The joyful atmosphere had yet to fade from the Statue Tribe, even though a whole week had passed. As an elder, Jion began his daily patrol in the morning after breakfast.
A week ago, their tribe's population was just over a hundred, but after the Snake Tribe joined, it had surged to 456. This was because the Snake Tribe had also absorbed survivors from other tribes they had previously destroyed.
With such a drastic increase in numbers, more than 250 houses had to be built within the past week. If Via had helped, the work would have been completed faster, but she was too busy with her cultivation.
As Jion patrolled the newly built houses extending westward and surrounding the lake to the north, he glanced at the sky. The weather was pleasant—since dawn, the sun had been shining, unobscured by the usual snow-filled clouds.
He greeted the new tribe members along the way until he came across a shaman from the Snake Tribe, accompanied by his familiar—a rock lizard.
They had shared all their tribe's cultivation techniques with the new members. Trust was essential for unity.
Jion approached him. "Kale, where is Kais?" He had grown accustomed to spotting Kais every morning during his patrol.
Kale bowed. "Elder, Shaman Kais went into the forest to find a psychic-attribute beast."
Jion nodded. "Is he alone?" He understood Kale's concern—his junior had recently bonded with a familiar, and in time, Kais would become a great shaman. Jion himself had been fortunate to find a psychic-attribute owl.
Kale shook his head. "No, Elder. He went with Chief Al's hunting party."
Jion had almost forgotten—Al had mentioned taking some members out to hunt.
With the tribe's rapid population growth, the valley's vegetation and fruit were no longer enough to sustain them. Fortunately, their tribe's strength had also increased.
After Ajis, Seamus had also advanced to the Spirit Blood Realm. While they still couldn't hunt magical beasts, they could now protect themselves.
Satisfied, Jion nodded and resumed his patrol, ending it at the lake. His gaze drifted toward a familiar figure—Via, sitting beneath a Blood Tree.
Jion with his spirit senses Via and finds her aura increase again. Her strength has been increasing every day for the past week.
She chooses the cultivation advice given by the totem. To help advance an ordinary plant to a magic plant, which helps her understanding of wood elemental energy.
The Blood Tree is not an ordinary tree but is also not a magic Tree, It falls in between. Evolving the Blood Tree may not help her advance directly to the Great Shaman Realm but it will advance to the limit of the Shaman Realm.
Then, She can bind a familiar, learn the magic spell of her familiar, and advance to the Great Shaman Realm or she can help another tree advance to a magic tree.
With a last glance at Via, He enters the tribe when he reaches the previous center of the tribe, where their totem is.
He found someone kneeling at the totem.
He did not care, for the past week, it become a normal phenomenon. After the totem awakened in a short time their tribe completely changed.
They are still a small tribe but now they are not weak among the small tribes. In their area maybe they are the strongest tribe. He does not know that any tribe in their vicinity has 6 shamans, 13 awakening blood realms hunters, 1 Great Shaman, 2 Spirit Blood hunters, and a magic beast.
And he has not even talked about their totem. He has never seen the totem with his eyes but in his spirit vision totem is under the stone statue in front of him.
In his spirit vision, the totem spirit is of silver color with golden spots. If observed in a shaman, then the Shaman is a quasi-Golden Shaman.
He is happy when he notices the kneeling man standing up and turns in his direction.
He finds it is Vak and his aura that is still turbulent, which means a few hours ago he advanced to the awakening blood realm hunter. He with happiness," Congratulations, Vak."
Vak is surprised to see the elder behind him, he says," Elder, Thank you."
" But this is all blessing of the totem."
Jion nods. Hearing this, he steps forward, pats his arm, and says, " I know, but this is also your effort. Without your effort, you would not be successful."
Jion then continues," Now, you should quickly go to the kitchen to eat some food to stabilize your realm."
Vak nods and walks toward the kitchen.
Jion then walks toward and enters his house.
----
Under the shade of a Blood Tree, Via slowly opened her eyes, only to find Vak standing in front of her. The last she had heard, he had been training nonstop, determined to advance to the Awakened Blood Realm.
She frowned. "Why are you here?"
Vak scrunched his face, furrowing his brows in silence for a few seconds before finally muttering, "I forgot…"
Hearing this, Via's annoyance flared. She wanted to beat him up—and she could. But he was her best friend. Taking a deep breath, she exhaled sharply and said with a huff, "Then leave. Or I'll make you."
Vak crossed his arms and smirked. "I've also advanced to the Blood Awakening Realm, hunter. We're the same strength now—I'm not afraid of you."
Via narrowed her eyes. He was either clueless or pretending to be. Did he think they were equals just because they had reached the same corresponding realm?
Every major realm had five smaller stages—Initial, Intermediate, Late, Peak, and Limit. Vak was barely at the Initial stage and had yet to master the power of the Blood Awakening Realm. Her spirit sense told her that he had only broken through a few hours ago.
She chuckled, smirking. He needs a lesson in knowing his place.
"Really?" she murmured, amusement lacing her tone.
At her command, a thick root surged from the Blood Tree behind her, snaking toward Vak.
His reflexes were sharp—he managed to dodge just in time, stepping out of its range. He turned to her, grinning at his successful escape. But before he could say a word, another root lashed out like a whip, moving faster than before. He had no time to react.
The strike landed squarely against Vak's stomach—not hard enough to seriously injure him, but enough to leave a mark. Had she used her full strength, he would have been bedridden for days.
Groaning, Vak pushed himself up, rubbing his sore stomach. "How did your strength increase so suddenly? And how can you control a tree without even touching it?"
Via's expression softened with reverence. "I'm following the Totem's guidance. As for this tree, I don't need to touch it to control it."
She had been helping the Blood Tree evolve into a magic tree, and with each passing day, her understanding of its mysteries deepened. The more she nurtured it, the stronger their connection became.
Vak's eyes widened slightly, but then, as if suddenly remembering something, he straightened. "I just remembered—I have something to tell you! But later!" Without another word, he turned and ran off.
Via watched him go, puzzled. He still didn't say why he came here in the first place.
But after a moment, she decided it didn't matter. Closing her eyes, she turned her focus inward, feeling the intricate energy lines within the Blood Tree behind her.
She could tell that in just a few days, her realm would reach the Peak Shaman stage. With her abilities, she could replicate the effects of consuming a Blood Fruit.
However, to truly evolve the Blood Tree to the next level, she first needed to fully comprehend its essence and then choose a direction for its transformation. This path to becoming a Great Shaman was far more difficult than the one the elder had taken—but she had no intention of turning back.
The longer a tree takes to bear fruit, the sweeter the harvest.
Clearing her mind, she let herself become immersed in the mysteries of the Blood Tree. The frozen wind howled around her, and as snowflakes began to drift down, she remained unmoved—focused, unwavering, and determined.