Heaven-Dominating Martial Emperor

In the tribe’s clearing, the bronze pillar stood like a majestic Divine Mountain, exuding a powerful aura of timeless permanence.

Fierce divine flames spread along the intricate patterns on the bronze pillar.

On this day, the phantom of a divine Vermilion Bird seemed to appear above the tribe. Its cry shook the heavens, and with a single flap of its wings, a boundless, surging fire swept across the sky!

Every tribe member felt it and looked up. They felt as if some shackle within their bloodline had been broken. A powerful potential began to burgeon deep within their blood, meridians, and cells!

The bronze pillar before them seemed to be reborn, radiating vigorous life. It felt as if an endless, surging power was churning within it.

Ye Chen couldn’t help but feel a sense of wonder, his face filled with astonishment!

He had received benefits from the tribe’s totem before him.

And in turn, because of him, the tribe’s totem had been revitalized, no longer bearing its previous lifeless appearance.

Although he had anticipated this moment, seeing the magnificent sight with his own eyes still moved Ye Chen deeply.

Beside Ye Chen, tears streamed down the old Priest’s face, his body trembling with excitement.

He had waited for this day for far, far too long.

Or rather, his tribe had been waiting for this day for generations—the day their totem would reawaken!

”My heavens!”

”The tribe’s totem… was actually awakened?”

The tribal guards stationed in the distance were all dumbfounded, finding it hard to believe.

This was, of course, a good thing.

But they simply couldn’t believe that the one to awaken the totem’s power was an outsider!

”He’s truly no simple man!”

’I just wonder what kind of secret that kid is hiding...’

Zhao Tiankuo also witnessed this scene from afar. His heart surged with emotion, unable to contain himself.

The old Priest and Ye Chen had been standing vigil before the bronze pillar for two days and two nights. Naturally, this matter could not be hidden from the other tribe members.

After seeing the tribe’s totem successfully reawakened, Zhao Tiankuo became deeply aware of how extraordinary Ye Chen was.

’Perhaps the tribe taking in Ye Chen was the will of the heavens.’

’Because of him, our tribe now has a chance to rise again!’

...

An unknown amount of time passed before the Vermilion Bird totem on the bronze pillar slowly calmed down. The fierce divine flames and the sea of fire also dissipated completely.

However, anyone could feel the power within the totem, as inexhaustible as a great river.

”Young friend, please, follow this old man to my residence for a talk!”

The old Priest stood up, trembling.

He gazed deeply at the vibrant Vermilion Bird totem before turning to speak to Ye Chen.

Ye Chen noticed that the old Priest’s attitude toward him had changed.

He was no longer as guarded and vigilant as he had been at the beginning. It seemed he had truly accepted Ye Chen as one of his own.

”Alright.”

”I happen to have a number of questions for you as well.”

Ye Chen nodded, accepting the old Priest’s invitation.

...

They returned once again to the old Priest’s stone house.

This time, however, the old Priest treated Ye Chen like a truly honored guest. Not only was there a newfound respect in his words, but he also proactively pulled out a chair for Ye Chen, inviting him to sit.

This enthusiastic attitude made Ye Chen a little uncomfortable.

”Priest, there’s no need to be so polite. Just treat me as you normally would,” he couldn’t help but say.

Hearing this, the old Priest chuckled and said, ”It seems this old man has been too abrupt.”

He sat down with some restraint, as if Ye Chen were the master of the house and he was merely an intruder.

After slowly sipping his tea, the old Priest finally got straight to the point. ”Young friend, do you possess the Chaos Bloodline?”

”Chaos Bloodline?”

Ye Chen was taken aback. It was the first time he had ever heard that name.

”That’s right.”

The old Priest nodded. ”The reason this old man has such a guess is because you were able to awaken the totem’s power.”

”Priest, could you please explain in detail?”

At these words, the old Priest began his long explanation.

According to legend, the four great divine beasts of antiquity were all born from the formless, ethereal chaos. They were the embodiment of heaven and earth’s creation, born with Divine Power and possessing unparalleled strength.

Later, the divine beasts descended upon the lands of the Human Race.

They spread blessings, passed on their knowledge and teachings, and imprinted the divine beast totems upon the Human Race, which became the original source of the Human Race’s power.

With the divine beast totems as their foundation, the four great tribes rose together, standing at the apex of the Eastern Wilderness Continent.

But later, a disaster of unknown origin struck. To fight back against the calamity and protect their home, the four divine beasts exhausted all their power and perished one after another.

Although the calamity was averted, with the death of the four divine beasts, the tribe totems became like water without a source. They lost their foundation of power, and the four great tribes began to decline, a decline that has lasted to this day.

But as long as the fire seed within the totem was not extinguished, even if the totem’s power could never return to its Peak, it would not fall completely silent. At most, it would only diminish.

Later still, the Xuanwu Tribe, under the pretext of revitalizing the totems’ power, borrowed the fire seeds from all four great tribes.

The four great tribes had always been close allies, so at the time, they had no suspicions and readily lent them out.

But ever since then, the Xuanwu Tribe has never returned them.

Having lost their tribal fire seeds, the totems fell completely silent. The three great tribes, aside from the Xuanwu Tribe, were gravely weakened.

Even by banding together, they lacked the strength to reclaim the fire seeds from the Xuanwu Tribe.

The tribes declined day by day, and their people’s strength regressed until they were nearly indistinguishable from mortals.

For countless ages, innumerable tribe members have speculated that a portion of the divine beasts’ power might still remain within the totems.

But this power had always remained dormant. Without the fire seeds, the tribe totems could never be lit again.

Until today, when the Vermilion Bird totem was lit, bursting forth with new life once more.

This foretells that in the long years to come, the Vermilion Bird Tribe will rise again!

...

This secret history sounded rather fantastical, and Ye Chen didn’t believe it completely.

If the so-called four great divine beasts were truly the original source of the Human Race’s power, how could the four great tribes now be confined to just the Black Triangle Region of the Eastern Wilderness?

Ancient texts rarely mentioned such things.

Seeing his reaction, the old Priest was not surprised.

A legend was, after all, just a legend. Who could say how much of it was true and how much was false?

But one thing was certain: after the divine beasts perished, the tribe totems had already suffered a severe blow.

The loss of the tribal fire seeds only made a bad situation worse.

And it was precisely for these reasons that the three great tribes, excluding the Xuanwu Tribe, had declined so drastically.

But just today, the tribal fire seed had been reignited, and because of it, the tribe’s totem had burst forth with surging vitality.