1024 Ancien (1/2)
”Come on. Give everything you've got!
”The victor will take all!
”The loser will be gone forever and completely annihilated!”
…
A mad voice raved.
'”Ahh!” A youth screamed and woke up. He touched his face that was dripping with cold sweat. ”That same strange dream again! I haven't been able to avoid it since birth!
”Nevermind. I have to rest and restore my energy. The coming of age ceremony is tomorrow!”
The youth's name was 'Ancient'. He was born in a small tribe in the Hundred Thousand Mountains of the southern barbarians.
There was a rule in the Hundred Thousand Mountains of the southern barbarians—newborn babies had to be tested. Those who qualified would be immediately sent to the Holy Land. There, they would be trained to become the strongest fighters of the tribe.
The social outlook here was very different from the outside world. Family and friendship were considered complete hindrances.
Only if they cultivated with all their hearts could they become the strongest warriors of the tribe!
Therefore, since early childhood, Ancient and the other children had undergone the most stringent training. Here, crying was punishable by caning, and only the strong ones could obtain the respect of their peers.
”Fortunately, my innate ability isn't bad. The elders said that there is an eighty percent chance that I will successfully activate my spirit property and awaken the bloodline power!”
Ancient clenched his fists tightly.
Without bloodline power, it was impossible to become extraordinary. A rank one mortal could not live more than a hundred years.
”My ability is among the top five in this group. I will definitely succeed!”
For some reason, there was always a voice in his heart that was urging him to continuously improve, making him train extremely hard. He was not the slightest bit lazy.
The nickname 'Lunatic Ancient' was resounding among these young people.
…
Ancient took a deep breath and continued sleeping.
The next day, together with a hundred-odd youths between fifteen and sixteen years of age, he was brought to a cave.
”You… are the elites of our Flybarb tribe, and today is your coming of age ceremony!”
At the front a stone platform, the high priest, 'Brutal Bones', exuded an aura that brought a strong sense of oppression. ”You must go all out to complete the spirit property activation ritual and awaken your bloodline power to become the strongest warriors of the tribe!
”You will be the elites of the tribe as long as you become bloodline warriors. Wine, food, an endless supply of women, the best of everything will be within your grasp!”
…
He said a few words casually and immediately made the young men breathe hard.
However, the faces of a few young women started to look displeased.
”Hehe… Of course, if any woman were to awaken their bloodline power, she will also be able to control her own destiny and not be forcibly assigned to the strong. You can even have as many male pets as you want!”
The high priest smiled. ”Come forward when you hear me call your name. First up… Peck!”
”High Priest!”
The young man named Peck stepped forward anxiously and sat cross-legged in the center of the platform.
There were four stone pillars inscribed with complex runes around him. They were filled with dark red colors and seemed to have some kind of wild beast's fresh blood splashed on them.
”Coming of age ceremony, begin!” the high priest announced loudly, and the surrounding priests immediately started beating drums.
The dull thumps echoed throughout the cave continuously.
The young man Peck swallowed a few herbs and closed his eyes.
Runes lit up one by one on the surrounding four stone pillars, starting from the ones at the bottom before moving to the middle ones.
This speed! The high priest frowned. After the time it took for one incense stick to burn, large beads of sweat appeared on Peck's forehead. His entire body was wobbling, and his blood vessels were expanding, looking very terrible.
'”Ahh!” Finally, he screamed and fell unconscious.
”Failure!” the high priest said emotionlessly. He motioned slightly, and a warrior came up to bring Peck back.
The first one failed? Below, Ancient's chest tightened. You can only become a normal warrior if you don't succeed in the awakening of the bloodline power to become a bloodline warrior. There's a world of difference!
”Next… Nuo… Failure!
”Next… Wei… Failure!”
…
After seven consecutive failures, the stone pillars finally sounded, and the runes lit up all the way to the top!
'”Ahh!” A young man opened his eyes and roared. Blood-red illusions appeared on his body, and a totem that looked like both a lion and a dog formed above his head.
”Hmm… Mutated beast 'mastiff', seventh-grade totem. Not bad!” Delight appeared on the priest's face. ”Next!”
A young boy with a frosty face went up. It was one of the four that Ancient felt was stronger than him… Dark!
”Ughhhh!”
From the start, it seemed as though the stone pillar was dying to light up. The phantom of a black dragon emerged on the young man's body.
”Good! 'Horned dragon', third-grade totem!” the high priest exclaimed. ”Dark… come and stand behind me!”
”Third-grade totem!”
The rest were all envious.
The south barbarian cultivation world believed that man was the spirit of all things, and the body contained the bloodlines of millions of species. As long as the bloodline could awaken, it was possible to obtain all kinds of magical powers.
There were also differences in the totems that awakened.