Five days later, Yan Mo caught sight of Jiuyuan City almost within reach.
It had been two months since he left Jiuyuan, which was now in the height of summer. While he hadn’t felt the heat much in the Black Forest, the blazing sunlight beating down on him now made his fur coat unbearable. Four days earlier, Yan Mo had taken off his fur coat and woven a grass skirt from wild grasses found on the island where he had stopped to rest.
The small islands in Qingyuan Lake held many valuable items, but unfortunately, time was short. He couldn’t conduct a thorough search, so he hastily gathered some plants he recognized and placed them in his medicine pouch. Vaguely, he thought he’d spotted a plant resembling bamboo on an island near the one where he’d rested on the third night, but he couldn’t be certain. He had wanted to ask the merfolk to take him to that island to investigate, but they’d flatly refused.
The merfolk warriors explained that many of the lake’s islands were off-limits; some were restricted by the High Priest’s orders, while others harbored dangerous creatures. The island where Yan Mo suspected bamboo might grow was one of the forbidden zones designated by the High Priest long ago. Without permission from the High Priest or the chief, not even the merfolk were allowed to approach those restricted areas.
Yan Mo could only express his regret about this.
That said, since he could see the city, the people couldn’t be too far away. However, Yan Mo hadn’t expected to spot Jiuyuan’s warriors right at the mouth where the moat connected to Qingyuan Lake.
Just then, a merfolk warrior pushing the wooden raft surfaced and said, “We’ve made an agreement with your warriors to jointly guard the entrances to the moats inside and outside Jiuyuan City. Our chief has also given his consent.”
“Oh?” Yan Mo had no objection to guarding the moat entrances alongside the merfolk. Their forces were still too weak; rather than constantly being on guard against powerful neighbors, it was better to maintain friendly relations. If the merfolk truly intended to invade and attack Jiuyuan City via the moat, Jiuyuan currently had no effective means to counter them. Given that, it was better to be magnanimous.
A mermaid swam over—likely one of the warriors patrolling the area or guarding the entrance to the moat.
The mermaid warrior first broke the surface to bow to Yan Mo, then submerged again to speak with her companions.
Though it was only for an instant, Yan Mo could still sense the mermaid warrior’s curiosity about the raft.
The Jiuyuan warriors at the river mouth also spotted the raft and Yan Mo on it.
“Lord Mo! You’re back!” the warriors shouted joyfully, waving their hands. If not for the lake separating them, they looked as though they would have jumped right into the water to greet their Lord Priest.
Yan Mo waved back at them from a distance.
The raft slowed down and drifted gently toward the shore at the river mouth. The merfolk warriors who had been pushing it from behind climbed aboard one by one, leaving only their tails in the water to paddle. This time, however, they were more experienced; they spread out across the raft rather than crowd to one end like the first time, which had nearly caused it to capsize.
The Jiuyuan warriors were also very curious about the raft the priest was standing on, but they had more important matters to report.
“Lord Mo, it’s so good to have you back! You have no idea…” A warrior urgently began reporting the situation to Yan Mo. As he stepped onto the raft, it swayed. Before Yan Mo could even shout “Watch out!”, there was a splash—the warrior had fallen into the river.
The guards stationed at the river mouth—both humans and merfolk—all froze in surprise, then burst into uproarious laughter. A few of the more loyal ones immediately tried to jump in to rescue him, but the merfolk were faster; the moment the warrior fell, a merfolk warrior nearby had already slid into the water.
“Cough, cough!” The warrior was pushed ashore by the merfolk, coughing up water for a long while.
Yan Mo stifled a laugh. He recognized the warrior—it was the young man who had tried to sneak up on the mermaid Lana last time. “Everyone should learn how to swim. We have two moats at home, plus Qingyuan Lake. You can’t get by without knowing how to swim.”
“Swimming?” the warriors asked curiously.
“It means swimming in the water just like a fish.”
“Humans swimming in the water like fish?” The warriors were utterly astonished.
The merfolk warriors, however, exchanged glances. If humans could live in the water just like fish…
Yan Mo’s gaze swept over the merfolk’s faces as he chuckled, “I don’t mean living in the water like a real fish, but rather being able to survive a fall into the water without drowning immediately. Those with good stamina and swimming skills could even swim a lap in the moat without drowning.”
“Oh, oh, oh! That sounds great!” The warriors rushed to ask their Lord Priest how they could learn to move through the water.
“I’ll teach you all later. First, tell me what happened in the tribe while the chief and I were away. You—come up here and tell me.” Yan Mo pointed at the warrior who had fallen into the water, motioning for him to climb onto the raft.
Although the warrior had fallen into the water once before, he showed no sign of fear. Seeing that the Lord Priest was willing to let him climb onto the raft—a series of planks tied together—he immediately tried to jump up again, full of enthusiasm.
“Stop!” Yan Mo had no choice but to shout. The way this warrior was trying to climb onto the raft, he might not only fall in again himself, but he might also capsize the raft.
