Barbarian Awakening

(This new book urgently needs bookmarks and recommendations, fellow Daoists—I crave recommendation votes!!!!!)

This was an ordinary fragment of stone, only the size of a baby's palm. Its shape was irregular, and aside from some patterns that seemed naturally formed, it had a hollow little hole in it, like an ornament.

Overall, though, there was nothing remarkable about it. It looked utterly ordinary.

The only strange thing was that when Su Ming held the fragment, it felt warm, as though a current of warmth flowed into his body, making him feel extremely comfortable.

"Eh?" Su Ming examined it closely, but after looking for quite a while, he could not make out anything unusual.

"Grandpa mentioned that this place was supposedly once Fire Barbarian territory long ago. In that case, this thing might possess some Fire Barbarian power, which is why it feels warm. Not bad." Su Ming untied the Crescent Bone Ring hanging around his neck, threaded the fragment into it, and hung it back around his neck. With the fragment pressed against his chest, the warmth grew even stronger.

"I'm going home!" The youth took great strides and ran swiftly toward the patch of lights in the distance. At that moment, he failed to notice the faint glimmer that flashed and vanished from the stone fragment pressed against his chest beneath his clothes.

As he drew closer, the faint lights before Su Ming gradually became clear. He could see that it was a tribe surrounded by walls built from massive trees.

It was not large, housing perhaps only a few hundred people, but in Su Ming's eyes, this place filled him with warmth. Faint bursts of lively laughter drifted over as well. Through the gaps between the rows of giant wooden walls, he could see a huge bonfire in the center of the tribe, surrounded by numerous clansmen, while several tribal women danced before the flames.

The tribe's gate was also made of giant trees. When opened, it was usually hoisted by several ropes. It was tightly shut now, with several burly men standing atop it. They wore beast-hide garments, their skin rough and weathered, strings of grim white bones around their necks and bone rings in their ears. They exuded a fierce air as their bright eyes watched the surroundings. When they spotted Su Ming running over from afar, they all grinned.

"Lasu, Grandpa has been looking for you all day. Why are you only coming back now?"

"It rained just now. Did you go snatching Black Dragon Saliva again?"

"Grandpa was looking for me? Throw down the rope. This time, my haul was pretty good." Su Ming dashed forward several more steps until he reached the foot of the gate. He proudly patted the woven basket on his back and shouted.

As a braided rope descended from above, Su Ming grabbed it and climbed with nimble movements. In just a few breaths, he had reached the top of the gate. He smiled at the clansmen keeping watch, then quickly descended the steps beside him.

"This little fellow is nimble, and his courage is even greater. Years ago, he already dared to climb Wulong Mountain alone to gather herbs. Looks like he will definitely become the tribe's ordinary physician in the future."

"What a pity he lacks a Barbarian Body. Otherwise, he might have become a Barbarian physician like Grandpa." The men watched Su Ming leave and sighed softly.

Su Ming entered the tribe and ran onward. Whenever people in the grass-and-wood houses around him saw him, they would call out "Lasu" in greeting.

Lasu was not a name referring to him alone. It was the collective term for every child in the tribe who had yet to undergo their second Barbarian Awakening.

Su Ming ran quickly. Before long, he reached the center of the tribe and saw a great many clansmen gathered around the bonfire, laughing and chatting merrily.

A circle of fire-resistant wooden racks stood outside the bonfire, laden with large chunks of roasting meat dripping with oil and giving off waves of enticing fragrance.

Several young girls from the tribe glanced at the running Su Ming, then paid him little attention.

To this tribe, Su Ming, with his delicate features, differed greatly in build from the other clansmen. Nearly every one of them was far more burly than he was.

After great difficulty, he squeezed through the crowd, grabbed a fragrant piece of roasted meat, and hurried forward while taking bites from it.

At the foremost spot in the crowd sat an old man, the only person dressed not in beast hide but in coarse linen. His hair was braided into many small plaits. He looked exceedingly old, yet his eyes possessed profound spirit; one glance at them felt as though they could draw a person in.

His status was clearly extremely esteemed. He was speaking in a low voice, while several clansmen beside him listened and nodded, their expressions deeply respectful.

When he saw Su Ming running over from afar, the old man smiled and nodded, signaling for Su Ming to sit nearby before continuing his conversation with those clansmen.

The clansmen also saw Su Ming, and smiles appeared on their faces.

"Though our Wu Mountain Tribe is a small tribe, we are nevertheless the orthodox inheritance of Wu Mountain. This time, it is the Fengzhen Tribe's Barbarian Duke's birthday, and I have had some friendship with him since those years. We cannot be discourteous."

"What a pity that our Wu Mountain Tribe split apart several centuries ago, leaving only three branches to continue. Otherwise, our Wu Mountain Tribe would have been a medium-sized tribe. Back when we commanded the surrounding eight directions, even the Fengzhen Tribe was our subordinate. But now... alas." The speaker was a man around forty years old, the chief of the Wu Mountain Tribe. His body was burly, seemingly filled with startling explosive power. Hanging around his neck was a bone ring bearing nine finger-thick fangs.

Most notably, there was a faint mark on his face. Its appearance was exceedingly ferocious, like a ghost or god, but it was very blurred, as though it could never fully solidify.

