Son Of The Spirit Beast

Therefore he began to drive Hei to the house that had been a.s.signed to him while explaining to him the various rules of the outer sect.

The members of the outer sect had to give a donation share every 4 months, otherwise the expulsion from the sect. To do this they could choose between: growing plants, raising livestock or working as a miner.

Although the latter was the hardest job, it was also the most important of the three because what the miners were digging wasn" just rock or minerals but rather a more precious material: spirit stones.

By spirit stone is meant a stone that over time had absorbed, in a natural way, spirit power from the surrounding environment, thus becoming rich in spirit power and totally changing its originally null value.

In the society of martial artists, especially those from the big sects, the value of gold didn"t have the same importance it had for ordinary people.

This was because when advancing along the cultivation path, the materials used to raise your own rank or stage became increasingly rare and precious. Something like gold therefore had little value in the eyes of martial artists, except for those who had decided to stop their journey and had decided to live among the common people, contenting themselves with the power they had obtained.

So, it was decided that spirit stones would be used as currency among the martial artists due to their importance.

In fact, spirit stones could be used for multiple purposes, like spirit cores. But, if the spirit cores" energy was turbulent and needed to be appeased by external materials, the energy from the spirit stones was clean and calm. Thereby, they didn"t need any prior modification and could be used immediately.

They were usually used to support the various types of formations, but for those who could afford it, it was also possible to use the energy of spirit stones to directly increase their cultivation by reducing the time to advance to the next stage.

Obviously, even this use represented its risks, as a too rapid increase in spirit power in one"s body and a prolonged use of spirit stones could cause problems in the flow of inner spirit power that would receive a too rapid inflow to be managed correctly.

However, the side effects were reversible, and if one had waited some time from the absorption of one spirit stone before using another one, in order to give the body a chance to get used to the energy it had just received, there was no risk of injury.

But this trick wasn"t infinite due to the limited quant.i.ty of this resource. Indeed, like spirit cores, spirit stones also differed according to the amount of spirit power contained inside.

Up to three levels of spirit stones existed on Rainbow Island, and finding mines of third-level spirit stones was very rare today. Furthermore, although the mines of the first two levels of spirit stones were more common to find, the stronger one was, the less effect the spirit stones of lesser levels would have.

Considering also that a sect had various buildings and formations that it had to maintain, it was unthinkable to provide a continuous supply of spirit stones of ever greater level to the individual disciples, and it was wiser to leave such stocks of spirit stones for any necessity, although it was possible from time to time to grant some to the disciples of the inner sect as their income based on their results, so as to entice compet.i.tion and self-improvement.

Fortunately, although they weren"t as effective as spirit stones, there were other methods to increase one"s cultivation with external methods and these didn"t have the risks involved in absorbing spirit power as for spirit stones or their scarce availability. And here the other two jobs of the outer sect came into play, namely growing plants and raising livestock.

Through the digestion of foods containing spirit power, it was possible to increase one"s spirit power. Therefore, members of the outer sect cultivated mainly wheat along with other edible plants that absorbed spirit power from the spirit veins in the soil.

On the other hand, animal breeders obtained milk from animals which was then placed in special containers with formations engraved on them that allowed the milk to absorb spirit power from the outside.

Although it would have been easier to feed the cattle with spirit herbs and make them spirit beasts over time, the members of the outer sect wouldn"t have been able to manage a spirit beast, as they did with simple animals and for members of the inner sect, such a task was so humiliating that they would never think of dealing with it. So, in the end the sect opted for this method.

One difference between the miners and the farmer-breeders was that the former had to dig a certain set amount of spirit stones and for every excavated surplus, they were rewarded by the sect, but it wasn"t possible to keep spirit stones for them; the latter, on the other hand, had to give 30% of their product but they could keep the rest and they could sell it directly to the sect or outside.

Even if within the sect the value of their merchandise would be lower than the market price, selling their products to the sect could allow outer sect"s members to earn what were called contribution points.

These points were very important because with these, it was possible to buy or obtain materials and services normally inaccessible to them.

