Chapter 5: Xiao Ling Gong

  The Ge Shan department is a columnar tribe, and due to the extremely strong White Huns department, it has never built a city wall. Therefore, the tribal members are scattered on the south-facing slope of Ge Shan Mountain, usually only with wooden stockades for protection.

  Down the mountain, wooden houses or stone houses were closely connected to each other, enclosing a large piece of open space in between. On that open space, huge bonfires had already been lit up at this time.

  A single wild deer and mountain pig, cleaned up by the villagers, were placed on a fire to roast. The overflowing oil sizzled in the flames, filling the air with the aroma of roasted meat. Every face was filled with satisfied smiles.

  The news of Jiang Cheng becoming a Soul Warrior had spread throughout the entire tribe like a bird with wings.

  For ordinary tribesmen, the tribe often has a powerful soul warrior, which means that the tribe also has a strong power, can reduce the casualties of tribal warriors again, and get more food.

  But at this time, Ah Gong and the tribal elder, Ge Xiong, who were standing on the mountain slope, had their eyebrows slightly furrowed together, without the joy that ordinary tribespeople would have on their faces.

  "Ah Gong, including Jiang Cheng, the number of soul masters in our clan has already exceeded eight. All these years, the Bai Hua sect has never allowed our clan's soul masters to exceed eight people."

  "As soon as there are more than eight people, the soul warriors of our clan will inexplicably fall or die in battle. What's more, Jiang Cheng is still a Tianqi war soul awakener, I'm worried..." The clan leader Ge Xiong's eyes were filled with anger!

  The old man's expression was equally unrelenting, but with a hint of mystery. He pondered for a moment before saying, "What a pity! This should have been the best opportunity for our clan, and even though it is so, it is still an opportunity for our clan, a rare chance in a thousand years to free ourselves from the White Horde's enslavement of nearly a century." As he spoke, the old man's cloudy eyes suddenly sparkled.

  Those bright eyes fell on Jiang Cheng and Song Lan, who were walking side by side, and lingered for a long time.

  When the ancient and majestic song sounds, the bonfire celebration of Gesangbu officially begins. As the protagonist of today's celebration, Jiang Cheng is patted on the shoulder and chest by the elders in his tribe, who hold him in high esteem and offer their blessings.

  Ordinary shy girls were now boldly pulling Jiang Cheng, their sparkling eyes filled with admiration.

  Song Yue was like a small porcupine, closely following Jiang Cheng's back. If any girl dared to make a more intimate move, the normally weak Song Yue would charge in like a small lioness, separating the two of them.

  "Thank the merciful ancestors, and grant my tribe another powerful soul warrior. May the merciful ancestors forever bless the Geshan clan!" After receiving the blessings from the tribespeople, the people of the Geshan clan, led by Ah Gong, bowed in reverence towards the direction of the ancestral totem pole.

  With a bow of gratitude, Ah Gong waved the bone staff in his hand, and the tribespeople who had been rejoicing just moments before fell silent instantly. The authority of a tribal spirit lord was evident at a glance.

  Grandfather waved his hand, and a tribesman presented a small bone carving on a wooden plate, almost identical to the ancestral totem pole of the Gesangbu people. After personally threading it onto a leather strap, Grandfather personally put it on Jiang Cheng's head.

  "Jiang Cheng, from today on, with this ancestral spirit pendant on you, within the tribe, you can be like Yang Zi or even Ge Qiong, no longer participating in ordinary labor, and act freely."

  From today on, you can freely enter the previously forbidden place of the ordinary people - the Ancestral Spirit Temple.

  Every half month, you can obtain a bamboo tube of Beast Essence Blood personally concocted by me to help you temper your physical body.

  Your daily food will no longer be limited, as long as you can eat it, you can eat as much as you want. And the food supplied to you will be the best meat of ferocious beasts with essence.

  Not only that, but also your daily life, if you need it, the family will arrange someone to take care of you specially.

  Grandfather's words made many people around him, including numerous young men, look at him with envy in their eyes.

  This is the various privileges in the clan obtained by Jiang Cheng after becoming a Soul Warrior, which is also what they yearn for.

  However, as Grandpa's tone suddenly changed, everyone's expression also became solemn.

