I'm involved in poverty alleviation in a primitive tribe.

Jiang Ning still remembers the look on the bamboo shaman's face, full of bitterness: "Tianlang Shaman, you have no idea! Those bamboo rats in our tribe have nothing better to do than dig holes all day long. They've dug so many holes in our tribe's old settlement that the cubs often get lost underground. I've scolded them, I've punished them, but it's no use! They'll dig again next time!"

"Oh? You're asking why they didn't dig holes here? Hehe! They were exhausted from their escape, and after finally settling down for a few days, they started digging holes in the mountain near our tribe. It just so happened that you sent them to dig the moat and lotus pond, so they didn't have the energy to cause any more trouble. But these yams, I heard they can only be harvested in the fall? Sigh, what are we going to do at other times!"

Jiang Ning simply instructed the bamboo witch: "They can dig holes if they like, but they are not allowed to damage the living area or the planting area. They should dig outside. I happen to have a few things I'm looking for, so let them go underground to look for them."

Further down is the plantation of taro, and its neighbor is still Lianhu Lake.

The lotus lake here is different from the small-scale lotus lake we dug in the Tianlang River basin before; it has truly become a lake.

The lake water was clear and transparent, sparkling in the sunlight, with spotted ducks swimming leisurely on its surface. Some were foraging for food, while others were playing with each other. Jiang Ning also saw many newly hatched spotted ducklings hiding deep among the lotus leaves.

Summer ended in the blink of an eye, and Jiang Ning ushered in his first sacrificial ceremony.

Everyone in the area, along with their battle pets, had been cleaned up and dressed up in the Rock River before gathering at the square in front of the island in the middle of the lake.

The school has been built, but considering that there is only one teacher, Jiang Ning, so only one classroom has been built for Jiang Ning to use for teaching writing.

As for other courses, many combat and hunting skills need to be learned in the wild, and you can go directly to the nearby apothecary to identify herbs.

People from the nine tribes gathered around their respective shamans, and the ferocious beasts used for sacrifices had already been carried to the square.

To enhance the effectiveness of the sacrificial ceremony, various tribes approached the Sirius Tribe, requesting their assistance with the hunt.

Nowadays, the ferocious beasts used for sacrifices by each tribe are spirit-boned beasts, and the Sirius tribe has even captured several pure-boned beasts. However, the number of beasts has also decreased, for fear that the tribespeople cannot withstand such surging energy.

Becoming a pure-bone beast is a hurdle for all beasts; upon breaking through to become a pure-bone beast, they will gain new abilities at this stage.

The same applies to witches; Jiang Ning gained the ability to bestow blessings when he broke through to the Xuanwu level.

Only warriors, even after breaking through to level three, only experience a doubling of strength and a slight enhancement of their bodies, without any other special changes. I don't know why this is.

Jiang Ning stood among her tribesmen, holding her witch's staff. She looked around and nodded in satisfaction. This year, unmarried female tribesmen were no longer subject to any restrictions and could participate in the awakening process just like everyone else.

She activated her incantation, mimicking the previous Heavenly Wolf Witch, and stood in front of the ferocious beast, chanting incantations. The beast's flesh and blood rapidly withered at a visible speed, transforming into pure energy that only the witch could see.

Rock King curiously surfaced from the lake, surveying everything on the shore. Several tribes were beginning their rituals; it had never witnessed such a scene before.

As a ferocious beast with king bones and Jiang Ning's battle pet, it naturally had no reaction to this power.

The group of Xuan Shui Rock Turtles, which were originally swimming freely on the lake, seemed to sense some terrible danger.

Their bodies began to tremble uncontrollably, their eyes filled with fear and unease.

Some of the weaker Xuan Shui turtles even began to try to escape the lake in search of a safer place.

This wasn't due to Jiang Ning's strength, but rather the influence of the shaman's aura on the surroundings, which drove away any life that didn't belong to the tribe.

The other eight tribes were under Jiang Ning's protection, and since they shared the same origin, they were not affected.

Jiang Ning extended her other hand, gesturing for those who needed to participate in the awakening to step forward.

The incantation grew more urgent. With a wave of Jiang Ning's staff, the pure energy spontaneously fell upon the clansmen who were to be awakened. There were only eleven people who were awakened this year, including those who had failed to awaken before.

The light enveloped the eleven people, and soon some of them reacted.

Mao curled up in pain, the paint on his face getting wet with sweat and gradually spreading.

He hugged his body tightly with both hands, as if that could ease the pain.

The surrounding tribesmen, witnessing this scene, all showed expressions of concern and worry. They knew that this was a painful reaction that was bound to occur during the awakening process, and only by enduring it could one become a brave warrior.

It's not that no one has failed before. Those who couldn't make it through could die in serious cases, or at best, remain ordinary people for the rest of their lives.

As the tribe's shaman, Jiang Ning stared intently at Mao, while continuing to chant incantations to guide this power.

Soon, the others, like Mao, also experienced physical reactions.

Fortunately, everyone's physical condition was well-adjusted, and all eleven successfully awakened and became first-level warriors.

Bluegrass followed her mother, watching this scene with longing eyes, silently calculating how long it would take for her to awaken and become a warrior. She had already learned to count.

Jiang Ning waved for them to leave, then began to chant incantations, blessing her people. The spells flowed from her lips like gentle, yet powerful, spring water.

This awakening used very little energy; most of the energy was used on other members of the race.

Some people, stimulated by this energy, actually broke through the bottleneck that had plagued them for a long time and reached a higher level.

The wounds on the body slowly healed. Huo Yun looked at his left arm, the wound was a little itchy, and the scar there was also slowly fading.

After the sacrificial ceremony, the chief invited everyone to have a big meal at the canteen. Rock King also climbed ashore and leisurely followed the crowd along the main road in the middle towards the canteen.

The surrounding tribespeople were all afraid of it and avoided it, taking the path through the stone house.

Rock King didn't care and continued to crawl slowly forward. Jiang Ning followed beside it, not expecting it to join in such a commotion.

There were many large stoves placed at the entrance of the canteen; they were improved versions of the stove from Huoyun.

Previously, a fire had been lit on the ground, and the bluestone slabs had been burned black, as if adding many patches to this beautiful square.

However, it's impossible to get them to give up grilling meat. It's not realistic for them to go home and cook at home. Replacing the bluestone slabs regularly is also unnecessary. Jiang Ning could only have many stoves made for them to grill meat. When they need to dry things here, they can just move them away, which will make cleaning easier.

People from all tribes sat around the stove, enjoying the most sumptuous meal before the autumn harvest.

Rock King also found an open space and lay down. Its huge head came close to Jiang Ning, as if asking her why it had nothing to eat.

Jiang Ning personally went to the cafeteria and brought a large basin of pure bone beast meat to the Rock King. As a result, the Rock King rolled its tongue and the basin was empty.

Jiang Ning was speechless. If they wanted to feed the Rock King, many of their clansmen would go hungry today.

Fortunately, Rock King was just curious and did not ask for more. Instead, he quietly watched the crowd in the square.

Jiang Ning sat down next to Pu Ye, and Bai Ya squeezed in next to her to eat with everyone.

The leaves of the cliff vine covered the entire outer wall of the canteen. When the wind blew, the leaves swayed and rustled.

That year, Jiang Ning turned eighteen.