“Third-rank Jingang!”

Upon seeing Xu Qi’an manifest the advanced stage of Jingang Divine Art, the Li Gu tribe members fell silent, then collectively stepped backward in chaotic footsteps.

“A Jingang from the Buddhist sect?”

“He’s a Transcendent realm…”

“Get weapons from home, let’s fight him!”

The Li Gu tribespeople continued shouting, their eyes filled with vigilance and hostility. During the Shanhai Pass battle, the Buddhist sect had been allied with Great Feng, and many Gu tribe masters had fallen to Buddhist monks.

“A newly promoted Jingang from the Buddhist sect?” The Grand Elder leaned on his walking stick, his expression grave. He hadn’t paid attention to the outside world for many years, and this Jingang before him wasn’t in his memory.

“I’m from the Central Plains, unrelated to the Buddhist sect. I happened to learn the Jingang Divine Art,” Xu Qi’an said calmly, considering that the Gu tribe had no network access and wouldn’t understand quickly. “As for this Jingang body, I killed two Jingang and consumed one’s divine blood.”

“Kill two Jingang? Could you do that?” Old Zhang turned to look at Long Tu.

Long Tu grinned: “One-on-one, no problem. Two-on-one, at best I wouldn’t lose.” The tall, robust clan chief glanced at the outsider, his eyes gleaming with eagerness to fight.

The Grand Elder nodded: “So this young man is bluffing us, trying to… whatever it is, to boost his courage.”

Even Long Tu at peak third rank couldn’t kill two Jingang. Moreover, given the Buddhist sect’s vengeful nature, if he had truly killed two Jingangs, he would have long been “guided to enlightenment” by Arhats and Bodhisattvas.

The elder on the left said solemnly: “Grand Elder, it’s ‘se li nei za.'”

The elder on the right corrected: “Wrong, it’s ‘se li nei cha.'”

The Grand Elder tapped his walking stick, interrupting their debate, and beckoned: “Li Na, come here.”

Li Na strode over on her long legs, saying irritably: “What is it, old codger!”

The Grand Elder asked in the Southern Frontier language: “What’s this young man’s background? Since when did Great Feng have such a Transcendent master?”

The elder on the left added: “The Buddhist sect doesn’t have such a Jingang either.”

“Xu Qi’an, Great Feng’s Silver Gong Xu Qi’an, how can you not know him?” Li Na spoke like a city girl looking down on village elders who lacked knowledge. “Didn’t the Central Plains merchants bring news?”

The Southern Frontier Gu tribe lived in a semi-isolated state, with tribespeople rarely venturing out and outsiders not allowed into their territory. Only some Central Plains merchant groups they approved could come to trade.

The Gu tribe’s news of the outside world mostly came from these merchant groups, with a smaller portion from their own people’s inquiries, but it depended on the matter.

Long Tu said gravely: “Great Feng has been in chaos, and merchants haven’t come to our area for a long time.” They knew about major events like the Central Plains chaos and the rebels rising.

“Xu Ning Yan… well, Xu Qi’an is now Great Feng’s premier martial artist, deeply beloved by the people.”

The Grand Elder frowned: “Isn’t the Garrison North King Great Feng’s premier martial artist?”

Li Na looked at him as if he were foolish: “That’s old news. Many things have happened in Great Feng over the past year.”

Her father Long Tu also frowned, asking: “He killed two Jingang?”

Li Na nodded: “Yes, it happened just this past month.”

She then briefly recounted some of Xu Qi’an’s deeds, such as killing the Garrison North King, killing the Duke, killing the Emperor… and recently fighting one-on-one with Asura, the son of the Asura King, in the Ten Thousand Mountains.

When she finished her long account, she found the elders silent, not speaking for a while.

Long Tu’s brows were deeply furrowed, his gaze at Xu Qi’an both wary and excited, his eyes gleaming and heart racing.

Li Na knew this meant her father’s warrior blood was boiling, but he chose restraint out of caution and wariness. She had never seen anyone make her father show such restraint since childhood.

The elders whispered and discussed again, then the Grand Elder coughed and looked at Xu Qi’an: “Since you’re a Transcendent realm master, we won’t trouble you. Take your sister and leave.”

The words were quite direct, but the Li Gu tribe members nodded in agreement, none feeling the Grand Elder’s words lacked dignity or face. In the Li Gu tribe, powerful opponents or companions received great respect.

Xu Qi’an said: “My sister wishes to take Li Na as her master. I hope the elders can be accommodating.”

This concerned Ling Yin’s future, so he wanted to try.

The Seven Deadly Gu in his body was different from other Gu arts. This thing itself was related to the Gu God, and as long as it was fed according to its needs, it could grow. The Gu God’s power and secret arts were omitted.

