Chapter Thirteen: Intimidation

"Father!" Jiang Yao looked at the middle-aged man in confusion and panic.

Jiang Yao's father? The Grand Shaman of the Bi Fang Tribe, Jiang Bo? Ji Hao’s pupils flickered with a strange red light, all his attention focused on the tent.

"You really are foolish. That's why you can only marry Ji Shu; your sister, on the other hand, is much smarter, so she deserves to marry that lord."

Before Ji Shu and the others, Jiang Bo unceremoniously rebuked his own daughter.

Ji Shu’s mouth twitched, his face contorting for a brief moment. Though Jiang Bo’s words were meant as a scolding to Jiang Yao, the underlying message was that Ji Shu was not a particularly important figure—thus, Jiang Bo’s foolish daughter was given to him. The smarter one, Jiang Yao’s sister, was promised to someone far more significant.

Jiang Bo’s words were cutting, but Ji Shu didn’t utter a single retort. The Bi Fang Tribe was a hundred times mightier than the Fire Crow Tribe, a dominant power in the southern wilds, and Jiang Bo, as Grand Shaman, was not someone Ji Shu could afford to offend.

A burly man, bearing a striking resemblance to Ji Shu, let out a cold snort, glaring at Jiang Yao with evident displeasure.

As he shifted his body slightly, a sound like a hammer striking an anvil echoed from within him; his bones were harder than steel, and even the slightest movement set off an intimidating clash of joints.

"I had people thoroughly investigate the scene, using seven breeds of spirit beasts with keen senses of smell, but not a single trace of the enemy’s scent was found," the man said in a deep voice. "On Golden Crow Ridge, there are only a handful of old monsters who could pull off something like this."

Jiang Bo replied coldly, "Which means, those old fellows from your Fire Crow Tribe still favor Ji Xia. At the ancestral ceremony, even if Ji Shu defeats Ji Xia, he can only win—not kill him. Otherwise, Ji Shu will never win the hearts of the Fire Crow warriors."

The burly man sighed and shook his head helplessly. "Not only that, but even the attack on Jiang Yao and Ji Wu must be kept secret. Though we know it wasn’t the Blackwater Serpent Tribe’s doing, we can’t pursue the matter any further."

Even after being slapped, Jiang Yao couldn’t hold back her indignation. She screamed, "Father, am I supposed to just swallow this loss?"

Then she froze, exclaiming in disbelief, "The one who ambushed me—isn’t from the Blackwater Serpent Tribe? It was someone from the Fire Crow Tribe?"

Jiang Bo slapped her again, this time with far greater force. Half her face was nearly shattered, blood pouring from her mouth as she rolled her eyes and fainted.

"How could I, Jiang Bo, have such a foolish daughter?" He sighed, his expression dark as he shook his head. "The ancestral ceremony is upon us. Ji Shu is vying for the leadership of the sacred warriors, yet his woman and son are gravely injured before his very eyes. If word gets out, will the tribe’s warriors still pledge him their loyalty?"

Ji Shu stomped his foot and nodded grimly at Jiang Bo. "After the ancestral ceremony, I will find out who did this."

Jiang Bo nodded with satisfaction, his voice cold. "That is what matters most now. The position of Fire Crow warriors’ leader must not fall into another’s hands. For Ji Shu to claim it, all other matters must be set aside for now."

Ji Hao smiled faintly. Jiang Bo and Ji Shu had certainly calculated well. If they dare not make a fuss now, and still intend to eliminate threats after the ceremony, why show them any courtesy? In this forsaken southern wilderness, strength is law and violence is justice.

With a laugh, Ji Hao’s hands danced through incantations, and ripples formed in his eyes, woven from flashes of lightning.

On a distant crow feather atop the tent, fine arcs of electricity flickered. The crow’s body melted into a ball of fire, which fused with the lightning and became a crimson sphere of thunderfire, about the size of a fist.

Within Ji Hao, the pure spiritual power he had honed for ten years through the Nine Syllable Mantra Pill Scripture ebbed away like the tide, vanishing in a blink. All his power transformed into thunder, pouring into the distant thunderfire. A sudden wind swept through the tent, and torrents of spiritual energy were drawn into the thunderfire.

The fist-sized thunderfire spun slowly, soon swelling to the size of a human head before silently dropping through a gap in the leather tent.

Like a stone, the thunderfire plunged into the vat where Jiang Yao was soaking, sending up a spray of viscous green medicinal liquid before vanishing into the vat.

Jiang Bo, Ji Shu, and the burly man froze, Jiang Bo instinctively flickering into motion. Without a thought for Jiang Yao, he turned into a blaze and shot from the tent, only stopping a hundred yards away to snarl, "Who’s there?"

Ji Shu hesitated, retreated a few steps, and after a moment’s thought, pounced toward the vat, reaching into the thick liquid. But faster than Ji Shu was the brawny man beside him, who became a blur as he darted to the vat first, his right hand darting into the liquid to seize the thunderfire that Ji Hao had conjured.

"Heaven’s Gate Thunderbolt, Ironclad Flying Bear, by my command—"

Seated in his own loft, Ji Hao smiled coolly, flicking his fingers. The thunderfire, infused with all his power and the giant crow’s flame, erupted with a deep boom several miles away.

Inside the tent, the burly man grunted, his massive body engulfed by thunderfire as he staggered backward. With his arms crossed tightly over his chest, he absorbed the full force of Ji Hao’s thunderfire with sheer brute strength, his hands and chest left charred but otherwise unharmed.

This man’s strength was formidable; even Ji Hao couldn’t gauge his true power. His full-strength thunderfire had only managed to scorch the man’s skin.

The vat where Jiang Yao and Ji Wu lay exploded, splattering medicinal liquid everywhere. Severely wounded and relying on the medicine to recover, both Jiang Yao and Ji Wu coughed blood simultaneously. Ji Wu, whose external injuries were worse, began to bleed profusely from his chest and abdomen.

"Wu!" Ji Shu ignored the blood-spitting Jiang Yao, darting to Ji Wu’s side and hastily pressing his hands to the wounds.

The tent’s leather curtain flicked aside as Jiang Bo re-entered, his face grim and ablaze with firelight.

"Who did this? Who ambushed us?" Jiang Bo roared in a low, panicked voice, his handsome features twisted with fear and confusion. For the Grand Shaman of the Bi Fang Tribe to be taken by surprise without warning—he was nearly driven mad.

The warriors Ji Shu had brought were on high alert, silently slipping out to guard all around the tent.

Ji Hao’s thunderfire had not alerted the Fire Crow tribesmen, but Ji Shu and his companions were certainly left sleepless by the attack.

In his loft, Ji Hao grinned with satisfaction.

Indeed, these shamans possessed great strength, yet they neglected their souls and knew nothing of divine arts. Even the mighty Ji Shu was not so difficult to handle.

With a pleased smile, Ji Hao sprawled out on his animal hide, letting the tranquil power of the stars converge from all directions, replenishing the exhaustion left by his spell.

***

I did it—rushed back to my room to update in time!

Today’s update is complete!

Waving both hands—where are the recommendation votes?