"I just loosened some soil—how did you lot dig up a sect-level crisis?" —Lin Zhou
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1 | The Soil Won't Behave
Morning at the Spirit Herb Workshop. The fog hadn't lifted, yet the soil was more restless than yesterday. The spirit grasses in the field looked like they'd drunk spirit-spring coffee; their leaves had tripled in size overnight, poking each other with their tips and crackling with bad tempers.
Lin Zhou squatted at the edge of the field, a small hoe in hand, looking grave. "This soil's off… I loosened it just yesterday, and today it's hard again like it holds a grudge against me."
Xiao Li stood hands on hips with an "I get it" face. "Bro, this is called—the soil's counterattack." He picked up a twig and began sketching a formation in the mud. "Relax, I'll draw it a soothing array."
Halfway through drawing the formation eye, the soil suddenly bulged, as if someone blew air from underground, and with a "poof" popped Xiao Li and the diagram back two steps. Xiao Li landed on his butt in the muck, wiped his face, and said, "Bro… this field is alive!"
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2 | Misunderstanding, Fermenting
Just as Lin Zhou was about to keep loosening the soil, a few inner-sect disciples arrived outside the workshop, spirit-beast bags on their backs, looking tense. "Someone reported a 'spirit field anomaly' here," one of them said sternly.
Lin Zhou froze. "Reported? Is farming illegal now?" Another murmured, "Heard you loosened the soil yesterday and out popped Prince Chiyan… and today you're cultivating unknown mutant spirit herbs."
Farther off, a rubbernecker added softly, twisting the knife, "Keep it down—I heard what's buried in his spirit field isn't a spiritual root, but the spine of an ancient demon god."
Lin Zhou: "…"
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3 | Visit from the Earth-Armored Beast
Before Lin Zhou could explain, the soil at his feet split, and an Earth-Armored Beast burst out with a boom. Its whole body was wrapped in thick rock plates, and its eyes were like two rolling stone marbles, staring at Lin Zhou—or rather, at the spirit field behind him.
Xiao Li's pupils tightened. "Bro, it's here to steal your spirit grass!" Lin Zhou didn't move. "No rush. It has to get past me first."
The Earth-Armored Beast gave a low roar and turned into a surge of mud as it charged. Lin Zhou sidestepped, and the small hoe tapped precisely on the bridge of its nose— "CLANG!" The metallic ring echoed, making the beast stagger half a step back.
Seizing the moment, Xiao Li whipped a string of dried chili peppers from his chest and slapped them onto the beast's face. "So spicy you'll cry!" he shouted.
The Earth-Armored Beast sneezed, spraying mud everywhere. In the chaos, Lin Zhou smashed the crack in its chest plate with the hoe. The beast let out a shriek, flipped, and drilled back underground, leaving behind a steaming hole.
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4 | Aftermath and Foreshadowing
The onlookers were already spinning new rumors before the fight had even settled— "Did you see that? Lin Zhou sent an Earth-Armored Beast back to the planet's core with a single hoe!" "And that kid—he drove off an earth-rank spirit beast with a handful of chilies… maybe he's the Demon Clan's Holy Son?"
Xiao Li put on an innocent face, clasped his hands behind his back, and sidled behind Lin Zhou, but the tips of his ears warmed—there, a faint thread of golden light flickered and quickly vanished.
Lin Zhou didn't notice. He just patted the boy's head. "Go wash your face, or people will think I'm abusing a child."
Xiao Li thought to himself: That strange surge of heat… what on earth is it?