"Brother Tian, don't go back! Join our Snow Clan. I'll be your wife!" one of the Snow Clan's radiant girls chirped.
"I'll be your wife too!" another added.
"Exactly! If one isn't enough, we can all be yours!" a third giggled.
The Snow Clan girls flanked Shi Yi, tugging at him relentlessly, oblivious to the envious glares from the clan's boys. Their enthusiasm was understandable. A prodigy like Shi Yi, with a single-arm strength of thirty-five thousand jin in the Blood Transformation Realm, could likely open six Heavenly Passages—a solid pillar for any tribe. In time, he might even rise to the rank of elder.
Thirty-five thousand jin wasn't trivial. Not everyone was a supreme prodigy like Shi Yi or Shi Hao, born far above their peers. In the Lower Realm's Eight Domains, most cultivators in the Blood Transformation Realm wielded between thirty and fifty thousand jin. Sixty to ninety thousand was the domain of archaic relics and pure-blooded beast cubs. A hundred thousand jin? That was reserved for the mightiest pure-blood cubs.
It was like being born into a billionaire family, accustomed to spending millions without a second thought, unaware that many struggled to earn ten thousand in a year, toiling just to survive. Survival, not living.
As the saying went: Born in the light, you assume the whole world is bright.
Shi Yi and Shi Hao, one with Double Pupils, the other with a Supreme Bone, were no ordinary youths. They were born to be supreme prodigies. Yet, in the Great Wilderness, including Stone Village's First Ancestral Land, few surpassed fifty thousand jin in the Blood Transformation Realm. Thirty thousand was the beginning mark of a genius; most lingered at ten or twenty thousand.
"Thanks for the affection, but my heart's taken," Shi Yi said, gently but firmly extricating himself from the girls' grasp.
Their pouts betrayed their disappointment. He admitted they were beautiful, and their bold offer was tempting, but at eleven, he was still a bit underpowered for such propositions.
Come back in two years with that offer, and I'll make sure you're all satisfied, he thought, though he kept it to himself.
The Snow Clan boys, seeing his restraint, nodded approvingly, deciding to hold off on any trouble—for now.
Thus, Shi Yi joined the Snow Clan's group, riding atop their tamed giant bird, leisurely soaring toward the Great Wilderness's depths.
___
Hours Later
Passing a mountain range, they stumbled upon a small town nestled against the slopes. With a population of a few thousand, it was a rare outpost in the Great Wilderness's depths, seldom visited by outsiders.
In this world of boundless territories and endless forests, the Great Wilderness teemed with primordial beasts and venomous insects. Unlike Stone Country or Fire Country, where Human Emperors ensured prosperity and safety, humans here lived scattered and isolated, cut off from the outside world.
For decades, this town, the Isolated Mountain Town, had seen no visitors. Its residents believed themselves the last humans in existence.
But today, the ground shook with the clamor of hooves and the gleam of armor. A troop of iron cavalry galloped in, having traversed perilous beast territories to reach this remote haven. They rode scale-horses, but at their center, a few rode rare, white, unicorn-like scale-horses, their silver scales glinting with divine radiance.
Leading them was a middle-aged man, his black hair loose, his eyes radiating golden light, his pupils nearly molten gold. When he gazed at the town, twin beams of golden light shot from his eyes, awe-inspiring and terrifying.
On the other unicorn scale-horses sat two boys and a girl, the boys sharp and spirited, the girl lovely and charming. Yet, compared to the Snow Clan's elf-like girls, their appearance fell slightly short in beauty and aura.
As this group entered, another arrived, their presence even more striking.
A flood dragon, over twenty meters long, led the way, its scales shimmering. With wings spread, it soared, casting vast shadows over the earth. On its back sat an elder and three youths, all in their mid-teens, their bearing exceptional, clearly bearing extraordinary bloodlines.
But the town's visitors didn't end there. More tribal clans were converging.
Outside, in the primal forest, a massive beast bone—six or seven meters long, glowing with white light and etched with dense runes—hovered a foot above the ground, exuding a mystical aura. Atop it stood several figures, led by an elder in feathered robes and a golden crown. Wisps of purple qi enveloped him, lending an air of enigmatic majesty.
