KO Big Strength

The Elder was somewhat helpless about this. Letting Luo Chong join the Hunting Team had already been an exception, yet now the boy wanted to run for Chieftain. But when he thought of the Terror Bird Luo Chong had caught yesterday, and the new food from the water, he figured that if Luo Chong really could defeat Big Strength, perhaps letting him become Chieftain would not be a bad idea.

And so, beneath the astonished gazes of the tribe, Luo Chong and Big Strength walked to the center of the clearing.

Big Strength looked down at Luo Chong, who only reached his chest, his eyes filled with confidence and disdain. One-Ear and Beast Tooth, meanwhile, looked somewhat sympathetic. The children watching from the sidelines howled as they cheered Luo Chong on.

Big Strength spread his legs and bent his knees slightly, planting an awkward horse stance as he waited for Luo Chong to deliver himself up. Luo Chong did not hesitate any longer. He charged straight at Big Strength. Just as Big Strength opened his big mouth in a scornful laugh, Luo Chong sprang up, planted his left foot on Big Strength's bent thigh, grabbed Big Strength's hair with both hands, and drove his bent right knee viciously into Big Strength's chin.

Bang! Ah!

Before anyone could react, Big Strength fell flat onto his back. He rolled from side to side on the ground, groaning. The children were instantly dumbfounded. One-Ear and Beast Tooth's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. The Elder's fingers trembled faintly, while Lame simply dropped to the ground.

Big Strength was the strongest warrior in their tribe. Even if he lost, he should not have been taken down in an instant—and his opponent was an underage child.

That child, Luo Chong, was quietly putting on airs, laughing smugly inside. Heh heh. As someone from the twenty-first century, only an idiot would compete with you in strength. The chin is a vital point of the human body. A heavy blow can knock someone unconscious outright. The fact that you can still lie there groaning already makes you impressive.

The Elder was excited. He felt that something major might be about to happen in the tribe. Perhaps this young man would lead the tribe to become stronger and stronger, so that they would no longer go hungry, no longer suffer from the cold, and no longer be threatened by other tribes. There was no basis for it—only an instinct that came from deep within his heart.

Luo Chong had defeated Big Strength and won the position of Chieftain. The tribe accepted it. No one looked down on him because of his young age, as though this was simply how things ought to be. Luo Chong had brought them too many miracles over the past two days, leaving the tribe with an inexplicable sense of reverence for him.

Big Strength was still shaking his dizzy head, while the Elder picked up the Feather Crown that had fallen apart and looked at Luo Chong, at a loss for what to do.

The Chieftain's token, passed down through who knew how many generations, was gone just like that. This was damned awkward. What was the new Chieftain supposed to look like now? It would be humiliating if another tribe saw this.

What he did not know was that Luo Chong had deliberately ruined the Feather Crown. What a joke—was he supposed to wear a ring of feathers on his head and become an African Chief? African Chiefs were said to have terrible luck. He absolutely did not want to wear that thing, especially when it was green. No way in hell was he putting it on his head.

After resting for a while, Big Strength staggered to his feet. He was clearly still unconvinced. Amid everyone's cries of alarm, he lunged at Luo Chong, his two large hands—each capable of easily grasping Luo Chong's head—reaching for him first. Luo Chong frowned, anger rising in him. What, he can't accept losing? Is he lashing out from humiliation?

When Big Strength rushed close, Luo Chong grabbed two of Big Strength's fingers with one hand and bent them forward hard.

Aooow!

With Big Strength's miserable howl, Luo Chong held onto his fingers with one hand, slipped around behind him in a sidestep, and kicked hard at the back of Big Strength's knee. Big Strength crashed face-first onto the ground. Luo Chong pinned him down, and whenever he struggled, Luo Chong put a little more force into bending his fingers.

In less than two minutes, even a burly man as fierce as Big Strength had no choice but to submit to the agony of Luo Chong bending his fingers. Snot and tears streamed down his face as he begged for mercy. It hurt too damned much. With two fingers bent back, he could not put any strength into his whole arm. It felt as though something inside his arm was about to be torn apart—and there was not even any bleeding. What the hell kind of move was this?

