Chapter 515: Chapter 171: Explosion, Nine Yang, Year-End Gathering, Ghost Realm Expansion, Wolf Mother’s Warning

June.

The Nine Flames Ice Barbarians gathered on a land of ice and snow.

This place belongs to no clan; they came here only because they received the Barbarian King’s command.

The Nine Flames Sacred Artifact, the Barbarian King’s Token, obtained from the fire... these words formed the theme of today.

However, many barbarians held an attitude of both suspicion and expectation. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Expectation, of course, for what the Barbarian King’s Token might be.

Suspicion, of how could this thing become the Barbarian King’s Token?

In the wind, snow, and Eternal Night, Li Yuan held the Golden Giant Axe, standing atop an ice rock.

Around him, blazing flames roared; the giant axe, bathed in fire, appeared even more dazzling, radiating a brilliant light.

Under the illumination of this light, clusters of pitch-black figures approached.

Their faces were unclear, but they all surrounded Li Yuan, as if encircling the fire.

Li Yuan glanced around; there were roughly more than four thousand people, already the limit of the Ice Barbarians’ mobile population. The rest of the elderly, sick, and disabled remained at the clan camps, while others continued to dig everywhere in the frozen soil to search for food.

"This axe!"

Li Yuan suddenly shouted, making all the Ice Barbarians look toward him.

He continued, "It was obtained from the fire, a sacred artifact bestowed upon the Nine Flames by heaven and earth! Anyone who obtains it can receive the blessing of heaven and earth, and unleash their mightiest power!"

Li Yuan raised the Golden Giant Axe high, giving it a slight swing, appearing like a vermilion crescent drawn by a large brush in the wind and snow.

Axe and fire fused into one, imposing and majestic.

The expected doubt and anticipation appeared in the eyes of the Ice Barbarians.

Li Yuan said, "Tongrong Hu, you come."

"Yes!"

A burly, bald-headed figure with a metallic red sheen, like a copper statue, stepped forward.

He took a few steps, then respectfully knelt on one knee, holding both hands up as if waiting for a blessing.

This was the sacred ritual of the Nine Flames Clan, slightly modified and adopted by the Barbarian King here.

The flames on the golden axe extinguished, and Li Yuan stepped down from the giant rock, placing it into Tongrong Hu’s hands.

Tongrong Hu held up the axe.

He had heard Zhenyan Xiong speak of the axe’s mysteries, but he didn’t quite believe...

Yet the moment he grasped the axe, he felt a heat in his palm.

The yang qi inherently present in his flesh was attracted, transforming into strands that floated up, connecting with the axe, then seemingly entwining with a stronger yang qi, making him much stronger.

Tongrong Hu’s eyes widened like copper bells, feeling excitement igniting within, and the axe glowing...

It was as if what he held wasn’t a weapon, but a ball of fire.

"This is..."

He was somewhat excited, breathing heavily.

"This is..."

He suddenly shouted, charging into the distant snowfield, the giant axe in his hand swirling like a golden python.

The barbarians stared blankly.

The already powerful Tongrong Hu, at this moment, seemed to have received the power of heaven and earth in their eyes, becoming utterly invincible.

And with a roaring shout, Tongrong Hu swung the axe mightily toward the ground.

Rumble!!

Thud! Thud! Thud!!

Amid the roaring, ice and snow surged like angry waves, dust flying.

When it dissipated, a crack tens of meters long appeared on the ice, as wide and deep as a gorge, with hints of some frozen animals revealed inside.

The crowd of barbarians suddenly burst into an uproar.

The frozen soil, extremely solid ice, luckily had food frozen not too deep below, providing hope for the Nine Flames Clan to survive on this land.

On normal days, the young and strong barbarians had to chisel for a long time to break the ice surface. Even a clan leader could only break through a few meters at most.

But now, a gorge tens of meters long was right before their eyes; how could they not be amazed?

Tongrong Hu looked at the axe with fiery eyes, seeing the axe blade unscratched, growing even more excited.

He tightly gripped the axe, a fleeting hint of reluctance and greed in his eyes, but quickly returned, kneeling again before Li Yuan, holding up the axe, and shouted, "Heaven bless the Barbarian King, granting this token!!"

Li Yuan did not take the axe, saying, "Xuefang Yan, all of you try it."

Upon hearing this, the clan leaders, already eager and with reddened eyes, began their "trial journey."

Not testing was fine, but once they did, each clan leader looked at the axe as if it were a treasure.

All the barbarians understood: whoever possessed this axe improved their strength greatly and could become the Barbarian King!

However, Li Yuan continued letting other Sixth Grade Ice Barbarians try it.

Unlike the clan leaders, these Sixth Grade Ice Barbarians could not utilize the power of the golden axe at all.

Zhenyan Heichi was also among the testers.

The yang qi in his flesh was too weak to grasp the axe’s power.

Li Yuan watched silently, estimating in his mind: the rule seemed similar to the Shadow Blood Cultivator, requiring at least Fifth Grade to wield the Spiritual Artifact.

But this was also a good thing for the Barbarian Race, as not everyone desired the axe, and only a few Fifth Grade barbarian warriors would compete for it.

And during this process, Li Yuan noticed a trait of the Ice Barbarians: their martial skills were rather crude, causing only minor differences in power at the same grade, with no absolute standout.

For instance, in the Sixth Grade, as long as they weren’t aged, sick, or disabled, their power levels ranged between "600~800," and beyond that, not much more.

For example, among the Fifth Grade clan leaders, the strongest like Tongrong Hu reached "1800~1850," while the weakest had "1615~1650."

It could be said, the Ice Barbarians’ strength depended on physical growth, with little connection to acquired skill and refinement.