79 RI

The sky was pure and azure, and the ground was like a sea of jade.

The soil here was especially fertile with water plants growing lushly, reaching up to a man's knee.

This was the famous Yu Tian of Northern Plains, reputed as one of the most abundant pasturelands. Now, people were gathering here with their banners fluttering in the wind.

Yu Tian's heroes assembly had already lasted for half a month.

In the first week, every tribe was shouting their own slogans, causing clamor and disturbance. But gradually, all the forces began to join up through alliances. And now, the two strongest forces remained.

One side was Liu tribe's Liu Wen Wu and another was Hei tribe's Hei Lou Lan.

At this moment, the two sides were valiantly confronting each other.

In the center of the people was built a spacious battle stage.

In the battle stage, two Northern Plains' Gu Masters were having an intense battle; both of them with rank four cultivation.

Outside the stage, everyone was looking at the battle intensely. Battles at tribe leader levels were not something they normally had a chance to observe.

Especially the two people on the stage; one righteous and another demonic, both were famous characters and had deep hatred against each other!

"Water Demon, hand over your life!" The middle aged Gu Master in the battle stage shouted and stamped his foot, jumping into the air.

In the air, he took a deep breath then breathed out a basket-sized dark flame towards his opponent.

Water Demon Hao Ji Liu's heart gave warning signs.

His eyes flashed with blue light as he crazily poured his yellow gold primeval essence into water wall Gu.

"Rise!"

He raised his two palms from bottom to top; his movement looked heavy as if he was lifting a weight of ten thousand catties.

Following his movement, boundless water vapor formed into a blue waterfall that rose up from the ground.

The waterfall charged up in reverse and then came down, forming an arch of thick water wall.

The dark flames slowly fell onto the water wall and was immediately extinguished.

"Huh?" The spectators were stunned. They were just about to ridicule Water Demon for making a big fuss over nothing, when suddenly the spark with only a bit of light left in it suddenly exploded!

BOOM!!!

The deafening explosion was like the crackling of the thunder.

Great amounts of flames rushed forth and evaporated the thick water wall into water vapor.

The strong impact created a frantic wind that rapidly spread everywhere.

But the storm could not get out of the stage. There were Gu Masters standing around the battle stage, activating their defensive Gu to form a round barrier that firmly guarded the stage.

"Such terrifying skill!"

"Such intense explosion has already neared the effect of a rank five Gu. This killer move has all along been concealed by Fire Prodigal Chai Ming!"

"Although Water Demon detected it, he still underestimated Lord Chai Ming's attack."

As the shocks from the explosion started to dull down, everyone started discussing and making a din with their gaze concentrating on the battle stage.

Even Hei Lou Lan and Liu Wen Wu were unable to take their eyes off.

But within the round light barrier, water vapor caused the stage to become a scene of white, making people unable to see clearly.

Everyone patiently waited and when the water vapor dispersed, Chai Ming was still standing tall on the stage while gasping and looking at the body under his foot: "Water Demon, did you think a day like this would come when you killed my father that year?!"

Water Demon Hao Ji Liu spurted out mouthfuls of blood showing a pained expression under Chai Ming's step.

"Hahaha, it is our win!"

"Lord Chai Ming is mighty!"

The spectators were dazed for a while before the side belonging to Liu Wen Wu burst out with extremely loud cheers.

On the other hand, on Hei Lou Lan's side, some onlookers were silent, while others had twitching mouths.

"Brother Lou Lan, you let me win 1 ." Liu Wen Wu stood up from his seat and cupped his fists towards Hei Lou Lan with a smile, showing an elegant demeanour.

Hei Lou Lan looked like he had not expected this result as he coldly snorted. Just as he was about to say few words to keep up with the formalities...

Whoosh!

A soft sound sounded out, and Chai Ming looked towards his chest in shock.

A sharp water blade protruded out of his heart.

He looked back slowly to see his enemy Hao Ji Liu malevolently smiling towards him with his face full of blisters from the fire.

"This is the real body, then under my foot is...." Chai Ming was full of doubts.

Bang.

Coincidentally at this time, the 'Hao Ji Liu' under his feet turned into a pool of water and dispersed.

"It is water image Gu!" someone exclaimed.

"Water image Gu is a rare rank four Gu, but Water Demon clearly used many other methods to make his water image look so lifelike."

The sounds beside his ears allowed Chai Ming to understand the reason for his defeat.

"Despicable...." He said the last word of his life and died with an extremely indignant heart.

"Lord Chai Ming!" Many people cried out in sorrow.

"Brother!!" Chai tribe leader cried out with tears rapidly flowing down his eyes.

"Hahaha..." Hei Lou Lan threw his head back and laughed loudly without concealing his joy in the slightest. He raised his thumb towards the Water Demon, "Hao Ji Liu, you did great! Come, drink this wine!"

"Many thanks for lord's reward." Water Demon walked off the stage while grimacing in pain from the burns that were all over his body, but still accepted the cup of wine and drank it in one shot.

"Great wine!" He gave a flattering smile and returned the wine cup to Hei Lou Lan.

Although everyone disdained his shamelessness, his strength was displayed in front of them and with adding in his evil reputation, no one ridiculed or mocked him.

Hei Lou Lan waved his hand and spoke with his coarse and boorish voice: "Take this cup as a reward too. Yan Cui Er, come, bring me a new cup and pour me the best wine!"

Following his beckoning, a beautiful young girl in gorgeous attire obediently walked forward and places several wine cups in the table in front of Hei Lou Lan, then gracefully poured wine.

She was the eldest daughter of Yan tribe, Liu Wen Wu's fiancee; kidnapped by Water Demon Hao Ji Liu, she was offered to Hei Lou Lan as a meeting gift.

Hei Lou Lan hurriedly brought Yan Cui Er with him to the heroes assembly as an attack against Liu Wen Wu.

"Young master Liu, you can't win against me. Why not admit defeat and I shall return your fiancee to you?" Hei Lou Lan drank the wine in one shot and boorishly wiped off the wine that dropped to his beard.

"Hehehe, why does a man have to worry about having no wife? This girl is beautiful, but how could she replace the ambition inside my heart? Brother Lou Lan, haven't you heard of the old saying that women are like clothes while brothers are like our hands and feet ? Since brother Lou Lan likes her, feel free to have her." Liu Wen Wu chuckled, showing not even a bit of anger.

"Young master Liu is really ambitious!"

"Young master Liu Wen Wu is a true man of our Northern Plains."

"Right, only such a person is worthy for us to follow!"

Liu tribe's side spoke one after another in support of Liu Wen Wu. Since it was a woman, they were not moved and did not have any thoughts of retorting.

This was the tradition of Northern Plains, regarding men as superior to women; w omen are like clothes and brothers are like hands and feet — this saying was said by none other than Giant Sun Immortal Venerable.

The bloodlines that Giant Sun Immortal Venerable had passed on was collectively called as Huang Jin family.

Huang Jin family held the supreme authority in Northern Plains and also followed the old ancestor's tradition.

Since Liu Wen Wu could compete with Hei Lou Lan on equal terms, he was naturally not somebody easy to deal with. His words were instead secretly ridiculing Hei Lou Lan's lustful and unambitious nature, giving him an appearance that he was not infatuated with the mortal affairs.

Hei Lou Lan furiously snorted: "Your Liu tribe has always been able to talk well. But so what? Come come come, we will send our people on the stage and have a match!"

Liu Wen Wu's expression immediately changed a little.

Rather than Yan Cui Er, this was his greatest weak spot.

In the previous nine matches, he only won three matches and lost many experts. In the battle just before, he even lost the rank four expert Fire Prodigal Chai Ming.

Now, Hei Lou Lan was inviting him for battle again, and he had no choice but to accept.

If he did not accept, it would show his cowardice. The men of the Northern Plains despised a cowardly master the most.

But if he accepted, he was sure to lose more than win.

"Damn it, this bastard is intentionally challenging me to weaken my elite battle forces. But I cannot show weakness in the heroes assembly. Who should I send this time?"

Liu Wen Wu inwardly gritted his teeth, his gaze sweeping beside him.

There were people from both righteous and demonic path who had sided with him, with no lack of famous characters. But at this moment, they did not dare to meet Liu Wen Wu's gaze and either lowered their head or gazed far away.

Right as Liu Wen Wu's subordinates were feeling awkward, a loud voice came from a distance: "Big brother, no need to worry, send me!"

"Third brother has come." Liu Wen Wu was very happy at the voice.

The crowd parted and created a passage. The person who walked through the path caused everyone to be surprised.

This person was tall with a beefed up body, a fierce mouth and wide nose, skin as dark as ink, with snowy white lush hair and beard that seemed to blend together like a lion's mane.

The white hair and black skin was such an unusual appearance that caused the crowd to be dazed for a while before someone exclaimed, revealing this person's identity - "This person — is an inkman!"

Rockman, eggman, hairy man and inkman were not Ren Zu's descendants but variant men.

Inkman was also recorded in the Legends of Ren Zu. Their homeland was the Book Mountain.

The book mountain had an Ink Waterfall which would crash down on the Literature Spring, and the raging ink would fall on the rocks, forming inkmen.

"Big brother, little brother is late!" This inkman walked to the center of the site and bowed deeply towards Liu Wen Wu.

