The cold wind howled outside the yurt, yet inside it was comfortably warm. Teng Qingshan sipped hot milk tea, devouring thick chunks of mutton alongside a large basin of hand-mixed fried noodles.

Though lacking the refinement of the cuisine found on the Nine Provinces continent, it was hearty food that warmed him to the core.

"Big Brother!" A young man clad in a grey leather robe entered the yurt.

Chabu, who had been happily chatting with Teng Qingshan, saw the newcomer and his expression immediately soured. "Why are you here? What is it?"

"Tsk, tsk," the young man glanced at Teng Qingshan, frowning slightly at the worn cotton coat he wore, but he maintained a cheerful tone. "Big Brother, times are tight for me. A few days ago, we lost a few sheep again. I wonder if someone stole them. This life is hard!"

Chabu's brow furrowed. "Just say what you need to say!"

"Brother is always straightforward!" The young man chuckled wryly. "Big Brother, lend me some silver. Once I sell the cattle and sheep, I'll pay you back, definitely."

"Hmph, pay back? You haven't settled the last debt yet," the child muttered discontentedly.

The woman eating nearby immediately pulled the child's arm and shot him a sharp glare. "I'm only telling the truth!" the child mumbled, though he dared not say more. The young man, however, seemed entirely unconcerned, smiling broadly at Chabu.

Chabu's face was grim. He reached into his inner garment and produced a piece of fragmented silver, perhaps half a tael, tossing it over.

"Thank you, Big Brother, I will definitely return this money. Absolutely!" The young man was overjoyed, saying repeatedly.

Chabu's face was stony. "Hmph, don't thank me! If Father hadn't ordered me to look after you, I would have kicked you out long ago! Remember this: go practice your saber techniques with Brother Silan and the others! Stop being lazy and gluttonous all day!" The young man was already pulling open the tent flap, responding with acknowledgments as he hurried out.

"Father, he never herds sheep. A few days ago, I saw him slaughter and eat a lamb!" the child protested stubbornly.

Chabu glared at his son. "Jida, remember, that is your uncle!"

"Jida doesn't have such a useless uncle!" the child declared, lifting his chin.

Teng Qingshan could only bury his head and eat; it wasn't his place to interfere in such domestic squabbles. No matter which village or settlement, there were always people who were lazy and dependent. Such individuals were usually marginalized by the manor or tribe.

"Clang!"

"Clang!"

Intense sounds of impact echoed from outside. Teng Qingshan's ears twitched, and he inquired with surprise, "Brother Chabu, what is happening outside?"

Before Chabu could answer, his son piped up eagerly, "It's the men from our tribe sparring! It must be Uncle Silan and a few others. They practice their blades so diligently every day. Uncle Silan is incredibly skilled! I'm learning saber techniques from Uncle Silan too!"

"Oh?" Teng Qingshan set down his milk tea cup and rose with a smile. "Brother Chabu, I've eaten my fill. Thank you for your hospitality!" Saying this, he placed two taels of silver on the table.

Chabu immediately tried to push the two taels back to Teng Qingshan. "Brother Huhe! This was just a simple lunch, worth very little. These two taels are too much! I cannot accept them!" Chabu tried to push the silver forward, but Teng Qingshan raised his right hand to block him, preventing Chabu from getting close.

"What great strength!" Chabu thought with alarm.

"Two taels of silver are nothing to me!" Teng Qingshan smiled. "Brother Chabu, if you hold me, Huhe, in any regard, then accept it."

Chabu was momentarily stunned, then let out a helpless smile. If he refused now, given how Teng Qingshan had put it, it would be an insult.

"Fine, I will accept it," Chabu conceded. "Brother Huhe, aren't you curious about the sparring outside? Come, let's go watch."

"Let's go," Teng Qingshan nodded with a smile.

"I want to go too!" The grassland child scrambled up instantly.

"Haha, we'll all go together," Teng Qingshan chuckled, taking the child's hand and stepping out of the yurt, following the strong man 'Chabu' toward the direction of the noise, heading northeast.

As he moved deeper into the camp, Teng Qingshan began to form a clearer picture of the Qilian Tribe: "The entire tribe seems to have just over a hundred yurts! Some are large, some are small. But judging by appearances... the total population is likely under a thousand. It's a small tribe."

By now, Teng Qingshan could see the two men sparring on a patch of grass ahead. One was tall, broad-shouldered, and powerfully built. The other was lean, like a wild wolf. Both wielded the curved sabers common on the grasslands.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The two dodged nimbly, constantly crossing paths. Occasionally, they landed heavy strikes on each other without holding back at all.

"Hah!"

"Hya!"

Both men were breathing heavily, eyes locked intently on their opponents.

"This training method is quite good—using wooden swords! And they even wrap the wood in sheepskin. Even if they strike with full force, the worst that can happen is injury," Teng Qingshan murmured approvingly.

Chabu laughed beside him. "Brother Huhe, what do you think of our tribe's warriors? The leaner one is our tribe's foremost warrior, 'Silan.' He has killed over a dozen horse bandits without suffering any significant wounds himself! Furthermore, even women from the 'Wanshi Tribe' are willing to marry Brother Silan." Chabu’s face was filled with pride and self-satisfaction.

"Not bad, very formidable," Teng Qingshan complimented graciously. "Your saber techniques, and the internal energy... where did you learn them?" Teng Qingshan could tell immediately that both men were trained in Neijin (Internal Energy). Otherwise, their movements wouldn't be so swift.

On the Nine Provinces continent, many commoners never had the chance to learn Neijin! Yet here, in the Qilian Tribe, a low-ranking small tribe, the two men fighting were both masters of internal energy. This truly astonished Teng Qingshan. "The few times I went to other tribes begging for food previously, I ate and left quickly; I didn't pay attention to whether they practiced Neijin!"

