Bloodline Innate Divine Ability

By the bonfire, more than a dozen sharpened wooden sticks were slanted into the ground around the flames, each skewering strips of freshly butchered Savage Bull meat.

Fat dripped onto the coals with a sizzle, and the fragrance mingled with the smoky scent of fire, making stomachs growl.

No one knew who started it, but several young tribesmen began dancing rough, powerful steps beside the fire to the beat of drums. Some of the others clapped along, while others hummed an ancient, lingering tune, their voices deep and hoarse, as though they were welling up from beneath the earth.

Lin Yi sat at the edge beyond the reach of the firelight, holding a wooden skewer of meat as he watched the faces leaping in the flames.

Xiao Hu barreled past the bonfire in pursuit of several playmates, with Little Flame following behind him.

The Red Fox still looked lazy and unhurried, its tail sweeping leisurely across the ground. Yet as it passed Lin Yi, those amber eyes glanced sideways at him before it walked on as though nothing had happened.

He could not help but smile.

The firelight reflected the village chief's figure in the distance. The old man did not join the singing or dancing. He merely sat on a low stool, slowly drinking something from a clay bowl.

His gaze gently encompassed the entire area illuminated by the bonfire, like an old tree sheltering the creatures resting in its shade.

Lin Yi swallowed the last bite of slightly charred Savage Bull meat, rose to his feet, passed through the boisterous crowd, and sat down beside the village chief.

He did not beat around the bush. He asked directly, "Village Chief, I want to ask about the bloodline talents of ferocious beasts."

The rim of the village chief's bowl paused at his lips. A trace of surprise appeared in his gaze as he looked at Lin Yi, but it swiftly became a kind of understanding. He set down the bowl, pondered for a moment, then spoke slowly.

"The source of a ferocious beast's bloodline talents lies in its ancestors."

The old man's voice was low and steady, as if recounting an old tale carved into bone. "Those true ancient exotic beasts in the Great Wilderness possessed strength that reached the heavens and pierced the earth. Part of their power and traits would be passed down through their bloodlines.

"If any among their descendants possesses a sufficiently pure bloodline, then when the right opportunity arrives, they may awaken the power their ancestors left within their bloodline. That is a Bloodline Divine Ability."

He paused and pointed toward the stripped skeleton of the Savage Bull King in the distance.

"Once a Bloodline Divine Ability is activated, Divine Markings will usually emerge across the body's surface. Those patterns are the outward traces of the Divine Ability circulating through the flesh. They can also be called the 'form' of power."

Lin Yi nodded inwardly. It matched his guess. He pressed on.

"I heard Brother Biao say that many of the human race's martial techniques and Divine Abilities were created through comprehending the Bloodline Divine Abilities of ferocious beasts?"

The village chief nodded, and a distant look entered his eyes.

"That is correct. The various martial techniques, combat arts, and even deeper secret Divine Ability arts passed down among the human race of the Great Wilderness today can all be traced back to ancient great powers comprehending the Divine Markings of ferocious beasts.

"They observed ferocious beasts in battle, copied their Divine Markings, and deduced the principles of their inner workings. In the end, they transformed beastly forms into tools for humans, creating methods of battle that belonged to our human race."

As he spoke, his tone shifted, and he gave a bitter smile.

"However, most of those things are controlled by major tribes and great clans.

"For a small fringe tribe like our Bluestone Tribe, having even a rudimentary method for cultivating qi and blood passed down through the generations is already a blessing from our ancestors.

"Martial techniques and Divine Abilities... those are things we do not even dare dream of."

After saying that, the village chief suddenly sensed something. His gaze abruptly fixed on Lin Yi's face.

His withered hand tightened slightly around the rim of the bowl, and his voice carried an extremely restrained hesitation. "You... wouldn't..."

He did not finish, but what flashed through those eyes in that instant was too blazing, bright as a flame bursting up from the depths of the bonfire.

Lin Yi met his gaze without avoiding it.

"I still cannot be certain," Lin Yi said steadily, yet every word carried the weight of conviction. "I need a few days."

The village chief understood almost immediately.

He did not ask questions like, "How much did you remember?" or "How confident are you?" Instead, he quietly watched Lin Yi for a long time.

Firelight danced over his deeply lined face. In those eyes that had watched people all his life were scrutiny, deliberation, and anticipation, all of which finally converged into a heavy warmth.

"If it truly succeeds..." The village chief's voice was very low, yet it struck as heavily as a stone hitting the ground. "Could you pass it on to the tribesmen?"

He did not mention any terms of exchange. He did not say, "You were eating our food and living under our roof anyway." Nor did he use kindness as a rope to bind him.

He was only asking. Only pleading.

"Since the founding of our Bluestone Tribe, we have never possessed a martial technique of our own.

"If we truly could have one... the strength of our tribesmen would rise greatly, and the tribe's safety would rise with the tide.

"Perhaps—even becoming a true major tribe of the Great Wilderness would not be impossible."

The old man's voice trembled faintly at the end. It was the irrepressible excitement of someone who had carried the tribe on his shoulders for a lifetime and suddenly saw a light he had never dared hope for rising over the horizon.

Lin Yi looked into those unusually bright eyes and remembered how, on his first day in the tribe, this man had taken him in without asking about his background, voluntarily taught him cultivation methods, and protected him, an outsider of unknown origins.

He fell silent for a moment, then raised a hand and gently pressed it over his chest.

"Don't worry, Village Chief." His voice was not loud, but it reached the old man's ears with crystal clarity.

"The tribe has shown me great kindness. Though I, Lin Yi, am an outsider, I understand clearly the principle of repaying kindness. Once I succeed in creating it, I will certainly pass it on to the tribe."

The village chief opened his mouth, but it seemed something caught in his throat. He lowered his head and rubbed the corner of his eye with the back of his hand. When he looked up again, he had returned to his usual cheerful old self.

He said "Good" three times in a row, then gripped Lin Yi's hand tightly and shook it hard.

"If you need any help, just say the word. So long as the tribe can provide it, I will give everything I have!"

The grip made Lin Yi's wrist ache. He smiled and shook his head.

"From here on, it is only a matter of time. No other conditions are needed."

After saying that, he looked past the bonfire.

Little Flame was sitting on a rock, its tail curled between its paws, its amber eyes gazing toward the fire.

When it saw Lin Yi's gaze turn its way, it blinked slowly, then turned its head and began licking its paw.

The bonfire crackled, and sparks rose into the night sky, like a swarm of golden fireflies melting into the stars that filled the heavens.