Chapter 3

The annual Ancestral Festival is approaching.

The Yi tribe gradually began to get busy. The frequency of hunting teams entering the mountains became more frequent. Previously, they would enter the mountains once a month, but in the two months leading up to the Ancestral Festival, the Yi tribe's hunting teams would enter the Fulong Mountains every half month.

The Ancestral Festival is the grandest festival of the Yi tribe.

On the day of the Ancestral Festival, everyone in the tribe must return to the tribe to worship their ancestors. For all ordinary people in the tribe, it is also a day of celebration, a festival where they can eat the meat of ferocious beasts.

The meat of ferocious beasts contains very pure energy, highly nourishing, and is ten times more precious than the blood deer meat hunted by Yi Tian. Regular consumption can strengthen the body, build a robust physique, and refine muscles, bones, and skin, with excellent effects. It is the food that mid- and high-level warriors use to replenish their daily consumption.

Otherwise, for mid- and high-level warriors, eating a few hundred pounds of ordinary fierce beast meat in one meal is just ordinary.

Because of the existence of the Ancestral Festival, the physical fitness of even ordinary people in the tribe far exceeds that of ordinary people living in towns and counties.

The day of the Ancestral Festival is getting closer.

Yi Tian and others often saw hunting teams returning from the mountains, bringing back a large number of fierce beasts. In the hunting teams, they could see three or four tribal warriors carrying one after another, ferocious beasts as big as small mountains, emitting powerful ferocious auras. From a distance, Yi Tian and others were all intimidated.

Each of these ferocious beasts was extremely large, at least three or four zhang tall. Low-level tribal warriors felt the strain carrying them, leaving deep footprints on the ground.

Some ferocious beasts were covered in scales, shimmering with a cold light, indicating extremely strong defense. Some had shiny, smooth, and tough fur, capable of deflecting the sharpness of weapons, with any attack being deflected by a large part.

However, there were arrow holes on their bodies, or their heads were pierced, or their chests were penetrated. Some scales or fur were broken and torn, clearly having suffered terrible attacks, leaving gruesome wounds.

Although it was not the first time Yi Tian saw the ferocious and terrifying appearance of the ferocious beasts, he was still greatly impressed by their power.

On the day of the Ancestral Festival.

Everyone in the tribe climbed to the top of the mountain and came to the tens of zhang square in front of the ancestral temple.

The chief of the Yi tribe, the seven elders, the chief leader, the deputy leader, and the mid-level warriors were inside the ancestral temple worshipping. The other nearly eight thousand people of the Yi tribe could only worship on the square.

Inside the ancestral temple, a very ancient ancestor was enshrined, a legendary celestial being who could shoot down gods and demons, the divine archer Shen Yi.

According to the oldest elder in the tribe, their Yi tribe is the descendant of the divine archer Shen Yi. Therefore, all the people in their tribe have a strong talent for archery, and the entire tribe is very proud of this.

Yi Tian was very skeptical about this.

Their ancestor, the divine archer Shen Yi, could shoot down gods and demons, which is too exaggerated.

If their ancestor was the divine archer Shen Yi, their tribe would not have fallen to such a state.

Their Yi tribe might be considered a major tribe around Heilong City, but it is not top-tier. There are at least ten tribes around Heilong City that are comparable to the Yi tribe.

Moreover, some families and forces in Heilong City are even more powerful than the Yi tribe.

The Ancestral Festival began.

The chief of the Yi tribe, who is over eighty years old, presided over the festival. He looked somewhat aged but was still robust and had a loud voice.

Under his direction, the Ancestral Festival proceeded step by step.

In front of the altar of the divine archer Shen Yi, nine large ferocious beasts had already been offered, their bodies golden and dripping with fat, emitting a strong meaty aroma that made the children on the square sniff hard, almost drooling.

The adults secretly scolded these children, not allowing them to be so impolite.

Yi Xiaolong and Yi Xiaoting, these two little ones, were also constantly swallowing their saliva. The smell of the ferocious beast meat was too tempting. If they had not been eating blood deer meat for a while and developed some immunity, they would have been even worse.

Su Yue'e lovingly patted the heads of the two little ones, feeling somewhat guilty.

Seeing this scene, Yi Tian made up his mind to let his family live a happy and worry-free life for the rest of their lives.

The Ancestral Festival lasted half a day before it ended.

Next, the entire square in front of the ancestral temple became busy and bustling.

Hundreds of women set up bonfires and large cauldrons. Strong women cut the ferocious beasts into pieces of meat and bones, throwing them into the large cauldrons to start boiling. At the same time, they added some rare medicinal herbs and fragrant herbs and leaves as seasonings.

The warriors of the tribe drank in groups of three or five, and hundreds of children played around.

