Backing Down

Bei Feng had just started to rise when Shi Hao swooped through the air like a young roc and stomped down on his chest, his eyes bright as he looked down at him. With a boom, even the mountain ground trembled. The powerful youth Bei Feng crashed back onto his back, unable to rise again. No one doubted the strength in Little Dot's feet.

The people of Bei Village were stunned. Bei Feng was an exceptionally gifted youth whom even his clansmen held in awe, yet he had been defeated just like that—by such a small child.

Many from Bei Village drew their bows and nocked arrows, preparing to shoot Shi Hao and rescue him.

Shi Feijiao and the others flew into a rage as well, drawing their massive bows to return fire and begin a chaotic melee.

With a whoosh, Shi Hao seized Bei Feng by the collar and forcibly lifted him, holding him in front of himself as a shield against the people of Bei Village.

Bei Feng was furious. Usually gloomy and composed, he could no longer restrain himself. Today had been an utter humiliation. Being seized by such a brat felt worse than death itself. He struggled with all his strength, driving a fist at Little Dot.

Though Shi Hao lacked experience fighting enemies, his hands and eyes were quick. Clear radiance spilled from his other hand, symbols spinning within it. With a smack, he struck first despite moving later, slapping Bei Feng's chest. Bei Feng's body convulsed, blood surged from his mouth, and all strength drained from his fist.

Little Dot did not pause. Carrying Bei Feng, who was a head taller than himself, he leaped swiftly toward Shi Linhu and the others.

Bei Feng was tall and slender. Dangling from Little Dot's grip, more than half his body dragged along the ground, battered by thorns and rocks. His hair was loose and disheveled. Compared with the handsome, cold youth he had been before, he was now the very picture of wretchedness.

From eight or nine meters away, Little Dot suddenly hurled Bei Feng. With a thud, he landed near Shi Linhu and the others, rolled several times, and spat out more blood, his eyes filled with fury and resentment.

"You little bastard, weren't you vicious? Go on, keep acting arrogant!" Shi Feijiao paid no heed to anything else. After saying that, he strode forward and stomped down. With a crack, four or five of Bei Feng's ribs broke at once.

Their strength was comparable, but Bei Feng was now a captive and unable to resist. Bones against a foot—he naturally could not endure it. Sweat poured down his face as he groaned dully.

"Little Dot, you were too kind. You had several chances to grievously wound him during that fight, yet you let them slip away. And after catching him, you were far too gentle. That is dangerous for you." Shi Linhu lectured him from the side.

"Eeya!" Little Dot squirmed shyly, utterly unlike the little tiger he had been moments ago. This was the first time he had fought so desperately. Mainly because he had seen several uncles from the village nearly shot to death, while the other side had remained so unreasonable, he had become enraged and rushed forward to fight.

"Hey, friends from Stone Village, show mercy. We can talk things over. Everything can be discussed." The people of Bei Village were anxious. If such a youth, whose potential could shake the Great Wilderness, were beaten to death, it would be an enormous loss to their clan.

"Discuss it? You stole the prey we hunted with such hardship and tried to kill our clansmen. When you cold-bloodedly and mercilessly drew your bows, why didn't you think of that?!" Shi Linhu roared.

Bang!

On the other side, Shi Feijiao stomped down again. With a crack, one of Bei Feng's arm bones snapped, twisting his face in agony, yet he did not utter a word.

"Stop, stop it! It was all our fault. Isn't apologizing enough?" a middle-aged man from Bei Village shouted anxiously.

The leader of their hunting party also yelled, demanding negotiations. He stood over two meters tall, with an imposing presence, but he was no longer as hardline and aggressive as before.

"Talk my ass! Forget everything else—beat him up first!" Er Meng's father said furiously. The people of Stone Village had been bottling up their anger for days. How could a single sentence settle it?

Boom!

His palm, broad as a cattail fan, swung down and slapped Bei Feng across the face, tearing his flesh and sending his whole body flying several meters.

"You brat, you still dare glare? You nearly shot four or five of my brothers dead! Every arrow was vicious, piercing through their organs. Where's that swagger of yours now? Come on, show it again!" Bang!

When Bei Feng rolled to Shi Linhu's feet, Shi Linhu kicked him away without hesitation. That kick carried the force of several thousand jin, enough to crush a savage beast to death. No matter how powerful Bei Feng was, more bones broke. His lips twitched as blood and sweat streamed together.

Not long ago, he had been haughty and overbearing, cold and domineering. Now he was a captive, hair disheveled, body covered in blood, silent from beginning to end. The contrast was immense.

Bang!

The people of Stone Village loathed his earlier arrogance. That coldness and insolence had made their teeth itch with hatred. Now they all stepped forward, one kick here, one punch there, each taking a turn. Living in the Great Wilderness, every one of them had a powerful physique. After one round, Bei Feng was nearly torn apart. No one knew how many bones had broken, and he collapsed limply where he lay.

