Chapter 105: Beginning of Spring in the Twenty-Four Solar Terms
When the Coffin-Bearing Tribe's Lingcui rushed over, he happened to charge into a burst of blood mist.
Within that blood mist, accompanied by a series of "rumbling" sounds, several blood-red coffins rose from the ground, blocking Lingcui and his giant white-haired monster in front.
In the twenty-four solar terms, it was the technique of the Qingming Tribe, the Qingming Blood Coffin.
"In terms of playing with death and playing with coffins, your Coffin-Bearing Tribe is nothing but thieves. Now you dare to flaunt yourselves in front of me." The voice of Hong, dripping with fresh blood hanging from the tree, came with a heavy tone, seemingly hiding something else in the voice.
Normally, a marginal Tribe like the Blood-Devouring Tribe, even if they were remnants of the twenty-four solar terms, even if they were as powerful as Hong, wouldn't dare to provoke Red City recklessly. After all, the Blood-Devouring Tribe's population was dwindling, and it was impossible for them to confront Red City, with a huge disparity in overall strength.
But from the moment Hong saw the people of the Coffin-Bearing Tribe, it seemed that everyone was ridiculing and provoking them, which was unreasonable.
However, if it were an ancient Tribe passed down from the Three Great Cities era, it would seem normal.
Because one of the twenty-four solar terms, the Qingming Tribe, was previously known as the battlefield corpse collectors.
During the Three Great Cities era, when they conquered the world, countless warriors died in foreign lands, and the Qingming Tribe used their bloodlines to allow the dead to rise, return to their ancestral land, and rest in peace.
This was a very noble act, praised by all living beings on the earth, so the reputation of the Qingming Tribe on the earth was very good.
However, this reputation was interrupted.
Because someone used those resurrected corpses for evil deeds.
To defile the bodies of warriors who had died, one can imagine how much everyone hated it.
For a while, the reputation of the Qingming Tribe plummeted.
At first, the Qingming Tribe also thought it was the scum of their Tribe who had done something with the bodies of heroes. After all, the Qingming Tribe was a very large Tribe at that time, with a large population, and it was inevitable that a few of them had evil intentions. For a while, they didn't dare to speak loudly.
But as the investigation progressed, they actually discovered a very strange Tribe, a Tribe whose bloodline abilities were remarkably similar to theirs.
The key was that this Tribe even learned from those heroes resurrected with their bloodline power how to use these corpses to fight.
A thief, using the methods they had stolen to commit crimes everywhere, even blamed their Qingming Tribe for it.
The anger can be imagined. As one of the twenty-four solar terms, the Qingming Tribe was not easy to provoke, especially since the other party was just a small insignificant Tribe.
Later, the Coffin-Bearing Tribe was abandoned by all living beings on the earth, largely due to the retaliation of the Qingming Tribe.
According to reason, the Coffin-Bearing Tribe would soon disappear from the earth, but no one expected that the era of the Three Great Cities' unification would end just like that. Some of the twenty-four solar terms attached themselves to the fragmented five powers, while others fought alone, ultimately declining into marginal Tribes under the squeeze of the five major powers.
The Coffin-Bearing Tribe, with nowhere to go, got a chance to breathe and was even noticed by the first Red Great City. After swearing a blood oath, they survived through hardships.
And then they actually developed into one of the twelve war Tribes, the Coffin-Bearing War Tribe, as they are now.
Time is unpredictable, and prosperity and decline are unpredictable, as can be seen.
This is also why Hong's words are full of sarcasm. If it were someone from another of the twelve war Tribes, Hong probably wouldn't be like this.
It can be said that their grievances have been entangled since ancient times.
And for Lingcui, that period of history for their Coffin-Bearing Tribe was also very unbearable. Even if their Coffin-Bearing Tribe developed how they did, they couldn't escape the fact that their bloodline abilities evolved from the bloodline abilities of the Qingming Tribe of the twenty solar terms, and it was still a very unbearable history that they evolved without permission, secretly, and originally acted under the name of the Qingming Tribe for survival.
