Chapter 15: Opening Up Wasteland and Farming

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

The day after the sacrifice, Jiang Xuan tested his strength in front of the bamboo house.

He picked up a huge rock with both hands and slowly stood up. He raised it above his head!

This rock weighed at least 300 to 400 kilograms. If it were the previous Jiang Xuan, he wouldn’t even be able to move it, let alone carry it. But now, he could raise it above his head without his hands trembling.

“Thud!”

Jiang Xuan hurled the huge rock, and a huge pit was formed on the ground.

He looked at his hands in surprise. This was a powerful force!

Then he walked into the bamboo forest to test his speed.

With a “whoosh”, he easily climbed up a solid bamboo tree and jumped between the trees. He was as agile as an ape.

A moment later, he landed on the ground and walked over to where Chi Shao was standing.

“Sister, with my current strength and speed, what sort of warrior am I?”

In the tribes of the Southern Wilderness, after clansmen became warriors, they would draw patterns on their faces with colors to distinguish their levels of strength. One-color warriors were the weakest, while five-color warriors were the strongest.

For example, a one-color warrior would use green paint to draw a pattern on his face.

Two-color warriors would use green and red to draw two lines on their faces. Three-color warriors would draw three lines, and so on.

The stronger one was, the more lines and colors one would have on the face.

These patterns were also an honor for the tribal warriors. With more patterns, they would obtain more resources in the tribe and the worship of their clansmen.

Jiang Xuan really wanted to know what category of warrior he was with his current strength and speed.

Chi Shao said seriously, “You’re considered a warrior of one color.”

“Only one color?” Jiang Xuan was stunned. He clearly did not expect it to be so low.

Chi Shao nodded. “Don’t underestimate a one-color warrior. The strongest leader in the Deer Tribe was only a three-color warrior.”

Jiang Xuan asked again, “What about you, Sister? What color are you now?”

“I’m also a one-color warrior.”

Chi Shao pointed at Hook Vine, Stone Loach, and South Star. “The five of us are all one-color warriors.”

“That’s not right!” Jiang Xuan asked in confusion, “Didn’t Sister join the hunting team before? I thought you would be much stronger than us.”

“I’m not much better than you.

It’s said that in the past, when the Deer Tribe was powerful, only by becoming a one-color warrior would one be qualified to join the hunting team.

But in recent years, the Deer Tribe declined and couldn’t gather enough warriors. Their requirements became lower and lower. Later, as long as you had reached 13 years of age and were healthy without physical defects, you could join the hunting team.

I only joined last year. I didn’t expect the tribe to be wiped out after only six months.”

At this point, Chi Shao’s mood was obviously low. Hook Vine and the others fell silent. The destruction of the Deer Tribe was a pain in their hearts.

Jiang Xuan said, “Sister, don’t worry. When our Vine Tribe becomes stronger in the future, we will definitely take revenge on the Crow Tribe!”

“Yes!”

Chi Shao nodded heavily. The three youths clenched their fists, their hearts burning with vengeance.

Jiang Xuan asked again, “Then how can I become a two- or even three-color warrior?”

Chi Shao replied, “I heard from the people in the hunting team that a one-color warrior only needs to be twice as strong and fast as an ordinary clansman. If you want to become a two-color warrior, you need to hunt an adult wild boar alone.

A three-color warrior needs to hunt an adult bison alone. A four-color warrior needs to hunt a megalodon alone.

As for the five-color warrior, he needs to hunt a wild bear alone!”

A two-color warrior actually needs to hunt an adult wild boar alone!

Jiang Xuan was shocked by Chi Shao’s words.

In other words, a two-color warrior had to have strength, speed, reaction speed, and combat ability that exceeded that of an adult wild boar. Only then could he hunt an adult wild boar alone.

Wild boars in this world were extremely dangerous beasts. Adult wild boars weighed more than 500 kilograms.

Wild boars had sharp tusks, extremely fast running speed, thick fur, and a fierce personality.

Especially after it was injured, it was almost fearless of death. An ordinary ferocious beast would retreat when it encountered a wild boar.

The wild boar also liked to scratch the pine trees and its fur would be covered in thick pine resin, as if it was wearing soft armor. Ordinary weapons, such as stone spears and bone spears, could not cause fatal injury unless they pierced its eyes, hindquarters, and other vital points.

One could imagine how difficult it was to hunt an adult wild boar alone.

As for the bison, the megalodon, and the savage bear, each was more terrifying than the last. The current Vine Tribe did not have the ability to hunt them.

“Then how can I increase my strength?” Jiang Xuan asked again.

