Lin Tribe

Dawn had barely broken, and mist drifted through the mountains.

Feng Xu awoke from meditation.

There was no fist practice today. After packing their things, all eighteen members of the group left the tribe.

Feng Xi led the way, with Feng Xu following behind. The rest were healthier elders and sturdier women.

The meat they had processed yesterday was too plentiful, so they had temporarily added several women to the group.

They were not to be underestimated. They were all in the Innate Realm, capable of lifting a thousand jin from the start.

Everyone carried a rattan basket on their back and a shoulder pole, both filled with meat wrapped in mud.

This was to prevent wild beasts from following the scent.

The food they carried was roasted jerky as well. The smell of cooking in the wilderness would attract beasts.

Feng Xi bore the greatest burden. He carried a rattan basket on his back, balanced an enormous rattan basket on his head, and held it up with both hands as he walked.

The others carried several hundred jin, while he carried three tons.

The mountain paths were difficult to traverse. Following the direction Feng Xi had indicated, Feng Xu scouted ahead.

After two days of cultivation, his powers of observation and sense of danger had improved greatly.

The Great Wilderness Mountains were so densely forested that the trees blotted out the sky, and countless beasts gathered there.

There were giant apes a hundred zhang tall, enormous snakes several hundred zhang long, and swarms of venomous insects like dark clouds...

They were not gathered in one place, but scattered across different regions, as though they had already divided their territories.

Feng Xu led the group, carefully avoiding powerful ferocious beasts.

After cultivating Spirit Sense, his perception had surpassed everyone else's, allowing him to avoid danger in advance every time.

After traveling for three to five days, their view gradually opened up.

Feng Xi stepped forward and motioned for Feng Xu to look toward the hill ahead on the left.

Several dark specks could vaguely be seen there, leaping about among the trees.

They traveled for another half day before finally reaching their destination.

It was a tribe that lived in trees.

Imitating birds' nests, they used branches to build nests atop great trees.

There were no roofs. On rainy days, the canopy sheltered them, and broad leaves they had gathered covered most of the nests.

"Where are you from? What are you doing here?"

"We are from the Wind-Fire Tribe. We want to trade with you."

Feng Xi stepped forward to negotiate with their leader.

"The Wind-Fire Tribe? Where is that?"

"We are over in that direction." Feng Xi pointed into the distance and continued gesturing. "Cross three hills, and you'll find us."

"A few days ago, someone saw several people outside. They came from there too. I heard their leader died. Do you know about that?"

The primitive Human Race had no focus when speaking. They often said whatever came to mind.

"They are members of our tribe. They left a few days ago and took quite a lot of food with them. And our leader is still alive. If you see them again, please tell them that."

They set everything down, and everyone sat on the ground.

"What are you trading with, and what do you want?"

Feng Xi scraped aside some mud, revealing the dried meat within.

"We'll use this dried meat to exchange for your people."

It was called dried meat, but it was actually only half-dried. This pork had only been air-dried for a few days.

"All of this?"

The other party leaned in for a closer look, then licked some.

Feng Xi did not stop him and silently nodded.

"One basket of meat for one warrior."

Feng Xu stepped forward and spoke.

After deducting the weight of the rattan basket itself and the mud, each basket contained over a hundred jin of dried meat. The shoulder poles each person carried also held four to five hundred jin net weight. Altogether, that was over six hundred jin of dried meat.

The other party glanced at Feng Xu, then looked toward Feng Xi.

Feng Xi nodded again in confirmation.

"Men cannot be traded. One basket of meat for one woman."

"Impossible. One basket of meat should exchange for at least five women."

Feng Xi had only seen this tribe from afar before and had never approached them.

This was their first transaction, and the two sides were not familiar with each other.

They negotiated until nightfall before finally deciding to calculate by weight.

Adult men could not be traded. Women and children could be exchanged for dried meat equal to seventy percent of their weight.

In the end, they exchanged eight hundred jin of meat for five women and sixteen children.

This tree-dwelling tribe had more than seventy people, with almost no elderly members.

Living in trees for so long to avoid beasts had made them less ferocious. Their overall strength was weaker, and they did not have much food stored away.

Reducing the number of women and children also meant reducing the number of mouths to feed.

Once the transaction was complete, the women and children would be taken away when they left.

Two hundred paces from the tribe, the Windfire Squad cleared an open space and built a campfire.

"This is a heavenly calamity!"

The tribe leader hurried forward, intending to dig up dirt and put out the fire.

"Don't worry. Nothing will happen."

Feng Xi stopped him and reassured him.

"Look at our people. They're so close to it, yet they're not in danger."

The other party craned his neck for a look.

At that moment, more than a dozen people were gathered around the fire for warmth, while others added firewood.

