The wolf howls were bad enough, but then there was the beating of chests and stamping of feet, and with everyone dressed in tattered leather clothes, gathering together looked like a scene of utter chaos. Add to that the wailing of nursing infants, and some women didn’t care at all, simply pulling open their leather garments and forcefully stuffing their chests into the babies’ mouths. Witnessing this, Ethan Brooks couldn’t help but twitch the corner of his mouth.

But what could he do about it?

Right now, everyone was hungry and sleep-deprived—ideas like “see no evil” were utter nonsense.

Only when you’re well-fed and clothed do you have the luxury to care about such things. For now, forget it. If he said anything, these people might even tell him to try it himself.

He didn’t want to!

So he stayed silent, letting the clansmen wail and howl, beat their chests and stamp their feet. When the golden crow had risen two zhang above the eastern mountain, everyone was exhausted from shouting—after all, no one had eaten breakfast yet.

He waved to dismiss the crowd and called over Reed, who was about to go hunting. Ethan Brooks gathered all the totem warriors into the cave where Grant resided.

“Chieftain.”

“Shaman.”

Reed and the other totem warriors entered the cave and saw Grant seated above, while Ethan Brooks still sat by the side of the campfire, which now only had a faint residual warmth.

Hearing this, Ethan Brooks gave an almost imperceptible nod. It seemed the tribe was finally starting to take him seriously.

“In the past, the tribe was scattered and lacked cohesion. Every day, we only thought about survival. From now on, that must never happen again.”

Olivia Brooks spoke, and the totem warriors who had entered the cave all stopped in their tracks and looked at him.

“Sit down, all of you.”

Ethan Brooks gestured for Reed and the others to sit. Everyone sat cross-legged around the campfire.

“There are many powerful tribes out there. They rule the vast wilderness of the Qilian Mountains, commanding countless subordinate clans and warriors. Are you really content to spend your whole lives holed up in this little mountain hollow?”

With this, Ethan Brooks made everyone glance at Grant—he was the only one in the tribe who had ever left the Eternal Mountains.

But Grant’s gaze fell on Ethan Brooks. The people in the valley were all those he had gathered after the beast tide. Back then, Ethan Brooks was just a child, his family lost to the beast tide, and the farthest he’d ever been was over a few small hills outside the tribe. How could he know what the outside tribes were like?

Aside from a totem manifestation, Grant couldn’t think of any other explanation.

As the most knowledgeable person in the tribe, even he had only ever left the Eternal Mountains. He’d seen tribes stronger than the Xia tribe, but even those only had a thousand people at most—barely considered a lower-tier tribe. He’d heard there were middle-tier tribes above the lower ones, but had never seen them himself.

Ethan Brooks’s words ignited a fire in everyone’s eyes. Who didn’t want to see the outside world? But they simply didn’t have the strength.

The martial power of totem warriors at the Stone-Splitting Realm wasn’t even considered superhuman in this world. Without overwhelming strength, surviving in the wild and primitive mountains was just wishful thinking.

Fortunately, humans are social creatures—smarter than the wild beasts out there.

Seeing the changing expressions of the totem warriors before him, Ethan Brooks felt he should give them a goal.

Chapter 13: Family Assets

Seated around the campfire, Ethan Brooks didn’t put on any airs. After all, the tribe’s strength was so limited—there was no point in showing off to his own people.

“In the presence of the great totem, tell me—do you truly want to stay holed up in this mountain ravine forever?”

Ethan Brooks’s gaze burned as he looked at each person present. He believed everyone had their own thoughts. In the past, there was no opportunity, but once the environment allowed, something called ambition would take root and grow.

“No!”

“I don’t want to!”

Seeing Ethan Brooks’s gaze sweep over, Henry Harris clenched his fist and shouted.

“I want to go out and see what’s beyond the mountains too, but I never dared to go deep into the mountains before.”

“I don’t want to stay in this remote place either.”

Ethan Brooks slapped his big hand down and continued, “It’s not hard to go out, but what’s hard is for our whole tribe to leave the mountains together, to live in a more prosperous place, so that the children of our clan won’t have to suffer hunger and fear like we did!”

His words were actually quite ambiguous—even lower- and middle-tier tribes with official ranks were nothing special in this wilderness. The ancient, wild land was full of dangers.

But that didn’t stop him from saying it now to inspire the tribe’s warriors.

And it worked well—totem warriors of the tribe responded to this kind of talk.

He glanced again at Harris, and Henry Harris was stunned for a moment, then said, “Chieftain, I’ll follow you.”

“Chieftain, I’ll follow you too.”

“Chieftain, just tell us what to do.”

Henry Harris spoke, and Bruce, Dale, and Grant immediately responded.

What a good chieftain—not only did he not hold their earlier offense against the crocodile against them, he even invoked the totem pillar and made them totem warriors.

Such kindness could never be repaid.

The four totem warriors who had been promoted by Ethan Brooks through the totem pillar naturally felt loyal to him as chieftain.

As for Reed, his actions these past few days had not been in vain either.

In some ways, a small tribe had its advantages—less infighting, easier to win people’s hearts.

Ethan Brooks’s actions in recent days had already earned their recognition and respect.

“Good.”