Cultivating Demonic Plants on a Large Scale

When Lin Lei arrived at the second hamlet, an unexpected discovery occurred. He sensed the presence of magic within the wheat; although it was extremely faint, he would have missed it entirely had his strength not been so formidable and his focus so sharp.

"Lin Bing, see if you can sense a trace of magic in here. Has this wheat evolved into Magic Bronze Wheat?"

Lin Lei looked toward his guard, David. Although David was only a Silver-ranked warrior, he was also a Silver-ranked alchemist. Lin Lei wanted to rely on him to confirm his own judgment.

Upon hearing Lin Lei speak, those nearby wore expressions of astonishment, never imagining that their territory could possibly cultivate magical plants.

Following the order, David quickly stepped past Lin Lei to the edge of the wheat field, plucked an ear of wheat, and examined it closely.

"Baron, it is indeed a magical plant. Look, the ears are larger than the wheat we saw earlier, and their density has decreased. The color isn't the usual yellow-green, but rather a yellow-red. This is definitely a magical plant in its growth phase."

As he spoke, David popped an unripened ear into his mouth, chewing it to sense the magic within.

"It should be Bronze-tier Magic Wheat. It seems to have shifted to one harvest per year, unlike common wheat which yields two or three. Once this Magic Bronze Wheat turns completely red, it will be time for harvest," David added.

"Good, good, good! My senses were right—it really is a magical plant. David, take some men and check all the surrounding fields to see if they are all Magic Bronze Wheat."

Lin Lei repeated the word "good" three times, arranging for men to scout every field in Yellow Earth Hamlet.

Yellow Earth Hamlet was not large, totaling less than a hundred acres. Five minutes later, David returned with his men, telling Lin Lei with a look of pleasant surprise.

"Lord, I've checked. The entire hamlet is covered in magical plants."

Lin Lei was delighted to hear this and turned to the hamlet chief, who was watching their actions with a bewildered expression.

"You are the chief of this hamlet, aren't you? What is your name?"

"Lord, my name is John," John said, bowing low with a fawning expression.

"Very well, John. Your hamlet's work is excellent, and I am very satisfied. I have decided to reward you with 100 gold coins, and every other farmer with 10 gold coins," Lin Lei said appreciatively.

John knelt in surprise, moving to kiss the top of Lin Lei's boots, but was fortunately stopped by David. David had noticed during their first encounter that the Lord disliked this gesture and had remembered it, which proved useful now.

"Magical crops provide a bonus to cultivation. The human body is the most mysterious treasure, and magic and origin power are the keys that unlock it; magical crops simply accelerate that process. Compared to other magical herbs, magical crops are gentler because they originate from food, leaving fewer impurities in the body, though their effects are naturally much weaker. However, this does not stop them from being a target for every lord. Bronze-tier magical crops can accelerate cultivation for those of the same rank by fifty percent, and by ten percent for Silver-ranked individuals. They have almost no effect on Gold-ranked, but they can still strengthen the body."

Lin Lei recalled what he had read in his books.

He had once considered buying magical seeds to cultivate them himself, but the exorbitant price had ultimately discouraged him. Magical seeds were held by the middle and upper nobility; for them, the magical crop market was a source of recurring wealth. Unless someone paid a massive price, no one would let others possess their own magical crop seeds. Furthermore, magical crops had specific growth requirements—while not as harsh as magical herbs, they were still demanding. These difficulties had extinguished his desire to cultivate them.

But now, none of that mattered. His own land had produced magical crops; he didn't need to spend a fortune on seeds or worry about tailoring their environment.

Although there were over a dozen businesses selling magical wheat in Kul Tiras, including Silver-tier crops, it had nothing to do with Lin Lei. He did not intend to harvest this wheat to sell for money; he planned to invest it all into his soldiers to accelerate their growth.

After organizing his thoughts, Lin Lei steadied himself and spoke to John, who was still standing before him.

"From now on, you will continue to manage this wheat, but it no longer belongs to you; it belongs to the territory. Every harvest season, specialized soldiers will come to reap it. Of course, you won't work for nothing and go hungry; I will pay each farmer one gold coin annually as a wage, and the hamlet chief will receive an additional five gold coins."

"This..." John suddenly stammered. The people around them, thinking he was dissatisfied with the pay, looked at him with disdain. Some guards even quietly placed their hands on their waists, as if one word from the Lord would see John's head roll.

"Such precious things—what if others steal them? Our hamlet is full of farmers without any rank; we couldn't possibly stop a determined thief."

Lin Lei pondered this and realized John was right. Every pound of Magic Bronze Wheat was worth a hundred times that of common wheat. If someone were bold enough to take the risk and steal it, the loss would be immense.

