and instinctively lifted his hand to scratch his head, but thought that it was not an act suitable for him.
He immediately lowered his hand, which was already partly lifted. He had always believed that he was the smartest person in the ninth summit, and he absolutely did not want anyone knowing that he did not seem to have fully understood the meaning behind those words.
"That’s right! That’s what I meant, we’ll cut off his birdie and eat it! That bugger… I’ll eat it once I cut it off!" Hu Zi patted his chest and grinned foolishly as he looked at his second senior brother with a look that screamed he understood it.
Second senior brother blinked and smiled in a gentle manner at his spot. Once he heard Hu Zi’s words, surprise, disbelief, hesitation, admiration, anticipation, and all sorts of other emotions appeared in his eyes. The changes on his face would have been indiscernible if the people looking at him did not know him well.
Hu Zi saw it and had a feeling that something was off, but he knew that he absolutely must not reveal that he did not understand what his second senior brother had just said. He repeatedly told himself that he was the smartest on the ninth summit and understood everything. That was why he lifted his chin and puffed out his chest before nodding at his second senior brother sternly.
A serious look soon appeared on second senior brother’s face. He patted Hu Zi’s shoulders as if he was about to say something to him but eventually chose to let out a long sigh before a respectful replaced the seriousness on his face.
That uneasiness in Hu Zi’s heart grew stronger, but he kept the nonchalant look on his face.
Zi Che remained sitting cross-legged on the platform. He was still. The Phantom Aura from the black arrow surrounded his right leg, causing the slight red flush on his face to quickly fade away.
As second senior brother patted Hu Zi’s shoulders, Su Ming turned around to look at Bai Su.
"Now, will you lead the way for the three of us to Northern Frontier Tribe?"
Su Ming’s voice was calm, but the murderous aura in his right eye and the calmness in his left eye created a strange feeling that made it seem that both things had fused together, causing those who saw it to feel shaken to the core.
Bai Su dipped her head down and fell silent for a moment before lifting her head and looking at Su Ming. She nodded gently.
The moment she did so, Su Ming walked over and wrapped his arm around her waist, eliciting a cry of surprise from her. He turned into a long arc and flew into the sky while holding her tightly.
Bai Su’s vision blurred and her view turned indistinct. Her heart pounded and raced against her chest. The strong presence that belonged to a man wafted into her nose. Not only did she hear her own heartbeat, she also felt Su Ming’s.
That strange feeling made her cheeks turn redder. Even if she was with Si Ma Xin, they would at most only hold hands. Due to Si Ma Xin’s worries and Bai Su’s nervousness, they did nothing more than holding hands, which was why things like her being held had never happened before.
When Su Ming took hold of Bai Su and flew into the sky, Hu Zi took a big swig from his pot of wine and followed after with a vicious sneer on his face.
Second senior brother’s face remained gentle and, with a smile on his lips, he placed his hands behind his back and walked into the sky. Every single time his feet landed, a faint light would flash in the air. As his speed increased, it looked like a green arc was slicing through the sky.
Behind those three, an indistinct wisp of black smoke followed behind. That black smoke drifted about and could not be discovered easily, but if anyone did manage to notice it and observed it closely, they would discover a shocking bloodlust within.
That faint black smoke was naturally that one slave from the 300 the eldest senior brother owned!
He was following the orders of his Young Master to protect his junior brothers. When the time came, he would cast the strongest skill from their tribe – the Forbidden Curse!
Behind that wisp of black smoke, in the smoke that even the eldest senior brother’s slave did not notice, was an old man dressed in white. That old man had an excited look on his face and continuously rubbed his hands together. Sometimes, he would roll up his sleeves to reveal thin and dried up arms while a brilliant light shone in his eyes as he followed behind them cautiously.
"Are they going to fight? This is going to be fun! Fourth isn’t dumb. At least he knows to not fight alone. Group fights are the only exciting fights! I can’t let them know I’m following behind them. If I do this, it’ll be more exciting!
"But these brats just can’t match up to me when I was young. If they knew to go fight in a group, then why didn’t they know they should also wear masks?"
The old man was, of course, Tian Xie Zi. Besides the excited look on his face, there was also enthusiasm simmering within him. However, dissatisfaction soon appeared on his face.
This was the first time since many years that the entire ninth summit ventured out together!
Together, they charged towards Northern Frontier!
If Zhuo Ge, the Black Arrow Berserker of Northern Frontier knew beforehand that injuring Zi Che would bring about such a result – bringing out the monsters of the ninth summit that happened to be connected to each other by a Master and disciple relationship, then perhaps he would have immediately turned back when he saw Zi Che and would not have bothered him.
"It takes about a day to reach Northern Frontier Tribe from Freezing Sky Clan. They’re both on the ice plains, but they’re quite different. Their tribe isn’t built on ice mountains or frozen rivers, but on a snow plain."
Bai Su felt the cold from the wind seeping into her bones as they continued flying in the air while Su Ming held her. She shuddered, then immediately felt warmth traveling from Su Ming’s body to hers.
With that warmth around, the chilling wind also seemed gentler to the skin. Bai Su’s cheeks were flushed red, and she spoke in a low voice after remaining silent for a while. It could be said that she was recalling everything she remembered about Northern Frontier Tribe so that she could help Su Ming and the others to make detailed preparations.
