Chapter 439 (1/2)

Stepping Stone

There were ten people who squeezed to the front of the crowd. One could tell they were from the same group from their clothing. However, it was still a peculiar style. Although there was a wildness of a tribesman, they also incorporated bright silk worn by only the city’s aristocrats. Together, they wore reflective, patterned silk clothes inside and sleeveless brown animal hide coats outside.

These ten people attracted a lot of attention because of both their clothing and their height.

Shao Xuan’s Flaming Horn Tribe were tall people while the Black Bear’s tribe were mostly a little taller. However, the Black Bears’ most obvious characteristic was that they were muscular and intimidating. Right now, Black Bear was a head shorter than this person in front of him!

The other guy’s arm was thick like a stone pillar. Standing like a stork among chickens, most people were only up to his chest. He wasn’t just tall, he was muscular too. He was just like the thick and solid city walls. Anyone a little timider would shudder in front of this man. Some people wondered if he could squash anyone to death if he collapsed right now.

Anyone smarter would be able to guess who this person was based on what Black Bear said.

“Linlu tribe? The Lu family? Is that blockhead Lubi?” someone asked.

“Lubi? There was a recent rumour about him killing a bear in one hit using his hammer, right?” gasped another.

When they heard this, Black Bear and Maoda couldn’t help but raise their eyebrows in disbelief. What was that? It felt like the guy was challenging him, this was upsetting.

“So Lubi looks like that.” Some people were excited, though a little regret in their voices. They were excited to see the real person but reality was often disappointing.

Lubi was named as the prodigy of the century from the Linlu tribe. The stories denoted that he was tall and had the strength of a god. That was why the Linlu tribe specially asked for a favour from the Ji family to hire a blacksmith to make a large bronze hammer for him. The legends say that he could kill a giant bear with just one smash!

Linlu tribe’s move to King City had caused a lot of discussions and just to make themselves famous, the tribe naturally spread stories of their talents across the city. Lubi’s name was known to the public, many wondered what he looked like. They wondered if he was as fierce as a demon, had arms as large as an elephant’s leg and a hammer as large as a house. They even said he could create a pond with just one step into the ground. Unfortunately, they hadn’t seen this Lubi in person because, at that time, not all the Linlu tribe members had arrived yet.

However, everyone now knew that the main members of the Lu family had already moved to King City. The man taller than Beimi aka Black Bear was the legendary Lubi!

Lubi held his bronze hammer. It had a long handle, the head shaped like a melon. On it were several deep and shallow dents left from previous battles. Not sure if it was made by a human or an animal. No matter what, one look at the hammer and you’d know this was not an easy opponent. Although his hammer wasn’t as big as a house like the stories, it was big enough to be an umbrella. Just holding a hammer like this wasn’t easy, let alone wielding it as a weapon.

Shao Xuan and Guang Yi were already considered strong and muscular. However, next to Lubi and his people, they just looked thin and weak. The rest of the crowd, including a few from Linlu, were mere matchsticks.

However, the one who spoke wasn’t Linlu but a younger man who looked more refined. He walked in front and looked at everyone like he was mocking them. His tone was arrogant.

Apparently, the fact that Black Bear called them ‘Linlu tribe’ was upsetting to them. This young man in front looked at Black Bear with cold and mocking eyes.

To them, the word ‘tribe’ made them sound primitive. Now everyone wanted to mimic the aristocrats of the great six. Instead of identifying as a tribe, they identified themselves as a clan or a family with the same surname. Then, they worked hard to become aristocrats. Within King City, when they introduced themselves, everyone went by x family, or xx clan. Who would want to call themselves xx tribe? The Linlu tribe had taken so much effort to get to where they were now, yet they were insulted to their faces just like that?

“Wandering traders are all like that. You all lack ambition, rough and vulgar!” mused the young man.

Black Bear squinted. “Right, you’re an ambitious bunch. I heard the Linlu tribesmen all moved to King City to become slaves? You’re just in time. The grains outside the city have ripened and they need people for the harvest. Perhaps you’ll all get a job soon. The pay for it is alright too, enough for maybe two meals.”

The tension in the air was thick, as if there was going to be an explosion soon.

The whispers in the crowd quietened but no one left. The ones who left quickly returned with their friends and relatives to watch. They were either there to see Lubi or to watch the fight. They wouldn’t want to miss this.

The Black Bear trading party versus the newly arrived Lu family of the Linlu tribe. Four versus ten. Who would win?

Many people were already placing bets.

“What, you’re here for the sword testing here too? Do you have the courage? Do you have the skills?” said Black Bear.

The young man in front held his chin high. “Not bad.” As he spoke, he walked towards the testing area and looked around at the crowd. “Luming of Lu family, here for sword testing!”

Another person next to Luming stepped forward. “Lupeng of Lu family, here for sword testing!”