Bastion

A little over an hour after the meal, the sky had already begun to darken, and Zeng Mo had come back to life.

Zeng Mo's thoughts stirred. In an instant, above his divine realm, a cloud of consciousness gathered into a projection. It descended at incredible speed, plunging into the realm below.

Forest clearing.

Little Black and the five cubs were playing with a lotus-seed ball. Nearby, the two dark-spotted white tigers sat on the grass, looking as though they were watching a show.

The bowls beside them were already empty.

"Strange. Big Black Tiger, are there any other tigers around?"

Zeng Mo's puzzled gaze swept over the trees and weeds around the forest clearing, but he didn't spot the figure of the female tiger.

His thoughts stirred, and soon he sensed that the female tiger had already been taken by Big Black Tiger to the river.

At the river, Big Black Tiger was crouched beside the water, watching a huge black shadow swim downstream. Every so often, it surfaced atop a rock jutting out of the current.

Before long, it jumped onto a large, flat rock in the middle of the stream. It crouched low, staring intently at the huge black shadow gliding across the water.

The scene made Zeng Mo think of a story he'd heard before: fishing.

Sure enough, Big Black Tiger was a master hunter. It had caught a fish in the river.

Zeng Mo looked at the huge black shadow in the water and opened the divine realm panel again.

[Water Life: Swimming Creature Population, 200.]

"Yesterday, I invested twenty swimming creatures. I hadn't expected them to reproduce so quickly. In just one night, there are already over a hundred."

"It looks like the freshwater crayfish and freshwater catfish populations have grown. I can arrange to invest more."

Zeng Mo thought for a moment, then took out a white card. A glimmer of light shone in his eyes, and the card in his hand turned into a black light that sank into the water domain.

[The Lord invested 1 Freshwater Crayfish Card in the water domain of his divine realm, obtaining 1,000 freshwater crayfish fry. Divine Realm Area +1.]

[The Lord invested 1 Freshwater Catfish Card in the water domain of his divine realm, obtaining 1,000 freshwater catfish fry. Divine Realm Area +1.]

"Not bad. The next generation of a thousand freshwater crayfish fry and a thousand freshwater catfish fry should take at least three or four months to mature."

"By then, the tigers will be able to catch the fish or eat the big green frogs."

Zeng Mo thought it over, then turned his gaze toward the boundary between the forest and the plains.

The three rice seedlings he'd planted yesterday had already sprouted lush green shoots. Without hesitation, Zeng Mo invested in them again.

[Rice Paddy: Seedling Stage. Barring any surprises, the rice will be ready to harvest in three months.]

"Not bad. I'll have a harvest in three months."

"I wonder what rice imbued with divine energy will taste like. What kind of changes will it bring to my body after I eat it?"

Zeng Mo pondered for a moment, then moved his consciousness toward the emerald valley.

Over there was an open space.

The small detection light had illuminated the area, which was now piled high with jade stones of all sizes.

Zeng Mo looked over the space again, his gaze finally settling on a large, palm-sized piece of emerald-green jade that looked almost like a yuanbao.

[Emerald: Grade-Three Material. A jade stone containing a trace of divine energy.]

"Just as I guessed. The material's grade and the draw's color are connected."

"Still, there are too few pieces of third-grade emerald. There's only one among more than a hundred pieces of emerald."

Just as Zeng Mo was considering whether to keep the divine realm open a while longer, Little White suddenly let out a sharp bark.

"Woof!"

A person had arrived at the Gate of Divinity.

Zeng Mo reacted at once. He left his divine realm and hurried out the door. Through the peephole, he saw a young man in an elegant suit standing outside his front door.

On the opposite side of the corridor, two other young men in suits were moving several large cardboard boxes.

"Hello, I'm Zeng Mo's home delivery courier," the young man at the door said politely, knocking.

"Yes, I'm Zeng Mo." Zeng Mo looked at the several boxes stacked more than a meter high beside the young men. "Are these the goods I ordered last night?"

"That's right. Sorry to trouble you!"

Zeng Mo gave a slight nod, then remembered to add, "Please move the purple sand to the guest room."

He was very satisfied.

Zeng Mo came down from upstairs and went into the guest room, positioning the Gate of Divinity to connect with the forest clearing.

"Roar!"

Little White, who had entered the divine realm through the Gate of Divinity, was playing with Little Black and the five cubs. The moment it saw Zeng Mo, it let out an excited bark and ran over.

Little Black turned and spotted Zeng Mo and Little White at the other end of the Gate of Divinity. It immediately raised its head and let out a low, deep growl.

Zeng Mo put the twenty purple-sand pots away in the storage space, then walked over to Little Black and reached out to stroke its fur.

As soon as Little Black saw him, it kept making excited yelps, rubbing its head against Zeng Mo's palm.

The five cubs nearby seemed to want a share of Zeng Mo's attention, too, and crowded around him.

Naturally, Zeng Mo didn't play favorites. He gave each one a stroke. Unlike Little Black, whose fur was so rough it scratched his hand, the five cubs' fur was soft and smooth. It made him want to give them all a bath.

After playing with the tigers for a while, Zeng Mo looked around at the other creatures, whose numbers had grown enough to fill the clearing. He watched the little animals, along with the two dark-spotted white tigers nearby, as they all ran around eating.

He took all the animals out of the storage space and placed them in the forest clearing, letting them settle in.

After more than an hour of busy work, the twenty creatures and their houses were all settled in.

The animal houses were made of plastic.

Each one had a different shape, but all were about a meter and a half long and half a meter wide. Each had eight small holes inside, all lined with soft grass. Once the animals entered, they could sleep inside.

Once the animal houses were set up, Zeng Mo thought for a moment, then called Little Black and the other tigers over. Regardless of whether they understood, he announced, "From now on, this forest clearing is the new home of your Ba'erte tiger clan. And Little White is your clan's territory guardian, the Ba'erte Tiger King."

"Roar."

Little Black raised its head and let out a roar, seeming to understand. Then, curiously, it ran over to the largest plastic den to play with the lotus-seed ball.

Not long after, the other five tiger cubs ran over, wanting to play with the lotus-seed ball Little Black had left behind.

Little White watched from outside the den. It seemed to want to join in, but then glanced timidly at the two dark-spotted white tigers eating tiger meat nearby.

"It's fine. Go play."

Zeng Mo gave Little White a push and encouraged it.

Little White immediately squeezed inside.

Before long,

it was playing with Little Black and the others in the den, batting the lotus-seed ball around and joining in.

Seeing this, Zeng Mo smiled faintly. He picked up his phone and checked the time. It was already a little past two.

"I'll leave matters in the divine realm to you for now."

"I need to go work hard and earn more Survival Points. I've almost bottomed out."

As he spoke, Zeng Mo left Little White in the divine realm, then returned to the guest room and went upstairs. He opened his bedroom door and began his daily routine.

[The Lord magnanimously forgave the priest who had slandered him, and his people sincerely praised him. He peacefully rested in his private room for a while. Survival Points +10.]

[The Lord was as calm as ever. He walked through the forest, ignoring the great divine temples left behind by other people's descendants, and did not stay in this place. Survival Points +10.]

[The Lord was as mighty as a battle god, walking along the dangerous and treacherous business street...