Light Bulb looked up at Big Beard, who was still sobbing.
Li Banfeng frowned and said, "What are you crying about? You’re in a much better position now than I was when I met you!"
Light Bulb couldn’t understand what Big Beard meant, and Li Banfeng was not in the mood to explain.
As Big Beard slowly walked away, Light Bulb didn’t know whether he should follow him.
After much consideration, he decided not to follow. The difference in their cultivation levels was too obvious. Taking one more step with him might cost him his life.
Having run all this way, Light Bulb was indeed hungry.
He tore open the bread and stuffed it into his mouth in just a few bites, washing it down with water.
Just as he was about to take a couple of bites of something critical, he suddenly felt something slimy beneath him.
Light Bulb looked down and noticed a patch of blood-red soil shifting beneath him.
Light Bulb looked back and gradually understood the situation.
It wasn’t the soil that was shifting, but a gargantuan blood-red worm.
Looking at the size of the worm, it was several times larger than the Domestic Silkworms he had seen in the factory.
Light Bulb felt like crying again.
But he held back his tears, preparing to run for his life.
「The next morning.」
Li Banfeng returned to his territory, and Chu Er had laid out offerings early, waiting for the Local Deity to respond.
Li Banfeng transformed into a dark cloud, carefully checked the Contract Book to confirm that Cui Tiq and the others would not participate in the reclamation, and then illuminated the land parcel.
Now that the reclamation was settled, it was time for the examination. Li Banfeng returned to the Mountain-Uprooting Master’s residence, took the Land Seal, and went looking for Strange Monsters.
The Land Seal carried the cultivation level of his territory, which was the capital to hire Strange Monsters.
Such street-hawking behavior was rather low class.
Actually, among them, there was indeed one who could read, at least recognizing the character "Leaf."
Li Banfeng remembered the Ox-headed Man. Relying on him to understand a notice was a bit of a stretch, but using him as a transmitter should be manageable.
After walking around the territory, Li Banfeng found the Ox-headed Man in a forest, playing chess with the Jujube Tree Monster.
The chess pieces were made of Stone, each with their own chessboard.
The Ox-headed Man threw a Stone at the Jujube Tree Monster, "I’m firing the cannon!"
The Jujube Tree used the chessboard to block and tossed back a Stone, "I’m moving the chariot!"
The Ox-headed Man charged headfirst at the Jujube Tree, "I’m advancing the pawn!"
The Jujube Tree staggered a few steps and picked up a wild horse beside it to throw at the Ox-headed Man, "I’m jumping the horse!"
The Ox-headed Man, struck hard, threw down his chessboard and shouted, "I’m moving the elephant!"
The Jujube Tree snickered, "You dare move the elephant? If Master Qiu hears about this, won’t he kill you?"
The Ox-headed Man shouted, "With Master Qiu not around, I’m moving the elephant!"
He was about to look for an elephant when Li Banfeng, controlling the Projector, Judge’s Pen, and Wine Gourd, appeared before the Ox-headed Man in a swirl of green fire, "Where are you going?"
"I’m moving the elephant..." The Ox-headed Man paused for a long while, then counter-asked, "Who are you?"
Li Banfeng said, "I am the Local Deity of this territory."
The Ox-headed Man sneered, "Another impostor claiming to be the Local Deity, huh? Do Local Deities look like you?"
WHOOSH!
A surge of imposing energy came forth, forcing the Ox-headed Man to step back.
Li Banfeng laughed, "You signed a Contract Book with me before, and you’ve forgotten me already?"
The Jujube Tree interjected, "Brother, that voice is the same as the Local Deity’s we met back then!"
The Ox-headed Man bowed his head and said, "What brings you to my doorstep, sir?"
Li Banfeng sighed, "If you haven’t been schooled, don’t try to sound educated. Is ’visiting’ used like this?"
The Ox-headed Man looked at the Jujube Tree.
The Jujube Tree snorted, "What’s the point in looking at me? I don’t know what ’visiting’ is either."
Li Banfeng said, "I have a job for you. There’s land being reclaimed on the east side of the forest, a three-li parcel. Find some men to inspect them, and there will be a reward after the fact."
Upon hearing this, the Ox-headed Man was pleased, "Let’s talk price first. For a three-li territory, what’s the reward?"
In the past, when He Yuxiu, Zhang Wanlong, and Oil Peach came to reclaim land, the Strange Monsters performing the examination were all found by Meng Yuchun, and no Strange Monster received a reward. Li Banfeng really had no recollection of how much that was.
Now that the Ox-headed Man was asking, to go back and ask Meng Yuchun would be beneath his dignity. After a moment of thought, Li Banfeng stated a number, "If the examination is successful, three months of cultivation level."
The Old Jujube Tree’s branches and leaves trembled, and the Ox-headed Man queried, "Is that total for three months, or does each person get that amount?"
If it was the total, three months was indeed a bit meager.
But if each person got it, Li Banfeng had no idea how many men this old Ox would bring. If a thousand or eight hundred came, Li Banfeng couldn’t afford it, and neither could Chu Er.
Li Banfeng said, "Each person gets it, but it’s capped at ten men."
The Ox-headed Man nodded, "I’ll gather the men right now!"
The Jujube Tree shifted its body, "I’ll come with you."
Seeing their eagerness, Li Banfeng felt he had offered too much.
When compared to Master Qiu, this amount was indeed generous. Master Qiu didn’t offer as much, not because he was stingy, but because he didn’t want the examination to be too difficult.
However, some Local Deities offered even more because some nurtured humans, while others nurtured monsters.
The Local Deities who nurtured humans wanted to lower the difficulty of the examination as much as possible, so their territories would be flourishing with people. Of course, they had to maintain a basic standard. They couldn’t just let anyone take over the land and ultimately let it go to waste.
The Local Deities who nurtured monsters never expected their territories to become Proper Land. They preferred to train the monsters with a heavy reward.