Now, it seems that Hong is just reminding of the existence of that shameful history.
Lingcui said, "Now it's no longer the era of the Three Great Cities, and your Blood-Devouring Tribe is no longer the original twenty-four solar terms. Times change, and now my Coffin-Bearing Tribe has become one of the twelve war Tribes, while you are just a small marginal Tribe. The glory of the past has long gone..."
Before he could finish speaking, Hong's voice came, "The fake is still fake. Why say so much? Don't think that many Tribes on the earth have forgotten history; there are still people who remember."
Yes, the Coffin-Bearing Tribe deliberately tried to erase that period of history, but for truly ancient Tribes, who wouldn't know? They were just turning a deaf ear to it.
Lingcui fell silent for a while, then said, "Then let's see if we, the newcomers, are more powerful, or if you, the pioneers, will remain prosperous."
They were indeed confident enough to secure a position as one of the twelve war Tribes. Their bloodline had developed beyond the level of the original Qingming Tribe. That period of history was undeniable, but they were creating new history. Why were these people clinging to the past and unwilling to see how glorious their current Coffin-Bearing War Tribe was? Hong remained silent. That distant history was already useless to mention, but what needed to be remembered could never be forgotten.
"Creak..."
Several blood coffins' doors opened directly, and several people with surging blood qi walked out from inside. They were humans, not the white-haired monsters of the Coffin-Bearing Tribe. But these people were also strange; their bodies were surging with blood qi, and two fangs were exposed in their mouths.
If this was just a superficial change, then the biggest difference from the white-haired monsters of the Coffin-Bearing Tribe was... although these people with surging blood qi were brutal and fierce, like beasts, they actually showed signs of intelligence in their eyes, as if they had truly come alive. The sight of resurrected bodies with consciousness was eerie.
Even the people of Red City couldn't help but step back as they looked at the Lingcui of the Coffin-Bearing Tribe and this Hong. The scene was incomprehensible and perverse.
There were five blood coffins, each containing individuals with different appearances. The first had bronze-colored skin, the second had iron-colored skin, the third had silver-colored skin, the fourth had gold-colored skin, and the fifth had multicolored skin. Qingming Blood Coffin, also known as the Qingming Five Blood Coffins.
Five bodies with different colors, it was unknown whether they should be called bodies anymore. They roared and howled like beasts at the Lingcui, emitting a fierce, resentful, and ominous aura.
"Kill!"
Almost simultaneously, two people shouted, and the five bodies and the ferocious white-haired monster viciously rushed towards each other, pulling the Lingcui forcibly into the fray.
Hong just hung on the tree, looking coldly. Driving corpses and refining corpses, they were the ancestors. Hong became the pride of the earth not just because he could create bloody scenes that terrified people, but because of these five bodies. Since he was born, he had been intended to be trained as the successor of the Qingming Tribe's technique of the twenty-four solar terms. Every day, he slept underground with these five bodies.
The five bodies were all extremely wicked people, with much heavier resentment than ordinary people. The area where they slept was barren because of their intense resentment. The evil deeds of such people before their death could be imagined.
They slept in different places so that they could refine their different skins.
Only when these five bodies developed new consciousnesses due to his bloodline did Hong crawl out of the grave.
During the Three Great Cities era, in addition to being called corpse collectors, the Qingming Tribe also had the title of tomb sweepers. They dug up the bodies of those evil people who contaminated the earth even after death, making the land barren and lifeless, and turned them into strange creatures with new wills. As new wills emerged, they became new beings, and their previous resentment naturally dissipated. When their resentment dissipated completely, it was also the time for them to return to the earth.
On the scene, a battle of beliefs was fiercely raging, a gruesome scene that ordinary people shouldn't watch.
For example, the people of Red City were already vomiting.
What kind of monsters were these?
The Lingcui's body was now almost unbearable to look at.
