Chapter 387 – Su Ming's Explosive Fame

Early morning.

As sunlight streamed into the room, Su Ming awoke.

“Hiss…”

The moment he regained consciousness, Su Ming felt sharp stabbing pains in his head, as if being pricked by needles. Though not excruciatingly painful, the peculiar soreness made him suck in a sharp breath.

“What happened to me?”

Su Ming instinctively pressed his head while his body reflexively sat up.

After recovering for quite some time, before Su Ming could even clearly see his surroundings, he felt a soft, delicate figure throw herself into his embrace. He naturally reached out and hugged her back.

“Hai’er?”

It took Su Ming some effort to recognize the soft figure in his arms.

It was indeed Hai’er.

Transformed into human form, Hai’er clung to him silently like a girlfriend who had been worried about him for a long time, her beautiful eyes filled with concern.

“Where am I?”

Su Ming gently stroked Hai’er’s head before looking around.

Yet again, before Su Ming could properly observe his surroundings, a voice reached his ears first.

“Finally awake? Much quicker than I expected!”

The aged yet remarkably vigorous voice made Su Ming start slightly. He sharply turned his head toward the source.

Only then did Su Ming finally see where he currently was.

At this moment, Su Ming lay on a bed inside an unknown small cabin.

The cabin was tiny, roughly the size of a dormitory room – very simple and crude, yet filled with signs of daily life.

Clearly, someone lived in this small cabin, leading a very plain, simple, and humble existence.

He currently occupied the only bed in the cabin, forcing the cabin’s owner to sit on a chair, examining him with a probing gaze.

The person appeared to be an elderly man past fifty, not only with graying hair and an aged voice, but somehow exuding a remarkably youthful spirit. His face bore no wrinkles at all – if not for his skin and facial features resembling an old man’s, he wouldn’t look elderly at all, but rather like an energetic yet prematurely mature young man.

“Who are you?”

Su Ming frowned, his heart filled with confusion.

He was certain he didn’t know this old man before him.

But the old man didn’t seem hostile. Though his eyes held a probing quality, he neither scrutinized Su Ming nor appeared to intend any harm toward him. He seemed more like someone casually offering care to a promising junior.

Su Ming glanced at Hai’er in his arms and noticed she showed no wariness toward the old man, further confirming that the old man likely wasn’t an enemy.

Otherwise, Hai’er probably wouldn’t be completely unguarded against him.

The facts proved Su Ming’s speculation correct.

“Don’t worry, I’m with Tianfeng City’s official forces, not an Underground Professional, and certainly not your enemy.” The old man said with a smile. “So, young man, stop using your Spirit Sense to probe me. Though your Spirit Sense is quite excellent, continuing to probe like this is becoming rather impolite.”

Hearing this, Su Ming felt both embarrassed and surprised.

Embarrassed because he had indeed activated his Spirit Sense, immediately conducting a comprehensive sensing of the old man.The surprise came from the fact that the old man’s perception ability seemed quite remarkable, even significantly stronger than his own. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to detect Su Ming’s Spirit Sense probing him.

This made Su Ming realize that the old man before him seemed to be an extraordinary figure.

At the very least, this should be a Sorcerer whose Spirit Sense far surpassed his own and whose Rank was also far above his.

A Six-Star Sorcerer?

Or perhaps… Seven-Star…?

Could it be…

“Are you the President or Vice President of the Sorcerer Guild?”

Su Ming had a sudden inspiration and posed this question.

There was no other way—in the entire Tianfeng City, there were only two individuals who had reached the Seven-Star level among Sorcerers. If the old man was a Seven-Star Sorcerer, he should be one of these two.

Unfortunately, Su Ming guessed wrong.

“The Sorcerer Guild is an academic organization, not an official organization of Tianfeng City. So, you guessed wrong, young man.” The old man shook his head and said, “Forget it, just call me Old Ling.”

It seemed the old man’s surname was Ling.

Su Ming ran through the possibilities in his mind but ultimately couldn’t pinpoint the old man’s identity.

None of the eight Super Families in Tianfeng City had the surname Ling, and since Old Ling was a Sorcerer, it was unlikely he came from one of those Hunter Families.

Moreover, among the senior figures of the Sorcerer Guild, there was no one with the surname Ling.

