Chapter 175: Chapter 174: Loss of Ice and Snow Ridge
In the blink of an eye, twelve years had passed. Jiang Qiu had followed the tribe’s main Hunting Team, hunting far and wide to temper his body. The many battles he fought helped purify his Luminous Blood.
And after years of grueling training, his body was on the verge of reaching the Copper Skin Realm.
Body Refining was no easy feat in this world. Scratches and bruises crisscrossed his body like a spiderweb. He had shed his skin layer after layer and had even broken his arms at times.
But it was nothing compared to what Xiong had endured.
CREAK—
He pushed open the courtyard gate and stepped over the threshold. Just then, he caught sight of Xiong. His left arm was in a black sling across his chest, and he was using his one good hand to wipe down the shaft of an Iron Spear.
"Uncle Xiong, I’m back."
Jiang Qiu set down the large haunch of venison he was carrying. His gaze fell to Xiong’s left arm, and he felt a pang of sadness.
Normally, the tribe had remedies for falls and sprains. Even a broken arm could be set and healed.
But back then, while out on a hunt, Uncle Xiong had run into people from the West Ice Tribe again. A dispute broke out over their quarry. A Copper Skin Realm Warrior from the other tribe ended up severely injured, but in the process, Xiong’s left arm was twisted and broken, and he was poisoned.
By the time he returned to the tribe, the poison was already affecting his heart. It took a great deal of time just to regulate his heart and meridians, leaving no chance to treat his arm simultaneously.
As a result, Uncle Xiong’s left arm was crippled. His hunting ability plummeted, and he even had to step down as the Hunting Team Captain. Now, he only joined hunts occasionally to cover his daily needs.
"Looks like you had a successful hunt. To be able to bring home a deer leg that big."
Xiong chuckled, the corners of his eyes crinkling.
"Hunting Captain Tiger took us to the Ice and Snow Ridge. There are a lot of Blood Patterned Deer herds there, and we managed to bag one."
Jiang Qiu let out a deep breath, set down his long spear, and flexed his slightly numb fingers.
Hunts for the North Snow Tribe tested not only one’s endurance and explosive power, but also cold resistance. After all, in that frozen landscape, you had to stay perfectly still to avoid startling your prey. When you weren’t moving, your body heat dissipated, and the cold naturally set in.
But he was still better off than Wood, Pile, and the others. His Ice Armor’s resistance to the cold was exceptional, so at least his legs weren’t frozen numb.
"Ice and Snow Ridge..." Xiong murmured, a red glint flashing in his eyes. He asked with concern, "You didn’t run into anyone from the West Ice Tribe, did you?"
Ever since his Hunting Team had clashed with one from the West Ice Tribe twelve years ago, the conflict between the two tribes had been brought out into the open.
The Ice and Snow Ridge had always been the North Snow Tribe’s hunting ground, but as the West Ice Tribe grew more prosperous, they repeatedly crossed the border and began to occupy most of the western area.
At the time of the conflict, they had even pushed all the way to the eastern side of the Ice and Snow Ridge.
And that was exactly when the tribes were conducting their bloodline tests. Xiong had originally planned to lead his team to hunt a few strong Snow Patterned Deer so he could celebrate with Hill after the tests were over.
He believed Hill was the Chosen One and had never doubted it.
After all, he had lived with Hill for a whole year by then and knew better than anyone that the boy possessed the spirituality befitting a Chosen One.
He had never treated Hill like a child. A Chosen One was never just a child; their responsibilities were vaster than the endless snow.
He only hoped Hill would grow up quickly, become a powerful symbol of faith for the North Snow Tribe, and reclaim their territory in the Ice and Snow Ridge.
But... on the very day of the bloodline test, he had returned empty-handed, his left arm crippled. Even when he heard the news that Hill had become the Chosen One and accepted the Ice and Snow Contract, he couldn’t manage any proper words of congratulations.