The chief, elders, and others also conversed in front of the ancestral temple.

Yi Tian's family, Yi Feng's family, Yi Shan's family, and others formed a small group, chatting idly.

In the nine large cauldrons in front of the ancestral temple, the ferocious beast meat soup was boiling, the aroma permeating the entire square, making everyone look forward to it.

After nearly half an hour, the meat soup in the nine large cauldrons was finally cooked. First, the chief, the seven elders, the chief leader, and the various warriors received a large bowl each, followed by the various families.

When everyone received a bowl, the square was filled with the sound of people praising the soup.

Yi Tian held a large bowl, drinking the ferocious beast meat soup mouthful by mouthful. The scalding, rich aroma filled his intestines, and a strong medicinal power and the essence energy of the ferocious beast meat gradually refined his cells, strengthened his blood, and continuously nourished his body. Although the ferocious beast meat soup contained powerful energy, it was extremely gentle in strengthening his blood, muscles, bones, and skin.

Xiaolong and Xiaoting were also eager, drinking small sips, ignoring the heat.

Mother Su Yue'e drank the ferocious beast meat soup while telling Xiaolong and Xiaoting to drink slowly.

Yi Feng, Yi Shan, Yi Li, and their younger brothers and sisters were also drinking the rare meat soup with satisfaction.

The ferocious beast meat soup was highly nourishing for Yi Tian, Yi Feng, and other women and children who had not yet become warriors, strengthening their muscles, bones, and blood. However, for low-level warriors who had reached the first stage, the ferocious beast meat soup only provided a full meal, with minimal effect on refining their bodies. For mid- and high-level warriors, it was just food to satisfy their hunger, not something special.

The day after the Ancestral Festival.

All the boys in the tribe who had reached the age of fourteen gathered early in front of the ancestral temple.

Yi Tian, Yi Feng, Yi Shan, and Yi Li stood in a corner. All the boys present looked excited, as they were about to start practicing martial arts and become powerful warriors.

This was the dream of every one of them!

While everyone was waiting, an old man walked out of the ancestral temple, the third elder of the tribe, who was in charge of the martial arts inheritance.

The third elder scanned all the boys present, especially the ones at the front, each of whom was extremely robust and had strong blood, being the descendants of the chief or other elders. He couldn't help but show a hint of satisfaction.

"Our Yi tribe has seven true martial arts, which are the Mighty Ox Mountain Splitting Technique, the Fierce Wind Tyrant Tiger Technique, the Profound Wood True Technique, the Blazing Fire Technique, the Wind and Thunder Technique, the Soaring Sky Technique, and the Divine Arrow Technique!"

The third elder continued to explain to the boys present: "Among them, the Divine Arrow Technique is the clan's main martial art, with four chapters. However, not everyone can practice the Divine Arrow Technique. You can only practice the first chapter. Only when you reach a certain level or make great contributions to the tribe can you obtain the methods for the other three chapters."

"Besides the first chapter of the Divine Arrow Technique, you can choose any one of the other six martial arts!"

The third elder's expression suddenly turned stern: "These martial arts are the foundation of our Yi tribe. You must not reveal any of them to outsiders. If discovered, you will be relentlessly pursued and killed by the entire Yi tribe. Do you understand?"

"We understand!"

The boys, intimidated by the third elder's terrifying gaze, were all frightened.

Soon, the third elder's expression returned to a calm state.

He said, "Even if you want to reveal them, it would be useless. These martial arts are different from others; the meridian circulation routes cannot have the slightest error. Otherwise, if you make a mistake, you will suffer from a mental breakdown, either dying or becoming crippled. Only the true martial arts can be practiced. Do not easily practice other handwritten copies or incomplete martial arts. Remember this!"

"You will have one month to view the true martial arts in the ancestral temple. If you have any questions, you can ask me. The true martial arts cannot be taken out."

The third elder explained all the precautions to everyone.

Then, the third elder led the twenty-three fourteen-year-old boys to a room in the ancestral temple, where the seven true martial arts were placed on stone platforms.

"You can choose any one of the martial arts, but do not be greedy. Otherwise, it will cause different true qi to rebel, leading to a mental breakdown, and the true qi will not be pure, hindering your cultivation."

After giving the instructions, the third elder sat on a cushion in the room.

Yi Tian, Yi Feng, and others immediately dispersed, approaching the stone platforms.

On the stone platforms, there were some stone-carved small characters introducing the level, characteristics, and difficulty of cultivation of the martial arts, in great detail.

Yi Tian read through the brief introductions of each martial art.

Apart from the Divine Arrow Technique, the other six martial arts included four middle-grade human-level techniques and two lower-grade human-level techniques.

Among them, the Blazing Fire Technique and the Soaring Sky Technique were rated as lower-grade human-level techniques.