Chapter 2

The blood-red clouds hung over the western wilderness, the sun forever hiding behind them, radiating scorching heat. The air on the ground twisted and deformed under the high temperature, like the airflow from a furnace. The walls, as red as the sky, blocked the view of the distant peaks.

Slowly retracting his gaze, the wall behind him was the outside world. He could only look far into the distance with the other boys who hadn't become warriors, imagining the outside world. However, the boys of the western wilderness dreamed of becoming tribal warriors and venturing out, while he thought of hiding in a small, cramped room to find his true self.

The huge house built of logs, with walls that revealed red sand grains where the outer layer had peeled off, the robust slaves and maids busy at their doorsteps, and the occasionally haughty tribal warriors passing by, formed a vivid scene. As an outsider, he scrutinized everything with a critical eye.

Walking forward along the gravel path strewn with tribal garbage and animal droppings, he occasionally dodged the strangely shaped livestock. His heart was no longer as astonished as it was a month ago. He coldly nodded to everyone who greeted him, trying to act as he did in his dreams, not wanting others to notice his inner fear and confusion.

A gentle breeze blew from behind, stirring the hot air currents around him. Gaofeng quickly dodged a dirty hand, turning his head to see a boy of his size with yellow, dry hair and two missing front teeth. The boy had an ordinary appearance, lacking the fierce and violent aura of Gaofeng. The only thing that made him stand out was his lively eyes, which added a touch of vitality, unlike the numb and desolate look of the wilderness people.

"Sanzhao, let's go. Have you heard? Kuitu is going to sell the elder's slave girls... Too bad I don't have a mongoloid horn, otherwise I would definitely choose one with a big butt..."

The boy, who was familiar with everyone, ignored Sanzhao's coldness and talked about things that all the boys were interested in. Gaofeng, as before, never spoke easily to avoid saying too much. Perhaps the previous owner of this body was also a quiet person. The boy didn't mind, but Gaofeng inwardly despised this dirty, yellow-toothed boy and his topic of slave girls.

The aesthetic standards of the wilderness people were different from Gaofeng's. They preferred strong women, the stronger the better, as only strong women could bear healthy boys and survive in the barren western wilderness.

Gaofeng always thought that if a woman in the wilderness transcended the bear's realm and reached the pig's category, she would be the dream goddess of all the men in the wilderness. Therefore, the more robust and manly a woman was, the higher her value. Fortunately, Sanzhao had never seen his mother, otherwise, Gaofeng wouldn't know how to face his robust mother.

"Bigzhao sneaked into Shi's nest yesterday and had his most beloved slave girl. Today, Shi went to Heizhao to complain, and Heizhao gave him twenty baskets of jujube flour. Sanzhao, you can try too. After all, you are Heizhao's son. Even if you get caught, you still have Heizhao..."

"Huoya, shut up, don't mention these things to me..." Gaofeng finally couldn't hold back and scolded the boy named Huoya. He didn't want to appear different, but he didn't want to accept slave girls who were only valued for their strength and appearance.

Huoya closed his mouth, feeling a bit wronged. The previous Sanzhao wasn't like this. He, like the other boys, secretly went to other people's rooftops to watch the fights that made their blood boil. Many times, it was Gaofeng who dragged him there. Otherwise, he wouldn't be thinking about these things all day. What was wrong with Sanzhao?

Gaofeng didn't realize that his strange behavior had aroused Huoya's suspicion. By then, they had already reached the training ground, where hundreds of boys and children of various ages were learning. Amid the young voices, wooden weapons were swung in the red sandstorm.

Gaofeng and Huoya didn't join in but walked straight into the large hall of the training ground. The hall could accommodate hundreds of people kneeling, and it was one of the largest buildings in the tribe. Huge logs supported the spacious hall, and on the round logs, there were carvings of small figures wielding weapons in battle.

The hall was not elegant but rough and grand. The old wood was colorful, with the marks of countless years of history. Many places had old gaps and murky, black stains, proving that it had once been a battlefield.

Huoya, who talked more than he acted, didn't stop talking on the way. He either talked about whose slave girl had a big butt or whose breasts were round, as if his mind was only filled with women's butts and breasts. However, when he entered the hall where over a hundred boys were sitting, he immediately became solemn and reverent, like a devout believer, carefully finding a place to sit with Gaofeng.

Most of the boys were about the same age as Gaofeng and Huoya, sitting neatly in the hall without a word, like wooden statues. Gaofeng and Huoya were among them. In the tribe, the tribal warriors all had shaved heads, while the boys had uniform mid-length hair tied back. From a distance, they looked like they were cast from the same mold, all wearing shorts, with their muscular upper bodies exposed, their hair disheveled, and their expressions solemn.

