TPWBI Chapter 18

“Your talent really is well-suited for running away.”

Yang Yi had already heard from others that Hei Lie’s awakened talent was speed. In all the martial arts under heaven, none can stand against sheer speed. No wonder his strength was so formidable.

The remark wasn’t exactly polite, but Hei Lie didn’t feel offended. He simply took it as a statement of fact.

“My awakened talent isn’t speed,” Hei Lie shook his head.

Yang Yi was curious. “Then what is it?”

Hei Lie smiled at him, and in the next instant, he vanished without a trace. Before Yang Yi could even react, he felt a pat on his shoulder.

He turned his head and saw Hei Lie standing behind him, holding the compound triangle bow that Yang Yi had left beside the tent.

That speed was just too fast!

Yang Yi hadn’t seen Hei Lie move at all. It was as if he had vanished into thin air.

The next second, Hei Lie proved his theory.

The compound triangle bow in Hei Lie’s hand disappeared and reappeared in its original spot.

Throughout the entire process, Hei Lie’s other hand remained resting on Yang Yi’s shoulder. It never left.

Yang Yi was stunned. “What kind of talent is this?”

“I don’t know what it’s called either. I’ve never heard of anyone awakening a talent like this before,” Hei Lie shook his head.

“I can directly move to wherever I want to go. I don’t need to walk along a path others can see. I can also take things from a distance, without touching them. The latter is harder, and the range can’t be too far. It has to be within sight.”

Spatial Walker.

That phrase flashed through Yang Yi’s mind.

“This ability is incredibly powerful.”

Yang Yi sighed from the bottom of his heart, with a tinge of envy, jealousy, and bitterness.

If he had a power like that, even if his combat strength was lacking, he’d still be able to stay alive. He wouldn’t have to spend every day worrying about his own safety.

Hei Lie said smugly, “That’s why I won’t die so easily.”

“The others don’t know that this is your talent?”

“You’re the first to know,” Hei Lie looked at him deeply.

Yang Yi smiled. “I’m honored.”

“I’d sensed something different before, too, but I couldn’t figure it out. I just thought I was fast. It wasn’t until I was able to retrieve things from a distance that I realized the two are very different.”

“You’ve successfully convinced me,” Yang Yi finally said.

Hei Lie gave a slight smile, eyes blazing with intensity.

“I’ll do everything I can to protect your safety. I won’t let anyone have the chance to harm you. I’ll bear the pain meant for you.”

“Wait, what did that last sentence mean?”

“A symbiotic contract allows us to share death, pain, even lifespan,” Hei Lie explained. “I’m a level-four warrior, so my lifespan is longer than that of ordinary people. And this isn’t my limit. I’ll grow stronger, which means I’ll be able to share even more.”

No wonder the symbiotic contract was considered the most sacred. It wasn’t just a simple binding of lives.

“Can you share your power with me?”

Hei Lie glanced at him, then replied with clear regret, “No.”

Yang Yi was a little disappointed. So this symbiotic contract wasn’t that advanced after all.

“If a strong person forces someone into a symbiotic contract, just to make them share their pain…”

Hei Lie’s expression turned odd. “Who would be willing to put their life in someone else’s hands for that kind of reason?”

Yang Yi quickly realized how foolish that idea was. Who would do such a thing unless they were looking for trouble?

Pick someone too weak, and they become your weakness. Pick someone too strong, and you can’t control them.

“I have no means of protecting myself. It’d be incredibly easy to kill me. Are you sure you want to do this?”

Hei Lie did not need to sign a contract like this with him. In this world, where there was no law or moral restraint, it wasn’t just outsiders like him. Even native tribesmen could be killed on a whim.

Those exiles from the Spark Tribe were the best proof of that.

Hei Lie only dared to disagree with the Blackstone chieftain and insist on it because he had the strength to back him up.

He left the Blackstone Tribe not only because he understood the chieftain’s thinking, but more importantly, because he had confidence in his own abilities.

Not abandoning the old, weak, sick, or disabled was also something he could do only because of his immense strength.

Survival of the fittest was the prevailing value of this world.

And reality had proven that Hei Lie did indeed have the strength to lead those who followed him and keep them alive.

Along the way, they were never short of food. Everything they ate tonight had been brought by Hei Lie’s group. Yang Yi had merely provided some seasonings and cooking tools.

The original members of the Spark Tribe were just a group of castoffs with very low combat power. Their numbers were only a tenth of the others’, and they weren’t capable of protecting Yang Yi.

Hei Lie could have easily used brute force to achieve his goals.

The people here didn’t hold strong moral values. The respect and acceptance Yang Yi currently enjoys are all thanks to favorable timing, favorable location, and favorable people.

Otherwise, he’d be nothing more than a conveniently delivered supply pack.

“This is my sincerity,” Hei Lie said with a wide grin, his tone full of certainty.

Yang Yi had no further questions. He habitually extended his right hand. “I accept your sincerity. Let’s have a good partnership.”

Hei Lie looked puzzled.

“A handshake is a form of etiquette where I come from. It represents trust.”

Hei Lie extended his hand as well. Though both were men, his palm was a full size larger than Yang Yi’s, and filled with tremendous strength. He could easily crush Yang Yi’s hand if he wanted to.

Yang Yi tried to shake his hand, but he couldn’t move it at all.

In contrast, Yang Yi appeared especially delicate and tender-skinned.

Even Hei Lie was slightly surprised. He hadn’t expected a man’s hand to be this soft.

This person was even weaker than he had imagined.

