Swearing by the Star God's Hair, Happy New Year

The priests rode the wind, commanding ice, wind, and thunderbolts, while warriors brandishing sharp blades galloped across the vast grasslands.

The enraged Fierce Beast seemed determined to shatter this land. Lava-like blood gushed from its nearly severed spine, shattered icebergs melted at incredible speed, yet its enormous body continued to heave upward.

On either side of the colossal beast, ballistae were embedded in the earth, each held steady by dozens of burly men, while two rows of powerfully built warriors cranked their winches.

Several priests at the side rapidly chanted incantations, coating the thick wooden bolts in a metallic sheen.

Pulling back one's gaze, similar scenes seemed copied and pasted, forming long lines across the grasslands...

Wu Wang's emotionless voice rang out from time to time, directing the forces from every side into battle with precision.

Today was no longer yesterday.

The beast's four bull horns had barely emerged from the ground before they impatiently glowed orange-red, rapidly condensing fireballs a hundred yards across.

Prayers rose from all around. A curtain of wind formed above the beast's head and swept those fireballs into the sky, where they exploded into bursts of fireworks before vanishing in an instant.

Fire without roots feared fierce winds most of all.

The beast's upper body had only just broken free of the earth when piercing shrieks rang out from both sides. Rows of twenty-foot "wooden spikes" shot in from left and right, embedding themselves in the beast's tough hide and splashing up jets of blood.

The Bear Hug Tribe members beside the ballistae howled in excitement, then swiftly busied themselves again when Wu Wang's single command of "Reload!" crushed their uproar...

The colossal beast fell.

Bearing thick unwillingness and endless rage, it collapsed beneath the afterglow of dusk. Its eyes, filled with spears, could no longer close.

These ants had no beastly virtue at all!

An encirclement was an encirclement, a group battle was a group battle—yet they insisted on hacking at its hind legs and tail!

And hacking was one thing, but they had to shout about how much they had cut off, comparing progress with everyone else...

The entire slaughter highlighted one thing: low damage, extreme humiliation.

This colossal beast had essentially died from blood loss caused by repeated rupturing of capillaries across large portions of its body.

The blessed beast, which should have possessed neither emotions nor thoughts, had shifted its gaze away from the Royal Court by the end. It stared fixedly at the two most active clan leaders, determined to stomp those two endlessly buzzing bastards to death.

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

"Hahaha! My son Xing Tian has the bearing of a Heavenly Emperor!"

Wu Wang: ...

Better cherish the days when your sons still had heads.

When the colossal beast collapsed into a lake of blood, waves of exhaustion swept over him. Wu Wang, who had been using the Star Invocation Technique for almost the entire battle, was struggling to hold on.

He lowered his head and glanced at the experts of the seven great tribes cheering and leaping about. After carefully observing the beast's condition and confirming that it was thoroughly dead, he finally turned and left.

His father and the others could handle cleaning up the aftermath and distributing the spoils.

Wu Wang descended directly into the Royal Court, half of which had been destroyed yesterday. Returning to his own great tent, he had a fur recliner brought over and silently lay down, staring blankly at the stars beginning to appear in the sky as he let out a profound yawn.

It was unusually quiet here, a rare silence in more than ten years.

Two squads of Giant Wolf Riders immediately rushed over and formed a human wall thirty yards away, guarding their young lord.

I still can't rest. There's something important to do.

Wu Wang reached into his robes with his right hand and grasped the necklace his mother had given him. He called to her silently several times, and after receiving her response, carefully reminded her of a few things.

At the summit of the snowy mountain, within the projection of the Star God Palace.

Cang Xue, who had been standing quietly, suddenly opened her eyes. She raised the wooden staff in her hand and brought it down. The twelve stone pillars of the temple blazed with light, and golden chains condensed out of thin air one after another.

The six figures that had already faded into translucence condensed once more, forcibly dragged back by Cang Xue.

The six sun priests immediately grew nervous and each took several steps back.

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

"I am not trying to make things difficult for you all. I merely have something I wish to discuss with everyone."

Cang Xue's smile grew gentler and gentler, but the other six sun priests unconsciously retreated another two steps.

"Young Lord, Young Lord? If you don't wake up soon, I won't be polite anymore~"

"Mm?"

Wu Wang groggily opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was flowing long hair, and he smelled a familiar fresh fragrance mixed with a faint scent of wine. Turning his head, he saw Lin Suqing's beautiful face, lightly flushed with drunkenness.

"What are you trying to do?"

"Just taking a look~"

Lin Suqing giggled, then seemed to remember something and hurriedly said,

"Something happened over there. The Chief said for you to hurry over and take a look."

