Favorite of the Beast-world: I Got Rich Through Farming-Chapter 183 - 128: Spiritual Power and Witch Power

Not wanting to crush his confidence, An Jin changed the subject, comforting him in a gentle voice. "Third Rank is actually about average for Beastmen. It’s not considered weak, just a bit ordinary."

Xi pouted his crimson lips. He lowered his head without a word, his azure ear fins drooping limply.

Far from being comforted, he only grew more heartbroken.

’He wasn’t just any ordinary Merfolk.’

’He was a descendant of the Blue Shark Royal Family, and the most purely and beautifully colored of his entire clutch. By all rights, his talent should have been immense, but the truth was, he was the weakest of them all.’

’All beauty and no brawn, which meant that in the hyper-competitive Merfolk society, no females were interested in him.’

’That’s why he’d followed the Witch’s guidance and decided to come to land to find a partner.’

Xi, of course, saw the Wolf Beast mark on An Jin’s body, and his heart sank even further. ’If I’m still this weak, I probably won’t stand a chance on land either.’

’This won’t do. I have to get stronger!’

Xi silently made a vow.

Xi carefully reflected on his life of more than ten years, only to realize he’d been pampered and spoiled, had high aspirations but little skill, and was incredibly lazy. He had never once felt the spontaneous urge to improve his strength through combat.

Out of the corner of his eye, he accidentally caught sight of the Wolf Beast mark on An Jin’s body again. Xi’s heart was a maelstrom of conflicting emotions—envy, sadness, and even a little joy.

’Ah Jin already has two partners, so he wouldn’t mind accepting me too, right? One more fish isn’t too many.’

’Of course, with my current strength, it’s just too embarrassing. I definitely don’t have the confidence to court him.’

...

The land grew warmer day by day. Ice and snow melted away, and gurgling streams broke free from winter’s grasp. Tender yellow buds sprouted on bare branches.

With the arrival of the windy season, a spring breeze caressed the skin. The forest resembled a vast, boundless ocean of lush green, undulating like waves in the wind.

The songs of birds and the fragrance of flowers, thick with the essence of nature, created a sublime sensory experience.

A new season of planting began in the tribe’s fields. Strong, horned herbivore Beastmen and some of their sharp-clawed carnivore counterparts were all out tilling the soil.

Once the soil was loosened, they took carefully selected seeds and seedlings from the previous year’s harvest and began planting them with great effort.

"This plot of land had a lot of corn planted in it last year."

An Jin took a moment to come and inspect. He crouched down, grabbed a handful of soil, and his system’s analysis of its elemental composition immediately flashed through his mind. "The soil’s fertility is likely depleted. Let it lie fallow for a year. We’ll plant these corn seeds in a different field."

A bison Beastman named Niu Man nodded emphatically. He was dark-skinned, his body a mass of knotted, bulging muscle, and his voice boomed in reply, "Alright, Clan Leader!"

"I’ll lead the men to plant on that other plot that was left fallow last year, then!"

"Right. Remember to space them out; don’t plant the seeds too close together."

An Jin added the reminder, then shaded his eyes with a hand to survey the area as he took a look around.

The weather wasn’t hot yet, and the sun wasn’t terribly strong, but the Beastmen toiled away in the fields, sweat trickling down their taut muscles from the hard labor.

Many of their mates, undaunted by the hard work, came to bring them water and wipe the sweat from their bodies with pieces of animal hide.

This invigorated the males beyond measure. Suddenly, their backs no longer ached and their arms no longer felt tired. Feeling filled with boundless energy, they went back to swinging their hoes and planting seeds with renewed vigor.

Since they had decided to develop shops in the city, standard crops wouldn’t be enough. An Jin dispatched another group of Beastmen to establish several fruit and vegetable orchards on a small hill nearby.

As noon approached, it was clear the rations the farming and hunting parties had brought with them weren’t nearly enough. Most of them had to rush back to the tribe for a meal before returning to their work.

This wasted a considerable amount of time and energy.

"Is there a bamboo forest nearby?" An Jin asked, looking around.

A herbivore Beastman named Yang Qi quickly replied, "There’s a small bamboo grove not far from here, Clan Leader. But that bamboo is terrible to eat—it’s incredibly hard! I took a few bites once and almost chipped a tooth!"

An Jin couldn’t help but laugh. "I’m not going to eat the bamboo. But we can use it to make bamboo tubes."

"If we make several bamboo tubes, we can thread them with vines to hang from our bodies. You can fill them with food and fresh water. They’re very convenient to carry, and that way you won’t have to run back to the tribe in the middle of your work."

The Beastmen listened in confusion, scratching their heads. Though they had no idea how to make these "bamboo tubes," they still led An Jin to the nearby bamboo forest.

A vast expanse of bamboo covering the mountainside came into view. Stalk after stalk shot up from the dark soil like towers, soaring and straight, standing at least ten meters tall.

The segmented stalks were each as thick as the mouth of a cooking pot. The bamboo’s fine branches, leaves, and roots still showed a hint of withered yellow.