Although they were no longer as thin as they were at the beginning when they left, and they had all grown quite a bit taller, they still looked rather thin overall.
The people of the Mu tribe can now eat their fill at every meal, and they don't seem to be excessively strong.
Did they go abroad for a month to take hormones?
As Hu Xiao led the group into the tribe, people along the way asked them who they were, and Hu Xiao initially answered them.
Later, even he got tired of talking and simply stopped.
They have changed so much that people in the larger tribes don't recognize them.
The changes within the tribe were so significant that they almost didn't recognize it.
"Priest, are these the thatched huts where everyone lives now?" Rabbit Wind stared at the rows of neatly arranged earthen houses, his eyes wide with admiration. There was something indescribably beautiful about them.
"Yes, your dwellings have also been built in the tribe. I'll take you there now."
Shen Nong led the group into the residential area and asked, "Why are you back now? Is it because of the beast tide?"
Hu Xiao kept staring at the earthen house, but didn't forget to reply to Shen Nong, "Yes, priest."
Thinking of the tribe's fear of the beast tide, Shen Nong asked, "What would happen if we didn't participate in the beast tide hunt?"
Hu Xiao was a little puzzled as to why Shen Nong asked this question. "If we don't participate in the beast tide, we won't be able to hunt enough food and fur to survive the winter. After the beast tide, there will be no prey in the grasslands and forests."
Shen Nong really didn't want the number of people to be any less. Since she couldn't not participate, she would try to find a way to join forces with other tribes.
No sooner had Shen Nong finished speaking than Hu Xiao hurriedly waved his hand, "Priest, we were with all the tribes before."
"But they always let us hunt first and steal our prey. In winter, many people in the tribe starve or freeze to death because there is no food or animal hides."
Tiger Roar felt a little down when he thought about how the tribe used to spend the winter.
But he quickly cheered up again, no longer looking at the house, and said to Shen Nong, "Priest, I can kill a giant beast all by myself now. During the beast tide, I will fight many giant beasts, and no one in the Wood Tribe will starve to death this winter."
He had only one request: not to hunt with other tribes.
Shen Nong felt increasingly uneasy as she listened. When she first arrived at the Mu tribe, everyone there was as thin as a bamboo pole.
Even the strongest tiger roar wasn't much better.
With such strength, why would other tribes send them to be the vanguard during a beast tide?
There's definitely something fishy going on here.
Shen Nong kept this in mind, planning to see what was going on during the beast tide.
He looked at the ten people who had changed a lot and remembered the system notification that the Wood Tribe already had two level seven orc warriors.
Tiger Roar has always been the most powerful warrior in the Wood Tribe. If nothing unexpected happens, Tiger Roar is one of the two level seven orc warriors.
Once we get them to their lodgings, we'll need to use the Bloodstone to test their current strength.
When Shen Nong arranged the houses, she placed the houses for these ten people very close together, and Ze was also arranged to be in one of them.
Ze didn't seem as happy as the others. He looked at Shen Nong, and in his heart, he wanted to live with the priest even more.
But he knew it was impossible.
Shen Nong noticed Ze's expression and couldn't help but think: "That little expression is so pitiful."
After they had seen their respective earthen houses, Shen Nong led them to the cave where he lived.
Shen Nong continues to live in the cave behind the mountain, where he has discovered that he can absorb a lot of wood-type supernatural abilities.
However, his cave is no longer empty as it was at first; now it has a heated earthen bed, a cupboard, and wooden floors.
He took out the bloodstone and had the group test it.
The final test results were: Tiger Roar Level 7, Rabbit Wind and Sheep Tree Level 5, and Ox Wood and Ox Mountain Level 4.
All four female orc warriors are level six.
One more is needed.
The system displays two levels seven.
Shen Nong looked at Ze standing to his side and behind him. Could the other one be Ze?
There was no one else but him, but regardless of whether it was him or not, Shen Nong had no way to test him now. Only awakened beastmen could have their beastman levels tested.
However, Ze has not yet awakened.
Tiger Roar was overjoyed to learn that he was already a level seven orc warrior. He couldn't wait to rush into the beast tide and show off his power by taking down a giant beast with a single punch.
The other eight were also very happy to know that their levels had improved so much.
They must hunt enough prey during this beast tide to ensure that everyone in the tribe is well-fed and has animal hides for warmth.
Shen Nong discussed with them the matter of exchanging salt at the Salt Department. Hu Xiao said that the Salt Department did not exchange salt before the beast tide.
They only exchanged salt after the beast tide, at which time the salt department would need more animal hides than usual to exchange for their salt.
After listening, Shen Nong felt that the people from the Salt Department were quite good at business.
After the beast tide, all tribes had plenty of animal hides, so the salt department raised prices on the spot... Hmm, just like the system, he's a shrewd merchant.