Hong's voice came from above, "From the moment I crawled out of the grave and saw the sun for the first time, I was already the pride of the earth..."
He didn't know how far the bloodline of the Coffin-Bearing Tribe had developed or whether it had truly surpassed the Qingming Tribe of the twenty-four solar terms, but just being an ordinary pride of the earth from the Coffin-Bearing Tribe, he could never be his opponent. He was the successor of the Qingming Tribe of the twenty-four solar terms.
The five blood coffins began to sink underground, and the tattered body of the Lingcui was taken away by the guards of Red City. If they didn't take it away, it would truly be destroyed.
Even the guards had a trace of fear in their eyes. The brutal battle just now had definitely reached an inhuman level. After this competition, the five powers would probably feel some pressure. The young prodigies of these previously ignored marginal Tribes would spread their fame even further and shock everyone.
Hong opened his eyelids and looked at the people of Red City who were still vomiting, "Are you waiting for me to taste the taste of your blood?"
There was a moment of silence, then they all ran down the mountain in a panic with pale faces.
After witnessing the scene just now, they had no will to fight whatsoever. Hong was more terrifying and twisted than the legends suggested, thirsting for blood and craving human flesh.
Indeed, he was the bloodiest pride of the earth.
After the group left, only Hong remained hanging from the tree like a ghost.
Looking around, Hong quickly untied the rope around his neck with his hands. He had almost choked himself to death. He had been hanging for too long. There was no other way; he knew of this frightening method. But he heard that there was a particularly scary book in their library. He really wanted to read it, but unfortunately, he still couldn't recognize all the words. When he learned to read, his abilities would surely improve. He needed to study hard.
Then he ran aside and vomited. It was too damn bloody. He wouldn't be able to eat for a long time. He had almost lost control just now.
But... at least this mountain peak was captured. Moreover, judging by the expressions of those who fled just now, they shouldn't be coming up again for a while. It was a good opportunity for him to relax and think about the beautiful school where pear blossoms fluttered. Otherwise, he might scare himself to death.
At the moment when Crimson City captured another mountain peak, White City and Dark City were fighting for the plains. Well, there was no need to fight since no one was competing with them. They were currently in a temporary alliance state and couldn't fight each other. They had discussed it before entering, and after it ended, they would discuss how to distribute the captured territory. Killing each other would only weaken their strength.
White City and Dark City were wondering why this competition seemed simpler and easier than any previous one?
They were so idle that they were sitting on the ground chatting.
But speaking of idleness, what was happening with those fiercely contested mountain peaks nearby?
For example, the mountain peak not far from them was already engulfed in yellow sand, an obvious sign of the young prodigy exerting full effort to compete.
Competing for this mountain peak was Sha Ying, the young prodigy of Crimson City. They were fighting fiercely, and a giant hand made of sand on the mountain peak was continuously squeezing, crushing even the rocks into powder. Sha Ying stood on the arm of the giant hand, urging the huge palm to chase after a young prodigy of the Water Tribe of Red City.
Above Sha Ying's head, there was also a sand beast in the shape of an eagle made of sand. This was his giant beast.
The young prodigy of the Water Tribe was speechless. Their water had penetrated into the sand, disappearing without a trace. It seemed like Sha Ying's sand technique naturally countered his water technique.
Sha Ying was especially happy because he found that his sand became extremely heavy after adding water, greatly increasing its power.
The young prodigy of the Water Tribe, named Luohe, was running around, but the man's sand giant was too powerful. A pinch could leave five finger marks on a mountain.
However, the weakness of the sand giant technique was also apparent-it was relatively slow.
But now he was guarding the mountain, and there was simply nowhere to move. He watched as the opponent directly turned the feet of the sand giant into sand, because the opponent didn't want to run around and just wanted to capture this mountain peak below.
What Luohe was thinking now was that the young prodigy of Red City should quickly send another young prodigy from another Tribe to exchange positions with him. He didn't want to fight with someone who played with sand.
