However.
Apologizing was useless, and calling it 'senior' was too late. Shi Yi was audacious enough to dare to pee on its [her] true form today; in the future, he might even dare to ride on it [her].
This massive and dilapidated Willow Tree, its branches glowing with a vibrant green light, still hadn't released Shi Yi. He was bound tightly, suspended in mid-air like a human zongzi.
Not long after.
In the central area of Stone Village, on the open ground in front of the giant Willow Tree, a group of children emerged, ranging from four or five years old to over ten, numbering about twenty to thirty.
They were exercising their bodies on the open ground in front of the village, facing the morning glow, their mouths making grunting and puffing sounds.
"Hmph! Ha!"
"Hmph! Ha!"
"Hmph! Ha!"
These children, boys and girls alike, had tender little faces flushed red. It was clear they were very serious, with no perfunctory actions or slacking off.
To survive in this Vast Mountain Range, where Prehistoric Ferocious Beasts were everywhere, every minute and second of effort was crucial for the people here. Naturally, slacking off was impossible.
And directly in front of these children.
There was a middle-aged man with a body as strong as a tiger or leopard, wearing beast skins, his skin a bronze color, and a head of black hair flowing down.
At this moment, he was seriously guiding them, his piercing eyes scanning every child in front of him.
"The sun is just rising, all things are beginning, and the life force is most vigorous. Although we cannot devour the morning mist and absorb energy like the legendary Taotie, exercising in the morning glow like this has immense benefits. It can replenish the body's vitality and help us strengthen our physique."
"The plan for the day is in the morning. Get up early every day and work hard. Strengthen your muscles and bones, invigorate your blood, and refine your tendons. Only by doing so will you have the capital to survive in this Vast Mountain Range in the future. Otherwise, once you step out of Stone Village, you might be carried away by a ferocious beast."
After speaking.
The middle-aged man shouted loudly, "Did you all understand?"
"Understood!" The group of children responded loudly with full energy.
As they spoke.
Various Prehistoric Ferocious Beasts constantly appeared outside Stone Village, and sometimes even giant wings that obscured the sky would pass overhead, casting large, terrifying shadows on Stone Village below.
Just as the middle-aged man said.
Without sufficient strength, it would be impossible to survive even a single day in this Vast Mountain Range, which is filled with Prehistoric Ferocious Beasts and even Ancient Descendants. You would be carried away by a Prehistoric Ferocious Beast in minutes.
However, there was no need to worry about being carried away by Ancient Descendants. They simply looked down on ordinary humans. At most, when passing by, they would directly step on them and kill them, like stepping on an insignificant ant.
Just like at this moment.
A hundred meters away.
Shi Yi, who was hanging in mid-air unable to move, felt numb when he heard the words "Stone Village".
A fantasy version of "X-Change"?
Wasn't it just that I couldn't endure hardship and usually liked a life where clothes were handed to me and food was brought to my mouth? Those old fogeys actually secretly threw me into this harsh and cold place?
Why can my younger brother continue to live a life of luxury in the Martial King Manor?
Yet my brother has to stay in this harsh, cold place to train?
Did I owe him something in my past life?
As Shi Yi was lost in thought, he noticed the Willow Tree nearby, and his heart sank. An extremely bad premonition instantly surfaced in his mind.
"Willow Tree? Willow Deity? Mother Willow? It's over! I've become the younger brother! I've become Shi Hao's substitute!"
Shi Yi felt as if ten thousand cao ni ma were galloping through his mind. At only six years old, his small face turned pale. What kind of situation was this? Which blind idiot sent him to Stone Village?
And it seemed he had offended the Willow Deity!
At this moment.
Shi Yi felt incredibly wronged. He had just closed and opened his eyes, not only changing locations but also getting hung up and beaten after simply needing to relieve himself.
However, the next second.
Just as Shi Yi felt his life was utterly dark, he was subjected to a public execution by the children of Stone Village.
"Look, the Offering Spirit, no, the Willow Deity, it seems to have tied someone up and hung them in mid-air."
"It's true."
"Isn't that the young boy who was abandoned a few days ago? He's been sitting in the Great Bronze Cauldron in meditation these past few days. Could it be that he has woken up?"
"How amazing, meditating for so many days without eating a bowl of rice or drinking a bowl of water, and his spirit and energy haven't weakened at all. As expected of someone from the outside."
"Do you think he offended the Willow Deity?"
