Chapter 12: Do you know about the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom
The next morning, Yi Yun woke up early to pick herbs.
Passing by the training grounds, Yi Yun saw the members of the warrior preparation camp gathered on the grounds. There was a huge pot centered amongst them. In it cooked something that smelled delicious!
This was the smell of meat!
Yi Yun recognized the smell immediately as he had been hungry for days.
After the Marrow Cleansing, Yi Yun realized that his appetite was fabulous. All the coarse rice porridge digested cleanly the moment they entered his stomach.
Yi Yun understood that as his body got better, its energy appetite got larger.
Being a person in the early beginnings of martial training, he didn’t have the ability to absorb the “Heaven-Earth Yuan Qi”. He could only rely on food as his source of energy.
But with the pathetic amounts of rice porridge he ate daily, it was utterly inadequate to replenish his energy!
Without food, how could he grow stronger?
All the elites in the tribe ate desolate beast meat daily. It gave large amounts of high quality energy, and was worlds apart from the whole grain porridge he ate!
Yi Yun knew that if he starved himself for prolonged periods, it would cause adverse harm to his body. He was still in his growing years, and only had a tremendous improvement in his body due to having been rejuvenated through the Marrow Cleansing.
Just like when a bamboo reaches the jointing stage, if little water were provided, it would be lead to the inability of harvesting it by digging it out. It would cause tremendous trouble!
In fact, Yi Yun’s current capabilities could easily allow him admission into the warrior preparation camp, where he could enjoy better treatment. However, if he wanted to obtain everything as a young fledging, the secret of the Purple Crystal might be revealed. His rejuvenation overnight could never be explained.
Besides, Yi Yun was not amiable with the warrior preparation camp or Lian Chengyu, so he had no plans to enter the warrior preparation camp.
“It must be wild beast meat. They obtained it by hunting.””
Jiang Xiaorou said jealously.
Based on this world’s customs, a normal person ate two meals a day. They wouldn’t eat breakfast upon waking up at 5am, but eat at 9am.
Only the warriors and the warrior trainees could have three meals a day. They could eat the moment they woke up as they needed the energy for training.
Because the members of the warrior preparation camp needed training, they didn’t need to participate in the manufacturing process. They would occasionally go hunting.
Due to the danger of the wilderness, these warrior trainees obtained little from their hunts. With the small amount obtained, the food was ate only by themselves, and none would be given the people. The reason being they needed to eat meat for training and to grow strength. For the poor plebeians, all they did were handiwork which didn’t exhaust much energy, so grain would suffice for them.
When Yi Yun and Jiang Xiaorou passed by, the men from the warrior preparation camp saw them. Zhao Tiezhu whistled as he took a piece of meat with the bone attached and munched in front of Yi Yun and Jiang Xiaorou.
“This roe deer meat is so fragrant, hahaha!” laughed Zhao Tiezhu with a triumphant expression.
The meat was flame roasted with salt and spices, the juices oozed out with a fragrance!
Zhao Tiezhu ate messily while licking his lips and fingers, as if he were about to swallow his own tongue.
Besides doing that, he sporadically took out a goat hide container and drank from it sparingly.
It was alcohol!
In the Lian tribe, alcohol was an absolute luxury. With food being scarce, how was it possible to get the grains to make alcohol?
The members of the warrior preparation camp could obtain a lot more rations allowing them to use a small portion of the rations to make the alcohol. They used the alcohol to warm their bodies during the winter mornings.
Even the remnants from the brewing were not wasted as they would distribute them to the poor. Although the remnants would have turned sour, it was better than starving to death, so the remnants were never wasted.
As such, the tribal elders had never objected to the warrior preparation camp from secretly brewing.
“Hahaha, drinking alcohol and eating meat are great joys in life.”
Zhao Tiezhu laughed loudly without a care in life.
It was only during such times that Zhao Tiezhu enjoyed the joys of life and the benefits of being a member of the warrior preparation camp bestowed upon him.
“These two beggars are really pitiful. Let’s give them some of the leftover broth later.”
The doe deer was roasted, so there was no broth. Jiang Xiaorou knew Zhao Tiezhu was deliberately teasing them. With a grunt, she grabbed Yi Yun’s hand ready to leave. But at this moment, her stomach betrayed her by growling.
Because Zhao Tiezhu was further away, he did not hear it, but Yi Yun heard it clearly. Jiang Xiaorou turned red from embarrassment.
Yi Yun watched by the sidelines, amused at her cuteness. To Jiang Xiaorou, having her stomach growl was beneath her status as an elder sister.