Adding to that, the other party claimed to be from the official side of Tianfeng City and not part of the Sorcerer Guild, Su Ming was still somewhat puzzled and completely unable to guess the other’s background.

After some thought, Su Ming ultimately gave up.

“Whoever he is, as long as he means me no harm, it’s fine.”

After coming to this realization, Su Ming finally relaxed.

“Old Ling, where am I now?”

Su Ming looked around and felt as if he were in a small cabin deep in some remote mountain forest, in a very secluded place.

But this perception had just formed when Old Ling’s next sentence made Su Ming feel embarrassed again.

“You’ve already returned to Tianfeng City.” Old Ling seemed to see through Su Ming’s thoughts and chuckled. “This is my residence in Tianfeng City, not some small cabin in the wild mountain forests.”

“Tianfeng City?” Su Ming was immediately taken aback and said repeatedly, “You mean I’m in Tianfeng City now?”

“That’s right, I brought you back.” Old Ling nodded. “I was a bit curious about you, so I had you stay here temporarily.”

Hearing this, Su Ming grew anxious.

“What about my companions? What about Xu Xiayan? How are they all?” Su Ming quickly stood up and asked. “What about the Midnight Labyrinth? And those Underground Professionals?”

One question after another made Old Ling unable to resist raising a hand, signaling Su Ming to calm down.

“Didn’t I tell you to rest assured?” Old Ling smiled. “You have so many questions—let’s take them one by one.”

“First, your companions are fine. Whether it’s that girl Chi Qian or the other girls in your team, they all had a close call but managed to keep their lives. You’ll see them when you go back.”

“Second, that girl from the Wang Family is also fine. Although there were many issues with this mission and her team isn’t in great shape at the moment, at least she’s alive.””The situation at the Midnight Labyrinth has been resolved. Tianfeng City is currently dealing with the aftermath, assessing the impacts and damages caused by the incident. We should have a clear report soon.”

“Finally, as you mentioned, the Underground Professionals who were the main culprits have escaped. Of course, only the leaders managed to flee. The rest either perished in the Midnight Labyrinth or have been captured.”

Old Ling relayed each piece of information to Su Ming, allowing him to feel somewhat reassured.

Though many questions still lingered in his mind, since the most important people were safe, Su Ming no longer felt urgent.

With this relaxation, Su Ming finally had the capacity to concern himself with other matters.

“So, what’s my current condition?” Su Ming asked Old Ling. “I remember… I seemed to be…?”

He trailed off, unsure how to continue.

His last memory was of being overwhelmed by a violent will, losing consciousness and control over himself.

He knew it must have happened during his confrontation with Qing Qing, who also possessed a Divine Artifact. The Demon Emperor Sword had reacted violently and seized control of his consciousness.

This was something Su Ming hadn’t anticipated. He unconsciously touched the Blue Demon Cessation Ring on his right wrist, his mood somewhat sour.

He truly hadn’t expected that even while wearing the Blue Demon Cessation Ring—with its suppression and restraint—the Demon Emperor Sword could still emerge and affect his consciousness and spirit.

It seemed that although the Blue Demon Cessation Ring was a special item of Divine Artifact grade, it didn’t hold a clear advantage over a true Divine Artifact like the Demon Emperor Sword that symbolized pure power.

Since both were Extraordinary Items of the same level, if the Blue Demon Cessation Ring could suppress and restrain the Demon Emperor Sword, then the Demon Emperor Sword could also break through and escape its Seal.

Normally, the Demon Emperor Sword hadn’t done this not because it couldn’t, but because it hadn’t shown strong resistance.

However, upon encountering the Great Sin Blade—another Divine Artifact sharing the same origin—the Demon Emperor Sword reacted violently and ultimately succeeded in breaking free from the Blue Demon Cessation Ring’s restraint.

Thus, Su Ming met with misfortune.

Recalling how the Demon Emperor Sword’s violent will had robbed him of consciousness and self-control, Su Ming felt a lingering fear.

Fortunately, he hadn’t completely lost control, hadn’t fallen into an irretrievable rage state, and had eventually regained consciousness. Otherwise, he truly didn’t know what he might have done in that condition.

Old Ling seemed to notice Su Ming’s trepidation and couldn’t help but smile.