"Not late, not late. You came at a good time." Liu Wen Wu patted the inkman's shoulder and introduced him to everyone, "Everyone, this is Mo Shi Kuang, whom I have sworn brotherhood to at my early years."

"Mo Shi Kuang.... Young master Liu really has good vision, fooling around with an insignificant variant man. Alright, let my Viper Prince exchange moves with your brother."

From Hei Lou Lan's side, a male Gu Master with triangular eyes walked out.

"Come." Viper Prince walked to the battle stage and beckoned Mo Shi Kuang with his finger.

Mo Shi Kuang was provoked by this action and immediately jumped to the stage in fury: "Die!"

He clapped his two palms.

BOOM!

An invisible force swept everything, crushing towards viper prince without any obstacle.

"What? Qi path!? Rank four peak stage!! Shit..." Viper Prince could not even finish speaking before he was crushed into minced meat which then splattered everywhere.

The result was decided with one move.

Gasp...

The sounds of sucking in cold breath resounded in the air.

-x-X-x-

Hei Lou Lan looked at Mo Shi Kuang with a gloomy face.

He had a bad premonition when Mo Shi Kuang stepped on the stage, but when Mo Shi Kuang smashed Viper Prince into minced meat with one move, Hei Lou Lan's heart turned heavy.

Mo Shi Kuang was a rank four peak stage expert and cultivated Qi path.

Humans were the spirit of all living beings and could awaken their aperture through hope Gu.

Since variant men had the 'man' word on them, they naturally had higher spirituality than beasts. But this spirituality was much less than humans. Thus, only few variant men could achieve such accomplishments in cultivating.

The absolute majority of the variant men would never awaken their aperture in their whole life, only a few fortunate ones could.

Only the fortunate among these fortunate ones could achieve success in cultivation.

This Mo Shi Kuang was one such special case.

"No wonder Liu Wen Wu made friends with Mo Shi Kuang, if it were me, I will also be willing to make friends with such a rank four peak stage expert." Realization dawned upon many people.

"Hey, the black-skinned fatty over there, is it you who wants to oppose my big brother? Come come, send your experts, let me slap your lackeys flat!" Mo Shi Kuang patted his chest and shouted loudly, a heroic aura showed in his boorish manner.

"Black-skinned fatty..." Hei Lou Lan's eyelids twitched and was extremely angry, 'Although I am fat, am I as black as you? This black boor is really hateful!"

"Hei Xiu Yi." Hei Lou Lan lightly called, his calm voice holding within a burning rage.

"Here!" A thin man immediately responded.

"Go teach this guy a lesson."

"Yes, lord tribe leader." Hei Xiu Yi agreed expressionlessly and unhurriedly walked.

His gaze was as indifferent as ice. As he walked, a black light blossomed over his whole light. The black light condensed and formed an armor that firmly covered him.

Next, a dim green halo flew over his head.

Fifty-six flying bone shields flew out and hovered beside him, completely shielding him.

Similarly, nine greyish-blue ghost faces whimpered and hovered around him.

By the time he stepped on the stage, he was completely armed and protected.

The crowd was in a clamor, Hei Lou Lan's words were very imposing but he actually sent a defensive Gu Master to bring out Mo Shi Kuang's trump cards.

"Ahahahaha." Mo Shi Kuang was instead very happy, "You are a guy asking for a beating, come, eat my punch!"

The moment he finished speaking, his right hand clenched into a fist and fiercely punched at Hei Xiu Yi.

Instantly, his fist strength condensed into a thick fist qi which fiercely slammed at Hei Xiu Yi who was dozen of steps away.

If it was someone else, just this punch would leave them handicapped if not dead.

But Hei Xiu Yi forcibly took on this punch; his upper body shook a bit, but his lower body did not move in the slightest.

"Good!" Mo Shi Kuang was very happy at this. He was different from ordinary inkmen, and was extremely addicted to fighting. He became thrilled at this moment and shouted, "Again!"

He slowly took off to the air, his snow-white hair swaying loosely with the air. After pulling open a distance from Hei Xiu Yi, he started to punch rapidly.

The punch shadows rained down like a torrential rain, the translucent fist qi shooting towards Hei Xiu Yi.

ORA ORA ORA!!!!

The fist qi exploded on Hei Xiu Yi's armor, producing a sound like that of thunder crackling.

But Hei Xiu Yi was like a giant reef that would stand tall no matter how many sea waves struck it.

The fifty six flying bone shields dispelled most of the force on him.

Some bits and pieces of fist qi struck at his black iron like armor, but it was of no use.

The scattered qi flow was absorbed completely by the nine ghost faces.

When Mo Shi Kuang's crazed attacks stopped, the halo above Hei Xiu Yi let out a dim green light and shone down upon the flying bone shield, completely repairing the cracks in the shields.

"Let me return this to you." Hei Xiu Yi sneered; the nine ghost faces opened their mouths together and spurted out dozens of fist qi.

Shockingly, Mo Shi Kuang's attack was returned back to him in full.

Mo Shi Kuang was dazed at the dozens of fist qi; the fist qi exploded on him one after another and he crashed down to the ground.

"Hahaha, rank four peak stage is nothing outstanding." Immediately, someone shouted outside the stage.

"Young master!" A person beside Liu Wen Wu nervously shouted, "Hei Xiu Yi is one of the three commanders of the black banner troops; a rank four upper stage Gu Master specialized in defense. Should we call Mo Shi Kuang back?"

"Don't worry." Liu Wen Wu was not worried and instead had a joyful smile as he looked at Hei Lou Lan then at Hei Xiu Yi at the stage, "My third brother is extremely addicted to fighting. The stronger the opponent is, the more excited he becomes. Hehe, watch the show unfold now."

"Hahaha... refreshing, so refreshing." Mo Shi Kuang suddenly let out a crazed laughter and jumped up from the ground.

His eyes turned as red as fire and he looked at Hei Xiu Yi with a burning gaze.

"You are somewhat interesting, worthy of me using half my strength." Mo Shi Kuang said earnestly.

Hei Xiu Yi was naturally not happy: "Hmph, boastful guy, give me all you've got!"

"HAAAAAAH!" Mo Shi Kuang's body shook, an intense inhuman aura like that of lions or bears erupted from his body, oppressing everyone's hearts.

Whoosh!

He rushed to the sky with overflowing might like that of a demon god, and lifted his right leg.

"Here it comes!" He excitedly shouted and kicked his right leg towards Hei Xiu Yi.

Whoosh!

The sound of the wind suddenly whirled and boundless air condensed into an enormous foot.

This foot was nearly transparent and was as big as a small hill. It crashed down rapidly with an incomparably violent momentum.

"Such an attack!" For a moment, not only Hei Xiu Yi, but Hei Lou Lan and others all stared with their eyes wide open.

"Defend, use all your strength!!" The several rank three Gu Masters who were in charge of defending the site, shouted one after another.

The enormous foot stamped down; Hei Xiu Yi gritted his teeth and immediately sent his fifty-six flying bone shields to take it on.

But the flying bone shields could not last for even a second and were smashed by the foot!

Next, the enormous foot smashed down like a mountain.

The green halo was instantly broken, the nine ghost faces did their best to absorb the force but could only weaken one-tenth of it before dispersing.

The chaotic air flow could not even scatter before it was suppressed by the enormous foot.

Hei Xiu Yi felt an irresistible force heavily pressing down on his spine. He wanted to resist, but was powerless and within a few breaths of time, was pressed down to the ground.

The black iron armor which had made him famous was crushed to pieces by the huge force.

Crack...

The sounds of his bones breaking continuously entered his ears and large amounts of blood flowed out of his seven facial orifices.

The huge force was still spreading towards the surroundings. Several defensive Gu Masters had to sacrifice their lives to maintain the light barrier and not let it collapse.

After the dust dispersed, Hei Xiu Yi was lying on the ground like a dead dog, motionless and at his last breath.

Hei Lou Lan's expression paled as he stood up immediately. Hei Xiu Yi was part of his direct family line and was one of the three commanders of the black banner troops; without him, black banner troop's battle strength would fall by at least twenty percent. At the same time, Hei Xiu Yi was Hei tribe's supreme elder's grand-nephew's son, so this was a matter of utmost concern.

Hei Lou Lan had never expected Mo Shi Kuang to be so strong; his strike could almost jump realms and challenge rank five Gu Masters.

Hei Xiu Yi could not be lost, Hei Lou Lan immediately sent orders: "Bring back Hei Xiu Yi!"

Immediately, two rank three Gu Masters rushed forward.

The defensive Gu Masters hesitated but not wanting to offend Hei Lou Lan, they did not block the way, instead loosening up the barrier.

"Lord, this Hei Lou Lan is extremely shameless, actually is trying to break the rules! Let me go too!" A Liu tribe elder shouted in indignation.

Liu Wen Wu, however, just chuckled: "Nothing to worry, let them experience the power of my sworn brother."

"A group of scoundrels!" Mo Shi Kuang shouted in fury before waving forward with his right fist.

He seemed to be dragging a thousand jun of weight as he moved his hand, giving a feeling of slow exertion of power.

An enormous arm made of qi - fifty feet in length and ten feet wide - rapidly formed under everyone's dumbstruck gaze.

Whoosh...

The qi arm produced a sound like that of a roaring dragon or tiger and also seemed like a hurricane that would blow away everything.

The enormous qi arm fiercely swept across in a wild and unrestrained manner; if it came across mountains, it would break them, and if it came across seas, it would split them!

