90: Appears in Chapter 90

Three days passed in a flash, amidst the surging undercurrents.

Myriad Races Market, Central Plaza.

The midday sun, like molten gold, poured down from the heavens, illuminating the entire vast open space protected by the ancient formation.

The grey stone pillars surrounding the plaza were over three zhang tall, their surfaces covered in dense, ancient runes. These runes emitted a faint blue glow in the sunlight, pulsing rhythmically like the breath of a slumbering beast.

This was the "Peace Barrier," an iron rule of the Central Wasteland Region that had stood for who knew how long. Anyone who resorted to violence within the market would, at the very least, have their spiritual power sealed, or at worst, be obliterated by the formation; no tribe had ever dared to test this bottom line.

But today, the air in the plaza was three times tenser than usual.

Because the Ten Thousand Races Assembly had brought together representatives from dozens of tribes, large and small, from across the Central Wasteland Region.

This was no ordinary trading day; it was a wrestling ground that would determine the future direction of the Central Wasteland Region.

A bronze gong stood in the center of the plaza, signaling the start of the assembly.

Surrounding the gong were stone seats arranged in concentric circles. Representatives from each tribe took their places according to their influence: the outermost circle held the chieftains and representatives of dozens of small tribes, the middle circle held the medium-sized tribes, and the innermost circle had only three seats—Chiyan, Black Stone, and Green Vine. The tripartite balance of power in the Central Wasteland Region was written into the arrangement of the stone seats.

The Chiyan Tribe entered first.

Chief Yan Lie arrived in person. A Tier 7 Barbarian Warrior, the Flame Warrior stood nearly two meters tall, his short red hair standing up like flames. His entire body radiated visible heat waves, resembling a walking furnace.

He wore the Chiyan Tribe's Flame Iron armor, the crimson plates resembling the texture of solidified magma under the sunlight. Every step he took carried the scorching pressure unique to a Flame Warrior.

Following behind him were Yan Wuyang and twenty Chiyan Barbarian Warriors; the procession looked like a burning fire snake winding across the plaza.

Yan Wuyang had changed into a more formal Yan clan ceremonial dress today. It still featured a short skirt and midriff-baring cut, but it had several more layers of fire-patterned silk ribbons than her outfit on the trading day.

The silk ribbons crossed from her shoulders and tied into a complex Yan clan knot at her waist and abdomen, cinching her honey-colored waist even tighter. The short skirt below swayed like a dancing flame as she walked, her long, toned thighs appearing and disappearing through the slits in the hem, the muscle lines like a taut bowstring.

Her fiery red hair was braided into a thick plait today, with the Chiyan Tribe's flame pendant tied to the end, swaying gently with her steps.

"Where are the people from the Bright Tribe?" Yan Wuyang stood on tiptoe, looking around, her amber eyes filled with undisguised curiosity.

Her father, Chief Yan Lie, strode toward the innermost stone seats without even glancing at the other tribes.

"What's the rush?" Chief Yan Lie didn't look back, his voice sounding like magma rolling in his throat. "Those who are meant to come will naturally come."

The Green Vine Tribe entered second.

Teng Ling brought five Vine Warriors and passed between the stone pillars on the east side of the plaza.

She had changed into a more formal vine-armor long dress today, with green vines extending from her shoulders to the hem, wrapping around her long, sizzling figure like green ribbons.

The design of the long dress was more sophisticated than the previous days; the vines tightened at the waist and were woven into a fine diamond pattern, as if the most exquisite weaver had wrapped them layer by layer around her slender waist, accentuating her breathtaking waist-to-hip curve.

The vine armor on her chest resembled a blooming flower, lifting her full silhouette to an astonishing height, with vines spreading down from her collarbone like green fingers grasping that lush curve.

The hem of the long dress was slightly slit, revealing her honey-colored calves and the vine-woven anklets as she walked. Her long legs looked like a gift wrapped in green ribbons, making people want to unwrap them.

Her emerald green hair was styled into a high bun today, secured by a hairpin woven from vines, with a thumb-sized white flower blooming at the tip, appearing like a touch of moonlight in the blue waves.

Her walking posture was lazy yet dangerous, like a leopard moving through a dense forest. Every step carried calculated elegance, and her gaze, like the most precise probe, swept across the plaza, taking in the expressions of every tribe.

"Chiyan arrived early enough," Teng Ling whispered to the Vine Warriors beside her, her emerald eyes lingering on Chief Yan Lie's back for a moment. "Chief Yan Lie came in person; it seems he is truly interested in the Bright Tribe."

The Black Stone Tribe entered last.

And they made the biggest entrance.

Chief Shi Ba brought thirty Barbarian Warriors, who pushed forward from the north side of the plaza like a moving stone formation.

His footsteps were heavy and slow, each step carrying the pressure unique to a brute-force warrior. His grey-brown stone skin gleamed coldly in the sunlight like rock.

Thirty Black Stone Barbarian Warriors followed behind him, all burly and fierce-eyed, like a pack of wild boars fed on brute force, charging and crashing about as if no one else existed.

Representatives of the small tribes along the way gave way, like a river parting before a giant boulder.

Chief Shi Ba walked to the innermost stone seats and plopped down. The stone seat gave a dull creak, as if bearing the weight of a small mountain.

His murky, earthy-yellow eyes swept across the plaza like a beast patrolling its territory, then his gaze rested on the entrance of the plaza, his mouth slightly curling to reveal a mouthful of yellow teeth.

He was waiting.

Waiting for the people from the Bright Tribe.

The bronze gong rang.

The host of the Ten Thousand Races Assembly was an elderly Elf Race merchant with long, pointed ears and snow-white hair. He stood beside the bronze gong in the center of the plaza, and his aged but clear voice, amplified by the Peace Barrier, reached every corner: "The Ten Thousand Races Assembly is officially open. As is customary, each tribe will introduce themselves in turn and showcase their trade."

His words were cut off by a boorish interruption.

"Cut the crap,"

Chief Shi Ba strode to the center of the plaza, his voice as a brute-force warrior sounding like thunder, making the ears of the small tribe representatives in the outermost circle ring. "Black Stone Tribe, Chief Shi Ba, Warrior Tier 6." He looked around, his murky, earthy-yellow eyes like two stones soaked in muddy water, lusterless, bearing only the numbness left after brute force crushed everything. "Anyone here who is dissatisfied, feel free to come at me."

The rules of the savage world were simple: strength is justice. Chief Shi Ba's Warrior Tier 6 was already top-tier combat power in the Central Wasteland Region; except for Chief Yan Lie in the south, no one present could rival him head-on.

His declaration was like a giant boulder thrown into a lake; it didn't stir up ripples, but silence.

Then his gaze swept toward the plaza entrance.

"I heard there's a new little chieftain today, from Guangming Village?" His voice carried a coarse mockery. "Where is he? Don't tell me he's too scared to show up?"

Laughter erupted from the thirty Black Stone Barbarian Warriors, sounding like stones striking stones—coarse and grating.

Then, at the plaza entrance, a golden light shone.

It wasn't sunlight; sunlight shone down from above, but this light rose from the ground.

Wang Sheng walked into the plaza of the Ten Thousand Races Assembly.