Young Master

"Sigh, this is too difficult."

The young man by the river looked at his immature face reflected in the stream, and then at the azure sky rippling with faint waves.

Spreading his arms, the somewhat slender body of the young man slowly lay down on the tender, emerald-green grass. He raised his hand as if to touch the sky, but it fell powerlessly.

It had been twelve years since he arrived in this wild world.

Twelve years!

Do you know how I've spent these twelve years!

He!

"Young Master!"

A rough shout suddenly came from the side.

Within a hundred-zhang radius centered on the stream where the young man lay, a large number of burly men riding ice-blue, long-haired giant wolves were patrolling back and forth.

A bear-like, burly uncle in leather armor saw the young man collapse and greeted him with his booming voice, full of concern:

"Are you alright, Young Master!?"

The young man weakly waved his hand and replied listlessly, "I'm fine, just let me rest for a bit."

He was about to play the victim, but was ruthlessly exposed.

But, was he truly happy, being the Young Master with sole inheritance rights of the Bear Hug Tribe, one of the ten great clans north of Single Fox Mountain?

There was no internet here, no electronic entertainment, not even many paper books!

Even as the Young Master, he had plenty of snot-nosed followers in worn-out leather armor, and not a single pretty, soft maidservant to confide in and relax with at night!

Wu Wang had no idea whether the heavens letting him live again with the memories of his previous life in the bustling world was a reward or a punishment.

Actually, the emptiness in personal entertainment was bearable. With more time to adapt, he wasn't someone who couldn't stand loneliness.

The greater torment lay in matters between men and women.

Although in the tribe, from the leader to the lowest soldier, it was one man and one woman, because it was an ancient era, everyone was more open. Young men and women before marriage could freely and passionately pursue love.

True·free love.

In the reed marshes by the river, the small groves by the mountains, the small huts for herders in the nomadic lands, and the ice houses for warmth under the snow-capped mountains, one could easily find scenes of unmarried men and women passionately spending their youth.

Conversely, after marriage, everyone would demand loyalty from each other, as they faced significant survival pressures and emotional needs.

Life, whether on Earth, his home in his previous life, or in the Great Wilderness of this life, was not an easy matter.

The tribe held a grand wedding ceremony every three years. Young, unmarried women would bring out their carefully prepared wooden clubs, bone clubs, stone clubs, and maces, find a man they fancied, and quietly sneak up on him…

To give him a whack on the back of the head!

The crisper the sound, the better the quality of the man's skull.

Of course, listening to the sound wasn't the main point.

These women would carry the man on their shoulders and throw him back to their dwelling. After a night of hard work together, they would walk out of the house together the next morning, having formed a couple.

A pure marriage, starting with a single blow.

It must be emphasized that although the Bear Hug Tribe was generally simple-minded, they wouldn't resort to forced capture.

As this custom had been passed down for so many years, most men and women now had a "partner" beforehand, and would simply go through the motions at the ceremony.

Although situations where people genuinely followed the ancient rites, knocking out and carrying away someone they fancied at the ceremony, did occur, most of the men would flee in the middle of the night.

Wu Wang seriously suspected that the main reason most married men in the tribe were strong but simple-minded was that they hadn't endured their wife's blow during the wedding!

Of course, he was the Young Master. Although he didn't have a white horse, only a white wolf to ride, he was, strictly speaking, a prince.

His future wedding would only involve a symbolic tap from his beloved, and he could pretend to be knocked out.

—His beautiful mother had comforted him like this.

But, but…

"Sigh."

The young man's forehead was covered in dark lines. He covered his forehead with the back of his hand, completely lacking spirit.

His body was clearly fine, his mind had no issues, and his orientation was perfectly normal. He often had those typical adolescent fantasies, so why did he contract this strange illness?

Was it because when he was three years old, he heard a group of aunts discussing how to make a simple mace?

Or was it because he had too much fun in his previous life, and the heavens, in letting him live again, were deliberately messing with his head?

How could this be?

'Wu Wang, oh Wu Wang, what terrible karma have you accumulated!'

Alright, the Great Wilderness was full of wonders, and he just happened to be a small "wonder."

Before the age of seven or eight, Wu Wang just wanted to be an ordinary, robust Young Master of the Bear Hug Tribe. He didn't need any outstanding talent or inflated ambitions. He thought that living a few hundred years of a monotonous life steadily would be enough.

