Legend Management Bureau Chapter 260

[ … words ]

Time: The Primordial Era.

Location: South of the Yellow River.

Characters arriving: Du Yu, Shiranui Jinjiro, Shiranui Asuka, A Can, A Kui, Xie Yujiao, Xiao Nian, and Liu Ling.

The moment the group opened their eyes, before anyone could even speak, Jin Jianglang and Liu Ling dropped to their knees and began vomiting violently.

“Eh?” The others were taken aback for a moment, only then remembering that this was the first time these two had ever traveled through time and space.

“Cough, cough! I’m just too dizzy!” Shiranui Jinjiro completely lost his usual cold and aloof demeanor, looking incredibly disheveled.

Du Yu furrowed his brows in exasperation and remarked, “You two are entirely too pathetic. When A’jiao and Xiao Nian traveled through time before, neither of them threw up like this…”

Liu Ling staggered to his feet and muttered, “It’s probably because I drank too much wine…”

“What are you talking about…” A’xiang shook her head from the sidelines and chimed in. “It’s just because your constitutions are too weak. You guys need to exercise more during your free time!”

The group steadied their nerves and finally raised their heads to take a good look at their surroundings.

Not far away, a massive, churning river surged forward. Along its banks, countless simple thatched huts had been erected. Plumes of cooking smoke rose from the dwellings, stretching so far into the distance that the boundary could not be seen at a single glance. This had to be the Yan Emperor’s tribe.

The air was practically overflowing with abundant Spiritual Energy. Enveloped in such dense energy, even someone completely lacking the aptitude for immortal cultivation could easily pull off a few magic arts.

Du Yu had previously visited the Era of Emperor Yao, but the Spiritual Energy present in this time period was even more potent than it had been back then.

“This…” Shiranui Jinjiro quickly sensed the obvious shift in the atmosphere, his mouth falling wide open in shock. “Are the Immortal Beings of your China so powerful simply because they cultivate in an environment like this?”

“Don’t be silly, A’xiang’s Elder Brother,” Du Yu shook his head helplessly. “Only a small minority of people can return to the Primordial Era. If we are talking about cultivation conditions in the modern era, there’s virtually no difference between China and Fusang.”

“Elder Brother! Why are you acting like you’ve never seen anything before?” A’xiang asked with a slight tone of disdain.

“I…” Jin Jianglang was momentarily at a loss for words. All he could do was press a hand onto Shiranui Asuka’s head and retort, “And exactly how many times have you seen a scene like this?”

“Hehe, this is my first time too.”

Du Yu shook his head in resignation and said, “We’ve only just entered the Legend. The truly shocking things are still yet to come, so you guys need to adapt to this as quickly as possible. Everyone, pack up your things. Let’s go pay our respects to the Yan Emperor.”

Shouldering his “Legendary Gift Bag,” Du Yu led the group as they slowly made their way toward the massive cluster of thatched huts.

Before they could even get close, a thunderous barrage of footsteps suddenly echoed from behind them.

Startled, the group quickly turned around to look. They saw a large contingent of people rushing toward them in a frenzy. The youth leading the pack hollered, “People in front, get out of the way right now! Don’t block my path!”

Although the group was entirely bewildered, they hurriedly dodged to the side. In the blink of an eye, the rushing crowd was right in front of them.

Since Xiao Nian was a Mortal, she barely managed to dodge in time. Fortunately, Du Yu had quick reflexes and pulled her to the side, saving her from being trampled by the charging youth at the front.

Having nearly crashed into Xiao Nian, the youth also gave himself quite a scare. It was as if he had never imagined that there could actually exist someone in this world who was completely incapable of using movement techniques.

“Damn it, the road is so wide and you still almost hit someone! Do you run with your eyes closed?” Du Yu scolded in irritation while supporting Xiao Nian.

The youth had originally intended to just keep running, but upon hearing those words, he slowly ground to a halt. The people following behind him naturally stopped in their tracks as well.

As the youth slowly turned around, his followers parted to open up a clear path for him.

The youth glared fiercely at Du Yu and demanded, “What did you just say?”

Du Yu took the opportunity to examine the youth from close range. The boy looked to be sixteen or seventeen at most. He wore clothes stitched together from animal hides and carried a massive chopping blade, though his frame was remarkably slender. Set within his somewhat grimy face was a pair of incredibly beautiful eyes. His entire being exuded a valiant and heroic spirit, a quality that made Du Yu feel a vague sense of familiarity.

Du Yu slowly furrowed his brows. The more he looked at the youth’s face, the more familiar it seemed, yet he just couldn’t recall where he had seen this guy before.

“Wait a minute…” Du Yu suddenly seemed to remember something, freezing in place as if struck by a bolt of lightning from a clear sky. “Houtu…?!”

The youth was taken aback. “You know me?”

“Holy crap!” Du Yu roared out loud. ‘What in the world is going on?’ he thought to himself. ‘How is Houtu a little boy?!’

“Are you really Goddess Houtu?” Shiranui Asuka asked from the sidelines, wanting to confirm it once more.

But the moment he heard the words “Goddess Houtu,” the youth’s gaze shifted drastically. “What did you just call me?”

“I…” Shiranui Asuka blinked her eyes innocently. “Goddess Houtu…”

Du Yu frowned, sensing that something was very wrong.

No matter how one looked at it, the title “Goddess Houtu” absolutely did not belong on the youth standing right in front of them.

A flash of murderous intent flickered across Houtu’s eyes as he ordered the subordinates beside him, “Slaughter them all. We’re roasting human meat tonight.”