The two rank three Gu Masters that came to rescue Hei Xiu Yi were like flies as they were swept flying by the enormous qi arm.

The qi arm then swept outside the stage, causing sounds of shocks and screams to resound.

Many spectating Gu Masters who were not able to dodge in time were smashed into minced meat by the qi arm. Hei Lou Lan and his group hurriedly retreated to avoid the brunt of the attack.

"Courting death!"

"Kill him!"

"He actually attacked us, let's attack him together!!"

Hei Lou Lan and his group who avoided the brunt of the attack, made their moves one after another and immediately shattered the qi arm.

"Hahaha, more!" Mo Shi Kuang did not show a hint of fear in facing so many Gu Masters, and instead became even more happy, his battle intent burning high.

He advanced instead of retreating like a tiger that had came out of the mountain, his beard fluttering as he charged towards Hei Lou Lan and the group.

"Not good, third brother has gone berserk again." Liu Wen Wu could not remain calm anymore, he waved his hand, "Everyone, follow me to reinforce third brother!"

Liu tribe's side also entered the battle; heroes assembly immediately turned into a chaotic mess, an unprecedented large chaotic battle suddenly unfolded.

Mo Shi Kuang rampaged here and there in the battlefield, and Hei Lou Lan along with his group smoothly grabbed Hei Xiu Yi and retreated. Chai tribe's Gu Masters charged towards Water Demon Hao Ji Liu, and the heavily injured Hao Ji Liu could only flee here and there...

It was chaos.

"Shit! This is only the heroes assembly, we absolutely cannot have such a battle and suffer huge losses, if so how will we vie for the Imperial Court?"

"What to do? Even if our side wins, it will be a miserable victory!"

Liu Wen Wu and Hei Lou Lan felt the situation was far from good, they tried to stop it but it was in vain.

Howl!

Right at this moment, an intensely desolate wolf howl spread from far away, manifesting the presence of a beast emperor.

Howl!

Countless wolf howls followed soon after. The howling merged into a grand and majestic howl that resounded all over heaven and earth!

-x-X-x-

"What happened?"

"Is there a wolf tide coming?!"

"So many wolves! There are night wolves, wind wolves, turtleback wolves, wait! There are water wolves and vermillion flame wolves!"

The shocked voices called out as the people stopped fighting, turning around and focusing their attention on the wolves.

But what they saw was a grand wolf army approaching from all directions. All sorts of northern plains wolves gathered together, and charged over collectively.

The black and nimble night wolves, the elegant wind wolves, the defensive turtleback wolves, the pure as snow water wolves, and the ones coated in blazing flames, vermillion flame wolves...

These wolf groups came together, each had at least several tens of thousands in number. At once, the grand wolf army filled everyone's field of vision, causing people to feel suffocated as a chill grew in their hearts.

A group of people moved slowly under the protection of the wolf groups. Large numbers of farm slug Gu, black skin fat armor beetles carried huge amounts of resources, while lizard house Gu moved their four limbs forward. There was a grand tribe flag carried by one of them, symbolizing the main tent's location. On the blue flag, there was a huge word written as 'Ge'.

"It's Ge tribe..."

"That means, this is Chang Shan Yin's wolf army?"

"Didn't Chang Shan Yin battle three tribes consecutively, how did his wolf groups expand by so much?"

Suspicion and questions filled everyone's hearts.

"According to our intel, the Wolf King has night wolves, wind wolves, and turtleback wolves. But where did he get all these water wolves and vermillion flame wolves?" Liu Wen Wu's face was grim.

"Big brother." Mo Shi Kuang returned to Liu Wen Wu's side, the huge wolf groups caused his heart to jump secretly.

"The water wolves can be explained, after all Ge tribe stayed in crescent lake for such a long time, and water wolves are most common there. But can anyone tell me where these eighty thousand vermillion flame wolves came from?"

"Vermillion flame wolves are much rarer than wind wolves, water wolves, and night wolves, they have the strongest attack power among wild wolves. We have to check clearly, where did Chang Shan Yin get such a powerful force suddenly? Can anyone tell me?!"

At once, countless tribe leaders and elders cursed the intel gathering Gu Masters in their tribes.

"Forget the vermillion flame wolves, look at that largest night wolf, is it a wolf emperor?!" Zhong Fei You pointed as he shouted.

The truth is, once the night wolf emperor appeared, numerous gazes were already assessing it.

"It truly is... a night wolf emperor." The authority of a wolf emperor was absolute, after Bei Cao Chuan clarified it, he said dryly.

Everyone gasped.

Wolf emperor!

This was equivalent to the strength of a rank five Gu Master!!

Chang Shan Yin was only a rank four Gu Master, he actually had control of a wolf emperor?

As expected of an established character, the hero of northern plains, the one who had once single handedly taken down Ha Tu Gu and his band of bandits, this legend!

"Damn it! How did his strength rise so much? With the wolf emperor, he is already on par with Ma Zun, Jiang Bao Ya, and Yang Po Tian!" Pei Yan Fei who wanted to take revenge clenched his fists, the grand wolf army made him feel a strong sense of helplessness and defeat.

Seeing the wolf army approaching them, everyone showed a grim and fearful expression.

The chaotic battle had stopped, everyone was gathering around Liu Wen Wu and Hei Lou Lan's side, getting into their formations.

Soon after, under everyone's gaze, Fang Yuan rode the white-eyes wolf as he followed Ge Guang and the rest and came to Hei Lou Lan.

"Wolf King Chang Shan Yin, I've long heard of your name!" Hei Lou Lan first greeted him.

Hei Lou Lan's body was bulky like an angry bear, his uneven shiny white teeth were like daggers giving people a ruthless feeling. His triangular eyes shone with threatening brilliance.

This person was extremely lecherous, it was a well known fact in northern plains.

Fang Yuan laughed lightly as he turned to look at Liu Wen Wu.

Liu Wen Wu wore white clothes, having a scholarly aura, looking like a perfect young master. His eyes were mild and his face was like jade. Beside him, there was a nine feet tall ink man, his body was black and he had white hair, standing like a guardian, he was the number one fierce general in this Imperial Court competition — Mo Shi Kuang.

Liu Wen Wu's heart jumped, Fang Yuan's deep gaze made him feel amiss.

Chang Shan Yin and Chang tribe's enmity had already been spread to the world by Ge tribe during the battle in crescent lake.

Right now, Chang tribe had already submitted to Liu Wen Wu, if Chang Shan Yin wants revenge on Chang tribe, he would first have to deal with Liu Wen Wu.

Fang Yuan retracted his gaze, looking at Hei Lou Lan, he said with a plain tone but his voice resounded in everyone's ears: "The reason why I have returned is to exact revenge. Coincidentally, the competition for the Imperial Court was undergoing, this will also allow me to meet all the grand heroes in northern plains. Brother Lou Lan, why don't we team up?"

Hei Lou Lan's pupils shrunk, as he happily stood up, walking towards Fang Yuan, grabbing his shoulders as he laughed: "Gaining Wolf King's help, it would be my greatest honor!"

At Hei tribe, the people suddenly exploded as their cheered loudly.

"Your defeated opponent, Hao Ji Liu, pays respect to Lord Wolf King." Water Demon paid respects to Fang Yuan with trepidation.

Hei Lou Lan frowned, immediately turning around, although Hao Ji Liu had gained some merits, if he offended Chang Shan Yin, Hei Lou Lan would have to kill him to express goodwill towards Chang Shan Yin.

But Fang Yuan nodded at Hao Ji Liu: "No matter, just do your best from now on."

Hao Ji Liu breathed a huge sigh of relief.

"Hahaha, the Wolf King truly has a big heart, such magnanimity, I am in awe!" Hei Lou Lan's laughter became louder, Hao Ji Liu was a rank four upper stage Gu aster, an absolute expert. Now that he got the best of both worlds, he was overjoyed.

While Hei tribe rejoiced, Liu tribe sank into solemness.

Although Liu Wen Wu had predicted this, his mood still turned terrible.

"If I had known this, I would not have agreed to Chang tribe's request. How can a Chang tribe compare to Chang Shan Yin? Sigh, but now that the deed has been done, I cannot salvage it further."

He sighed in his heart.

Yan Cui Er was his wife-to-be, but he could discard her. Not just because of the patriarchal traditions, but also because Yan tribe had been exterminated.

But Chang tribe's strength was still intact.

If he really gave up on Chang tribe, it would make all the tribes that subdued to him feel disheartened and fearful, he, Liu Wen Wu, could not do such a thing.

"Hei tribe leader, my Wang tribe would like to join you, what do you think?"

"Hei Lou Lan, my Fang tribe will be betting on you this time."

"Ye tribe is willing to submit to Hei tribe."

At once, several of the undecided large tribes immediately chose to side with Hei Lou Lan.

Although Liu Wen Wu had fierce generals like Mo Shi Kuang, Wolf King Chang Shan Yin had allied with Hei Lou Lan.

With such a huge wolf group as the vanguard, who knows how many people's lives would be saved in the future.

This way, all of the tribes at Yu Tian heroes assembly made their choices. A large portion joined Hei Lou Lan, while the rest went to Liu Wen Wu.

"Hahaha, Liu tribe's lad, we will meet on the battlefield next time!"

"Brother Lou Lan, till we meet again."

