The Presence of the Strong

"System, raise Barbarian Blood Warrior level."

System prompt: The host consumed 200 Experience Points. Barbarian Blood Warrior has risen to Level 2.

Ding. System prompt: The host's Barbarian Blood Warrior has reached Level 2. Strength +1.

Ding. System prompt: The host's Barbarian King Bloodline grants bonuses to Barbarian Blood Warrior. Constitution +1, Vitality +1.

Looking at the system prompts, the corner of Lu Chen's mouth twitched.

"It gives bonuses not only when advancing ranks, but even during ordinary upgrades. This bloodline's bonus to Barbarian Blood Warrior is ridiculously high. It truly deserves to be a gold-tier bloodline."

"No, it's not just because it's a gold-tier skill. The Barbarian King Bloodline must simply be extremely compatible with Barbarian Blood Warrior."

Only the strongest among barbarians could be called kings. Since Lu Chen possessed such a bloodline, he naturally received bonuses when leveling up Barbarian Blood Warrior.

After this upgrade, Lu Chen had only 209 Experience Points left from the points he had earned through several days of life-and-death battles.

However, after several days of fighting and leveling up, Lu Chen's attributes had changed drastically from when he had first advanced.

Career Training System

Host: Lu Chen

Age: 15

Level: 17 (Level 5 Swordsman + Level 2 Barbarian Blood Warrior + Level 10 Villager)

Class: Level 5 Swordsman / Level 2 Barbarian Blood Warrior

Experience Points: 209

Skills

Savage Bull Force (Bronze)

Direct Perception E (Bronze)

Blood Boiling (Bronze)

Master Swordsmanship Proficiency (Silver)

Fatal Blow (Silver)

Conqueror's Haki (Gold)

Barbarian King Bloodline (Gold)

Three bronze, two silver, and two gold—those were Lu Chen's current skills.

Beyond his skills were Lu Chen's basic attributes.

After several level-ups, Lu Chen's current basic attributes were:

Strength +31, Agility +12, Constitution +45, Vitality +26.

Spirit +10, Will +20, Intimidation +10, Perception +5.

Rage +10, Sharpness +3, Longsword Mastery +20, Basic Swordsmanship +20.

After glancing over the attribute panel, Lu Chen nodded in satisfaction.

"Good. This strength is enough to deal with the dangers around the village, but only around the village. Right now, I can't even travel far. I can only wander around nearby."

Lu Chen did not dare grow complacent. Although his strength had increased, this world was even more dangerous.

"I can't slack off. I still have to keep getting stronger."

With both hands, Lu Chen heaved the Fire Ox onto his shoulder and strode out of the forest.

The journey was smooth and unobstructed, but halfway through, Lu Chen suddenly felt a chill in his mind. His steps halted abruptly as he looked to the side.

Yet when he looked over, he found nothing there.

Frowning slightly, Lu Chen thought for a moment before suddenly opening his mouth and sucking in air wildly.

Going all out, Lu Chen inhaled continuously for half a minute. When his stomach had swollen with air, he abruptly opened his mouth and roared toward the direction from which his warning had come.

"Get lost!!!"

His roar was like thunder, shaking heaven and earth. The surrounding air rippled in layer after layer under the force of Lu Chen's shout, while a fierce gale blew forward.

Amid the earth-shaking roar, even the branches before Lu Chen swayed from the shifting air. It was among that swaying that Lu Chen noticed something unusual.

A black, withered branch that had blended in with the other branches was blown into the air—and then began moving in midair.

Seeing that black withered branch, Lu Chen's heart went cold.

"A Black Thorn Snake. Good at camouflage, highly venomous, and incredibly fast. One bite means certain death."

The appearance of the Black Thorn Snake put Lu Chen completely on guard.

But soon, Lu Chen discovered that the Black Thorn Snake had no intention of attacking him. After being blasted away by Lu Chen's roar, it simply left.

After checking his mind and finding no more chill, Lu Chen finally relaxed.

At the same time, excitement rose in his heart.

"Sure enough, Direct Perception is like Sixth Sense—it can foresee danger."

"Good. Tonight, I can be a little bolder."

"I'll first use Direct Perception to scout ahead. If I don't sense any danger, I'll head outside the village."

Direct Perception might not improve Lu Chen's combat ability, but its early warning could help him avoid many dangers and survive longer.

Such an ability was more important than one or two offensive skills.

With that in mind, Lu Chen happily headed back toward the village.

Thanks to his tremendous strength and abundant stamina, even while carrying a Fire Ox, Lu Chen made it home within an hour.

However, once he returned to the village, Lu Chen quickly noticed that a group of barbarians had begun following behind him, their murmurs rising from the crowd.

"Those fiery red hairs... that isn't an ordinary beast, is it?"

"It's a Fire Ox. That Barbarian Beast's red fur is no joke. I once saw one from afar—when it got angry, flames would burst straight from its body."

"I know about them too. My father told me Fire Oxen occupy a large stretch of territory on West Mountain. We once considered hunting them, but their hides are too tough. Ordinary weapons are useless against them, and we were afraid of too many casualties, so we gave up."

The speaker was a member of the Hunting Team, and Lu Chen agreed with him. Though Lu Chen had hunted the Fire Ox with ease, that was only because he was powerful.

In reality, Fire Oxen were still very formidable.

Their hides were tough enough to resist blades and spears, they possessed immense strength, and they could even unleash flames. Altogether, a Fire Ox was like a tank, able to charge around without restraint.

If ordinary barbarians wanted to deal with one, even if they managed to kill it, they would have to pay the price of at least ten men. That was why the village knew about them but had never considered hunting them. The lives of adult barbarians could not be squandered so casually.