The system was suddenly scolded: it spewed profanities.
After finalizing the plan to exchange salt for the beast tide, Shen Nong instructed the group to prepare for the beast tide a few days later.
Everyone walked quickly, except for one person who lagged behind, dawdling and unwilling to move.
Finally, unable to delay any longer, he lowered his head and said to Shen Nong what he had been keeping in his heart for so long: "Priestess, I am your personal guard. I must always be by your side to protect you."
Shen Nong looked at the other person quietly. He used to be thin and small, but now he was much taller than her.
Even when the other person had their head down, Shen Nong had to look up to see their face.
Every time Shen Nong looked at him, she was drawn to his face. From this angle, she could see his long, thick eyelashes; they were so beautiful.
"But what if only I can enter my cave?"
Shen Nong had a wicked thought; he just wanted to see the other person look pitiful and wronged.
Ze raised his eyes and looked at Shen Nong. Seeing Shen Nong's smiling face, he blurted out, "I slept at the entrance of the cave."
"Is it also at the cave entrance in winter?"
"Um."
Shen Nong feigned confusion, "It's so cold in winter, what if you freeze to death sleeping here?"
After saying that, he added with some regret, "If you freeze to death, I'll have to find another bodyguard."
Upon hearing this, Ze was unsure of what to do. He wanted to get close to the priest, but he also didn't want the priest to have any other personal guards.
After a struggle with his conscience, he decided that he would rather keep the beautiful priestess in his room and watch over her all day long.
After having this idea, Ze Junlang lowered his eyebrows, a small mound rose between his brows, and his expression became extremely serious.
He wanted to give it a try.
Shen Nong had no idea what Ze was really thinking. Wearing thick filters, the more she looked at Ze, the more he seemed to resemble a golden retriever she used to have, who was very clingy.
"You can stay with me during the day and go back home at night."
Shen Nong looked at the tall boy and said, "Bend down and open your mouth."
Ze was immersed in the joy of Shen Nong saying that he could stay by her side during the day. He subconsciously did what Shen Nong said next, and then he found a piece of candy in his mouth.
A rich and sweet aroma wafted out. Ze stood up, still sucking on a milk candy, and gazed at the priest.
He wanted to stay by the priest's side forever.
——
As the beast tide approached, Shen Nong led ten people who had taken the Marrow Cleansing Pill to the place the beast tide was bound to pass through.
When the tribe learned that Shen Nong was also going to participate in the beast tide, it was as if the sky had fallen.
They had experienced life without priests, and now that they finally had priests and life was just beginning to improve, they dared not let the priests participate in the beast tide hunt.
For the Wood Tribe, a beast tide meant death.
Shen Nong had always felt that something was off about the actions of other tribes during the beast tide, and she wanted to figure it out.
His words, "The Beast God's command," silenced everyone in the Wood Tribe, even Hu Xiao and the others believed him.
Shen Nong: Ha, superstition.
When they arrived at their destination, several tribes were already present on the vast grasslands.
Shen Nong recalled what Yang Lei and Yang Dian had told him about their encounter with cannibals in the Ze tribe after they woke up. He asked Hu Xiao, "Do the cannibals also come back to hunt?"
Tiger Roar shook his head, "They can't transform, so they can't fight giant beasts."
Shen Nong was suspicious. Hu Xiao had mentioned giant beasts several times, and most of the tribe's fear of the beast tide came from these giant beasts.
What exactly is this behemoth?
Hu Xiao stood next to Shen Nong and pointed to a group of people with white feathers in their hair, saying, "They are from the Salt Tribe, and they are very powerful. Their tribe has two level seven warriors, while we only have one."
Shen Nong glanced at the orcs of the Salt Tribe; each one was as big as a small mountain, all of them massive.
He finally dispelled the idea among the people around him that they had gone out to take hormones.
But who said their tribe only has one level 7 orc warrior?
The system clearly shows there are two, but he just can't detect this one with the bloodstone for the time being.
"Hey, Ze, isn't that your old tribe?"
Tu Feng nudged Ze's arm with his own, gesturing for him to look over.
To everyone's surprise, Ze not only didn't look at her, but turned his head away, seemingly afraid that they would discover him.
Shen Nong's eyes met Ze's at that moment. Ze moved his lips and asked with some difficulty, "Priest, will you let me go back?"
Before Shen Nong could answer, he changed his words, "Priestess, I can protect you forever, please don't let me leave."
If things weren't a bit off, Shen Nong would have rolled her eyes. Leave? What a joke.
If you eat one of his Marrow Cleansing Pills, you'll die a ghost of his Wood Tribe.
Shen Nong never does business at a loss.
Moreover, judging from the attitude of the Zeze tribe, this tribe is definitely not right.