Chapter 2649 - 69: Defying Fate (Part 3)
Chapter 2649: Chapter 69: Defying Fate (Part 3)
They make offerings everywhere in hopes of finding refuge and self-preservation.
Many times, they don’t even know who their offerings ultimately go to.
The question of how much to "offer" is an endless abyss.
Essentially, apart from the barely subsistence-level food, all other "surplus" assets are thoroughly exploited.
And these "exploitation" activities include not just food and property but also people.
Especially young, beautiful tribal women.
This is the "bottom layer."
Of course, below the bottom layer are the "people" known as "Barbarian Slaves."
Barbarian slaves are generally defeated captives or members of the tribe who committed grave mistakes and were demoted to "slaves."
Children born from barbarian slaves are slaves for their entire lives.
Barbarian slaves are actually the most numerous "people" in the Danque Tribe.
In daily life, they are treated as pigs and dogs, cattle and horses, servants and laborers. During war, they are pawns and cannon fodder.
Barbarian slaves are not seen as "people," and nobody pays attention to them.
The death of a barbarian slave is no different from the death of a pig or a dog.
Yet, these barbarian slaves are, in fact, the "ignored," "sacrificed," "silent," and even "invisible" majority of the Danque Tribe and possibly the entire Great Wilderness.
They are actually the "foundation" of the entire structure of the Great Wilderness.
Their labor supports everything.
The value they create strengthens and enriches the tribe.
But they are reduced to the status of pigs and dogs, languishing below the bottom layer.
These seemingly powerful tribes of the Great Wilderness are essentially "pyramids" with blood flowing from bottom to top and oppression descending from top to bottom.
From the upper echelons, one sees only battles for power between kin.
From the lower layers, one sees strict hierarchies, extreme exploitation, bone-deep consumption, brutal livelihood, with barbarian slaves treated as inhuman entities—sharp contradictions abound.
Different perspectives reveal completely different issues.
The upper echelons, the flesh-eaters, won’t look at problems from the perspectives of the lower classes, let alone the barbarian slaves.
Once someone from the lower layers ascends to the upper layers, they too become "flesh-eaters."
In such endless cycles, contradictions in the Great Wilderness will persist eternally.
Mo Hua felt a wave of emotion.
Indeed, reading a thousand books and traveling a thousand miles.
One must go out and explore, travel far and wide, to truly and deeply understand the study of Tao Cultivation and the patterns of everything.
And to change the current situation of the large Danque Tribe, Dan Zhu, as the son of the chieftain with a naturally kind heart, is the best candidate.
Moreover, fortunately, Dan Zhu encountered Mo Hua early on.
Otherwise, once chaos erupted within the Danque Tribe, leading to warfare and fratricide.
Should Dan Zhu’s heart change, becoming cold and ruthless, even Mo Hua might not be able to change anything.
The most unpredictable thing in this world might be the human heart.
But the very thing worth cherishing is also the human heart.
With this in mind, for the next month, Mo Hua subtly "taught" Dan Zhu.
Guiding him to consider problems he had never thought of before.
And seemingly unintentionally, leading Dan Zhu to see scenes he had never witnessed.
Especially the barbarian slaves below the bottom layer, being whipped, cursed, abused, lacking sufficient food and clothing, looking terrified and fearful.
These were things Dan Zhu had never seen before.
Since childhood, he had been "protected" well.
Most of those around him were well-dressed "nobles," and even when he encountered some lower-level barbarian cultivators, they would be simple and grateful.
He truly hadn’t seen that there were people who lived like "livestock."
And such people had always lived in the Danque Tribe, even right around him, but he had never noticed them.
Dan Zhu’s horizons expanded, and his heart was profoundly affected.
In this world, the poor do not know how rich the rich are—this is ignorance.
Likewise, the rich do not know how poor the poor are—this too is a form of ignorance.
Under such "real," "harsh" reality shocks, Dan Zhu’s heart, concerning personal destiny, brotherly bonds, and his father’s approval—these "small self" worries began to fade.
Only after witnessing great hardship can one feel great sorrow.
With great sorrow comes the absence of the small self.
Dan Zhu’s heart underwent subtle changes, and his fate began to be reshaped bit by bit.
Mo Hua could clearly sense that Dan Zhu’s "destiny" had changed.
But he felt it was still not enough.
Dan Zhu’s realizations were only at the level of "knowing."
Knowing is ultimately "empty."
To transform "empty" into "real," one needs "action." Through action, one practices knowledge, ultimately transforming emptiness into reality, achieving unity of knowing and action.
But right now, Dan Zhu lacks the conditions and abilities for "action."
He has a high status, but he is merely the "mascot" of the Danque Tribe, a "symbol" of the tribe, with no ability to act independently.
It’s unnecessary to mention that this "unity of knowing and action" involves tribal power shifting and rebuilding lower-class structures.
This is certainly not a simple matter.
To achieve it, strong forces and transcendent strength are required.
Dan Zhu currently lacks these.
He only possesses natural talent, with cultivation far superior to his peers.
But his territory is small, trusted aides are few, supporters are insufficient, his power is limited, and he has no voice in major tribal affairs.
Previously, Dan Zhu’s acts of comforting the elderly and caring for children genuinely come from his heart and kindness, winning popularity.
But Mo Hua knew this "popularity" is too cheap and cannot be converted into true "combat power" or "support force."
This "popularity" is also easily destroyed.
From Mo Hua’s perspective, complex means are unnecessary. Just spread rumors saying Mr. Zhu is "hypocritical," "harsh," "improper conduct," "secretly rebellious," "likes eating children," etc...
Sow discord and spread them.
Under the influence of public opinion, Dan Zhu’s reputation would instantly be ruined.
Popularity, at its core, is such a thing—easily swayed by the wind, easily manipulated.
Popularity without the backing of strength is ultimately just flotsam.
Therefore, Dan Zhu must build his power and establish his foundation.
If he continues being the tribe’s "mascot," the consequences will be disastrous.
In moments of leisure, Mo Hua looks up at the sky, faintly sensing a hint of anxiety in the sky of the Great Wilderness.
He suspects in his heart that this is the heavenly secret reminding him of an unknown "great change" brewing, and the Great Wilderness may not have much time left.
Mo Hua’s computational power isn’t sufficient, knowing too few clues, thus unable to grasp what exactly this "major change" in heaven and earth is.
But he also knows that if things continue this sluggish way, like a frog boiled in warm water, eventually it will die.
Yet, as he previously stated, Dan Zhu has been "protected" well.
For now, Mo Hua has no method to help Dan Zhu escape constraints, to make achievements.
The situation is somewhat deadlocked.
Then, the incident occurred ten days later.
On this day, Mo Hua was studying the Four Symbols Beast Pattern in his room when he heard a commotion outside—a team hurriedly entered the main tribe.
These days, thanks to his shaman status and Dan Zhu’s name, Mo Hua had gotten quite familiar with some of the elders of the Danque Tribe.
After a little inquiry, Mo Hua learned what had happened:
A major tribal group called Shugu had a faction of barbarian cultivators that raided and attacked a small northern tribe of the Danque.
Elders and children were all killed, and young men and women were abducted and made "barbarian slaves."
This was tantamount to infringement and humiliation of the Danque Tribe.
The entire Danque Tribe was in fury.
Mo Hua frowned, feeling inexplicably uneasy.
He felt this incident seemed like a spark of some inevitable "cause."
Someone ignited this "cause" to create some projected result.
Yet, at the same time, Mo Hua keenly realized that amidst the chaos, his opportunity had arrived...