"As the fire in mine blood burns, the nine is the utmost of all, and the one is the law. Light up the Berserker Fires and worship the nine, did let us all becometh the authorities of Fire!" Su Ming mumbled instinctively. The string of words kept repeating themselves in his head and it became louder each time they were repeated. It was like the roar of thunder by the end as they rumbled repeatedly in his head. The faint shadow of the blood red moon became even clearer in Su Ming’s eyes. It gave off a strange and enchanting glow as if it was burning. Su Ming felt a stab of pain in his eyes.
The pain was not too obvious in the beginning. However as time passed and the moon shone in the sky, the pain intensified until Su Ming started trembling. It seemed as though he could no longer bear it.
He wanted to close his eyes and stop looking at the moon. The source of his pain was not the fire but the moonlight. At the same time, he had a strong feeling that somehow it all happened because it was the right time for him to learn this strange Art.
If he closed his eyes, he would be giving up on learning the Art. He also had a feeling that if he gave up then, he would lose the right to learn it ever again.
‘"As the fire in mine blood burns…" But how do I make it burn?!’
Su Ming’s eyes were bloodshot. The veins in his eyes surrounded the shadow of the blood red moon which had substituted his pupils. It made Su Ming look especially ghastly at that moment.
The burning image of the blood red moon also burned away all the moisture in his eyes. His eyes looked dried up and bloodshot at the same time. It was like his eyes were about to wither away at any moment.
Su Ming lifted his eyes and roared. His face was twisted as he controlled the circulation of blood in his veins. Yet, no matter how hard he pushed the blood towards his eyes, there were no signs of alleviation from the dryness in his eyes. If anything, it only made the withering sensation in his eyes even worse.
Gradually, the moon began to fade from Su Ming’s sight.
If there was anyone beside Su Ming then, they would have clearly seen that Su Ming’s eyes were still burning with red fire. The fire looked like blood and it was burning rapidly.
‘How am I supposed to make my blood burn?! Just how am I supposed to make my blood burn?!’
Su Ming struggled. He could not understand the underlying meaning of the strange Berserker Art. As most of his field of vision faded away, he slowly closed his eyes. He knew that if he did not close his eyes by then, it was highly possible that he would no longer see light.
Yet, at the very moment before his eyes closed completely, a strange picture appeared in Su Ming’s head like a flash of lightning. It was something he saw before he saved Bai Ling. It was the pain and sadness on the Wings of the Moon’s faces residing on the red branch in the fire cave.
The Wings of the Moon repeatedly bit through their claws and wiped their eyes with them…
Su Ming was startled. He understood something. That very moment before he completely closed his eyes, he opened them once again and brought his right hand to his mouth. He bit down resolutely.
Immediately, blood flowed down from his fingertips. The moment his blood stained his entire finger, he raised his hand and smeared his eyes with the blood on his finger!
The moment Su Ming smeared his eyes with blood, something like a bellow came out from between his eyebrows. His eyes immediately felt refreshed. Black Flame Mountain also seemed to quake lightly but strangely, not a single fleck of snow moved. It was as if the physical body of the mountain did not shake instead, it was the spirit of the mountain which shook.
At the same time, whiffs of air which could not be seen flowed out from within Black Flame Mountain suddenly. They gathered hastily around Su Ming.
Su Ming did not know what it was but he could feel the whiffs of air coming towards him. They were fusing into his eyes. It was as if his eyes had turned into a vortex and it was pulling in the air.
The whiffs of air which entered his eyes were like rain that could extinguish the fire. As they flowed into his eyes, the dull look in Su Ming’s eyes disappeared rapidly. His eyes could see clearly once again. However, amid the clarity in his eyes, there was a hint of a blood red glint. The world Su Ming saw turned a bloody red at that moment!
The burning and dry sensation in his eyes went away abruptly and were replaced with a refreshing feeling. The pain in his body also disappeared like the wind at the same time!
As the whiffs of strange air gushed into Su Ming’s eyes, they spread to his entire body before assimilating into his blood. Then along with the blood, they circulated around his entire body.
The 22 blood veins were shining brightly in a scarlet light on Su Ming’s body. When the light enveloped his entire body, the 23rd blood vein manifested out of nowhere!
The moment the 23rd blood vein appeared, the blood red tint in Su Ming’s eyes flashed and the 24th blood vein manifested as well!
After a long time, the sky began to brighten and the moon started to fade. Soon, it was going to be replaced by the sun. Su Ming stood up quickly and ran towards the exit. In the blink of an eye, he arrived outside. The winds in the mountain whined and led his long hair in a dance. The 24 blood veins shone fiercely on his body. Su Ming looked incredibly unearthly.
He stood there and looked at the moon which was about to fade away. Suddenly, he breathed deeply in the direction of the moon.
At that point, Su Ming saw the moon sway. A hint of red moonlight fell from the moon straight into Su Ming’s eyes and it disappeared soon after!
Su Ming shivered. On his neck, the 25th blood vein appeared!
He had arrived at the fourth level of the Blood Solidification Realm!
Within most small tribes, a lot of value was attached to Berserkers in the fourth level of the Blood Solidification Realm. This meant that tribe members who had reached the fourth level could join the hunting team. It also meant that such a tribe member could become one of the main forces in the tribe should there be a battle!
At the same time, the fourth level also signaled that the Berserker had arrived at the peak of the early stages of the Blood Solidification Realm. If they reached the fifth level, they would then become Berserkers in the middle stage of the Blood Solidification Realm! More importantly, once he reached the middle stage of Blood Solidification, there was hope for Su Ming to learn and use a new Berserker Art!
Su Ming felt a powerful feeling of strength he had never felt before in his body. His whole demeanor was calm. He looked at the fading moon and the brightening sky as the blood in his veins circulated around his body. The whiffs of cold air seemed to rush towards his eyes. At the same time, huge amounts of air which held the same properties rushed towards him from the mountains.
He even had a strange feeling that he could control the light from the moon!
Under the guidance of this strange sensation, Su Ming lifted his hands slowly and waved lightly the very moment the moon was about to disappear.