Teacher by day, Farmer by passion-Chapter 117: Poor Aqua. (NEW!)

Leaving behind a beaming Aqua, Ace made his way toward the Spirit Kitchen, a place he rarely visited.

Well… there were other buildings he had neglected for even longer.

Take the Spirit Herb Shop, for instance—if that was even its name. It had been so long since he last checked on it that he barely remembered what it was called.

As soon as he stepped inside the kitchen, a rich, savory aroma filled the air, wrapping around him like a warm embrace.

The unmistakable scent of cooked pork.

A man in a white apron turned around, grinning. "Welcome-o, Master!"

It was Shane, the sole cook of the Spirit Kitchen—a spirit who had dedicated his entire existence to the art of cooking.

His sleeves were rolled up, his hands dusted with spices, and the lingering scent of roasted meat clung to his clothes. He looked every bit like a man in his element.

Ace crossed his arms. "Still cooking?"

This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

Shane nodded enthusiastically. "Oh yes, yes, Master! I need-o cook-a lot-o porksy so I can feed-o all the people-o!"

Ace blinked.

'Wow… this guy's funny way of speaking really is just… natural.'

Deciding not to dwell on it, he got straight to the point. "I need you to prepare five Spirit Pigs. Can you make time for it tonight?"

Shane's eyes lit up like a festival lantern. "No problem-o, Master!"

Ace nodded. "Good. I'll be looking forward to having the meal tonight."

Shane puffed out his chest, radiating confidence. "The tastiest-o mealo you've ever had-o. Guarantee-do!"

Ace smirked. "I'll hold you to that."

Leaving Shane to his preparations, Ace stepped outside, already shifting his focus to the next task.

The Divine Garden had recently welcomed a new batch of people, well, living beings, which meant more mouths to feed.

Cooking 24/7 might just become one of Shane's regular tasks at this rate.

'I'll need to bring in more cooks later and make Shane the head chef,' Ace mused.

With that thought, he headed toward the Soul Stone Area, where the dwarves were hard at work.

The rhythmic clinking of pickaxes filled the air, each strike ringing against the earth as they unearthed precious soul stones.

As soon as Ace stepped into the mining zone, Lily greeted him, wasting no time.

"The progress is going smoothly. We're halfway done."

Ace's gaze swept over the bustling workers, watching the steady flow of soul stones being excavated.

His eyes flickered back to Lily. "Why don't you join them?"

Lily crossed her arms and huffed. "For maximum efficiency, of course! If I work, then what will they do? I'm sacrificing myself so that they remain useful."

Ace gave her a long, deadpan stare. "…Right."

Just as he was about to turn away, Lily casually dropped a bombshell.

"Oh, by the way, what should we do with the rebellious ones? Kill them to make an example?"

Ace blinked, his brain momentarily lagging before he processed what she just said. "You mean… kill the chicken to warn the monkey?"

Lily frowned. "Chicken? Monkey? Master, you don't make any sense."

Then, as if struck by divine enlightenment, she gasped dramatically.

"Oh! I get it! But the real monkeys here are the humans, and the chickens are… the dragonkins!"

Ace stared at her, completely flabbergasted. "…Huh??"

Lily beamed, eyes practically sparkling. "Master, sometimes you use words I barely even understand! But as expected of you, comparing pure dragonkind to chickens! Genius!"

Ace looked even more bewildered. "…That is absolutely NOT what I meant."

Lily sighed theatrically, as if her master simply couldn't appreciate his own brilliance.

"Master, you said not to use force. But now they're getting rebellious. Should we just send them back?"

Ace decided to simply nod as he says. "Yeah, good idea. Let's just sell them back—at a cheaper price."

Lily's eyes widened in realization. "But Master, wouldn't that be like treating them as slaves? Doesn't that go against your principles?"

"Lily. Just say yes or no."

Lily's lips curled into a smirk. "Yes, Master. Whatever you say goes. Actually, I'm excited to see how their former companions react when they realize we sold them off."

Ace stared at her.

Lily grinned even wider.

Ace sighed again. "…I need a break."

Pulling up his system profile, Ace skimmed through the details.

* * *

Host Profile:

Talent: Pseudo-Heavenly Talent

Rank: Minor Gold

Bond Beast: N/A

Claimed Area: 536 sq. km

Farmed Area: 0.3 sq. km (30 hectares)

Resources:

Spirit Apples: 1,300 units

Spirit Rice: 1.74m kg

Spirit Mangoes: 2,100 units

Spirit Wine:

10 years: 20 bottles

20 years: 40 bottles

30 years: 120 bottles

40 years: 220 bottles

Farm Animals:

Spirit Chickens – 1.2m 'phoenix' chickens (800k Level 1, 300k Level 2, 100k Level 3)

Spirit Pigs – 606k (150k Level 1, 400k Level 2, 56k Level 3)

Spirit Cows – 410k (60k Level 1, 150k Level 2, 200k Level 3)

Gold Bubble-Tea Fish – 24 (Level 3)

Techniques Learned:

Drunk Man Cultivation Technique (Heaven Grade)

Verdant Dao: The Path of Eternal Harvest (Divine Grade)

Revised-Soul Burning Cultivation Technique (Mortal Grade)

Buildings:

Spirit Connection Gate – Opens a portal to the Spirit Realm every week.

Spirit Kitchen – Any food cooked here receives a random +1 bonus effect.

Spirit Winery – Enhances quality, vitality, and soul replenishment of all products.

Spirit Beast Feed – Produces the best possible feed from available materials.

Spirit Herb Garden – Blessed land where herbs never wither.

Spirit Herb Shop – [Visit the shop to find out.]

* * *

Ace muttered under his breath. "That's… a lot."

No tomatoes? No cabbages?

And what about moonstones? Was Lily being lazy?

Then his eyes landed on the Spirit Herb Shop.

"Aha… I really haven't stepped foot into that place, have I? Did I actually forget about it?"

Ace paused, rubbing his chin as a nagging thought tugged at the back of his mind.

"Now that I think about it… I feel like I'm still forgetting something."

He frowned, trying to trace the elusive thought, but his contemplation didn't last long.

"Master, when can we sell those rebellious fools?"

Lily's cheerful voice shattered his focus like a rock through glass.

Ace blinked, his train of thought derailed beyond recovery. Ah, well. Let it be.

He turned to her. "Lily, come with me. I'm going to visit the Spirit Herb Shop."

Lily perked up instantly, her previous thoughts about selling off the variants forgotten in an instant.

"Ah! Yes, Master! Let's go!"