Wu Wang immediately rolled over and sprang to his feet. What met his eyes was circle after circle of guards around him.

They had all been replaced by familiar faces.

It was already nighttime. Judging by the positions of the stars, it should have been the latter half of the night. The Royal Court had regained some of its bustle, and new tents had been set up in the areas previously burned by fire.

Torchlight shone from every direction across the grasslands. A large number of tribesmen who had rushed to reinforce the Royal Court were setting up camp to rest, and would not begin their return journey until tomorrow.

Wu Wang's Frost Wolf carriage was waiting nearby. A guard brought over a brand-new fur cloak and clear spring water.

Lin Suqing hurried over in tiny steps. Slightly bolder in her drunken haze, she sat directly across from Wu Wang, crossed her legs beneath her skirt, propped her smooth chin on one hand, and looked at him with a beaming smile.

Wu Wang: ...

He had the distinct feeling that this old auntie was plotting something improper against him tonight.

The carriage moved forward, swaying slightly. Lin Suqing swayed along with it, the woman's delicate, graceful figure beautiful beyond measure.

"The Young Lord is so handsome... heehee."

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

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

She got drunk like this after two cups? Forget it, he would leave her alone.

"Have the leaders of the tribes that came to help left?"

"Reporting to the Young Lord, they have already returned. The Chief has sent people to transport the giant crossbows and bolts promised to them as well.

The young lord of the Wave Tribe also said he wished to invite you over for drinks..."

The guard hurriedly gave Wu Wang a brief report of what had happened after he fell asleep.

The tribe's dead would be buried tomorrow. Having slain such an enormous Fierce Beast, the Bear Hug Tribe would also hold a celebration afterward.

The guard added,

"Lord Cangxue previously sent a Snow Eagle carrying a letter for the Chief. After reading it, the Chief instructed us to report to the Young Lord that everything on the snowy mountain has been properly arranged, so the Young Lord need not worry."

Wu Wang raised an eyebrow at that.

Had Mother "persuaded" the other six sun priests with Magic Power? Or had she calmly discussed matters with them?

His mother was so gentle. It should have been the latter.

What violent methods could the beautiful Lord Cangxue possibly use? She merely wanted to better protect her people and the Northern Wilds.

Wu Wang asked, "Why am I being summoned over in such a hurry? Did something happen?"

The guard answered, "Some changes have appeared in that Fierce Beast's corpse. This subordinate cannot explain them clearly. You will understand once you see it."

Changes in the corpse?

What, was it going to turn into a zombie Fierce Beast and get back up to hop around some more?

The Frost Wolf carriage, accompanied by a large group of Giant Wolf Riders, sped toward the place where the Fierce Beast had been executed. Once they drew somewhat closer, Wu Wang had already risen to his feet, frowning at the scene ahead.

Where was there any corpse left?

A gently raised hill stood beneath the starry sky, lush and green, covered in shrubs and brimming with life everywhere.

The pools of Fierce Beast blood on the ground had vanished. In their place were a spring and two small streams.

Frost Wolves drank by the streams, while quite a few tribesmen had cut down some shrubs and were studying whether these things were real.

Wu Wang suddenly recalled a legend from the Northern Wilds.

Kuafu Chasing the Sun—after death, his body became mountains, and the wooden staff in his hand became Deng Forest.

But the sight before him still exceeded his understanding.

"Has Ba'er arrived yet?!"

Xiong Han's booming voice came from ahead. Wu Wang flipped down from the carriage and hurried toward one side of the hill under the guards' escort.

There, several hundred powerfully built tribesmen stood bare-chested, having already dug a huge hole into the hill.

"Ba'er, come look! See what this Fierce Beast left behind!"

Somewhat puzzled, Wu Wang leaped directly to the edge of the hole and looked down. His expression immediately became quite wonderful.

At the bottom of the hole was a section of dazzlingly multicolored stone pillar.

The pillar was around thirty feet in diameter, with both its front and rear ends buried in the soil.

Comparing the hill's position and the current depth of the hole with the former body of the Zhuhuai beast, this stone pillar should have been located at the center of the beast's spine.

"This is..."

A little bolt of lightning flashed through Wu Wang's mind, and the complete process of the Star God's Blessing that his mother had revealed to him surfaced in his heart.

A strand of the Star God's hair!

"This is Star Ore," Xiong Han said in a lowered voice, his tone grave. "It is one of the Northern Wilds' most precious minerals. This one piece we have dug up could be exchanged for enough food to cover our tribe's consumption for an entire year!"

"Ba'er!"

Xiong Han raised a fist, then gently set it on Wu Wang's shoulder. "You really did it! The other tribes never dared to kill blessed Fierce Beasts. Who would have thought killing one would yield something like this!"

