“The exciting stuff,” someone asked.
“Yes,” Elijah replied. “Ah, but first, does anyone have anything else they want to discuss?”
Nobody responded to Elijah’s question. There were a few people who looked around the room, but most people were focused on Elijah. It was clear that everyone wanted to hear the exciting news he had to share.
“Okay then I’ll begin.”
Over the next four weeks, your territory will experience an increase in the growth of astral herbs, creation of astral stone mines, formation of dungeons and development of various types of natural resources, in random areas. At the end of these four weeks the majority of these natural resources will be destroyed and the energy for their creation will be returned to the Heavens and the Earth. If you wish to retain a natural resource, you must pay for the upkeep of that resource for at least three consecutive days.
Note: These three days must occur before the end of the four weeks.
With a bit of concentration, Elijah was able to share one of the notifications he obtained after he established the village. When Elijah first read the notification, it played an important role in helping him get over his loss of astral energy. Elijah was excited about the natural resources that were about to fall into his lap and considered the daily price of sixty thousand points of astral energy worth it.
Specifically, Elijah was excited about the growth of astral herbs and formation of dungeons. Astral herbs were plants and herbs useful for an individual’s cultivation that reached the first tier. They were usually used by cultivators in the first tier or cultivators in the Qi Condensation realm. However, there were many astral herbs that could be cultivators at tier zero or cultivators in the Body Tempering realm.
“Is this for real?”
“This is amazing!”
Elijah sat back and smiled as he watched his villagers break into excited chatter. He understood the excitement they felt as he felt it himself not too long ago. However, after a minute passed, Elijah silently raised his hand to call for peace so they could continue the discussion.
“As you all saw, our territory has turned into or is turning into, a rich area full of natural resources. While our hunters go into the forest to hunt down beast for their meat, we can have them search for natural resources as well. Although I wish we could all go, we need some people to stay back in the village. And that’s why I suggested we create separate groups for hunters and warriors.”
Looking around the room, Elijah could see the villagers were nodding in agreement. In addition to being excited about the natural resources, the eyes of his people now held admiration and approval as well. Satisfied that they were all on the same page, Elijah gave his people the opportunity to express their opinions.
“Now does anyone have any ideas on how we can better search for the natural resources. Remember, we have to make sure the village is safe as well.”
“We can start by searching the areas of the powerful beast groups,” a man suggested. “I’m sure those areas will definitely have natural resources in them.”
“Idiot, didn’t you read the information properly,” a woman rebuked. “It said that the creation of the natural resources would be random.”
“Random doesn’t mean illogical,” another man interjected. “Beasts usually turn normal areas of the forest into special places suitable for their growth or they find areas naturally suitable for their growth. Either way, it’s very likely that at least one or two astral herbs should appear in the areas that beasts call home.”
“In that case searching the areas of the powerful beast groups is actually a good idea,” the same woman said. “I’m sorry for my harsh words earlier.”
“If were looking for special areas I found a few beautiful areas while I explored the forest,” another woman spoke up. “I think we should look at those places before we go to the beast area.”
“I agree,” a female elder said. “The reason why we left those powerful beast groups alone for so long is because we risk the lives of our men.”
“Our men didn’t attack because there was no reward,” a male elder said. “Now that we know there are resources that can benefit our cultivation, it’s only natural that we risk our lives.”
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“Old man, it’s easy to say such courageous words from the comfort of your chair,” the female elder rebuked him with a bit of heat in her voice.
“Don’t worry,” the elder calmly replied. “These old bones still have some fight in them. I will definitely be at the front when it’s time to fight those beast groups.”
“Beasts have an easier time absorbing astral energy than us humans,” Another male elder spoke up. “If we ignore the beast groups, I’m sure they will be able to rapidly grow by making use of the natural resources that appear in their areas. Ignoring them will be beneficial for us in the present and detrimental to us in the future.”
“Or maybe we should avoid-”
Chaos reigned in the communal area as the villagers randomly spoke and argued for their ideas. However, Elijah did nothing to stop this chaos. He understood that chaos could lead to the creation of great people and great ideas.
