For the next three days Wei Xian truly never set foot outside her tent.
All daily affairs of the Tribe were handled by the High Priestess, Eliza.
This only strengthened the women's rumor: after that one night their Chief could barely leave her bed.
Wu Liang's 'heroic feat' made him instantly famous throughout Black Rock Tribe.
Each of those three days a Female Warrior delivered the choicest food to his tent; eating and drinking were the least of his worries.
The fare was bland—short on salt and flavor—but life was pleasantly idle.
Now and then Wu Liang strolled outside, wandering the camp to observe how this primitive Tribe functioned.
Black Rock Tribe numbered a little over three hundred women, split into hunting, gathering, and guard teams.
Their weapons were crude: polished stone axes, stone spears, and bone implements.
Life was starkly primitive—simple hide tents for shelter, food from hunts and foraging, and hunger a common visitor.
When the old or infirm could no longer work, they usually chose to 'return to nature' during lean winters.
A decade had passed since the last captured male seed; population growth had virtually stalled.
Wu Liang was puzzled.
Had no baby boys been born in that time?
They had.
Newborn boys were aggressively contested by the Tribes.
Few survived to adulthood.
Struggle over male seed was routine in this all-female world.
Reality was brutal.
After learning all this, Wu Liang fully grasped his own importance to the Tribe.
That evening he sat in his tent, charcoal in hand, sketching on hide his plan for the first earthen blast furnace.
The door-flap lifted and High Priestess Eliza stepped inside.
She wore her usual white hide robe and carried a wooden tray holding a roasted, golden-brown haunch and scarlet berries.
'Wu Liang, your dinner.'
Eliza set the tray down, her gaze falling on the hide he had drawn upon.
Strange symbols and shapes she could not read covered the surface.
'What is this?' she asked.
'Something that will make Black Rock strong.'
Without looking up Wu Liang kept refining the diagram.
He needed high ground near water and forest for the furnace.
'Strong?' Eliza frowned.
'From these marks?'
'Call it… knowledge.'
Wu Liang glanced at her, set down the charcoal, and tore a mouthful from the roast.
He was growing tired of meat.
Eliza averted her eyes and moved to business.
'The Chief is nearly recovered.'
Wu Liang raised an eyebrow.
'Glad to hear she's in good shape; saves me holding back tonight.'
Eliza's cheeks burned.
The man never minced words.
Wu Liang wiped grease from his lips, stood, and stepped close.
The small tent left no room; his tall frame loomed over her.
A raw, invasive masculinity struck her, speeding her pulse.
'W-what do you want?' her voice shook.
'Nothing… yet.'
He lifted a strand of her raven hair; it was sleek as silk.
'High Priestess… when will you summon me?' he murmured at her ear.
Eliza froze.
His breath on her lobe sent tremors through her; her throat dried and she swallowed.
'Finish the Chief's task first!' she blurted, fleeing the tent.
Outside, she gulped air, breasts heaving, cheeks blazing, mind echoing his deep voice.
'High Priestess can't take a little heat?' Wu Liang muttered, and a system alert sounded in his head.
[Ding! High-potential target 'Eliza' mental defenses wavering; submission +0.2%!]
[Ding! Second-stage quest triggered: Conquer the High Priestess!]
[Quest: Eliza, embodiment of Black Rock's wisdom and tradition. Make her submit in body and soul within three months to control the Tribe's mind and faith.]
[Reward: unlock basic Agriculture Tech Tree—land clearing, basic breeding, livestock taming.]
Already cracking? 'Accept quest!' Wu Liang perked up.
Conquer the priestess, gain farming tech.
Stable food would follow; hunger would end and the Tribe would grow.
Three months? At this rate, even less.
He rubbed his chin, smiling.
A woman of wisdom needed more than brute force—he needed a miracle she could not explain.
Iron.
Turn stone to molten metal, then to invincible blades; the sight would shatter a primitive worldview and raise him to godhood.
'First find ore… but before that, cement ties with Wei Xian.'
Dusk deepened; he dusted off his clothes and headed for her tent.
The guards eyed him with awe, lifting the flap without a word.
'Thanks.'
He smiled politely and stepped inside.
A faint fragrance greeted him—absent on his first visit; had she prepared it?
Wei Xian sat on the bed, polishing her huge stone axe as she had the night they first clashed.
Lamplight carved her profile—resolute, feral, alluring.
She had regained her authority, yet tensed the moment he entered, grip tightening on the axe.
Memories of three nights ago were branded into her bones; vivid images flooded back.
'Looks like you've recovered, Chief.'
He strolled over and casually took the polished axe from her hands.
She resisted briefly, then let him.
'Not bad—edge's better than most stone.'
He weighed it, then tossed it aside.
The axe thudded onto the hides; Wei Xian's eye twitched—it was her prized weapon.
'What do you want? Get out!'