The Second Evolution

Late at night, within the Jiang Family Farmstead.

Jiang Tu's heart beat a little faster.

The first evolution had relied only on a basic profession to establish the Agricultural Dao Sequence's steady development. This second evolution had a blessing's support and a trait's assistance... what kind of sight would it bring?

He rubbed his hands together and sank his consciousness deep into the Golden Tome.

"Available evolutions: Continue Evolution No. 001 / Begin Evolution No. 002."

Jiang Tu considered briefly.

Start over from the beginning?

That would mean reliving Year One of the Skyfall, watching humanity's migration across thousands of miles from the start, watching them establish themselves in Auspicious Land, then waiting over twenty years of development to reach this point. He only had a little over five years of total evolution time; he could not afford such tossing and turning.

He would definitely continue the evolution!

Once he accumulated more evolution time in the future, he could consider starting a new evolution. Starting afresh had its own benefits too. Different initial conditions, different blessings and professional traits—perhaps they might create unique changes.

For now, he should first thoroughly grasp this No. 001 path.

"Continue evolution!"

Boom—

The scene before his eyes abruptly changed.

A vast and majestic land unfurled with a roar. Mountains and rivers, sun and moon, stars and heavens—ancient and boundless, with the years flowing across it.

"Loading the local Immortal-Phantom World model in all aspects..."

"Loading the beginning of the Great Dao: thirty thousand years ago, the Primordial Immortal Calamity..."

"Evolution number: 001 (continued)."

"Selected profession: Farmer (lv2) (Trait: Premium Quality)."

"Selected blessing: Favorable Weather (1/1)."

"(Note: You currently have only 1 blessing slot. Only 1 type of blessing may be added per evolution. Whenever the reality sequence influence level rises, you will gain 1 additional blessing slot.)"

"Evolution begins!"

Boom!

Jiang Tu's viewpoint instantly rose without limit. Flashes of brilliance leaped before his eyes as he swept across ten thousand years, crossed the long river of time, and descended above the ancient land of Auspicious Land, looking down upon all living beings.

[Sequence Evolution Log]

[Year 22]

It was the autumn harvest season. The golden wind brought refreshing coolness, and waves of wheat rolled and surged.

The fields tended by Luo Jin and the other Farmers saw an unprecedented bumper harvest, with astonishing output! Yield had increased by more than fifty percent... and that was the result of them keeping as low a profile as possible. If they went all out, the yield might even double.

The landlord was overjoyed. He slaughtered pigs and sheep, laid out wine and a feast, and richly rewarded Luo Jin and the others.

After three rounds of wine, the landlord promised, "You truly are masters at farming. Next year, I'll assign you more people and more land! Work hard, and I won't treat you poorly!"

Once the news spread, the surrounding landlords all cast sidelong glances their way.

Some were green with envy, some were curious, and some secretly took note of what these slaves did, blindly imitating the beauty with an ugly frown.

At the end of that same year.

Among the slaves, an underground force quietly took shape—[Old Farmer Hall].

On the surface, Luo Jin's cousin Luo Dazhuang was its leader. In secret, however, everyone followed Luo Jin's lead and regarded him as their chief.

Luo Jin established three iron rules: first, do not expose the extraordinary; second, do not pass on the Dao to outsiders; third, do not vie for strength or fight ruthlessly. Those who broke them would be expelled at best and executed at worst.

[Year 24]

Old Farmer Hall expanded slowly, its influence gradually spreading into the surrounding fields—silent and invisible, yet everywhere.

The slaves discussed it in private.

"Have you heard? Those people from Old Farmer Hall are really something when it comes to farming!"

"Exactly. Last year, there was a severe drought in many places... other families lost harvests, but their yields not only did not fall, they actually increased."

"Do you think... they have some kind of secret?"

"Shh, keep your voice down! Don't let anyone hear you."

Some bold slaves secretly came to seek instruction. Following Luo Jin's orders, Luo Dazhuang turned no one away, but he taught only the most basic farming knowledge, selecting those who showed hope of awakening Awakened Wisdom for deeper instruction.

The slaves benefited beyond measure.

Gradually, people beyond the slaves also noticed this group's development. Many farming households without slave status were tempted, and even some small neighboring landlords sent people to inquire, hoping to hire Old Farmer Hall's slaves at great expense to guide their fields.

