In those days, owing to his wisdom and communion with the spirits of Heaven, the people began seeking audience with Tengir for advice and arbitration on all sorts of matters. If, for instance, someone wanted to build a house, a tower, or a granary, a sluice or a weir, or if someone wanted to know a certain metallurgic or alchemical formula, he would go and ask Tengir at his residence for guidance. But if someone was having a dispute with someone else, or if someone was unsure about some question of right, religion, morality and so on, he would also on that occasion seek out Tengir to ask him to proffer his wisdom or to arbitrate. And so Tengir became a greatly influential man, no less or greater so than Child-of-Earth, who was still the people's king.
But Child-of-Earth knew that Tengir was a ruler by nature, seeing as he had brought a new order to their lives and was the author of several other boons. Most of all, he had restored to the people their knowledge of the location of their own ancestors' tombs, and this was invaluable. And he knew that the people felt Tengir's virtue in their hearts and their bones, which was why they so flocked around him both to ask for his help and to offer him their services. Considering this, Child-of-Earth, getting on in years and so desiring to retire his office, had a mind to yield his scepter to Tengir and make him the ruler of the land.
But Child-of-Earth had a son named Golden-Wolf, who had hoped from early on to one day inherit his father's scepter, and he believed he had a stronger right to do so than anyone else, whether an ordinary man or a refined being like Tengir, if for no other reason than because he was the king's eldest son. When he caught wind of his father's plans, he went straight before him and said thus: "Father, from time immemorial our custom was that the king, when desiring to retire his office, hands down his royal scepter to his eldest son, granted that he has come of age and is of sound body and mind. Now you are thinking of abdicating and yielding the scepter to that Tengir who came to us as a foreigner. You have already given him my sister's hand, what more can you give him?" Child-of-Earth replied thus: "My son, our people have multiplied six fold since Tengir has come unto our land, and all this wondrous prosperity is his work. Our people could not have done it on our own; we were incomplete before he arrived. And being incomplete, it was he who completed us. A union such as this does not happen by accident, but must be fated by the eternal stars. So even though it can be said, on the one hand, that he is a foreigner, on the other, it cannot be so said." Incensed, Golden-Wolf said thus: "But to break with the ancient custom is to do violence to the ancestors. How can this be allowed?" And Child-of-Earth: "My son, you are not wrong. A contradiction has arisen that must be dealt with, but no contradiction can ever be resolved peacefully. So I decree, to decide who is to inherit my royal scepter, let there be a duel between you and Tengir, and let whoever wins be the new ruler of the land." Golden-Wolf said: "I will not hesitate to kill Lord Tengir!" And he went out.
Tengir soon heard that there would be a duel, and so he met Golden-Wolf on the outskirts of the Village. A great throng of people gathered, and Child-of-Earth stood at their fore with his hand grasped tight round the royal scepter. He spoke thus: "I have called for this duel to decide who will inherit my royal scepter. Let the victor be the new king of the land!" And then Tengir and Golden-Wolf, standing twenty fathoms away from each other, took out their weapons. In his right hand Golden-Wolf was brandishing a whip some twelve fathoms long that was interlaced with some twenty or thirty tiger teeth that looked sharp enough to cut a beam of light in half. But then Tengir held out both of his hands and procured the Stone-Splitting and Cloud-Cutting Swords, one in the right and one in the left.
Golden-Wolf called out thus to his foe: "I am not ungrateful for the flourishing you have brought to my land, but this is a matter of ancestral dignity. I cannot allow you to become the king. I am going to slay you here and now." To which Tengir: "Well, let us have a fair fight. That is the most honorable way to settle things. Let the better warrior become king. If you can beat me, I will not oppose your taking the scepter." These words exchanged, they fought.
They fought all the afternoon through. Whenever the pointy teeth of Golden-Wolf's whip flew at Tengir, he would strike them down with his sword, then charge at the other. But his foe was quick on his feet, and would often leap thirty feet into the air to dodge Tengir's assault. But whenever Tengir swang his sword at Golden-Wolf, it would get caught in the other's whip that swirled like a storm and so made him impenetrable. So the fight went on for long without a clear winner. Soon Tengir thrust forward both of his divine swords and allowed Golden-Wolf's whip to wrap around them like vines around a tree. So the swords were stuck together, but when Tengir marshalled his otherworldly strength and pulled them apart, the whip was shredded and the tiger teeth ground to dust. Without his whip to defend him, Golden-Wolf resigned himself to his demise, as Tengir barreled towards him with his divine swords.
Golden-Wolf was on the ground and it looked like Tengir was about to cut off his head, but he did not, saying instead: "Sir, it's my victory today, but I have no desire to kill you." Golden-Wolf said thus: "You have won fair and square, but there is no reason for me to go on living. Finish me off, for that is better than to live on with the shame of this defeat." And Tengir: "You fought bravely: indeed if you died now, you would not die with shame. But if your martial talents died today with you and were never again at the ready to defend this land against its innumerable foes, then that would be a shame far greater than any incurred by a single defeat. Get up now. If you pledge fealty to me, you can go on defending your ancestors' land and progeny for all of time to come. I will make you immortal as the mountains." Now little tears sparkled in Golden-Wolf's eyes as he pulled himself to his feet. He said: "Lord Tengir, with you at the helm, I can rest assured that my people will come to no harm. Let me serve you as a general. Let only the dauntless follow me. I have no desires or ambitions beyond this." To which Tengir: "It shall be done."
The very next moment, Child-of-Earth declared that Tengir was the new King of the land, and he gave him the royal scepter. The people high and low knelt long before the new King and though they were silent, in their hearts they were overjoyed. After that, Tengir stood above all the people on a tall rock and promulgated the first of the Laws, which had been intimated to him by the Spirits of Heaven. Upon receiving the first of the Laws, the people high and low pledged fealty to Tengir and swore to uphold the Laws, and with their pledges the Laws came alive and bound the people and the land to Tengir and through him to Heaven. Tengir then made two appointments, appointing his son Thousand-Horse as the Right Defender of the Law, and his son Eternal-One as the Left Defender of the Law. The Yielding of the Scepter was concluded with a Great Sacrifice, a Great Purification and finally, after the sun had gone down, a feast the likes of which had never been held before. The next day, the first of the Laws were written out onto scrolls, though these books were to grow much bigger as new laws were added over the years.
By the way, Tengir later made a new whip for Golden-Wolf, but instead of tiger teeth, he made one with a steel chain fitted out with steel spikes. He presented it to Golden-Wolf, saying: "The chord and the spikes on this one can withstand any force. You needn't worry about it breaking it again." Golden-Wolf was beyond gratitude.