Chapter 1172: Black Horn Barbarian Armor

In the days that followed, Mo Hua became the "Mr." to these barbarian tribe children, teaching them writing, principles of conduct, basic cultivation knowledge, and foundational array techniques.

Mo Hua's identity in the Great Wilderness gained another layer.

Eight days later, Jiao Hu the Elder sought out Mo Hua.

Inside the spacious tent, Mo Hua was instructing a group of children in cultivation.

Jiao Hu the Elder bowed his head in greeting, stealing glances sideways—he saw that the Black Horn tribe's children had not been "eaten," "killed," or sacrificed as "offerings" by Mo Hua.

Instead, each one wore clean clothes, sat quietly in the tent listening, and respectfully addressed Mo Hua as "Mr.," filling his heart with both emotion and sighs.

Seeing Jiao Hu the Elder, Mo Hua turned to the children and said:

"Review what I just taught you."

"Yes, Mr.," the children nodded in unison.

Mo Hua rose and walked to the nearby council chamber.

Jiao Hu the Elder immediately hurried after him; once inside, he bowed deeply and said:

"My lord, your humble servant has fulfilled your command—the Black Horn Barbarian Armor is complete."

Slavery existed in the Great Wilderness; barbarian cultivators worshipped deities and believed themselves servants of the Barbarian God, so after recognizing Mo Hua's identity, Jiao Hu the Elder referred to himself as "your humble servant."

Mo Hua disliked the word "servant."

But the time was not yet right—he lacked power and influence, so he must maintain his "persona" as the Great Wilderness's Lord Wuzhu, lest he draw suspicion.

"Bring it to me," Mo Hua said calmly.

Jiao Hu the Elder then retrieved from his storage pouch the Black Horn Barbarian Armor, meticulously forged by himself and a group of tribal artisans, and presented it to Mo Hua.

Mo Hua examined it closely, then gave a slight nod.

The term "barbarian armor" was merely a local Great Wilderness name—it was, in essence, a type of armor used by cultivators in combat.

Though the fundamental alchemy principles were the same, differences in region, resources, crafting materials, and cultivation traditions meant this Great Wilderness barbarian armor differed markedly from the Dao Court's Nine Provinces' Dao Soldier armor.

First, the materials.

Dao Soldier armor used beast materials, but gold, silver, and iron comprised the vast majority.

Barbarian armor, by contrast, was composed almost entirely of beast materials.

In a certain sense, barbarian armor resembled a manually forged layer of "beast hide" or "beast bone."

The arrays on both were also entirely different.

Dao Soldier armor typically employed Five Elements and Eight Trigrams arrays.

Barbarian armor, however, primarily used Four Symbols beast patterns, or broader beast designs.

Like Dao Soldier armor, barbarian armor came in many varieties:

Light bone armor, flexible hide armor, heavy but sturdy heavy bone armor, and some special inherited barbarian armors with unimaginable power.

The "Black Horn Barbarian Armor" forged by Jiao Hu the Elder, according to the design blueprint, should have belonged to the "heavy bone armor" category.

But the problem was, "heavy bone armor" required abundant materials, drawn from the bones of fierce large beasts, and demanded far more complex, difficult craftsmanship.

The Black Horn tribe lacked such depth.

Jiao Hu the Elder lacked such ability.

Thus, what he had forged was merely a set of pitch-black, somber-looking "light bone armor."

Though not particularly outstanding in itself, given the constraints, Mo Hua was quite satisfied.

Mo Hua nodded. "Good."

Jiao Hu the Elder exhaled in relief and clasped his hands.

"The barbarian armor blueprint your lordship provided was exceedingly detailed and complete—only then could your humble servant forge such a refined piece."

It was the finest Black Horn Barbarian Armor he had ever forged in his life.

Of course, he knew that before the noble, discerning Lord Wuzhu, it was merely an act of presumption.

"Lord Wuzhu, there is one more matter…" Jiao Hu the Elder hesitated. "None in my Black Horn tribe can draw the array on this armor."

Mo Hua nodded. "No matter." He then pulled out his array brush, dipped it in ink, and sketched a few casual strokes.

A Four Symbols Black Horn Array, as if carved by knife and axe, was precisely etched onto the black horn bone plate serving as the array's medium.

Jiao Hu the Elder hadn't even had time to see how Mo Hua had drawn it.

It seemed Mo Hua had merely brushed his hand lightly—the brush tip moved, and the ink flowed automatically, coiling into the profound, obscure array, which solidified on its own.

Jiao Hu the Elder was shaken—he felt this young Lord Wuzhu possessed divine, unfathomable skill.

He bowed deeply. "Lord Wuzhu, your wisdom is supreme."