Beside him were a spirited boy in his early teens, a girl whose beauty seemed plucked from a painting, and two younger boys with lively, expressive eyes.
At the town's entrance, they stepped off the bone. With a flash, the giant bone shrank to a palm-sized, lustrous crystal, landing in the elder's hand.
___
Inside the Town
The flood dragon-riding elder, spotting the beast-bone elder, snorted, white vapor flaring from his nostrils. He paused his discussion with the golden-eyed man.
"Who else but the Purple Mountain Clan's old fossil?" he sneered.
"Jiao Gui, you old relic, still kicking? How could I die before you?" the beast-bone elder retorted.
As tensions flared, the golden-eyed man from the Golden Wolf Tribe stepped between them. "Purple Mountain Elder, Jiao Clan Elder, you're both venerable. Must you bicker and fight every time you meet? With so many juniors here, don't make a spectacle."
The Golden Wolf Tribe, with tens of thousand of member, was a major power, only slightly weaker than Luofu Great Marsh.
"No fighting, then. Let the juniors spar. I'd like to see if your Jiao Clan's next generation can match our Purple Mountain Clan," the Purple Mountain elder said, purple qi swirling—perhaps from anger.
"Afraid? I'm more worried your Purple Mountain prodigies can't handle our Jiao Clan's," the Jiao elder scoffed, glaring at his rival.
At that moment, thunder roared outside, like a heavenly bolt, startling the three factions. They turned wary eyes toward the town's edge.
"Planning a showdown? The Thunder Clan loves a good fight. How could we miss out?" a voice boomed.
From the forest, an ancient beast hide, glowing with runes, hovered three feet above the ground. Several meters long, it exuded an archaic, primal aura, as if an archaic relic had revived. It carried an elder and several children, their bodies crackling with black lightning, the distant thunder shaking the earth.
"I've got precious beast blood to wager. Purple Mountain fossil, Jiao Clan old relic, Golden Wolf pup—dare you pit your heirs against my Thunder Clan's?" the Thunder elder challenged.
With a flash, the beast hide crossed hundreds of meters, delivering the elder and children into the town.
"Without Luofu Great Marsh, this contest isn't complete. And unless it's archaic relic blood, don't bother betting—it's embarrassing," a commanding voice declared.
A middle-aged man strode forward, dragon-like in his gait, leading a group of youths. He wore a steel lion helmet, silver armor, a gold beast-face belt, bronze heart-protectors, a crimson floral robe, and steel-lined boots. Nearing fifty, with streaks of white in his black hair, his muscular frame resembled a small hill, his short hair like steel needles, his piercing eyes radiating a demonic aura.
Notably, archaic relic "precious blood" wasn't true blood—the heart's blood, which was priceless. Precious blood, from other part of the body, was far less valuable.
"We elders have fought for years. It's time our juniors spar," a weathered voice called from above.
The Golden Wolf man, Jiao elder, Purple Mountain elder, Thunder elder, and Luofu man looked up. An ice-blue giant bird soared overhead, carrying a white-haired elder, two dashing boys, several radiant girls—and a boy in beast hides and straw sandals.
Wait.
That scruffy boy, looking like a backwater peasant, was with the lofty Snow Clan? The tribal leaders sensed his aura—ten times stronger than when they'd first seen him.
Hiding his strength?
And we thought the arrogant Snow Clan had softened!
As they suspected, Shi Yi's initial facade was too weak to draw attention—just an ant passing by. Only after slightly revealing his strength had he blended into the Snow Clan's ranks.
His caution wasn't baseless. Liu Shen had warned of a fierce battle, implying that rushing for the treasure would earn him a beating. Better to infiltrate these tribes, assess the situation, and fish in troubled waters.
A fierce battle? For a schemer like him, who preferred the shadows, falling into one was the last thing he'd do. Brutes fought head-on; true strength lay in cunning.
"You, I remember you. A few days ago, near a marsh, I saw you. What's your name?" the Golden Wolf man asked heartily.
He hadn't scorned Shi Yi initially but hadn't cared either. Who notices an ant? Now, with Shi Yi's talent evident, he deserved to state his name loudly.
"Yun Potian," Shi Yi replied, his tone steady, masking the supreme prodigy beneath the alias.
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