The Glory of the Tribe

The head of Shentu Donghu rolled onto the arena floor. Jiang Xuan did not need to use the Ninth Style and was still able to kill him. This caused a stir in the martial arts arena, with everyone realizing that even outside the arena, even in the wilds of the mountains and forests, Jiang Xuan's regular combat strength surpassed the typical mid-stage innate realm, approaching the later stage of innate. This kind of ability to kill beyond one's cultivation level is often the mark of a genius.
"Jiang Hanfeng couldn’t even do this at the early innate stage."

"He must be the first genius of Black Lake Mountain in a hundred years! He might already be catching up to the first genius of Black Lake Mountain in a thousand years, Sword Ancestor Jiang Zhengwu!"
"Compared to Jiang Zhengwu... he’s still far behind. Jiang Zhengwu possessed a divine and demonic physique, entering the innate at thirteen and surpassing the innate at twenty-one. His bad luck in encountering the thousand-year demon in the Ten Directions Abyss led to his death. Looking at the past thousand years of geniuses in Black Lake Mountain, Jiang Zhengwu was unrivaled, not only the first but even the second genius was leagues behind him," said the one-eyed elder.
The warriors from the various tribes began discussing among themselves.

"In the past thousand years, Black Lake Mountain’s top ten tribes have produced genius figures who entered the innate at fourteen. Some eventually surpassed the innate, and some did not... Jiang Xuan, the tribe leader, entered the innate at fifteen, but he mastered the Ninth Style of the Wind-Chasing Sword, which sets him apart from others. All things considered, he may not be able to compete for the title of the first genius in a thousand years, but he can certainly vie for the title of the second genius of the millennium!"
"Yes, yes, saying he’s the second genius of the millennium is not an exaggeration."
"Though still far from Jiang Zhengwu, he can certainly bear the title of the second genius of Black Lake Mountain in a thousand years! To be born in the same era as such a hero is an honor for all of us."

The members of the Shentu Clan listened to these discussions with ugly expressions.
These people had already begun comparing Jiang Xuan to Jiang Zhengwu. Although it was clear that Jiang Xuan was far inferior, the fact that they were comparing him meant they acknowledged his talent and strength, even if some deliberately spoke loudly to flatter him.
The Inspecting Master Lei Hong and the elder with a goat beard appeared in the refined courtyard and walked to the stone table to sit down.

"What’s so urgent?" Lei Hong asked.
"The three brothers of the Ge family appeared last night in Feixue City and assassinated the Chen family genius, Chen Yanyang. When the Chen family’s Jie Realm experts arrived, they had already escaped the city," said the elder with the goat beard.
Chen family!

Feixue City has four major families, with the Wei family ranked last, and the Chen family ranked first! It is the most powerful family in Feixue City! They have seven Jie Realm experts in plain sight, not including two Jie Realm guests.
"Chen Yanyang was only twenty-four, right?" Lei Hong furrowed his brows. Such a genius died in an assassination?
"Yes, twenty-four! Last year, he defeated the 76th-ranked innate expert ‘Gu Haocheng’ in Feixue City and entered the top hundred. He was one of Feixue City’s top innate experts! Even in the powerful Chen family, his strength at this age ranked among the top few genius figures!"

The elder with the goat beard continued, "This has caused a huge stir in Feixue City. The other three major families are distancing themselves, while the Chen family has mobilized all its forces and offered a sky-high reward to find the three brothers of the Ge family and identify their employer."
"Hard to find."
Lei Hong shook his head, "The three brothers of the Ge family are disciples of that demon. Their ability to escape and hide was passed down directly by that demon."

"The escape and concealment techniques of Lü Kong are indeed powerful, ranking among the top three among all Jie Realm experts in Feixue City. Even if the Ge brothers only have half of his skill, they can vanish without a trace. But this time, they didn’t cover their tracks perfectly. Although they successfully killed Chen Yanyang, they were injured, and there was quite a bit of blood left at the scene," said the elder with the goat beard, one hand slipping into his sleeve.
"Blood left at the scene?"
Lei Hong immediately understood, "If we want to track them, it will be hundreds of times easier. Many tracking techniques can sense blood within a radius of several hundred zhang. They wouldn’t dare hide in any city or densely populated area. They can’t leave Northern Hongzhou in the short term, so... they can only hide in Black Lake Mountain!"
"Will they contact their master Lü Kong, who is also in Black Lake Mountain?"

"Exactly!" said the elder with the goat beard, taking out a piece of blood-stained cloth from his sleeve and handing it to Lei Hong. "I shamelessly went to ask the Chen family’s ancestor for this. They nearly collected every drop of blood, and this is just a small portion."
The demon Lü Kong, the number one wanted criminal in Feixue City, had killed an entire county in one night due to his obsession with bloodshed.
Lei Hong had stayed in the tribe’s territory for so long precisely to capture him!

Now that his three disciples had hidden in Black Lake Mountain, it was as if he had gained another lead in searching for Lü Kong.
The martial arts arena.
After Lei Hong returned, Jiang Xuan once again jumped onto the arena and was about to begin the third battle of the day.