Now was not the time to fight, there were still several powerful forces outside of Yu Tian. The two groups were vigilant as they moved away from each other, towards their main camp.

On the way back, Liu Wen Wu called the intel tribe elder and chided him in public: "Where did Chang Shan Yin's wolves come from? Investigate, investigate it clearly!"

"Yes young master! I will definitely make up for my mistake..." The tribe elder left with a forehead full of sweat.

"Brother, don't worry. Regardless of how many wolves he has, I can directly attack and kill that Chang Shan Yin." Mo Shi Kuang consoled him with a fearless tone.

But Liu Wen Wu was deep in thoughts.

Against an enslavement path master, one would definitely choose the beheading leader tactic. But now that Chang Shan Yin has gone to Hei Lou Lan, when they meet in battle again, Hei tribe would definitely keep him protected.

By then, it would be extremely difficult to kill him!

But, he could not ignore the concern of his sworn brother.

Liu Wen Wu smiled lightly, patting Mo Shi Kuang's shoulder: "Hehehe, third brother, you are an unparalleled warrior that can easily take the enemy's head, of course I trust you." @@novelbin@@

"Big brother, you forgot about second brother. As long as he comes out of his closed cultivation, us three brothers would be able to work together, what's there to fear in the entire northern plains?" Mo Shi Kuang laughed.

"Second brother?" Liu Wen Wu's eyes shone, the pressure lifting in his heart: "That's right, when second brother comes out, Chang Shan Yin is not our match when we work together. but now, we should not bother with Hei tribe, this is a troublesome tribe. We should take down the west area and gather our strength, and strengthen ourselves."

"Just do what you want brother, I will follow behind you."

At the same time, at another group, Hei Lou Lan laughed loudly: "Hahaha, after today, Yu Tian heroes assembly's news will spread, all the forces around here will feel a great headache. Brother Shan Yin, your wolf army will definitely make them suspicious and scared."

Fang Yuan had great strength, Hei Lou Lan had paid attention to him long ago. Now that he joined him willingly, this Hei tribe leader definitely had to build a relationship with him.

Not only did he treat Chang Shan Yin as an equal, when they talked, he even started calling him brother.

Fang Yuan heard Hei Lou Lan's words and knew this was a secretive inquisition, thus he laughed plainly: "To speak the truth, I did not expect such gains. Back then at onion valley, I left some wolves behind. To think that after these years, they would expand to this extent."

Ge Guang beside him also said: "That's right, when Lord Supreme Elder came out of onion valley, the endless number of wolves stunned us all."

The truth was, after Fang Yuan went into onion valley alone, he opened the stargate and connected it to Hu Immortal blessed land, bringing out most of the wolves inside.

When he led the wolf group back to Ge tribe, almost everyone was speechless. This way, the entire Ge tribe was his witness.

At the same time, he covered up his tracks on onion valley.

Right now, the evidences were solid as a mountain.

"Hahaha, brother Shan Yin's luck is truly admirable. Letting the wolf groups develop on their own is a helpless measure, one rarely gained anything. Brother managed to get some gains, you truly are a fated individual, even heaven wants you to come out of seclusion once more. To speak the truth, after you disappeared, the entire northern plain went silent. Heaven did not want to see this, it did not want a grand character like brother to end up being secluded in the mountains."

Hei Lou Lan's words were all flattery, it sounded like the entire northern plains only had Chang Shan Yin.

But Fang Yuan gave a mild smile purposely, laughing arrogantly: "This time, I want to exact revenge, but I also want to spar with Ma Zun, Yang Po Ying, and Jiang Bao Ya. Finally, I want to make use of Imperial Court blessed land and improve my cultivation further."

Saying so, he acted as if the entire Imperial Court was his own.

Hearing such arrogant words, even Water Demon Hao Ji Liu bit his tongue.

"Good, this is the aspiration of a true northern plains man!" Hei Lou Lan praised, giving a thumbs up to Fang Yuan, taking out a Gu worm as he handed it to him: "Good Gu belongs to heroes, since brother Shan Yin came to me, that is my honor. This rank five Gu is our meeting gift, please accept it."

Fang Yuan took a look, this was a turtle jade wolf skin Gu, it had great defense. Fang Yuan had heard of this Gu's recipe back in his previous life, the rank five turtle jade wolf skin Gu was made using a living turtleback wolf emperor.

If there really was a turtleback wolf emperor, Fang Yuan would rather it be part of his force, than sacrifice it and turn it into a Gu.

Although Fang Yuan could use treasure yellow heaven to get rank five Gu as well, this turtle jade wolf skin Gu suited his enslavement path. It would take him a lot of time, effort, and most importantly, immortal essence stones, to get such a Gu.

After all, Fang Yuan only had two immortal essence stones left.

Now that this Gu was given to him for free, that would be the best.

"Alright then, I will happily receive it." Fang Yuan said, as he really grabbed this Gu without hesitation.

-x-X-x-

Twelve days later.

In the secret room, Fang Yuan was seated above a cushion with both eyes closed, his whole body was tense, and his mind was in placid tranquility. His attention was solely focused on the turtle jade wolf skin Gu that was within his aperture.

Currently, the Gu floated atop his primeval sea within his first aperture; primeval essence was continuously poured onto it, which caused the Gu to emit a jade colored light.

The light radiated from his aperture, and illuminated Fang Yuan's entire body.

Gradually, the rays of light dimmed. The entire turtle jade wolf skin Gu dissipated into tiny fluorescent particles, thoroughly destroyed.

Fang Yuan was already mentally prepared. Turtle jade wolf skin Gu needed to be consumed, and would leave imprints on the Gu Master's body, similar to the bronze skin Gu and iron bone Gu.

"These past few days I've been in constant seclusion, my body has finally been refined to turtle jade wolf skin."

Fang Yuan slowly opened his eyes, and pulled back the cuffs of his sleeves to examine the skin on his arms.

His skin still retained the natural color of flesh, but when Fang Yuan took out a dagger and ruthlessly slashed at his arm, immediately, the effects of the turtle jade wolf skin Gu activated.

When the dagger made contact with his skin, the skin immediately turned to a jadish-green, while the faint lines of turtle shells pulsated outwards.

Cutting the skin was similar to a collision with iron, or possibly jade, but the skin still retained a degree of flexibility.

Fang Yuan gave a satisfied nod: "The turtle jade wolf skin Gu is rank five, its defensive power is truly remarkable. Most importantly, it does not require active use; as long as one is attacked, the defensive properties would activate, it is extremely practical as no primeval essence is expended in the process."

It wasn't difficult for a Gu Immortal to acquire rank five Gu, though for mortal Gu Masters, they were quite rare.

For a large number of rank five Gu Masters, they only possess one rank five Gu. Some do not even possess rank five Gu, but instead resorted to rank four Gu as substitute.

Upon meeting Fang Yuan, Hei Lou Lan immediately used turtle jade wolf skin Gu to entice him, which, in the eyes of bystanders, was a huge investment.

In the eyes of Fang Yuan, a rank five Gu wasn't much, but it allowed him to sense the sincerity from Hei Lou Lan.

"Turtle jade wolf skin's modification is done. The next step is to improve my strength." Fang Yuan sat still upon his cushion, seizing the most of every minute, diligently improving his strength.

He sent out a strength of ten jun Gu.

This Gu was like an iron weight. After being infused with primeval essence, it suspended itself above Fang Yuan's head, and afterwards blossomed with a glorifying radiance, covering his entire body while engraving a particular strength path Dao mark onto his body.

As time passed, the strength of Fang Yuan slowly and steadily grew.

For quite some time, he cultivated his strength non-stop.

He had already used up the five strength of ten jun Gu he purchased earlier. Now, he would have to use Hei tribe's inventory to acquire more strength of ten jun Gu.

By now, Fang Yuan's body contained the strength of sixty jun, stored in the very depths of his body.

Ten jun was the strength of three hundred jin, sixty jun was equal to one thousand eight hundred jin of strength.

On Earth, Green Dragon Crescent Blade 1 weighed merely eighty-two jin.

"I have already refined this body with turtle jade wolf skin, thus, it can hold about a hundred jun of strength. One hundred jun of strength or more would be the within the range of rank five realm."

Jin strength Gu and jun strength Gu's recipes were the invention of a rank seven Gu Immortal. Compared to traditional beast strength Gu, they were easier to refine, while simultaneously costing less, and thus were widespread in the north.

Fang Yuan abandoned his beast phantom Gu, and picked up the jun strength Gu, not only to keep up with current developments, but also to make his path more convenient, allowing him to disguise his own identity.

However, jun strength Gu could not solve the fundamental problem of strength path.

Fang Yuan had sixty jun of strength within him, but in practice could only exert a small portion of it.

To solve the problem, he would have to rely on all-out effort Gu.

All-out effort Gu could allow a Gu Master to make use of their whole body's strength, allowing them complete liberty to exert strength, it was truly the core Gu of strength path.

Therefore, Fang Yuan decided it would be his second aperture's vital Gu.

But this all-out effort Gu was a mere rank three Gu, and being in a foreign land resulted in it being suppressed to rank two.

Fang Yuan had the recipe for rank four all-out effort Gu, thus, so long as he is in northern plains when he refines the Gu to rank four, it will not be affected by the suppression.

"But... it would be hard to continue accumulating. Turtle jade wolf skin helps in bearing the weight of my strength, but does not benefit enslavement path. Although I have two apertures, I merely have one body."