"Northern Frontier Tribe is very big and looks like a city, but there aren’t any walls surrounding it. They only use ice to make their houses… To the people of Northern Frontier Tribe, ice and snow are part of their lives, they cannot put up a wall and separate it from their lives.
"There are two giant statues right before Northern Frontier Tribe. The two statues are carved in the image of two ferocious and malicious spirits fighting against each other. Their big bodies form the gate to Northern Frontier Tribe."
Bai Su’s voice echoed in the howling wind, her words falling not only into Su Ming’s ears, but Hu Zi and his second senior brother’s too.
"In the past, it was said that there were three Green Arrow Berserkers who were as strong as those within the Berserker Soul Realm. One of them was even halfway to the Purple Arrow.
"This powerful tribe might not have been a big tribe, but it was strong enough to make big tribes fear them. The Great Tribe of Freezing Sky paid a great price in subduing them as well. They managed to kill the Elder of Northern Frontier Tribe, who was the person who was halfway through to becoming a Purple Arrow Berserker, and also killed another Green Arrow Berserker before managing to conquer Phantom Dais and changing their name to Northern Frontier.
"The only remaining powerful Berserker who was at the level of the Berserker Soul Realm in Northern Frontier was the tribe’s Chief of War in the past. That person escaped death by a hair’s breadth, but before long, due to his largely reduced life force, he died… The Northern Frontier Tribe now may no longer be as great as they were in the past, but they still cannot be underestimated.
"As one of the four great branches of the Great Tribe of Freezing Sky, Northern Frontier Tribe definitely has powerful Berserkers at the Berserker Soul Realm defending them, because the Elders of these branches in the past had to go to the Great Tribe of Freezing Sky to train when they attained great completion in the Bone Sacrifice Realm. Only when they reached the Berserker Soul Realm would they be given the title of Elder.
"There was a period of time where Northern Frontier Tribe had no Elder leading them for more than 2,000 years, but I remember reading in one of the ancient scrolls that a 100 something years ago, an Elder that Freezing Sky approved of appeared in Northern Frontier Tribe!
"That person’s name is Mo Shan…" Bai Su quickly explained.
Half a day passed by as the four of them continued dashing forward. The land was filled with a vast expanse of white, the end of which could not be seen at first glance. All they could see was the sky and earth that were filled with ice and snow.
They seldom saw anyone moving towards them as they flew in the sky. It was as if there were no longer any living souls within the world, and the only ones left were their group.
There were no tracks of anyone walking on the ground either. If a normal person trudged upon this land filled with ice, snow, mountain ranges, and plains, they would definitely die.
The wind moaned like ghosts crying and wolves howling. Snow hurricanes would occasionally appear on the land and blow in all directions while moving the snow on the ground, creating a shocking sight to behold.
This was a white world. It was a world of ice and snow, a world where no other color could be seen.
"Besides the Elder Mo Shan, there are four other leaders in Northern Frontier Tribe. They’re the Chief of War, Chief of the Hunters, Phantom Equal, and Spirit Chief. The power of these four people is so great it cannot be discerned. Even if they’re not at the Berserker Soul Realm, they should not be too far from it… We have to be especially careful of the Phantom Equal among them.
"There is a rumor about him that people seldom hear. I only read about this legend in an ancient, broken scroll. It said that up till now, no one has ever seen the face of the Phantom Equal of Phantom Dais Tribe, ever since the tribe appeared in the Land of South Morning. Neither have they seen his clothes, his voice, or his actions.
"Over the years, he has created a presence among others, which is what led to this rumor. The Phantom Equal of Phantom Dais will never die and will never be destroyed. The Phantom Equal will only be one person for all eternity!"
Bai Su’s voice gained a hushed quality as it echoed in the other three people’s ears. In the moaning wind, a mysterious quality was added to her words when she uttered them.
"Youngest junior brother, this lass knows a lot of things. This… is good!"
A smile appeared on second senior brother’s lips, and he cast an approving look at Bai Su.
Bai Su quickly returned a smile to second senior brother from Su Ming’s embrace.
"Thank you… for your praise, uncle master. I just like reading."
"You can refer to me as second senior brother like my youngest junior brother does," second senior brother said with a smile.
A red flush colored Bai Su’s face once again. She had no idea why, but she was blushing quite frequently this day.
"Why is there no tribe leader?" Su Ming suddenly asked.
This was exactly what second senior brother was about to ask too. As for Hu Zi, he continued drinking as he kept his gaze in front of them while occasionally licking his lips, revealing a hint of ruthlessness. He did not listen to Bai Su’s words. In his mind, he would just beat up all those he met, and there would be people naturally reminding him how to fight these people when the time came.
To him, that was what smart people should do.
"Northern Frontier Tribe still retains the customs left behind by their ancestors when they were still Phantom Dais Tribe. They don’t have a tribe leader. Their tribe leader is something without substance. I heard that he’s a malicious spirit in the world, but it’s just a mere symbolism," Bai Su answered softly.
A thought flitted through Su Ming’s mind. Once he heard of the things related to Northern Frontier Tribe, especially about the tribe leader, the first thing that appeared in his head was the old man from Lizard Shaman Tribe summoning the giant lizard Totem!
That giant lizard was also just a symbol and a mere Totem.
"Northern Frontier… Phantom Dais…"
A glint appeared in Su Ming’s eyes.
Time slowly passed by in this manner. Their speed increased, and when dusk arrived, Bai Su’s breathing suddenly quickened.
"We’re here…"