Chapter 0749: The Ancient Tribe

Chapter 0749: The Ancient Tribe

Qin Yun was also puzzled. He had just finished bathing when a lizard-dragon suddenly fell from the sky. He initially thought it would make for a good meal, but unexpectedly, it landed him in trouble.

"Don’t even think about touching our prey! It took us a month to capture this!" A middle-aged man shouted sternly at Qin Yun. "Back off from our kill!"

Qin Yun glanced at the group and felt somewhat surprised.

These people didn’t seem to practice martial arts, yet they possessed a formidable strength. Judging by the energy fluctuations, they were comparable to Xuanwu Realm warriors.

"I thought this was just free game! Since it belongs to you, I won’t take it." Qin Yun smiled and stepped away from the lizard-dragon.

"Even if you wanted to take it, you wouldn’t have the strength! You outsiders are born weak—any one of us could easily defeat you!" A youth sneered disdainfully.

Qin Yun frowned slightly. He was actually being called a savage!

"It took you a whole month to hunt this thing down?" Qin Yun curled his lips. "Your strength seems rather lacking, doesn’t it?"

"What do you know? We’re only early and mid-level Mystic Warriors, while this lizard-dragon’s strength rivals that of a high-level Mystic Warrior!" Another youth scoffed. "Just stand there and keep quiet! Just watch!"

"Don’t worry, we’ll leave you some scraps!"

"We’re generous folk—we’ll give you a bucket of blood and a hundred pounds of meat!"

"Outsiders like you must be terrified by our power now!"

Qin Yun didn’t bother arguing further. Instead, he found these people rather genuine and kind. They weren’t stingy at all—they even promised to share some meat with him.

"Little Yun, these people are likely natives of this place!" Ling Yuner said. "See if you can blend in with them. Maybe you can learn something useful from them that’ll help you leave this place!"

The tribesmen were bare-chested, wearing only loincloths of animal hide around their waists. They carried bows and machetes, with short blades tucked at their sides.

Right now, they were busy cutting up the massive lizard-dragon with their machetes.

There were dozens of tribesmen, but none of them had spatial storage items. Instead, they had prepared large wooden planks to drag the meat back.

Seeing how slowly they were cutting, Qin Yun said, "Friends, you’re making slow progress. Would you like some help?"

"No need! Just wait there. We keep our word—we’ll definitely give you the meat!" A middle-aged tribesman handed him a cup of blood. "If you’re hungry, drink this first!"

Qin Yun chuckled. "I'll pass on the blood."

A young tribesman walked over and looked Qin Yun up and down curiously. "Savage, you seem pretty timid. Are you too scared to run away from us?"

"No, I just want to try some lizard-dragon meat!" Qin Yun smiled. "Why do you call me a savage? I haven’t done anything to you."

"You’re an outsider! You outside invaders have caused nothing but trouble for our world!" The young tribesman said angrily. "Our world was already chaotic enough, but when you outsiders appear, you make it even worse!"

Qin Yun produced a blade, startling the tribesmen. A dozen middle-aged men on guard immediately drew their bows and aimed at him.

"Easy now, I mean no harm. I just arrived here not long ago!" Qin Yun waved his hand. "I just thought you were cutting too slowly, so I wanted to lend you a knife!"

He placed the knife on the ground.

A middle-aged tribesman’s eyes lit up when he saw it. "This knife is razor-sharp!"

He quickly picked it up and tested it on the lizard-dragon’s flesh. It went through it like butter, earning awed murmurs from the group.

The middle-aged tribesman set to work with new speed, cutting the lizard-dragon’s meat while showering Qin Yun with thanks. He even promised to give Qin Yun half a ton of meat in return.

Qin Yun had already noticed that the blades of these tribesmen were all crude—they might look sharp, but they lacked arcane markings, and the material refinement was poor.

"This group of natives only has strong physical strength; they can't harness elemental power, so they can't release flames for forging. Even with good materials, it would take them a long time to smelt anything," Ling Yuner said.

"Exactly. I'll just give that blade to the leader of this group. That way, I might be able to follow them back!"

That blade was just a basic mystic weapon, something Qin Yun had took from a fallen foe.

Soon, the tribesmen finished cutting up the meat, which they needed to haul back.

The leader, cradling the blade reverently, returned it to Qin Yun. Though he clearly liked it, he didn't try to keep it for himself—though his eyes gleamed with longing.

By now, the tribesmen no longer dismissed Qin Yun as before. Their gazes carried a hint of respect when they looked at him.

