Chapter 369: Chapter 183: Desolate Warriors’ First Battle (Part 2)
"Is something the matter?"
Zhao Rui opened his eyes and asked with curiosity.
"Yes, some of our people found a strange stone. They wanted to ask Adamo to take a look."
The word "Adamo" meant something like "hero."
Zhao Rui rose, nodded, and followed the Young Venerable.
The chieftain was standing in a circle with the tribe’s Sacrificial Warriors and a few others.
When they saw Zhao Rui arrive, they all greeted him.
Zhao Rui returned their greeting in kind before moving closer to take a look.
"What dense Spiritual Qi!"
Zhao Rui paused, taken aback. He gently picked up the perfectly round "stone," its surface covered in a rock-like texture.
A faint, unsettling pulse of Divine Soul Power emanated from it.
If it weren’t for Zhao Rui’s profound Power and his training in multiple Divine Soul Secret Techniques, he likely wouldn’t have noticed it at all.
"This thing has to be an egg!"
Zhao Rui said aloud.
"An egg?"
The Manghuang Race People all turned to stare at the stone with curiosity. Though they were clearly puzzled, no one voiced an objection.
"In that case, let’s give it to Adamo!"
With that one casual remark, the chieftain handed the mysterious stone over to Zhao Rui.
Zhao Rui didn’t mind. He casually carried the stone back to his dwelling.
His "dwelling" was a simple wooden hut, built from leaning logs and covered with waterproof grass mats and animal hides.
Life was simple, but with food and drink delivered daily and no one to bother him, it was actually quite pleasant.
After seven or eight days, Zhao Rui had a decent grasp of their language and common knowledge.
He then bid farewell to the tribespeople.
The road ahead was uncertain, but he would never find a way out if he didn’t start walking.
And so, with a large pack of dried meat and rations, along with the stone egg, Zhao Rui set off on the journey to find his way home.
’So these smaller Manghuang people were actually the ones who failed to evolve and were cast out from the main race!’
Zhao Rui sped across the vast plains, his feet barely touching the ground.
During his time with the tribe, he had learned that the so-called smaller Manghuang people were once the same race as the larger ones.
They had simply failed to evolve and were cast out. Yet, through survival of the fittest, these smaller people had managed to survive and even thrive.
While they lacked the raw strength of their larger cousins, they had the advantage in fertility and mental agility.
They lived quite fulfilling lives, all things considered.
As for the larger Manghuang people, they had been blessed by Spiritual Qi, gaining superhuman physiques. They could not only absorb the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi on their own but also develop certain Divine Techniques.
It was no wonder their combat strength was so immense, allowing them to command powerful birds as mounts.
Their only weakness, however, was poor fertility, which kept their population small.
Their territory was concentrated in the most prosperous region at the center of the continent.
WHOOO!
The occasional sound of horns echoing from the distance reminded Zhao Rui that a Manghuang Tribe was somewhere ahead.
Zhao Rui proceeded with extreme caution, giving these people a wide berth.
After several days of travel, a thick cloud of dust and mist suddenly billowed up ahead, heralding what sounded like a stampede of countless beasts.
Massive herbivores and carnivorous Exotic Beasts formed a living wall, charging straight in Zhao Rui’s direction.
"Shit!"
Zhao Rui’s scalp prickled. He cursed under his breath and leaped high into the air, avoiding the beast tide.
Such beast tides were a common occurrence, usually triggered by powerful creatures fighting in the central lands.
He strained his eyes and saw, just as he’d suspected, two enormous Exotic Beasts locked in combat more than ten kilometers away. One resembled King Kong, while the other looked like a colossal crocodile.
Their battle shook the very earth, pulverizing trees and grass alike.
Above the two battling Exotic Beasts, numerous large birds hovered and circled, each carrying a large Manghuang rider.
’When will this ever end!’ Zhao Rui despaired.
Just as he was preparing to wait for the beast tide to pass before circling around the battlefield, an icicle as thick as a bucket materialized behind him and shot straight at him.
Zhao Rui’s senses screamed. He instantly executed the Dipper Step, dodging away at incredible speed.
’It appeared without any warning!’
A chill went down Zhao Rui’s spine, but his reaction was instantaneous. He countered with a backhand strike, unleashing the Great Sumeru Buddha Hand, which shattered the icicle into countless fragments.
"A Gui Xu Scout? You’ve got a lot of nerve."
The attacker’s figure materialized. It was a massive Desolate Warrior, standing a full four meters tall.
His bulging muscles rivaled those of the most formidable bodybuilding champions from Zhao Rui’s past life. His face was savage, and when he spoke, he revealed sharp fangs on either side of his mouth.
He looked absolutely lethal.
His language wasn’t much different from that of the smaller Manghuang people.
Zhao Rui could understand bits and pieces of it.
Without waiting for Zhao Rui to reply, the Desolate Warrior clapped his enormous hands. Two massive blocks of ice materialized, attempting to crush Zhao Rui between them.
This time, Zhao Rui felt something was off. The instant the ice appeared, the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi in the area became bone-chillingly cold. The ice blocks coalesced in an instant, somehow bypassing his potent True Qi to form on either side of him.
’So that’s how it works.’
’All paths lead to the same source. In the end, it’s all related to Spiritual Qi.’
’The Martial Dao, the Witchcraft Dao, even the path of Innate Attributes of the Manghuang people—when you get right down to it, they all use Spiritual Qi to achieve abilities beyond one’s natural limits.’
Zhao Rui didn’t wait for the ice blocks to hit. He unleashed the Fiery Fire Palm Technique with both hands, his dense True Qi instantly forming two Fire Dragons that slammed into the ice, shattering it to pieces.
The Desolate Warrior was stunned. He hadn’t expected Zhao Rui to be so powerful.
He stuck his fingers in his mouth and let out a piercing whistle.
In the distance, one of the factions in the great battle suddenly split off. About a dozen warriors on giant birds broke away and headed in their direction.
"Fuck! You don’t fight with any honor!"
