Chapter 4

On the Sacrifice Square, the flames were brilliant, and the voices of the crowd were enthusiastic and lively. In the distance, beyond the square, the faint sounds of combat could still be heard from the cavalry training grounds hidden in the dark night, where the elite hunters of the Tian Yao tribe were undergoing rigorous drills.

Hooves pounded the earth, the hunting drums beat, and the sharp sounds of clashing weapons occasionally pierced the night sky. The strict military discipline and the cold, bloodthirsty aura laid a golden and iron-colored foundation for the night.

On the day of the Tian Yao Festival, representatives from other tribes would come to offer their congratulations. Both the training camp and the cavalry training grounds would display their most splendid and ostentatious military formations to demonstrate their strength and intimidate the outsiders.

In the wilderness, tribes stood on the basis of martial prowess, in a world that revered warriors and bloodshed.

It was an era of heroes.

Zhou Lu swayed as he descended from the Star Platform, completely unaware of his alienation from this world. He secretly glanced at his grandfather in the crowd, noticing his grandfather's displeased expression, and his heart trembled. He wanted to slip away into the crowd from another direction.

The sacrifice had ended, and soon would be the more festive Naadam Fair. The enthusiasm of the tribespeople was just beginning to rise. Other young warriors who had summoned their battle spirits were jubilantly gathering to the left of the Star Platform to register their identities with the Tian Yao Pavilion.

"Zhou Lu..."

A clear and gentle voice called out to Zhou Lu from the crowd.

Zhou Lu turned in surprise, and the crowd spontaneously parted to form a path. At the end of the path, a tall and curvaceous female hunter in tight leather armor, with narrowed star-like eyes, stared intently at Zhou Lu. The complex and unfathomable look in her eyes made it hard to guess her intentions.

The female hunter was noble and cold, with a faint tribal pattern between her eyebrows that resembled a pair of wings about to take flight, adding to her spirited and confident demeanor.

Many people's eyes lit up at the sight.

She was not just the one who had summoned the lightning eagle battle spirit during the sacrifice.

This woman's reputation far exceeded Zhou Lu's. Meng Tian was as beautiful as the moon, a well-known beauty on the wilderness, and her cultivation talent was astonishing. At just under twenty years old, she had already reached the seventh level of the Totem Heart Sutra, achieving seven totem veins, and was only one step away from the eighth level, which would make her a top-tier hunter.

Even among the countless tribes of the entire Tian Yao tribe, Meng Tian's strength could rank in the top three thousand. However, her future achievements would be even greater.

Meng Tian slowly walked through the crowd toward Zhou Lu. The surroundings were silent, and the fragrance of the air made people stare. Zhou Lu, standing at a distance, felt a mix of surprise and uncertainty.

Meng Tian had been Zhou Lu's childhood playmate. Back then, they were innocent and often played house together. Once, during a game, a big child had taken the small shovel Meng Tian was using to cook. She had cried, wiping her nose, feeling very sad. The chubby Zhou Lu, without regard for the height difference, pounced on the big child, tearing and biting with a mad fervor, scaring the big child so much that he dropped the shovel and fled in fear.

When the bloodied Zhou Lu handed the shovel to Meng Tian, she cried again, using her own sleeve to wipe the blood from his nose.

At that time, Zhou Lu only remembered smiling foolishly...

In the blink of an eye, both had grown up. The innocent friendship of their childhood was no more. One had walked further and further down the path of genius, while the other had earned a reputation as a little rascal.

The feelings they once had, where they could give their most beloved toys to each other without hesitation, had gradually faded into memory.

Zhou Lu couldn't remember how long it had been since Meng Tian had spoken to him.

"Is Meng Tian doing this today..."

The fragrance slowly approached, and Zhou Lu suppressed his surprise and a bit of flattery, turning to ask with a grin, "Meng Tian, you..."

Meng Tian's eyes became even more complex, staring intently at Zhou Lu. Under the tight leather armor, her chest rose and fell subtly.

Meng Tian slowly pulled her hand out from her sleeve, and between her slender fingers, she held a light purple gold lock. Zhou Lu's eyes narrowed sharply. It was the very ornament he had personally put around Meng Tian's neck when he was nine years old, his favorite thing at the time. He remembered how delighted the little girl had been when she put it on.

And today...

Zhou Lu suddenly felt his mouth dry and his breathing tight.

Meng Tian's delicate hand extended, offering the gold lock to Zhou Lu. She took a deep breath, trying to keep her voice calm, and said in a clear and gentle tone:

"Zhou Lu, I'm giving this back to you. From now on... we will be people from two different worlds..."

Zhou Lu was immediately stunned, his heart aching as if cut by a knife, and the veins on his forehead throbbed. He didn't know how he managed to reach out and take the gold lock back.

On the wilderness, where honor and promises were highly valued, returning a friend's gift was a very serious matter, equivalent to cutting ties.

"Is Meng Tian declaring that the friendship of the past is completely severed?"

