Fields of Merit That Cultivate Too Slowly Must Be Eliminated!

Two days had passed since the Crow Lord and the golden eagle Field of Merit had been rescued.

In the cultivation world, the Crow Lord and the golden eagle were still flying west. There was no telling when they would reach the market.

Wentesi checked on them through the Golden Land from time to time, afraid something might go wrong.

The sun gradually sank, and night fell over Emerald Valley.

"Today's cultivation is over."

Wentesi stopped circulating the Hairy Head Sun Method, lifted his four claws, and slowly stood up.

Hairy Head Sun Law Power filled his body to the brim, and even his scales had taken on a faint golden-red sheen.

Walker, the gnoll who had been cultivating beside him, also rose to his feet, following Wentesi with a dopey look.

Wentesi glanced at the gnoll and frowned, feeling somewhat irritated.

Walker's cultivation talent is far too poor. That's all the cultivation tax he's paying me?

Seven months had passed since Wentesi had taught the gnoll Walker the Hairy Head Sun Method and his insights for getting started, yet Walker's cultivation was only at the First Level of Embryonic Breathing.

He still had halfway to go before reaching the Second Level of Embryonic Breathing.

And that was despite the gnoll Walker cultivating diligently every day.

The kobold Kru, on the other hand,

had a great deal of territory business to handle every day and limited time to cultivate, yet he was progressing at astonishing speed.

He was now close to the Third Level of Embryonic Breathing.

If the cultivation tax Kru had paid over the past two days amounted to thirty points, then the tax Walker had paid was probably only five.

Kru's cultivation tax was more than six times Walker's!

Wentesi pondered to himself.

It seems Devil Creatures differ in cultivation talent too. In the future, I'd better find Devil Creatures with a talent for magic and convert them into Fields of Merit. That would be worthwhile: high potential and great returns.

It didn't matter that the gnoll Walker was slow to cultivate the Hairy Head Sun Method.

But cultivating the Hairy Head Sun Method slowly meant he paid less cultivation tax.

And less cultivation tax meant slower progress in Wentesi's cultivation.

That was something Wentesi couldn't tolerate.

After a brief moment of thought, Wentesi looked at the vacant-faced Walker and gave an order in a low voice.

"Walker... for the next few days, cultivate the Formless Muscle-Changing Sutra instead. Stop cultivating the Hairy Head Sun Method for now."

Since cultivating the Hairy Head Sun Method wasn't producing good results, he would have Walker cultivate something else.

No matter what Cultivation Method a Field of Merit practiced, Wentesi, as master of the Golden Land, could draw from it.

The Formless Muscle-Changing Sutra was a fourth-grade Buddhist Body Refining Cultivation Method. Wentesi had previously cultivated it to the first level.

Its effects were fairly good: it made dragon scales harder and sturdier, and a dragon's body and limbs stronger.

But the subsequent stages required a great deal of time and strenuous training. Wentesi had found it too troublesome and hadn't continued.

If Walker had a talent for this kind of Body Refining Cultivation Method and could pay enough cultivation tax, that would be good too.

With that, Wentesi passed the introductory experience and contents of the incomplete Embryonic Breathing portion of the Formless Muscle-Changing Sutra to Walker.

After receiving the information, Walker raised no objections or questions.

He nodded respectfully to Wentesi and immediately began practicing the movements according to the Formless Muscle-Changing Sutra.

"Hey, don't practice here. Withdraw and practice outside."

Seeing Walker begin the movements, Wentesi hurriedly stopped him.

Walker's mind was very rigid now, and he didn't know how to adapt.

Give him one instruction, and he would obediently carry it out, but give him too many and his mind would become confused.

That was also because Wentesi had previously blasted him stupid with Hairy Head Sun Law Power.

Upon receiving the instruction to leave, Walker withdrew without another word.

Watching him depart, Wentesi shook his dragon head, narrowed his dragon eyes slightly, and said:

"Walker's cultivation talent is poor, and he's stupid too.

"We'll see how well he does with the Formless Muscle-Changing Sutra. If that doesn't work... we'll talk about it then."

Every Field of Merit slot was vitally important. Wentesi currently had only five in total.

The kobold Kru occupied one, Walker occupied another, and the golden eagle in the cultivation world occupied one.

