Swearing by the Star God's Hair

Priests riding the wind controlled ice, wind, and thunder, while warriors wielding sharp blades galloped across the vast grasslands.

The enraged ferocious beast seemed poised to shatter the land. Blood like magma surged from its nearly broken spine, and shattered icebergs melted rapidly. Its massive body continued to arch upwards.

On either side of the giant beast, ballistae were embedded in the ground, each held steady by dozens of strong men, while two rows of sturdy figures pulled the ballistae's winches.

Several priests quickly chanted incantations nearby, imbuing the thick wooden arrows with a metallic sheen.

Pulling the view back, similar scenes were replicated across the plains, forming long lines...

Wu Wang's emotionless voice occasionally rang out, directing the combat forces precisely into battle.

Today was not yesterday.

As soon as the giant beast's four horns emerged from the ground, they pulsed with an eager orange-red light, and fireballs a hundred zhang in diameter rapidly condensed.

Prayers arose from all directions, and a curtain of wind covered the giant beast's head, carrying the fireballs directly into the sky where they exploded into a shower of fireworks before vanishing.

Uncontrolled fire fears the swift wind the most.

As the giant beast's upper body broke free from the earth, piercing shrieks erupted from its sides. Two rows of twenty-zhang-long 'wooden stakes' shot out from each side, embedding themselves in the beast's tough hide and splashing out gouts of blood.

The Bear Hug Tribe members beside the ballistae cheered excitedly, only to quickly get back to work under Wu Wang's command of "Load the arrows!"...

The giant beast fell.

With deep unwillingness and boundless rage, it collapsed in the twilight's afterglow, its spear-pierced eyes unable to close.

This group of ants, they had no beastly honor!

Surrounding it was one thing, a group battle was another, but they had to hack at its hind legs and tail!

Even if they were going to hack at it, they had to shout about how much they'd cut, competing with each other on progress...

The entire encirclement process was characterized by "low damage, extremely high insult."

The giant beast's death was essentially caused by massive blood loss from repeated ruptures of capillaries all over its body.

The [Blessed Giant Beast], which should not have had emotions or thoughts, finally shifted its gaze away from the Royal Court, fixing its stare on the two most active clan leaders, determined to crush those two incessantly squawking pests.

"My son Xiong Ba alone could suppress this beast!"

"Hahaha! My son Xing Tian possesses the demeanor of a Heavenly Emperor!"

Wu Wang: ...

Cherish the days when your esteemed sons still have their heads.

As the giant beast slumped into a pool of blood, waves of exhaustion washed over Wu Wang, who had been casting Star Invocation Techniques almost the entire time. He was also struggling to stay awake.

He glanced down at the jubilant strongmen from the Seven Great Clans, carefully observed the giant beast's condition, and confirmed it was completely dead before turning to leave.

Cleaning up the mess and distributing the spoils of war would be left to his father and the others.

Wu Wang went directly to the Royal Court, which had been half-destroyed the previous day, and returned to his large tent. He dragged over a beast-skin lounge chair, lay down, and gazed absently at the stars beginning to appear in the sky, letting out a deep yawn.

It was unusually quiet here, a rarity in over a decade.

Two teams of Giant Wolf Riders immediately arrived, forming a human wall ten zhang away to protect their Young Master.

'Can't rest yet, there are still important matters.'

Wu Wang reached into his embrace, his hand closing around the necklace his mother had given him. He called out to her in his heart a few times, and after receiving her response, he carefully gave his mother a few more instructions.

At the summit of the snow-capped mountains, within the projection of the Star God Palace.

Cang Xue, who had been standing quietly, suddenly opened her eyes. She raised and lowered her wooden staff, and the twelve stone pillars of the palace blazed with light, conjuring golden chains out of thin air.

The six figures, which had already become faint, coalesced again, but Cang Xue had forcibly pulled them back.

These six Sun Sacrifices became somewhat nervous, each stepping back a few paces.

One Sun Sacrifice said, "Lord Cangxue, the Star God's Blessing has concluded. The Bear Hug Tribe did not suffer any calamity; instead, they gained many benefits and greatly enhanced their prestige..."

"I am not here to make things difficult for you all, but there is something I wish to discuss with everyone."

Cang Xue's smile grew gentler, but the other six Sun Sacrifices instinctively took another step back.

"Young Master, Young Master? If you don't wake up soon, I'm going to get rough~"

"Hmm?"

Wu Wang groggily opened his eyes, his vision filled with flowing long hair. He smelled a familiar, pleasant fragrance mixed with a faint scent of alcohol. Turning his head, he saw Lin Suqing's beautiful face, flushed with a slight blush.

"What do you want?"

