No More Pretending-Time to Lay All the Cards on the Table!

The earth collapsed, and the giant beast sank a hundred zhang into the strata, yet its raised back still stood higher than the ground.

It had only temporarily lost its ability to move.

The Bear Hug Tribe clansmen had seen with their own eyes their young lord descend from the heavens and smash that Fierce Beast into the earth; they had also seen their young lord spread icy-blue wings and streak through the cloud-shrouded sky.

But they could not see the sorry state Wu Wang was in when he landed before Lin Suqing, nearly drained of all strength...

The helmet made from a young beast's upper jaw slipped down, revealing Wu Wang's bloodless youthful face.

"Grandmother?"

His lips moved as he called out, but naturally received no response.

The old woman sat quietly in meditation, as though she had fallen into a deep sleep.

Lin Suqing's eyes reddened slightly. She hurriedly said, "The Chief Priest had something she wanted me to tell you."

Wu Wang looked up at her, his eyes somewhat blank.

Lin Suqing's lips trembled, and she nearly burst into tears. "Young Lord..."

"What did Grandmother say?"

Wu Wang's voice was trembling as well.

"She said... you, you were wonderful, because your clansmen would not starve to death. She also said not to blame the other priests. Years of praying had made them unable to summon the will to resist the Star God.

"And... it was wonderful that there were no gods in the Human Domain. The heavens and earth of the Northern Wasteland are too narrow; they are not enough for you to fly."

Lin Suqing secretly pinched herself, trying hard to recall it several times before whispering,

"That was probably all of it."

Wu Wang nodded, then said nothing more. He simply knelt there in silence.

The wind of the Northern Wasteland brushed gently past, carrying the dry heat brought by the Fierce Beast. Tremors rolled through the earth as the creature tried to break free of the ground's restraints.

Taking a soft breath, Wu Wang bowed and knocked his head against the ground three times. He picked up his helmet and silently put it back on.

"Suqing, help me take her to join the clansmen. Tell them, word for word, everything Grandmother did just now."

Lin Suqing hurriedly asked, "Young Lord, where are you going?"

Wu Wang looked up at the sky and let out a light breath. "I am the young lord. The more benefits I enjoy in ordinary times, the more responsibility I must bear now."

"Was that truly the Star God's Blessing? That Fierce Beast was a blessing? Why would the gods of the Northern Wasteland..."

Lin Suqing asked in utter confusion, "Aren't living beings and Fierce Beasts enemies? If such a Fierce Beast appeared in the Human Domain, all the reclusive immortals would step forward!"

"Ask no more. Just watch. The Northern Wasteland is the Northern Wasteland, and the Human Domain is the Human Domain."

Wu Wang turned around and raised his head toward the azure clear sky, where streams of air still lingered.

He took a porcelain bottle from his waist and swallowed the Spirit Nurturing Pill Lin Suqing had traded for at the market. Some color returned to his face as he raised a hand and traced a simple symbol.

Ice crystals condensed out of thin air, assembling behind him into a smaller pair of ice wings.

"Once the clansmen are settled, inform General Xiong San to gather all the priests."

The ice wings flickered, and Wu Wang shot into the sky, flying swiftly north, where the clansmen's retreat was in greater disarray.

Once they had left a certain range of the giant beast, the giant wolves had regained their mobility. The Giant Wolf Riders rushed back and forth, carrying people and supplies.

Because the giant beast was temporarily trapped by the earth and unable to move, General Xiong San organized large numbers of Giant Wolf Riders to return to the Royal Court. Amid the flames, they did their best to carry out valuable belongings and retrieve food and water containers that had not been burned.

Fortunately, when Wu Wang had designed the Royal Court granaries, he had placed two subsidiary granaries several hundred li away.

Flying over the grasslands, he could see mangled corpses amid the flames and hear children crying in the distance.

Straight columns of wolf smoke rose at the horizon. Across the entire territory of the Bear Hug Tribe, horns were already sounding one after another.

Wu Wang could even see, from afar, the first army rushing to reinforce the Royal Court.

But no matter how many people came, it would be useless. Against such a Fierce Beast, ordinary strong men and low-ranking priests could do little.

Most of the clansmen remained fairly calm, supporting and caring for one another as they gathered at the northern and southern refuge points. Whenever Wu Wang swept over their heads, their dim eyes gained a little more light.

The Fierce Beast was trapped in the earth and could not turn over anytime soon. The clansmen had enough time to leave the danger zone.

The rest could be left to General Xiong San and the others. His father should also be on his way back.

Wu Wang made a round of inspections everywhere, then observed the giant beast for a while longer. Only after night fell and the stars emerged did he arrive at the southern refuge point, landing amid the rows of tents.

His footing faltered, and Wu Wang nearly fell flat on his face before a large hand reached out from the side and supported him.

"Young Lord!"

"Young Lord."

In the torchlight, men and women emerged from the shadows one after another. The one supporting Wu Wang was an old general from the tribe.

Of course, he was an old man.