“I’ll hold your hand. Step up slowly, don’t put any weight on your feet, and keep your body relaxed. Once you’re on, sit down first. Wait until you’ve adjusted before standing up.” Yan Mo reached out his hand and guided the warrior step by step onto the raft.
The other warriors all looked at the young man with envy. They wanted to get on the raft too and receive the Lord Priest’s touch… Hey, hey!
Seeing that they no longer needed to travel, the merfolk warriors didn’t enter the water. They all sat leisurely on the edge of the raft, simply moving their long tails dangling in the river—and the force generated by these tails was enough to propel the raft forward. At night, when the Lord Priest went ashore to sleep, the raft became their plaything. When it came to maneuvering it, no one was more skilled than these merfolk warriors.
The warriors guarding the river mouth had originally intended to send someone back to report the news, but seeing that the raft could enter the inner moat directly—and that its speed might even surpass their own on foot—they decided against it. However, one of them still took the horn hanging from his waist and blew the agreed-upon signal.
Yan Mo heard the horn and glanced back, thinking to himself that they needed more ways to communicate. The range of a horn was limited. Now that they had a city, it was time for beacon towers to appear. Moreover, the warriors guarding specific locations needed places to rest. With so many members of the Xirang tribe joining them, even if none of them were ability warriors, building earthen bunkers out of mud bricks shouldn’t be too difficult.
Pulling his thoughts back, Yan Mo asked the warrior, who was sitting on the raft and struggling to stand up, “Stay seated for now. Tell me, what is your name?”
“Yes! Lord Mo, I am Zhu Neng. My younger brother is Zhu Li—you gave him that name.” Zhu Neng’s face flushed red, and he stopped moving, sitting obediently in the water—there was no helping it. The raft was rather crude; though it wouldn’t sink, river water inevitably seeped through the cracks and flooded the deck.
Yan Mo smiled. He remembered Zhu Li—a child who looked like a little old man, who would salute him like a warrior every time they met, and whose face flushed easily. That was why he’d named him Zhu Li. He never would have guessed that this young man, who’d been sneaking around to catch mermaids, was that boy’s older brother. The two brothers’ personalities were truly worlds apart.
“Zhu Neng, has something major happened in the tribe?”
“Yes, Lord Mo, a lot of dwarves have come to the tribe—so many, so many!” Zhu Neng spoke rather haltingly, struggling to find the right words to describe the situation. It took Yan Mo a while to piece together what had happened.
According to Zhu Neng, shortly after they left, a group of dwarves arrived at the tribe—far more numerous than the first batch. As soon as they arrived, these dwarves began claiming territory everywhere and digging recklessly underground, refusing to heed Lord Meng’s orders.
Zhu Neng kept complaining, saying those dwarves even tried to seize their city. Later, Lord Meng and Lord Ramon, along with the original dwarves, gave them a sound thrashing and finally drove them out of Jiuyuan City. But those dwarves refused to leave; they occupied a patch of land between the inner and outer moats and started building houses just like the people of Jiuyuan.
Yan Mo zeroed in on the key point. “You’re saying the original dwarves joined forces with you to drive the later-arriving dwarves out of the city?”
Zhu Neng nodded vigorously. “They knew each other, but they weren’t from the same tribe.”
From Zhu Neng’s account, Yan Mo learned that initially, no one agreed to let these dwarves in. However, among the new arrivals were relatives of the first group of dwarves. The newcomers used these relatives to threaten the original group, prompting the tribal shaman and chief of the first group to plead with Meng. Fearing that the original group might also revolt, Meng eventually allowed the newcomers into the city.
Upon hearing that Meng had agreed to let the dwarves into the city, Yan Mo couldn’t help but furrow his brow slightly. With Yuan Zhan absent, Meng’s decisions were still rather ill-advised. He should have been more firm back then; even if it meant taking the risk of expelling all the dwarves already in the city, that would have been better than letting the later arrivals in as well.
When Yuan Zhan departed, for safety’s sake, he had already severed the earthen paths across the moats at the north and south gates, leaving only the one on the west. Behind the east gate lay an open field that led directly to Qingyuan Lake.
Meng and his men were holding the city. As long as they severed the earthen path across the western moat, the dwarves would be unable to enter. Moreover, the city’s inhabitants could survive for a long time relying solely on the flora and fauna in the vast open space between the eastern gate and Qingyuan Lake—not to mention the vast expanse of Qingyuan Lake itself behind them.
“Sir, look!” Zhu Neng pointed toward the northwest. Right there, on the open ground between the inner and outer moats, a construction site was taking shape.
Yan Mo’s gaze turned cold. Thinking of taking advantage of Jiuyuan? Fine. Let’s see just how high a price you’ll have to pay.
“Are the dwarves inside the city in contact with this group outside?”
Zhu Neng scratched his head; he didn’t seem entirely sure.
“Were there any casualties when you drove those dwarves out of the city? I’m referring to our men.”
“Some were injured, but no one died.”
Yan Mo nodded. In that case, he could take a more lenient approach.
