Chapter Ten: The Renown of the Yi Tribe

While Yi Tian was engrossed in his cultivation, the date for the tribe’s tri-monthly trip to the city to trade supplies arrived.

On this day, the entire Yi Tribe stirred to life. They brought out heaps of goods from their homes, and the tribe itself presented the accumulated materials from fierce beasts, pelts from wild animals, spirit herbs, and a wealth of rare medicinal plants. This trading caravan comprised over three hundred people, among them a hundred and twenty tribal warriors. The group was led by the deputy leader of the warriors—a martial artist at the peak of the seventh rank.

Yi Tian and Yi Shan prepared to join the caravan into the city. For them, who hadn’t entered Black Dragon City for more than a decade, everything about it seemed fresh and fascinating. They had only visited once or twice as children, guided by their fathers, but those memories had faded long ago.

This time, they intended to bring the golden python skins and white wolf pelts from their previous hunt to sell in Black Dragon City.

“Brother, brother, I want to go to the city too!”

Yi Xiao Ting leapt over to Yi Tian, clutching his waist and shaking him energetically as he readied himself for departure. On the other side, Yi Xiao Long, though not so bold as to beg, kept casting furtive glances their way, wary of being noticed by Yi Tian. Su Yue E, who was arranging their belongings nearby, couldn’t help but smile at his antics.

“Why not bring Xiao Ting and the others along? It’ll be a good experience for them,” suggested Yi Feng.

Yi Shan agreed, “It’s no trouble—there’s hardly any danger on the road, just a couple more seats on the beast carts.”

Yi Tian had already taught them his improved cultivation methods, greatly accelerating their progress. They were on the verge of breaking through to the next rank, and their gratitude towards Yi Tian was immense. Naturally, they wholeheartedly supported Xiao Long and Xiao Ting’s request.

Yi Li also approved. Thus, Yi Tian agreed to bring Xiao Long and Xiao Ting to the city.

“Wonderful!” shouted Yi Xiao Long from nearby, unable to contain his excitement.

Yi Xiao Ting’s face lit up with a brilliant smile, clearly full of anticipation for the trip.

This excursion to the city involved over thirty beast carts. Each cart was piled high with goods, stacked nearly twenty feet above the ground, their wheels taller than Xiao Long himself.

The carts were drawn by a beast called the ‘elephant horse,’ known for its gentle temperament and immense strength, capable of hauling over ten tons of cargo. Elephant horses were the mainstay of transportation for large merchant groups in this world. Even a tribe of thousands like Yi’s could not keep more than fifty, for each consumed hundreds of pounds of food daily as omnivores.

The tribe labored for two hours, and by noon, the caravan was ready to depart.

The cargo belonging to Yi Tian and his family, along with goods from dozens of others, was loaded onto one cart near the rear of the procession. Yi Tian, Yi Feng, Yi Shan, and Yi Li walked alongside it, while Xiao Long, Xiao Ting, and a dozen other children rode atop the goods, laughing and playing.

Black Dragon City lay beside the Fulong Mountains, at the upper reaches of a river flowing from the range. That river was known as Black Dragon River. Legend had it that a black dragon was slain in ages past, its corpse transforming into the river.

Black Dragon City was a border town under Jingmu Prefecture of the Tianfeng Empire. Its proximity to the Fulong Mountains made resources plentiful, drawing many branch offices of Jingmu’s large merchant groups.

Yi Tribe was relatively isolated, not under the jurisdiction of Tianfeng Empire. Many such tribes existed, scattered along the mountain’s edge, living by hunting and gathering resources.

The Empire did not interfere with these tribes; forcibly incorporating them would cause great upheaval and be more trouble than it was worth. The tribes relied on external sources for various supplies, and the Empire profited handsomely by purchasing their resources cheaply and selling goods at high prices, so it turned a blind eye to their existence.

The three-hundred-strong Yi Tribe caravan was considered mid-sized among merchant groups—a tempting prize for the many raiding bands along the mountain’s edge. These groups ranged from several thousand to a few dozen members. Some were even merchant organizations in disguise, ready to switch identities and plunder when opportunity arose.

In this world where martial prowess was supreme, pillaging and slaughter were rampant. In the cities, basic order was maintained and open conflict was rare, but outside, lawlessness and violence were common.

Thus, every family, faction, village, and castle maintained armed forces, with martial artists overseeing their security. Only warriors and armed groups could safely traverse the wilderness.

Along the way, Yi Tian noticed people spying on their caravan from afar—at least a dozen groups, not just one. This put Yi Tian, Yi Shan, and the others on high alert, ready to face any raiders that might strike.

A burly man beside them noticed their tension and laughed heartily, “No need to worry—they’re just sizing us up. Even if they had a hundred times the courage, they wouldn’t dare rob the Yi Tribe.”

“Uncle Yi Kai, caution is best!” Yi Tian reminded him. This time, he was bringing Xiao Long and Xiao Ting, and nothing could go wrong; safety first.

Yi Kai was friends with the fathers of Yi Tian, Yi Feng, and Yi Shan. They had asked him to look out for their children on this trip—he was a third-rank warrior.

Yi Kai scoffed, “Those little thieves see our merchant caravan and wish they could flee faster. Over the years, the Yi Tribe has destroyed dozens, if not a hundred, raiding bands. Our reputation was forged in blood!”

He went on, recounting tales of the tribe’s glorious victories over groups like the Blood Wolf and Mad Lion raiders.

To those bands, the Yi Tribe was among the most feared forces. Their mastery of archery was terrifying—able to kill enemies across ranks. Given enough distance, a raiding band of hundreds would lose most of its members before even getting close.

The tribe’s merchant caravan could contend with bands ten times their size. Even large raiding groups would pay dearly to attack them, and unless the reward was enormous, they would not make a move, for they’d also suffer the tribe’s vengeance.

“Besides…” Yi Kai added, “Our caravan is led by the deputy chief, a warrior at the pinnacle of the seventh rank. He can unleash the tenth level of the Wave Stacking Secret Technique, achieving the pinnacle of sonic burst. Even fierce beasts fall to a single arrow, and ninth-rank martial artists are no match. So, rest assured.”

The deputy leader could perform the tenth level of the Wave Stacking Secret Technique? Yi Tian was astonished.

Among the tribe’s thousand warriors, over six hundred could execute the ninth level of the technique, having immersed themselves in archery for decades. Mastery of the Wave Stacking Secret Technique was not difficult for them, though the number of times and the power varied according to their cultivation.

Unleashing true energy to perform the ninth level was enough to reach sonic burst mastery, with significant differences between each warrior’s strength.

Yet, the tenth level was almost unheard of in the tribe; the ninth seemed to be the limit.

Knowing the deputy chief’s strength, Yi Tian, Yi Feng, Yi Li, and the others relaxed considerably.