Chapter 109 – Qualifications to attend the ritual (1/2)

Translated by Sunyancai

Sponsored by Tanner B

Because of the agreement they made for the next year, and because of those young warriors signing their names on the animal skin, people did not pay any extra attention for that earlier combat.

Fighting for territories was something childish, and it was only a combat between kids. However, this animal skin roll with all the young warriors’ names on it was clearly a written letter of challenge. It was a challenge among totem warriors!

Without saying, everyone knew which was more important and more appealing.

With all the time spent on the mountainside, it was already later than usual when Shao Xuan finally returned home in the mountain foot area.

“Were you busy with things in the medicine house today? Or was there anything wrong with the Shaman?” Seeing that Shao Xuan arrived home later, Old Ke asked him quite nervously.

“Nothing happened. The tasks in the medicine house were not many. I left early, but met some people around the mountain side. We communicated a little for a while.” Said Shao Xuan.

Old Ke got quite relieved at his answer. He even said favorably, “It’s better for you if you communicate more with people up in the mountain.”

“Yes, I understand.”

After eating something, Shao Xuan went back to his own room, pulled up his sleeves, and then slowly stimulated the totem power within his body.

Unlike during the training place, this time, Shao Xuan tried to control his totem power slowly, so the totem patterns appeared gradually on his arms. The flame-like patterns started from his shoulders, and wandered along his arms.

They passed the one-third point of his upper arms, and then reached to the half point, and then, two-thirds of the length… The totem patterns finally stopped at two-thirds of his upper arms!

When he was in the last hunting mission this year, Shao Xuan remembered that his totem patterns only reached the half point. In fact, after the end of the hunting season, Shao Xuan did not spend much time on training in the training ground, before he started learning herblore from the Shaman. Besides the drawing of the Shaman Volumes…

The drawing of the Shaman Volumes?

The power of inheritance!

Shao Xuan felt the totem in his mind. The two horns were wrapped with red flames, and at the bottom of the flames around the two horns, the blue flames appeared, clearer than before. Compared with the time when he started learning about drawing the Shaman Volumes, there were more blue flames. However, the red flames did not reduce in quantity either, instead, they grew even bigger!

Now, he was not in a state of battle, so the flame itself indicated that it was in its normal height.

So it was beneficial to practice the power of inheritance?!

That was totally beyond Shao Xuan’s expectation.

No wonder that Shao Xuan felt that he could use his totem power more skillfully than during his last hunting mission. He did not expect to defeat Tai with only a single move. He thought perhaps it would take awhile for them to distinguish the winner. But, at the very moment that Tai showed his totem patterns, Shao Xuan suddenly felt that this person in front of him was not that strong. He could handle him. He could handle him easily.

Shao Xuan had no idea whether other warriors whose totem patterns reached the two-third point of the upper arms would feel the same. He carefully recalled the scene at that time, and tried to experience the change of his totem patterns slowly. Then, he shook his shoulders, taking out the box with the animal skin roll, brush pen, and pigment, and started to make a Shaman Volume.

Meanwhile, those people up in the mountain gradually came back to senses after Shao Xuan had left. Tai even said in regret, “I forgot to ask him about the length of his totem patterns!”

Lei stared at the spot where Shao Xuan was standing at, and noticed that there was a pair of footprints dented in the ground. That was created when Shao Xuan was confronting Tai, but people did not notice it before.

“Why should you care about the length of his totem patterns? All you need to do is to defeat him before the end of next winter.” Said Lei.

“Yes, indeed.” Tai rubbed his fist while agreeing.

While the other young warriors were thinking and discussing about what kind of game, and how much game they planned to hunt for next year, Shao Xuan maintained his old pattern of life. In the mornings, he would go painting in the Shaman’s place, and then help Gui Ze out in the medicine house in the afternoons. After that, he would go back home, stay in his own room, and slowly paint his own things on pieces of animal skin.

The winter was passing day by day.

Shao Xuan had visited the orphan cave once. Some kids were sleeping, but older kids had the energy to carry stones to practice their strength. It was obviously a terrific change. Now, kids in the cave were in no lack of food. Aside from the fish they stored before winter, they would constantly receive gifts from Chacha. Every time when Chacha caught some little things that he did not care to eat, he would toss them down at the gate of the orphan cave.

Everything was improving.

Shao Xuan stretched himself, looking at the almost-finished painting on the stone desk in front of him.

Now, it was not that hard for him to finish a picture. At first, he would need half a day’s rest after finishing one painting. But now, he was totally able of painting a few pictures in half a day. After that, he could still go out to train Caesar and Chacha.

The Shaman gave him two pieces of animal skin. Shao Xuan would take one up to the mountaintop, to copy other Shaman Volumes or paint his own paintings, and then present his work to the Shaman for examination. While as for the other one… Shao Xuan kept it at home to practice, and the Shaman had no idea of that.

In the Shaman’s eyes, it was already very hard-working of Shao Xuan to have painted that much every day, which had long exceeded his expectations. The Shaman would never have guessed that every day when Shao Xuan returned home, he would continue painting on another animal skin roll. Let alone that he was not copying, he was making original work based on his own consciousness!

Shao Xuan planned to present his work as a gift to the Shaman later. The Shaman spared no effort in teaching him knowledge about herbs, and how to control his power of inheritance. Shao Xuan wanted to repay this kind old shaman as well.

For the sake of the tribe, the Shaman must stay put in the tribe. It was a big sacrifice, not being able to go out. Of course, the Shaman had his responsibilities.

However, one’s poison might be another’s honey. Shao Xuan found the position hard to adjust, but perhaps the Shaman thought differently. He might just be a little regretful, for not being able to step out from the tribe. Shao Xuan could see it every time when he looked into the Shaman’s eyes.