Therefore, Xu Qi’an couldn’t teach the little bean to cultivate Li Gu, and besides, the Heavenly Gu Grandmother was from the Heavenly Gu tribe. Setting aside what this old woman’s attitude toward him truly was, just considering the sectarian views among the Seven Great Gu tribes, Xu Qi’an worried that the Heavenly Gu Grandmother might not be able to dictate to the Li Gu tribe in this matter.

Right now, I look like those parents from my previous life who bowed and scraped just to get their children into a good school… he silently complained to himself.

If diplomacy didn’t work, he was prepared to use his fists to make the Li Gu tribe submit.

Li Na chimed in: “Ling Yin is a genius, a genius not even recorded in history books. I’m thinking of our Li Gu tribe’s interests, recruiting talent.”

“Our Gu tribe doesn’t have history books,” said the girl called “A Zi” whom the Grand Elder had praised as clever.

Li Na was stumped for a moment. In the capital, she often heard Xu Ci Jiu say things like: “In thousands of years… looking through historical records… unprecedented in ancient and modern times… reading through all history books…”

Having heard these phrases often, Li Na felt that anything not recorded in history books must be especially extraordinary.

This girl is quite quick-witted… Xu Qi’an glanced at the dark-skinned, delicate girl.

The Grand Elder spoke slowly: “Our Gu tribe doesn’t lack geniuses. Several are born in each generation. Your father is one, you are one. So what if this Central Plains girl is a genius? Should our Gu tribe cherish her so much? Should we rush to take her as a disciple?”

The Grand Elder’s series of questions left Li Na speechless.

Long Tu looked at his daughter and asked: “How many bowls of rice can she eat in one meal?”

Li Na answered: “Ten bowls in one meal, fifteen bowls without dishes.”

The Li Gu tribe members present were stunned, and the Grand Elder examined Ling Yin with some surprise: “Indeed, quite talented…”

The other elders nodded in agreement.

“Can eat ten bowls? My son is the same age but can only eat five bowls.”

“It’s fifteen bowls. Your son eats five bowls of plain rice, she eats fifteen.”

“It seems her talent is indeed remarkable.”

The Li Gu tribespeople discussed among themselves, their faces showing obvious surprise.

…Xu Qi’an felt somewhat uncomfortable, finding it difficult to integrate and adapt to the entire tribe’s style.

He felt the generation gap and barriers were too deep when staying with these people.

The Grand Elder coughed, silencing the surrounding discussions, and said, puffing out his impressive chest: “Indeed remarkable, but in our tribe, we have several children who can eat as much as her.” He wore a proud expression as he spoke.

Xu Qi’an wasn’t surprised. Though Ling Yin’s appetite was large, the Li Gu tribe surely had children with similar appetites. If talent was judged by appetite, the Gu tribe had children of equal talent. Ling Yin wasn’t unique, so the Gu tribe wouldn’t break tribal rules for her.

The girl called “A Zi” looked at Ling Yin, her brows slightly furrowed, as if thinking of something.

“Grand Elder…” A Zi called out, and when everyone looked over, she hesitated before saying: “But the children in our tribe all have their spirit Gu implanted at birth.”

The Grand Elder snapped: “Did we need you to tell us that? Everyone has their spirit Gu from childhood…”

He suddenly froze, then turned his stiff neck to look at Ling Yin.

“Li, Li Na, when did you go north to the Central Plains?”

The Grand Elder asked Dragon Pattern behind him in a carefully probing tone.

Hearing these words, the surrounding Li Gu tribespeople, other elders, and Dragon Pattern suddenly widened their eyes, thinking of something.

This child isn’t from the Li Gu tribe…

Dragon Pattern said word by word: “This summer!”

Yes, Ling Yin had only contained the Li Gu for a few months, at most three or four months, equivalent to going from no foundation to peak ninth rank in three or four months… Xu Qi’an thought contentedly.

At this time, Mu Nan Chi said quietly: “These people are strange. I feel like my brain doesn’t work well after staying with them for too long.”

Xu Qi’an suddenly stiffened, a question floating in his mind: Why did I just use appetite to measure talent? Why didn’t I think about Ling Yin only containing the Li Gu for three or four months?

“A genius, a genius not recorded in history books…”

The Grand Elder was so excited he almost dropped his walking stick, striding quickly to Ling Yin’s front, his examining gaze like looking at a priceless treasure.

“I remember when Dragon Pattern was young, he only reached peak ninth rank at age nine. He ate free food for nine whole years, not as good as this girl’s three or four months,” the Grand Elder loudly criticized.

Dragon Pattern looked ashamed.