Wu Wang waved his hand and slipped free of the old general's support. His gaze fell upon the wooden racks erected between the tents, and the corpses atop them, each covered with a straw mat...

Those cries of "Young Lord" seemed to still echo by his ears.

"How long until Father arrives?"

"Judging by the distance of the wolf smoke, the Clan Leader should return by dawn."

"Mm." Wu Wang let out a breath of relief, lowered his head, and entered the large tent before him. He saw his grandmother surrounded by flowers, her face still incomparably peaceful, while several priests knelt nearby and prayed softly.

"All of you, leave."

The elderly priests looked at Wu Wang with some concern.

"Leave."

Wu Wang's expression darkened, and a trace of coldness seeped into his tone. The priests rose, saluted, lowered their heads, and left the tent.

Lin Suqing soon found her way over and waited at the tent entrance.

Wu Wang took a soft breath and sat beside his grandmother's body. Guarding this old woman who seemed merely asleep, he sat with his five centers facing heaven, embraced the origin and held to the one, circulated his energy through the heavens, and nurtured his spirit.

The pallor of his face quickly gave way to a healthy flush. The pain in his forehead, as though it were splitting open, rapidly faded, and his thoughts gradually became more active.

A blessing?

This was a blessing?

Wu Wang believed that from the day he had been born into this world, he had kept his head down and followed the rules, worked diligently, striven to be a proper young lord of a tribe, and continually reminded himself of four words:

When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

He had not spread any ideas, nor had he fiddled with "one saltpeter, two sulfur, three charcoal." He had never done anything to provoke the current order of the Northern Wasteland.

Even though his strange illness was most likely related to the Star Invocation Technique, he had not held the slightest grudge against the Star God. He had merely sought a way to solve it.

And this was the result!

He quietly minded his own business, and his home was destroyed. He did not stir up trouble, yet people died in vain. Then he still had to kneel and express gratitude for the Star God's Blessing?

To hell with that.

The Bear Hug Tribe had not fought an external war in fifty years. They had developed peacefully within their own territory. The clansmen only wished for prosperous, healthy, peaceful lives; they had never possessed much concept of territory.

Yet what they received was this blessing from the Star God. The clansmen had suffered grievous casualties, and his own grandmother had exhausted herself to death while stopping the Fierce Beast.

Yes, Grandmother was already at death's door. But even if the old woman had lived one day less, that was a blood feud that could not be shared beneath the same sky!

Calm down.

He was the young lord, the tribe's acting head until his father returned. He absolutely could not lose his composure now.

Complaints and curses could solve nothing.

He first had to determine who the enemy was.

Stopping the circulation of his energy and concealing his Dao arts, Wu Wang removed the necklace around his neck and quickly tapped the gemstone at its center. The necklace gave off a faint glow and floated before him.

Starlight guided him home to the place of eternity.

"Mother?"

Wu Wang called softly and immediately sensed his mother's presence. That presence formed into a gentle hand, leading and guiding him.

His consciousness seemed to sink into a swamp, then swiftly pierce through it.

When he opened his eyes, the temple he had seen before stood before him, with boundless stars beneath his feet.

Inside the temple, seven figures stood silently. His mother was in the center, while the other six day priests formed a circle around her, facing her.

Suddenly, one of the day priests turned and shouted, "Who dares intrude upon the sacred temple!"

The starlight around him flickered. The temple before his eyes rapidly shrank into a speck of light and vanished outright.

Wu Wang's body trembled a few times. When he looked again, he was back inside the tent. He casually caught the falling necklace and sat there, thinking for a while.

The necklace in his hand was slightly hot, and his mother's voice rang out in his heart:

'Ba'er, are you hurt?'

Wu Wang's nose suddenly stung.

'Mother, I'm fine. It's just that Grandmother... What exactly is this Star God's Blessing?'

'...'

'Mother, are you still there?'

'I have already seen the starlight of the star representing Mother extinguish.'

There was a faint ripple in Cang Xue's calm tone as she said gently,

'This matter is rather complicated to explain, and it does not have much to do with the other day priests. If the blessing had occurred in the Wave Tribe today, Mother would have trapped the day priests born of the Wave Tribe just as they did.

'This is the rule of the Northern Wasteland.'

'I must understand this.'

Wu Wang replied inwardly, his tone exceptionally firm. 'This is important—to me, to our tribe, and even to the Northern Wasteland. Without enough information, I may make the wrong judgment.'

Cang Xue fell silent for a long while, as though weighing her words.

'When you were little, Ba'er, you always asked me whether I had truly seen the Star God. Mother can answer you now.'

A sudden pain pricked his palm. The emerald gemstone on the necklace abruptly turned pale blue, and a string of images appeared within Wu Wang's mind.

This was...!

In the deep starry sky, a colossal body floated silently, so immense that there was no knowing just how large it truly was.

She had the upper body of something like a human, eagle wings growing from her back, and a long serpent's tail below. Her golden armor was riddled with cracks, and a hole as deep as an abyss remained in her chest.

Strands of starlight flowed through her loose hair, and at the ends of that hair, Fierce Beasts of every shape and form were wrapped within membranes formed of starlight.