The two of them reached an agreement and were simply waiting for the day of the duel to arrive.

Jiao quickly chose a date, just three days later.

Although everyone had already tacitly acknowledged Hei Lie as the new chieftain, all the warriors, and even the stronger ordinary people, had no intention of giving up the duel because of that. In fact, they were excitedly rubbing their fists and palms in anticipation.

This group of people was extremely combative. They weren’t afraid of failure. On the contrary, they believed that being able to challenge a strong opponent was something very honorable.

On the day of the duel, it was extremely lively. Everyone wore their finest clothes, putting on their most beautiful appearance, because this day was also when men and women chose their spouses.

Yang Yi was invited to the best seat to watch the battle. Everyone knew he didn’t like sitting on the ground, so they even brought over a wooden stump especially for him to use as a stool.

The method of selecting the chieftain was very simple. Whoever wanted to become the chieftain would voluntarily step into the center of the arena and begin accepting challenges.

If it were up to Yang Yi, he would definitely have appeared last to avoid exhausting his stamina too early.

No matter how strong your combat power is, it’s hard to withstand a wheel battle.

But Hei Lie had no intention of holding back. After the ceremonial rites were completed, he immediately stepped into the center of the field, his confidence bordering on arrogance.

Right now, there were over a hundred warriors in their Spark Tribe, plus a few strong ordinary people, which meant that, if he wanted to become the chieftain, he would have to defeat that many people today.

“One by one is too slow. Let’s go ten at a time.” Hei Lie’s attitude was extremely arrogant.

Everyone’s eyes were filled with excitement. Someone even muttered under their breath, “How many is ten?”

The people in the tribe were all illiterate. Many of them didn’t even know how to count.

Very soon, groups of people went up to challenge him in droves, only to be quickly beaten back down one by one. There was no need for Hei Lie to use any innate skills, nor did he use his blackstone weapon.

Compared to those previously banished in disgrace, Hei Lie didn’t leave the tribe on such polite terms.

He had taken weapons, furs, salt, and other goods with him. Yang Yi had also seen the weapon that allowed the Blackstone Tribe to dominate their surroundings.

Blackstone was actually obsidian. A kind of natural glass formed when volcanic lava cooled rapidly after flowing out of a volcano.

When crafted into blades, it could be sharper than a surgical scalpel. Once it cut a person, the wound was difficult to heal.

On the old Earth, the Aztecs, who were known as the “Jaguar Warriors”, used obsidian to forge terrifying weapons known as macuahuitl.

They were powerful enough that the Aztecs dominated their region for a long time.

It wasn’t until the appearance of Damascus steel swords that such weapons gradually disappeared from history.

The blackstone weapon Hei Lie owned was very similar to the macuahuitl. The main body of the machete was a one-meter-long wooden club about ten centimeters wide, with sharp pieces of obsidian embedded along both sides. It was extremely heavy and required great strength to swing.

Ordinary people would need to rest after swinging it for just a few dozen minutes. Only warriors could withstand such weight.

No wonder the Blackstone Tribe possessed such strength. In a time before the advent of iron tools, they truly were invincible.

The entire place was filled with frenzied cheers, echoing to the skies.

“That guy Hei Lie is even stronger than before,” Jing said, eyes burning with envy.

Xi Hou scoffed, “He’s so strong it’s infuriating. Just wait. We’ll gather ten third-level warriors. I want to see if he can still act this smug.”

“I was thinking the same thing,” Tu agreed.

Xi Hou was surprised. “You actually agree?”

“Don’t you want to know the true strength of a fourth-level warrior?” Tu’s eyes were blazing, barely hiding his excitement.

Xi Hou’s eyes rolled thoughtfully. He now felt like his idea was absolutely brilliant.

There was a huge gap in strength between each warrior level. Hei Lie would usually spar with them, but even before he became a fourth-level warrior, he was already crushing everyone.

So he didn’t even need to display the full power of a fourth-level warrior to defeat others.

During hunts, Hei Lie focused more on teamwork than solo performance, which made it hard to judge his true strength.

Without wasting time, Xi Hou went off to gather third-level warriors, scheming to save himself for last.

As for whether Hei Lie could handle it…

Xi Hou spread his hands and shrugged.

On the field, Hei Lie shone like a blazing sun, drawing every gaze. He stood there like a god of war. Whether man or woman, everyone who looked at him had admiration and longing in their eyes.

Hei Lie once again effortlessly knocked down ten people. Every punch landed solidly on flesh, blood spraying through the air.

Dueling was an extremely brutal affair. No one would surrender just because they felt they had lost. It always continued until one side could no longer stand.

Almost every tribe had casualties during each selection. After learning this, Yang Yi forbade such outcomes. He didn’t want to lose even a single combatant.

Because of this, if things looked like they were going too far, he and Jiao had the authority to stop the duel.

The brutality of the fights made Yang Yi’s blood boil with excitement, but at the same time, he also felt a bit physically unwell.

What he really couldn’t understand was why these people were so eager to rush up just to get beaten?!

They were beaten until they were completely unrecognizable, screaming in pain, and yet they were still brimming with excitement, desperate to get back up and fight again.

So strong!

At this moment, that was the only thought left in Yang Yi’s mind.

Whether it was the overwhelming Hei Lie, or that group of people unafraid of getting pummeled.

By the fifth round, Hei Lie still had no visible injuries on him and looked completely at ease.

He turned to look at Yang Yi and grinned broadly at him, like a peacock fanning out its glorious tail.

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