Dominance, the Progressive Tribe Leader (Seeking Reads)

The newcomer was a Heaven Vein Realm martial artist.

Someone from the Shanghuang Tribe.

The faint but discernible blood energy pressure emanating from him caused the tribesmen in the various caves to clamp their mouths shut.

Huo Tang emerged from a cave and met the approaching martial artist, shielding the entire tribe behind him.

"Huangshi, the flood has just passed, and you're not defending the tribe against Plague Worms. What brings you to my Blazing Flame Tribe?"

Huangshi, who was sitting directly on the back of a Mountain-Cleaving Kui, surveyed the caves of the Blazing Flame Tribe. Hearing Huo Tang's words, he withdrew his gaze.

"Did you find anything in the flood?"

"Huangshi, any desolate beasts washed out by the flood belong to whoever finds them. Coming to my door to demand them is a bit much."

"Does my Shanghuang Tribe lack a few desolate beasts for you?"

Huangshi snorted coldly, "Huo Tang, I'll be direct. Did you see fragments of a third-tier Iron Wood ship?"

"An Iron Wood ship?"

Huo Tang was taken aback, his eyes widening in shock. "Your Shanghuang Tribe has built an Iron Wood ship?"

Huangshi leaped directly off his mount and walked around Huo Tang towards the caves.

As he walked, he pulled out a smooth tusk from his embrace, and upon reaching the cave entrance, he spoke, looking at the children in the tribe.

"Little brats, tell me if you found any really big pieces of wood. Whoever tells me will get this Green Fang Wolf tusk."

"Huangshi, you..."

Huo Tang stepped forward.

"Huo Tang, I'm just asking. If your tribe really found wreckage from an Iron Wood ship, my Shanghuang Tribe can exchange other resources for it."

Huangshi juggled the tusk in his hand. "Even if I leave this for your Blazing Flame Tribe, you can't use it. How could you possibly have the ability to cut Iron Wood?"

He then looked back at the children of the tribe.

"Come, come, whoever speaks first gets it."

"We found wood."

The smooth, lustrous tusk of the desolate beast was immensely attractive to the children, and one of them immediately spoke up, their parents unable to cover their mouths.

"Haha, tell me where you put it."

Huangshi continued to entice the child with the tusk.

He immediately got the location.

The Blazing Flame Tribe had a cave specifically for storing firewood.

Huangshi headed straight for the firewood cave, but emerged not long after.

"Huo Tang, your Blazing Flame Tribe can't handle third-tier Iron Wood. If you truly obtained it, handing it over will allow you to exchange resources with my Shanghuang Tribe."

After jumping back onto the Mountain-Cleaving Kui, Huangshi looked down at Huo Tang.

"It's fine if you didn't find it before, but if you discover Iron Wood in the future, don't hide it. Otherwise, it won't be good for either of us."

With that, Huangshi pulled on the reins of his mount. The second-tier Mountain-Cleaving Kui snorted thick, malevolent energy from its nostrils and turned to run down the mountain.

Sounds of 'slap,' 'slap' echoed from within the cave. The child who had spoken up to answer was now crying loudly as their backside suffered the consequences.

"He didn't give me the tusk."

The child cried and shouted.

"His words are as empty as his promises. He even deceives children. He's not even willing to give up a single Green Fang Wolf tusk. Even if we found it, we wouldn't give it to him."

Some tribesmen were indignant. The people of the Shanghuang Tribe were truly impolite, completely disregarding the Blazing Flame Tribe.

"Tribe Leader."

Several Mountain Opening Realm tribesmen who had remained in the tribe came out. Huo Tang waved his hand, signaling everyone to disperse and go about their business.

Although they were all lower tribes, there were still differences between them.

Without the Upper Tribe's dominion, among the barren mountains and giant peaks, the Shanghuang Tribe was the most overbearing in the vicinity.

Huangshi, who had just arrived, had stronger blood energy than him. There was nothing he could do; they couldn't afford to offend them.

Outside the Ancestral Temple cave.

Shen Can walked back into the cave.

His attention was mostly focused on the Mountain-Cleaving Kui mount. If he could eat it, he felt he could advance to the Mountain Opening Realm.

As expected of the Tribe Leader, his weathered face clearly showed that he hadn't endured the wind and frost in vain.

He had anticipated the Shanghuang Tribe's arrival.

It seemed that piece of Iron Wood ship fragment was indeed a valuable item.

