Chapter 8 - Ningjing Tribe (2)

They have been here for three days already, and nothing has changed. Every night, the beast attacks them; the difference is that the beast becomes more aggressive with each attack, until on the third day, it becomes worse until a refugee dies to defend against the beast.

When the leader notices this, he realizes he can't go on like this, so when the morning sun rises, he immediately goes deeper into the forest to find out why the beast always attacks them at night.

The leader continues to go deeper and deeper until he comes to a large hole of unknown depth. He tries to make a sound by throwing a rock into the hole, but there is none.

Because the sky had already darkened, he immediately rested beside the hole.

Not long after his eyes began to close, a great shock hit the area, a strong wind blew that nearly sent him flying into a hole.

The leader had to quickly step back and draw his sword when a head the size of a mountain with long wavy horns, yellow eyes with a black iris in the center, and long wavy eyes emerged from the hole.

When the beasts see the wary look the humans give, he immediately introduces himself as the Heavenly Dragon.

He stated that he had always observed their struggle, as well as how their leader led their group and how responsible he was. As a result, the heavenly dragon grants them permission to live in his territory with one condition: because a large number of humans have recently entered his territory, which is bothering him, the heavenly dragon asks him and his group to become the guardians of his territory; their group will become the gateway to his territory, a gatekeeper.

The Heavenly Dragon raises his claws, aimed at the leader's forehead.

The leader sensed a warm sensation entering his body, and then a green aura gradually covered his entire body. The leader feels that he is becoming so much stronger; he thinks that even if he goes back and forth between this forest and their hometown, he will not feel any tiredness.

Before the leader could inquire as to what had transpired, the heavenly dragon declared that he would become invincible as long as he was in the Heavenly Dragon's domain and that he was still alive and in this forest.

After repeatedly thanking the heavenly dragon, he returns to the camp and tells all of the refugees what happened, how he met the heavenly dragon, and what agreement he made with the heavenly dragon.

With time and population growth, the initially small group grows larger and eventually develops into a tribe. The previous leader succeeded as the first tribe chief, and all of his children inherited the power bestowed upon their father by the heavenly dragon.

Generation after generation, almost all of the inhabitants of the tribe have the same power as their first tribe chief; this can signify that almost all of the tribe's people are already one big family that shares the same blood. As a result, the elder and the tribes chief discussed and agreed that the Leng surname is only allowed to be used by the tribe chief and his family, while their tribe will be named the Ningjing Tribe, and the tribes' population will be divided as a Ning surname will become the tribe chief's right hand man, taking care of the external problems, and a Jing surname will take care of the internal problems.

Every time a tribe chief changes, so do his right hand and left hand. To choose who will be the new left hand and right hand, the new blood competes with one another to see who will be the most deserving to be the new tribe chief's confidant. Anyone with Ning or Jing blood can join this competition.

Every person with even a tiny bit of Leng blood will possess the power of the Heavenly Dragon, but as they move farther away from their ancestor, their blood will become deluded and their strength will wane.

The Ningjing tribes were experiencing an existential crisis at the time, so the tribes' chiefs established new rules for those who would succeed him as chief tribes, requiring them to go outside and experience the world while searching for a solution to their problem, while they could bring their two confidants from Ning and Jing.

And just like that, the three sons of that tribe's chief split in three directions. North, south, and east.

The group led by Leng Kui enters the territory of the Heavenly Bird. After hearing the Heavenly Dragon's story, the Heavenly Bird does the same and grants Leng Kui his power in exchange for him guarding his territory.

The group led by Leng Bing enters the territory of the Heavenly Turtle. He grants them his power in exchange for their tribe protecting his territory after learning how their tribe protects Heavenly Dragon territory.

while the group led by Leng Yu vanishes like it never existed. There was no news about them; even after searching for years, their traces were still not found.

Finally, as their power grows, so does their responsibility.

The Ningjing tribe was divided into three branches. The one who guards Heavenly Dragon territory, Heavenly Bird territory, and Heavenly Turtle territory.

Every ten years, all of them always gather in their ancestor's place to pray for them, while at the same time conducting celebrations, matchmaking, and competitions to determine Leng leaders.

The power of the three emissaries is ingrained in the blood of the Ningjing tribe several generations later. Sometimes you can see the tribespeople who guard the Heavenly Dragon territory have a blue or red aura, and vice versa.

As years passed, their tribes became more powerful and advanced until one day, a very powerful earthquake could be felt across the territory of the three tribes.

Dark clouds covered the sky; no sun could be seen. A flash of lightning followed by a loud rumble of thunder, a rain of ice and fire, and the withering of the trees make all of the tribespeople feel scared.

They can feel their power dwindling and draining from their bodies.

The Ningjing tribe, which has deluded blood, loses all of its power, while the Leng's power is weakening to the lowest level.

That incident lasted a year, making the lives of the Ningjing tribe extremely difficult. The water source suddenly runs dry, the plant and the source of their daily food suddenly turn poisonous, and the Ningjing tribe's prey animals suddenly appear to have vanished.

Many small children die as a result of dehydration, many pregnant women are unable to give birth due to a lack of energy, and many men die as a result of the hopelessness they feel when their loved ones die.

Since what happened to their ancestors, that day has been one of the darkest in the Ningjing tribe's history.

Half of the Ningjing tribe died in the disaster, and the survivors are only adults or teenagers who have already trained their bodies to be more durable.

It will take a long time for the Ningjing tribe to recover from that event.

And after so many years, the power has continued to decline rather than return, to the point where Leng Shui's great-grandfather no longer has the power and has simply become a normal human.

And after Leng Shui's father was born, the four emissaries just became legends.

Leng Shui's father, who did not believe in superstition, never trusted his father or the tribespeople who revered the four emissaries.

Because of this attitude, both father and son constantly argue. He sneaks into the shrines quietly and reads all of the records and the archive because he is tired of his father, who always believes in the impossible.

He began to believe it after reading that, but only a little because he had never seen or experienced it with his own eyes.

Following that, whenever he sees Yan Meng, he always tells her about what was written on the shrine. So Yan Meng and his brother make a promise to each other that they will embark on an adventure to discover the truth about the four emissaries.

And one day, as the time for his passage of rites approached, Leng Shui father was nowhere to be found, so Yang Meng, fearful that her brother would leave without her, searched everywhere for him, but she couldn't find him, so she went deep into the forest to look for him.

Many wild beasts begin to follow her in the shadows, unnoticed by her due to her panic.

Suddenly, the impatient wolf pounded from behind.

Leng Yan Meng, who hadn't noticed, only realized when the wolf's claw had already scratched her back.