  "But you must understand, privilege also means more responsibility," Ah Gong's voice suddenly rose by several octaves. "Defending the clan is even defending it with your own blood, are you willing?"

  "I agree!"

  Jiang Cheng clenched his fists tightly and shouted loudly.

  At this moment, Jiang Cheng seemed to have truly understood the famous saying - with great power comes great responsibility!

  The next moment, cheers burst out suddenly, instantly dispelling the solemn atmosphere that had just prevailed. A smile also appeared on his face, which was usually as calm as a still pond.

  "Alright, let's start the feast!" Looking at his tribesmen's excited faces, Tribal Chief Ge Xiong waved his hand and everyone immediately sprang into action, rushing towards the roasted meat. They would present the most delicious meat to Grandfather, the Tribal Chief, including today's celebrant Jiang Cheng.

  Bang!

  At that moment, a low and majestic drumbeat with an overwhelmingly oppressive sound suddenly resounded throughout the entire tribe.

  Many excited and cheerful people suddenly froze, some older women's faces even showed a look of horror.

  Because that drum sound is the alarm drum set at the entrance of the tribal village.

  Just as the old man and the tribal elder's faces changed dramatically, a figure appeared in front of the Ge Shan tribe with an illusory speed, bringing with him an aura that even made the bonfire start to invert.

  "What an enticing aroma! How sumptuous! Ge Shan Department, indeed the most affluent tribe of my Bai Hu Eight Departments!" A gloomy voice rang out.

  As soon as they saw the newcomer, Ah Gong and the clan leader's faces changed again, and they stepped forward in unison to bow and welcome: "Young Master Ling has arrived, we apologize for not welcoming you from afar."

  After the two paid their respects, before Old Man Ah Gong could say anything, Xiao Ling Gong of the Bai Hun Department took a step forward and forced Ah Gong and the Tribal Elder to retreat repeatedly. He said: "Today, I suddenly heard that a Heaven's Chosen Warrior has awakened in the Ge Shan Department. I have come specifically to meet the second Heaven's Chosen Warrior to appear in our Bai Hun Department in sixty years?"

  As they spoke, a pair of wolf-like eyes gleamed green and stared: "Who is Jiang Cheng?"

  His gaze, however, was fixed directly on Jiang Cheng's body.

  As the White Spirit General, how could I not know the customs of the Eight Trigrams? Looking at Jiang Cheng's chest, that brand new Ancestral Spirit Pendant, it's clear who is the Heaven's Chosen Warrior.

  Me!

  Under those green and piercing eyes that seemed like a wolf's gaze, Jiang Cheng slightly puffed out his chest and stepped forward, shouting.

  "How dare you! You've seen Benling Gong and yet you still don't kneel down!"

  In the midst of loud laughter, a faint red glow suddenly surged out from behind Xiao Ling Gong's body, like a wild wind, sweeping towards Jiang Cheng.

  In an instant, Jiang Cheng only felt a suffocating power rushing towards him, and the pale red glow seemed to contain a mountain-like pressure that made Jiang Cheng's spine ache, forcing him to kneel on the spot!

  Jiang Cheng's fists clenched, the blue veins on his forehead bulged out violently. Under this extreme pressure, a beast-like shadow suddenly emerged from behind Jiang Cheng, let out a loud roar, and a series of cracking bone sounds burst forth in an instant, causing Jiang Cheng's spine to straighten up abruptly.

  Bai Hun's expression changed suddenly: "Cheng Enjing has reached the second level of the Realm? So soon?"

  Almost at the same time, Ge Shanbu's A Gong sternly shouted: "Xiao Linggong, what are you doing?" White hair stood on end, and a red glow burst forth from his body as he suddenly reached out with lightning speed to grab Xiao Linggong of the Bai Hunbu.

  "Lin E, why are you in such a hurry? I just wanted to take a look at this rare centennial Heavenly War Soul Awakener. Indeed, it's not bad!"

  In the midst of loud laughter, Bai Hun's Xiao Ling Gong suddenly turned around, and the red light that had enveloped Jiang Cheng suddenly contracted and converged, heading towards Ge Shan's A Gong Lin E.

  Xian Bai Hun's little spirit master retreats, Ah Gong, no matter how angry he is, can only stop here.