In this world, there were few things that could satisfy all of one's needs.

While advancing strength path, he could not simultaneously advance enslavement path.

If he wanted to advance enslavement path, Fang Yuan should not have employed turtle jade wolf skin Gu, but rather a different rank five Gu, known as wolf totem Gu.

This Gu could be used to store wolf packs. They would be stored in his skin, and for every wild wolf he keeps, a wolf tattoo would also form on Fang Yuan's skin.

Many enslavement path Gu Masters would choose their corresponding totem Gu, and keep their elite troops in their own bodies.

In critical moments, Gu Masters would reveal the power of their elites, summoning them and making them fight.

Like before, Fang Yuan used rank four impermanence bone Gu, which allowed him to further strengthen his soul.

But impermanence bone Gu did not benefit strength path.

Fang Yuan may be a Gu Master of both the strength and enslavement path, but it was not simple. It was easy to cause a disaster for both paths.

Fang Yuan's problems were far from just this.

Spring Autumn Cicada was gradually recovering, once again putting him under the pressure of death.

His frequent entering and exiting of Hu Immortal blessed land caused his supply of starlight firefly Gu to dwindle.

Immortal Crane Sect's great desire towards Hu Immortal blessed land, the mysterious force's attention due to the fixed immortal travel Gu, the problem of recovering fixed immortal travel and gruel mud Immortal Gu, Hu Immortal blessed land's earthly calamity, the crisis concerning the death of Dang Hun mountain, and constantly pretending to be Chang Shan Yin, and the mental pressure of making sure I do not show any weakness or flaws...

His situation was terrible, it could even be said that he was beset on all sides.

"But because of the crisis , I can look forward to the moment when I cut through the thistles and thorns and break free of worries."

Fang Yuan let out a cold laugh, organizing his state of mind, and left his secret room.

Outside the secret room stood two rank three Gu Masters, standing like guardians.

The Wolf King's identity was the main reason for this situation; after arriving at Hei tribe camp, they immediately decided to strictly protect him.

"Greetings, Lord Wolf King." When the two Gu Masters saw Fang Yuan come out, they immediately saluted and reported to him, "Lord Hei Lou Lan invited the other lords to attend the banquet to conduct important business."

After returning to Hei tribe's compound, Hei Lou Lan one large feast for almost three days, and spent five days at a smaller feast. Several invitations were sent to Fang Yuan, but he was busy cultivating; every sent invitation was completely rejected by him.

Fang Yuan was in a race against time to increase his strength, which was also in accordance with Chang Shan Yin's haught and lofty disposition.

Though this time, the banquet was extraordinary.

"There are important matters to discuss?" Fang Yuan's footsteps halted, and he changed his usual attitude towards banquets: "Let's go".

The secret room was built underground.

Fang Yuan exited his secret room and arrived above the ground, the curtain of night already enveloped the sky, stars scattered about.

Rushing to the banquet, as he had expected, it was the matter of the blood oath.

These days, the banquet did not have Hei Lou Lan's usual decadence, rather it focused on talks between leaders negotiating the contracts of an alliance.

This heroes assembly was only the preliminary stage to establishing the genuine union, which would unite the forces of all parties into one alliance.

The contract of the alliance already agreed on various things, and the leaders were now working on their individual tribes' interests. Fang Yuan looked at the contents and saw no issues, so along with everyone else, he used the poison vow Gu.

poison vow Gu had the power to restriction, and was also the foundation of building mutual trust.

But Fang Yuan was the exception.

He possessed eating one's words Gu. In two hundred years, this Gu would be developed by a western desert chief. When he was in Shang clan city, he used it to break his poison vow with Bai Ning Bing.

And now that he could link with treasure yellow heaven, if he wanted to remove the poison vow, he would merely have to refine it again.

The main tent was brightly lit, with each tribe having their own seat.

Hei Lou Lan held the central seat, and the first to his left was Fang Yuan, with Ge Guang standing behind him.

It was difficult for the young tribe leader to hide his happy expression, holding second seat in the alliance was a result of clinging to Fang Yuan, their benefits surpassed that of any ordinary medium-sized tribe.

Sitting after Fang Yuan were the leaders of the large tribes: Wang tribe, Fang tribe, and Ye tribe.

While down the line were the leaders of the medium-sized tribes, and finally the small scale tribe leaders, as well as the rank four demonic path experts.

Now, the alliance began its preliminary aggregation, before they were merely like loose sand.

"Hahaha, now everyone is family. According to conventional tradition, after having established our alliance, we need to hold a large feast. But these traditions and conventions are total bullshit! I've already thought of something better, rather than annexing those weaker powers, we should instead collect wild wolves." Hei Lou Lan began his speech.

Soon, all eyes concentrated on Fang Yuan's face. @@novelbin@@

Fang Yuan's complexion was indifferent, his eyes darted across the room, within his heart he understood that by joining in, he had already altered history.

He vaguely remembered, five hundred years ago in his previous life, after Hei Lou Lan's alliance was formed, he immediately assaulted the east, launching a bloody war with the Dong Fang tribe.

"But this is good, although Hei Lou Lan prevailed over Dong Fang tribe, he suffered huge losses in the process. Hei Lou Lan is obviously taking consideration of my night wolf emperor, which was expected. With the night wolf emperor, he could incorporate myriad beast groups into his army. The expansion of the wolf group will be a great thing for me.

Fang Yuan thought about it for a moment, and gave everyone a nod: "Since this is the case, I will do my part."

No one in the camp gave an objection.

The larger the number of wolves, the more they would benefit, while suffering fewer casualties, preserving the strength of their tribes as much as possible.

Hei Lou Lan was relying heavily on Chang Shan Yin, everyone understood and agreed.

It would be a shame to have such a great master of the enslavement path and not put him to use!

As for the sharp rise in strength of the Wolf King, they did not have to be too concerned.

They were not aware of the eating one's words Gu, and had complete trust in the poison vow Gu. Since the covenant had already been formed, they did not have to worry that the Wolf King would take advantage of their interests.

Soon after their discussion, the entire Hei tribe alliance began to work actively. Gu Masters from tribes both large and small dedicated themselves to expanding Fang Yuan's wolf pack.

-x-X-x-

In the grassland shrouded by the night, Sang Yi was running for his life.

The bone-chilling wind pounced on him, but he, however, was perspiring greatly.

"Fast, faster!" He screamed in his heart, pouring his primeval essence frantically into his movement Gu.

Howl!

Behind him, a night wolf group was charging towards him. The reason for that was the corpse of a night wolf's cub in Sang Yi's hand; leading to this pursuit that had continued for several minutes.

If it was before, these few minutes would be gone in a blink of an eye to Sang Yi. But with the myriad wolf group closely chasing him, Sang Yi felt every second of time passing very slowly and unendurably.

"Finally, I've arrived!" Seeing the small ravine in front of him, Sang Yi burst forth with newfound strength, rushing towards the ravine.

Rumble...

Close to twenty thousand night wolves followed him into the ravine like a dark flood.

"They have entered!" The Gu Masters lying low in the ravine shouted in joy.

"Collect the net quickly, don't miss it." A rank three Gu Master who was the leader of this group, sent the command immediately.

"Earth wall, rise up!" A group of rank two Gu Masters simultaneously activated rank two earth mound Gu.

With so many earth mound Gu activated together caused the stones on the entrance of this narrow ravine to rapidly rise up, forming into a barrier like that of a rank three earth wall Gu.

At the same time, on another side of the ravine were dozens of Gu Masters who activated falling stones Gu.

Large numbers of stones fell down and firmly blocked the entrance.

The exit to this ravine was already sealed before. Now with the entrance blocked as well, the night wolf group that had entered was like a turtle trapped in a jar.

The night wolf myriad beast king saw the situation turn bad and immediately led the wolf group to climb up the ravine and cross over it.

However, at this time, a desolate and magnificent wolf howl resounded through the skies.

Fang Yuan was riding on a night wolf emperor, commanding large numbers of night wolves to attack from above.

The wild night wolf group's eyes turned red and howled furiously, but they hesitated because of the wolf emperor's presence.

Clear mind Gu!

With a thought, Fang Yuan summoned a clear mind Gu. This was a rank four Gu; after the primeval essence poured into it, it immediately changed into a cool wind.

The cool wind blew gently over the area.

The night wolf group that was starting to turn frenzied due to the effect of onion explosion Gu immediately came to their senses when this cool wind blew over them.

The wolf emperor howled again, turning this wild night wolf group to fall into a chaotic mess; their formation crumbled and their will to fight received a huge impact.

Fang Yuan laughed and commanded his wolf group to attack for real.

There were already Gu Masters who were tangling up the wild myriad wolf king.

Fang Yuan first mobilized his wolf group to divide the wild night wolves before nibbling away at them; the whole situation was in his firm control. Then he approached the wild myriad wolf king and then at the opportune time, used rank four wolf enslavement Gu.

In the end, he only had to pay the lives of few hundred night wolves to smoothly take in this myriad wolf king and close to twenty thousand wolves.

After this great success, the Gu Masters remained behind to clean up the battlefield while Fang Yuan led the increased wolf group towards the next destination.

There, another large group of wild night wolf group was waiting for him.

"You did good." A rank three leader patted Sang Yi's shoulder and gave him five hundred primeval stones along with a rank three Gu, "This is your well deserved reward."