"Probably, otherwise the Willow Deity wouldn't hang him up for no reason. Look at his butt, his pants are torn. It's obvious he was severely whipped by the willow branches."
These children of Stone Village would never understand the immense mental damage their unintentional words inflicted on Shi Yi, who was hanging in mid-air. At this moment, he had only one thought.
"Children, you stay here and watch him. I'll go inform the Clan Leader."
As the words fell.
The middle-aged man left, running towards a courtyard on the east side of Stone Village. He needed to quickly report the news of Shi Yi's awakening to Shi Linhu, the village chief and clan leader of Stone Village.
Watching the middle-aged man leave.
Shi Yi closed his eyes. After this public execution, he had been branded with shame. For the rest of his life, the matter of him being hung up and beaten by a Willow Tree would be inescapable.
"Destroy it, quickly, I'm tired!"
Shi Yi could already imagine returning to the Martial King Manor.
Including his parents, his aunts and uncles, and even that little troublemaker Shi Hao, they would all incessantly question him about the details of being hung up and beaten by the Willow Tree.
"Yi'er, Mother will go inform your father now, and have the Stone Clan, Rain Clan, and Demon Spirit Lake flatten the Willow Tree that bullied Yi'er."
"Yi'er, you are a Double Pupil, a reincarnation of an ancient Sage. This humiliation, one day, you will surely avenge it."
"Brother Yi, you are already so powerful, how could you still be hung up and beaten by a Willow Tree? Could it be that this Willow Tree is very powerful?"
Stone Village, east side of the village head, the Clan Leader's house.
The not-so-large house was very empty. Besides the stone bed covered with animal hides, there were only some simple pots and pans. Just like the name Stone Village, these pots and pans were also made of stone.
"Clan Leader, it's been a while since we went into the mountains."
The speaker was a burly adult man. He was not only the leader of Stone Village's hunting team but also the next clan leader of Stone Village.
His name was Shi Linhu. He was extremely tall, two meters high, and carried a giant sword weighing over three hundred catties on his broad back.
He was as strong as a human bear, with bronze-colored muscles rippling like snakes all over his body.
"But things haven't been peaceful lately. Not to mention at night, even during the day, many Prehistoric Ferocious Beasts and even Ancient Descendants are roaming outside Stone Village."
The Old Clan Leader, Shi Yunfeng, frowned. Although he was over sixty, his tall and strong physique was still very imposing. If he were in the modern world, he would be a handsome old man.
"But there really isn't much food left in the village. It's okay if we adults are a little hungry, but the children can't starve," Shi Linhu expressed his concern.
He wasn't afraid of being hungry, but the children couldn't starve.
"Indeed, the children need to grow and can't go hungry. We need to find a way," the Old Clan Leader, Shi Yunfeng, also nodded in agreement.
"Clan Leader, although the nights have been very restless these days, the danger during the day is still within acceptable limits. I'll take some people out. We should be fine if we're careful," Shi Linhu said.
"Be careful. Also, that little baby who was left at the village entrance, we don't know who left him outside the main gate of Stone Village. He's been in meditation for so many days and needs sufficient blood and food to replenish his body."
Before Shi Yunfeng finished speaking, a middle-aged man rushed in and said urgently, "Clan Leader, that child woke up, but we don't know why the Willow Deity tied him up and hung him in mid-air."
"The little baby woke up?" Shi Linhu said with surprise.
"He woke up, but looking at his expression, it seems he can't accept reality and can't believe he was abandoned," the middle-aged man nodded.
"Abandonment is impossible. This child has clear eyes and delicate features, and his clothes are extremely luxurious. Moreover, observing the residual blood energy on his body, he has already completed the baptism. You can tell at a glance that he comes from a KingMarquis power, and along with him at the village entrance, there was also a portion of Ancient Descendant true blood. Someone must have wanted to entrust us with taking care of him for a period of time."
Although Shi Linhu's two-meter-tall body looked like that of a brute, he was actually a meticulous person. He quickly figured out most of the story.
"Yesterday, I also asked the Willow Deity. Two old men with terrifying auras placed him at the village entrance. It's likely that our Stone Village has become a place for outside great powers to train their descendants. That portion of Ancient Descendant true blood is the reward for Stone Village. And according to the Willow Deity, those two old men with terrifying auras haven't truly left and have been secretly guarding outside Stone Village," the Old Clan Leader, Shi Yunfeng, confirmed Shi Linhu's guess.
(End of Chapter)