Mo Hua could not tell whether Jiao Hu truly believed him "supreme," or was merely flattering him.

But it did not matter—as a noble Lord Wuzhu, he was destined to receive such praise.

Mo Hua pondered for a moment, then summoned Xiao Zatu and ordered: "Go fetch Wusha, chief of the Wulu tribe."

"Yes, Mr.," Xiao Zatu nodded and scampered off.

After a while, he returned, dragging in Wusha, reeking of blood.

Wusha stepped before Mo Hua, placed his right hand across his chest in salute, and said: "Lord Wuzhu." Only then did he raise his head.

But as soon as he looked up, he saw the Black Horn Barbarian Armor beside Mo Hua—and his eyes blazed with sudden intensity:

"Lord Wuzhu, what is this?!"

Mo Hua's gaze sharpened. "You want it?"

Wusha nodded, knelt on the ground, his eyes like a wolf's, pleading:

"I beg Lord Wuzhu to grant Wusha barbarian armor! Wusha will slaughter all before you, invincible in every battle!"

Mo Hua was slightly surprised.

In his expectation, any barbarian cultivator would desire a set of their own barbarian armor.

But he hadn't expected that Wucha, chief of the Wulu tribe, would desire the barbarian armor so intensely—even kneeling before him and pleading aloud.

Mo Hua's thoughts shifted slightly, and he suddenly remembered that none of the Wulu tribe's barbarian cultivators wore barbarian armor.

This meant that, among the barbarians, "barbarian armor" was actually scarce?

Even scarcer than he had thought?

Why…

Was it because barbarian cultivators were crude and savage, focused only on slaughter, neglecting cultivation arts like forging?

Or was the transmission of barbarian armor itself exceedingly rare?

Or perhaps "barbarian armor" held some symbolic meaning among barbarian cultivators—something only certain ones were worthy to wear?

Mo Hua suppressed these questions for now, planning to verify them later.

He couldn't ask these questions directly.

After all, his current identity was Wang Ting's "Lord Wuzhu"—by rights, he should be the one who understood barbarian history and the origins of barbarian armor best.

Asking such "common knowledge" questions would inevitably raise suspicion and undermine his aura of omniscience.

Mo Hua glanced at Wucha and said solemnly: "This 'incredibly precious' barbarian armor, I now bestow upon you."

"But remember, all of this is a gift from the Divine Lord."

"From this day forward, you must wage war for the Divine Lord with unwavering loyalty; if you betray him, his grace will become a divine punishment, extinguishing your soul and denying you rebirth."

Wucha's face turned solemn as he knelt before Mo Hua:

"Wucha pledges to remember Lord Wuzhu's teachings—I shall give my life for the Divine Lord."

Mo Hua nodded, then bestowed the Black Horn barbarian armor upon Wucha and commanded sternly:

"Put on this armor, gather your people, and wage war for the Divine Lord."

"If you earn battlefield merits, I shall grant you further favor—more barbarian armor. Then, your people may also receive the Divine Lord's blessing."

Wucha was ecstatic and immediately declared: "The Wulu tribe shall brave fire and water, advance without hesitation, for the Divine Lord!"

Mo Hua nodded. "You may go."

Wucha clasped the Black Horn barbarian armor and withdrew, bowing and thanking profusely.

Beside him, Jiao Hu, the Elder, watched with unease, his face filled with indignation and resentment.

Mo Hua glanced at him and asked: "Jiao

Hu Elder, are you dissatisfied?"

Jiao Hu bowed his hands: "Dare not," but after speaking, he could not suppress his anger and added:

"The Black Horn barbarian armor is the war armor of my Black Horn tribe—it is our ancestors' legacy, our tribe's honor."

"These Feng Xiaoxiao of the Wulu tribe, tainted with base, filthy, alien blood, have no right to wear our Black Horn barbarian armor—it is desecration!"

Jiao Hu was filled with righteous fury.

Mo Hua's eyes flickered slightly—he understood.

In the Great Wilderness, barbarian armor indeed emphasized tribal bloodline and lineage, symbolizing a tribe's history and glory.

Not every tribe could inherit it.

Some seemingly powerful tribes, though momentarily prosperous and mighty, were merely transient "new money."

Without ancestral glory and lineage, they could not forge fine barbarian armor—or even qualify to wear it.

Barbarian armor was not merely armor to enhance a barbarian cultivator's combat power.

It also symbolized barbarian identity and honor.

Hence, these cultivators treasured "barbarian armor" as if it were their lives.

That was why Jiao Hu felt bitter and enraged seeing the finely forged Black Horn armor—symbol of his tribe—worn by Wucha of the Wulu tribe.