Elijah simply sat back and took in the chaos around him. He absorbed all the chaotic ideas that his people introduced into the discussion and attempted to bring order to them as he organized them in his mind. Once he organized his ideas, he would create a plan and share them with his people. If they didn’t find a problem with his plan, then they would all follow it.
“How about letting the children search the forest,” someone suggested.
“That’s a good idea,” a woman agreed. “Those little things have endless energy. It’s about time we put it to good use.”
“I’ll have to disagree with that idea,” Elijah interjected. Normally, he wouldn’t say anything even if he heard a bad idea. However, this bad idea could lead to the death of the village children. With a bit of concentration, Elijah shared another notification that he purposefully kept hidden.
Warning: The increase of natural resources will bring about great changes that will be beneficial and harmful to you and your territory.
As the villagers read the notification, Elijah could feel the atmosphere lose some of the excitement it previously held. Elijah purposefully didn’t show this notification because he didn’t want to dappen the villager’s courage or the ideas they might have. Seeing the serious expression on the faces of his people, Elijah activated his Supreme Speech skill and began to speak.
“I kept this information from you because I wanted to hear your thoughts and ideas without any fear or worry holding you back. Yes, there will be more danger coming our way. But I’m sure you know, probably even better than I do, that this world has never been a peaceful world. Danger and death lurk around every corner, and no one is able to avoid them forever. However, unlike other people we have the ability to benefit from the danger and death that we have to face.”
Pausing for dramatic effect, Elijah began to look around the room. His schooling in real life and his speech skill taught Elijah that pauses could be very useful when he addressed a group of people. After two seconds passed, Elijah continued speaking.
“We have faced danger and death when the goblins attacked our home. But we managed to defeat them and turn them into our slaves. After we won, I was able to establish our village and bring us a ton of benefits. Now death and danger are at our door again.”
Another pause for dramatic effect. “I’m not sure exactly what we will have to face. But I’m confident that whatever it is, we will definitely overcome it! We will smash apart all obstacles in our way and obtain the sweet rewards that are waiting for us! We will fight! And we! Will! Win!”
“Yeah!”
“Fight!”
“Victory!”
The villagers pounded the tables with their palms and fist while they stomped the ground with their feet. Elijah was satisfied with their reaction and let them carry on for a while. After some time passed Elijah raised his hands for silence.
Once the villagers calmed, Elijah clasped his hands and spoke. “Now, I would like to end things on a positive note.” Elijah smiled as he turned to look at Elder Jeb. “Elder Jeb, do you remember what you asked me to do?”
After pondering Elijah’s question for a few seconds, Elder Jeb responded. “I can’t recall anything specific.”
“You asked me to obtain a better cultivation technique for the village.”
The smile on Elijah’s faced grew as he watched Elder Jeb’s eyes widen in surprise. Less than a second later the old man’s body began to shiver in excitement while he looked at Elijah with a face full of disbelief. Of course, Elder Jeb wasn’t the only person who displayed such emotions.
Everyone in the communal area looked at Elijah with stunned expressions on their faces. Although all of them trusted Elijah as their Chief, they all struggled to believe what he was currently saying. However, Elijah could see the hope and excitement in their faces shining through their disbelief.
Currently, the cultivation technique that the villagers were using could be described with two words. Piss poor. Obtaining a good or at least decent cultivation technique would be like winning the lottery for the villagers. That’s why they didn’t even dare to believe Elijah’s words.
Unlike players and goblins, the human characters in Fallen Heaven couldn’t improve by absorbing astral energy from the beast and other creatures they killed. If they wanted to improve, they could only slowly absorb astral energy from the world around them. Although they could absorb energy without a cultivation technique, doing so was like building a house without tools.
“D-did you real obtain a cultivation technique for us?” Elder Jeb asked.
“No,” Elijah replied with a smile on his face.
Despite seeing the smile on Elijah’s face, Elder Jeb’s shoulders still slumped in disappointment. It was obvious that Elijah was joking with him, but because of his current emotional state Elder Jeb wasn’t able to see it. As they say, the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment.
With a smile on his face, Elijah held up three fingers and allowed his voice to echo through the silent communal area. “I don’t have one cultivation technique for everyone. I have three.”