Destination: Ancestral Court

On the third day after returning, the pilgrimage party set out. This time, the group was much larger, with the Bloodhoof Guard formed from young and middle-aged Tauren warriors.

The guard numbered around three hundred. About fifty were veteran warriors, most of whom had reached Level Six, while the rest were Level Five. The remainder consisted of "logistics personnel" like Lei Mo.

Even the newest recruits in the guard were at least Level Five Warriors. Tauren were born with the strength of Level One Warriors by the time they learned to walk.

Once they began cultivating battle qi at the age of ten, they would naturally reach Level Three. The youngest members of the party were fifteen years old, and all were Level Five Warriors. Cairne was among them, showing just how formidable the Tauren race was.

Thomas, Cairne's father, served as the captain of this guard.

Because of his contribution in hunting Velociraptors, the chieftain had appointed him captain of the guard for this Ancestral Court Pilgrimage.

Previously, Thomas had merely been one of more than a dozen team leaders within the tribe. This time, Chieftain Leland would personally make the pilgrimage as well.

Lei Mo did not know how many Tauren tribes there were, and the Bloodhoof chieftain probably did not know either. Perhaps only the important figures of the Ancestral Court knew.

However, clans were registered at the Ancestral Court. Even if their lineage died out, their names would not be removed. It was said that no fewer than three thousand clans were recorded there, though no one knew how many still survived.

Even the smallest clan would receive basic fair treatment after arriving at the Ancestral Court. No matter how powerful a clan was, it held no special privileges there.

It was said that every clan had a corresponding Ancestral Spirit at the Ancestral Court. Although not every Ancestral Spirit could manifest, that was the legend. Whether it was true, no one knew.

More than eight thousand li west of the Bloodhoof Tribe lay the Kemi River. It was said to stretch for tens of thousands of kilometers, roughly three kilometers wide, with an unknown depth. Some low-level fish-type magical beasts lived within it, but they posed no threat to the Bloodhoof Tribe's party.

The party was now camped beside the Kemi River. Their task was to cut down some "slender" trees, fasten them to the supply wagons pulled by Great Horned Oxen, and then secure hide rafts atop the logs. That completed their crude river-crossing tools.

Lei Mo was responsible for chopping wood and trimming vines, then helping everyone secure the logs in place.

Suddenly, water burst across the river's surface. A hide raft used for fishing overturned, and a warrior thrashed about in the water.

A few minutes later, the warrior righted the overturned hide raft and climbed back onto it. He was dragging a rope made from beast sinew, then pulled hard and rowed fiercely. A fish-shaped magical beast covered in scales was dragged from the water. It was not quite dead and occasionally flicked its tail fin.

Soon, the warrior rowed the raft to shore, where several Tauren worked together to haul the fish-type magical beast onto land.

Only then did Lei Mo see the magical beast's full form. It was seven or eight meters long, with dark bluish-green scales covering its back and head. Only its tail and belly were smooth and soft.

"This is an Azure Dragon Fish. It got its name because the color and shape of its scales resemble those of a dragon."

A burly adult warrior explained it to a group of curious children and landlubbers, with Lei Mo mixed among them.

He had seen quite a few magical beasts over the years, but this was his first time seeing an aquatic magical beast. When no one was paying attention, Lei Mo poked the Azure Dragon Fish's scales with his bone dinner knife. A metallic clang rang out.

Lei Mo could not help thinking that these scales would make excellent weapons and armor if melted down. Unfortunately, with the Bloodhoof Tribe's level of metallurgy, that was impossible.

Next came the feast. The group of curious children had never seen an aquatic magical beast, so they were especially eager to taste one.

Lei Mo received a huge grilled Azure Dragon Fish steak, along with a basin of fish head soup stewed from an Azure Dragon Fish head.

Compared to the explosions of flavor he had experienced on Earth, the grilled Azure Dragon Fish steak could only be called decent. Still, because the ingredients were top-notch, it truly had a distinct quality.

As for the Azure Dragon Fish head soup, only one word could describe it—delicious. Lei Mo was no professional food critic, so he had no further comments.

After finishing the fish steak, he was not particularly full, so he found some ordinary meat to eat. After downing a final basin of soup, he felt completely satisfied.

That night, they camped beside the Kemi River. Full of food and drink, Lei Mo sat quietly five or six meters downwind from the campfire, staring blankly at the river and letting the river breeze wash over him.

His mind emptied completely, free of thoughts and desires. He no longer wondered what kind of world this was or what he would do next. He forgot who he was and where he had come from.

Yet the spiritual power within his sea of consciousness was rapidly growing. Lei Mo was a pure warrior, however, and had no idea what was happening to him.

The night passed just like that. When the morning sunlight fell upon Lei Mo, he woke naturally. Other than feeling refreshed and invigorated, he felt nothing unusual. Meanwhile, his spiritual power had already reached the peak of Level Nine.

Lei Mo did not know any of this. He did not know any magical incantations, nor did he possess a crystal ball to test spiritual power.

Having never come into contact with magic in either of his lives, Lei Mo had somehow become a Level Nine Archmage who could not cast a single spell.

Perhaps his soul had been tempered by time and space when he crossed worlds. Perhaps the fusion of two souls at the moment of his soul's birth had caused some qualitative transformation. In any case, this strange thing had simply happened.

The moment he woke that morning, Lei Mo felt more comfortable than ever before, as though the troubles that had always lingered in his heart had vanished. He felt clear and transparent from the inside out, more in harmony with heaven and earth.

His battle qi, which had not increased in the slightest for two years, began slowly growing again. By the time Lei Mo noticed, the entire pilgrimage party had already crossed the Kemi River.

Lei Mo moved his little short hooves and followed the main force onward. With no one to share his joy, his excitement soon passed.

The next half month consisted of tedious travel. For tens of thousands of li west of the Kemi River, there were no major rivers. They did not even need the hide rafts. Given the Tauren's size and their enormous supply wagons, ordinary rivers were little more than ditches.

A month had passed since their departure. According to the veteran members, they had covered roughly half the journey. Ahead lay a canyon.

Because of his more "compact" build, Lei Mo temporarily served as a terrain-scouting scout.

He climbed the nearly thousand-meter cliffs on both sides and advanced beneath the cover of the trees.

Suddenly, Lei Mo noticed something strange ahead. At the narrowest point of the canyon passage, a huge number of logs and boulders had been piled on the cliffside. They could not have formed naturally.

Lei Mo made his movements even smaller. The strange location was still about fifteen hundred meters away. If his eyesight had not inexplicably improved so much today, he would never have noticed it.

After quietly observing for a while, he confirmed it. Shadows shifted in that area. There was an ambush.

He carefully retreated more than a thousand meters, then quickly descended the cliff. Lei Mo found guard captain Thomas and reported what he had discovered.

They had discovered the danger in advance. The other side was undoubtedly bandits, though their strength remained unknown.

Thomas then reported the situation to Chieftain Leland. The chieftain sent Thomas and three Seventh-Level Warriors to investigate, and Lei Mo went along as their guide.

When they returned to the spot where Lei Mo had previously stayed, Thomas also saw the suspicious sight more than a thousand meters away. This time, prepared in advance, the group of five quietly crept closer.