Chapter Two: Brothers

Early the next morning, Yi Tian rose at dawn and began his exercises in front of the courtyard, repeatedly lifting a stone as large as a millstone, sweat streaming down his body. After hoisting the three-stone cauldron fifty times, he was already feeling exhausted. He rested briefly, then started practicing archery. The target was set thirty yards away; he drew his bow and fired arrows that sliced through the air like lightning, each one embedding itself firmly in the target.

Within the Yi Tribe, their mastery of archery far surpassed that of ordinary people. Yi Tian’s skill was still at the initial stage where the arrows broke the sound barrier, yet even so, he was already on par with the best marksmen among his peers. After half an hour of training, Yi Tian finally stopped. For someone only thirteen years old, moderation was key—too much exertion would be harmful to his body.

His mother, Su Yue’e, was already busy in the kitchen, smoke curling up and the aroma of cooked meat wafting through the air.

“Yi Tian!”

“Brother Tian!”

Just then, several figures came racing down the mountain. In moments, three burly boys appeared at the front of Yi Tian’s courtyard. Each was robust, taller than Yi Tian by half a head, dressed in clothes made from animal hides, sturdy and wild like inhabitants of some untamed land. Yet their faces still held traces of youthful innocence; they were not that old.

“Yi Feng, Yi Shan, Yi Li, how come you’re back?” Yi Tian asked in surprise.

Yi Feng and Yi Shan were the sons of Aunt Hua and Aunt Tian, respectively. Yi Li was the son of Yi Hong. They had grown up closely with Yi Tian, forming a strong bond. But at this time, they should have been attending lessons at the ancestral temple atop the mountain. How did they have time to come down?

Yi Feng, who was always cheerful, boasted, “I passed the elders’ exam. I don’t have to attend classes anymore.”

“I did too,” Yi Li said, his expression as cold as ever.

Yi Tian paid no mind to Yi Li’s aloofness; he was born that way, cold on the surface but warm-hearted underneath—a fact known to Yi Feng, Yi Shan, and the others.

When Yi Tian looked at Yi Shan, the honest-faced boy blushed and said in a gruff voice, “The elders kicked me out.”

Yi Feng couldn’t help but burst into laughter. He said to Yi Tian, “Shan is so thick-headed, he never manages to pass, always at the bottom of the class. The elders have given up on him, so they just sent him away.”

“But compared to you, you’re like a monster! We can’t even compete,” Yi Feng added, acknowledging Yi Tian’s talent.

Yi Shan and Yi Li nodded in agreement. Yi Tian had attended lessons at the ancestral temple for just four years before passing the elders’ assessment, allowing him to finish early—something that made every youth in the Yi Tribe envious.

From the age of six, they spent three weeks each month at the ancestral temple, forbidden from leaving during that time, until they turned fourteen or passed the elders’ exam early. In the tribe’s history, only a few had managed to pass a year or two ahead; each was considered a genius. Yi Tian had finished four years early, surpassing all recorded achievements in the tribe.

But Yi Tian did not concern himself with such things.

If not for his father’s death during a hunt a few years ago, he would not have left the ancestral temple so soon after passing the exam; it had made him stand out too much. After his father died, only his mother, Su Yue’e, was left to manage the household and care for Xiao Long and Xiao Ting. Though the tribe helped, providing a share of the hunt each time, and his mother earned some income doing work for the tribe, survival was not an issue. But she had to work and take care of two children—it was extraordinarily hard.

So Yi Tian resolved to pass the elders’ exam, finish his studies early, and return home to ease his mother’s burden.

Two years ago, when Yi Tian’s strength surpassed two hundred pounds—enough to draw his father’s iron bow—he began hunting small animals and beasts near the tribe, greatly improving his family's situation.

“What’s that delicious smell? It’s amazing!” Yi Shan sniffed the air, swallowing hungrily.

“Come, yesterday I hunted a blood stag. Today you’re in for a treat!” Yi Tian led Yi Feng, Yi Shan, and Yi Li into the house.

Yi Feng sighed as he walked, “I can’t believe your luck, catching a blood stag! Its meat is a rare delicacy, highly nourishing, second only to ferocious beast meat, comparable to the flesh of the most dangerous creatures deep in the mountains.”

Even the normally cold, silent Yi Li nodded. It wasn’t every day they could eat blood stag or the meat of dangerous beasts; only the tribe’s warriors regularly feasted on such fare. The sons of warriors received a share of prime meat, but families like Yi Tian’s could only eat high-quality meat during the annual ancestral festival. Most days, ordinary folks like them ate common wild beast meat, which held little energy.

