The blue light faded, the divine form dissolved, and he felt a blazing power coursing through his body, sweeping away all previous weakness.

Opening his eyes, he saw Grant kneeling on the ground, awe flickering in his eyes.

The totem had truly manifested its power!

Ethan really could communicate with the totem.

At this moment, Grant no longer doubted what Ethan Brooks had said.

Only a great totem could allow an injured person to become a true totem warrior in such a short time.

“Dare to slap me to death? I curse you and this tribe to perish together.”

Suddenly, a voice sounded in his ear again. Ethan Brooks hurriedly looked around, only to find Grant still reverently worshipping the totem, with nothing else unusual.

Clearly, only he could hear this voice.

“Without my help, you’re dead for sure.”

“A tiny settlement that’s not even a real tribe, without a totem sanctuary—the totem spirit will wither away soon. Without my help, how will you unite the tribe, how will you worship the totem? Your blood and the totem have already merged into one. Just wait for death!”

Ethan Brooks walked up to the totem stone pillar, placing his large hand on the bloodstain. The cold stone seemed to gain warmth, as if it shared a bond of flesh and blood with him.

He sensed a faint, misty blue light gathering deep within the totem pillar. Cracks covered the weathered pillar, and it would completely shatter before long.

Within the illusory blue light, a blurry figure was curled up. Threads of blue light drifted outward, gradually dissipating.

This feeling gave him a sense of crisis, as if his own life was withering away.

The totem!

No wonder the tribe hadn’t produced a totem warrior in so long—the totem spirit deep within the pillar was dispersing, and likely wouldn’t last much longer.

“When the totem spirit is gone, your life will end as well. Without my help, you’re dead for sure.”

The gloomy voice echoed in his mind, cursing him again and again.

“Are you going to die or not!”

Ethan Brooks slapped the totem pillar hard and said viciously, “I just won’t die—let that piss you off.”

“With my last bit of strength, I curse you and this wretched tribe to perish together.”

“Goodbye.”

“Ethan Brooks, screw your uncle…”

Chapter 4: From Now On, I Am Your Chieftain

The totem is the source of the tribe’s worship and faith, the foundation upon which the human race survives in the wild lands. The totem unites the people, brings them together, and must be worshipped.

In a true tribe, there is a totem sanctuary, a totem pillar is forged, and every year sacrifices are made. Offerings of blood and food invoke the totem’s manifestation, allowing the people to visualize the totem and thus inscribe the totem mark, becoming totem warriors.

Therefore, the totem can be said to be the most important existence in the entire tribe. Without a totem, a tribe cannot form at all—even if people gather together, they will soon fall apart.

In the cave, Ethan Brooks leaned against the totem pillar, clearly feeling the weakness of the totem spirit, like a faint candle flame that could be blown out by a gust of wind.

In an instant, a sense of crisis loomed over him.

Once the totem spirit dispersed, he would perish as well.

Obviously, this was the doing of that system he accidentally slapped to death in its final moments.

Could he really be blamed for this?

There are thousands of systems in the world—why did it have to turn into a mosquito? Wasn’t it just asking to be slapped?

After a long while, no more voices sounded in his mind. It seemed the unlucky system had truly vanished without a trace.

Seeing the devout Grant looking at him while worshipping the totem, Ethan Brooks rolled his eyes and said, “The great totem has chosen me to lead the tribe to greatness.”

Grant was the most revered figure in the entire tribe. As long as he won over Grant, uniting the tribe would be no problem.

The sense of crisis from the totem pillar made him very uncomfortable. Damn system, still making trouble for him even in death.

He had figured out his current situation: his predecessor had smashed his head against the totem pillar, forming a contract with it. Even though his predecessor was dead, the contract still bound him.

This world was incredibly wild. Venturing out alone was suicide—only by sticking together could one survive.

Besides, his life was now tied to this withering pillar. If he wanted to survive, he had to prolong the totem’s life first.

Relying on himself alone was clearly impossible. Although this tribe was pitifully small, it was still his best option for now.

Grant once again devoutly worshipped the totem pillar, chanting words Ethan Brooks couldn’t understand, and only after a long while did he rise.

The totem had manifested—of course he believed Ethan Brooks’s words.

Their entire tribe had fewer than two hundred people, the totem was broken, and there were only two and a half totem warriors.

Oh, wait, now there were three and a half, counting Ethan Brooks.

Only the totem possessed the great power to make someone a totem warrior directly.

In fact, they didn’t even deserve to be called a tribe. Even the lowest tribes had far more people and warriors than they could ever hope for.