—The lifespan of humans in the Great Wilderness was three to five hundred years.

Back then, Wu Wang was always very happy and took good care of the back of his head, so that it could withstand more of life's blows.

Everything changed when he was seven or eight years old.

That strange illness appeared without warning...

Wuwuwu—

A low horn sound suddenly echoed from the distant horizon.

Wu Wang stopped his internal grumbling, jolted, and flipped himself up, gazing towards the source of the horn. Far away, he saw a straight column of smoke.

This Great Wilderness was not peaceful, and humans were not the masters of heaven and earth.

On the contrary, humans, created by the primordial goddess Nüwa, had established themselves late in this world called the Great Wilderness. In the vast grasslands north of the Cang Mountains, only two of the ten major clans were primarily human.

A hundred races lived mixed together, most taking human form after gaining sentience.

Although the Bear Hug Tribe was generally strong, the dangers of the grasslands constantly threatened their lives, and the threat of beast hordes was ever-present.

Horns and smoke signals were common warning methods.

At this moment, the horn sound was relatively calm, and the smoke signal was just a single wisp. It was likely that a patrol scout had discovered something not too serious.

"I thought it was some ferocious beast."

Wu Wang yawned, smacked his lips with boredom, and was about to lie back down on the grass to enjoy the current peace, saying perfunctorily:

"General San, send someone to investigate what happened."

"Young Master! We've already seen it with the eyes of a goshawk!"

The burly uncle who had just spoken waved his arm, which was thicker than Wu Wang's, and called out enthusiastically:

"Do you want to practice your skills?

A group of Chujian Beasts, only a few hundred years old, were startled by someone and are chasing something a hundred miles away. Our people have already followed them from the sides."

"No," Wu Wang yawned, "Boring."

General Bear San scratched his head, jumped down from the giant wolf, which was as tall as a house, and rushed to Wu Wang's side in a few steps. He rubbed his large hands together and reminded him in a rough voice, as quietly as possible:

"Young Master, you will be the leader of a great clan in the future. At this age, you should show off your strength from time to time, otherwise, there will be trouble later.

We know how capable you are, Young Master, but those bear cubs don't. You need to take action more often to keep them in line!"

Wu Wang: ...

If it was for the stability of the clan, then there was no other way. Although he had no enthusiasm for managing the clan, he didn't want to shame his parents in this life.

"Bring my carriage over."

"Yes!"

General Bear San agreed excitedly, thumped his chest, turned, and let out a roar.

Then, with a series of whooshing sounds, the giant wolf riders near the riverbank moved simultaneously, as fast as phantoms.

Thus, half an hour later.

A carriage lined with three layers of pure white snow bear fur was pulled by four giant wolves with pure ice-blue fur. The four rusty wheels rolled over the somewhat muddy grass, crushing flowers and plants and splashing mud everywhere.

Wu Wang put on a cloak made of precious beast hide and a hat made from the upper jaw of a young beast. He reclined in the soft bear fur, his body swaying slightly with the carriage.

He was holding an old sheepskin, contemplating the squiggly symbols on it, quite engrossed.

In front, behind, and to the sides of the carriage, heavily armored and fully equipped giant wolf riders followed closely. Their gazes were even fiercer than those of the giant wolves beneath them, and their sturdy bodies contained astonishing strength.

General Bear San, riding a giant wolf, galloped from the front, circled around, and skillfully approached the carriage. He yelled loudly:

"Young Master! Those Chujian are chasing three cultivators from the Human Domain!

No doubt about it, they're wearing colorful clothes, and the women are wearing skirts when they fight, using those flashy, flowery spells! Throwing a few toothpicks around.

Their strength isn't great, and their flying magical artifacts seem to be destroyed. They're running on the ground faster than mice, but it looks like they can't hold on much longer.

Should we save them?"

"Father said that if we see humans in distress, we should save them if we can," Wu Wang said without looking up. "General San, make the arrangements."

"Hey, just watch!"

General Bear San clenched his fist and thumped his chest forcefully, then threw his head back and let out a bear roar.

"The Young Master is going to take action! Everyone watch closely! When we get back, describe it in detail to me, and tell everyone you meet a hundred times!"

The surrounding giant wolf riders became extremely excited, howling incessantly.

Next, the caravan moved forward at a steady pace. On the great plains ahead, dense sounds had already erupted.

Wolf howls, shouts, beast roars, and the twang of bowstrings filled the air. A massive fire appeared out of nowhere.