  This Feng Qing is the young master of the Bai Hun tribe's second pillar, and it's not easy to offend him.

  "Hmph, Xiao Ling Gong is indeed very considerate of his juniors." Ge Xiong let out a dissatisfied cold hum, and the many clansmen of the Ge Shan department also stared at this young master of the Bai Hun department with hostile eyes.

  "Unaware of Little Ling Gong's late-night visit, what teachings do you have?" Ah Gong Lin E asked with an uncontrollable angry expression.

  Feng Qing, the young master of the Bai Hun tribe, stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes scanning over the dozen or so whole beasts that had been roasted by the Ge Shan tribe. Suddenly, he laughed and said: "No need for explanations, Master Ling has heard that the Ge Shan tribe is wealthy, but this autumn our Bai Hun tribe suffered a great disaster. I'm afraid you'll misunderstand, so I've come to deliver an order in person - this autumn, your Ge Shan tribe will have its annual grain tax increased by 50%?"

  The Ling Gong mentioned by Feng Qing refers to the White Huan Department's ancestral spirit totem pole, Bai Yuan. In a two-pole tribe like the White Huan Department, there are two totem poles, and generally, the ancestral spirit totem pole is considered the main one, while the other totem pole's spirit is called the small Ling Gong.

  "What, five percent? That's still not enough for my tribe to survive?" Ge Xiong said angrily.

  Not only was the tribal elder Ge Xiong greatly shocked, but the eyes of the surrounding tribespeople also suddenly widened.

  Upon hearing this, Bai Hun's small Ling Gong Feng Qing's eyes suddenly narrowed and he chuckled: "If our tribe's warriors don't have food to eat, they will eat people!"

  "You..."

  "I'm just a messenger? If you're not willing, go find Lord Ling to argue about it!" Feng Qing said coldly, waving the two-pillar token in his hand.

  Finally, Feng Qing's eyebrows rose again: "Ling Gong said that the White Horde's eight tribes have been weakening in battle strength in recent years. In order to show off their martial prowess, Ling Gong has decided to hold a martial arts competition for the White Horde's eight tribes three months later. All,"

  As if emphasizing in general, Feng Qing stretched out a finger and said: "All soul masters under the age of 18 must participate!"

  Upon hearing this command, the eyes of tribal elder Ge Xiong were about to spew out fire.

  If he still can't understand it after I've made myself so clear, then this clan leader is just a waste of space.

  Looking at the furious tribal leader Ge Xiong, Feng Qing sneered: "What, Tribal Leader Ge, are you going to disobey orders?"

  Ge Xiong's forehead twitched with a green vein, seemingly on the verge of an outburst, but was calmly pushed behind by Ah Gong Lin E.

  "Xiao Ling Gong, adding five percent to the annual grain tax for our Ge Shan department is no trivial matter. Please, Xiao Ling Gong, grant us a slight extension on the deadline for submitting the grain taxes, don't rush us too much!"

  The old man's last words seemed to have a hidden meaning, causing Bai Hun's expression to change suddenly.

  "All right, I'll give you an extension of half a month for the Geshan Department to pay their annual taxes. One month later, Lord Ling will personally come to collect the taxes!" Feng Qing shouted.

  "Good!"

  Jiang Cheng saw that Ah Gong Lin Ou almost gritted his teeth when saying these words.

  Seeing Ah Gong, he agreed in one voice. Bai Hun Department Xiao Ling Gong Feng Qing laughed and rose into the air, leaving from then on.

  Just as Feng Qing passed through the gate of Ge Shan's village, a burst of red light exploded around him, and the sturdy iron-wooden gate of Ge Shan's village was instantly blown to pieces!

  "The Awakened Soul of Revelation, the Martial Arts Tournament three months later, this Ling Gong is looking forward to your performance, hahahaha..."

  Feng Qing's long laughter came from the wind.

  "The White Wolf Clan has deceived us too much!" The angry roar of Tribe Leader Ge Xiong instantly shook the air.

  The old man turned silently and walked towards the wooden building on the distant mountain slope. When the clan leader, Ge Xiong, followed him, the old man's voice also came from the wind: "Jiang Cheng, you come too, let me see what your battle soul is like first!"