Mo Hua said: "All of this is for the Divine Lord."

Jiao Hu bowed deeply: "Yes," though clearly still bitter and resentful.

Mo Hua glanced at him and said calmly: "Your Black Horn tribe's barbarian armor is of poor quality."

Jiao Hu instinctively bristled—but realized these words came from Lord Wuzhu, the master of sacred runes, and was suddenly both humiliated and defeated:

"Lord Wuzhu speaks truly…"

Mo Hua shook his head. "... but your Black Horn tribe's barbarian armor should be far better than this."

Jiao Hu froze.

Mo Hua spoke slowly: "In the history of our barbarian people, your Black Horn tribe was heroic and illustrious…"

This statement was pure fabrication by Mo Hua.

He was a Dao Court cultivator—he knew nothing of barbarian history; he'd only heard of the Black Horn tribe days ago.

Yet, endorsed by "Lord Wuzhu," Jiao Hu was deeply moved.

Mo Hua continued: "But your Black Horn tribe has declined, and much of the Black Horn barbarian armor's transmission has been stolen."

"That is why I let Wucha wear the Black Horn armor and wage war across the land—to reclaim what your tribe has lost."

"Afterward, I shall personally restore its origins, unify the forging methods, and forge the true ancestral Black Horn barbarian armor."

"When that time comes, I shall bestow this ancestral-level Black Horn armor upon your tribe's strongest warrior."

"He shall wear the ancestral armor and restore your Black Horn tribe's glory…"

Mo Hua spoke calmly, explaining in detail.

But Jiao Hu was filled with excitement, his expression trembling with emotion, his eyes reddening.

Every word Mo Hua spoke shook him to his core.

It revealed to him a path he had never dared to imagine—a path worth devoting his entire life to pursuing.

Ancestral armor—restore the glory!

The Jiao Hu Elder knelt on the ground and banged his head three times with a loud "Kuang! Kuang! Kuang!", as if willing to tear out his heart.

"Jiao Hu shall devote himself utterly to Lord Wuzhu, until his dying breath!"

Mo Hua nodded and ordered, "I entrust you with the forging of the Man Armor."

"I will provide you with all the manpower and Xi Wuli. You must forge as many Heijiao Man Armor as possible in the shortest time."

"Yes!"

The Jiao Hu Elder departed, filled with sincere devotion.

Mo Hua exhaled softly; at last, one matter was settled.

Without his direct intervention, Wu Sha and the others could only rely on Man Armor to win battles—even if only one or two second-rank Man Armor were given to Wu Sha's top warriors, it would secure sufficient advantage in the battles of the Second-Rank Mountain Realm.

The more Man Armor, the stronger the combat power, the higher the chance of victory.

Although the Jiao Hu Elder might not be loyal to Mo Hua personally, he was deeply loyal to the Heijiao Tribe.

As long as the Heijiao Tribe's future was aligned with his grand plan, he would naturally devote himself entirely to forging the Man Armor.

But there was one thing Mo Hua had not anticipated.

That was, although the Jiao Hu Elder was loyal and had devoted all his attention to forging Man Armor,

his comprehension was simply too low.

His metallurgical skill was also genuinely quite backward.

Thus, the progress of armor forging and the quality of output were far from satisfactory.

Either the production was too slow, or the armor had flaws and broke easily.

Mo Hua had no other choice; after much thought, he handed the "Jian Gutou" to the Jiao Hu Elder.

The Jiao Hu Elder stared at the dark, eerie white bone fragment of a broken sword, and felt a chill run through him:

"Lord Wuzhu, what is this…?"

"This…" Mo Hua paused, then solemnly said, "It is the broken bone sword of a mighty Sword Dao Demon Lord, who transformed his sword into Dao and fell into demonic corruption, later subdued and sealed by the Divine Master…"

"You may ask it anything regarding metallurgy and armor forging."

Inside the white bone sword, Jian Gutou—the Sword Demon—felt a complex emotion.

"Mighty Sword Dao Demon Lord"… was that referring to him?

He did not know whether Mo Hua was praising him or mocking him.

He knew full well that before Mo Hua, he was merely a lackey.

Only when Mo Hua wanted to feast on the Man God, or wished to intrude into the altar, would he be allowed to open the way, guide the path, or stand guard.

Otherwise, he dared not even breathe loudly, fearing that if he became too noticeable, Mo Hua might remember him during hunger and use him to pick his teeth…

Beyond that, it dared not even breathe, afraid that if it became too noticeable, Mo Hua might remember it during a hunger pang and use it to pick his teeth…

He felt fear and reverence, and solemnly accepted the white bone sword with both hands, carefully sensing it—indeed, he detected a terrifying, potent demonic aura within, and his reverence for Lord Wuzhu and the Divine Master deepened further.

