"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 ti 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 plumted, and his genius faded into diocrity. He beca 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 fra, 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 soone 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 diocre. But I think that’s just an excuse!"
"Your father was a genius of the tribe."
"Your mother ca 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 glead 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 soone would be more rciful 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 won of the Jiang tribe also reacted with astonishnt. 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?
"Isn’t he only fifteen?" A congenital warrior from the southern side of the arena, Shentu Yan, smirked. "Jiang Hanfeng was so amazing, always keeping us in check. No tribe dared to challenge him, but how is it that his only son is so reckless? diocre talent, impulsive by nature... Truly laughable."
"Could it be... Shentu Yong might have been right, that he’s actually not Jiang Hanfeng’s son?" Another congenital warrior, Shentu Maoshi, chid in with a mocking grin.
"Who knows?" Shentu Yan shrugged. The fate of the battle had already been decided, and his tone was casual.
"Jiang Xuan! Are you not going down yet? What are you trying to stir up? You, a half-grown boy, still think you can represent the Jiang tribe in this battle?" The Fifth Elder, Jiang Jingsheng, scolded Jiang Xuan sharply.
He was anxious inside.
Though Jiang Xuan was too young to fight, he feared the inspector might "make a special exception," which would ruin his promises to the Shentu tribe.
The imperial inspector had enormous power. For the tribes, his word was law.
"I’m not worthy? Then are you, a traitor, worthy?" Jiang Xuan shot a cold glare at Jiang Jingsheng, which caused the Fifth Elder to pause, surprised.
Though Jiang Xuan was still in the post-congenital realm, how could his gaze carry such montum?
Post-congenital stages: Qi-guiding, body-forging, ridian-opening, and core-building.
Jiang Xuan had not yet completed the post-congenital stages, yet Jiang Jingsheng, a congenital warrior, felt a chill.
"Boy, do you know the consequences of disrupting the tribal death battle?" Shentu Yong sneered at Jiang Xuan. "You’re just a waste. If I strike you, people will say I’m bullying the young, killing you would soil my hands. Get down already!"
Shentu Yong, too, feared the inspector might "make a special exception."
It wasn’t about the outco of the fight.
If no one fought in the tenth match, the Jiang tribe would lose imdiately, declared by the inspector, and the tribe would be annexed by the Shentu tribe. The entire tribe’s wealth and population would beco Shentu’s.
But if they fought in the tenth match, regardless of the outco, the match would be completed. Today, July 9th, was the final day of the three-day death battle each month. The next death battle would be a month later, on August 7th.
That ant, if the inspector approved Jiang Xuan to fight in the tenth match, even if he died horribly, the Jiang tribe would survive for another month!
That one month was extrely important.
Not only Wei Baiyun had plans to escape with her children, but many won warriors in the tribe had the sa. But the Fifth Elder’s sudden betrayal had ruined everything.
"Xuan..."
Wei Baiyun pulled her daughter close while covering her mouth, tears streaming down her face. She finally understood her son’s words. He intended to use his life to buy ti for his mother and sister to escape.
He was also buying ti for all the won of the tribe.
He was the son of the Jiang tribe’s strongest warrior, Jiang Hanfeng. He would rather die in battle than live as a coward!
Wei Baiyun was deeply pained, yet proud of her son.
She couldn’t stop him.
He was a warrior.
A real man!
"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 surna to Shentu, but he chose this..."
"He is a hero."
"I hope he survives."
The won understood what Jiang Xuan was doing, and many shed tears for him. Who could have known that, in the final monts of the Jiang tribe’s life or death, it would be a half-grown boy stepping forward to buy ti for his entire tribe?
"Is Brother Xuan going to die?"
A five-year-old girl, seeing the won 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 rely a tradition of the Heitan Mountain region, right?"
Lei Hong was montarily 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 lifetis, 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 so tribes, it's sixteen; in others, fourteen; in so, eighteen, after hunting a beast. In Heitan Mountain, it’s generally accepted as sixteen. Even in Feixue City, it’s the sa.
The imperial law respects local customs, but when it cos to legal disputes, the imperial law holds sway.
"You may fight." Lei Hong responded curtly.
Monts 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.
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