"Elders and warriors, there's no need to be so courteous."
Xiao Chen, who had arrived in front of the crowd, pulled on the reins tightly. The warhorse under him immediately lifted its front hooves into the air and stopped. Xiao Chen, who was on the warhorse, did not move at all. He calmly looked at the crowd and slowly spat out a sentence. Every word was filled with absolute conviction.
Clang clang!
Hearing Xiao Chen's words, a series of sounds of weapons clashing could be heard. The Gu Yuan Tribe members all stood up, especially the guardian soldiers who were maintaining order at the city gates. They tightly gripped their weapons in their hands and stared at Xiao Chen, who was standing on the warhorse, with fiery eyes.
Every time they saw Xiao Chen's gaze sweep over them, they would involuntarily straighten their bodies. Their palms would sweat out of excitement, but they did not notice it at all.
"Haha, big brother is so amazing. You've scared all these uncles, aunties, and grandpas."
At this moment, Xiao Lu 'er, who was still lying on Shan Kun's shoulder, let out a bell-like laugh, sweeping away the invisible pressure that Xiao Chen had brought to everyone.
With a gentle lift, he pulled Xiao Lu 'er into his embrace. The little girl continued to laugh and did not seem to be restrained by the crowd at all.
"Elders, you've all worked hard these few days. Once the tribe has settled down, I will definitely reward you according to your contributions."
Hearing Xiao Chen's words, the various elders waved their hands. In terms of contributions, who in the Gu Yuan Tribe could compare to Tribe Leader Xiao Chen?
As the tribe leader and the youngest Blood Refinement expert in the Gu Yuan Tribe in hundreds of years, Xiao Chen, who held the life and death of tens of thousands of people in his hands and could decide their lives with a single word, naturally knew that only by distinguishing rewards and punishments, using kindness and authority, and combining strength and gentleness would he be able to better mobilize the enthusiasm of the tribe and make everyone feel that the Gu Yuan Tribe had hope.
This was exactly what he was going to do next.
"Clan Lord, Hero Shan's group has worked hard and made great contributions. If we don't let them enter the tribe to rest, wouldn't we become a laughingstock?"
In front of outsiders, Tie Shi had always been dutiful. He did not take advantage of his seniority in front of Xiao Chen just because he was a senior elder of the clan. Instead, he shared Xiao Chen's burdens and silently supported him.
"Haha, Great Elder is right. Shan Kun and the other warriors, please enter the city."
After saying this, Xiao Chen didn't immediately move. Instead, he turned to look at some of the outsiders. His originally gentle gaze became even sharper.
"Friends who have come from afar to do business in my Gu Yuan Tribe, I, Xiao Chen, welcome all of you. However, if you think that my Gu Yuan Tribe is defenseless after the war and want to cause trouble, then …
Don't blame me for being merciless. "
As his voice fell, a shocking aura suddenly erupted from Xiao Chen's body, which was not very burly. His Blood Qi boiled and rolled like smoke, illuminating the sky.
Many of the outsiders surrounding them were immediately shocked by Xiao Chen's aura. After all, as a Blood Refining Realm warrior, Xiao Chen's body had been further developed. His life level was incomparable to when he had been in the Bone Honing Realm.
Everyone's expressions changed drastically. Some of the more timid people were so scared that they collapsed to the ground. Their eyes were filled with shock.
He could only hear the rumbling of thunder in his ears, as if there were tens of thousands of thunder roaring in his ears. His heart was like the roaring waves in the sea, constantly rising and falling. The blood in his body was boiling at this moment, and he could not calm down for a long time.
Everyone was stunned by Xiao Chen's sudden move. They didn't realize that there were two people at the back of the crowd, one old and one young, who weren't shocked by the aura. When Xiao Chen's Blood Qi enveloped everyone, the old man gently waved his hand and blocked the invisible pressure from the two of them.
The young man was short, and his face was pale and colorless. He looked dispirited and listless. A trace of envy flashed in his eyes as he looked at the majestic Xiao Chen, but it quickly disappeared. Even the old man beside him didn't notice it.
Looking at the gradually dispersing crowd, the young man suddenly said, "Elder Hu, the Gu Yuan Tribe's Clan Leader Xiao has such a high cultivation level at such a young age. His future can be said to be immeasurable."
The old man's strength could be said to be unfathomable. Xiao Chen's cultivation could not be hidden from his eyes. "Not bad. At such a young age, he was able to cultivate to the peak of the early stage of the Blood Refining Realm in the Giant Rock Valley, where resources are scarce. He is worthy of being called a genius."
"Let's go. Since we've arrived at the Gu Yuan Tribe, let's go in and see what's so special about it. What's so special about a small tribe that is at the bottom of the low-rank tribes that can produce such a genius warrior?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the young man took a step forward and followed the crowd toward the Gu Yuan Tribe. Seeing this, the old man called Elder Hu shook his head and quickly followed.