“Seeing you like this, I probably don’t need to specially explain how dangerous and unstable your situation was, do I?” Old Ling said. “That’s what so-called Divine Artifacts are—condensations of powerful yet terrifying forces. Holding such a thing, it’s remarkable you’ve remained unscathed until now, only losing control once without much spiritual erosion.”

“Originally, I thought it would take several more days for you to recover from the mental burden left by the Demon Emperor Sword’s spiritual erosion and wake up. But your condition is better than I expected—you woke up in just two days. It must be because of your considerable spiritual talent and your methods to suppress that Demon Emperor Sword that moved into your right hand.”Old Ling’s words once again left Su Ming stunned.

“You’re saying I’ve been unconscious for two days?” Su Ming was astonished.

“Don’t doubt it,” Old Ling said with a meaningful smile. “This old bones hasn’t touched a bed for two days – you’ve been occupying it all this time. And this young lady beside you has been tending to you tirelessly day and night, taking care of all your needs. Thankfully she was here, otherwise I would have suffered greatly.”

These words made Su Ming turn his gaze toward Hai’er in his arms.

Looking at the mermaid’s delicate face so close to him – much more mature and beautiful than before – Su Ming affectionately stroked Hai’er’s flawless cheek.

Unlike before, Hai’er didn’t show obvious delight at the physical contact, no longer beaming with joy at Su Ming’s touch. She indeed seemed much more mature and reserved now.

Yet Su Ming could still see the deep attachment in Hai’er’s eyes. Though she didn’t smile brightly when he touched her cheek, she placed her hand over his and nuzzled her face into his palm, resting the full weight of her cheek against his hand.

Watching Su Ming and Hai’er like this, a strange light flashed in Old Ling’s eyes.

As someone who already knew Hai’er wasn’t human, seeing Su Ming and Hai’er so intimate, even appearing somewhat like lovers, naturally made him think many things.

But Old Ling said nothing, apparently not intending to interfere in this matter.

Mainly because during these two days, he had been observing Hai’er and knew that although she wasn’t human, she possessed intelligence comparable to humans, filled with a spirituality that amazed him, nothing like a dangerous existence.

Therefore, Old Ling didn’t plan to say or ask much.

Rather than that, Old Ling was more concerned with other matters.

“During these two days, I asked someone to investigate you a bit and learned quite a lot about you,” Old Ling gazed at Su Ming, unable to contain his admiration. “It’s one thing not knowing, but learning about you truly shocked me.”

“Only eighteen years old, just graduated from the Demon Hunter Academy this year, officially starting your career, and having been in Tianfeng City for less than three months – yet you’ve already achieved so much.”

“Not only are you a Dual Professional, but you’ve trained both professions to upper rank before even turning twenty. Even famous experts among the Ten Demons are no match for you.”

“What surprises me most is that the Ming Wang whom countless forces are desperately searching for – the one who thwarted Sin’s evil scheme in Longyao City – is actually you too.”

Old Ling kept marveling.

“Having lived so many years, I’ve never seen anyone as incredible as you. I’m not your equal.”

The evaluation Old Ling gave was enough to shake the entire Tianfeng City.

Unfortunately, Su Ming didn’t know this, nor could he appreciate it, only sighing.

“So, I’m completely exposed, right?”

All Su Ming knew was that he, this supporting character who had been developing quietly for so long, had ultimately been revealed.

And not just exposed, but completely and thoroughly exposed.

After all, there were many people present when he suppressed Crow of the Ten Demons.Even excluding the people from 『Sin』 and Chi Qian on his side, there were still Xu Xiayan, Wang Di, Wang Qian, Qiao Liang, Zhu Qian, and even Bai Ruxiang and Bai Xiaoyan.

And these individuals all came from major teams and prominent Families.

With his exposure, they would undoubtedly have informed their own Family members, and even the upper echelons of Tianfeng City, about the entire sequence of events.

In that case, after two days of brewing, how could his affairs possibly remain concealed?

As expected…

“Right now, the entire Tianfeng City is talking about you,” Old Ling said with a leisurely smile.

“A dual-class Upper-Rank Professional at just eighteen years old, wielding a Divine Artifact—believe me, you are destined to become a legend in the entire human world, the most talked-about prodigy.”

In other words, Su Ming had become famous.

Extremely famous.

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(End of Chapter)