Of course, miners could also request contribution points as a form of payment and since theirs was the most important task, the contribution points awarded to them were more. But since they also had to buy food and other basic necessities, unlike the others who could eat what they grew or obtained, the amount of their points was more or less equal to that earned by the other two occupations.

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Since the ultimate aim was to allow future descendants to be part of the inner sect, the outer sect"s families worked hard to acc.u.mulate as many contribution points as possible and use them as payment for the education of one of their descendants who proved to have potential.

In order to pa.s.s to the inner sect, the third stage of spirit apprentice was to be reached within an age of 21 or the fifth stage of spirit apprentice within the age of 27.

But, even if the requirements were met, a tournament had to be held against the other applicants, in which only the first 3 were admitted to the inner sect and they were also rewarded with prizes.

Since the tournament was annual and there were few seats, it was essential to carefully evaluate how to make the most of one"s resources and know one"s opponents, as partic.i.p.ating in the tournament could also end up with suffering injuries that would hinder their future chances.

But partic.i.p.ating in the tournament also meant having a chance to be seen, and if they aroused the interest of one of the factions, they could made exceptions by admitting other outer sect"s members in addition to the top three.

Having finished explaining the system behind which the outer sect was operating, the examiner went on to explain in more detail what could be bought with these contribution points.

First of all, there were manuals that were divided into cultivation methods to raise one"s cultivation, manuals of techniques in which were explained attack and defense moves, and weapons manuals where the basics on how to use a specific weapon were ill.u.s.trated.

It was also possible to request an inner sect member as a personal instructor to learn a specific move or learn how to master a weapon, but since the cost was incredibly high even for the most weak inner sect"s member, the manuals were mostly preferred despite the learning difficulties increased exponentially.

Another thing that could be bought was medicines and pills of all kinds depending on the need you had. It was also possible to buy weapons and other types of martial artist equipment as well as other types of resources such as rare plants.

The inner sect also dealt with production works although more sophisticated. In fact they had members dedicated to alchemy, blacksmithing and the creation of formations.

Supporting the quant.i.ty of their needs only with the outer sect"s work was unthinkable and therefore they had to have a method to earn spirit stones other than the spirit stones" extraction and at the same time, to limit the expense of this resource through its own production.

Thus, the secondary jobs a.s.sumed a fundamental importance not only for the Flower sect but also for all the other sects which had also adopted a similar system.

The original members of the sect, because they were familiar with plants became skilled in alchemy; the members of the first elder"s faction mainly dealt with blacksmithing; finally the members of the second elder"s faction were devoted to the study of formations.

When this explanation also ended, Hei had finally reached his new home.

At that moment, the examiner gave a quick salute to him and went away. His task was over and he accepted the opportunity to return to his home.

Left alone, or rather away from the presence of strangers, Hei felt at ease and started driving the buffalo towards the house.

This was a simple wooden house like the ones he had seen along the way. However, the wood was consumed at various points and it gave a gloomy feeling.

Nodding to the buffaloes to stop, Hei went inside with his mother and his two sisters to examine the interior which was devoid of any kind of furniture. The wood of the floor creaked with every his steps, and some planks ended up breaking when he put his foot on it.

Seeing that the house almost fell apart, Hei came out devoid of interest and instead concentrated on examining the surrounding environment.

The area around was literally strewn with uncultivated fields covered with weeds left to grow out of control. There were no sources of water nearby except a river that ran several kilometers away that he had seen as they arrived there. Behind him, in the distance, there was a small wood and one of the towers that limited the sect"s perimeter.

Although the s.p.a.ce available for growing plants was enormous, the effort required to do this was just as great.

First he would have to remove all the weeds and dig the soil. Then he would have to secure water sources to support their growth: therefore it was necessary to create wells or redirect the course of the nearest river to move part of the water towards his house.

After preparing the soil and obtaining water sources, he would have to decide what kind of plant to grow. Depending on this, he would have to prepare the soil with compost and dig the soil again, possibly using a plow.

However, Hei wanted to cultivate spirit plants, so it was also necessary to have a spirit vein flowing under the ground nearby. Consequently, finding it was a necessary requirement.