Is she using the severing of their friendship to show that you, Zhou Lu, are not worthy of her?

After the sacrifice, one would enter the Tian Yao Elite Pavilion, advancing rapidly in cultivation, and it could be foreseen that Meng Tian's cultivation would not stop at the eighth level of the Totem Heart Sutra, the peak of a top-tier hunter. With her astonishing talent, she might even reach the higher legendary realm.

The other, after this night, would join the Eagle Wing Cavalry, guarding the vast West Mines, living a life of monotony and hardship.

From then on, the two would live in different worlds, with no further interaction.

Many people in the crowd understood, and the faint sounds of ridicule reached Zhou Lu's ears. His face turned red, and his whole body trembled slightly.

Zhou Lu knew why Meng Tian was doing this.

Over the years, Meng Tian had been cold and proud, and ordinary people were hard to catch her eye. After the failed marriage proposals to her family, the dissatisfaction and rumors about her increased day by day.

Many versions of the rumors linked her with Zhou Lu, speculating that Meng Tian couldn't let go of their childhood romance. More people dug up their childhood intimacy, making the rumors seem increasingly true.

A beautiful and talented woman, and a rascal who was the subject of ridicule, when their names were mentioned together, the rumors were filled with mockery. As the rumors grew worse, they even began to tarnish Meng Tian's reputation.

When Meng Tian heard these rumors, she had once tried to explain angrily, but more people were willing to believe the rumors.

Today, Meng Tian was using this opportunity to publicly declare her stance: I, Meng Tian, have no relation to Zhou Lu, and I never had any intention of relying on such a person for my life.

By doing this, she could free herself from the rumors and continue to be the high and cold genius.

This would indeed free Meng Tian from the rumors...

But what about Zhou Lu?

The little girl who used to run and laugh behind him had become high and cold, with less and less contact, and eventually almost no words. Zhou Lu had never tried to纠缠 (pursue) her.

You be your genius, and I'll be my rascal. Everyone has their own path to walk, at least, they still had the warm memories of the past.

But today, Meng Tian was even determined to erase the memories, publicly severing their past friendship.

Zhou Lu had just failed in the sacrifice ceremony, even losing the qualification to enter the Tian Yao Pavilion. Now, even the woman looked down on him, severing their past friendship due to differences in status and position.

Being looked down upon by a woman, how could he ever hold his head high on the wilderness again?

Given Meng Tian's future achievements, when people talked about this, they would all think that Zhou Lu was a toad trying to eat a swan, only to be trampled underfoot.

The crowd's gaze returned to Zhou Lu, watching the red-faced, trembling fat man holding the small purple gold lock, with veins bulging on his forehead. Someone couldn't hold back and laughed, and the laughter seemed contagious, with more people's faces filled with ridicule.

Meng Tian also realized the harm she had caused Zhou Lu, her eyes showing a hint of pain and regret, but more so, a determined look.

The rumors over the years had weighed heavily on her. In the tribe, she was a genius with limitless potential. In the Tian Yao ranking competition in six months, she not only aimed to be the top, the most dazzling among the young warriors, but she also aspired to become a top-tier hunter, enter the Elder Council, and become a leader of countless tribes.

Her name could not always be linked with that of a wastrel, especially one who had failed to seize the opportunity given to him in the sacrifice.

That would only tarnish her reputation and hold her back.

Meng Tian said softly, "Zhou Lu, I'm sorry, but we will no longer have any connection. I'm giving you back the past..."

On the other side, the fat man with veins bulging on his forehead still had a grin on his face.

Zhou Lu's fingers were so tense that the veins popped, and with a crack, he crushed the gold lock into pieces, throwing it on the ground and shaking his head with a grin:

"Who cares about childhood toys? I had almost forgotten about this thing."

Zhou Lu casually patted his hands, shrugging indifferently at Meng Tian:

"See, now we're even. From now on, we don't know each other, and your reputation won't be burdened by me. Isn't that great..."

Zhou Lu's face still had a smile as he slowly turned around.

Behind him, Meng Tian, hearing the words "from now on, we don't know each other," felt as if her heart had been hollowed out, the pain making her eyes misty.

Had all the memories of the past been severed by these words? Had she gotten everything she wanted from Zhou Lu?

Zhou Lu's fat figure passed through the crowd filled with ridicule, gradually walking away.

Meng Tian stood there, biting her lips until they bled: This fat man, how carefree he is.

But in a place Meng Tian didn't know, Zhou Lu's face was ashen, and his nails had dug into his palms, drawing blood.

"Is it because I can't enter the Tian Yao Pavilion, because I can't become a top-tier hunter, that this happens?"

"Is it so hard to become a top-tier hunter?"

"Do you think I won't be as strong as you all after I go through hard training? In the future, I'll pick off those top-tier hunters one by one for fun..."

Zhou Lu finally emerged from the crowd, the dark night ahead, and all the splendor and fireworks behind him seemed so distant. He kicked a stone on the roadside in anger, the pain in his foot making him grimace: "Damn, can't I even brag a little?"

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