But Old Farmer Hall held firmly to its principles, taking slaves as its absolute foundation. Aside from slaves with no one to rely on, no one else could hope to receive their guidance or inheritance.

Because of this, the slaves became increasingly united. They had a backbone, a common goal, and presented a united front against outsiders!

[Year 26]

Old Farmer Hall's Ninth Grade Farmers officially exceeded one hundred.

Its sphere of influence expanded to encompass an entire city. Any slave with decent access to information had heard at least some rumors about Old Farmer Hall.

That year, the second Eighth Grade Field Steward was born.

Li Shitou.

He had also been born a slave. His parents had both died when he was young, and he had been sold cheaply several times before drifting to these fields. He possessed an unyielding temperament and a quick mind. Under Luo Jin's guidance, he awakened Awakened Wisdom, labored tirelessly day and night, and finally attained Eighth Grade.

As Old Farmer Hall's power grew, more people awakened Awakened Wisdom after receiving Luo Jin's instruction and enlightenment, and Luo Jin's cultivation continued to advance.

His Earth Escape technique became increasingly skillful. Although he could still only use it once a day, the distance he could travel grew farther and farther—from three to five steps at first, to hundreds of meters underground, and later, crossing an entire village or town in an instant.

With his bare feet on the ground, he could sense the fields within several miles. Where the soil was loose, where underground water veins lay, where wasteland was suitable for reclamation—he knew it all as clearly as if counting treasures in his palm.

His grasp of the seasons and celestial phenomena also grew deeper by the day. He only needed to look up at the clouds to know the weather for the next three days, or bend down and grab a handful of soil to judge whether the following year would bring abundance or famine.

He even gradually mastered the cultivation methods for dozens of medicinal herbs—those for stopping bleeding, repelling insects, calming the mind and steadying the will, and more... They were all cheap herbs, but they could be found everywhere.

Even so, Luo Jin remained low-key, his words and actions no different from those of an ordinary slave.

Afterward, he promoted a strategy of secretly gathering strength within Old Farmer Hall. He led the slaves away from the main roads of Auspicious Land, deep into remote wildernesses, reclaiming desolate land that no one cared about.

They planted both grain and medicinal herbs in the new fields.

Luo Jin often told those around him, "We are slaves. Our slave status cannot be changed; that is decreed by Auspicious Land's great laws. But our lives should not be decided by others. One day, we will no longer need to work for others. We will have our own land, our own patch of new heaven and earth."

Everyone heard those words and etched them in their hearts.

During harvest season.

The people of Old Farmer Hall discovered something strange.

The fields carefully tended and cultivated by Farmers and Field Stewards not only saw their yields rise another thirty percent, but also produced exceptionally high-quality varieties.

Among thousands of ordinary wheat stalks was one whose ear held grains as large as soybeans, each one plump and full. If one casually rubbed a handful loose and chewed them, one would actually feel a slight increase in strength. Just a few mouthfuls could fill the stomach and stave off hunger for days.

In a rice paddy, one stalk of rice emitted a faint glow at night, dim as fireflies and carrying a subtle fragrance. When cooked into porridge and eaten, it slightly enhanced one's eyesight, making even the distant shadows of mountains appear several degrees clearer.

When the news reached Luo Jin, he rushed to the fields that very night to inspect it.

Under the moonlight, the rice swayed gently, its heavy ears drooping as though they possessed something special.

Luo Jin reached out to touch it. After pondering for a long time, he finally issued an order—hide it.

That night, he ordered people to carefully move every specialty Premium Quality crop, roots and soil included, and transplant them into the new fields.

The new fields were hidden away; outsiders could not find them at all.

After that, Luo Jin expanded the scale of reclamation. He selected the most reliable brothers from Old Farmer Hall and introduced more inconspicuous, cheap medicinal herbs... Those herbs were worthless. Herb farmers were too lazy to plant them, and landlords looked down on them. But Luo Jin believed that if ordinary crops could produce Premium Quality varieties, medicinal herbs probably could as well.

If their medicinal effects could be greatly enhanced, then these little things found everywhere would become Old Farmer Hall's true foundation for development!

From an infinitely lofty height, Jiang Tu looked down upon everything and marveled inwardly.