After all, Qin Yun had generously lent them such a valuable blade—an act of great generosity. Otherwise, it would have taken them ages to butcher.

Qin Yun also noticed that most of their blades lay ruined from cutting the dragon. If this continued, they would need even more blades.

"Elder brother, as thanks for giving me the meat, I'll let you keep this blade!" Qin Yun said with a smile.

The tribesmen gaped in shock!

"This... this is too valuable! I only gave you a mere thousand pounds of meat!" The middle-aged leader couldn't believe it.

"By the way, you have no use for these bones, right? They’re very useful to me! Let’s consider this an exchange!"

Qin Yun said lightly, walking over to swiftly stash the skeleton, which was excellent forging material for him.

Seeing Qin Yun effortlessly stash such a massive skeleton, the tribesmen stared, slack-jawed.

"Keep it—it’s yours," Qin Yun said with a laugh.

"Then we thank you, friend!" The middle-aged leader beamed.

"Big brother, I don’t have a place to stay here. Could I stay with your tribe?" Qin Yun asked.

"You are most welcome! Our chieftain will be delighted to host you!" the leader replied eagerly.

These tribesmen were guileless. Seeing Qin Yun gift them something valuable, they immediately treated him as one of their own.

Qin Yun mused—if these natives had encountered someone else, like Xie Ying and his group, they might have been slaughtered.

Qin Yun followed the tribesmen back, helping them store the meat in a spacious storage bag along the way.

During the journey, Qin Yun learned from the leader that their tribe had existed for many years.

They didn’t know how they came to be, only that they were tasked with guarding something important—something they were protecting for another’s sake.

Qin Yun was very curious about that item, as it had been stored here even before Yue You's time.

The War Tribe was born with formidable strength.

The leader of this squad was named War Yong.

War Yong was a mid-level mystic warrior, equivalent to the middle stage of the Profound Martial Realm.

Without using weapons, even Qin Yun would find it difficult to defeat War Yong due to his formidable physical strength.

"These guys are born with naturally strong physiques, no one knows why!" Ling Yuner said. "We should ask their tribal elders, they might know something!"

Qin Yun followed Zhan Yong, running hard for days through range after range of massive mountains, finally arriving at the War Tribe situated beside a great river.

The War Tribe was encircled by massive walls built from enormous stones, which looked solid—though Qin Yun felt they could probably be knocked down easily.

Upon entering the tribe, Qin Yun took out the stored beast meat.

This way, Zhan Yong and his men could drag all that meat into the tribe, making them look good.

Sure enough, as they entered, many War Tribe members—men, women, and children—gathered along the main path, cheering loudly.

The War Tribe only had a few thousand people, and their numbers kept shrinking over the years, with many killed—some by rival tribes, others by Xie Ying and his followers.

Qin Yun had also inquired about Yue You and learned she was a famous Queen who had never attacked the natives.

The War Tribe members were confused seeing Qin Yun, but Zhan Yong quickly explained that Qin Yun had gifted him a blade, becoming a friend, hence the invitation.

The tribe greatly admired blades, so even Zhan Yong's new blade made everyone jealous.

The buildings within the tribe were built from stone blocks—not much to look at, but orderly and sturdy.

Qin Yun followed Zhan Yong to the center, where a walled enclosure stood, flanked by numerous large pillars.

Seeing these pillars, Qin Yun was secretly amazed—they were ritual pillars, covered in intricate carvings resembling those found on immortal artifacts.

"This is the residence of our chief!" Zhan Yong said. "Brother Qin Yun, mind your manners with him!"

Qin Yun nodded.

The chief, having heard of Zhan Yong's return and the gifted blade, came out quickly to greet them.

The chief was a dark-skinned, lean old man, yet he radiated power—he was at the Martial King realm.

"This chief is crazy strong!" Qin Yun was astounded.

"If he weren't, this War Tribe would've been wiped out by now!" Ling Yuner remarked. "It seems he's the only one in the entire tribe at this level."

The chief, named Zhan Qiong, his squinty eyes opened wider upon seeing Qin Yun, and his eyes flashed with surprise.

"Ah Yong, you may leave now. I will personally attend to our guest," Zhan Qiong said with a smile, waving his hand.

Zhan Yong nodded and promptly departed.

Once inside the hall, Zhan Qiong closed the door behind them.

"Have you come to retrieve that item?" Zhan Qiong asked, then pulled out a piece of animal hide from a crude storage bag.

Unfolding it, Qin Yun was stunned—the hide bore a portrait of himself!