“Sis Xiaorou, in the future I’ll get you all sorts of delicacies, letting you eat the most delicious foods in the world!”
Yi Yun said it seriously while looking into Jiang Xiaorou’s eyes.
Jiang Xiaorou was shocked to hear her brother say such words. She brushed it off as child speak, but was happy that Yi Yun was so thoughtful of her.
She tenderly touched Yi Yun on the head, and said to him with a baby voice, “Sis is waiting!”
Being teased and touched on the head by a little loli, Yi Yun was speechless. But what could he do when he was shorter than the little loli. “Sis Xiaorou, do you know about the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom?
Based on what Lian Chengyu had said, there would be a Tai Ah Divine Kingdom warrior selection in three months. Once chosen, the person will undergo a drastic change in status. This was why Lian Chengyu was so desperate cultivating himself, and obtained a piece of desolate bones at all costs.
“Tai Ah Divine Kingdom…” Xiaorou’s expression wandered into her memories. “Tai Ah Divine Kingdom’s human tribe is an ancient kingdom. It has jurisdiction over 108 states, and 24 wild lands!”
“Our present location is among the 24 wild lands, named Cloud Wilderness.”
“Tai Ah Divine Kingdom is very powerful. There are many experts in the capital. The kingdom’s warriors mostly come from the 108 states. It’s not that the wild lands’ warrior are weak, but because of the low population in the 24 wild lands. Organizing a warrior selection requires a lot of logistics and manpower, so the assessment costs are high.“
For the warrior selection process, the preliminaries will be done by people from the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom to select people from the tribes, or those young warriors would be going to their deaths by crossing the wilderness.
“But this time, the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom choice of doing the warrior selection in the Cloud Wilderness is extremely odd. Regardless, it is a great opportunity for the numerous small tribes in the Cloud Wilderness. Lian Chengyu eyed this opportunity and wants to soar to the top in one go, escaping this poor small village.”
With Jiang Xiaorou slowly explaining, it surprised Yi Yun, “Sis, how do you know so much?”
Jiang Xiaorou’s voice may still sound juvenile, but her insight and verbal ability was nothing like a child’s.
“I heard all of this from my birth mother. I have also read quite a lot about strange phenomena when I was young, so I know quite a bit. Yun-er, it looks like you don’t remember a lot of things. I taught you how to read too.”
“Oh…” Yi Yun rubbed his head and smiled sheepishly. Indeed, how could a kid from a poor family read?
It was to Jiang Xiaorou’s credit that he could read.
To be able to read since young, Jiang Xiaorou must have been born with a silver spoon.
“Sis Xiaorou, Lian Chengyu said that if he were to become a kingdom warrior of the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom, he would bring the entire tribe into the city, is that true?”
“Extremely difficult…” Jiang Xiaorou shook her head. “Tai Ah Divine Kingdom’s warrior selection has many rounds. There’s the preliminaries, semi-finals, many are eliminated each round. Those with exceptional results are bestowed ‘Kingdom Scholar’. That is an extremely prestigious title. The best among the Kingdom Scholars will be able to enter the kingdom’s capital and enjoy the kingdom’s resources, and learn the “Tai Ah Sacred Technique!”
“To bring the entire tribe into the city, not only have one got to pass the semi-finals, one has to have good results. Lian Chengyu might not reach that standard yet. Even if he were to reach that standard in the future, from his personality, it is unlikely he will care about us”
“Yun-er, why do you ask? You can’t be hoping that Lian Chengyu will become a kingdom warrior and lead us to a good life, right?”
“I was just asking.” Yi Yun touched his nose saying. He would be better off wishing that pigs could fly than count on Lian Chengyu.“
If that guy were to come out of isolation and see him alive, he might kill Yi Yun at the first opportunity!
Yi Yun was banking that he would already have obtained the ability to protect himself by then. The identity of the destroyer was still up in the air!
“It seems like I could participate in the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom’s warrior selection, that is definitely a quick way to ensure that the both of us can lead a good life!”
“For that ‘Tai Ah Sacred Technique’, it has to be some kind of cultivation manual. To practice martial arts in this world, manuals are a must. The Purple Crystal may be magical, but it could only rejuvenate myself. If I don’t enter the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom, where would I get a cultivation manual?” Yi Yun made the decision while mumbling to himself.
He couldn’t leave the Lian tribe yet for even though his strength had increased, it was still foolhardy to cross the wilderness. He had to enhance himself while in the Lian tribe, pass the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom’s warrior selection. That was the best choice he had under his circumstances!