Zhu Neng’s knowledge was limited, after all. However, Meng and Hu Hu, having heard the sound of the horn, had already rushed to meet them at the South Gate—the closest gate to Jiuyuan City from Qingyuan Lake.
The raft pulled up to the shore, but the water was still a good distance from the bank. With no gangplank, they had no choice but to wait for people on shore to pull them up.
The moment Meng saw Yan Mo, he let out a dramatic, exaggerated sigh of relief. But he clearly hadn’t expected Yan Mo to return from the moat, so everyone standing at the water’s edge kept glancing back and forth between the Lord Priest and the raft, each of them utterly curious.
“Mo, you’re finally back!” Meng greeted Yan Mo while scratching his head in frustration, trying to figure out how to get him up.
If only there were a ladder. Yan Mo turned to look at the merfolk warriors. The merfolk smiled, understanding his meaning, and one by one slid into the water. The water level beneath the raft quickly rose bit by bit until it was level with the riverbank.
Zhu Neng, being bold, leaped from the raft directly onto the steps, then turned back to reach out and help Yan Mo.
Meng pushed him aside; he’d thought Yan Mo still couldn’t touch any living creature.
Yan Mo smiled. After thanking the merfolk warriors, he pushed off lightly with his feet and leaped directly onto the shore. He was no longer the teenager of the past, who had physical strength but no martial prowess. The sapling of the Reincarnation Tree had not only allowed him to level up but had also brought about some changes to his body. Combined with his own rigorous training, his current physique and abilities had both reached Level 3.
Meng was slightly taken aback. Seeing that Yuan Zhan wasn’t there, he moved in to hug him—though he was only going through the motions.
Yan Mo didn’t give him the satisfaction; he kicked him away with a single kick.
Hu Hu and the other warriors who had followed them saw this and couldn’t help but chuckle.
Meng didn’t get angry. With a playful grin, he walked up again. He was still wondering how Mo dared to touch him. Just as he was about to ask, his eyes suddenly widened, and a piercing scream followed, “Ah—! How could this happen?”
Yan Mo was startled by him. He hadn’t kicked that hard, had he?
Meng lunged toward him, staring blankly at his face as he cried out in anguish, “You’re already a Level 3 warrior! Why am I still only at Level 2?”
“…Didn’t you practice the basic training methods?”
“I did practice! I practice every day! I practice like crazy! But why, why, why?!” He gritted his teeth furiously, crouching on the ground with his head in his hands one moment, then standing up the next, all while glaring at Yan Mo with a deeply resentful look.
Yan Mo’s face twitched. “Give me your wrist.”
“Huh? You can touch people now? Ahhh! Your hair has turned black!”
Yan Mo resisted the urge to kick him again. So all your powers of observation were focused on other people’s appearances? None of the other warriors had noticed this before—you’re the only one making such a big deal out of it.
Meng thrust out his hand, still muttering “why” over and over.
Yan Mo thought to himself, ‘You haven’t even seen Yuan Zhan yet. Wait until you see the fifth tattoo mark on that beast’s face—won’t you just jump into the river and kill yourself then?’
“Quiet!” Yan Mo couldn’t stand the noise anymore.
Meng shut up immediately.
Yan Mo checked the pulses on both of Meng’s wrists, then walked around him and headed towards the city.
Seeing him move, everyone hurried to follow, not even bothering with the raft in the river. But even if they had, it wouldn’t have mattered—the merfolk had already claimed the raft as their own. As soon as Yan Mo stepped ashore, they pushed it away.
“Mo? Lord Priest?!” Meng rushed after him. “Do I still have a chance to become a Level 3 warrior? Is there something wrong with my body? Can it be cured?”
Yan Mo didn’t keep him in suspense any longer. As they walked, he said, “You’re about to break through.”
“…Huh? What? Ah! Are you serious?” Meng nearly went wild with joy, jumping three feet into the air on the spot. He tried to hug Yan Mo again, but Yan Mo sidestepped him.
“And,” Yan Mo turned back and added slowly, “I think there’s a good chance you’ll awaken your bloodline ability at the same time you become a Level 3 warrior.”
“……” This time, Meng was completely dumbfounded. Overwhelming joy had completely engulfed him; now, his mind was empty of all other thoughts, with only Yan Mo’s words repeating over and over in his head.
Bloodline ability! Bloodline ability! He’s about to awaken his bloodline ability! Waaah—!
Hu Hu and the other warriors who heard this looked on with intense envy at the overjoyed and stunned Meng. Lord Mo must be telling the truth—apart from the chief, the priest, and Wu Chen, the tribe was about to have a fourth warrior with special abilities. They wondered if the day would come when they, too, awakened their bloodline abilities?
The Basic Training Method—could this be the key to warriors leveling up and awakening their bloodline abilities? Would Lord Mo teach them as well? If they worked harder and remained loyal, could they become just like Lord Meng?
“Meng, I heard you got into a fight with the new dwarves? Meng!”
“Yes!” Meng snapped out of his euphoria, wiped his face, and stepped to stand alongside Yan Mo. “I imagine you’ve probably heard from Zhu Neng as well. Here’s what happened…”