Because of this, Yi Tian was still slightly shorter than Yi Feng and the others.

Their arrival delighted Su Yue’e. Soon, Xiao Long and Xiao Ting stumbled out, rubbing sleepy eyes. The two children had stayed up half the night yesterday, but the commotion and the irresistible aroma of blood stag meat woke them right up.

“Brother Feng, Brother Shan, Brother Li!” they called sweetly, familiar and affectionate.

“Xiao Long, Xiao Ting, it’s been so long! Later, Brother Feng will take you to play in the water!” Yi Feng promised.

“Awesome!” The two children were thrilled.

For them, leaving the tribe was a rare treat; they hadn’t gone out in years and longed to play by the river.

Soon, Xiao Long and Xiao Ting cheerfully went to wash up.

Su Yue’e prepared eight dishes from the blood stag meat, their color, aroma, and flavor outstanding, prompting Yi Shan, Yi Feng, and the others to devour them eagerly.

When all eight dishes were finished, Yi Tian and his friends were steaming with heat, bellies full as never before.

Yi Tian, having just trained, absorbed the blood stag meat with remarkable efficiency. His bones and muscles felt as though they were being tempered, growing tougher and stronger.

That day, Yi Tian, Yi Feng, and the others took Xiao Long, Xiao Ting, along with Yi Feng’s younger siblings and more—a group of over a dozen—leaving the tribe to play by a nearby river for the entire day before returning, satisfied.

As for venturing farther, they dared not; those places were dangerous forbidden zones, with ferocious beasts roaming at any moment.

In the days that followed, Yi Tian collected a large amount of medicinal herbs from the tribe and the nearby mountains. He intended to use the blood stag antlers as the main ingredient, supplemented with other herbs, to brew a medicinal soup and refine his body.

After three days of preparation, everything was ready. The blood stag antlers could provide enough for three batches of medicinal soup; adding more blood stag velvet powder would be wasteful.

That night, Yi Tian and Su Yue’e finished brewing the soup. When Yi Tian first immersed himself, the pain was so intense—like his flesh being torn apart—that even with mental preparation, he couldn’t help but cry out.

The increasingly hot medicinal power surged into his body, feeling like a thousand blades slicing him, nearly unbearable. Yi Tian could only grit his teeth and endure in silence.

Time passed, bit by bit.

As the excruciating pain gradually lessened, the soup began to cool. Yi Tian climbed out of the wooden barrel, his skin flushed red as if boiled, steam rising from his body.

Yet he could feel changes within—like a rebirth, a profound transformation. His bones and flesh had clearly grown much stronger.

The next day, when Yi Tian tested himself, his single-arm strength had soared to nearly two stones, both arms together four stones, easily able to lift the three-stone cauldron.

In the following months, Yi Tian no longer went hunting. Though much of the blood stag was shared, it was sufficient for his family of four.

Xiao Long and Xiao Ting grew noticeably stronger, and Su Yue’e’s complexion improved.

After two more medicinal baths, Yi Tian’s body was further refined, his strength rising to three stones with one arm. Yet among his peers in the Yi Tribe, this was only average; Yi Feng and Yi Shan already surpassed four stones, and Yi Shan was born with prodigious strength, reaching five stones in one arm.

One stone equaled one hundred and twenty pounds. After the medicinal baths, Yi Tian’s strength soared—over three hundred pounds in one arm. In his previous life, that would have made him a strongman, but in this tribe, it was merely ordinary.

During this period, Yi Tian trained relentlessly under the effects of the soup, his body growing stronger, his strength increasing.

But for Yi Tian, this level of power was far from enough.

In the tribe, an ordinary warrior was second or third rank, capable of unleashing five to six thousand pounds of force with a single punch. The mid-ranked warriors were even more formidable, each able to stand alone against extremely dangerous beasts, matching the ferocious creatures at the heart of the mountains.

This was an incredibly perilous world!

Yi Tian once witnessed a battle that shook heaven and earth.

Four years ago, deep within the Fulong Mountains, a titanic battle erupted—roars shook the sky like thunder, mountains trembled and quaked, countless ferocious beasts and monsters spilled from the mountains, causing great casualties around.

The Yi Tribe suffered heavy losses in that disaster; many warriors perished fighting the beasts that escaped the mountains.

His father was among those who fell in that battle.