“Training, hunting, and eating more meat can slowly increase your strength. However, I heard that if you can eat the meat of some mutated beasts or the fruits of some strange plants, your strength can increase faster.

Also, like yesterday, if you receive a gift from God when offering sacrifices, you can quickly increase your strength.”

Jiang Xuan remembered what Chi Shao said, especially the methods to increase his strength.

Jiang Xuan knew very well that the stronger he was, the longer he could survive in this dangerous world. Only by living long would he have the time to develop the Vine Tribe.

After figuring this out, Jiang Xuan started to busy himself with other things.

It was spring now, a good time to farm!

Jiang Xuan planned to open up the wasteland in front of the bamboo house to try planting grain and vegetables.

Planting and cultivation were more stable ways to obtain food than hunting and gathering.

Jiang Xuan planned to start with farming. If everything went well, he would start cultivation in the future and increase the tribe’s food sources.

Jiang Xuan returned to the house and picked up the bone plow. He called Chi Shao and the others and walked to an empty space in front of the bamboo forest.

Jiang Xuan said, “Beat down all these weeds and burn them later.”

“Alright, chief. Watch us.”

The three youths had just become one-color warriors and were looking for an opportunity to perform. They were not afraid of hard work at all.

They swung the bone plow vigorously and cut off all the dried weeds in the open space squarely in the middle. They crushed them to the ground.

Then, under Jiang Xuan’s command, they dug out a firebreak around them to prevent the weeds from igniting other places when they burned them.

Finally, Jiang Xuan returned to the bamboo house to get a piece of burning firewood and lit a fire.

“Pi pa pi pa…”

The flames started quickly because the weeds were pressed to the ground and a firebreak was set in advance. There was no strong wind. As long as they watched carefully, they wouldn’t burn anywhere else.

“Chief, why are we burning these weeds?” Hook Vine asked curiously.

Jiang Xuan replied, “We’re opening up land for farming.”

“Oh, I see.”

Tribesmen could also farm, but they were still in the most primitive stage of slash and burn farming.

They would choose a large area and burn the vegetation. Then they would use the ashes as fertilizer. They would dig a hole with a bone plow or other tools and bury the seeds. Then they would basically ignore them and wait for the crops to mature in autumn before harvesting them.

The yield of such a planting method was so low that it made one’s hair stand on end. However, the advantage was that it did not take much time and effort. After all, the tribe’s food source was mostly hunting and gathering.

Hook Vine and the others thought that Jiang Xuan was going to use this method to farm. However, they quickly learned that they were wrong.

Half an hour later, the weeds and small bushes in the clearing had been burned clean. The ground was covered in a thick layer of vegetation ash.

This open space was about a hundred square meters. It was neither big nor small. Jiang Xuan was prepared to open it up and plant edible wild vegetables or tubers.

“Tch…”

Jiang Xuan plowed the soil easily by stepping on the trowel of the bone plow. Then he flipped a mass of soil over and continued to dig up another mass.

Hook Vine couldn’t help but ask again, “Chief, after the fire, shouldn’t we dig a small pit and bury the seeds?”

Jiang Xuan said, “Turn the soil over. It can loosen the soil and allow the things we plant to grow better and yield a better harvest.”

Hook Vine was about to ask why loosening the soil could make what was planted grow better, but Chi Shao glared at him and said, “Why are you asking so many questions? Just do whatever the chief says.”

“Oh…”

Hook Vine immediately shut up. Chi Shao was too domineering. The three youths were a little afraid of her.

Stone Loach and South Star also retracted their necks and obediently followed him in opening up the land.

The soil in the wasteland was heavily compacted, and there were many grass roots, tree roots, and stones. The bone plows in their hands were not sharp enough, so it was very difficult to do such work.

Fortunately, tribesmen were relatively strong to begin with, and these five people had just become one-color warriors. Their strength was much greater than ordinary people, and their speed of clearing the wasteland was quite good.

Half a day later, with their combined effort, this wasteland of about 100 square meters was finally opened up.

The grass roots, tree roots, and stones in the wasteland had all been cleared and piled up in the empty space on the side.

Jiang Xuan looked at the newly cultivated land and felt that some instincts hidden in the depths of his mind had been awakened.

He said excitedly, “This is the first piece of arable land of our Vine Tribe. In the future, there will be a second, third, and even countless pieces!”

Chi Shao and the three youths were not as excited. They had the impression that farming would yield too little. They might as well hunt and gather.

Jiang Xuan did not mind. When this land was planted with crops and harvested, they would know the benefits of farming.