New boys kept coming in, and Gaofeng secretly observed the hall's layout and the expressions of the people. The boys were silent, while a circle of tribal warriors stood at the outer edge. Their bulging chest muscles were different from other warriors, with black paint depicting claw patterns, matching the tribe's name, the Black Claw Tribe. The only one who could truly be called a Black Claw was the tribe's strongest warrior and the unique leader, Gaofeng's father, Black Claw.

Black Claw sat on the leader's throne, his eyes half-closed like a dozing lion. The occasional flash of cold light in his eyes made every boy who secretly glanced at him bow their heads deeply. Adolescence was a rebellious period, and every boy had his own dreams and arrogance. They could mock other warriors because they believed they would one day become warriors themselves, but they dared not look down on Black Claw, who was the tribe's unique protector.

Unlike others, Gaofeng could openly observe Black Claw because he was not only the leader but also the nominal father of his body. Black Claw was the only warrior in the tribe with long hair, which he didn't need to shave off for fear of injury. His lion-like mane was slightly curly, like Gaofeng's, and his handsome face had a maturity and沧桑 that Gaofeng lacked. Gaofeng was like a younger version of Black Claw.

What was most intimidating about Black Claw was not his aura but his unique right arm, a deformed, claw-like limb with each nail gleaming with a subtle metallic luster. This was the true reason Black Claw became the leader, Black Claw...

When everyone was present, Black Claw suddenly opened his eyes, his stern and piercing gaze slowly sweeping over each boy's face. In the icy coldness, every boy involuntarily tightened, almost wetting themselves from the gaze filled with authority and power. Many even trembled, but no one dared to avoid those stern eyes. This was the first test.

When Black Claw's gaze met Gaofeng's, Gaofeng's and Sanzhao's memories overlapped, returning to the life-or-death decision Sanzhao faced at twelve. In front of him was the cold, fierce gaze of a sand wolf, and Black Claw stood above the pit, looking down at his son's duel with the sand wolf with the coldest eyes. The son's trembling added a hint of disgust to Black Claw's cold gaze.

In the instant of memory overlap, Gaofeng couldn't distinguish whether the emotions were his or Sanzhao's, and his body involuntarily trembled, causing a trace of disappointment to flash in Black Claw's eyes.

"You... you, and you... out!!!"

Black Claw's roar was unchallengeable, like a thunderclap. In this thunderclap, some were happy and some were worried. The boys he named collapsed to the ground, and the Black Claw warriors, standing like statues at the edge, walked into the middle with long knives, dragging each eliminated boy by the hair. The boys' faces were pale, and some even left trails of urine as they were dragged away, but they dared not cry or beg for mercy. In the western wilderness, tears, cries, and pleas for mercy were useless.

Gaofeng's face was also pale. He knew why these boys were dragged away, because they trembled out of fear when Black Claw scrutinized them. But he was the only exception. He was also trembling, either out of fear that the monster-like Black Claw would see through his true identity or out of fear of failing the upcoming test.

Just as Gaofeng was feeling lucky, a malicious gaze shot at him. He looked up to see a boy a couple of years older than him, with the same mid-length curly hair, but a face as hard as stone, with a hint of Black Claw's features. On that stone-like face were two ugly, symmetrical scars.

Seeing the scars, Gaofeng involuntarily clenched his left hand, which had the same scar. The boy was his nominal older brother, Bigzhao. The scars on Bigzhao's face were left by the previous Sanzhao, and before that, Bigzhao had pierced Sanzhao's palm with a bone spike.

"After the red clouds disappear, set out. The human tribe three red clouds away is your target. You must bring back three heads to become tribal warriors. Bigzhao, Erzhao, and Sanzhao must bring back five heads. Whether my son or other attendants, if the goal is not met, they will be demoted to slaves. Good luck..."

Black Claw didn't waste words, briefly explaining the purpose of the gathering. The next moment, all the boys bowed and silently stood up, one after another, walking out the door.

Gaofeng, with a nervous heart, clenched his fists tightly and walked out in a daze. The only thing he understood about this world was that Black Claw wouldn't show favoritism just because he was Sanzhao. Just like when Sanzhao was twelve, he had to fight the sand wolf, even though he was Black Claw's son...

Black Claw, like a mountain, sat motionless, his cold, icy gaze sweeping over his sons and finally resting on Sanzhao's back. Anger welled up in his heart. A weak-willed person did not deserve to be his son. He wanted to deprive Sanzhao of his only chance to be tested, but then he thought of that elegant and serene woman, the one he hated, regretted, and yearned for all his life.

"No matter what, he is still my son, and her son..."

Black Claw closed his eyes again, falling into silence, like a king of beasts dozing, motionless.