Zhang Chen heard the words and was even more puzzled in his heart: "Could it be that with the collapse of the ’Empire’ as recorded in the epitaph, its descendants hid incognito?"
Zhang Chen felt very confused.
Only such an explanation could fit the timeline.
"If they are hiding with a new identity and lurking here, it must be to avoid enemies. They must have concealed the clues of the Ape Tribe deeply. I want to investigate it, but it won’t be easy." Zhang Chen pondered to himself.
As the two spoke, they had already arrived in front of the village. Zhang Chen glanced at the village’s outline, and the golden light naturally flowed from his eyes, the Dharma Eye suddenly opened, and the village in front of him underwent a transformation. A brown light sphere appeared in the void, enclosing the entire village.
"It’s that mysterious Divine Power." Zhang Chen looked at the brown light sphere, with a thoughtful gaze. The Divine Power he saw in the Material Realm was different from the one he saw now.
Do you know why?
The Divine Power in the Material Realm seems like a dead object. Although it has incredible abilities, it lacks spirituality and is entirely led by people. Meanwhile, the Divine Power in the Spiritual World possesses an indescribable spirituality, it is originally a living object, safeguarding the entire village.
However, when Zhang Chen looked at that brown light shield, he noticed something amiss, because he detected a sense of inexplicable aging and decline on it.
"Strange, ever since the Light of the True God evolved and derived runes, my Dharma Eye has become increasingly wondrous. I can even faintly perceive the aura of aging." Zhang Chen was somewhat surprised; it was the first time he saw an aura apart from the mysterious one.
The young boy "Di" arrived at the edge of the village, clasped his hands together and prayed towards the void, then turned to Zhang Chen: "Zhang, come with me. I’ve prayed and informed the deity."
Zhang Chen nodded at his words and followed the young boy into the light shield, but felt nothing, just as if passing through air.
The two walked through the village together. Men and women passing by were dressed in animal skins, carrying items in their hands. Upon seeing the young boy "Di", they called out, "Di, weren’t you attending the ceremony? How come you’re back so soon?"
"I successfully ignited my Qi Blood, so I returned."
The young boy "Di" spoke with pride in his voice.
"Ah, truly worthy of being the clan leader’s son. You’re doing well." The passersby praised the young boy Di upon hearing his words.
Halfway through, they encountered a burly man about thirty years old. The man was vigorous and had pronounced muscles, a very handsome face, and was holding a bronze dagger, repairing arrows in front of his door. As he saw the young boy "Di" entering from outside the village, his face changed slightly, but soon covered it up with a hearty smile:
"Isn’t this Di? Weren’t you attending the Qi Blood Ignition Ceremony? How come you’re back so quickly?"
"Hmph!"
Di glanced at the man, his eyes revealing coldness, pulling Zhang Chen as they passed the door. Once past it, the young boy "Di" lowered his voice and said to Zhang Chen: "He is Sheng’s father, known as the second strongest warrior in the tribe: Chong."
"Oh, so it’s him." Upon hearing Zhang Chen suddenly realized, then asked, "Since he is the second strongest warrior, who is the first?"
"Of course, it’s my father." The young boy’s voice was full of pride and admiration.
The two walked away, and Sheng’s father paused his arrow-fletching, eyes clouded with doubt: "Could Sheng have failed? I spent great effort getting to that Kui Ox ahead of time; how could it have failed?"
"Did it fail, or did they not have time to act? If the latter, then there’s room to salvage the situation. But if the act failed, the clan leader will surely retaliate." Chong’s eyes were filled with worry: "Then there would be no place in the tribe for my family."
As he contemplated, coincidentally, Sheng led a group of fifteen or sixteen-year-olds into the village, laughing and bidding farewell to them.
After the ceremony, he could naturally be with his friends. Previously, when Zhang Chen saw them in the forest, it was actually Sheng celebrating his trial’s completion.
As the son of the tribe’s elder, Sheng’s status was unusual, naturally able to gather a large group of youngsters to rally behind him.
"Dad, I successfully ignited my Qi Blood. Also... the matter we planned is done, that kid is crippled!" Sheng greeted his father.
However, Chong’s face showed no happiness, instead heavy gloom: "Come into the house, tell me in detail."
Sheng led Chong into the courtyard, closed the gate, and then lowered his voice to recount the story. In the end, he spoke filled with joy: "As long as Di is crippled, the clan leader’s line will have no successors, and the entire tribe will fall into our hands."
However, Sheng soon noticed something amiss, his father wore no joy, but a deep gloom: "You said you crippled that kid? But I clearly saw just now, that kid has ignited Qi Blood and had no injuries."
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! I saw with my own eyes him trampled by the Kui Ox, with rib fractures, incapable of hunting a Teeth Beast to ignite his Qi Blood. Could there be a mistake? Did you missee?" Sheng was filled with disbelief.
"That kid was feigning weakness, evidently pretending to be injured to deceive you. With your blatant provocation, he must have apprehended our plan. No wonder, when I greeted him earlier, he didn’t respond well..." Chong’s eyes turned serious.
"If that kid ignited Qi Blood, once he inherits the clan leader position, how could he tolerate us? Before he even inherits, the clan leader might settle accounts with us. If Di failed to ignite Qi Blood, with no successors for the clan leader, we could seize the chance to rally a group against the leader, but now that Di succeeded, those tribesmen won’t side with us." Sheng realized the gravity of the situation, fearing they might face destruction.
"Previously, the Luo tribe approached me secretly. Maybe we should consider a connection now, leave a way out for ourselves. That kid’s shrewdness is too deep; if he gains power, it’ll bring us misfortune." Chong took a deep breath: "You stay home, go nowhere, I’ll take a walk."
Meanwhile, Zhang Chen and the young boy "Di" walked through the village, arriving at a large mansion built of bluestone in the center, big enough to rival a two-entry courtyard of the twenty-first century.
"This is my house, apart from the temple, this is the center." The young boy "Di" introduced Zhang Chen, then called out into the yard: "Dad, come out to welcome the guest."
"Why are you shouting, kid! Did you pass the trial? If not, humiliate me, you better not come back," a reprimanding voice echoed like muffled thunder in the yard from within the house.