A single Heaven Vein Realm expert from the Shanghuang Tribe had come knocking, leaving the Blazing Flame Tribe with no recourse. Their strength was superior, and there was truly nothing to be said about it.

Just hold on, if there's a chance to fight back, we will.

The appearance of Shanghuang Tribe warriors caused a stir within the tribe, but Shen Can was already lying on the stone bed, deducing the beast blood neutralization and witch medicine formulas for the Stone Splitter Realm.

With the Tier 2 witch medicine formula he had forcefully deduced earlier, and having also diligently studied some basic witch doctor knowledge over the past few months, deducing it this time was much simpler.

[Having re-entered the path of the witch doctor, your belly is already somewhat knowledgeable. You immediately saw the problem with the witch medicine formula.]

While Shen Can was deducing.

Inside the tribal chief's cave, the lamplight flickered, and in the dimly lit cave, Huo Tang's expression was hard to discern.

Outside the cave, a hunched figure walked in.

"Ah Tang, Huo Lei and Huo Pan succeeded. Both have advanced to Mountain Opening."

The old man's face couldn't hide his joy.

Ancestors bless us.

First, we had the improved refining fist technique, and then the improved plague-curing witch medicine formula. The tribe seems to have great fortune.

The improved fist technique even allowed all tribesmen who advanced to Mountain Opening in these two instances to succeed.

Hearing that they succeeded, Huo Tang's worried heart finally relaxed.

Calculating this way, the tribe has essentially added five Mountain Opening realm warriors in just two months, bringing the total number of Mountain Opening realm warriors to eighteen.

The entire Blazing Flame Tribe, including infants in swaddling clothes, has two thousand one hundred and seventy-seven people.

Among them, there are one hundred and seventy-nine Stone Splitter Realm warriors.

Among the original Mountain Opening realm warriors, four are already old and frail. Like Huo Yun here, their blood and qi have already begun to decline.

Even if they fight with all their might, they can only unleash the combat power of the Mountain Opening Realm one more time.

The tribe does not have clearly defined elder positions like the larger tribes. Among the four older Mountain Opening realm warriors in the tribe, Huo Yun and Huo Yu are equivalent to tribal elders, assisting in handling tribal affairs.

As for the remaining two, they have long since lost their vigor.

Thus, Tribal Chief Huo Tang, along with Huo Shan, the hunting party leader, Temple Guardian Huo Xian, and Elders Huo Yun and Huo Yu, form the leadership of the Blazing Flame Tribe.

"Do not spread the news of Huo Lei and the other's advancement for now."

Elder Huo Yun nodded and left.

The heavy rain had stopped, but the crisis had arrived.

Of course, there was also opportunity within the crisis.

The sudden increase of five Mountain Opening realm warriors gave Huo Tang a glimpse of opportunity.

Great disaster is often followed by great plague; this is the experience of past years. Even though the tribe was prepared, plague worms are insidious.

If they are unlucky enough to be visited by plague worms, even the largest tribe will suffer.

Now, the number of Mountain Opening realm warriors in the tribe has increased, and they also have the improved plague-curing witch medicine formula.

If this plague-curing witch medicine formula is truly effective, no, as long as it is even slightly better than other tribes' methods for curing the plague, it will be an opportunity for the Blazing Flame Tribe.

The arrival of Huangshi from the Shanghuang Tribe was not just for the remnants of the Iron Wood ship, but also to investigate the situation of the surrounding tribes.

If any tribe weakens, the Shanghuang Tribe will make a move.

This has happened before.

The reason the Shanghuang Tribe doesn't act directly is simple: every tribe that can establish itself has a Celestial Meridian Realm warrior guarding it.

Take Huo Tang himself; if the Shanghuang Tribe dared to act, he would fight to his death to take a Celestial Meridian Realm warrior from the Shanghuang Tribe with him.

Although the Shanghuang Tribe has several Celestial Meridians, they cannot afford to lose them.

Losing one Celestial Meridian to annex a broken tribe is completely meaningless.

The best approach is to target weakened tribes, just like targeting injured desolate beasts, striking them when they are down.

This is the nature of the Great Wilderness. As soon as you show weakness, others will prey on you.

It is lamentable that the Shanghuang Tribe is so powerful. Even before the floodwaters had fully receded, their Celestial Meridian Realm warriors had traveled three thousand miles.

In contrast, their own Blazing Flame Tribe could only dispatch Mountain Opening Realm warriors, and for safety, the investigation range would not exceed three hundred miles at most.

However, even within a three-hundred-mile radius, there are several tribes.