Precisely because they knew how powerful the Fire Ox was, seeing it hunted now shocked them all the more. At the same time, they began to feel admiration for Lu Chen, who had hunted it.

"As expected of the genius favored by Witch Doctor Master. He's so strong."

"That Fire Ox has so much meat. How long will it take him to eat all of that?"

"Not just that. I've heard that Barbarian Beast meat is far more nutritious than ordinary beast meat. A small piece of Barbarian Beast meat is worth as much as an entire thigh of ordinary beast meat. And if you eat Barbarian Beast meat often, it's easier to become a Barbarian Blood Warrior."

"A Barbarian Blood Warrior! I want to eat Barbarian Beast meat too!"

Thus, once he entered the village, Lu Chen had a crowd of barbarians following him. Some admired his strength, while others envied him for obtaining so much meat.

Although there were many of them, no one dared disturb Lu Chen. When he reached his doorstep, no one followed any farther; they merely watched from outside.

That was the treatment and status enjoyed by the strong among the barbarians.

When Lu Chen returned, Xiao Wei was already waiting for him at the door.

Looking at the unusual Barbarian Beast slung over Lu Chen's shoulder, then at the crowd behind him, their faces full of envy yet too afraid to approach, Xiao Wei inexplicably felt a sense of pride.

All you can do is watch. I'm A'Chen's woman.

And A'Chen is generous. If I stay with him, I'll never go hungry again.

Having watched Lu Chen bring back prey for two days in a row, some of Xiao Wei's worries finally faded.

But soon, the delighted Xiao Wei noticed several Barbarian Girls following behind Lu Chen, their faces filled with admiration.

That made Xiao Wei nervous again.

Just as she was anxiously overthinking things, Lu Chen's voice rang out.

"Help me deal with the Fire Ox."

After calling out to Xiao Wei, Lu Chen brought her inside, preparing to process the Fire Ox.

Lu Chen's call also snapped Xiao Wei out of her anxious thoughts.

"I'll be right there."

Don't overthink it. Just do the work well. Besides, my lord probably likes them smaller.

Lu Chen knew nothing of Xiao Wei's thoughts. Right now, all his attention was on the Fire Ox.

"Even after death, a Fire Ox's hide remains tough and warm to the touch. If I turn it into clothing, it can help me ward off the cold at night and give me another layer of protection."

"The Fire Ox blood needs to be dealt with too, and the meat needs to be preserved as soon as possible."

"And I need to send some to Witch Doctor Master, the Clan Chief, and Uncle Da Zhuang."

Though he usually only looked after himself, Lu Chen still remembered the kindness others had shown him.

Therefore, after hunting the Fire Ox, Lu Chen had no intention of keeping it all to himself. He planned to share some with others.

Of course, Lu Chen was no saint. Only those who had protected him or cared about him would receive his gifts.

As for strangers, they could just drool over it.

Just as Lu Chen placed the Fire Ox on the table and prepared to begin, someone suddenly knocked on the door of his house.

When he opened the door, Lu Chen found that Witch Doctor Master had arrived.

Like the villagers, he was surprised by the Fire Ox in the courtyard, but there was even more helplessness in his expression.

He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but after a long while, instead of scolding Lu Chen for going out and taking such risks, the Witch Doctor Master asked with concern, "Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine. Elder Witch Doctor, you came at the right time. I was just about to send some meat over to you."

"Forget the meat. Give me all the bones instead."

"Bones? Elder Wu, wouldn't the meat be easier to chew?"

"You only think about eating. Those bones aren't for roasting—I need them to stew Medicinal Soup."

Hearing Elder Wu's words, Lu Chen remembered that the hot soup he had drunk in the past had indeed contained plenty of bones. It seemed those had been Barbarian Beast bones.

Lu Chen had no intention of refusing.

"Understood, Elder Wu. I'll pull the bones out and give them to you right away."

Looking at the barbarian bull in the yard, then at Fire Ox's plentiful bones, Elder Wu finally showed a pleased expression.

"Sigh, the boys in the village are in luck this time. This Fire Ox's bones will be enough to make soup for quite a while."

As he spoke, Elder Wu looked over at Lu Chen.

"Don't worry. More than half of it will be yours."

"Thank you, Elder Wu."

Lu Chen was not surprised that Elder Wu intended to give him half the Medicinal Soup. Ever since Lu Chen's talent had revealed itself, Elder Wu had always regarded him highly.

Back when Lu Chen had yet to show any merit, Elder Wu had already given him half a pig carcass and supplied him with Medicinal Soup every day—the largest portion, at that.

Now that Lu Chen himself had hunted Fire Ox, he believed Elder Wu would definitely give most of the Medicinal Soup to him. As for the small remainder given to the other geniuses, Lu Chen did not mind.

After all, making soup required time, skill, and many additional ingredients, all of which had to be gathered by others. Lu Chen was willing to eat the meat while letting the others have some soup.

Seeing that Lu Chen showed no displeasure, Elder Wu also breathed a sigh of relief. He had been afraid Lu Chen might take offense.

At the same time, looking at Lu Chen and then at Fire Ox before him, Elder Wu could not help but sigh. "With a strong person in the village, the village really does have an easier time rising."

The strong could protect a village and keep it from harm. That alone ensured the village's continued existence, and its importance needed no further explanation.

And beyond protection, the strong could also bring great benefits to the village in other ways.

Just like this time: although Lu Chen would eat most of Fire Ox himself, even the little left over would benefit quite a few people.

It could be said that as long as a strong person existed, they could make a village prosper.

That was also why the barbarians worshipped the strong.