"Who was that? Get out here!"
Jiao Peng, looking thoroughly bedraggled, glared toward the depths of the ancient village, his eyes bloodshot.
"So what if I come out? You dared speak ill of the Sacrificial Spirit. You must be tired of living."
Everyone saw a small figure, also looking about five or six years old, with fair, delicate features, dart out and calmly stand beneath the charred willow tree.
"Fine, fine, fine. Kid, you have no idea who you've offended."
The moment he saw who it was, Jiao Peng's fury blazed even hotter. He turned toward the strong warriors who had dismounted from the vicious flood dragons. "Uncle Cang, help me seize that kid. I'm taking him back to Luofu Marsh to be my battle slave."
He was the beloved youngest son of the mighty Lord of Luofu Marsh. Not long ago, he had even defeated Huo Lin of Fire Cavern. He was destined to become a king among the human race, yet a mountain brat his own age had managed to ambush him.
How could he swallow that humiliation?
"Peng'er, mind your manners."
Jiao Cang, who looked like a middle-aged warrior, stopped his enraged nephew. His expression grew grave as he looked at Shi Hao. "Willow Deity? You say the Sacrificial Spirit of your village is called the Willow Deity?"
"The Willow Deity is the Willow Deity. There's no doubt about that."
Shi Hao answered as though it were only natural.
The word "deity" was not to be used lightly.
In the Great Wilderness, anyone who dared call himself divine could battle grown primordial beasts and destroy countless super-tribes with a single thought.
And why did the ancient empires, whose territories stretched without end, stand so proudly in the Great Wilderness?
Was it not because the shadow of an ancient god could be glimpsed behind each of them?
Even an elderly deity, with its divine flame extinguished and its divine power greatly diminished, was not someone a great tribe of several million, such as Luofu Marsh, could afford to provoke.
As for whether some Sacrificial Spirit might overstep its bounds and call itself a deity?
That was even less possible. This was an ancient world where gods watched from just above one's head. Those true divine beings would not hesitate to unleash boundless divine punishment and utterly destroy anyone who dared lay claim to a deity's glory.
"Hiss. This mysterious Sacrificial Spirit is probably a true deity!"
The powerful warriors of the great tribes exchanged glances almost instinctively.
A mysterious Sacrificial Spirit calling itself the Willow Deity, and a child who had easily subdued the beloved youngest son of the Lord of Luofu Marsh—this ancient village was likely the home of a super-clan that had hidden itself from the world.
"Good sir, I am Jiao Cang of Luofu Marsh. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Jiao Cang's expression shifted rapidly, and he immediately changed his tone.
"I'm Shi Hao of Stone Village. If there's nothing else, please leave at once and don't disturb our people's peace."
Shi Hao replied coldly.
"Heh, there's no need to rush."
"Today, the Mountain Treasure appeared in the depths of the Great Wilderness, and every tribe sent warriors to investigate. That's how we happened upon your village. Since fate has brought us together, why not have the children of our tribes compete with your village's young talents?"
"Of course, Luofu Marsh won't take advantage of your village. We'll put up three jars of vicious beast blood as the prize. What do you think, young Shi Hao?"
Jiao Cang paid no mind to Shi Hao's coldness and spoke with a cheerful smile.
Still unwilling to accept what had happened, he wanted to test the village. Luofu Marsh had just lost face in front of all the heroes, and if the opportunity arose, they naturally wanted to win some of it back.
Even deities could die. Jiao Cang very much wanted to know whether this Willow Deity was still alive.
"This sounds like a fine idea. The Thunder Clan would like to join in as well."
The speaker was Lei Yunkun, the fourth son of the Thunder Marquis. Black lightning coursed around his body, and thunder rumbled from time to time. He looked exceptionally valiant.
"The Zishan Tribe agrees!"
The Zishan Tribe, the Thunder Clan's old rival, naturally refused to be left behind.