The effect of the Premium Quality trait was indeed exquisite, hiding surprises within the most ordinary crops.

Wheat like soybeans and glowing rice were both fortunes bestowed by the trait.

Luo Jin's strategy also matched Jiang Tu's thoughts: hide the Premium Quality crops and cultivate them in secret, selecting the best from the best and slowly nurturing them.

Not bad. He was starting to look like a leader!

Steady, cautious, and farsighted.

That was the professional quality an Agricultural Path Cultivator should possess!

Then he thought of Chen Cun...

Jiang Tu shook his head and mourned for him once more.

In addition, these years of evolution had made him notice one crucial detail—

All Agricultural Path Cultivators expanded from a single point to a wider area, radiating outward around Luo Jin, this key figure, and Old Farmer Hall, the core force. No other branch Farmers had emerged elsewhere across Auspicious Land.

This perhaps meant... the professional sequence truly spread with inheritance as its core driving force, rather than randomly appearing everywhere without order!

Would reality be the same?

The Agricultural Path Cultivators first born in Dajiang County—would all subsequent Agricultural Path development radiate outward from Dajiang County?

Jiang Tu silently noted down this conjecture.

The laws within an evolution might not all be correct in reality, but they could at least provide valuable reference!

[Year 28]

The new fields Old Farmer Hall had secretly reclaimed now covered one hundred and fifty mu.

The fields lay in a valley thick with miasma, surrounded on all sides by sheer cliffs, with only a hidden trail leading inside. The land was fertile and untouched. Luo Jin had led people to work in secret for two full years, cutting trees, burning wilderness, digging canals, and diverting water, forcibly carving fertile soil out of a dead end.

The valley was named [Shennong Valley].

More than a dozen varieties of Premium Quality crops had already been planted in the valley, each with its own special traits, along with several scattered varieties of Premium Quality medicinal herbs.

Their medicinal effects truly surpassed the ordinary by far!

Take the Premium Quality bloodstopping herb alone. When crushed and applied to a wound, it stopped bleeding in an instant—more than three times faster than ordinary medicinal herbs.

Luo Jin treated it as a priceless treasure and tended it personally.

The total number of cultivators in Old Farmer Hall exceeded one hundred and eighty.

Among them, there were already three Eighth Grade Field Stewards.

Luo Jin, Li Shitou, and Luo Dazhuang. Luo Dazhuang had broken through at the end of the previous year. His aptitude might not have matched Li Shitou's, but he was grounded and diligent, studying tirelessly day after day. With Luo Jin, a famous teacher, guiding him, he had finally stepped across the threshold of Eighth Grade as well.

But as the force expanded, disagreements became increasingly apparent.

Li Shitou advocated teaching without discrimination.

"We only unite the slaves. In the end, that is just a cup of water against a cartload of firewood! Those lowly farmers and herb farmers do not have easy lives either! If they are willing to follow us, why can't we accept them? Must they be slaves?"

Luo Dazhuang immediately retorted, "The Hall Master has said that stability comes first for now! Those farmers have homes and livelihoods, with too many ties binding them. If something goes wrong, who can bear the responsibility?"

"If we can't bear it, then we do nothing?" Li Shitou sneered. "If we keep cowering like this for a hundred years, we still won't accomplish anything!"

The two argued without resolution, and everyone else had their own inclinations.

Luo Jin's position had always been clear: stability came first. Thus, he had continuously restrained Li Shitou. Li Shitou had always respected Luo Jin as well, so no direct conflict had erupted.

In April, Luo Jin's cultivation reached the limit of Eighth Grade.

His daily uses of Earth Escape rose from once to three times, and its range grew ever broader. With a single thought, he could break through the earth and cross dozens of li. With another thought, he could shift soil to dig pits, cut off water, and open paths... He sensed that a breakthrough was imminent. Above Eighth Grade lay Seventh Grade, Sixth Grade, and even higher realms... He was going into seclusion to make an all-out attempt at breaking through!

Luo Dazhuang loyally guarded his side, never leaving even a single step as he assisted him in his breakthrough.

As for Li Shitou... he decided to use Luo Jin's seclusion to do something significant. He began secretly contacting farmers outside Old Farmer Hall, testing the waters and recruiting people.

Old Farmer Hall stood on the eve of a storm.