Just as he was thinking, suddenly five giant pillars rose from under him, trapping him within.
"I got you, water rat," Sha Ying's voice came from the sky.
Luohe was stunned, his eyes filled with shock. These were the Five Pillar Earth Prisons of the Yellow Sand Tribe. But wasn't the opponent using his blood and qi to control the sand giant just now?
This person... could actually use two techniques at the same time.
The sky became densely black as the palm pressed down directly.
The entire earth buzzed, the sand palm clenched tightly, squeezing several times. When it was lifted again, only a small hill remained, crushed into powder by the repeated squeezing.
Sha Ying muttered, "It would be so much better if another young prodigy came instead of this one from the Water Tribe."
Meanwhile, Ji Feng, the young prodigy of Crimson City, had almost captured the mountain peak he was attacking.
His opponent was an young prodigy from the Water Tribe of Red City, named Banshe. This person was extremely strange because there was a snake coiled on his face. Only a pair of eyes could be seen peeking out from the layers of coiled snake bodies. If you didn't pay attention, you would think this person had a snake head.
This person had a snake coiled around each of his arms as well. When he attacked, the snakes on his arms would stretch out and bite people. Close combat was quite troublesome because each of the three snakes had venomous fangs.
After Ji Feng fought for a while, he found it troublesome to be bitten by snakes in close combat all the time, so he distanced himself and took out the fan from his back to fan himself.
The first time, the young prodigy of the snake Tribe was torn apart by invisible force, and several cracks appeared, causing blood to burst out.
However, he was also clever, starting to avoid the invisible force, thinking, Wind technique? Let's see how many times you can use it.
Using bloodline techniques couldn't be limitless.
Ji Feng felt somewhat strange because the opponent started to only evade without attacking, as if waiting for him to stop?
Then he smirked, Well, then you just wait for me to come down.
The fight between the two was relatively mild.
But as the fight dragged on, the young prodigy of the snake Tribe began to wonder. He couldn't help but ask, "What kind of technique are you using? How can you use it so many times?"
Seeing that he was torn into pieces by that tearing force, he was waiting for the opponent's bloodline power to be exhausted so he could counterattack fiercely. However, the opponent's bloodline power seemed endless.
Ji Feng's voice came, "Who said I was using a technique."
The person from the snake Tribe wanted to curse. Damn it, don't tell him this is hand-to-hand combat.
Hand-to-hand combat is the direct collision of weapons, fists to flesh.
This must be some strange technique. He insisted on his own opinion. As long as the opponent's bloodline power was exhausted, it would be his time to perform. Although he was currently in a miserable state, he firmly believed that victory would ultimately be his. The opponent must be struggling, trying to deceive him. As an young prodigy, he could distinguish between techniques and hand-to-hand combat.
Ji Feng was also a bit stunned. At this rate, this young prodigy would be defeated without using any technique, and who knew if he would be so angry that he would vomit blood later.
But this was also fine; he could save most of his strength to guard the mountain.
Basically, with most of the young prodigies of Red City unable to come to support, White City still gained quite a bit of advantage.
But among these young prodigies at the school, there were also some unlucky ones.
For example, Yan Qi from the Faceless Tribe knocked out a person from the Water Tribe of Red City as soon as he entered, then changed his face to sneak into the team of Red City.
He thought that by doing this effortlessly, he could gather useful information and contribute to the large-scale battle. After all, not only killing and fighting were meritorious in the war. Maybe he could easily get a high score in this martial examination.
Who knew, such a beautiful thing was still in imagination. He hadn't even started acting yet, and the young prodigy of the Cyan City, Su Nü, went crazy attacking them.
What should he do? If he didn't take action, he would definitely be suspected by the people of Red City. If he did, he wouldn't be able to beat Su Nü.
There was no way; he could only pretend, anyway, all his skills relied on acting.
He was being beaten on the ground, but it seemed that Su Nü wouldn't let him go.