Zishan Shou, the Purple Mountain Marquis's great-uncle, wore a golden crown and held a feather fan. Clad in flowing feathered robes, he had white hair and the complexion of a child. Wisps of purple energy rose behind his head, lending him an extraordinary air.
The Cloud Clan had always remained neutral and disliked getting involved in worldly affairs.
The newcomers from the Golden Wolf Tribe were mostly young warriors, with no suitable contender among them, so they said nothing.
Their leader was a burly man in a wolf-skin cloak named Batu, the Golden Wolf Tribe's greatest warrior and the right-hand man of the Golden Wolf Clan Chief.
The warriors from these tribes were all crafty old hands. They had deliberately joined forces to test the village.
"Hey, kid, did you hear that? You dare fight me again? You got in a sneak attack earlier. This time, we'll fight fair and square, and I'll beat the shit out of you!"
Confident now that he had their support, Jiao Peng immediately shouted arrogantly.
"You're just a little brat in the Blood Moving Realm. What makes you think you can?"
Shi Hao glanced at Jiao Peng, who was jumping around and making a racket, his expression blank.
"Me, Jiao Peng! Who else? What about it?"
Jiao Peng said, straining to contain his fury.
"You're not worthy."
Little Shi's voice was utterly flat.
"Argh! Shi Hao, get over here! I'm going to kill you!"
Jiao Peng, whose pride was especially tender, exploded on the spot and charged forward, screaming.
"Peng'er, calm down."
Jiao Cang caught hold of Jiao Peng again and asked with a smiling face, "So, young Shi Hao, what do you say? It's just a friendly spar. It's no big deal."
"Just you wait."
Shi Hao waved his hand, then turned and walked into the village, leaving a whole crowd of warriors from the great tribes behind. More than a thousand strong warriors stared at one another in bewilderment.
They gazed at the mysterious willow tree swaying in the breeze at the village entrance. Though their hearts stirred uneasily, none of the warriors dared take a single step over the line.
A moment later, a large group of little monkeys came running out of the village.
There were children five or six years old, seven or eight, and even eleven or twelve. They came out laughing and clustered around Shi Hao as though they were going to some lively gathering.
"Oh, the village has visitors."
"So these are the boatload of idiots Little One was talking about? It's so hot, and instead of staying home to sleep, they came all this way to the village entrance. They really must have something wrong with their heads."
"Wow, those two pretty little girls look exactly alike. They must be twins, right?"
The children boldly and enthusiastically sized up the uninvited guests from outside, not the least bit intimidated.
The warriors of the great tribes: "..."
What the hell do you mean, a boatload of idiots? You brats, could you at least not say it right in front of us? Don't we have any dignity?!
"Young Shi Hao, what do you mean by this?"
Zishan Shou, the Purple Mountain Marquis's great-uncle, twitched the corner of his mouth and asked patiently.
In the short time it took to say that, a few little rascals had already begun "whispering" about whether his gorgeous feathered robes were stolen, how he could have black hair when he looked so old, whether he was wearing a wig, and how ugly he was...
Hmph. The children of Stone Village were simply lawless, absolutely lawless!
"Your tribes' descendants are just too weak. I'm not interested. Let someone else fight them instead."
Shi Hao glanced at Jiao Peng, then began calling out names. "Dazhuang, Ermeng, Pihou, it's your turn to put on a show. Beat them hard. Win, and I'll give you extra chicken legs."
Dazhuang and the others might have spent their days acting like carefree slackers, but they were now cultivators in the Blood Moving Realm. They hadn't gone through the Stone Clan Ancient Method's foundation-building training for nothing.
Jiao Peng and the others acted like they were all that, but they were also only early-stage Blood Moving Realm cultivators. Dazhuang was just right for them. A bunch of rookies could peck at each other.
PS 1: Yiyi, you're back again, but remember to tip within your means. Too much of a good thing can be bad.
PS 2: All right, our ten-thousand-reward supporter, ambiguous, is feeling a little miffed. That's my fault. I'd like to give ambiguous special praise here: the first helmsman of this book. And here's an extra big red flower, as shown.
Before you continue