Intelligent Civilization

Yang Yu brought writing and civilization to this primitive era.

Now, he would also bring the order and morality of human civilization to this primitive era.

"Human ethics?"

An elder of the tribe looked at Yang Yu in confusion.

"Humans are lives like us. When we face powerful beasts, what do we rely on to defeat them? The greater number of people in the tribe? Or individual strength? We rely on weapons—the spears and slingshots we make to deal with those powerful beasts."

"Spears and slingshots are all made through our wisdom. That is why I would call us intelligent life-forms. We can also be called humans."

"But powerful beasts lack our wisdom. In the end, they can only rely on their strong bodies, sharp teeth, hunger for food, and wild nature to attack us."

"Can such life-forms truly stand against us?"

Yang Yu explained to everyone present, saying, "What do the tribespeople rely on as they strive to make the tribe stronger?"

"Survival."

"Surviving on this savage land is what the tribespeople want."

"Humans are social animals."

"Once they settle down, if we want them to remain in the tribe and contribute to its growth, we need to give them motivation."

"We have already solved the problem of survival. Now, we should consider the matter of children."

"If we continue relying on strength to engage in mating and produce children, that will be extremely bad for the entire tribe."

"It could even result in deformed children."

The tribespeople listened to Yang Yu's explanation, but they were utterly bewildered.

They truly did not understand terms like social animals, humans, contributing, motivation, mating, and deformed children.

"Yu, what are deformed children?"

Lin Er looked at Yang Yu in confusion and asked what all the tribespeople present wanted to ask.

The other profound matters could be learned gradually later.

For now, they first needed to understand what deformed children were.

"Deformed children are the product of close-kin unions. Children born from close relatives... Forget it. I can't explain it clearly to you yet. You'll understand in the future."

"Basically, suppose Lin Er and I, Yang Yu, have a son and a daughter. Once they grow up, if they mate and have children, the children they produce will definitely have problems."

"They may have physical disabilities or mental disabilities. They might even become unable to do anything at all and need others to care for them, like the livestock we raise, which requires us to look after it. That is roughly what deformed children are, and it is my understanding of them."

Yang Yu patiently explained the origin of deformed children to everyone present, saying, "Therefore, starting tomorrow, if you want to mate with someone and form a family, both parties must receive the permission of the man and the woman. Only when both agree may they unite and have children. Furthermore, mating between relatives within three generations will not be permitted, to prevent the cases of deformed children I described."

This was far too advanced—far too advanced indeed.

The knowledge he had brought was far beyond the current age.

It was like a thunderbolt on a clear day, rumbling through everyone's minds.

"Furthermore, starting today, our tribe will be renamed the Yang Clan."

While everyone was still dumbfounded, Yang Yu announced another matter.

"Yang?"

The elder was immediately bewildered.

"No, no!"

"Mu and Lin combined?"

"Yang means the sun."

"But how could we possibly compare ourselves to the blazing sun?"

"Therefore, we were born in the dense forest and grew while gazing toward the sun."

"Borrowing from the land that raised our tribe and combining it with the title of the blazing sun in the sky, we shall create the surname Yang."

Yang Yu pointed toward the dense forest outside the Tribal Camp, then pointed at the sky. He picked up a branch and wrote the character "Yang" on the ground. (The explanation that Yang is composed of "wood" and "easy" is incorrect, but many older people are accustomed to saying "wood-easy-Yang," and I can't exactly tell the older folks that they don't know how to read.)

Hearing this, several elders gently stroked their beards, satisfaction in their eyes.

"With a surname, there will naturally be names."

"Now that our tribe has a surname, it should naturally have names as well."

Yang Yu looked at everyone present.

"May I ask Yu, what is a name?" asked the elder roasting meat by the fire.

"A name is a form of address."

"When all of you elders call me Yu, that is my name."

"Now that our tribe has a surname, I am Yang Yu."

Yang Yu explained everything to those present one by one, saying, "At the same time, the Yang Clan will create a genealogy to record the existence of the tribespeople. Even after you die, it can be used for future generations to pay their respects."

"Every child's birth will be recorded in the family genealogy."

"If anyone betrays the family or does something harmful to it, they will be expelled from the family and their name erased from the genealogy. They will never be allowed to enter the family genealogy again and will no longer be a member of the Yang Clan."

Everyone listened to Yang Yu and nodded one after another.

This sounded quite good.

Time passed like a white colt flashing past a crack.

In the blink of an eye, five years had passed.

During these five years,

the Yang Clan had slowly grown stronger. It had developed from its original population of more than twenty to thirty-eight people.

Families had also been established in this era.

Under Yang Yu's brainwashing—or rather, instruction—the men worked wholeheartedly and tirelessly for the development of the Yang Clan, hoping to give their wives and children better lives. They had no complaints whatsoever.

As the tribe improved, the living standards of the entire tribe gradually rose as well.

Yang Yu stood on the rear mountain of the Tribal Camp, overlooking the tribe below, which had gradually formed a small village on the plains. Satisfaction filled his eyes.

He had essentially forced growth.

But there was no other choice.

He now appeared to be nearly 1.8 meters tall. He was not especially burly, but the sinewy muscles covering his body gave him a distinctly rugged appearance. His abdomen even showed clearly defined eight-pack abs, and he wore relatively cool leather armor.

"Yu."

Just then,

Lin Er approached. She had long, jet-black hair reaching her waist and wore a short animal-hide skirt. Two young men followed beside her. Both were much more heavily built than Yang Yu, considerably taller than him, and gave off an overwhelming sense of pressure.

"Clan Leader."

The two young men respectfully placed their right hands over their chests and bowed to Yang Yu. They did not rely on their advantages in height and strength to act presumptuously in any way.

Although Yang Yu was not as powerfully built as them and was shorter as well,

in terms of actual combat, neither of them was Yang Yu's match.

In strength, endurance, and explosive power, Yang Yu far surpassed the two strong young men combined.

Hearing Lin Er call him, Yang Yu turned to look at the three approaching people. A trace of gentleness flashed through his originally world-dominating gaze.

Lin Er had blossomed into a graceful young woman.

If she had been born in modern times, a little makeup and styling would have put her several levels above those internet celebrities.

Lin Er's name also had its origins.

Because she was the wise woman who had led the tribe out of the caves to survive, and because the simple houses had been built in the dense forest based on her suggestion, he had given Lin Er the character "Lin," formed from "cover" and "forest."