But he soon discovered that something was wrong. It seemed that Su Nü wasn't targeting him, but the woman from the Water Tribe he was impersonating.
Because of Su Nü's terrifying hobby, he had to fight back with all his might, as he was standing in front of the woman from the Water Tribe now.
He had to stand in front; he was a man from the Water Tribe now, otherwise, he would be exposed immediately.
Playing his role nervously, he was scared, with cold sweat dripping from his face, because Su Nü was a crazy woman who liked to pierce people's chests.
But fortunately, it seemed that the other party wasn't interested in killing men, and seemed to have held back?
Seeing this, Yan Qi speculated for a long time but couldn't figure out the other party's purpose. He could only say that the other party's interests were unique.
So Yan Qi performed even more vigorously, bravely protecting the woman of their Tribe, as if he was going all out, ready to sacrifice himself to protect the dignity of their Tribe.
Although Su Nü eventually succeeded in killing the woman from the Water Tribe, Yan Qi's "brave" performance was also seen by everyone.
After Su Nü left, there was silence among the people of Red City. So many of them didn't manage to stop her successfully.
And Yan Qi's eyes rolled around, seemingly seeing an opportunity to make a contribution. Perhaps he could deal with a large number of people from Red City later, including... the young prodigies.
Yan Qi cleared his throat, looking at the strongest bloodline, provoking discord with his mouth.
In a gloomy and depressed atmosphere, Yan Qi stood up, "Fellow comrades of Red City, are we just going to let it go like this? She killed so many of our people, trampling on the dignity of our Red City..."
The crowd listened dumbfoundedly, "Who are you? From the Water Tribe? You performed very bravely just now."
Yan Qi replied, "Please don't worry about who I am, I am just a small figure from the Water Tribe. But even if I am just a small figure, I still have courage. Su Nü killed our Tribe members, trampled on the dignity of our Red City..."
With passionate fervor, his expression was as if someone had killed his entire family, "Our Red City has always been known as the first power of the earth, but now we are being trampled by Su Nü in the mud. Don't you feel ashamed? I feel ashamed. If this spreads out, what face will our Red City have?"
Someone said, "But just now, we saw that Su Nü is probably as strong as an Land Hero. We don't have anyone here who can match her."
Yan Qi snorted, "So what if she's an Land Hero? We have so many young prodigies here. As long as we gather our young prodigies and launch a surprise attack together, can't we defeat her?"
This... indeed could be tried. Land Heroes are also human, not invincible gods.
Yan Qi added more fuel to the fire, "Or is it that only the people from my Water Tribe die, and you don't care about the other Tribes? Do you want to be like shrinking turtles, afraid to fight back against the Cyan City? Even if we seize the territory, so what? It's estimated that tomorrow the whole earth will spread rumors that our Red City is so cowardly that even Cyan City bullies us. Even if we get the land, it's meaningless. People will just say that Red City is afraid of Cyan City."
"Do you want to admit that you're cowards?"
The statement hit hard.
Even those who felt uneasy didn't speak up anymore, as speaking up would mean admitting that their Tribe lacked courage.
Moreover, when had their Red City been humiliated like this before?
Many people were infected by Yan Qi's passionate words, especially those from the Water Tribe. Among the dead were their friends and relatives. "When has our Red City been so spineless? We must avenge this grudge."
"We can't let people look down on our Red City. Cyan City used to see us as nothing more than uncivilized barbarians."
"Revenge! Let's go find the young prodigies of our Tribes to come over."
Emotions are contagious, and besides, they were just a group of young people. In the face of tribal glory, they were even willing to die, let alone if their young prodigies united, they might not lose.
A few people who were familiar with Yan Qi's face looked stunned. When did this kid become so eloquent?
Before they could react, a group of people had already begun to look for scattered young prodigies from various places.
This is also why those young prodigies guarding the mountain couldn't wait for support. It's because their young prodigies from Red City had already gone to find trouble with Su Nü to wipe out the shame.