At this moment, Xiao Chen had already arrived at the tribe's great hall. As for Shan Kun and the others, they had already arranged for their tribesmen to lead them to rest. After all, these people had experienced a long period of imprisonment, followed by a great battle, and traveled thousands of miles to escort the children back to the Gu Yuan Tribe. Their bodies had already been squeezed to the limit. If they did not rest, it would cause serious damage to their martial path, which would cause immeasurable damage to their martial path in the future.
Xiao Chen sat boldly in the middle of the tribe's Meeting Hall. He looked at the people below him vaguely. The way the group of people looked at him was like they were looking at a vast ocean, deep and vast.
After listening to the stewards' reports, Xiao Chen had a direct understanding of the Gu Yuan Tribe after the battle. Although some details were not clear, in general, the Gu Yuan Tribe had not fallen into a situation where it had been seriously damaged.
Firstly, Xiao Chen had quickly killed the invading Blood Refining experts with his spear, causing the enemies to scatter and flee. Secondly, the Gu Yuan Tribe, as the defending party, had an innately advantageous position. It was easy to defend and difficult to attack.
After listening to the steward's reports, Xiao Chen pondered for a moment. Just as he was about to speak, he saw a person stand up from his seat and walk to the center of the great hall. After bowing to Xiao Chen, he said, "Reporting to Tribe Leader, when I was cleaning up the battlefield, I only found the corpses of Xie Li and Xiong Li. I did not find the corpse of the Withered Tree Tribe's Great Elder."
After the burly man finished speaking, perhaps to increase the credibility of the matter, Great Elder Tie Shi added, "That's right. We asked the Withered Tree Tribe members to identify the corpses one by one, but we did not find Mu Yan's corpse. Therefore, I suspect that Mu Yan did not die and instead escaped during the chaos."
"If that's the case, where could Mu Yan have escaped to?"
Xiao Chen was quite confident in his own strength. Even if that arrow did not kill Mu Yan, it would at least heavily injure him.
The key question now was where the heavily injured Mu Yan had escaped to. After all, the revenge of a Blood Refining expert was enough to make the Gu Yuan Tribe unable to eat or sleep in peace.
"Let me explain. Where did Mu Yan escape to?"
Just as everyone was pondering where Mu Yan was hiding, a rough voice came from outside the door. A burly man with a full beard walked in. The tribe's second elder, Lin Shan, had returned.
The person who had come was the other Blood Refining expert of the Gu Yuan Tribe, Lin Shan. Not only that, Shi Yong and Mu Wufeng, who had gone to the Black Mountain Tribe, had also returned. However, Mu Wufeng's face was filled with grief.
"You're saying that Mu Yan escaped to the Withered Tree Tribe with heavy injuries, and in order to recover from his injuries and break through his original realm, he cruelly slaughtered the remaining thousands of Withered Tree Tribe members to use an evil technique. In the end, he suffered Qi Deviation and suffered a backlash. He bled from his seven orifices and died."
After hearing Lin Shan's report, not only Xiao Chen, but all the tribesmen present were shocked. They did not know whether it was because of Mu Yan's brutality or because he died from Qi Deviation.
"That's right. When we arrived, the Withered Tree Tribe had already lost all signs of life. It was a miserable scene of hell on earth. All the tribesmen, be they men or women, were lying in a pool of blood. The blood in their bodies had long been sucked dry, turning them into dried corpses. All the blood was stored in a pool of blood at the center of the tribe."
Mu Yan, on the other hand, was bleeding from his seven orifices and lying beside the altar next to the pool of blood.
Hearing this, Xiao Chen could not help but sigh. The Withered Tree Tribe's first elder, Mu Yan, could be considered a hero of his generation, but in the end, he had died and his tribe had been exterminated.
"There's still one more matter that requires the tribe leader's decision."
Hearing Second Elder Lin Shan's request once again, Xiao Chen placed the matter of Mu Yan aside and asked, "May I know what matter Second Elder is referring to?"
"Under the tribe leader's orders, I led the tribe's warriors to the Black Mountain Tribe's lair. However, I did not find the young tribe leader, Xiong Kang, nor the elder, Sun Diao. The two of them had already escaped."
"That goes without saying. The two of them must have been frightened by the tribe leader's invincible appearance. They might have escaped somewhere."
The people below discussed animatedly. They all guessed that Xiong Kang and Sun Diao had already received the news of the Black Mountain Tribe's defeat and fled to the Wasteland.
"Alright, they're merely two clowns. Why would I, Gu Yuan, fear them?"
Stopping the quarreling below, Xiao Chen no longer cared about those who had been defeated by him. As the tribe leader, he had long set his sights on Gu Yuan's future.