"Just looking around~"

Lin Suqing giggled, then remembered something and quickly said, "Something's happened over there. The leader said for you to go quickly and take a look."

Wu Wang immediately sat up. He saw guards surrounding him in circles.

They had all been replaced with faces he recognized.

It was night now. Judging by the distribution of the stars, it was the latter half of the night. The Royal Court was showing signs of returning to its former liveliness, with new tents erected in the areas that had been burned down by the fire.

The grasslands were illuminated by torches on all sides. Large numbers of clan members, sent to reinforce the Royal Court, were camped nearby, resting before their journey back tomorrow.

Wu Wang's Frost Wolf carriage waited not far away. A guard brought a brand-new beast-hide cloak and a basin of clear spring water.

Lin Suqing hurried over with small, quick steps. Slightly tipsy from drinking, her movements were a bit bolder. She sat directly opposite Wu Wang, crossing her legs beneath her skirt, propping her chin with one hand and smiling at him.

Wu Wang: ...

He had a feeling this "auntie" was up to no good tonight.

As the carriage moved forward, it bumped along slightly, and Lin Suqing swayed with it. The woman's slender figure was so lovely.

"Young Master is so handsome... hee hee."

Wu Wang's mouth twitched slightly. He turned and asked, "How much did she drink?"

A guard riding a Giant Wolf Rider beside them reported, "Lord Lin only seemed to have two cups."

Two cups and she's this drunk? Fine, he wouldn't bother with her.

"Have the leaders of the reinforcing tribes left?"

"Replying to the Young Master, they have already departed. The leader has sent people to transport the giant crossbows and arrows promised to them. The Young Master of the Great Wave Tribe also invited you to drink over there..."

The guard quickly gave a brief report of matters after Wu Wang's rest.

The clan's deceased would be buried tomorrow, and the Bear Hug Tribe would hold a celebration after killing such a massive fierce beast.

The guard continued, "Lord Cangxue sent a Snow Eagle earlier with a letter for the leader. After reading it, the leader instructed us to inform the Young Master that everything on the snowy mountain has been arranged, and the Young Master need not worry."

Wu Wang raised an eyebrow at this.

Had his mother 'persuaded' the other six Sun Sacrifices with her magic? Or had she calmly negotiated with them?

His mother was so gentle; it must have been the latter. What violent methods could the beautiful Lord Cangxue possibly use? She only wanted to better protect the clan and the Northern Plains.

Wu Wang asked, "Why the urgency for me to go there now? Did something happen?"

The guard replied, "The corpse of that fierce beast has undergone some changes. I can't explain it clearly myself. You'll know when you see it."

Changes in the corpse?

What, could it turn into a zombie beast and jump up again?

The Frost Wolf carriage, accompanied by a large contingent of Giant Wolf Riders, sped towards the place where the fierce beast had been vanquished. As they got closer, Wu Wang stood up and looked ahead with a frown.

Where was the corpse?

A slightly raised hill appeared under the starry sky, covered in lush shrubs, teeming with life. The pools of the fierce beast's blood on the ground had vanished. Instead, there was a clear spring and two small streams. Frost Wolves were drinking from the streams, and many clan members were cutting shrubs, trying to figure out if this was real.

Wu Wang suddenly thought of a legend from the Northern Plains.

Kuafu Chasing the Sun, his body transformed into mountains after death, and his wooden staff became the Deng Forest.

But the scene before him still surpassed his understanding.

"Has Ba'er arrived!"

Xiong Han's booming voice came from ahead. Wu Wang leaped from the carriage and, surrounded by guards, rushed to the side of the hill. There, hundreds of sturdy clan members, bare-chested, had already dug a large hole in the hill.

"Ba'er, come quickly! Look what this fierce beast left behind!"

Wu Wang, slightly perplexed, jumped to the edge of the large hole and looked down, his expression becoming quite extraordinary. At the bottom of the hole was a section of a colorful stone pillar. The pillar was about three zhang in diameter, with both ends buried in the earth. If the location of this hill and the current depth of the hole were compared to the body of the Zhuhuai beast, this stone pillar should be located in the center of the beast's spine.

"This is..."

A small flash of lightning seemed to cross Wu Wang's mind, and the entire process of the Star God's Blessing, revealed to him by his mother, surfaced in his heart.

The Star God's strand of hair!

"This is Star Ore," Xiong Han said in a low voice, his tone solemn. "It's one of the most precious ores in the Northern Plains. Just this piece we've dug out could exchange for a whole year's worth of grain for our clan!"

"Ba'er!"

Xiong Han raised a fist and gently landed it on Wu Wang's shoulder. "You're amazing! The other clans never dared to go after a blessed fierce beast. I never expected something like this would come out after killing one!"

What?

