Chapter 68 - The Blood that Boils Within (2/2)

Four days later, Zhong Yue had finally met with a tribe of humans. Smoke could be seen billowing up into the winds as the tribesmen were preparing their meals. Zhong Yue was very curious; this place was only a distance away from the territory of monster race, and yet, he could human tribes were living around here.

As the number of human tribes increased, he could see more monsters along the way. There were even a few Qi Practitioners riding the clouds and walking on the winds across the skies. He would often sense monster auras burst out of some mountains from afar. Those would presumably come from the abodes of the monster Qi Practitioners. In contrast to the Savanna Wasteland, this place was much livelier.

I thought they said that humans can't live out outside of Great Wilderness? Why are there so many human tribes right here?

Zhong Yue walked past one of the human tribes. It was only a small tribe with over two thousand tribesmen. They dressed in ragged clothes, and their emaciated bodies reeked of malnourishment. They also raised and kept some livestock in the tribe.

The human tribesmen saw him walking past, they suddenly became guarded, and fear seemed to cross their faces in an instant. Some of them even hid inside of their tattered and squalid hovels with their eyes gazing at him in terror.

Zhong Yue was baffled by their reactions, and seconds later he realized that with his current dragon-headed form, he looked very much like one from the dragon race. It was not surprising that they had mistaken him for a monster.

It seemed like the humans have been conditioned to become petrified at the sight of a monster. Zhong Yue could only imagine what they had to suffer through for their minds to become warped like this.

"Is the master passing by?"

An old man that seemed to be like the chief plodded over in a panic. He stepped forward and asked while forcing a smile on his face, "What kind of food would the master like? Raw or cooked?"

Zhong Yue smiled and answered, "Elder…"

Upon hearing the word, the old man instantly stomped his knees on the ground and said while he stuttered in fear, "I dare not deserve to be called by master in this way!"

Zhong Yue was even more perplexed, and he said, "I've traveled far these few days, sleeping in the wild and having meals without a roof, if you could give me some cooked food…"

The old man quickly stood up and faked a smile, "Please wait for a moment, the food will be served just in a bit… men, come over, get the third brother's daughter from his house over here! Please wait, master, please wait… Quick, bring her over and let the master have a look! If the master is happy with her, then we will cook and serve her to the master!"

A middle-aged man with an honest and straightforward countenance brought over a prepubescent-looking young girl whose tears were on the verge of overflowing off her eyelids. She stared at Zhong Yue with abject despair.

With a forced smile, the old chief asked, "Master, are you satisfied with her? If the master isn't, we still have some other young girls in the tribe…"

Zhong Yue seemed as if stuck in a trance; his mind went blank, and his sights fell onto the shuddering tribesmen. The young and robust teenagers, the powerless ladies and helpless children ... they were all frightened and bewildered, but none of them dared to utter a word at all. A few moments later, Zhong Yue heaved a deep breath and said, "The monsters that pass by, do you have to offer food like this to all of them."

The chief lowered his head, and he answered, "These 150 miles radius of land belongs to Master Sun. We are his livestock, and Master Sun is a hospitable monster, he has ordered any monsters that pass by to be meticulously attended to. The masters will have to be well served and treated."

Zhong Yue kept silent, 'well served and treated', it meant that the humans would be offered to the passer-by monster Qi Practitioners as food.

Hospitable? Hei-hei….

Endless grief and indignation devoured his heart, he had to take a few moments to regain his composure, he exhaled out a deep breath and said, "Do you all know that, 6000 miles away from here to the west, there is a holy land of the human race, a sacred place known as the Swords Gate. Right there, you will be free of the risks that your lives will be devoured by the monsters."

The old chief's face immediately changed, he knelt down and kowtow on the ground, he begged, "Master, I dare not run, I will not escape!"

The others followed him and started to kowtow on the ground in fear, the little young girl that was offered as food to Zhong Yue sobbed, "6000 miles away … who is able to walk all the way there…."

Zhong Yue then realized it all, why did the humans dare not escape from this place? It was all because the Great Wilderness was too distant. To Zhong Yue, 6000 miles would only take him seven to eight days to travel, but to the ordinary humans, it would take them years. Moreover, during their endeavor, they would be bereft of the agriculture that they depended on to survive; countless tribesmen would die simply from starvation before they reach their destination, not to mention all the other dangers of trekking through the Great Wilderness!

In addition, the monsters would also not stand idly by and watch as the humans ran away from them. Instead, if the humans ever were to attempt to escape, they would probably not even able to travel a hundred miles before the furious monster Qi Practitioners caught up with them!

"Brat Yue, these humans, there's nothing you can do to help them."

In his psyche ocean, Xin Huo sighed, "The once honorable and proud Fuxi god race, descendants of the mighty Heavenly Monarch, and yet, this is how they've ended up, as livestock and foods for the monster race, how pathetic this is…."

Zhong Yue's face was emotionless, he kept silent for a few seconds, his voice was lost as he asks, "Xin Huo, are we humans ... really the descendants of Fuxi?"

"No doubt!"

Our ancestors built the greatest and most glorious civilization in this universe, they were the Heavenly Monarchs worshipped by every other race; and in our body, flows the noblest and most majestic blood to have ever existed. So how ... how did the humans sink to become such an abject existence….

The young boy from the Zhong Shan Clan shed tears of sorrow. He slowly closed his eyes and thought gravely, So why, why didn't anyone try to change any of this? Why isn't there anyone who could remember our former prosperity, or recall the honor and glory we once held? Why did we sequester our hearts from the outside world and idly cross our arms as we watched our people taken as slaves and livestock? Could it be that the blood in us is frozen?… But why can I still feel it, the warmth in me, as if the blood flowing in my body is still ... hot? So hot that it is scalding my muscles ... so hot that it is on the verge of boiling!

The tribesmen around him gazed at the 'master' who was shedding tears, their hearts filled with terror and their body trembled with fear.

Moments later, Zhong Yue gently opened his eyes, his tone was indifferent as he asked, "Where is this Master Sun?"

…