This was completely different than what he had experienced in the Southern Domain and the Black Lands. It was almost like the people here… were somewhat naive.

“No way,” thought Meng Hao. “Aren’t the Western Desert Cultivators supposed to be cruel and ruthless? I thought that because the land is barren, everything existed in a state of chaos.” He really couldn’t figure it out. Even as he hesitated, he suddenly saw a streak of light off in the distance. It transformed into a middle-aged man who wore a haughty expression. He was tall and strapping, and after landing, he immediately expressed his desire to become a va.s.sal.

Wu Hai seemed to have some apprehensions, but nonetheless, he handed the man a command medallion and then let him enter.

Seeing this happen caused even more disbelief to fill Meng Hao’s heart.

Seeing Meng Hao continuing to hesitate, Wu Hai laughed and then said, “Fellow Daoist, you still haven’t made up your mind? Come, join the Crow Scout Tribe! Glory awaits you!”

“Considering the level of my Cultivation base, what exactly will I have to do if I become a Crow Scout Tribe va.s.sal?” asked Meng Hao, hesitation visible in his eyes.

“Fellow Daoist, your Cultivation base is excellent. Generally speaking, va.s.sals of the Crow Scout Tribe have two options during their probationary period. The first is to become a Battle Cultivator and join the Va.s.sal Corps. If you serve the Tribe well in that capacity, your probationary period may even be shortened.

“The other option is to raise low-level neo-demons. I personally think that you are more suitable for the latter. What do you say? There’s no danger involved in being a Neo-Demon Kennelist. Furthermore, you also have the option of lessening the probation period if you do a good job raising the neo-demons. Besides, after officially becoming adults, all members of the Tribe need neo-demons, and will likely come to you for help.

“Brother,” he said loudly, slapping his chest, “listen to Wu Hai, and you can’t go wrong!”

An imperceptible flicker pa.s.sed through Meng Hao’s eyes when he heard the word ‘neo-demon.’ He suddenly thought of the beasts and Dragoneers he had seen back in Holy Snow City. After a moment’s thought, he also recalled something from the jade slip with the introductions to the various Tribes.

In the Western Desert, the strength of a Tribe was determined by three factors. The first was its manpower, the second was the number of neo-demons it possessed, and the third was the level of Cultivation base of its powerful experts. Weakness in any of these areas would directly affect the overall power of the Tribe.

It also revealed the importance of neo-demons in the Western Desert.

After considering these points, Meng Hao made his decision. Regardless of how unbelievably easy it was to become a Crow Scout Tribe va.s.sal, and even if there was some hidden secret lying therein, he was here. He had no real reason not to proceed.

Just as he was about to nod in agreement, a tremor ran through his mind and he looked up into the sky.

Simultaneously, four prismatic beams of light could be seen whistling toward them through the air. Inside were four Western Desert Cultivators who were all glaring at each other coldly, but were flying together nonetheless.

Wu Hai also saw the four beams of light, and his expression suddenly changed. His voice urgent, he said to Meng Hao, “What do you say, bro. You need to decide quickly whether or not you want to join the Crow Scout Tribe….” Before he could even finish speaking, the four beams of light had arrived.

“There’s no need to answer so quickly, Fellow Daoist! The Crow Soldier Tribe is the best decision for you!”

“Nonsense! The Crow Gloom Tribe is the most powerful!”

“Shut up, you two! The Crow Fighter Tribe is the true successor of the Crow Divinity Tribe!”

All four of the newly arrived Cultivators appeared to be roughly thirty years of age. Each one was in the Foundation Establishment stage, and they continued to talk incessantly.

Meng Hao’s eyes glittered. Smiling, he said nothing.

Wu Hai looked furiously at the four newcomers, his eyes beaming with ill will.

“Hey, do you want to start a Great War of the Crow Divinity today?” he said, taking a step forward and emanating power from his Cultivation base. The four newcomers laughed as they approached.

“Don’t blame me! The Crow Fighter Tribe found me first, and then we went around to the other Tribes. After making a big circle, we came around here.”

Wu Hai was furious, but there was nothing he could do. He had actually partic.i.p.ated in similar affairs quite a few times recently. “Dammit,” he thought, “Whenever it comes time to recruit va.s.sals, the Tribes will go to any lengths to s.n.a.t.c.h va.s.sals away from the others. They’ll do anything, above board, sneaky, sometimes even both.”

One of the four once again spoke up. “Fellow Daoist, don’t listen to him. The Crow Flame Tribe is the most powerful of all the Tribes. If you become a va.s.sal of the Crow Flame Tribe, you will receive much better compensation than you will get here.”

Based on his experiences, it was easy for Meng Hao to understand what was going on between the Tribes. With a slight smile on his face, he took two steps back, opting not to involve himself in the conversation.

“Fine,” said Wu Hai with a cold laugh. Emanating power from his Cultivation base, he slowly said, “So, you do want to use a Great War of the Crow Divinity to decide which Tribe this Fellow Daoist chooses!”

The other four exchanged glances, serious expressions filling their faces.

Quite a few members of the Crow Scout Tribe had noticed what was happening, and approached, forming a ring around them. No one made any moves, but rather, had expressions of interest on their faces. It seemed this situation was not only something they were used to, but something they found amusing.

“Great War of the Crow Divinity?” thought Meng Hao. “Great, I can use this chance to see how these five particular Tribes differ from each other.” He once again backed up a few steps, curious as to why all of the surrounding Tribe members had such relaxed expressions on their faces.