This time... the Shentu Clan actually sent a warrior at the post-innate stage to take the stage.
The rule of the tribe’s life-and-death battle was that the participants had to be men from the tribe, and they didn’t necessarily need to be innate experts. The post-innate warriors were sent to die or to delay. The Jiang Clan had been able to last for three years because they had enough post-innate warriors to die for time.
Now it was the Shentu Clan’s turn.

Such a presence, Jiang Xuan could not use to practice his sword technique—it was too weak.
Jiang Xuan didn’t even draw his sword. He waved his hand, asking his clan members for a bow and arrow, pulled the bowstring, and aimed. The middle-aged man named "Shentu Peng" did not give up the fight, perhaps seeking a glorious death. As he charged towards Jiang Xuan, he used complex footwork to avoid Jiang Xuan’s aim.
Whoosh!

Thud!
The arrow pierced through Shentu Peng’s left eye, sending him sprawling backward and dying instantly! This was the true difference between innate and post-innate. Jiang Xuan was not skilled with the bow, but as an innate expert, he infused the arrow with innate force, making it impossible for a post-innate warrior to dodge.
The fourth match...

The fifth match...
The sixth match...
Every half hour, the Shentu Clan sent a post-innate warrior to take the stage. Jiang Xuan wanted to continue fighting, but they refused. Perhaps it was because convincing the warriors to die needed time. Everything was happening too suddenly today, and no one was mentally prepared.

Jiang Xuan never showed mercy to those from the Shentu Clan, who were much weaker than him.
An enemy is an enemy.
In the past, he had watched his own clan members, his uncles and aunts, be shot down like this!

In the afternoon, just before dusk.
Half an hour later, it was finally the tenth match of the day!
Jiang Xuan took the stage again.

This time, the Shentu Clan sent a post-innate expert named "Shentu Huai." Although his cultivation level was high, Shentu Huai had a clear weakness—he had no right arm! This was not Shentu Huai's first time on the arena. Two years ago, Shentu Huai fought against an innate post-innate warrior from the Jiang Clan, resulting in a bitter victory where he lost his right arm. Afterward, he hadn’t fought again.
"Shentu Huai! Why is he here?"
"At this time, sending such a powerful warrior to die?"

"He arrived late, not originally part of the Shentu Clan's team."
"He lost his right arm two years ago, his dominant hand, and he’s almost fifty now. The spear is a two-handed weapon. His strength now might not even be half of what it was before. He’s likely not a match for Jiang Xuan, but he’s here to die! He’s old, weak, and disabled..."
The tribe, facing life-and-death crisis, indeed had a tradition of sending the elderly and disabled to die first.

"Jiang Xuan, do you dare use me to practice your sword technique? Let’s have a proper fight!" Shentu Huai, seemingly having accepted everything, casually held his spear in one hand and grinned at Jiang Xuan.
"Let’s see how skilled you are!" Jiang Xuan replied.
The two of them became shadows, rushing towards each other. As they neared, Jiang Xuan drew his sword, and Shentu Huai's eyes flashed with madness. He actually used his spear as a javelin, hurling it forcefully at Jiang Xuan. As a post-innate expert, this reckless weapon throw carried tremendous power!

Jiang Xuan dodged to the side.
At that moment, Shentu Huai slapped his chest.
He wore full beast hide armor, very large, so large that if something was tied behind the armor, it wouldn’t be visible. Shentu Huai’s palm struck his chest, causing his whole body to explode into flames. The terrifying fire rapidly expanded.

"Blazing Thunder!"
"It’s over!"
The warriors from various tribes were all horrified, especially the innate completion experts at the front. As soon as the firelight appeared, they realized what Shentu Huai was doing. The Blazing Thunder was not a rare item. Every major tribe had it, using it for mountain opening and mining.

In battle, it was not easy to use. If thrown too far, it was easy to dodge. If thrown too close, it became an indiscriminate attack, harming both sides. This was a self-destructive move.
Shentu Huai intended to die with Jiang Xuan.
At this close distance, as long as the power was large enough, even an innate expert could be killed!

"It's over!" Granny Jin Hua looked at the expanding flames, her eyes filled with despair.
"Die! Die!" Shentu Yan, Shentu Maoshi, and others all stared at the arena. This was Shentu Clan’s "final counterattack"! Although this violated the imperial laws, Shentu Huai would die on the spot as the one carrying out the act! How could they let the dead die again?
A life for a life!

The biggest problem for the Jiang Clan was that only Jiang Xuan remained.
Kill him! Just kill him! No matter the cost!
"Whizz!" The Inspecting Master Lei Hong, sitting on the northern observation platform, frowned. With a flick of his wrist, a gust of energy shot out, striking the exploding flames. The flames, which were about to engulf Jiang Xuan, suddenly collapsed inward, as if something was rapidly devouring them.