As the ancient saying goes: "If you're successful, use overwhelming firepower; if you're poor, use tactical infiltration."

By the time Wu Wang's carriage arrived, the dozens of Chujian had already been surrounded by the giant wolf riders.

When these beasts had not yet matured, they had a peculiar appearance: as large as oxen, shaped like leopards, but with heads resembling humans, a single eye, ox ears, and tails that were half their body length.

They are fierce by nature, mostly appearing in groups of three to five, and can emit sound waves from their mouths. They are relatively common beast herds in the Northern Territory.

It's just...

The meat isn't very tasty.

A beast's strength depends first on its species and second on its age. Discussing combat power without considering age is pure nonsense.

A Chujian that lives for a thousand years can evolve its leopard-like body to have humanoid limbs. A three-thousand-year-old Chujian is already considered a ferocious beast, and a single roar can kill beasts within a hundred-mile radius.

Our Bear Hug Tribe once hunted a ferocious beast-level Chujian. We suffered heavy casualties, but the rewards were also substantial. A single beast core was exchanged for a large amount of grain, which fed even more people.

As for the situation at hand.

The closer they got to the encirclement of the giant wolf riders, the louder the roars of the Chujian beasts became.

Wu Wang looked up and saw three figures separated by the wolf riders. They were two women and one man. The women were dressed in long, form-fitting dresses, and the man was also wearing a blue robe. All of them were already injured.

This attire is common among human cultivators in the Human Domain.

They were nervously watching the black shadows circling around them. The man showed some courage, holding a long sword and shielding the two young women behind him.

Ah, they should be called women.

According to the rules of the Human Domain, men and women are referred to as such.

The Great Wilderness is divided into nine regions, and the Human Domain is located in the south, serving as the gathering place for humans and the largest human settlement in the world.

Our Bear Hug Tribe is in the northeast of the Great Wilderness, quite far from the Human Domain. It's quite rare to see cultivators from the Human Domain here.

Wu Wang couldn't help but look at the two female cultivators a few more times.

Hmm—

Indeed, cultivation greatly helps with skin whitening, smoothness, and radiance. Most of the girls in our Bear Hug Tribe have a healthy flaxen complexion, but these two female cultivators are exceptionally fair.

These two female cultivators from the Human Domain excel in their slender figures, possessing a delicate and graceful demeanor, but they lack a certain substance. The girls of our Bear Hug Tribe are different; most of them are...

"Young Master! Dozens of these things, can you handle them alone?"

General San of the Bear Hug Tribe sidled up again, muttering softly, "Why don't I arrange for a few shamans to chant nearby and assist you?"

"No need."

Wu Wang stood up from his carriage, holding onto the armrest in front.

The four frost-white giant wolves let out long howls. The giant wolf riders, advancing in layered formations ahead, retreated like a tide, revealing dozens of trapped beasts within Wu Wang's sight.

The carriage charged forward, Wu Wang's expression indifferent, his long hair fluttering in the wind beneath his beast-bone helmet.

He raised his left hand, palm facing the group of Chujian.

The Chujian herd keenly sensed the danger and roared at Wu Wang, waves of sound pressing down on him like transparent walls.

Wu Wang's expression remained unchanged. Twelve stars appeared in his palm, their light interconnected.

This is the Star Invocation Technique passed down in the Northern Territory, a skill passed down through generations by the shamans of various tribes in the Northern Territory, and a major pillar of our Bear Hug Tribe's standing in the Northern Territory.

In the sky, twelve stars shone across an area of a hundred square miles.

The Chujian's cries weakened. Their single eyes held confusion and fear, yet they were converging towards the center.

They understand fear too?

That's right, in this Great Wilderness, beasts possess intelligence. In most areas of the Great Wilderness, humans are not as dominant as beasts.

The light of human reason is still faint;

Human footprints have yet to reach the pinnacle of this world;

The humans gathered in the Human Domain and the humans scattered across the nine regions of the Great Wilderness have embarked on entirely different paths of development.

Laws, Daos;

Star Invocation, Sorcery.

Wu Wang's gaze flickered towards the three figures surrounded by the wolf riders. He clenched his raised left palm, and ice shards suddenly appeared around the beast herd. Ice lotuses bloomed instantaneously, forming a continuous expanse.

Star Invocation Technique, Great Ice Marsh!

New book launch, seeking support and votes!