Shennong Book

News of Jiang Baiyu's challenge to the Imperial Fighting Team spread like wildfire.

"Have you heard? That nine-year-old transfer student at level thirty is challenging the Imperial Fighting Team tomorrow."

"Seriously?"

"It's true. They're fighting in the arena tomorrow."

"Then I have to see it."

Conversations like this filled every corner of Heaven Dou Royal Academy. A storm was brewing.

And the one at the center of it all?

Jiang Baiyu was cultivating in the simulated training grounds. As he gazed at his Shennong Cauldron and felt the rich vitality flowing from his martial soul, he recalled Qin Ming's words. His eyes darkened. Was the Shennong Cauldron's path limited to flourishing plants? Or did it lie in the essence of the grains?

But were there Soul Beasts like that?

Looking at the divine patterns on the cauldron, Jiang Baiyu closed his eyes. Shennong's Classic of Materia Medica began turning through his mind, its medicinal entries glimmering faintly. The book recorded 365 medicines: 120 superior herbs that nourished life in harmony with heaven, 120 middle-grade herbs that cultivated the body in harmony with humanity, and 125 lower-grade herbs that treated illness in harmony with earth. Four natures, five flavors, and the interplay of seven emotions.

He had studied it for three years. It was far more than a simple herbal text; it kept changing, expanding with the pharmacological knowledge of successive generations.

Now, as he pondered his martial soul, a divine pattern on the Shennong Cauldron flashed. Another bamboo scroll appeared in his mind, shining gold—the Shennong Book.

At a stir of his consciousness, the Shennong Book slowly unfurled. Unlike Shennong's Classic of Materia Medica, this was a book on farming.

As soft light flowed across it, lines of ancient script surfaced in his mind.

"Shennong said:

Millet springs from jujube and comes from the right-hand valley of Mount Yangtou in Shangdang. It flowers after seventy days and ripens sixty days later, taking one hundred and thirty days in all. Avoid planting it on Yin and Mao days.

Broomcorn Millet springs from elm and comes from the left-hand valley of Mount Daliang. It flowers after sixty days and ripens forty days later, taking one hundred days in all. Avoid planting it on Chou days.

Soybean springs from locust tree and comes from the valley of Mount Jushi. It flowers after ninety days and ripens sixty days later, taking one hundred and fifty days in all. Avoid planting it on Mao days.

Adzuki Bean springs from plum tree and comes from the valley of Mount Nongshi. It flowers after sixty days and ripens fifty days later, taking one hundred and ten days in all. Avoid planting it on Mao days.

Sorghum springs from poplar and comes from the valley of Mount Nongshi. It flowers after seventy days and ripens sixty days later, taking one hundred and thirty days in all. Avoid planting it on Wu days.

Buckwheat springs from apricot tree and comes from the valley of Mount Changshi. It flowers after twenty-four days and ripens fifty days later, taking seventy-five days in all. Avoid planting it on Zi days.

Hemp springs from thorn tree and comes from the valley of Mount Nongshi. It flowers after seventy days and ripens sixty days later, taking one hundred and thirty days in all. Avoid planting it on Wei, Wu, Chen, and Hai days.

Wheat springs from peach tree and comes from the valley of Mount Xushi. It flowers after three hundred days and ripens thirty days later, taking three hundred and thirty days in all. Avoid planting it on Zi days.

Rice springs from willow and comes from the valley of Mount Nongshi. It flowers after eighty days and ripens seventy days later, taking one hundred and fifty days in all. Avoid planting it on Hai days."

This was the eight grains! This was Eight Grains Divination!

Jiang Baiyu read on. "Grains sown on days of growth bear abundant seed. Those sown on days of aging and death bear none and struggle to grow."

Qin Ming had said in class that cultivation should suit one's environment, and that a Soul Ring's compatibility with one's source mattered more than blindly chasing a higher age. His words echoed this farming principle from a thousand years ago.

As Jiang Baiyu reached that line, a gentle warmth rose from his Shennong Cauldron martial soul, as though answering the ancient words on the scroll across the centuries.

Of course!

Jiang Baiyu understood. The Shennong Cauldron did follow the path of plants, but the root of his martial soul lay in agriculture!

With his thoughts clear, his Soul Power surged.

The spiritual energy of the surrounding plants slowly gathered and flowed into his meridians.

His Soul Power brimmed with vitality, and his cultivation quietly advanced.

Level thirty-one!

Jiang Baiyu exhaled deeply and rose to his feet. The rich, gentle plant-aspected Soul Power around him withdrew completely into his body.

Heaven Dou Royal Academy was steeped in the spiritual energy of plants, its grounds brimming with soft vitality. It was perfectly suited to cultivating his Shennong Cauldron martial soul. And this was only one unremarkable training ground among many.

