Chapter 1668 The Need for Brute Force
The management style of the Savage Power Tavern fully embodied the characteristics of the Barbarian Tribe.
Wine, it flowed freely.
Meat, it was plentiful.
The wine was strong, brewed from the blood of Desolate Beasts, crimson red like fresh blood.
There was much meat, carved from the bodies of Desolate Beasts, piled into giant stone cauldrons and boiled; large, hefty chunks. Whatever you fancied, you simply fished it out yourself. Whenever the supply ran low, the owner would toss a few more chunks in.
Be it the wine or the meat, the Barbarian Warriors inside the tavern served themselves.
Of course, not a single coin less was paid for the wine or meat.
Great axes, hefty cudgels, or Iron Hammers lay casually on the ground. Every barbarian bared his upper torso, displaying thick, powerful muscles.
Inside the Savage Power Tavern, barbarians drank from huge barrels, gnawed massive chunks of meat, and at the slightest disagreement, they'd wrestle wrists to see who possessed greater strength.
The entire tavern was perpetually noisy and rambunctious, extraordinarily lively. Some boasted and chattered, others roared challenges for arm wrestling matches, while still others stood on tables loudly singing as they gulped wine down.
In one word: savage.
In two words: utterly barbaric.
This was the true essence of their style.
There were two owners: one a male barbarian and the other female.
The female barbarian was responsible for replenishing the tavern's wine and meat, while the male barbarian joined in the raucous drinking and cheering with the patrons, creating an incredible uproar.
Compared to outside, the tavern had a few more rules.
Though savage, the barbarians who frequented it understood some things couldn’t be violated, so fights didn’t break out at the slightest provocation.
No other barbarians came over to provoke anyone at Sun Hao’s stone table either.
Especially after the Border Collie appeared beside the table to share the food and drink with Sun Hao, the other barbarians regarded Sun Hao with utter disdain. He showed no reaction typical of a barbarian’s brute strength and actually kept a scrawny, pathetic-looking mutt? Clearly, a spoiled second-generation wastrel of some barbarian tribe.
To Barbarians who prized strength and individual power above all, such second-generation heirs were objects of scorn. Undoubtedly, this one likely hailed from a newly risen tribe, here in the Ancient Barbarian City purely as a spectator.
Sun Hao relaxed, drinking and eating, not stirring up trouble but acting entirely like a spectator. Yet, every moment, he paid attention to the commotion within the tavern, gathering scraps of useful information. Gradually, from the loose tongues of the barbarians, Sun Hao pieced together many facts.
The Jianghe Tribe was too small, and even the Nine Star Li Tribe wasn’t much better. Their understanding of the Ancient Barbarian City was minimal. Moreover, having long been absent from the Great City’s selection process, they truly did not know the current rules governing entry.
As Sun Hao listened to the barbarians' loud bragging, he inadvertently frowned.
Trying to enter the Middle Void through the Barbarian Tribe’s path entailed significant uncertainty.
From their boasts, Sun Hao understood that these seemingly ferocious fighters, including those brawling in the streets, were all desperately showcasing themselves, hoping luck would favor them and they'd earn the qualification to enter the Middle Void.
Overall, among the millions of Barbarian Warriors who came to the Ancient Barbarian City seeking their fortune, fewer than a hundred would actually enter the Middle Void – a staggeringly low ratio.
There were two pathways into the Middle Void.
The first was to fight in the Barbarian Arena.
After the grand event officially began, ten Barbarian Arenas would be erected within the Great City.
Tough Barbarian Warriors could choose to fight in the Arenas.
The rules of the Barbarian Arena were simple: hold out for five days, or defeat one hundred challengers to advance to the next round.
The first round would select a thousand Barbarian Warriors; whenever this thousand was selected, the next round commenced.
The rules of the Barbarian Arena? There were none. Fight any way you wanted. Kill an opponent? No punishment.
After the thousand Warriors were chosen, it progressed to straightforward one-on-one sparring. The winner advanced, the loser was eliminated.
The final top ten contenders gained entry to the Middle Void.
This ratio was incredibly low.
The Barbarian Arena offered only ten slots, yet over a million Barbarian Warriors competed for them. The difficulty was beyond imagination, and truthfully, inside the Savage Power Tavern, very few felt confident of making the top ten.
Including Sun Hao, who wasn't entirely sure if, with his Qi Refining strength suppressed and relying solely on the Barbaric Decapitated Diety Art, he could guarantee a top-ten spot.
