Chapter 65: Digesting the Fruits of the Deal

Chapter 65: Digesting the Profits of Trade

Lin Shengzun’s specialty spiritual item was called the Bloodline Fruit, intended for the tribe’s battle pets. Each pet could consume it three times, and it would help enhance their bloodline, accelerating their natural advancement. This time, Li Hongshen exchanged all the Bloodline Fruits Lin Shengzun had, a total of seven. Since the annual yield was not high, and Lin Shengzun’s own tribe had golden eagles and horse herds, there were not many left for sale. Thus, Li Hongshen seized the opportunity, helped Lin Shengzun secure a monopoly on pottery, and reserved all production for the coming years.

In the endless wilderness, Blood Crystals were like keys, able to open the door of heaven and earth for the tribe’s people and battle pets, allowing them to connect to the bridge of the world, sense energy, and absorb it. When using Blood Crystals, one could rely on their own natural advancement, or use higher-grade Blood Crystals for rapid promotion. However, this method risked unstable foundations and wasted potential, so it was typically reserved for battle pets.

Li Hongshen had previously used this method on Ma Wu because Ma Wu already had the ability to ascend to Earth Shaman. As a native who led the remnants of his tribe out of the vast mountains, Ma Wu’s qualifications and power were long since sufficient, but due to the lack of energy in these outer lands and excessive bodily wear, natural advancement was impossible. The altar blueprints he brought out were stolen, leaving him with only a second-tier Blood Crystal that he could not use—this allowed Li Hongshen to benefit greatly.

Unlike Lin Shengzun, who let his Qingqing Golden Eagle consume three Bloodline Fruits in succession, Li Hongshen could not use them so freely. He estimated that the spiritual energy density in the outer lands would not allow his three wolves—Da Ha, Er Ha, and San Ha—to advance quickly even if they ate all the Bloodline Fruits. It was better to distribute them evenly, so that each received a share.

Li Hongshen first went to the wolf den. During the march, he had refrained from feeding Da Ha for fear of complications, but now, with all three male wolves together, the timing was perfect. The battle wolf pack had nearly completed their development; faint lines appeared beneath both eyes of each wolf, and once these lines deepened, it would mean they were sexually mature and ready to breed.

The three male wolves had begun to show distinct differences. The battle wolf’s face and ears became more defined, their fur was mostly white, but with subtle differences. Da Ha’s fur leaned toward silvery white, shining gold under certain sunlight, its ears were sharply pointed, always perked atop its head.

As for Er Ha, its color was a dull white, ears soft and flat, and its temperament was much quieter than Da Ha’s lively nature. San Ha’s fur was a pinkish white, making it look adorable; its ears were like Da Ha’s, and it brimmed with energy, often found wandering the tribe, sneaking into homes for food.

When they saw Li Hongshen arrive, they rushed to him, rubbing their bodies against him and marking him with their scent. “Hahaha, stop it, Da Ha, you’re a wolf, not a dog—quit licking, really.” After some playful frolicking, Li Hongshen took out the Bloodline Fruits and fed them to the three wolves. Watching them fall asleep after eating, he breathed a sigh of relief.

At their low level, battle pets could not actively absorb energy; after consuming a spiritual item, they would instinctively fall asleep, relying on their biological instinct to absorb the item’s power during sleep. This was why Li Hongshen didn’t feed Da Ha prematurely—without a safe environment, Da Ha would not be able to rest peacefully, and the Bloodline Fruit’s effects would be wasted. Now that they were back in the tribe, there was no such problem.

He then instructed the staff at the beast garden to prepare ample meat for the wolf den. After checking on the crocodile group, he used the remaining Bloodline Fruits to feed two pairs of Storm Eagles.

Once the goods from this trade had been distributed, Li Hongshen began to vigorously develop the tribe. No matter what challenges arose, only with sufficient power and resources could he face them with confidence.

First, he needed to digest the profits of the trade, integrate the new population, and awaken more warriors. Then, as per the alliance agreement, he assembled a hunting party to form a caravan, sending them on trading missions every three months to connect the member tribes of the alliance.

He also reviewed the state of the newborns. Indeed, Li Hongshen and his tribe welcomed the birth of new children during the winter, which delighted him and prompted a celebratory festival. This batch of newborns numbered twelve; thanks to a robust medical system, all survived and had now opened their eyes, crawling around everywhere.

This prompted Li Hongshen to begin developing an early childhood education system, managing the tribe’s infants collectively to minimize the risk of accidental deaths from negligence.

Furthermore, the education system was gradually being improved. Even though there was a skill book for general language, everything about the tribe’s traditions, culture, policies, systems, and the wilderness needed to be taught.

With the population surge, the original large class structure became inadequate, so Li Hongshen copied the exam-oriented tutoring classes from his previous life. He vertically divided the curriculum: tribal traditions, policies and laws, wilderness behavior codes, hunting precautions, and more; then horizontally, he split classes into large, medium, and small based on progress.

Everyone was assigned to a class according to their progress, each with dedicated teachers, and finally promoted through exams and practical assessments.

Every tribe member had to participate, including Li Hongshen himself, who studied the wilderness under Ma Wu, expanding his own knowledge base.

Apart from education, Li Hongshen avoided unnecessary alterations to the tribe’s administration, but did make adjustments for the growing population and improved welfare benefits.

His teachers had warned: the greatest danger was frequent changes in administration. Only when reaching a certain stage should reforms be made, steadily filling and pruning the system to ensure rapid, stable development.

Having experienced education in his previous life, Li Hongshen had learned some “dragon-slaying” techniques, knew how to avoid certain pitfalls, and understood that experimentation was the sole test of truth. The methods taught in school could only be references, offering objective information.

They could not be treated as absolute truth; he had to advance step by step, testing in the tribe through social practice, deciding whether to implement policies based on results. This was what a good lord should do.

Thus, four years passed as Li Hongshen steered the Hong Tribe’s small boat steadily forward.

(End of Chapter)