Jiang Baiyu stood still instead of sitting down to cultivate again. Deep in thought, he reflected on the Shennong Book he had just read in full within his mind. At last, he understood: the Shennong Cauldron's path was the path of all living things, encompassing both medicine and farming.

When absorbing Soul Rings, perhaps he need not limit himself to pure life force. He could seek the agricultural principles of nurturing, sustaining, domesticating, and raising life.

Some Soul Beasts were old, but lacked the agricultural essence Shennong embodied: fostering all things, providing for people, and nourishing the world. Those would not do.

His conviction grew.

For his future Soul Rings, he need not fixate on powerful wild Soul Beasts. He should seek special Soul Beasts aligned with the rhythms of farming, the seasons of the grains, and the instinct to nurture life. Some might arise alongside the grains, mature with the seasons, and embody the world's cycle of growth and rest. Others might enrich the soil, foster spiritual growth, turn corruption into purity, and align with the essence of purification.

Such Soul Beasts might lack explosive strength and ferocious killing power, but they suited the Shennong Cauldron's innate path best.

By absorbing Soul Rings in harmony with that path, he could return his martial soul to Shennong's true essence. Then his potential would be limitless.

While he was lost in thought, a figure darted out of the nearby woods. A fleeting aura of shadow followed her. It was Zhu Zhuqing.

Her keen Netherworld Soul Power instantly picked up the dense life force around Jiang Baiyu. His cultivation had grown stronger and more refined than before.

She turned to him and asked flatly, "You broke through?"

"Mm. Once I figured things out, the breakthrough came naturally."

After a moment of silence, Zhu Zhuqing spoke again. "The Imperial Fighting Team tomorrow..."

"What? Not confident?" Jiang Baiyu asked.

Zhu Zhuqing said nothing, but she could not hide the worry in her eyes.

Yu Tianheng's Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon was overwhelmingly fierce, and its lightning was formidable. A head-on fight would put both her and Jiang Baiyu at a serious disadvantage.

The Shi Brothers' Black Tortoise defenses were unmatched. Unless they shattered those defenses with sheer Soul Power, the two of them would be unable to break through before exhausting themselves. The brothers were the team's sturdiest shield.

Dugu Yan's Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison was extremely dangerous. Only Jiang Baiyu's unstoppable healing through the Shennong Cauldron eased Zhu Zhuqing's concerns about it.

But the other side had a support-type Soul Master too. With Ye Lingling's Nine-Hearted Begonia providing complete healing, they still could not bring down the Imperial Fighting Team.

And that was without counting the two agility-attack Soul Masters. Yu Feng could harry them from the air while Osler struck with his Ghost Leopard. Zhu Zhuqing's martial soul might be slightly better than theirs, but the huge gap in Soul Power meant they would tie her down.

The entire team had attack, defense, support, and control, with close- and long-range fighters working together seamlessly. They seemed to have almost no weakness.

Even if Jiang Baiyu's Soul Power now matched Yu Tianheng's, the strongest of the seven, the team still had four other Soul Elders and two level-twenty-nine Soul Grandmasters.

If Qian Renxue were there, they could definitely win with their Martial Soul Fusion Skill. But with only Zhu Zhuqing, a level-twenty-two Soul Master, could they win?

That thought brought to mind her family's Martial Soul Fusion Skill—the Hell White Tiger.

Was a Martial Soul Fusion Skill really that important?

Zhu Zhuqing felt powerless.

As if sensing her confusion, Jiang Baiyu pulled her closer and whispered, "Zhuqing, do you know what's bothering me?"

"What?" The sudden tug caught Zhu Zhuqing off guard, leaving her dazed.

"I'm trying to figure out how to win without revealing my ten-thousand-year Soul Skill." Jiang Baiyu grinned. "I never said I was a support-type Soul Master."

Looking at Jiang Baiyu's smiling face, Zhu Zhuqing suddenly wanted to curse. To hell with fate!

She slowly raised her head to look at him. "Senior brother."

"What is it?"

"I want... I want to get stronger." Zhu Zhuqing had meant to say she wanted to hug him, but when she looked at him, she lost her nerve.

"Don't worry. With your senior brother here, we've got this!" Jiang Baiyu beamed.

"Mm!"

"Oh, right! I heard the food's good today. Come on, hurry! Students are definitely going to crowd around us—we're famous!" Remembering what mattered, Jiang Baiyu grabbed Zhu Zhuqing's hand and ran toward Heaven Dou Royal Academy's cafeteria. Nothing was more important than food!

Caught off guard, Zhu Zhuqing ran along with him, her hand in his.

"That's right. We're famous!" Zhu Zhuqing smiled.