'The negative effects of the extreme physique will eventually creep back,' Wang Tian reminded himself, checking his aperture. He glanced over at the tent where Shen He was resting. He did not know the full effects of Yin-Yang Unity Gu, but the two of them could guess what had solved their physiques.
It turned out that Doctor Gu had actually been partially correct regarding the solution, but when he asked Doctor Gu, the old man simply shrugged.
So it seemed that his new gu worm was likely the solution that had solved things.
Were that so, the only thing that they could do was to continue being together each night to ensure that both of them survived...
...Wang Tian had to snap himself out of his thoughts to focus on the upcoming battle.
The Shen tribe was weakened, but they still had over three thousand soldiers. Wang Tian technically had the same number of people on his side - but they really could not be compared.
The Shen tribe had three thousand soldiers. Wang Tian had three thousand people, total. That included woman, children, and those who could not really fight. All in all they only really had eight hundred fighting-worthy people, and not many of them were experienced in fighting. They also had inferior equipment when compared to the Shen tribe's warriors.
Perhaps some of them could make up for things using gu worms, but other than himself and Shen He, not many were proficient and some only had support-type gu worms.
They continued fortifying their position in anticipation for the upcoming battle that would decide the future of the Fang Yuan Continent.
One week later, the Shen tribe formed up and chose to advance.
"Get them! Through trickery, they happened to spread disease and illness throughout our camp! Do you think it was a coincidence that so many of our own died just before we were about to attack them? No! We must get revenge for our fallen comrades! Charge!"
The Shen tribe soldiers began climbing up the narrow path leading to the fortifications that Wang Tian's group had made. Though to call them 'fortifications' was a bit misleading - the term gave the impression that Wang Tian's group had something akin to castles or walls. In reality they had a few mud and wooden barricades.
And from these emerged a single man - Wang Tian!
Wang Tian glanced at the advancing soldiers, and then back at his friends and family. Shen He, Huang Fei, Bai Xiao, and countless others whom he had lived with in the past few years. People who had helped him, and who he had helped in turn.
He remembered the days leading up to this war. How fragile their happiness had seemed!
He glanced down at the soldiers and took in a deep breath.
There was a moment when nothing happened. A silent breeze flowed. The sun glimmered in the sky as if winking at him before being hidden under a cover of clouds. Time seemed to freeze.
And then, all hell broke loose upon the Shen tribe soldiers.
First, a massive golden dragon erupted from Wang Tian's aperture. Rank 3 Golden Dragon Gu!
This gu worm in question was very resistant to metal-based attacks, for that matter, hitting it with steel swords and the like only allowed it to imbibe the metal within itself.
In other words, the Shen tribe's weapons were nearly useless as it knocked them over like bowling pins.
But Wang Tian was not done yet.
A gu worm crawled out his aperture and attached itself to his right arm.
Rank 3 Golden Chainsaw Centipede Gu!
Golden scales then erupted over his body. Rank 3 Golden Fish Armor Gu!
Wings sprouted from his back. Rank 3 Golden Dragonfly Wings Gu!
Wang Tian launched himself into the air and at the Shen tribe soldiers.
Rank 3 Golden Arrows Gu! A dozen metallic arrows rained down upon the Shen tribe soldiers before Wang Tian went to go engage them in combat.
"Agh!"
"What kind of attack is this!?"
"Help! Send reinforcements!"
The Shen tribe tacticians could only watch in horror as Wang Tian ran roughshod over their forces.
Up until now, they had never seen a true Gu Master in action. They could accept that a Gu Master might be able to take down a group of up to twelve ordinary men, but beyond that?
Then again, they had only really seen Rank 1 and occasionally Rank 2 Gu Masters. Since the culture of Gu Master cultivation had been suppressed, none of these Gu Masters had ever been able to bring out the full power of a Rank 3 gu worm repeatedly before in the way that Wang Tian could.
"His skill..." Fang Yuan muttered, watching the battle from above. "...is rather basic. Despite having less time, even Fang Zheng possesses greater skill in wielding his gu worms."
Then again, that was only Fang Yuan's view.
Wang Tian had assembled a complete set of gu worms that covered nearly every aspect of combat - offense, defense, healing, and movement. He still had several major aspects lacking like storage and investigation, but those were not needed here.
What he was doing was bringing a set of complimentary gu worms of the same rank which he was using in synergy.
This was extremely basic - something that most Gu Masters could do in a year or two out of training.
But to the Shen tribe soldiers, it was a monster like they had never seen before!
"He is also rather careless with his primeval essence," Fang Yuan noted. That didn't matter since he was using Rank 4 Initial Stage essence and had the benefit of the Verdant Sun Great Yang Physique with nearly no drawbacks, but it was something to note.
"The way he uses gu worms!"
"I've never seen anything like it before!"
The Shen tribe warlord stared at Wang Tian, who was like a gilded angel who raised death and destruction upon his army. He had never seen a display like this. "Such skill when using gu worms. It's like... it's like... he's some sort of... daoist master of gu!"
"Sir, we need to give the order to retreat!"
"..."
"Sir!"
"Alright, turn back!" the warlord yelled out.
By next morning, the Shen tribe forces surrendered. They had suffered such great losses from the Ten Plagues, from the upcoming battle, and were completely demoralized at the amount of death and destruction a single man from the opposing army had inflicted upon them.
The Shen tribe leadership grabbed what was left of the valuables in the Shen tribe camp and vanished overnight. That left the majority of the Shen tribe soldiers with no commander.
In response to this, Shen He walked out, declaring who she was and that she was allied with Wang Tian. The remaining Shen tribe forces and their vassals submitted to Shen He's authority.
Shen He and Wang Tian then got officially married a week later, uniting these two factions completely.
Overnight, Wang Tian, who was initially just an insignificant member of an insignificant tribe, who had spent many months as a slave, now found himself the leader of the largest coalition of humans within the Fang Yuan Continent!
But the question, remained, what were they?
They were not just a clan. They were larger than any tribe had the right to be.
What was the goal of these new united people?
Did Wang Tian want to conquer the remaining areas of the Fang Yuan Continent?
Did he want to continue supporting Gu Master cultivation, or like Bai Xiao said, should they respect the rights of gu worms? Should Gu Master cultivation be limited to a few people?
Would Wang Tian take in a large assortment of concubines and wives, now that his original tribe was dead, and establish a powerful clan to serve himself?
Wang Tian spoke up, casting a message to all of his people. "Friends, family, countrymen. My name is Wang Tian. Many of you know me as a Rank 4 Gu Master. But I speak to you today as a fellow human. Regarding my vision for what we will become. I want no confusion regarding the matter. Many of you have different views. Some of you don't want to use gu worms. Others believe that gu worms should have rights."
"Friends, I want to establish a place where all of these viewpoints can coexist. A place where everyone had the right to free speech. A place where everyone who wants to has the right to bear gu worms. A place where all humans, man or woman, regardless of birth or status as Gu Master or mortal, are treated as equals. I do not want to create another marauding force like the Shen tribe did. I want to establish a city on a hill; a place that will become the envy of all humans across the continent! People will not be scared of us, they will submit to and join us willingly! We will have the smallest army imaginable, as we will be friends with all! So join with me, as we build this shining example of civilization!"