Looking closely at her face, it was majestic, tranquil, nearly perfect—yet like an ancient statue, it held not the slightest trace of life.

Her right hand rested against the edge of the hole in her chest. Her left hand was held level, its palm supporting a disc that slowly rotated. Whenever the disc trembled and flashed red, the Fierce Beasts wrapped in membranes at the ends of the goddess's hair would open their eyes.

At that moment, three figures would fly from the temple and kneel in the starry sky to pray to the disc. Beneath it, three chain-like streams of light extended and bound those three figures.

Almost simultaneously, in the region around the goddess's head, a Fierce Beast broke free of the restraints of her hair. Still enclosed in its membrane, it slowly sank into the disc, transformed into a streak of light, and shot into the depths of the starry sky.

Wu Wang could not help knitting his brows tightly as he repeatedly scrutinized those images.

That disc was the key?

What condition did the flashing red light trigger?

The chains it extended bound the day priests who went to pray. Was it extracting their memories to determine which tribe required "balance," then deciding where the Fierce Beast would descend?

This...

His mother's voice sounded in Wu Wang's heart, carrying a trace of helplessness:

'This is the process of the blessing, and also the secret guarded by the day priests of every generation. By telling you this, Mother has already shown disrespect to the Star God.

'Do not entertain any thought of defying the Star God's will. That would bring true calamity upon the tribe.'

Wu Wang subconsciously clenched his fist. After a stretch of silence, he asked, 'Is the Star God... still alive?'

There was a slight fluctuation in his mother's voice as she patiently explained:

'The Star God has long fallen into slumber. She is quietly waiting for the time when she awakens. The ancient war of the gods wounded her too severely.

'The Star God was among the victors. The Northern Wasteland is her spoils of war, and the gods of the other eight wildernesses may not invade.

'The Star God fears that by the time she awakens from her slumber, powerful living beings or forces may have emerged in the Northern Wasteland. Thus, she created the Star Invocation Technique and three restraints.

'After cultivating the Star Invocation Technique, one cannot cultivate any other power. That belongs to the restrictions of the Star Invocation Technique.

'The first restraint is the council of the Seven-Day Sacrifice;

'The second restraint is that whenever a life capable of threatening the Star God is born in the Northern Wasteland, the disc will send down calamity and kill it in advance.

'The third restraint is the Star God's Blessing, which targets clans and tribes.

'When the Star God's Disc discovers that a clan possesses the potential to unify the Northern Wasteland, it grants that clan a blessing, sending down Fierce Beasts transformed from the Star God's hair to maintain the Northern Wasteland's state of many clans.

'Child, compared to the Star God, we are far too small...'

With a soft sigh, Cang Xue stopped speaking.

Wu Wang sat there in a daze for a while, then asked inwardly, 'The Star God's Disc primarily exists to prevent any one clan from unifying the Northern Wasteland?'

'Correct.'

'Then if the Northern Wasteland's overall strength rises while it remains divided among many clans, would that trigger the disc's restrictions?'

Cang Xue fell silent for a moment before saying, 'Over the long ages, the Northern Wasteland's overall strength has naturally continued to grow. That should not violate the Star God's restraints.'

Then...

Wu Wang grabbed the necklace in one hand and immediately rose to his feet, a faint light blooming in his eyes.

"Someone!"

Lin Suqing was the first to dart inside. A great crowd of white-haired elders followed after her, nearly bursting the tent apart.

"General Xiong Kun, make the trip personally. Ride a Flying Bat to report to my father first.

"If my father agrees, immediately dispatch the Flying Bat Riders. Take our giant crossbows to the Wave Tribe, Kuafu Tribe, Northern Lion Tribe, Strong Armor Tribe, Quanrong Tribe, and Deep Eye Tribe.

"Remember, go only to these six major tribes, the strongest ones, those with a current-generation Day Priest!

"Use five thousand giant crossbows, sixty thousand crossbow bolts, and purchase quotas for another thirty thousand giant crossbows and three hundred thousand crossbow bolts to invite their Clan Leaders and their ten strongest experts to come help in battle!

"To the first three tribes that arrive here, I will give them the design plans for the Wooden Light Crossbow and a batch of young livestock for breeding!

"Of course, all this requires my father's approval."

An old general immediately accepted the order, turned, shoved through the crowd, and sprinted madly toward the edge of the camp.

An elder hurriedly said, "Young Lord, the giant crossbows are treasured weapons of the tribe. To give them to other tribes like this..."

"I'm not giving them away. I'm selling them," Wu Wang said firmly. "What matters is the smelting process. Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

The enemy was in the stars.

The ones who had killed his grandmother and so many clansmen were the Star God and the restraint mechanism left behind by the Star God.

"General Xiong San, immediately gather the priests. I have something to say to them. Then send people to dig up everything I previously ordered you to bury!

"We cannot let the clansmen who suffered this disaster die for nothing. We cannot let their deaths have no value.

"Since this Fierce Beast is the Star God's Blessing, then this blessing...

"I'll take it!"