"I'm afraid that unless I break through to the Qi Ingestion Realm, I'll always have only five Field of Merit slots.

"I'll have to find good candidates for the remaining two slots too. Preferably ones with potential as mages."

Wentesi sensed things for a moment, considering the connection between the Golden Land's size and his own cultivation, and felt somewhat helpless.

"Still, fortunately, I'm not far from the Qi Ingestion Realm.

"Just counting the cultivation tax Kru pays, my own cultivation speed, and what I've accumulated from eating and digesting the Hairy Head Sun crops produced in the Golden Land..."

After calculating the time, Wentesi murmured softly to himself:

"Barring any accidents, I should be able to break through to the Fifth Level of Embryonic Breathing in another two weeks."

That cultivation speed was indeed astonishing.

Wentesi had cultivated the Hairy Head Sun Method for only a year, and had even spent more than half of that asleep, yet he was already close to the perfected realm.

"Leaving aside the cultivation tax paid by the Fields of Merit, the sun in the Western fantasy world, and the Hairy Head Sun crops in the golden fields, my cultivation talent is still pretty good."

At that thought, Wentesi felt a little pleased with himself.

But Wentesi wanted to go faster still. He wanted strength, wanted to grow stronger, wanted to protect himself.

Whether in the cultivation world or the Western fantasy world, strength reigned supreme; strength alone was the kingly path.

The strong had everything, while the weak lost everything.

The same held true in a true dragon's simple view of values.

The scene of the level-thirteen human warrior Aila ambushing him last time was still vivid in his mind, leaving Wentesi unable to let it go.

"Since I can't cultivate the Hairy Head Sun Method, I can cultivate the Brahma Sound Six Consciousnesses Many Ears Penetration Technique first. I happen to be lacking a means of scouting."

Wentesi took out the Brahma Sound Six Consciousnesses Many Ears Penetration from the gold storage bracelet on the middle digit of his left foreclaw and began leafing through it.

The night passed without incident.

The morning sun slowly rose, and a new day arrived.

A ray of morning sunlight shone on Wentesi's dragon scales, making them glitter with specks of gold. It was a lovely sight.

It also set the Hairy Head Sun Law Power in his body flowing, stirring it into activity.

"It's morning."

Wentesi opened his dragon eyes and stopped studying the Brahma Sound Six Consciousnesses Many Ears Penetration.

"Hmm, I've already mastered the first part. This Many Ears Penetration really is effective. When activated, it makes my hearing ten times sharper."

Wentesi set the muscles beside his dragon ears vibrating, making the air around them hum.

Ring after ring of intricate Sanskrit script appeared on the surface of his two dragon ears.

The Sanskrit characters were not fixed, but constantly flowed and changed shape. It was profoundly mysterious.

As he activated Many Ears Penetration, Wentesi's hearing surged.

From the dragon's nest outward, Wentesi could hear every sound within several miles.

From far to near came the panting of the kobold guards at the dragon's nest, the footsteps of the territory's Devil Creatures, the huffing of minotaurs tilling the planting area, and the roars of bearmen at the training ground on the outskirts.

Each of these sounds reached Wentesi's dragon ears.

Wentesi also discovered that he could control his ears to listen precisely to different sounds.

For example, when he focused on the bearmen's roars,

he could hear the clanging of their armor and weapons and the sound of their breathing in greater detail.

He could hear practically everything about the bearmen while blocking out other sounds, allowing him to capture information more accurately.

"Wonderful, wonderful!"

Wentesi clicked his tongue in praise. This was only the first part, yet it let him hear every sound within several miles.

If he cultivated it to the highest realm, he might be able to hear everything within a hundred, a thousand, or even ten thousand li.

That would definitely be a great help in scouting the enemy.

In terms of the Western fantasy world, it would take at least a high-level, or even a Sanctuary scouting Technique, to achieve this.

Just then, Wentesi heard a series of footsteps approaching the dragon's nest. They were exceptionally steady.

He needed only a moment to recognize who it was.

His ever-loyal chief steward, Kru.

Sure enough, Kru appeared in the dragon's nest the next moment. On seeing Wentesi, he first bowed respectfully, then reported:

"Master, an old human man has arrived outside. He says he's your ally and wants to visit you.

"That old human is very strong, at least a High-Level Transcendent. He also gives off a presence of light. Even dozens of guards working together couldn't stop him."