After thinking for a moment, Lin Lei made his decision. "Tomorrow, I will assign two squads to your hamlet—one to patrol during the day and one at night. That way, you won't have to worry about theft."

After giving his orders, Lin Lei lingered for a while to look at the yellow-red wheat fields before heading to the other hamlets.

By the end of the day, he had visited all the hamlets, but no such stroke of luck appeared again. They were all ordinary wheat, which could no longer catch the eye of Lin Lei, who now possessed Magic Bronze Wheat. However, while these fields hadn't developed like the second hamlet, they were similar to the first—full of a bountiful harvest. Once this batch was reaped, Crouching Dragon Ravine would essentially meet its internal demand, and there would be no need to send people to Flower Territory to buy grain every day.

Upon returning to the Lord's Mansion, a cheerful Lin Lei was intercepted by Aierlan, who said she had a surprise for him.

In high spirits, Lin Lei did not resist and followed her to the backyard. He didn't see a surprise, only Avril.

"You are the surprise Aierlan mentioned?" Lin Lei was left between laughter and tears.

"Not me, but my magic! Look!"

Avril skillfully cast a spell. A small water elemental appeared before them. After a day of repetitive, tedious practice, the water elemental had grown to the size of a murloc. This time, Lin Lei was genuinely surprised.

"Avril has only been learning magic for a few days—three, or seven? To cast magic this quickly, she is no worse than those from other great noble families."

"Five and a half days. Avril is truly gifted. Even in my class, those who could learn magic this quickly were few and far between," Aierlan remarked with emotion. She was a student at a famous magic academy in Boralus, the capital of Kul Tiras, where the most talented mages of the nation gathered. To excel there meant one would have a place of standing across the entire planet of Azeroth.

"Avril has such great talent, it shouldn't be wasted. I think we could send her to Boralus Magic Academy to study; that would allow her to grow more systematically and quickly."

Lin Lei rubbed his nose and said with sudden seriousness.

"No, I don't want to go to the magic academy! I finally got to see Brother again, I don't want to leave Brother anymore."

Avril, who had been waiting for Lin Lei's praise, saw her smile instantly turn into a pout, and she spoke with a look of reluctance.

"This..."

Lin Lei was truly thinking seriously for Avril, and her disagreement left him feeling conflicted.

"Let it be. I also came out of the magic academy and am nearly at the Gold rank myself. I can still teach Avril for now; let's wait until she reaches the Gold rank before considering sending her to the magic academy."

Aierlan interceded on Avril's behalf.

"Alright."

Seeing Avril's face on the verge of tears, Lin Lei agreed helplessly.

"Yay!"

Hearing that Lin Lei would no longer send her to the magic academy, Avril's expression shifted from rain to clouds and finally to sunshine. The rapid transition between two such different expressions made Lin Lei want to exclaim: Terrifying!

Well, Lin Lei didn't actually make such a strange gesture. In fact, in Avril's eyes, he had always been a perfect person, a reliable brother.

"Red Fire, go up there and teach that little blue runt a lesson."

Lin Lei didn't shout "Terrifying," but he still decided to let Avril learn a small lesson.

Looking at Red Fire, who spent every day sleeping in the Lord's Mansion, Lin Lei gave it a kick, ordering it to go bite the water elemental Avril had just summoned.

Red Fire was very cooperative; upon receiving Lin Lei's command, it dashed out like a bolt of lightning, slamming straight into the water elemental.

"Red Fire."

Avril hadn't yet realized Lin Lei's sinister intentions; seeing Red Fire wake up, she even greeted it.

"Bang!"

There was no splash of water as Lin Lei had imagined. The Bronze-ranked water elemental was actually trading blows back and forth with the Silver-ranked Red Fire. Avril, standing to the side, cheered for Red Fire and then for the water elemental.

Lin Lei felt a headache coming on.

"Red Fire, you actually dare to play me? You traitor, I haven't seen you for a few days and you've already turned on me."

Lin Lei finally saw it clearly: Red Fire wasn't dealing with the water elemental at all, it was clearly just playing with it. Lin Lei stood to the side and muttered to himself.

"My Lord, are you actually getting upset with a child?"

Aierlan walked over and couldn't help but overhear Lin Lei's muttering. She found it amusing that their usually mighty and domineering Lord was acting like a child himself.

"No, I'm not. Don't talk nonsense."

Lin Lei immediately launched into a triple denial, but that only made Aierlan's smile even brighter.

"Forget it, let these little ones play with Avril. Let's go for a walk; it just so happens I have time to talk with you more."

Lin Lei changed the subject and teased her.

"Mm."

Aierlan agreed with a shy blush. No matter how tomboyish a woman might be, once she has her own husband, she turns into a complete little woman.