"You can actually control a heavenly calamity!"

"This is fire, not a heavenly calamity."

Feng Xu took out roasted meat and distributed it among the others, giving a piece to the leader as well.

"This is meat roasted over fire."

Feng Xu gestured with his hands while making an expression of enjoying delicious food.

"This meat... tastes good."

Still doubtful, the other party took a bite. It was so delicious that he could hardly believe it, so he took another bite.

The jerky was quickly devoured, and excitement appeared on his astonished face.

"Can you teach us how to use fire? I can trade things for it."

"No need. If you want to learn, I can teach you. It belongs to all the Human Race in the first place."

Feng Xu did not know whether teaching them how to make and use fire through trade would earn Merit, but he had never intended to keep it to himself.

If he taught others openly today, they would teach others next time. This indirect means of spreading it could also increase Merit.

Making fire by rubbing wood together was not difficult, and the other party learned quickly.

Feng Xu reminded him that it was best not to use fire for cooking for the time being. Autumn was the season when beasts hunted and fattened themselves up, and the scent would draw other beasts over.

The other party indicated that he understood and invited Feng Xu to rest in a treehouse that night.

Feng Xu climbed upward along the vines.

The giant tree was thick and sturdy, and the treehouse was stable as well, without the slightest swaying.

The moonlight was bright tonight.

Feng Xu sat high above, gazing into the distance. From time to time, the roars of beasts sounded beside his ears, along with all manner of plants and animals emitting faint light.

This was the Great Wilderness—fantastical and tranquil, yet concealing danger.

Feng Xu watched the night scenery and gradually became absorbed.

He suddenly discovered that a distant mountain was moving.

He rubbed his eyes and confirmed it again and again.

"That is the Great Wilderness Mountain God. It moves once every few decades. You happened to catch it."

The tribe leader withdrew his gaze and spoke calmly.

It was the tallest mountain nearby. Under the moonlight, it crossed mountains and valleys without making a sound.

It seemed unwilling to disturb the sleeping creatures.

In the Primordial World, there was nothing too strange.

"I'll give you a name."

Feng Xu felt that without a name, he truly did not know how to address him.

"What is a name? What is it for?"

Feng Xu pointed into the distance with a smile.

"He is the Mountain God."

Then he pointed at himself.

"I am Feng Xu."

Finally, he pointed at the other man and asked.

"What are you?"

"I am..."

Seeing him stammer for a long while, Feng Xu took out a piece of charcoal and wrote two characters on a relatively flat tree trunk.

Lin Sen.

"This is your name. You are Lin Sen."

"Lin... Sen?"

"Yes, Lin Sen."

Feng Xu repeatedly taught him the pronunciation. After he learned it, Feng Xu continued.

"You live in trees, so Lin will be your surname. From now on, this place will be the Lin Tribe."

"I am Lin Sen. This is the Lin Tribe."

Lin Sen repeated the words over and over, as if the door to a new world had opened before him.

Seeing that it worked well, Feng Xu jumped to the other treehouses and gave every adult a name.

It was not easy for children in the Great Wilderness to grow up healthy. If they died midway, giving them names would be a waste.

More importantly, there were not many characters created yet.

Feng Xu wrote their names beside their treehouses so they could review them at any time.

After naming them, he inspected every treehouse before finally returning to where he had originally been resting.

"Feng... Xu, what should we do if people in our tribe need names in the future?"

Lin Sen awkwardly called Feng Xu's name, then continued gesturing.

"They can come to the Wind-Fire Tribe. I will grant them names."

"That's too far. Running back and forth would be too troublesome."

"You can come once in winter. I'll teach you more characters, and then you can grant them names yourself."

Lin Sen pondered for a moment, but still shook his head.

Winter was too long. He would need to carry large amounts of food and watch out for beasts, and crossing mountains and valleys would be highly inconvenient.

"The roads are slippery in winter. Carrying too much food is dangerous."

"You only need to bring enough to eat on the road. Once you reach the Wind-Fire Tribe, we will give you food."

"You'll teach me characters and give me food too?"

"Of course. We are friends."

They could not finish all the meat this year anyway. If he taught more characters, he could gain more Merit too.

"What is a friend?"

"A friend is someone who can help each other, like the two of us."

Lin Sen fell into thought once more.

Feng Xu opened the Merit Mall and found that he had gained only a few Merit Points.

These characters had all been created before, so there was no Merit for new characters.

Through experimentation and summary, he had found that every thousand members of the Human Race who learned a character would earn one Merit Point.

It could be one thousand people learning the same character, or one person learning one thousand different characters.

This was a long-term and substantial source of Merit.

It was late at night. Snores rose throughout the Lin Tribe, and Feng Xu began cultivating as well.