"Stop!"

The people of Bei Village grew frantic. They raised their greatbows and prepared to press forward to rescue him, because if this continued, Bei Feng would be crippled even if he did not die. There would be no hope of a genius rising to prominence.

"All of you stop right there and stay put! This isn't over yet. We'll talk after we've vented our anger!" Shi Feijiao said.

With a kick from one person and a slap from another, it did not take long before Bei Feng was beaten nearly beyond human shape. His face was swollen and bruised, bones broken all over, and he looked utterly miserable. Not a trace of his former coldness remained.

At this point, a group of children rushed up too. Little Monkey in particular kicked him with all his might. "You nearly shot my dad to death! Keep being arrogant, why don't you? In the end, weren't you still captured by Little Dot?"

"Our Little Dot is only a little over three and a half years old. You're already in your teens, yet you can't even beat him. What do you have to be so arrogant and cocky about?" The children beat and mocked him at the same time.

By then, a group had gathered around Shi Hao, praising him without reservation. Even the people of Stone Village had not expected him to be so formidable, capturing a terrifying youth who could stand shoulder to shoulder with Shi Linhu.

"Friends of Stone Village, have you vented enough? That should be about enough." The people of Bei Village were anxious. If this went on, their genius would become a cripple. What difference would there be between him and a dead dog?

"Then let's talk!" Shi Linhu plopped himself down on top of Bei Feng, treating him entirely like a stool. The people of Bei Village felt their hearts twitch. Such a burly man, nearly two and a half meters tall—if he sat down that hard, even a wild bull would be flattened.

But when one was under another's eaves, one had no choice but to bow one's head. They could only coax them gently, not daring to show any displeasure.

"We are all friends in the Great Wilderness. Even if there have been some clashes, we will still see one another with heads lowered and heads raised. Please be magnanimous and forgive our recklessness this once," said a smooth-tongued man from Bei Village's hunting party.

"Pah! What do you mean, seeing one another with heads lowered and heads raised? That sounds nice enough. What were you doing earlier? Why did you try to shoot our clansmen?" Shi Feijiao snapped.

Shi Linhu waved a hand. "Cut the nonsense. We don't want to hear it. Tell us—how will you compensate us?"

"This..." The people of Bei Village all frowned. The hunting party's leader said, "We will apologize here and give you all the prey. How about that?"

Er Meng's father rolled his eyes. "That prey was ours to begin with. You injured so many of us, and an apology alone is supposed to settle it?"

"How about this? From now on, we will withdraw from these mountains and never cross the boundary again. We will return your hunting grounds to you. Is that acceptable?" the people of Bei Village said.

"Bullshit! Those were ours to begin with. You've talked for so long without showing a shred of sincerity!" someone hot-tempered from Stone Village shouted.

Shi Linhu waved his hand. "I can't be bothered wasting more words on you. We can release this brat, but in addition to the conditions just mentioned, you must leave behind every weapon you have. Then you can carry him back. And don't ever show your faces in our territory again."

"What? No, absolutely not!" the people of Bei Village cried. To them, weapons were a second life. How could they survive in these mountains without them?

Metal ore was scarce here and difficult to mine. Obtaining a weapon that suited one's hand was no easy matter; it required a long time to forge and polish.

"Then there's nothing left to say. Someone, cut off this brat's head and give it back to the people of Bei Village!" Shi Linhu roared.

"Got it!" a young man replied loudly, lifting a broadsword and preparing to swing it down and behead Bei Feng.

"Don't! We agree!" one of Bei Village's leading figures shouted, hurriedly stopping him.

The others from Bei Village looked terrible. Someone said, "Are we really handing over so many weapons?"

"If the weapons are gone, we can forge more. It will take time, but there is still hope. But if the person is gone, he can never come back to life. Bei Feng's talent is extraordinarily high, rare even in this Great Wilderness. In the future, he may protect our clan."

The people of Bei Village compromised. Stacks of iron arrows were carried over, along with dragon-horn greatbows and sharp broadswords. Their hearts bled as they surrendered them.

There had originally been a bloody battle ahead, but Little Dot had suddenly burst forth and faced off against Bei Feng, that terrifying genius. He had unexpectedly changed the course of the battle and avoided a bloody conflict. Otherwise, who knew how many people would have died?

The group returned to Stone Village laden with spoils.

In the days that followed, Stone Village was peaceful, but deep within the mountains, unrest stirred. Beast roars shook the heavens from time to time, making the mountain peaks tremble and loose rocks tumble.

"Clan Chief, that terrifying Suanni deep in the mountains is most likely about to die of old age. It has been roaring and struggling constantly lately."

Someone came to report this to Shi Yunfeng.

"That is a true ancient relic, a giant even in the depths of these mountains. If we can obtain its corpse, extract its true blood, and copy the primordial treasure symbols on its bones, it would be no different from opening a heaven-shaking treasure vault!"