In the following days, he went to the Elder Witch Priest to treat his injuries. His home, meanwhile, was overflowing with well-wishers. Tribe members lined the streets for blocks to congratulate Hill on becoming the Chosen One, bringing gifts of dried Snow Patterned Deer meat, Demon Race bird eggs, armored bear-pelt clothing, and many other things.
Only he, the one closest to Hill, hadn’t been able to give a gift. The Blood Patterned Deer he should have hunted had been stolen by the West Ice Tribe. Its beautiful Antlers had been fashioned into a crown for their own tribe’s Chosen One to wear.
Sigh...
The scenes from all those years ago were still vivid in Xiong’s mind. He sighed to himself, looking at the youth who now stood taller than a spear, and quietly put away the Iron Spear he’d been cleaning.
"We didn’t."
Jiang Qiu replied, his fists clenching involuntarily.
’Just because we didn’t run into them this time doesn’t mean we haven’t before. Over the past twelve years, the West Ice Tribe has stolen our kills time and time again. It’s like they’re trying to declare their sovereignty over the Ice and Snow Ridge.’
Most tribes conducted their bloodline tests around the same time. The West Ice Tribe’s was just one day before the North Snow Tribe’s, and they had produced a full five superior bloodlines, as well as a Chosen One named Gold!
From that moment on, the West Ice Tribe began to brazenly steal kills from the North Snow Tribe’s hunts. Xiong was one of the unlucky ones to fall victim to them.
Sometimes, when a powerful expert led a team, the West Ice Tribe wouldn’t dare to try anything. But most of the time, the Hunting Teams had no one from the Iron Flesh Realm. In some parties, the Copper Skin Realm Warriors were still green, and there were even younger members who hadn’t reached the Copper Skin Realm at all. Their overall combat strength was lacking, so they were robbed again and again.
This led to several small-scale battles breaking out between the two tribes in the Ice and Snow Ridge, but every one of them ended with the North Snow Tribe’s defeat. The West Ice Tribe’s foundation was currently far stronger than North Snow’s, and the overall quality of their new generation was superior as well. As a result, the North Snow Tribe’s hunting grounds kept shrinking, to the point they were nearly driven out of the Ice and Snow Ridge entirely.
Just a month ago, Jiang Qiu had been with a hunting party that ran into the West Ice Tribe. It seemed they had planned it in advance; they gathered a large group, surrounded the party, and forced Hunting Captain Tiger to hand over their kill.
Wary of the consequences, everyone returned empty-handed from that hunt. Hunting Captain Tiger could only console them by saying that at least no one was injured.
Now, many among the tribe’s leadership believed they should withdraw from the Ice and Snow Ridge to avoid unnecessary conflict and the loss of the tribe’s new blood.
Hunting Captain Tiger had taken a risk bringing them to the outskirts of the Ice and Snow Ridge. They hadn’t managed to find a single Snow Patterned Deer herd for days, and if he hadn’t tried something different, they would have returned empty-handed yet again.
"Uncle Xiong, are they organizing the annual coming-of-age ceremony in a few days?"
Jiang Qiu adjusted his furry collar, his breath fogging in the air as his eyes narrowed slightly.
"You still have three years until you’re considered an adult. You want to participate in the ceremony too?"
Xiong was slightly surprised and studied the young man before him carefully.
Perhaps because he was the Chosen One, his physique had developed quickly. He was even taller than some of the sixteen-year-old young men who were already considered adults.
Moreover, Hill’s muscles were very lean and powerful. After more than ten years of tempering, his physical strength was far superior to that of his peers.
It was said that during a hunt a month ago, Hill had single-handedly killed an adult male Blood Patterned Deer—a feat that even a Warrior who had just entered the Copper Skin Realm wouldn’t dare attempt lightly.
However, that first adult Blood Patterned Deer he had killed with his own hands was ultimately stolen by a Hunting Team from the West Ice Tribe...