Luo Chong released the sniveling giant and let him figure out finger-bending for himself, then swept his gaze arrogantly over the surrounding tribe as though looking down upon all beneath heaven.

The tribespeople wore blank expressions, cowed by Luo Chong's formidable martial prowess. Not one dared step forward to object.

At that moment, the Elder rather perceptively handed several feathers to Luo Chong. Yet before the new Chieftain could take them, he turned and went back into the cave.

The crowd erupted again. The children cheered, celebrating the first time minors had defeated an adult. Several core members of the Hunting Team gathered around Big Strength, bending one another's fingers as they studied why it hurt so much. The women discussed where they had seen vines, planning to have the Chieftain teach them to weave a few Back Baskets when they returned that evening. The Elder stared at the cave with a complicated expression, lost in thought.

Then, the new Chieftain appeared before everyone again in an entirely new look.

Luo Chong wore simple Deerskin Clothes with crossed lapels, a Snake Skin Belt cinched tightly around his waist. The greatest highlight, however, was atop his head—or, more precisely, his hairstyle.

His long black hair was gathered high into a Hair Bun, secured at its roots with a Hair Tie cut from snakeskin. A slender Terror Bird bone was inserted through it as a hairpin. His clean, neat face still held some youthful softness, but his eyes carried a maturity that did not suit his age. This appearance utterly eclipsed that broken Feather Crown.

Tying up his hair—this was Luo Chong's new style after careful thought. It was a tradition the Chinese nation had followed for thousands of years, said to have begun as early as the Shang and Zhou dynasties, perhaps even earlier. Originally, it had no special meaning. The reason was simple: early farming peoples found it inconvenient to work the fields with their hair hanging loose, so they began tying it up. Thus, it had become one of the important markers of the farming-oriented Han Chinese.

Of course, that was really just an excuse Luo Chong had made for himself. As a genuine modern man, he wanted to cut his hair short too, but he had no scissors. This was his only option. Otherwise, it would be inconvenient to work—and most importantly, he did not want to wear that Feather Crown.

The new Chieftain's capable appearance immediately drew the tribe's attention. Under their starry-eyed gazes, Luo Chong walked into the middle of the crowd.

There was no long inauguration speech. Even if he gave one, no one would understand it. They only cared about how much food they could store before the snow came, how many children would be born this autumn, how many of them would survive, and how many meals of meat they could eat during winter.

The sun had already risen high, and the morning mist had dispersed. As the new Chieftain, Luo Chong began assigning the day's work.

The Hunting Team went out to hunt. Luo Chong would not be joining them today; he had other matters to attend to. No one objected. After all, he was the boss now.

The Gathering Team was rearranged as well. The tribe had fifteen adult women in total, six of whom had swollen bellies. The remaining nine, plus Lame, made ten people, but Luo Chong sent only eight women out to gather today.

Now that they had Back Baskets, they no longer needed Lame to protect them. With each person carrying a stick, they did not need to hunt; they only needed to defend themselves. Never underestimate a woman's fighting strength, especially that of primitive women. Anyone who dared look down on these women was a fool, and they were far stronger than modern people.

The six pregnant women stayed behind to watch the home and look after the little brats who were two or three years old. The older children all went to pull weeds.

The remaining woman took two boys to catch fish, while Lame, who had limited mobility, was left behind. Luo Chong intended to give him another dream.

Whenever he thought of that man who had vowed to spend his whole life grinding out a Stone Basin, Luo Chong found him pitiful.

To leave behind a Stone Basin for the tribe, he had silently devoted himself, even though he might never get to use it in his lifetime. Therefore, Luo Chong planned to have him specialize in Pottery Making from now on.

Pottery Making was actually very simple. As long as one did not care about making it beautiful, one could scoop up some sticky mud from the riverbank—clay—and fire it into Black Pottery. It was not attractive, but it was very practical.

Everyone had work to do, but Lame had not been assigned a task, leaving him somewhat dejected. Yet he did not want to sit idle. He took out the half-finished Stone Basin again and began grinding it. Even children knew to pull weeds. As an adult, he had to contribute to the tribe, or he would have no right to eat food gathered by others.

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