It was complicated to explain, but it appeared as if the flames exploded and then rapidly retracted... as if time was reversing.
Everyone from the Shentu Clan stared wide-eyed, turning to look in disbelief at Lei Hong’s direction.
Was this the method of the Inspecting Master?

Whoosh!
Lei Hong appeared on the arena in an instant.
The flames rapidly collapsed into a ball, and Shentu Huai's body, squeezed by the collapsing flames, was forced into a compressed mass. What had originally exploded outward in large chunks was now squeezed inward. Finally, the flames extinguished, leaving only a pool of blood on the ground.

"How bold! To use such tricks in front of me!" Lei Hong took a few steps toward the Shentu Clan and casually flicked his sleeve!
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!...
Like fireworks going off... all seventy or more of the Shentu Clan warriors standing together, half of the ones on the right, all exploded into blood mist with a casual flick of Lei Hong's sleeve! Although most of these men were post-innate, there were still eight innate experts, including two at innate completion!

A simple gesture, and more than thirty people exploded into blood mist.
It seemed as though the force of heaven and earth was crushing them.
Shentu Yan stood there, not reacting in time, only feeling a terrifying sense of crisis brush past him. The Shentu Maoshi who had been standing to his right immediately "Boom" exploded into blood mist, with the splattered blood staining half of Shentu Yan’s body.

Shentu Yan’s left side, Shentu Yu, was a little ahead. Her pale face was also stained with blood.
Behind them, Jiang Jing Sheng, positioned slightly to the right of Shentu Yan, had his right arm exploded without any reaction.
The pain didn’t make him scream, as fear overwhelmed his senses.

"Lord, please calm down!" The thirty or so remaining Shentu Clan members all knelt in terror, begging Lei Hong for mercy.
Whoosh...
The Jiang Clan warriors and others also knelt down in large numbers. They weren’t pleading for the Shentu Clan but hoping not to be caught in the crossfire, hoping that Lei Hong would remain calm. It had been a long time since any tribe dared to provoke the Inspecting Master, and people seemed to have forgotten that, compared to the brutality of the tribe’s life-and-death battles, the Inspecting Master was the far more terrifying presence.

The terror of the Inspecting Master lay not only in his ability to obliterate a tribe with a simple gesture but also in his capacity for wanton slaughter.
If he decided you were wrong, you were wrong. If he decided you should die, then you had to die!
"The life-and-death battle ends today, Jiang Xuan wins all ten battles. Tomorrow, the battle continues," Lei Hong simply announced before his figure flickered and completely disappeared.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and stood up.
Jiang Xuan rose from the arena, looking at the spot where Lei Hong had disappeared, then glanced at the pool of blood beside him, his eyes filled with profound shock.
He had heard many stories about the Jie Realm since he was a child, but today was the first time he saw a Jie Realm expert in action.

The methods of the Jie Realm seemed no longer "human."
Would all Jie Realm experts be like this? Or was it because Lei Hong was a top-tier Jie Realm expert that he could do this?
The Jie Realm was terrifying.

Then what about the gods and demons?
And the mysterious Senior Stone, who disregarded even gods and demons?
Jiang Xuan’s thoughts drifted.

"Xiao Xuan, are you okay?" Jiang Cuiyun and the others rushed onto the arena and gathered around Jiang Xuan.
"I’m fine." Jiang Xuan snapped back to reality, shaking his head. Despite the explosion, his clothes remained intact. He hadn’t completely dodged it; it was because Lei Hong had redirected a burst of energy toward him.
"That gust of energy seemed to manipulate the forces of heaven and earth from a distance..." Jiang Xuan wasn’t sure if his feelings were correct, but he certainly sensed it clearly.

On August 8th, Jiang Xuan won all ten battles again!
On August 9th, Jiang Xuan still won all ten battles!
The life-and-death battles of the month concluded.

On the afternoon of August 9th, at the Wei family estate in Feixue City.
Wei Yuanlang and Cao Tai arrived back exhausted, handed their horses to the guards, and hurried inside, making their way deep into the mansion.
"I shouldn’t have gone!" Wei Yuanlang said as he walked. "Uncle Cao, why didn’t you stop me back then? The tribe’s territory is so dangerous."

"I did stop you," Cao Tai replied.
"You weren’t determined enough!" Wei Yuanlang shook his head.
Cao Tai didn’t bother responding.

Wei Yuanlang wasn’t actually blaming Cao Tai... He just hadn’t expected that he would be called back to be questioned! The family head had personally ordered him to return immediately to report on what he had seen in the Jiang Clan's territory. He really didn’t want to come back and speak face to face because praising Jiang Xuan too highly would offend Fourth Uncle.
But since the family head gave the order, he had no choice.
After passing through several courtyards and squares, turning many corners, Wei Yuanlang stopped in front of a door. The guards on either side, upon seeing Wei Yuanlang and Cao Tai, didn’t ask any questions and opened the door.

Wei Yuanlang lowered his head and stepped inside, and just as he slightly raised his head to look around, he was stunned.
More than ten core members of the Wei family, including three Jie Realm experts, were all present.