Su Ming looked at that mark, envy filling his eyes. From that animal-hide scroll, Su Ming knew it was an as-yet unformed Barbarian Mark. In the entire tribe, no one currently possessed the strength to inscribe a Barbarian Mark and make it solidify.

Even Grandpa was only at the ninth layer of Blood Condensation.

Yet even so, Grandpa had become one of the strongest people among the many tribes near Wu Mountain. The only ones who could compare with him were the Black Mountain Tribe and Black Dragon Tribe, the two former kin tribes that had split from the other branches.

"What use is there in speaking of the past? Without a Dust Opening Realm expert to stand guard, a tribe cannot become a medium-sized tribe. The deaths of the two Dust Opening Realm ancestors of the Wu Mountain Tribe back then were the root cause of its eventual division.

"This old man has cultivated until now, yet I have never been able to break through the ninth layer of Blood Condensation, unable to reach the tenth layer, much less the ultimate eleventh layer. I cannot inscribe a fully solidified Barbarian Mark, and it is difficult to open dust..." The old man in coarse linen sighed and spoke slowly.

"Enough. You may all leave and prepare the gifts. Tomorrow... Shan Hen, as the leader of the Wu Mountain Hunting Team, you will lead the team on the journey." The old man rose to his feet, glanced at a middle-aged man standing beside the Wu Mountain Tribe chief, then turned and left, walking into the distance.

The middle-aged man's expression remained calm. Upon hearing this, he immediately bowed and acknowledged the order.

Su Ming hurriedly followed behind Grandpa, leaving the bustling place by the bonfire with him.

The old man said nothing along the way and merely walked in silence. Once the laughter behind them had gradually faded away, he arrived outside a house built from grass and wood and entered it.

The house was not large, and its interior was rather simple. After entering, the old man sat cross-legged to one side and glanced at Su Ming, who had followed him in.

"Did you go gather Black Dragon Saliva again?"

Alone with the old man now, Su Ming was deeply respectful toward this Grandpa who had watched him grow up. He set down the woven basket on his back, picked up the small earthen bottle, and handed it to the old man.

"With your agility, those Wu Long cannot hurt you, but it would still be best to go less often... That place is, after all, within the territory of the Black Mountain Tribe and Black Dragon Tribe.

"This Black Dragon Saliva is useless to me. Keep it for yourself to nourish your body." The old man looked at Su Ming with a kindly expression.

Su Ming nodded and put away the small bottle. Over the years, he had drunk much of this substance, and that was precisely why he possessed such a nimble body.

What was more, Grandpa had often brewed medicinal soups for him over the years. Thus, although he did not possess the Barbarian Body needed for Barbarian Cultivation, he was still much stronger than ordinary clansmen.

"Three days from now will be the time for the Lasu of your generation to undergo Barbarian Awakening. If I remember correctly, you have reached sixteen as well... You will need to worship the Barbarian Statue."

"The Barbarian Statue of our Wu Mountain Tribe was passed down from the true Wu Mountain Tribe of old. Although it is not the main statue and cannot compare to the Barbarian Statues of medium-sized tribes, it is extremely powerful in these parts."

Su Ming fell silent again for a moment, then nodded.

"Do not go out these next few days. Rest well, and three days from now, undergo Barbarian Awakening with them." As the old man spoke, he slowly closed his eyes.

Su Ming stood there for quite some time before silently leaving with his woven basket in hand, heading toward the grass-and-wood house not far away that belonged to him.

He would never forget the scene from when he was seven years old, when he and all the children of the same age in the tribe had encircled the Barbarian Statue to undergo their first Barbarian Awakening.

As a member of the Barbarian Tribe, one had to experience two rites akin to enlightenment in a lifetime. These were Barbarian Awakenings—one at the age of seven, and one at the age of sixteen.

At the same time, the tribe's Grandpa would use the power of the Barbarian Statue to select those who possessed a Barbarian Body.

With a soft sigh, bitterness welled up in Su Ming's heart. He longed to become a Barbarian Warrior who practiced Barbarian Cultivation. The descriptions on that animal-hide scroll had enthralled him since childhood. Yet reality's cruelty had clearly revealed itself when he first worshipped the Barbarian Statue at the age of seven: he did not possess a Barbarian Body and was unqualified for Barbarian Cultivation.

Barbarian was the foundation of the world. Only by becoming a Barbarian Warrior could one laugh proudly above the nine heavens and become a true powerhouse!

From the animal-hide scroll, Su Ming had known since childhood that there were many tribes in this world, large and small. Every tribe had its own different Barbarian Statue. It was the foundation of a tribe, and also the indispensable object by which its descendants could become Barbarian.

If one comprehended the Barbarian Statue and gained a resonance, one could naturally receive the inheritance of Barbarian Cultivation. No one needed to teach them; they could cultivate on their own.

But if one failed at both the ages of seven and sixteen, it meant that nothing could ever be changed. Su Ming had always hesitated in his heart. Before seeing the answer, he had hoped; but now that only three days remained before his final comprehension, he had become afraid.

"Will it... succeed this time..." Su Ming silently returned to his house, sat down to one side, and stared blankly into space.

;