Jin Wei took the field, the four tribes arrived!

"Aooo..."

Out on the wasteland, burly men howled as they began clearing the rubble around the battle platform and carrying the great cauldrons used to melt copper back to the tribe. After ten days, over a hundred men had finished casting the bronze battle platform, which spanned a hundred zhang and stood three zhang high.

Qingyang Luan returned to the tribe with the men, but headed toward the ancestral hall in the valley.

Halfway there, however, a group of youths from the Qingyang Tribe emerged from stone courtyards throughout the mountains, also heading deeper into the valley.

"Brother Luan."

"Xiao Zhuzi, Zuoshan, Yujian, how are your preparations?" Qingyang Luan looked at the tribal youths before him. Blood Qi surged through each of them, and excitement flashed in their eyes.

"Brother Luan, we're ready!" the youths shouted in unison. Their surging blood Qi rose like rainbows, and their eyes shone with eagerness.

Seeing that none of the youths showed the slightest fear, Qingyang Luan nodded. Although rumors said that some youths of their generation in the other tribes had advanced to the Divine Treasure Realm, the Qingyang Clan was not afraid. No one could say for certain when opportunities in martial cultivation would come. Perhaps the very next moment, a youth of the Qingyang Clan would gain an opportunity to advance.

"Let's go to the clan hall. The elders are all waiting for you."

With a sweep of his hand, Qingyang Luan led the youths toward the valley at the center of the mountain range.

The ancestral hall.

More than a dozen elders of the Qingyang Tribe, who had not appeared for a long time, emerged at once. Their temples were white, their frames thin, and the beast-hide robes hung loosely on their bodies.

At that moment, however, the elders were locked in a heated argument. For these people who had guarded Qingyang all their lives, the tribe was their sole concern. It could be said that no one in the entire Qingyang Tribe cared more about this contest than these old fellows.

Among the youths from the four great tribes coming to challenge them, there were bound to be some in the Divine Treasure Realm. The old fellows were arguing over who should meet the challenge, but no matter how they considered it, no one of that generation in the tribe had advanced to the Divine Treasure Realm.

"A Jue, have you chosen someone to fight for the tribe?"

A stooped old man, who trembled even as he walked, leaned on a white bone and put the question to Qingyang Jue.

"Rest assured, Grandfather. It's already been arranged!"

The Qingyang Tribe chieftain, who cut such an imposing figure before outsiders, now looked somewhat awkward and clumsy in his burly body as he supported the old man, doing his utmost to speak gently.

"Good, good, good. As long as it's arranged." The old man pulled free of his support and tottered deeper into the clan hall.

"Ancestors, we're here!"

Just then, a jumble of footsteps came from outside the clan hall, accompanied by calls that immediately drew the elders' attention.

"Haha, our Qingyang brats are here!" The remaining elders immediately stopped talking and looked at the youths rushing in from outside.

One elder feigned anger and barked, "The ancestral hall is sacred ground. How dare you little fellows make such a racket here?"

The youths of the Qingyang Tribe immediately quieted down and grew somewhat restrained. They did not dare act up here, or their fathers' great palms would surely be waiting to deal with them when they returned home.

"Chieftain, Xiao Huanzi has yet to emerge from seclusion. The others, Xiao Zhuzi and the rest, are all fine youths, but they're somewhat lacking when it comes to facing the other tribes."

An elder spoke after withdrawing his gaze from the youths.

Qingyang Jue looked back into the depths of the clan hall. Seeing that the stooped old man had disappeared, he regained his usual imposing manner.

"Elders, there's no need to worry. That dark-skinned lad who came to Qingyang a few days ago can fight."

What?!

Qingyang Jue's words left the elders unable to react for a moment.

"You mean the boy called Jin Wei, the one young Huan brought back ten days ago?" An elder soon recalled the dark-skinned lad Qingyang Huan had brought back ten days earlier. He was not here, however. This was the Qingyang Clan's ancestral hall, so naturally Jin Wei could not be present.

"That's right!"

"No, no. It isn't proper to have an outsider fight for Qingyang." The elders immediately shook their heads.

"Who says he's an outsider?!" Qingyang Jue suddenly barked, an imposing presence naturally surging through the ancestral hall. "Huan brought that dark-skinned lad here, so he's one of us!"

At this, Qingyang Jue swept his gaze over the elders and continued, "Huan said before that the lad was extraordinary, and that he only managed to subdue him through a stroke of luck. Now that he's broken through to the Divine Repository, his strength must have increased. Why can't he fight?"

"Did Huan really say he could barely suppress him?"

An elder exchanged glances with several others before speaking.

They knew that Qingyang Huan had cultivated anew to pursue the body casting extreme realm. Although he had not reached the peak of body forging, his strength was on an entirely different level. Even those at the peak of body forging were no match for him.

Just how strong was a youth whom Qingyang Huan could barely suppress, and who had now advanced to the Divine Treasure Realm?

"But..." Even so, the elders still hesitated.

Meanwhile, the youths in the hall began arguing as well, each like a monkey with its fur standing on end.

Who was Jin Wei?!

He was merely a youth the young lord had brought back from outside. What right did he have to fight the other tribes on Qingyang's behalf?!

If it were the young lord, they would have had no complaints whatsoever!

But Jin Wei would not do!

They would not allow Jin Wei to take their place and defend Qingyang's honor.

"Uncle Chieftain, let us fight! We can do it!"

"Why let an outsider fight? Jin Wei has only been in Qingyang a few days. He doesn't count as one of us yet!"

"The dark-skinned lad will fight. That decision is final!"

Faced with the elders' hesitation and the youths' clamor, Qingyang Jue's expression did not waver in the slightest. He spoke with unquestionable finality, then left the ancestral hall.

"We should defend the Qingyang Clan's honor ourselves. Come on, let's find Jin Wei!"

Seeing the chieftain leave, they knew Qingyang Jue's order could not be changed. The youths howled as they left the ancestral hall and headed toward a stone courtyard outside the valley.

"Jin Wei, come out."

"Jin Wei, get out here! What right do you have to fight in our place? You even bewitched Uncle Chieftain!"

The stone door offered none of the resistance the youths had expected. The dozen or so youths easily pushed it open and all poured into Jin Wei's courtyard at once.

The next day, when the first ray of sunlight suffused the sky and faint purple Qi spilled over the boundless earth.

Rumble!

The earth outside Qingyang Mountain thrummed, as though thunder had descended upon the world!

"Fire Dragon!"

"Inkstone Mountain!"

"Surging Cloud!"

"Golden Spear!"

"We have come to pay Qingyang a visit and exchange pointers in martial arts!"

One thunderous shout after another exploded across the sky.

They had come!

The booming cries woke all of Qingyang Mountain. Due south of the mountain, four savage presences formed long dragons that scoured the earth, raising four columns of beacon smoke as they charged toward the Qingyang Mountain Range. Howling cries rang across the wasteland.

Whoosh!

Almost instantly, a streak of light rose from within the Qingyang Mountain Range. A savage presence swept through heaven and earth, roaring toward the land beyond Qingyang Mountain.