Sang Yi wiped off the sweat off his forehead and looked at these primeval stones and the Gu while breathing heavily.

He then looked at the distance, looking at Fang Yuan's receding figure with envy and admiration.

"Although I am a rank three Gu Master and have some fame in the demonic path, I cannot be compared to Wolf King. This is a true big shot. When will I have such an accomplishment?"

In this night, Fang Yuan wandered thousands of li and took in seventy thousand wild night wolves.

Only by dawn when night wolves would not go out to hunt and had all returned to their nest, did Fang Yuan lead the wolf group back to Hei tribe camp.

After Hei Lou Lan established the alliance, with the concept of safety in numbers, five enormous camps were stationed nearby.

Fang Yuan's wolf group was divided among these five camps for the specialized people to feed them.

These few days, he had taken in large numbers of night wolves; the night wolf group that was only about thirty thousand originally, had now expanded to three hundred twenty thousand!

The night wolf group had become the greatest force in Fang Yuan's troops in one go.

Adding in the vermillion flame wolves, wind wolves, water wolves and others, Fang Yuan's wolf group had reached a huge size of five hundred and thirty thousand!

"It is thanks to the night wolf emperor that I could incorporate the night wolves so easily." Settling down the wolf group, Fang Yuan brought his exhausted body back to the secret room to rest. @@novelbin@@

With the increase in the night wolf group, the numbers of myriad wolf kings Fang Yuan had to control also increased by several times.

These large numbers of night wolf myriad beast kings created a burden on his soul, causing him to feel an increasingly heavy feeling in the depths of his soul.

After sleeping for hours, Fang Yuan opened his eyes and sat cross-legged on a cushion and continued to cultivate.

Wolf soul Gu.

He used the wolf soul Gu, slowly converting his thousand man soul into wolfman soul.

Previously, he had hundred soul level wolfman soul which had a human body, wolf ears, wolf tail and wolf claws. But afterwards, he used large numbers of guts Gu in Dang Hun mountain and his soul rapidly expanded to thousand man soul; this instead caused the wolf soul Gu's effect to thin out and his soul recovered the appearance of a normal soul.

The wolf soul Gu's effect was not clear at all, after more than two hours, it only slightly lengthened the wolf ears on Fang Yuan's human soul.

But to Fang Yuan, the heavy feeling in the depths of his soul had lifted by a lot.

With wolfman soul, controlling wolf groups would become much easier because the wolves would acknowledge the Gu Master as one of their own kind from the depths of their soul.

"Unfortunately, I do not have rank five wolf soul Gu and can only use the rank four wolf soul Gu; its effects are clear on hundred man soul, but the effects have great weakened as I progress through thousand man soul."

After using it for a long time, Fang Yuan stopped it while feeling some regret in his heart.

However, rank five Gu were never easy to obtain.

Refining rank four wolf soul Gu required an intact soul of a myriad wolf king. But to refine rank five wolf soul Gu required the soul of a wolf emperor.

Moreover, even a refinement master would only have about fifty percent chance to successfully refine rank five wolf soul Gu.

Fang Yuan had thought of purchasing it in treasure yellow heaven, but when he recalled he only had two immortal essence stones left and the mysterious force hiding in the dark, he dispelled this plan for safety purposes.

"Although I can't directly buy it in treasure yellow heaven, I have already mentioned this request to Hei Lou Lan. Hei tribe is part of the Huang Jin family and their supreme elders are Gu Immortals, thus they have extremely deep foundations. Two-three days have already gone by, I might as well ask him now."

With this thought, Fang Yuan walked out of the secret room and met Hei Lou Lan, but he expressed that his hands were tied.

"Brother Shan Yin, truth be told, I have already written a letter to request it from the supreme elders. But they thought it would be better to give a live wolf emperor instead of rank five wolf soul Gu. And the wolf emperor cannot be given casually as well, their intention is to use battle merits to exchange for it. After all, I need to convince the masses as well."

Hei Lou Lan was very cunning, ever since Fang Yuan took the poison vow, his attitude was no longer as cordial as before.

Together with the fact that he had used large amounts of manpower and physical resources over these days to help Fang Yuan incorporate the night wolf group, he felt he had done more than enough for Fang Yuan.

Simultaneously, Fang Yuan's wolf group had expanded to over five hundred thousand in number. Such a large force also caused him to inwardly feel fear. Despite the restriction from poison vow, Hei Lou Lan was subconsciously guarded.

Fang Yuan nodded and expressed his understanding.

He had also commanded Little Hu Immortal to keep a close watch on treasure yellow heaven to get any wolf emperors native to northern plains.

Unfortunately, beast emperors were rarely sold. A beast emperor had been put for sale in these days, but it was a boar emperor and not a wolf emperor.

Fang Yuan realized from Hei Lou Lan's words that he was already unable to hold back and was already preparing to start a war campaign.

Over these days, Tian Chuan, Meng Qiu, Cao Fu and every other region of northern plains were already engaging in battle. Among the popular candidates for the ownership of Imperial Court this time, only Hei tribe had been holding back and growing the wolf group.

Now, they had already accumulated enough wolves, Hei Lou Lan who was full of hope had already been impatient.

"Then brother Lou Lan, which force do you want to attack first?" Fang Yuan asked.

Hei Lou Lan laughed heartily and patted Fang Yuan's shoulder: "Little brother is really sharp. I won't hide it from brother, I want to attack Cao Fu and eradicate Dong Fang tribe. Dong Fang tribe has lot of beauties, especially that Dong Fang Qing Yu who is a famous beauty in northern plains. I want to kill all their men and capture all their women! Hahaha..."

Fang Yuan was slightly stupefied, history was still steering in the same direction, after making a detour, the focus still returned to Dong Fang tribe.

"But with my five hundred thousand wolf group, it is different from my previous life. Dong Fang tribe... Hehe." Fang Yuan sneered inwardly.

Reaching this stage, he could already influence the development of the future.

But so what?

Let history be completely changed.

As long as there are profits in front of him, so what if the sky and earth collapses, or if the floods reach heaven! Who cares if his reputation stinks for ten thousand years!

The next day, Hei tribe completely pulled out the camp and began a majestic expedition towards Cao Fu.

This news immediately attracted the attention of all kinds of forces.

The situation was changing crazily and Cao Fu was preparing for a great battle.

Different from Yu Tian's heroes assembly where Liu tribe and Hei tribe were evenly matched, Dong Fang tribe occupied the greatest dominance in Cao Fu's heroes assembly, suppressing the heroes and incorporating large numbers of tribes. Only Zhao tribe was barely resisting the pressure, not willing to agree to Dong Fang tribe's harsh alliance conditions.

The news of Hei tribe large expedition attracted almost all the attention of Dong Fang tribe. Zhao tribe got space for a breather and showed signs of moving their tribe towards a corner.

Dong Fang tribe's current tribe leader was a rank five wisdom path Gu Master Dong Fang Yu Liang.

After making deductions and forecasts over a night without resting, he immediately changed the stiff stance and changed the conditions for joining the alliance to become extremely lenient and generous.

Dong Fang Yu Liang personally travelled to invite Zhao tribe to join the alliance!

Zhao tribe leader hesitated.

Zhao tribe and Dong Fang tribe had enmities between them, and this enmity had gotten deeper over the years. But Dong Fang tribe's sincerity could be clearly seen right now and the conditions they offered were also very attractive.

Maybe, this was a rare opportunity to resolve the old hatred and grudges with Dong Fang tribe?

-x-X-x-

In the study room, Zhao tribe leader placed down the document wearily.

Sunlight passed through the window and shone on his face.

Due to handling the tribe affairs for a long time, this fifty year old rank five initial stage Gu Master already had white hair and a face filled with wrinkles.

These days, because of Hei tribe's large scale expedition and the personal invitation from Dong Fang Yu Liang, the tribe was divided into two factions.

These two factions argued endlessly; one side wanted to side with Dong Fang tribe and resolve the old grudges, while another side wanted to side with Hei tribe as Hei tribe was much bigger.

Could siding with Dong Fang tribe really resolve the old grudges? When he thought of the deep hatred that had accumulated over the generations between their tribe and Dong Fang tribe, Zhao tribe leader could not speak with certainty.

And siding with Hei tribe was also not right.

Zhao tribe's main headquarters was after all in this Cao Fu region while Hei tribe represented Yu Tian's tyrants and had already gone through the vow with their allies. As a tribe who joined later, Zhao tribe would unavoidably be bullied and how much profits could they even obtain? They might even be treated as cannon fodder.

Thus, Zhao tribe leader was deeply conflicted. Especially these days, the tribe higher-ups were always busy arguing; Zhao tribe leader had to guard against that cunning Dong Fang Yu Liang's scheme, while also needing to suppress the internal situation and lead the tribe. He was already very exhausted.

"Sigh..."

He heaved a deep sigh and leaned back on the chair, gazing at the dust that was floating in the sunlight.

In this dazzling sunlight, the tiny dust could be clearly seen and Zhao tribe leader felt he was like one of these dust, hesitating back and forth; now it was floating in the air, but who is to say that it will not fall down to the ground when wind blows over.

The battle between Hei tribe and Dong Fang tribe was precisely a violent wind that would sweep away everything.

Facing such a wind, what path should his tribe take?

