Chapter 321 – The Strong Claim Everything; Grand Elder Jen’Gal Yuan - Part 2
Li Yuan and Snow walked deeper into the settlement. The farther they went, the brighter it grew, until the glow converged on a bonfire the size of a basketball court. No wood fed the blaze, yet the flames never faltered; they burned high and clean, giving off no smoke, only warmth.
The heat drove the eternal frost back, and Li Yuan felt the congealed blood energy in his veins begin to stir. His strength climbed from seventh rank toward sixth. If he lingered long enough, he reckoned he’d return to fifth rank.
Beyond the fire, rough walls of sky-blue ice rose like a simple palisade, holding back the black, wind-torn wilderness.
Beside the fire rose rows of hide-tents. Men, women and children poked their heads out, staring at the newcomer.
Compared with the people from the Great Zhou, these Ice Folk were easy to tell apart. They were tall and long-limbed, with fair skin like fresh snow, and eyes that glowed a soft ruby red, as if warm gems had been set in ice.
Above every head drifted a faint string of numbers.
The children and elderly hovered around 200~300; the slighter men and women sat at 350~500; and the sturdier few stood at 600~800.
One more thing leapt out at Li Yuan. The sexes were anything but evenly spread.
A lone man might squat by a tent far from the fire, shoulders slumped in defeat; yet nearer the blaze, another man would lounge in front of a tent crowded with several striking women, every stride of his radiating strength and predatory confidence.
Catching Li Yuan’s look, Snow explained, “Here the strong can take several wives, and the weak take none. The chieftain says that’s how we breed stronger children, and a stronger tribe.”
“And the other tribes?” Li Yuan asked.
“Some run with the wolves,” she said. “Some flock like sheep.”