You can’t calculate it like that, surely you can’t count infancy time… Xu Qi’an, having regained his intelligence, silently complained.

The Grand Elder’s hands kept pinching and pressing Ling Yin’s shoulders, arms, and thighs, suddenly shouting: “Strong sinews and bones, complete spirit and energy, this, this is a physique born for Li Gu!”

The remaining five elders and Dragon Pattern strode over, squatted down, and also felt Ling Yin’s bones and sinews. Their expressions gradually changed, from surprise to shock, from shock to wild joy.

The Grand Elder excitedly looked at Xu Qi’an: “Has she always eaten a lot since childhood?”

Three big bowls per meal, not counting dishes… Xu Qi’an expressionlessly “hmmed” in agreement.

“Does she often say she’s hungry?” another elder asked.

“Hmm.”

“Does she want to eat everything she sees?” Dragon Pattern also interjected.

Bai Ji in Mu Nan Chi’s arms instinctively shrank back a bit.

She even wants to eat ghosts… Xu Qi’an just nodded.

Getting affirmative answers, the elders grew excited again: “Very good, a genius who passed the first stage maturity period in just three or four months is very good.”

Li Na proudly put her hands on her hips: “See? See? I told you she was a genius.”

The Li Gu tribe members looked at the little bean with amazement.

Xu Qi’an struck while the iron was hot: “In that case, can my sister take Li Na as her master and learn Li Gu’s secret arts?”

The emotions on the elders’ faces slowly receded. They looked deeply at the little bean, then looked at each other, with the Grand Elder speaking first, shaking his head: “Not appropriate!”

“Indeed not appropriate.” An elder followed, shaking his head.

“Taking Li Na as master indeed isn’t appropriate.” Another elder shook his head.

“Taking us as masters would be appropriate.”

“Yes, yes.”

Li Na stared in disbelief, jumping up and down: “This is my disciple!”

The Grand Elder looked at her: “We are the elders, we decide.”

Li Na put her hands on her hips, glaring angrily at the elders, shouting: “Father, make the decision for me!”

“Taking the elders as masters indeed isn’t appropriate.”

Dragon Pattern shook his head, speaking for his daughter Li Na.

“Father…” Li Na called sweetly, with a slightly coquettish tone.

“Taking me as a master would be appropriate.”

Dragon Pattern didn’t look at his daughter.

Xu Qi’an turned his head to look at Li Na, the joy on her face slowly freezing, like a static painting or sculpture.

…

At the Heavenly Gu tribe.

In a house with a skylight, wearing plain blue clothes, the Heavenly Gu Grandmother sat on a small wooden stool, concentrating on picking through freshly dug larvae that looked like cicada pupae.

White and fat, the bodies covered in circular rings were full of fat.

This was the larva of a Gu called “Meat Silkworm.” After reaching adulthood, the Meat Silkworm turns deep black and becomes highly poisonous, easily able to poison a ninth-rank warrior to death.

But at the larval stage, it only has fat and energy. Five Meat Silkworm larvae could equal one meal for an ordinary person. Whether fried or boiled, they taste good.

Under the skylight, there were five more people, from left to right:

The leader of the Corpse Gu tribe wearing a cloak and hood, emanating the stench of decay, controlling a walking corpse.

A gorgeous woman wearing a colorful robe, holding a scorpion in her palm. Her earrings were two slender red snakes biting their tails, forming circles.

A middle-aged man wearing beast skin clothes, sitting on the ground, absent-mindedly taking various poisonous creatures from his cloth bag and eating them with relish.

An alluring woman wearing a tube top and white shorts, covered by a thin gauze dress. Her tight long legs, flat stomach, clear abdominal muscles, and upright full chest interweaved into an enchanting figure full of vitality. Her light blue eyes sparkled with charm.

The last was a handsome and refined man in white clothes, very young, with a scholar’s elegance and a man’s strength.

“Why hasn’t Long Tu come yet?”

The cloaked figure issued a hoarse question, extremely impatient.

“We’ve already sent him a message.”

The Heavenly Gu Grandmother continued picking through the Meat Silkworm larvae at her own pace, explaining unhurriedly.

The man in white smiled: “Those who plan great matters don’t rush.”

The alluring woman in a thin gauze dress giggled: “Well said. Those who plan great matters surely won’t begrudge satisfying this slave’s desires. General Ge, I’ll wait for you tonight at the Love Gu tribe.”

The white-clothed man’s face stiffened slightly, but he quickly recovered, smiling lightly: “After we accomplish our great matter, if this general sends ten thousand strong men to Clan Leader Luan Yu, what difficulty would that be?”

He glanced east, his eyes brightening: “Clan Leader Long Tu has arrived.”