The path with the most slots into the Middle Void was the second method: it relied on pure luck. Barbarian Warriors desperately displayed themselves within the Ancient Barbarian City, hoping against hope to be "struck by the pie," as it were.
From the barbarians’ talk, Sun Hao gleaned that within the Middle Void, the Barbarian Tribe itself had become either a vassal or a constituent part of even more formidable races.
Every time the Ancient Barbarian City opened, powerful races from the Middle Void – such as the Witch Clan, the Warlock Clan, the Fire Phoenix Clan, and others – might dispatch their scions to select Barbarian Warriors to serve as bodyguards or Guardian Knights.
Upon ascending to the Middle Void, after completing a certain term of service or specific duties, the warrior could terminate the contract and gain the freedom to travel within the Middle Void.
However, the barbarians alluded, the perilous Middle Void, while full of opportunities, was equally rife with treachery. For straightforward Barbarian Warriors, attaching themselves to a powerful clan was the most sensible path for development.
Every thousand years, during the grand event, around eighty luck-seekers from the Ancient Barbarian City, alongside the ten combat arena victors, would become the Great Warriors who could genuinely pursue the Great Path and continue advancing powerfully. Their home Barbarian Tribes would receive substantial rewards.
On the face of it, eighty-plus places seemed substantial, and the criteria weren’t fixed in stone – anyone could have a chance.
But listening to the heated discussions of the barbarians, Sun Hao realized that the chances for every Barbarian present, including himself, were extremely slim... unless he chose to expose his true identity.
The likelihood hinged drastically on the status of the warrior within the Ancient Barbarian City.
The lowest tier within the city comprised the barbarians brawling in the streets and wrestling wrists in taverns. These mostly hailed from tribes of modest strength – newly powerful tribes or individuals with some personal prowess.
They were the ones desperately hoping to get lucky through sheer fortune.
Above them was a tier known as "Noble Barbarians." These were barbarians born within prominent, established tribes, possessing quarters within the Ancient Barbarian City itself, and maintaining connections, however trace, to major clans within the Middle Void.
Their chances of entering the Middle Void were undeniably higher than those of ordinary barbarians.
Above the Noble Barbarians was yet another tier – the "Kingly Barbarians." Flowing within these barbarians was the bloodline of Ancient Giant Barbarians. They were exceedingly rare. When one appeared, they were virtually guaranteed to be selected.
For instance, while Sun Hao remained in the tavern, he witnessed a tall Barbarian Warrior, possessing exceptionally long arms ending in what seemed like sharp claws, stride towards the Core Area under the awed, envious gazes of the others.
An Ancient "Behemoth" bloodline? Such a Kingly Barbarian coming of age was pretty much assured a spot once they chose to enter the selection.
The chances of being chosen ascended through these three barbarian tiers. Those in taverns like this? Basically relying on sheer luck.
However, if Sun Hao was willing, if he exposed his status as a Hero... entry to the Middle Void would be absolute.
Beyond just entry, above these three tiers existed individuals who not only were guaranteed entry but could also freely choose their patrons.
These were the Heroes of the Barbarian Tribe.
Heroes didn't necessarily emerge every time the Lower Void Battlefield erupted. But when one did, especially a Hero bearing the First-grade Purple-Gold Belt... such an individual became highly coveted by the major clans of the Middle Void.
They could choose their masters – an arrangement better framed as a cooperative, mutually beneficial partnership.
Sun Hao, as the unique First-grade Purple-Gold Belt Hero, would instantly become the object of fierce competition upon revealing his identity. Simultaneously, this singular status made it highly probable Jodan would find him.
That outcome absolutely did not align with Sun Hao’s goals.
The best, most practical route for Sun Hao to enter the Middle Void was likely still fighting in the Barbarian Arena. Relying purely on his strength, fighting his way into the top ten to secure qualification seemed the most certain path.
Fighting in the Barbarian Arena was risky, especially within the Ancient Barbarian City’s energy suppressing other abilities, limiting him solely to brute force. For Sun Hao, this felt like having most of his limbs bound. Truly emerging from amidst millions of Warriors? It was far from assured.
Quietly drinking in the tavern, Sun Hao’s mind gradually settled. Waiting for the grand selection to begin. The Barbarian Arena? He was determined on this path. The only questions were when to enter the arena, and precisely what level of strength he needed to display. These required careful consideration.
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