"Your humble servant shall not fail Lord Wuzhu's trust, nor the Divine Master's grace."

Mo Hua temporarily entrusted Jian Gutou to the Jiao Hu Elder.

In life, Jian Gutou had been the Sword Forging Elder of the Ten Thousand Demons Valley, and before that, a Sword Forging Disciple of the Tai'e Gate.

His metallurgical expertise was in fact extremely profound.

Moreover, the Ten Thousand Demons Valley was predominantly inhabited by demonic cultivators, whose forging methods inevitably involved many demonic beast materials.

Having Jian Gutou guide the Jiao Hu Elder in forging Man Armor should be more than sufficient.

It was also a way to let him contribute his remaining light and warmth.

And Jian Gutou dared not neglect Mo Hua's orders.

Thus, in a secret cave chamber of the Heijiao Tribe, a Heijiao barbarian elder and a Sword Demon dwelling within a white bone sword began to immerse themselves in the art of metallurgy, studying the forging methods of the Great Wilderness Man Armor.

With Jian Gutou's "guidance"—that of a mighty Sword Dao Demon Lord—the Jiao Hu Elder's skill in forging Man Armor gradually improved.

The forging process became smoother and smoother.

More and more Heijiao Man Armor were forged.

Mo Hua then had Wu Sha, the chieftain of the Wulu Tribe, and several Wulu Foundation Establishment elders, wear these Heijiao Man Armor and go out to "subdue" the surrounding tribes on his behalf.

If they conquered new tribes, they must not slaughter indiscriminately; however, the Wulu barbarian cultivators who participated could receive extra spoils.

Of course, the finest "reward" was still the Heijiao Man Armor.

Rewards were necessary.

Wu Sha was a wild wolf—he needed meat to act.

The Wulu Tribe was the same. And not just the Wulu Tribe—most barbarian tribes shared this nature.

Wu Sha had been right: if you ask them to conquer tribes but forbid them from burning, killing, and looting, yet give them no reward at all, it cannot last.

Even with the title and authority of "Lord Wuzhu," you might suppress them temporarily, but not forever.

If you do not feed them meat, then along the way, any slight misstep could trigger rebellion and backlash.

But feeding them constantly was also impossible.

Wolves, after all, cannot be tamed.

They are driven by profit—where profit exists, they are calm; where profit vanishes, chaos follows.

A foundation built solely on personal gain is easily shattered in an instant.

Therefore, the problem must be solved at its root.

A generation of children must be nurtured from youth—children with true Dao hearts, broad vision, lofty ambition, and far-sightedness—so that when they grow, they may govern the Wilds and fundamentally transform the barbarian realm from the ground up.

The more such children there are, the greater their impact on the Wilds, and the stronger the force of change they will ignite.

A group of children, truly possessing the Dao heart, vision, and ambition, with far-reaching eyes, must be cultivated from childhood; when they grow into talents, they will govern the Wilds and fundamentally transform its fate from the very bottom.

The more such children there are, the greater their impact on the Wilds, and the stronger the force of change they inspire.

Of course, this is a rather lengthy process.

It takes ten years to grow a tree, a hundred years to cultivate a person.

You cannot refrain from doing it just because the results appear slowly.

Rapid results usually treat the symptoms; slow results are what treat the root.

And this is precisely what Mo Hua considers most important when retreating to the "backstage" and manipulating the grand scheme.

From then on, Mo Hua entrusted the forging of the Barbarian Armor to Jiao Hu the Elder.

Matters of external conquest, Mo Hua entrusted to Wu Sha.

And Mo Hua spent most of his time on "transmitting the Dao and instructing students," teaching these children of the wilderness to cultivate the Dao, learn arts, and nurture their hearts and foundations.

This was the principle he had absorbed through observation and immersion under Yan the Instructor, Mr. Zhuang, and Master Xun of the Grand Void Gate.

The Great Dao is like water—flowing without stagnation.

One must transmit true knowledge, learning, and principles to more people.

Previously, others taught him, and he called them "Mr."

Now, he teaches others, and they call him "Mr."

And when Wu Sha launched his campaigns, Mo Hua issued him a strict order:

Do not kill children.

Not only must you not kill them, but all children from every tribe must be brought back and handed over to me.

Thus, as Wu Sha, clad in the Black Horn Barbarian Armor, waged war and continuously expanded across the Second-Rank Black Horn Mountain Realm, attacking one tribe after another,

the number of children under Mo Hua's care grew ever larger.

The number of people who addressed him as "Mr." also grew ever larger…