Could what he had bluffed to the clan priests actually be true?!

Wu Wang instinctively said, "Father, seal the news!"

"Don't worry, if this gets out, it'll cause a lot of trouble. Your father isn't that stupid; the news has already been suppressed."

"Something's wrong!"

Wu Wang suddenly looked up at the starry sky, then back down at the colorful mineral vein below.

Monopolizing power only invites disaster. Common prosperity is the path for the Northern Plains' development!

The vast Northern Plains still held immense potential. Given the current breeding speed of the various tribes, it wouldn't be crowded for thousands more years.

Wu Wang's lips curved into a wild grin, the brilliant starlight reflected in his eyes.

Calculate! Calculate quickly! How many hairs does the Star God have!

This is the foundation for the future development of the Northern Plains' human race!

This is the guarantee for the Northern Plains' human race's future ascent!

As long as they could figure out the pattern of the 'Blessing' mechanism and establish an effective hunting system, turning the beasts that descended from the heavens into controllable resources.

They'd be rich!

Ugh, there are hidden dangers too.

What if the Star God woke up one day, opened those eyes, as deep as star clusters, in the lonely void, and casually touched its slightly cool scalp...

Such a great goddess would go bald.

It seemed like they needed to spread some tales in the Northern Plains, like ["You've gone bald, and you've gotten stronger"], just in case.

So, how could they obtain the Star God's blessing in a planned, efficient manner, without involving the ordinary tribesmen?

Wu Wang stood there, pondering for a while.

Xiong Han muttered, "What's wrong? What's not right?"

"Father, first suppress the news. Your son has a few questions he can't figure out."

Wu Wang shook his head and instructed, "It's best to bury this place first, guard it heavily, and don't mine the Star Ore yet."

"Your brain takes after your mother's, it's sharper than mine," Xiong Han said. "The clan lacks nothing right now, so there's no rush to sell the ore. Besides, if outsiders from beyond the Northern Plains get their eyes on this ore, it'll cause some trouble.

I never thought the Star God's blessing would truly be a blessing!"

Wu Wang nodded, but a heavy doubt welled up in his heart.

If the Star God's blessing was truly a blessing, a resource for the strongest clan within a hundred years to develop further, then what about the three constraints his mother mentioned?

Could it be that these constraints weren't meant to stifle, but their true meaning was a trial?

Then what about the tribesmen who died for it?

What was the meaning of their sacrifice?

The blood that had flowed across the land before now transformed into trickling streams, nourishing all things, showcasing the Star God's greatness and tolerance.

Wu Wang suddenly felt a deep, visceral disgust towards the Star God, a disgust he couldn't pinpoint the source of.

"Father, I'm going back now."

"Get some good rest, don't think too much," Xiong Ba patted his son's shoulder. "If the sky falls, your mother and I will bear it for you. You should learn more from your brother Xing Tian next door; he's always smiling, such a cheerful kid."

Wu Wang forced an awkward smile.

In his past life, the "child next door" was a math, physics, and chemistry prodigy. In this life, the "child next door" was the God of War Xing Tian. This could be considered some kind of progress, couldn't it?

He certainly didn't have the potential to survive losing his head and still bouncing around.

When Wu Wang returned to the carriage, Lin Suqing had already curled up on the seat and fallen asleep, mumbling "Young Master is getting cuter" with a clear conscience.

He was clearly getting more handsome as he grew older!

Wu Wang sat back in his seat, contemplating the matter of the Star Ore.

Perhaps it was because he had been watching Lin Suqing, perhaps her scent was a bit alluring, perhaps he had slept too long and his body was full of energy...

Wu Wang soon shifted his position, grabbing a blanket to cover his waist.

Tsk, this life, I've also entered puberty.

What's the use? I can't touch anything.

"'If this kind of ferocious beast appeared in the Human Domain, all the hidden Immortals would step forward!'"

The old aunt's words still echoed in his ears. Wu Wang narrowed his eyes and smiled, a series of plans forming in his mind.

The Human Domain, he really wanted to visit.

Not just to find a cure for his strange illness, nor just to satisfy his desire to admire the graceful figures of the Immortals.

He wanted to become stronger.

The Foundation Establishment Cultivation Method, Thousand Inhalation Art, could only be cultivated to the Gather Qi stage. To progress further, he needed to decide on a future cultivation method, as switching methods halfway was quite draining of Origin Qi.

No matter how powerful the Star Invocation Technique was, it was ultimately borrowed power. The Northern Plains' body-tempering methods were not yet fully formed, had significant limitations, and also did not extend lifespan.

Then, he would set a five-year deadline.

He swore by the Star God's hair that within five years, he would definitely set off for the Human Domain!

Thus, four years later.