"Neijin? Saber techniques?" Chabu laughed. "On the great grasslands, only our northern tribes have access to learning Neijin and saber techniques! The central tribes and the southernmost tribes cannot learn them."

Teng Qingshan looked at Chabu in surprise.

"These saber techniques and Neijin were given to every tribe by the envoys from the Heavenly God Mountain!" Chabu said, his tone very respectful. "The envoys of the Heavenly God Mountain gave us hope! And they also said that if any man can lift a six-thousand-pound boulder, he can enter the Heavenly God Mountain and live there!"

Teng Qingshan was inwardly shocked!

A six-thousand-pound boulder?

Even on the Nine Provinces continent, anyone who could lift a two-thousand-pound boulder was considered a second-rate martial artist! Lifting ten thousand pounds made one a first-rate martial artist! Being able to lift five thousand pounds meant one was already quite formidable among second-rate martial artists. For instance, among the Black Armored Army of the Guiyuan Sect, only squad leaders typically possessed such strength.

"This Heavenly God Mountain dares to give the secret manuals for Neijin and saber techniques to all the surrounding tribes. Aren't they worried that spreading the manuals will cultivate forces capable of overthrowing them! That level of audacity is astonishing!" Teng Qingshan mused. On the Nine Provinces continent, no sect would scatter manuals of internal energy cultivation without good reason.

On the green grassland.

The two warriors of the tribe finally determined a victor.

"Silan, I yield!" The tall man was pinned to the ground, his back pressed down by his opponent's knee.

"Uncle Silan is the strongest!" the child beside Teng Qingshan shouted excitedly.

Teng Qingshan smiled, patting the child's head, then said to Chabu, "Brother Chabu, I have urgent matters and must continue my journey. I will take my leave now!"

"Leaving so soon?" Chabu asked.

Teng Qingshan was about to reply when his expression abruptly changed. He turned sharply towards the south. With his six senses, he could detect waves of tremor coming from that direction—the vibration caused by a large number of horses.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

"Horse bandits! Horse bandits!!!" Suddenly, a sharp cry tore through the quiet of the entire encampment.

Silan, still covered in sweat, changed expression instantly and let out a fierce roar. "The elderly and the children, retreat to the yurts! Men, follow me!"

The men rushed to the front, the women trailing behind, their faces set with fierce determination.

"Jilan, get into the yurt." Chabu shoved his son aside and then charged forward himself. At that moment, he had no time to attend to Teng Qingshan.

Teng Qingshan also followed the crowd towards the front lines.

"It's the Gale Tribe!"

"Gale!"

"It's the Gale!"

Utterly terrified shouts echoed from the southernmost edge, these shrieks of horror hitting the hearts of everyone in the tribe like massive hammers. The formerly fierce men and women, ready to tear the invaders apart, suddenly looked pale. Even the curved sabers they had raised were lowered.

"Hmm? What's going on?" Teng Qingshan quickly reached the front line. With one look, he saw a large contingent of knights, all clad in silver-grey battle armor, halted before the Qilian Tribe's assembled people. The tribal chief had already rushed to the very front.

"Esteemed Lords of the Gale Tribe," the silver-haired elder, wrapped in a heavy robe, bowed deeply.

The leader of the knights, seated atop his warhorse, directed his gaze, which seemed cold even through his visor, toward the chief. "Qilian Tribe! One year has passed. Your tribe has eight hundred and more people. Three taels of silver per person. Not counting the remainder, you owe a total of two thousand four hundred taels of silver!"

"Three taels of silver?" Teng Qingshan was greatly surprised.

Even in the wealthy Yangzhou, the White Horse Gang charged only half a tael per person as annual tribute. The grassland tribes were far poorer than the central Nine Provinces lands. For example, a family of four would owe twelve taels! On the grasslands, a low-ranking tribe like this one could hardly earn twelve taels combined in an entire year!

"Without eating or drinking, they can't even afford the silver. Are they trying to drive us to death?" Teng Qingshan's face darkened. "The Qilian Tribe has a somewhat fierce spirit, yet hearing the words 'Gale' shattered their courage. It's understandable, though." Teng Qingshan saw clearly that this bandit group was clad in uniform silver-grey armor, and their horses were top-tier war mounts. On the Nine Provinces continent, only the 'White Horse Battalion' of the White Horse Gang could barely compare.

"My Lord!" The chief suddenly dropped to his knees, pleading. "I beg you, grant our Qilian Tribe six months' time. We will surely gather it, but right now, we truly do not have that much silver!"

"If you don't have silver, why don't you rob other tribes?" the leader on horseback sneered. "On the great grasslands, useless tribes like yours have no right to exist. Since you cannot pay the silver... we follow the old rule!"

The faces of everyone in the Qilian Tribe changed drastically.

"Spare our lives."

"My Lord, spare us." Many people immediately knelt down.

Teng Qingshan felt a chill; what did 'the old rule' mean? Chabu, kneeling not far from Teng Qingshan, was also ashen-faced with terror as he begged.

"Brothers, begin!" the leader of the tribe commanded with icy eyes.

"Awooo~~"

One by one, the knights let out howls like mad wolves and raised their curved sabers high. Teng Qingshan was beginning to understand what their 'old rule' entailed.

"Why aren't they fighting back even at the brink of death?" Teng Qingshan felt confused; at the moment of death, one should at least fight back. He looked at Chabu, who was kneeling, whispering, "No, no—"

"They shared a meal with me, I'll help them once."

Teng Qingshan's cool gaze swept over the group of arrogant knights, who looked like a pack of wolves eager to devour the tribe.