The Cultivator from the Crow Soldier Tribe stepped forward suddenly and said, “The Crow Soldier Tribe will go first this time. The Crow Soldier Tribe was the first Tribe to form after the dissolution of the great Crow Divinity Tribe. Our totem is a Demonic Soldier, and we are the inheritors of the Western Desert! In all the Western Desert, if the Crow Soldier Tribe can’t accomplish something, then who can!?”

The Tribe member from the Crow Fighter Tribe stepped forward, his face filled with both determination and a bit of madness. “The Crow Fighter Tribe is the true successor of the great Crow Divinity Tribe!” he cried. “We hold the entire Western Desert in the palm of our hand! Who could possibly compete with us!”

Suddenly, some of the onlookers began to cry out curses.

“How brazen!”

“Too shameless! How could you possibly describe your Tribe in such terms!”

Meng Hao stood off to the side, his brow furrowed. It seemed this Great War of the Crow Divinity was not going at all how he had expected it would.

“Hmph! It doesn’t matter if you’re the true successors or not. All I know is that before the Crow Divinity Tribe even began its rise, only Crow Flame Tribe existed. Our ancestor set the entire Western Desert aflame for a hundred thousand years!”

“You people are all nothing! The only reason the Western Desert is even called the Western Desert is because of the existence of the Crow Gloom Tribe. It wouldn’t be here without us!”

As they continued to talk, Meng Hao’s expression continued to grow stranger. Then, he began to sigh inwardly. He finally realized that the reason everyone was gathered around was because this so-called Great War of the Crow Divinity was nothing more than a bragging contest!

There was no use of magical techniques or Cultivation base. It was all boasting.

Whichever Tribe managed to brag good enough in front of the va.s.sal….

Meng Hao coughed slightly. He had never seen any sort of compet.i.tion like this before.

“You people are nothing! The Crow Scout Tribe is the inheritor of the Western Desert. We understand the Cosmos. Our totem is a magnificent tree that supports the sky above the Western Desert!” Wu Hai finished with a roar. In terms of both his wording and his style, he was obviously not equal to the others. As soon as the words left his mouth, sneers appeared in the eyes of the others.

Inwardly, Meng Hao was shaking his head. Wu Hai’s words showed that he didn’t really understand the basic tenets of bragging. After Wu Hai finished speaking, Meng Hao cleared his throat, then clasped hands toward the group.

“Many thanks for the honor you have shown me, Fellow Daoists,” he said. “Unfortunately, my final decision is to join the Crow Scout Tribe.” He smiled and bowed to them.

Wu Hai’s expression instantly lifted. However, the faces of the other four were unsightly.

“Don’t tell me you despise the Crow Flame Tribe, Fellow Daoist!”

“Yeah, are you looking down on us? If we hadn’t started the Great War of the Crow Divinity, it wouldn’t matter. But now that we have, if you pick a Tribe, you have to state the reason why!”

All four of the others were now staring at Meng Hao, looking annoyed.

A slightly bashful look appeared on Meng Hao’s face. He now felt obliged to help these people to understand what bragging truly was.

Bragging was something that was eternally a part of Heaven and Earth. It had existed for as long as life itself. No person could escape its talons; no Cultivator alive could resist its enticement.

It was omniscient; after all, its existence was eternal.

Meng Hao cleared his throat. The bashfulness on his face was now covered with a layer of something that looked like holiness.

“The reason I picked the Crow Scout Tribe, is because it supports the sky above the Western Desert. The great tree totem that they control, is actually the Spring and Autumn tree, the ancient World Tree, that great ancient bridge between the Heavens and the Earth!

“In its eyes, the Western Desert is nothing more than a wrinkle in the great stream of Time. In its heart, the entire world is nothing more than a blink during one of the countless times that it awakens and opens its eyes.

“The Crow Scout Tribe has mastered the eternity of Time, and controls the four seasons of Heaven and Earth!” Meng Hao’s voice echoed back and forth. The four Western Desert Cultivators stared in shock. It felt as if some great power were shaking their hearts, causing their scalps to go numb. They were looking at Meng Hao as if he were some kind of ghost.

“Shameless!!”

“Too brazen! I’ve never seen someone so shameless. You’re not even a member of the Crow Scout Tribe, how could you possibly describe them in such an exaggerated way!!”

“Dammit, according to his description, the Crow Scout Tribe is even more grand and unfathomable than the Crow Divinity Tribe! Completely brazen!!”

As the four Cultivators cursed Meng Hao, Wu Hai looked at him with wide eyes. He suddenly started to feel a bit flushed. The surrounding members of the Crow Scout Tribe were all looking at him with expressions of disbelief.

His voice filled with emotion, Meng Hao continued, “The great tree of the Crow Scout Tribe has given birth to innumerable lives. The Great Tang in the Eastern Lands came into being because a spring was formed by a drop of water that fell off of a leaf of the great tree of the Crow Scout Tribe. The disconsolate call of the Qiang flute of the Northern Reaches exists because of a single frowning glance from the great tree of the Crow Scout Tribe.

“All of the fertility in the Southern Domain is because the great tree of the Crow Scout Tribe bestowed it with a single grain of soil. And as for the Western Desert… it is the home of this great tree, and home of the Crow Scout Tribe!

“The Crow Scout Tribe is worthy of the greatest admiration, holy. It is the sky of the Western Desert, the clouds of the Southern Domain, the object of wors.h.i.+p of the Northern Reaches, and the saint of the Eastern Lands!” As Meng Hao’s voice echoed out, Wu Hai’s face grew red, and his expression somewhat blank. A single question filled his mind.

“Is he really talking about the Crow Scout Tribe?”

It wasn’t just him that was thinking this. It was all of the Crow Scout Tribe members. Each and every one had strange looks on their faces, and couldn’t help but feel a bit excited.