Du Yu hastily took a step back and groaned, “A’xiang, you never cease to amaze me. We haven’t even been here for five minutes and you’ve already turned this into a life-or-death situation.”

“Ah… I…” Shiranui Asuka had absolutely no idea what she had said wrong. Why had the other party suddenly flown into a rage over nothing?

“Houtu! Big Brother Houtu!” Du Yu yelled out. “Don’t attack just yet! We specifically came all this way to pledge our allegiance to you because we admire you so much!”

Houtu, who had been just about to walk away, paused his steps upon hearing Du Yu’s declaration.

“You admire me…?” Houtu stared blankly for a second. His gaze softened slightly, only to instantly fill with murderous rage once more. “Stop your nonsense! If you truly admired me, then why would you mock me by calling me a ‘Goddess’?!”

“Mock you?!” Du Yu exclaimed in feigned panic. “When did we ever mock you, Big Brother Houtu?”

Houtu froze, failing to grasp what Du Yu meant.

“You think ‘Goddess’ is a mockery?” Du Yu asked, raising an eyebrow. “You’ve completely misunderstood! In our hometown, only the most powerful and formidable individual is worthy of being granted the title of ‘Goddess’!”

“Oh?” Houtu re-examined the eight bizarre-looking individuals standing before him, then asked, “Are you defectors from another tribe coming to seek shelter?”

“Yes, exactly!” Du Yu made a spur-of-the-moment decision. He had originally planned to seek refuge with the Yan Emperor, but since they had run into Houtu right off the bat, he figured he might as well pledge allegiance directly to Houtu. It would make their future endeavors much more convenient. “Big Brother Houtu, our tribe’s absolute strongest titles are actually named after you! The most powerful person is called the ‘Empress Dowager Goddess,’ and the second most powerful is the ‘Empress Goddess.’ Just by hearing the names, you can tell we’re striving to follow your example.”

These words hit the bullseye, instantly flattering Houtu to the high heavens.

“Since you came all this way to follow me, I suppose I’ll accept you for now,” Houtu said, pretending to be reluctant. “I’m already powerful enough on my own, but I really should start recruiting some forces of my own. Where do you come from? And what’s the name of your tribe?”

“Where do we come from?” Du Yu thought for a moment before replying, “Just ahead… at the front… the front line… there’s a county. Right, Qianlie County.”

“Qianlie County?” Houtu looked puzzled. “What does a ‘County’ mean?”

“Uh… it is, well…” Du Yu had never expected this impromptu interview to hit him with such a difficult question. He didn’t even know during which dynasty the “county system” was first implemented. “This ‘County’… it just means a large tribe.”

“Oh…” Houtu nodded in understanding, then asked, “Then what’s your tribe called?”

Du Yu furrowed his brows, a look of immense awkwardness washing over his face. Why did he have to come up with a name on the spot? Coming up with names was exactly what he was worst at.

“Uh… we… we’re called…” Du Yu mumbled softly, simultaneously turning his head to look at the Seven Holy Heroes beside him.

But how could the Seven Holy Heroes possibly be prepared for this? Just being able to speak face-to-face with a mythological figure was already enough to leave them utterly astounded, let alone making up a tribe name on the fly.

Right now, it truly was a case of ‘the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak’…

“Wait!” Du Yu suddenly realized something. “A sports team where the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak? I’ve got it!”

Everyone instantly felt an ominous premonition. Sitting in front of his monitor, Dong Qianqiu covered his forehead with a hand. Knowing Du Yu’s naming sense, this group was probably going to be named after that infamous national team.

“Hehe…” Du Yu flashed a wicked grin and proclaimed, “Our tribe is called the ‘National Male Tribe’.”

“Eh?!”

The Seven Holy Heroes and Dong Qianqiu were all startled by Du Yu’s answer. What kind of ridiculous name was that?

Houtu was also somewhat perplexed. After looking the group up and down once more, he asked, “What a bizarre name. Are there only men in your tribe? Why is it called the ‘Male Tribe’? Out of the eight of you, there are three women right here. That makes absolutely no sense, does it?”

Du Yu pursed his lips and looked at Houtu. “You’re asking me, but who am I supposed to ask? That’s just the name of our tribe, there’s nothing I can do about it.”

Although Houtu still had a few questions, he genuinely needed to start building his own faction right now. After pondering for a brief moment, he finally declared, “Fine. If that’s the case, kneel.”

“Kneel…?” Du Yu stared blankly. “Why?”

“What do you mean, why? I’m officially accepting you all into my tribe,” Houtu said irritably. “They don’t need to kneel, but as their leader, you have to. According to the rules, I also have to gift you something…”

At that thought, Houtu deliberated for a moment before waving a hand at the scattered rocks on the ground. The stones immediately flew into the air, spinning rapidly. A few seconds later, they had been expertly carved into eight stone daggers, which floated gently to a stop in front of the eight people.

“Accept this token. From now on, I’m your ‘Tribal Father’.” Houtu announced solemnly.

Hearing this, Du Yu silently knelt down and reached out to grab the stone-carved dagger. After all, the person standing before him would one day become a Heavenly Venerable; kneeling to him now was certainly not a loss.

Once the initiation ceremony was complete, Du Yu stood up and said to Houtu, “Boss, since you’ve become our ‘Tribal Father’, we also need to follow our tribe’s customs and give you a proper ‘welcoming ceremony’.”

“Welcoming ceremony?”

Before Houtu could even react, Du Yu rushed forward and pulled him into a massive bear hug.