Su Nü walked while feeling somewhat troubled, cleaning the bloodstains on her body. After all, the people she killed were from Red City, and she injured quite a few. She didn't know if the Prince of Red City would be angered by this.
But if given another chance, she would still do the same. That woman who could use ice techniques must die, even if she killed a few wrong people.
Only by getting rid of this threat could she have a chance to reconcile with the Prince Yin Huo. Otherwise, the Prince Yin Huo wouldn't even look at her.
Su Nü thought to herself, at most, she would work a little harder this time to help Red City clear some obstacles, so Prince Yin Huo wouldn't blame her for killing people.
Su Nü specially found a small river to clean herself, so she wasted quite a bit of time.
When she finished cleaning up and looked at the battlefield, she walked in that direction.
Neither fast nor slow, as if she was just strolling, she was thinking about helping Red City clear obstacles and seize territory, scenes of the Prince Yin Huo changing his mind towards her.
Just as she was thinking, suddenly, the sound of "boom boom boom" rang out.
Eight huge black coffins descended from the sky, surrounding her.
The coffins were already open, facing her.
On the eight coffins, each one had a person standing on it.
Su Nü was stunned. The Eight Coffins Corpse-sealing Technique of the Back-Coffin Tribe?
What were these guys doing? Why were they using such a technique on her?
Frowning, she started to speak, "What are you doing? I have a marriage contract with the Prince Yin Huo..."
Before she could finish her words, the eight coffins began to push towards her.
At this moment, "whoosh whoosh whoosh," a sharp longsword also shot over, directly inserted around Su Nü, forming a cage. The ground was covered with tall daggers, like a forest of blades. If anyone dared to move, it was imaginable that they would be cut into pieces.
The Cage of Thousand-Hand Tribe's Blade Forest.
It wasn't over yet; some transparent water bands also crawled over, directly entangling Su Nü.
Su Nü was dumbfounded. She came to help Red City, but now it seemed like she was being besieged. Moreover, judging from the power of the techniques, there were still quite a few young prodigies among them.
Red City dispatched so many young prodigies just to deal with her?
Before she could react, the eight giant coffins had already trapped her in the middle.
Outside the eight giant coffins, several people jumped in and surrounded the coffins hand in hand. They were from the Red Tribe. Their hands were like ropes now, tightly binding the eight coffins.
The dignity of Red City cannot be violated, even by Land Heroes or the Princess of Cyan City.
They, Red City, are the first power of the Land.
Outside, there was also a water Tribe youth trembling with excitement, leading a group of equally excited young people from Red City, shouting loudly, "Su Nü, surrender with your hands up! Trampling on the dignity of Red City, whoever it is, must pay the price."
Passionate and fervent.
This time, he had made great contributions. He would definitely be the first in the martial exam. No matter how hard he tried to control himself, he couldn't help but tremble with excitement.
The young people from Red City were also very excited. Su Nü was indeed as strong as an Land Hero. Although they also had quite a few, they hadn't participated in the battle. They had captured an Land Hero by their own strength. Once the news spread, they would surely be famous throughout the Earth.
Moreover, Su Nü was also a Lady. Now, no one dared to say that Red City lacked courage anymore. Even if they wanted to capture the Princess of other powers, their dominance in Red City would be unmatched.
So, could they not be excited? What they didn't know was that the onlookers outside were all dumbfounded.
How did it turn out like this?
Zhuang Yu looked somewhat strangely at the Red City water Tribe youth who was excitedly trembling and cheering. Why did this scene look so familiar? During the first martial exam, there was a guy who directly caused chaos in the entire examination room.
The corner of Zhuang Yu's mouth couldn't help but curl up. Indeed, he lived up to his reputation.
The first solar term, "Li Chun," ranks first among the 24 solar terms. The character "Li" means "establishment." It marks the end of winter and the beginning of spring, where everything must start anew according to its rules.
Breaking the old pattern and establishing a new one, that's all there is to it.