The Glory of the Tribe

Chapter 2

"Lord Yong, this is Jiang Hanfeng's son, Jiang Xuan, fifteen years old."

Jiang Jingsheng quickly introduced him to Shentu Yong.

"I know, I've heard of him."

Shentu Yong nodded.

As the only son of Jiang Hanfeng, the strongest warrior of the Jiang tribe, Jiang Xuan had always been in the spotlight since his birth. He was once hailed as a prodigy, though this reputation lasted only for three years.

At the age of five, Jiang Xuan successfully "guided his qi" and was praised as the son of a tiger!

At six, he lifted a 300-jin copper cauldron, earning the admiration of his incredible strength.

At seven, he mastered the first three moves of the Chasing Wind Blade, and was regarded as a once-in-a-century genius in the Jiang tribe, with talents that might surpass even his father, Jiang Hanfeng.

The Chasing Wind Blade is the Jiang tribe's premier sword technique, ranked among the top three martial arts techniques of the ten major tribes in Heitan Mountain. It has been passed down for over a thousand years. The technique has nine moves, and with each one learned, its power multiplies, making it terrifying.

Jiang Hanfeng, the tribe’s strongest warrior, learned the first move at age six, the third move at age eight, and the sixth move by age twenty. By the time he went missing more than three years ago, he had mastered eight moves, making him nearly invincible within the congenital realm.

By comparison, Jiang Xuan learned the first three moves at age seven, one year earlier than his father. His prodigious talent even reached Feixue City.

But what no one expected was that Jiang Xuan’s training speed then plummeted, and his genius faded into mediocrity. He became ordinary from that point forward, and has remained so until today.

"Your father, Jiang Hanfeng, was a warrior worthy of respect! He was the only true man in the Jiang tribe!"

Shentu Yong, with his broad, muscular frame, sneered at Jiang Xuan, looking down at him from his chest height. "As for you, I don’t know how your father could have fathered someone like you. I heard you damaged your foundation when you were young, trying to rush your cultivation, and that’s why you ended up so mediocre. But I think that’s just an excuse!"

"Your father was a genius of the tribe."

"Your mother came from a noble family in the city, and she too had great talent."

"How could you turn out to be such a waste?"

"Could it be..." Shentu Yong's eyes gleamed as he spoke, "Could it be that you're not even your father's son? Maybe you're a bastard, born from your mother’s affair? Hahahaha, what do you think, brothers?" Shentu Yong laughed as though he had solved the mystery.

"So that’s it."

"Hahahahaha."

The dozen or so warriors from the Shentu tribe laughed along, most of them being post-congenital warriors, with a few congenital warriors who were Shentu Yong’s close brothers.

In the crowd, Wei Baiyun’s face first turned pale, then flushed with anger, nearly losing control.

Killing someone would be more merciful than this!

This insult was worse than killing her.

The worst part was, she couldn’t even prove her innocence.

Her son was indeed talentless now.

Wei Baiyun almost drew her sword, but she was stopped by a middle-aged woman next to her, who held her back. "Don’t act rashly," she whispered. "During the tribal death battles, personal fighting is forbidden. If you strike, according to imperial law, it’s a death sentence."

The imperial inspector was sitting on the northern platform, coldly watching everything unfold.

"Hahahahaha!" Shentu Yong laughed loudly.

"You bastard!" Jiang Xuan muttered, staring at Shentu Yong, and then turned toward the northern platform, cupping his hands and bowing deeply. "Lord Inspector, Jiang Xuan of the Jiang tribe requests permission to fight!"

"Fight?"@@@@

"Is he crazy?"

"He’s fifteen, that’s too young, isn’t it? He’s not even sixteen yet."

The warriors of the Shentu tribe murmured among themselves. The women of the Jiang tribe also reacted with astonishment. They all thought that Jiang Xuan was just impulsively rushing to the arena because of the insults to his mother and sister. But to think he would actually ask to fight?

"Xuan, little brother..."

Jiang Qinghong, holding her dagger behind her back, gazed at the arena in a daze, as silent tears slid down her beautiful face.

For this younger "brother" a few years her junior, she had once thought him to be steadier than his peers, nothing particularly special. But now she realized, Jiang Xuan was a true man.

"He could have survived," she thought. "He could have endured, and at worst, been forced to change his surname to Shentu, but he chose this..."

"He is a hero."

"I hope he survives."

The women understood what Jiang Xuan was doing, and many shed tears for him. Who could have known that, in the final moments of the Jiang tribe’s life or death, it would be a half-grown boy stepping forward to buy time for his entire tribe?

"Is Brother Xuan going to die?"

A five-year-old girl, seeing the women around her crying, innocently asked.

Her mother quickly covered her daughter’s mouth, silencing her.

"You, fifteen years old?"

The inspector, Lei Hong, finally spoke, his expression impassive but with an air of authority.

"Yes, sir." Jiang Xuan bowed respectfully.

"Lord!"

Shentu Yong quickly interjected, "This kid is just here to make trouble! He’s still underage and doesn’t have the qualifications to fight in the tribal death battle! The Jiang tribe has no one left to fight! They’ve completely lost to us, the Shentu tribe! Please, sir, make a clear decision!"

"Lord Inspector..."

But Jiang Xuan turned to the northern platform and said, "As I understand it, the official law of the Great Xia Dynasty sets the age of adulthood at fifteen. The age of sixteen is merely a tradition of the Heitan Mountain region, right?"

Lei Hong was momentarily taken aback.

He hadn’t expected anyone from such a backward and primitive tribe to have studied the laws of the Great Qian Dynasty so thoroughly.

The Great Qian Dynasty spans billions of miles, and though "billions" is figurative, the exact size is beyond Lei Hong’s understanding. Even the gods and demons, in their lifetimes, may never travel the entire territory.

Heitan Mountain is in a remote area; it’s not surprising that it could be billions of miles away from the capital.

Such a vast empire, with a city like Feixue City, which alone has over a million cities, and below it, many prefectural cities and autonomous tribes—things are hard to standardize.

For example, the age of adulthood: in some tribes, it's sixteen; in others, fourteen; in some, eighteen, after hunting a beast. In Heitan Mountain, it’s generally accepted as sixteen. Even in Feixue City, it’s the same.

The imperial law respects local customs, but when it comes to legal disputes, the imperial law holds sway.

"You may fight." Lei Hong responded curtly.

Moments later, the arena was cleared. The Second Elder’s body was removed, and the Fifth Elder leaped onto the platform, standing with the Shentu tribe’s warriors.

Shentu Yong glared at Jiang Xuan with frustration, not expecting the situation to escalate this far.

"Kid! If you want to die, I’ll help you die!"

Shentu Yong licked his lips and raised his knife, ready to execute Jiang Xuan. "If you want to be a hero, I’ll make it happen."

Shentu Yan and Shentu Maoshi, also congenital warriors, were furious. Jiang Xuan’s interference had dragged the battle on for another month.

"Kill him already! No more talking!"

Shentu Yan impatiently urged.

Wei Baiyun covered her daughter’s eyes and turned away, unable to watch the upcoming scene, tears falling uncontrollably.