He just couldn’t figure out the reason for it at the moment—what exactly was the phantom that appeared after the tusked armored beast was burned to death?

After quieting down, his back pressed against the totem pillar, a warm current spread through his body. In a daze, his will once again merged with the totem pillar, and his thoughts drifted like threads into the void.

For a moment, he found that he could actually ‘see’ scenes from within the tribe, with the clanspeople living inside caves.

No wonder people say primitive society is good.

Hmm, better stop looking.

In the cave next door, a child was sprawled on the ground, getting spanked repeatedly on the buttocks. When a sturdy woman got tired, she switched with another man. Just looking at the kid, it was obvious his birth was an accident.

Reed was sharpening his stone knife inside the cave, while outside, Wade was watching Reed sharpen the blade. Under Wade’s gaze, Reed couldn’t help but shiver.

“I’ll go take a look outside the tribe.”

Finally, Reed couldn’t keep sharpening anymore. He grabbed his stone knife and headed out toward the valley, a flash of excitement in Wade’s eyes as he immediately followed after Reed.

In a cave to the west, Harris held a sharp bone dagger, stabbing at a cave painting shaped like a human figure on the wall, muttering under his breath.

“That’s for kicking me.”

……

His consciousness drifted above the entire tribe, and wherever there were clanspeople, Ethan Brooks could sense them. In a trance, he felt as if every clansperson was connected to the totem pillar by an invisible thread.

“Spiritual faith?”

A sudden realization lingered in his heart. After awakening, Ethan Brooks fell into deep thought—the totem was the spiritual anchor for all the clanspeople in the tribe.

But that was all. The tribe was filled with a sense of just muddling through, even Grant was like this.

Maybe the tribe had strived hard in the distant past, but after years without a new totem warrior being born, the tribe simply didn’t have the strength to expand outward, and that enterprising spirit gradually turned into a defensive mindset.

This was not the kind of scene he wanted.

Even after absorbing more than a dozen tusked beasts as sacrifices, it was still far from enough for the totem spirit. His own life-and-death crisis still hung over him.

Besides, he admitted he wasn’t the type to die rather than submit. What a pity about the system—if it hadn’t threatened him at the start, maybe he would have been groveling already.

If heaven gave him another chance, he’d definitely seize the system in his own hands. For now, he could only rely on himself.

After sighing, in the dimness, Ethan Brooks’s eyes gleamed with a sharp light, like a wolf spotting its prey. Time to act.

“Grant, the totem spirit has given me new guidance.”

He walked out from the depths of the cave and sat by the campfire, speaking to Grant. His large hand fiddled with the beast meat roasting over the fire—this was the tusked armored beast he had pierced in the jungle earlier, dragged back to the tribe by Reed.

The tusked beast, over two meters long, was a real feast for the tribe, and naturally, Grant and he got the best parts of the beast.

Grant’s eyes flickered. He hadn’t followed Ethan Brooks into the depths of the cave, but he had sensed the aura the totem pillar had just emitted.

“When I was young, I left the Ancient Mountains for the sake of shamanic arts and saw scenes outside the mountains. For our human tribe to survive in this wilderness has not been easy.”

“Mm.”

Hearing this, Ethan Brooks was momentarily stunned, then quickly responded, “Ethan will remember Grant’s teachings. The tribe is also where I make my home.”

Grant nodded, his eyes narrowing again as he focused on a tattered piece of animal hide in his hand, seemingly lost in contemplation of shamanic arts.

Ethan Brooks turned the meat over the fire and walked out of the cave. The clanspeople had already started to disperse. As dusk approached, the world gradually dimmed, creating a stifling atmosphere.

The scene before him made him shudder, as if a giant bloody mouth was about to swallow him whole under the night sky.

Chapter 11: Created Four Totem Warriors

Unknowingly, night had completely fallen. Ethan Brooks took a deep breath and turned to walk back into the cave. Even the sounds of lovemaking coming from the caves on either side couldn’t arouse his interest to sneak a peek.

For now, he still had to share a cave with Grant. There was no other choice; the tribe’s conditions were just like this.

He sat cross-legged again by the campfire. The beast meat roasting over the flames was golden, with hot fat constantly dripping into the fire, sending up bursts of flame.

Unfortunately, he had no appetite, staring blankly at the fire, lost in thought.

……

At dawn, a light mist curled around the mountains. After the silence of the night, the sounds of birds and beasts rang out again, and there was movement in the valley. After last night’s lovemaking, both men and women emerged from the caves full of energy.

However, whether it was the warriors preparing to go hunting or the women getting ready to gather yams and wild fruits, they were all called over to gather outside Grant’s cave.

The chief had something to say.

After digging a well for water and burning the tusked beast, Ethan Brooks had begun to establish his authority in the tribe.

All the clanspeople, young and old, male and female, gathered together, surrounding the entrance to Grant’s cave.

Ethan Brooks walked out of the cave, shading his eyes with his hand. Primitive society really was a hassle—he had no idea what time it was.