Right as Zhao tribe leader was feeling frantic, a weeping sound suddenly came from outside the window.

Hearing this familiar sound, Zhao tribe leader's brows slightly furrowed and revealed a concerned look as he immediately asked: "What's the matter?"

The guard outside the door immediately replied: "Lord tribe leader, big missy slipped on the stairs and knocked her head while running here."

"Ahh!" Zhao tribe leader stood up with a pained expression, "How could my little darling fall? How much blood did she lose? Quick, bring her here."

Zhao tribe leader had several sons but they were all schemed and killed by Dong Fang Yu Liang, leaving behind only a daughter.

His daughter was only about five or six with a very mischievous nature, but her appearance was extremely similar to his late wife and so Zhao tribe leader doted on her very much.

Soon, the door to the study room was pushed open.

The guard supported a little girl to the room.

The girl looked like she was carved out of jade and looked extremely cute with her embroidered clothing. Right now, she, however, was sobbing, covering her forehead with her hand. @@novelbin@@

"My little darling, my little Yunyun, where did you get hurt?" Zhao tribe leader quickly walked over and hugged the little girl, asking her with concern.

'Father, did you go blind? The injury is on my forehead...' The little girl furiously shouted inwardly, but on the surface, she smoothly leaned on Zhao tribe leader's chest and acted like a spoiled child, "Father, Yunyun's head hurts..."

"Oh oh, let father take a look." Zhao tribe leader softly parted the hair that covered the little girl's forehead and saw a small scrape on her forehead, the scrape had slightly reddened but was still far from bleeding.

But even so, Zhao tribe leader's heart hurt very much.

He comforted his daughter with warm words before berating the old caretaker that had hurried over: "Nanny Wu, what are you doing? I told you to look after her closely and protect her at all times, look, her forehead is wounded!"

'This old lady should die! Please forgive me lord tribe leader." The old caretaker immediately kneeled with fear, cold sweat filling her face. But her heart was full of grievances, this child was the most crafty child she had seen in her whole life, and the most troublesome little demon. Normally, if she lost her concentration even a bit, the child would disappeared somewhere bizarrely. The child was extremely crafty, toying with this adult women until she wished she was dead. But in front of the tribe leader, the child showed an obedient and pitiful expression, her acting was so brilliant that it seemed she was innately born with it. The old caretaker could not find the least bit of evidence on this little demon!

"Father, don't blame nanny, it is Yunyun's fault for carelessly running around." The little girl said in a soft voice.

Adding in a sentence inwardly: 'This old woman is too annoying, always following me the whole day. I had to self-harm myself to enter this study room, was it easy for me huh!'

Zhao tribe leader heaved a sigh and stroked the little girl's soft dark hair with a gratified expression: "Daughter, you are as kind-hearted as your mother."

The old caretaker however roared inwardly: 'Tribe leader, you have been deceived, your daughter is absolutely a demon...'

But she could only shout in her mind because she knew, very few people apart from her would be willing to believe this fact. She naturally did not dare to tell it, if she said it, who knew how this girl would tease and abuse her later on.

"Useless thing, if it were not for Yunyun asking for leniency... hmph, leave." Zhao tribe leader waved his hand towards the old caretaker to order her to leave before looking at his daughter with a gentle expression, "Little darling, why did you come here to play?"

"Father, Yunyun was worried about you, I heard others say those elders were arguing with father these days and that you were upset and locked yourself in the study." The little girl looked concernedly at Zhao tribe leader with her large gleaming black eyes.

But in truth, she was shouting in her mind: 'Rubbish, if I did not come, my life would be in danger. Convenient dad you are too indecisive, with the situation as it is now, you are still not immediately escaping? What on earth are you dilly-dallying for?!'

Zhao tribe leader felt a twinge in his nose, his eyes reddened, almost letting out tears: "Good girl, you finally know to care for your father, father's love for you all this time was not in vain. Don't worry, father's health is quite good and my mood is much better now after I saw you."

'Convenient dad, it is a matter of life and death now and you are still so optimistic, so intolerable! For my future happy life, I need to show off a bit regardless of consequences!'

The girl roared in her mind and said with a 'couldn't care less' expression while waving her small delicate hands: "Father, Yunyun thinks those people who quarreled with you are idiots. Our Zheng tribe is like a sheep, Dong Fang tribe is a wolf while the tiger from Yu Tian is coming over. Wolf can't beat tiger, so it wants to find the sheep to help, but whichever side the sheep helps, the tiger or the wolf won't let it go in the end."

The little girl's words shocked Zhao tribe leader's mind. The person on the spot is baffled, while the onlooker sees clearly; sometimes the person involved needs to be enlightened by such words from the onlookers.

'That's right, whether we side with Dong Fang tribe or Hei tribe, it will be like taking favors from a tiger. But can our Zhao tribe stay out of this?'

'No, the blizzard disaster every ten years has already decided there is no utopia in northern plains. The struggle for the Imperial Court is very significant, as long as one can enter Imperial Court blessed land, they can receive astonishing benefits. But which side should Zhao tribe take?'

The little girl had been observing the tribe leader's expression all this while and when she felt the time was right, she added: "Father, I heard Ma[1] tribe is very strong and also treats its people well. Sheep and horse are both vegetarians but tiger and wolf are carnivorous, it will be better for us to ally with Ma tribe!"

Zhao tribe leader's body shuddered.

'Right, why not?'

Ma tribe was different from Hei tribe and Dong Fang tribe, the latter two had Gu Immortal ancestors and the support of blessed lands. They had long lasting history and were super tribes with deep foundations.

Ma tribe was also part of the Huang Jin family, but they did not have a Gu Immortal's support and was advancing towards the level of a super tribe currently. Ma tribe leader and its young tribe leader were outstanding heroes, they would definitely welcome Zhao tribe. Except that to go to Tian Chuan, it would be a long journey...

'Convenient dad, why on earth are you still hesitating? Decide quickly!' The little girl who had been observing her father's expression changing frequently, felt very anxious inwardly.

But Zhao tribe leader was thinking of the long distance they had to travel to Tian Chuan to side with Ma tribe. This distance was filled with danger which caused him to hesitate.

Helplessly, the little girl could only add on: "Father, we should leave right away. This is the best time to leave, tiger and wolf are confronting each other, they don't have any spare strength to care about us."

Zhao tribe leader's heart trembled.

"Right, why am I still hesitating? If I hesitate any longer, even the best chance to escape will be lost! Whether it is Hei tribe or Dong Fang tribe, they are both not kind. If my tribe wants to get some profits in the battle for the Imperial Court, laying a bet on them is not a good thing!"

"Good girl, you are extremely correct. Our Zhao tribe cannot meddle in such a huge battle, also cannot throw ourselves in this whirlpool. Right, we shall leave!" Zhao tribe leader made the decision.

The little girl leaning on his chest was almost sobbing tears of joy at this moment, as she sighed inwardly: 'Old man, you finally opened your eyes. Ah, it was not in vain that I took so much trouble to run over here to persuade you...'

"But Yunyun, did you think up all these things? Did someone tell you to say so? Who was it, tell father." Zhao tribe leader finally sensed something amiss and gazed at his daughter.

The little girl's heart thumped, she promptly blinked her large eyes and showed an innocent expression: "No one taught me. Father, this was all thought by Yunyun. Father works so hard every day, Yunyun does not want father to be so exhausted, so Yunyun wanted to help father."

She then carefully said with a pitiful expression: "Father, was Yunyun wrong?"

Zhao tribe leader's eyes flashed with a pleasantly surprised look. He did not think this little angel before him would deceive him.

How old was this child?

And he had watched her grow up!

Since she was so intelligent at such a young age, her cultivation talent might also be extraordinary.

Seeing his daughter afraid of being scolded, an affectionate feeling rose in Zhao tribe leader's heart.

He stroked the little girl's hair: "Yunyun, thankfully I have you. Father is really happy to have such a good daughter!"

'Sigh, it has to be like this, since I've transmigrated here already. In life, friends can be chosen, but parents are predestined. Seeing how you have treated me well, I will naturally return the favor...'

The little girl said so inwardly, but on the surface, she hugged Zhao tribe leader's neck and kissed this convenient dad's cheek: "Father, daughter likes you the most."

"Hahaha, good girl, you are really father's darling." Zhao tribe leader laughed loudly.

[1] Also read as horse in chinese.

-x-X-x-

"Zhao tribe tore down their camp and left?" Hei Lou Lan glanced at the information report before casually throwing it on the table.

Zhao tribe might be a large scale tribe but it did not have elite troops and not even a decent Gu Master expert. Although Zhao tribe leader was at rank five initial stage, he was challenged and defeated by Dong Po Kong with his rank four peak stage cultivation three years ago. Thus, he did not have high prestige and also did not make too big of a contribution in his long years of being in power.

If Zhao tribe had sided with Dong Fang tribe, he might have given them some attention; after all, even a weak rank five Gu Master could not be underestimated.

However, Zhao tribe had fled in a sorry figure which caused Hei Lou Lan to be filled with contempt towards them.

Northern plains men admired the brave and looked down upon such cowardly conducts of escaping before even fighting.

"Congratulations to alliance leader, we have not even truly attacked and yet we managed to scare off a large scale tribe of the other side."

"Dong Fang Yu Liang should be bursting with rage, he had personally invited Zhao tribe but the other directly ran away, hahaha."

