After dying several times in a row, the three of them felt increasingly exhausted, as if they had pulled an all-nighter.

Then, Qin Ziwen brought out the Healing Spring. After they drank from it, their exhaustion vanished completely.

The properties of the Healing Spring and the Martial Arts Arena created a perfect synergy.

After recovering some of their strength, the three discussed their strategy and decided to change weapons.

They all switched to long spears.

While a long spear can be used with flashy techniques in a solo fight, the most effective and simplest rhythm for group combat is just thrusting, stabbing, and piercing.

This was combined with their fearless, almost suicidal, fighting style.

This time, Du Yu was clearly more hesitant. He could have taken a few hits to defeat them quickly, but that would have defeated the purpose of their training.

As the fight went on, Du Yu looked for an opening to break their formation, while the trio grew more accustomed to the rhythm of fighting as a unit.

They sparred for over an hour before a knock came from the door.

The rest of the team had begun to assemble.

The three finally stopped their drill.

Du Yu said, "A little later, after we get back, I’ll teach you more."

"Alright. Later, I’d like the Beaked Eagle to join in as well," Qin Ziwen said with a smile.

"The Beaked Eagle?" Du Yu glanced to the side of the arena, where the Beaked Eagle was playing a game of ’eagle-catches-the-pony’ with the Mongolian Horse Red Hare. He nodded in agreement.

Qin Ziwen gave a subtle smile. ’I still have an unused Animal Enhancement Card.’

’When the Beaked Eagle gets back tonight, I’ll level it up, use this card, and give Du Yu a nice surprise.’

After opening the door, everyone gathered. Qin Ziwen had them come in to sit and rest.

He then beckoned to Wei Zhaohua, pulling him aside.

"Leader."

"Come take a look at something for me." Qin Ziwen led Wei Zhaohua to the farm plots.

Wei Zhaohua was immediately captivated by the vibrant plots. The chili peppers, tomatoes, and other vegetables were all flourishing.

"Huh? These pumpkin flowers are in full bloom. How come they haven’t borne any fruit yet?"

"I know. That’s what I wanted you to look at."

Wei Zhaohua crouched down to observe them for a moment, then asked seriously, "Leader, have you been hand-pollinating them?"

"No," Qin Ziwen said, shaking his head.

Wei Zhaohua understood. He glanced around before explaining, "Pumpkins are monoecious plants, meaning they have separate male and female flowers. You have to transfer pollen from the male flowers to the stigma of the female flowers for them to bear fruit.

"In nature, this process is usually carried out by insects. But, Leader, you don’t have any wind or insects in here. Without manual intervention, they’ll never produce fruit."

Wei Zhaohua then gave Qin Ziwen a personal demonstration, explaining how to pollinate the flowers.

After a moment of thought, Qin Ziwen said, "Teacher Wei, how would you like to be the head of our alliance’s new Agriculture Department?"

Wei Zhaohua was tempted. ’A department head! That means I’d be an official of sorts,’ he thought.

"So, what would I be responsible for?"

"For one, you’ll be responsible for these... two plots, which includes transplanting seedlings, sowing seeds, and harvesting the produce," Qin Ziwen said. "Then, you’ll be in charge of planning for the rest of the Qin Alliance members—how to best utilize our available space to plant more crops, including making use of the eight rooftops we have."

Wei Zhaohua thought it over. ’The workload seems pretty heavy, but since I’m the head, I can delegate the menial tasks to people under me.’ The thought put him at ease.

Still, he raised a concern. "Leader, if we increase our crop yield, the demand for water will go up too. Individual households might not be willing to use their water for irrigation."

Qin Ziwen replied, "That’s fine. Didn’t we find a new water source yesterday? We can organize teams to take turns fetching water."

Wei Zhaohua thought about it and realized that made sense.

So, he happily accepted the job.

"Oh, right, Leader. How do I get in touch with the other members of the Agriculture Department?"

"Ah, my memory is terrible. I almost forgot." Qin Ziwen seemed a little sheepish. "Right now, the Agriculture Department is just you, the head. You’ll have to recruit your own staff. Don’t worry, we’ve just taken on a lot of new regular members. You can get a list from Zhao Pu, and I’ll have Jia Liangcai assist you in a bit."

With that, Qin Ziwen called out, "Liangcai."

Jia Liangcai walked over.

Qin Ziwen introduced the two of them. "This is Jia Liangcai, the current... steward of my Home. And this is Wei Zhaohua, head of the alliance’s Agriculture Department. You two should get along."

After settling matters, Qin Ziwen led the Mongolian Horse downstairs.

Wang Yun recognized the breed. "Leader, where’d you get a steppe horse? This is a great horse. They’re hardy, can tolerate both high and low temperatures, and are the toughest breed out there. It’s perfect for the Gobi Desert environment."

"This is my new mount, Red Hare." Qin Ziwen patted the horse. Thinking its master wanted to ride, Red Hare proactively knelt.

"Not right now." Qin Ziwen scratched its neck.

Red Hare stood up again and snorted.

After being streamlined from yesterday, today’s expedition party was down to nine people. Li Yue, Zhao Pu, and Wei Zhaohua were absent, while Cao Biansheng and the Mongolian Horse were new additions.

Although the team was smaller, their combat effectiveness had actually increased significantly.

It was Cao Biansheng’s first time out with the team, and he felt a bit out of place. But perhaps because they were all young men, he, Qin Ziwu, and Yuan Ming quickly found common ground.

The three of them huddled together, chatting as they walked.

"Are we heading south?"

Yuan Ming replied, "Yep. There’s a Great Rift Valley to the south."

Cao Biansheng’s eyes lit up. "Oh, right! I heard the Single Claw Dragons you hunted yesterday were from there. How long will it take us to get there?"

"About an hour or so. It’s not actually that far. I feel like, aside from the heat, the path here is easier to walk than in the forest."

"That’s true," Cao Biansheng said, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

Before long, the group arrived at the southern rift valley and took the same path as before down to the bottom.

Spotting a small puddle clinging to the cliff wall at the valley floor, Cao Biansheng reached out to touch it. It was ice-cold. "This cold... It must be groundwater."

"Let’s go, keep up!" Qin Ziwu, who was ahead, called back.

"Coming!" Cao Biansheng hurried to catch up with the team.

After passing through a narrow side path, they arrived at the far side of a gentle slope and saw the altar.

Cao Biansheng was amazed. "Whoa, you guys actually found an altar already."

Qin Ziwu laughed. "Didn’t your group find one yesterday too? Alright, enough gawking. Our mission today is to capture a baby dinosaur alive. Let’s go."

Hearing that they were going to capture a dinosaur alive, Cao Biansheng’s interest was piqued.

Sure enough, the mother dragons and their young from yesterday hadn’t left; they were still in the same spot.

Upon seeing humans intruding once again, the mothers shot up in a stress response, shielding their young and letting out harsh cries.

"Don’t be scared, little fella. Come with me, and you’ll have food every day."

Qin Ziwu took a step forward, tentatively reaching out his hand. The instant the Female Single Claw Dragon lunged to peck him, he leaped back to dodge, then shot his arm out and grabbed its neck, lifting it up like a goose.

But he’d forgotten that a Single Claw Dragon was not a goose. On its chest, it had two claws that were like small daggers.

The Single Claw Dragon thrashed its legs wildly, its body swinging, and its little claws latched onto his clothes.

If Qin Ziwu hadn’t reacted in time, his arm would have been slashed open.

...

...