Dispute

The first thing the various tribes saw was the countless Honkai Beast corpses lying on the beach.

And Xu Yanwu, transformed into a giant and wielding a long spear and great axe, facing all the Honkai Beasts alone and keeping them beyond the coastline...

Of course... it would have been better if they could ignore the enormous meat rack Xu Yanwu had set up beyond the high-tide line behind him...

"Damn, isn't that Brother Ying Long?"

Chieftain Pi's eyes lit up. "Why'd he run off to the seaside?"

"You... know Xu... uh... Ying Long?"

Ji Lin froze. Xu Yanwu never attended the exchanges between tribes, and even Ji Lin had not expected this blunt and boisterous Chieftain Pi to know him.

"Of course I do. Brother Ying Long saved me and my tribe once two years ago. How could I not know him?"

After Chieftain Pi said that, a somewhat frail-looking chieftain beside him spoke up as well. "Actually... Lord Ying Long also saved our tribe once..."

"Our tribe was saved by Lord Ying Long too..."

A beautiful female chieftain raised her hand as well.

"Lord Ying Long helped us solve our famine problem..."

"Lord Ying Long taught us how to farm..."

"Lord Ying Long taught us how to build houses..."

"Lord Ying Long taught us how to forge weapons..."

"Lord Ying Long taught us how to prepare medicinal herbs..."

For a moment, it seemed as though all the tribes seated around the platform knew Xu Yanwu...

And the people from the tribes below knew that Ying Long had helped their own tribes, but it was the first time they had learned that the other tribes knew Xu Yanwu as well...

In an instant, silence fell above and below the platform.

Ji Lin was utterly dumbfounded.

Xu Yanwu was actually this famous throughout the Land of Shenzhou? Why did it feel like everyone knew him?

Why didn't I know about this?

Even if I had often been fighting Honkai Beasts and neglected official affairs...

When did Xu Yanwu even go out? How had he helped so many tribes????

While Ji Lin grumbled inwardly on the platform, Lianshan quietly covered his face below.

Those things... were all things he and Brother Xu had done in passing while going out to hunt Honkai Beasts...

Even the one who had taught them how to prepare medicinal herbs had been teaching them the herbal knowledge he had organized...

And every time Brother Xu helped them, he would also adjust their bodies a little...

Lianshan had seen this kind of adjustment in those from the Xuanyuan Tribe who often came into contact with Xu Yanwu...

It was said to be a weakened, inheritable version of the ability Xu Yanwu had used to modify Lianshan.

So Lianshan had always wanted to complain: had Brother Xu been treating him like a lab rat...

Lianshan still remembered Brother Xu saying this to him back then.

"Lianshan, don't lose heart. It is precisely because you worked hard as a pioneer that our great foodie nation of Shenzhou will have a future... You'll become the progenitor of foodies someday!"

What exactly was a foodie... And I didn't eat that much now, either...

Lianshan carefully considered his usual appetite.

At most, when he failed to get full from the tribe's meals, he would go out and roast an entire Honkai Beast by himself...

All right, Ji Lin's bewilderment was over, and Lianshan's wild thoughts had ended as well. Back to business.

Ji Lin said solemnly, "Since everyone knows Ying Long, I will not hide this from you."

"Although these Exotic Beasts invaded from the sea, we have confirmed that they only land within this stretch spanning several li. They appear once roughly every five shichen and last for around two shichen."

"Ying Long has held them back for several days,

but we still have not found any trace of the beast tide's commander. We can infer that this is a giant foe far stronger than any we have faced before."

"I ask that all chieftains lead the forces of your tribes and defend the Land of Shenzhou!"

---The meeting ended; preparations for battle began---

Inside Ji Lin's tent, she had originally been resting with her eyes closed when Lianshan suddenly barged in carrying a wooden box on his back.

Ji Lin opened her eyes and was briefly stunned to see Lianshan. She asked,

"Lianshan? What are you doing here?"

After remaining silent for a long time, Lianshan spoke. "Ji Lin, take me with you."

"No. You can't go."

Without even thinking, Ji Lin rejected Lianshan's request without the slightest hesitation.

"Why can't I go?"

"Lianshan, you are only a shaman healer. Once we reach the battlefield, I won't be able to spare any attention to protect you. And besides me, you are the one everyone in the tribe trusts most. Even if I am there..."

Before Ji Lin could finish, Lianshan grabbed her wrist.

"Ji Lin!"

"No, you absolutely can't go..." Ji Lin had originally wanted to shake off Lianshan's hand, but she was shocked to discover that his grip was immeasurably stronger than hers, leaving her completely unable to break free.

(Ji Lin's strength mostly came from her Stigmata. The abilities granted by the Stigmata were the main source of her power, while the enhancement to her body was merely incidental. All of Lianshan's strength came from bodily enhancement. They had invested their points differently... so this did not mean Lianshan was now far stronger than Ji Lin.)

"Ji Lin, I am not a shaman healer without the ability to fight! I have the power to battle those Honkai Beasts too!"

Lianshan stared directly at Ji Lin, his eyes filled with a determination she had never seen before.

"This battle is very dangerous. You... let go of me first."

Having finally pulled free from Lianshan, Ji Lin rubbed her slightly reddened wrist and ordered, "Lianshan, I don't know why you have become so strong! But I said you cannot go into this battle! You and Chi Yuan will stay behind and ensure the tribe continues to function normally!"

"What is there to stay behind for! To wait here while you and everyone else go and never return?!"

Lianshan rarely lost his temper, but now he did. "Ji Xuanyuan! Do you think this beast tide will be so easy to deal with?!"

Lianshan roared, "If the combined forces of many tribes could solve this beast tide, do you think Brother Xu would have gone alone?"

Ji Lin said, "Precisely because it is so dangerous! That is why we must join forces..."

Lianshan said, "It is precisely because it is so dangerous that Brother Xu went alone! And I cannot just watch you go somewhere so dangerous!"

Ji Lin said, "..."

Lianshan sighed before continuing, "Ji Lin, you are the core of the tribe. You cannot take this risk."

After a moment of silence, Ji Lin raised her head.

"...Lianshan, in the name of the tribe's leader, I order you to remain in the tribe with Chi Yuan and protect it!"

Ji Lin's face was filled with coldness.

"No matter the outcome, I will drive back the Honkai Beast Tide!"

"This is the duty of Ji Xuanyuan, wielder of the Xuanyuan Sword!"