The ten Warriors standing by the drums produced twenty large, white bones.
Once the shaman gave the order, the ten Warriors began to beat on the drums.
Boom!
The drums gave off a heavy and sonorous tone.
Boom!
Ye Xi felt as if his heart was trembling with each boom.
Boom! Boomboom! Boom!
What was one drum at the beginning was soon followed by more.
The ten Warriors were all stalwart fellows, brimming with muscle. When they hammered the drums, they used all their strength, flailing their arms. Muscles burst out from their arms like slabs of stone, appearing oily and shiny in the rain.
They swung their heads to the tempo of the drums, swinging their braids around and causing their numerous bone ornaments to clatter.
The entire performance exuded a primitive and savage air.
Boom! Boomboom! Boom!
Ye Xi felt as if his heart was beating to the tempo of the drums.
As he felt his chest, he realized to his shock that this was no misperception. His heartbeat really had changed!
Boomboom! Boomboomboom! Boom! Boomboomboomboom!
The drumming grew louder and more rushed. As the Warriors pounded on the drums, their faces turned red and the veins bulged out of their necks as if this was taking all their strength.
Ye Xi felt his heart beating faster and faster, and as his heart beat faster, his blood began to seethe. As he watched the Warriors drumming in the rain, he felt as if something wanted to erupt out of his blood.
The shaman began to chant.
The shaman closed his eyes and turned his head slightly upward.
The words of the strange and mysterious shaman language were not drowned out by the rain or drumming, clearly ringing out in the ears of all the people of Mud Mountain.
At this time, everyone except Ye Xi suddenly turned to the pile of logs in the center.
Ye Xi grew curious. What was the reason for this pile of logs? It wasn’t like they could light a bonfire.
As these were whole logs that had not been split apart in any way, it was hardly possible for them to be set ablaze, and that wasn’t even considering the downpour. Even if some sort of tarp had been put over them, the moisture alone could extinguish the flames.
But as he was thinking this, a white flame suddenly sprouted from the center of the log pile.
Ye Xi was stunned.
He blinked his eyes, shaking the water off his eyelashes, and when he opened them again, he really did see a flame rising from the pile of logs, and it was white!
They really had started a fire!
The flame wasn’t big, only about the size of a palm, and it flickered in the downpour as if it could be extinguished at any moment, so weak that it was pitiable.
The shaman continued to chant.
The rain heartlessly battered his elderly face and soaked into his white hair.
Hwoom!
A fierce gale swept past, and the rain intensified. From above their heads came the rumble of thunder.
A downpour had turned into a storm.
Ye Xi was barely able to open his eyes through the rain, and the entire world seemed to have been drowned in water.
He worriedly looked toward the log pile, afraid that the weak flame might have been extinguished.
But he saw that the white flame was still weakly flickering, seemingly unafraid of that mighty storm. In fact, the flame seemed to have gotten larger.
Boomboomboom! Boomboomboom!
The drums banged so loudly that even the thunder was drowned out.
Ye Xi looked toward them.
In the rain, the noise of the ritual grew louder and more grandiose.
If he had not been in the middle of this primitive and savage ritual, Ye Xi would have never been able to imagine that there was something in this world that could make his blood pump so much.
He clenched his fists and stared, drinking in everything he saw. He wanted nothing more than to shout and release all his pent-up emotions.
The shaman stopped chanting.
He opened his eyes, looked at the tribe members before him, and began to chant once more.
Ye Xi found these shaman words to be somewhat familiar.
Right… this was the shaman chant of blessing! The shaman had used it when they were fighting back the insects! But there was something different about it.
As the shaman chanted, Ye Xi felt like he was dipping his body into a hot spring in the middle of winter, his body indescribably relaxed. It was like he had returned to his mother’s womb, surrounded in amniotic fluid. He closed his eyes, feeling immensely comfortable and safe, wishing for this to continue for all time…
Even though the rain continued to hammer against his body, it could not wash away this comfort.
The rain… Right, he was in the middle of the ritual! What had happened to him just now?!
Ye Xi suddenly came to his senses, his eyes flying open. He discovered that everyone had been covered in a hazy white light, and when he looked down, he saw that he was also covered in this light, though it seemed somewhat more intense than those around him.
The Warriors of the tribe stood at the front row. As a provisional Warrior, Ye Xi stood in the second row.
He discovered that the many scars of a Warrior standing right in front of him were gradually fading under the white light.
Because they went hunting, Warriors had deep and shallow scars across their skin, but under this white light, both kinds of scars vanished without a trace.
He turned his gaze to Horse.
Two days ago, Horse had injured his left leg while hunting, and he now walked with a limp. Even when standing, he favored his right leg, and it was clear how uncomfortable he was. But at this moment, Horse’s bent left leg slowly straightened, and as time passed, he began to stand erect like a spear thrust into the ground.
This blessing is too miraculous! Ye Xi sighed in praise.
He looked toward the chanting shaman and noticed that there was a white light pulsing on his forehead.
Ye Xi gasped.
His image of the shaman became even more mysterious and unfathomable.
The shaman possessed far more strength than he had imagined.
After a little while, the shaman stopped chanting and announced, “All provisional Warriors who are ready to awaken this time, come forward.”
Ye Xi and the others walked up.
Mink, gripping the Fiendbeast Core, also stepped forward.
Everyone was rather surprised by this, as Mink should not have had a Fiendbeast Core.
The shaman instantly thought of Ye Xi and shot him a glance.
Ye Xi slightly nodded.
The awakening of Warriors during the Great Ritual required the consumption of shaman power. Each additional provisional Warrior awakened consumed more of the shaman’s strength.
But for Ye Xi’s sake, and since Mink had a Fiendbeast Core, everyone tacitly agreed to his participation.
There were many Warriors being awakened this time. With Mink, there were eleven in all.
In the past, because the tribe had a limited number of Fiendbeast Cores, only a portion of the provisional Warriors were awakened each year. Those who were not allotted a Fiendbeast Core could only wait for next year.
But their victory over the Earth Tribe meant that the Mud Mountain Tribe now had many Fiendbeast Cores, and every provisional Warrior had one. The exceptionally talented Awl and the chief’s son, Rushing Boar, were even allotted pureblood Fiendbeast Cores.
“Awl, Mountain Shell… the five of you stand next to the fire.”
Awakening Warriors took a lot of shaman power, and there were so many people taking part this time that they needed to be divided into two batches.
Ye Xi stood in the other group of six on the side, waiting for his turn.
Boom! Boom thump thump boom!
At this moment, the tempo of the drumming shifted.
The drumming became heavier and deeper.
Boom!!!
An extremely heavy drum strike exploded through the air.
Ye Xi’s heart gave a heavy thump.
A moment later, Ye Xi noticed five faint silhouettes appearing above five of the drums!
Boomboomboom!!!
As the drums thundered, the silhouettes grew more and more tangible, taking the form of savage fiendbeasts that opened their mouths and roared.
A brutal and primitive energy exploded through the storm.