Chapter 489

Rather than gloat over the victory, Ma Ying Jie tells his gathered tribesmen that warm pond valley’s warm pools make it an easily defended base ahead of the coming great blizzard, and that capturing over two hundred thousand terror claw horses will let his uncle Ma Zun’s horse group grow and strengthen Ma tribe’s standing at the coming heroes assembly. ^{ch. 489}

He tells the crowd his uncle has entrusted him with entering Imperial Court blessed land’s Eighty-Eight True Yang Building, whose bloodline requirement Ma Ying Jie claims to meet, to obtain Giant Sun Immortal Venerable’s inheritance and raise Ma tribe into a super tribe, and the tribesmen cheer wildly. None of it came from Ma Zun. Ma Ying Jie invented the words himself, confident his uncle will never contradict him, since the real Ma Zun is a taciturn recluse who cares only for horses and has never married. ^{ch. 489}

Ma Ying Jie explains that a devastating blizzard strikes northern plains every ten years, and that Imperial Court blessed land is the only shelter from it. Gu Masters across the plains have long left inheritances there, since the wild ones outside are destroyed by the storm. This is why the struggle to enter draws small, mid, and even large tribes together into a heroes assembly held region by region. ^{ch. 489}

A messenger delivers fresh intelligence: Dong Fang tribe has subjugated Zhao tribe to rule Cao Fu’s heroes assembly, Nu Er tribe has sent Nu Er Tu against Liu tribe in Meng Qiu region, and in Yu Tian region the Wolf King, Chang Shan Yin, has resurfaced and defeated Pei Yan Fei while leading Ge tribe against three tribes. Learning Ge tribe’s new leader is only a rank three youth raises everyone’s estimate of Chang Shan Yin further. ^{ch. 489}

Asked whether Chang Shan Yin could defeat Ma Zun, Ma Ying Jie answers that the Wolf King’s beast group is only ordinary turtleback, night, and wind wolves under three myriad beast kings, one already dead and another badly injured, next to Ma Zun’s own five hundred thousand strong horse group with a horse emperor, nine myriad beast kings, and five mutated horses. Still, he warns the tribe not to underestimate Chang Shan Yin, since joining a heroes assembly under a Huang Jin family’s backing could bring him major reinforcement. ^{ch. 489}

Below the hill, an unnamed thirteen year old boy, his aperture not yet awakened, throws himself weeping on a corpse he takes for his father, and his display of grief moves Ma Ying Jie to call him loyal and filial and claim him as a personal servant. The boy fights off the men sent to seize him, and only once caught does he realize the corpse is not his father’s, still crying out for him anyway and leaving the surrounding Ma tribesmen exasperated. ^{ch. 489}