Ah, this?

Could what he had told the tribe's priests as a bluff actually have been true?!

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

"Don't worry. If word of this got out, trouble could easily follow. Your father is not that foolish; the news has already been sealed."

"No!"

Wu Wang suddenly looked up at the starry sky, then lowered his head to look at the dazzling multicolored ore vein below.

A single family dominating alone would only invite disaster. Shared prosperity was the path for the Northern Wilds' development!

The Northern Wilds possessed vast territory and enormous potential. At the current rate of tribal growth, it would not become crowded even after several thousand years.

Wu Wang's lips curled wildly upward, starlight reflected in his eyes.

Calculate! Calculate quickly! How many hairs did the Star God have?!

This was the cornerstone for the future development of the Northern Wilds' human race!

This was the guarantee for the Northern Wilds' human race to soar in the future!

As long as they could uncover the laws behind the "Blessing" mechanism and establish an effective hunting system, they could turn beasts descending from heaven into controllable resources.

They were going to be rich!

Uh, there was also a hidden danger.

What if the Star God woke up one day, opened those eyes as deep as star clusters in the lonely void, and raised a hand to touch the top of her head, which felt a little chilly...

Such a huge goddess would go bald just like that.

It seemed he needed to spread some legends through the Northern Wilds: when you became bald, you also became stronger. Just in case.

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

Wu Wang stood there and pondered for a while.

Xiong Han muttered, "What is it? What's wrong?"

"Father, seal off the news first. There are several questions your son cannot figure out."

Wu Wang shook his head and instructed, "It would be best to bury this place again and station heavy guards here. Do not mine the Star Ore either."

"Your brain takes after your mother. It works better than your father's."

Xiong Han said, "The tribe lacks nothing right now, so there is no rush to sell the ore. Besides, if people outside the Northern Wilds set their eyes on these ores, there will be trouble.

Who would have thought the Star God's Blessing really was a blessing!"

Wu Wang nodded, but a multitude of doubts surged within him.

If the Star God's Blessing truly was a blessing, truly resources granted to further the development of the strongest tribe of the century, then what were the three restrictions his mother had mentioned?

Could it be that those restrictions were not meant to suppress them, and their true meaning was actually a trial?

Then what about the tribesmen who had died for this?

What had their sacrifices meant?

The blood that had flowed across the earth earlier had, in the blink of an eye, become trickling streams nourishing all things, displaying the Star God's greatness and tolerance.

Wu Wang suddenly felt a disgust toward the Star God, one that came from the depths of his heart, yet he could not say where it came from.

"Father, I'll head back first."

"Get some rest. Don't think too much," Xiong Ba said, patting his son on the shoulder. "Even if the sky falls, your father and mother will help you hold it up.

Learn more from Brother Xing Tian next door. Whenever there's nothing to do, just smile. What a cheerful child he is."

Wu Wang forced out an ugly fake smile.

In his previous life, the kid next door had been elites in math, physics, and chemistry. In this life, the kid next door was the War God Xing Tian. That counted as some kind of progress, right?

He did not have the potential to keep hopping around after losing his head.

When Wu Wang returned to the carriage, Lin Suqing had already curled up in her seat and fallen deeply asleep, still murmuring things like "the Young Lord is getting cuter and cuter," such words spoken against her conscience.

He was clearly getting more handsome as he grew up!

Wu Wang returned to his seat and contemplated the matter of the Star Ore.

Perhaps because he had been watching Lin Suqing all this time, perhaps because her fragrance was somewhat alluring, perhaps because he had slept too long and his body was overflowing with energy...

Wu Wang soon changed positions and used a blanket to cover his waist.

Tsk, he had entered puberty in this life too.

What was the use? He could not touch anything.

If such a Fierce Beast appeared in the Human Domain, all those reclusive immortals would step forward!

That old auntie's words still echoed in his ears. Wu Wang narrowed his eyes with a smile, plans surfacing in his heart one after another.

The Human Domain... he really wanted to go and take a look.

Not merely to find a way to cure his strange illness, nor merely to fulfill his wish of admiring the graceful figures of immortal maidens.

He wanted to become stronger.

The Foundation Establishment Cultivation Method, the Thousand Inhalation Art, could only be cultivated to the Gather Qi Realm. To cultivate further, he had to determine his future cultivation method. Changing methods midway would greatly damage his vital energy.

No matter how strong the Star Invocation Technique was, it was ultimately borrowed power. The Northern Wilds' body-tempering methods lacked a complete system and were greatly limited, and likewise could not increase one's lifespan.

Then he would set a limit of five years.

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

And so, four years later.