In addition, he had to prepare a place to sleep for all of them and a separate place where buffaloes could also sleep. The house supplied to him was so run down that at this point it was better to destroy it directly in order to have more s.p.a.ce.

While Hei was reflecting on all this, his mother came down from his head and began to examine the surrounding environment. Shortly after, she made a little noise with her legs to call Hei"s attention and told him.

"One of your problems can easily be solved, my little one."

Hei who heard those words, approached his mother to hear what she had discovered.

"Below there is a spirit vein that runs through the area. However, it has dried up unfortunately."

"A dried-up spirit vein? But if it is dried up how can we grow spirit plants?"

"Don"t worry, there is a method. When a spirit vein dries up, it means that it is almost or totally devoid of spirit power. However, over the years it is possible that it can regain his spirit power. But it really takes so many years. Fortunately, there is a system to supply it with energy from outside."

"And you know this method mom?" Hei asked with an expectant voice.

If they really solved this problem, the rest was very easy to solve. After all, although it was a lot of work, it would be enough to simply get busy manually.

"Yes, I know it, but the price is high. I should use the rest of the spirit cores I have preserved. With these, you could buy so many resources immediately, but it is also true that without a spirit vein you will never be able to practice and grow even more rare plants."

Listening to all this, Hei thought thoughtfully. On one hand, he wanted to learn how to grow plants and increase his skills; on the other hand, he didn"t want to waste all those resources that represented a financial security for several years. Finally, he made his decision and communicated it to his mother.

"Mother, I have decided, it"s okay for the spirit cores. I think it"s a price I can pay if it means improving in this field. Besides, I already have the pills for the first stage and I can get contribution points and other things with the sale of my crops."

"If you"ve decided, then it"s fine. I won"t stop you, do as you think, my little one. But now I can"t do that, we should wait for the night, okay? Why don"t we think first about how to prepare a place to sleep?"

Accepting his mother"s suggestion, Hei turned to the buffalo to ask for their help with the old house"s demolition.

With the silk provided by Xing and Bao Bei, Hei created thick threads that he tied along some wooden boards that made up the house. The other end, he gave it to the buffaloes to bite it. He did the same with his sisters who were happy to help. Then taking a thread himself, he gave the signal.

All those who had the thread pulled in the same direction and with their united strength, the ruined house collapsed on itself.

Once the house collapsed, Hei proceeded to remove the remains. Some boards were still good and he decided to keep them aside for a bonfire later in the evening. The rest, on the other hand, was already rotten and didn"t have much use even as firewood. However, it represented a good material as a fertilizer. So he put it aside to be used later.

Now that he had eliminated the old house, it was time to create a new one. Considering that he had already presented his ident.i.ty as that of a beast tamer, it wouldn"t seem so strange to create a house like how they had done in the Multicolored Forest.

The problem, however, was that Lian would live with them. Just in case, Hei tried to ask for her opinion but in vain. In fact, even after several days of travelling, she hadn"t yet uttered a word.

His mother, however, suggested to proceed with the creation of the spider web house which they could later modify if Lian hadn"t liked or found herself uncomfortable to sleep.

Thus, while Shui led the other buffaloes to pasture to eat and at the same time to start removing the weeds, Hei and Ye began to delimit the perimeter of a circle and remove the weeds inside it, while Xing and Bao Bei produced the web necessary for creating the house.

Lian, on the other hand, sat on the ground looking at them absently. But from time to time she would show signs of reaction when Ye and Xing came to her to play a little before getting back to work.

After several hours of hard work, they finally succeeded. Thus, Bao Bei began to maneuver the spider web forming the house"s shape. In a short time, a silver-white dome made of spider web was formed in the middle of that huge green s.p.a.ce.

The dome had a hole in the roof that could be closed from the inside and served as a window, while to the side there was another hole that served as a door. Next to the dome, a stable was made, again with spider web, in order to accomodate the buffaloes. As they fed on gra.s.s, they left the weeds by building the stable directly over them.

With the house and stable"s construction finished, the sunset had come. So they decided to start preparing dinner while they were waiting for the night in order to begin the ritual to revive the spirit vein that flowed into the surrounding soil.