"In my opinion, Zhao tribe might be a large scale tribe, but they are nothing outstanding, they were actually such cowards. Hmph..."

The Gu Masters in the main tent commented one after another, not concerned about Zhao tribe's stance.

Fang Yuan who was sitting by the side swept his eyes through the information report on the table.

Zhao Lian Yun.

He remembered this name. A mysterious woman who would become one of Ma Hong Yun's wives, and also a wisdom path Gu Immortal. Now, however, she was only a little girl.

"Looks like the famous persuasion of tiger, wolf and sheep has already utilized..."

Fang Yuan sneered inwardly.

In his past life, after Zhao Lian Yun became wisdom path Gu Immortal, someone made a biography on her.

This cultural tradition could be traced back to <>. This first classic of Gu was polished by many Gu Masters spending their effort and time. For many outstanding Gu Masters and Gu Immortals, people would write and spread their biography to remember and praise them.

In the contents of the biography of Zhao Lian Yun: Zhao Lian Yun displayed extraordinary intelligence and wisdom since she was young. In the huge battle where 'Black Tyrant Hei Lou Lan' fought for the ownership of the Imperial court, Zhao tribe was sandwiched between Dong Fang tribe and Hei tribe.

When Zhao tribe leader was hesitating, Zhao Lian Yun used the comparison between tiger, wolf and sheep to persuade her father and made him decide to travel far away to side with Ma tribe. In the end, this allowed Zhao tribe to not only be protected, but also received extremely high importance and cordial welcome.

His five hundred years of memories of his past life was all in disorder, but this information was still fresh in Fang Yuan's memories.

Simply because in the battle of five regions, Ma Hong Yun, Sheng Ling Er and Zhao Lian Yun would not only become Gu Immortals but also become the symbols and cornerstones of Northern Plains in resisting the invasion of Heavenly Court.

In the five regions, the biographies of such people would be widely spread and reviewed.

"Hmph, people like Ma Hong Yun and Zhao Lian Yun, I will send them to their deaths before they grow sooner or later. But there's no hurry at the moment..." Fang Yuan restrained the killing intent in his heart while showing a tranquil expression on the surface.

Whether it was Ma Hong Yun or Zhao Lian Yun, these people who rode the tides of the five regions battle, right now they were still a long distance away from becoming Gu Immortals. Fang Yuan had plenty of time to deal with them.

But Ma Hong Yun, Fang Yuan had to keep him around to deal with the Eighty-Eight True Yang Building. As for Zhao Lian Yun, although he wanted to kill her, he was hindered by his identity and the situation.

After all, Fang Yuan was currently playing the role of Chang Shan Yin. The great Chang Shan Yin, how could he attach such importance to a girl that was only a few years old, to the point of wanting to kill her?

"Moreover, the matter of importance right now is to handle Dong Fang tribe!" Fang Yuan collected his thoughts and concentrated on the discussions again.

After having ridiculed Zhao tribe for a while, everyone put their attention on their opponent this time.

Dong Fang tribe was the same as Hei tribe, a super tribe with deep foundations and was preeminently a huge force in Cao Fu region.

Dong Fang Yu Liang was this generation's tribe leader for Dong Fang tribe, young and promising. Relying on his wisdom path cultivation, he not only handled all the tribe affairs cleanly, the tribe was even showing the trend of becoming more prosperous.

Although Hei tribe's military strength was superior, their opponent was a wisdom path Gu Master who was an expert in planning and deductions, such strength could absolutely not be underestimated!

"If we talk of the greatest threat in this battle, it definitely is Dong Fang Yu Liang!"

"Right, this kid is young but has great experience and knowledge, accomplished in the four arts as well as astronomy and geology. He lost his parents at eleven, and he had to not only maintain his livelihood but also care for his then six year old little sister Dong Fang Qing Yu. His parents had left him an enormous inheritance, but this kid knew clearly about the nature of men and that he could not protect the inheritance, so he gave these family assets to an authoritative elder, leaving only a small portion for himself."

"He performed extremely well during his time at the academy. After graduating, he became that elder's trusted aide. Afterwards, he made many contributions which got him the appreciation and recommendation from the elder, unexpectedly obtaining pointers from their Gu Immortal ancestor, finally obtaining his current status and power."

Everyone knew about Dong Fang Yu Liang in detail, each of them said a few words about his origins.

Fang Yuan carefully listened.

He had not heard of these in-depth things in his past life. Now that he was experiencing this, he immediately realized this Dong Fang Yu Liang was not simple and needed to be given importance.

"History is vast and profound, great waves sweep away the sand, who knows how many heroes it will sweep away."

At the same time as everyone was discussing, their focal point — Dong Fang Yu Liang was also planning for this extremely important battle, in the study room.

Dong dong dong.

Three soft knocking sounds were heard.

"You can come in, sister." Dong Fang Yu Liang knew who was it without even raising his head. @@novelbin@@

The door was pushed open and a gentle, graceful and extremely beautiful girl wearing a light yellow dress came in with a bright appearance.

She had soft and glossy skin with eyes that were clear and transparent, her soft voice was full of concern: "Big brother, the jade apricot blossom we got from central continent should have blossomed. Big brother, accompany me to go look at them."

Dong Fang Yu Liang smiled, he knew he had worried his little sister by sitting in the study for a day and a night, and she was using this excuse to let him loosen up.

"Alright, let's go, Qing Yu."

The brother and sister walked out of the study together and arrived at the courtyard.

Right now, light rain was falling down and dark clouds covered the sky.

Far away, the rainy curtain and the horizon had merged into one forming a gloomy green color. Coming closer, from the courtyard walls, one could see countless banners and the densely packed tents of Dong Fang tribe.

People moved to and fro in the camp, it was a clamorous scene as they were preparing for the coming battle.

In the small courtyard, there were only the Dong Fang siblings.

The outside clamorous sounds were separated by the rainy curtain, making the small courtyard appear serene and quiet.

Especially that jade apricot blossom with its delicate and exquisite petals which appeared moist and glossy from the rain, and its soft yellow color, gave a comforting feeling to the siblings.

"Big brother, I heard Zhao tribe has moved?" After a while of silence, Dong Fang Qing Yu cautiously asked.

"Don't worry, little sister, big brother had already anticipated this." Dong Fang Yu Liang smiled and softly held his little sister's hand.

Dong Fang Qing Yu slightly raised her head and looked at her big brother standing in this light rain with his white clothing, jade-like face, deep eyes along with his strategizing aura, carrying gracefulness and calmness.

Dong Fang Yu Liang continued: "The reason I invited Zhao tribe was to gather all the strength I could. But them leaving is also of no great matter. With my current force, we can still win against Hei tribe army."

Dong Fang Qing Yu's worries disappeared by over half: "Nothing can escape big brother's deductions. But the opponent this time is not a small character. Not only is there Hei Lou Lan, I heard the previous hero of northern plains, Wolf King Chang Shan Yin, has also sided with him. Big brother, you need to be careful."

"Hehehe, little sister, do you still not believe your big brother? But..." Dong Fang Yu Liang softly comforted his little sister, a radiant light flashing in the depths of his pupils, "We first met Hei Lou Lan when we went to adventure, this person harbored unkind thoughts towards you and was taught a good lesson by me. But now, it seems this person has still not given up. This time, big brother will teach him a lesson that he will never forget in all his life. As for Chang Shan Yin, big brother has a plan to deal with him. All these are within my plans, you just need to recuperate at ease. Your body has been weak since young, don't worry too much. If you become ill, it will only distract me."

Dong Fang Qing Yu lightly nodded with her mind completely relieved.

Since young, it was big brother who cared for her, worried for her and looked out for her.

She was like a young, delicate flower that was sheltered by this big tree, her big brother.

All these years, she and her brother had gone through all kinds of difficulties together, this time too would be the same.

'Because since young till now, big brother has always been calm and collected like this. It is only that... if I didn't have this illness, if I had the aptitude to cultivate, it would have been much better.' Dong Fang Qing Yu heaved a deep sigh in her heart.

The siblings quietly stood there, looking at the jade apricot blossom.

"Little sister, standing in the rain for too long is not good for health, you should go back to rest." After a while, Dong Fang Yu Liang spoke.

"Mm, big brother don't work too much." Dong Fang Qing Yu answered with her lovable voice.

Looking at his little sister leaving and disappearing at the corner, Dong Fang Yu Liang could finally not hide his expression, his brows furrowed and revealed a worried expression.

This battle was absolutely not as easy as he made it out to be.

"Hei Lou Lan himself is not an easy opponent, now there is Chang Shan Yin as well. Five hundred thousand wolves, really worthy of being an enslavement path master, just him alone can change the situation, causing this slightly superior Hei tribe to jump far ahead of my tribe."

"For this coming battle, our side must first deal with these five hundred thousand wolves. Otherwise, the hopes for victory will be extremely uncertain."

"I cannot lose! It was not easy for me to make Gu Immortal Old Ancestor agree; if I can complete this secret mission, the old ancestor will personally solve the source of the illness in my little sister. For my little sister, I must become the master of Imperial Court and enter Eighty-Eight True Yang Building!"

"Before this, anyone who dares to block my path must die! So, Wolf King Chang Shan Yin, why don't you die in this rain before the battle?"

Dong Fang Yu Liang looked at the dense dark clouds in the sky, his handsome face showing a very cold expression.