Ch 56: The Malevolent Monster Just Wants To Farm

Zi Qi gritted his teeth, his expression showing disbelief and hurt. “You’re kicking me out?”

Jiang Lin nodded and bluntly replied, “You heard correctly. Why aren’t you leaving yet?”

His tone was filled with undisguised disdain and impatience, clearly not faked. He truly didn’t care about Zi Qi and found him bothersome.

How could this be possible? Wasn’t Jiang always the one who was compliant and accommodating toward him?

Zi Qi felt lost; he couldn’t understand this person at all anymore. Could it be that all the affection and indulgence Jiang had shown him before were just pretenses?

A chill ran through Zi Qi’s heart. It seemed very likely. No matter how naive, this person was still the son of the Shen Nong tribe’s leader, Yan Emperor Shen Nong. Zi Qi himself had approached Jiang with ulterior motives, so it made sense that Jiang might have been deceiving him all along.

So, had Jiang been lying to him this whole time?

Zi Qi’s face turned cold as he stared at Jiang. “So you’ve been pretending all along? Watching me lower myself to please you, watching me carefully trying to make you happy—did you enjoy that?”

Jiang Lin: “…”

He felt a bit disheartened on behalf of the original Jiang. This Zi Qi turned out to be a completely heartless scoundrel. Since Zi Qi himself had no genuine intentions and approached Jiang with ulterior motives, he assumed everyone else was just as malicious and deceitful.

Jiang’s sincere affection had been utterly wasted on this person.

Suddenly, Jiang Lin changed his mind. He had initially been entirely focused on exploring his newfound powers as a divine son of Shen Nong, thinking only about the joy of cultivating the land. But now, he was willing to divert some of his attention to dealing with this scoundrel.

With a sudden stern expression, Jiang Lin glared at Zi Qi and sneered, “You’re just a spy from the Tu Su tribe, and you dare to accuse me?”

The abruptness of Jiang Lin’s accusation caught Zi Qi off guard. At the mention of “Tu Su tribe,” a fleeting look of panic crossed Zi Qi’s face. Although he quickly masked it and furrowed his brows, saying, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. What Tu Su tribe?” Jiang Lin had already seen what he needed to.

Jiang Lin responded with a cold smile and reached up to pull off a green leaf pendant hanging around his neck. It was a protective charm left by his father, Shen Nong, which allowed him to instantly sense anything happening within the Shen Nong tribe’s territory.

Under Zi Qi’s panicked gaze, the divine power of the Yan Emperor enveloped the area. Jiang Lin, bathed in the golden light of the divine aura, smiled slightly at Zi Qi. “If you have any doubts or grievances, you can take them up with my father.”

A towering figure of the Yan Emperor appeared, and in a moment of desperation, Zi Qi threw something into the air. The space before him suddenly tore open, revealing a portal. With one last venomous look at Jiang Lin, Zi Qi jumped into the portal without hesitation.

A massive hand emerged from the void, attempting to seize the rift, but it was too late. Yan Emperor Shen Nong’s figure appeared beside Jiang Lin, frowning as he sensed the remnants of the icy divine power.

“Is that the Frost God’s power?” he muttered.

Turning to his son, the emperor’s expression softened with concern. “Jiang, what happened?”

Jiang Lin felt a rare moment of tension. After all, this was a legendary figure from ancient myths standing before him. What if Shen Nong could tell that he wasn’t the real Jiang?

But his worries were unnecessary. The emperor assumed his son was simply shaken and walked over to Jiang Lin, reaching out to him.

Jiang Lin’s eyes widened in surprise—Shen Nong was picking him up!

Though Jiang Lin’s body was somewhat delicate, he was still about 1.8 meters tall. However, the towering Yan Emperor, who stood over two meters tall and was muscular and powerful, made him look like a fragile little prince in comparison.

The emperor lifted his son as if he were a child, patting his shoulder with a powerful hand. “Jiang, are you okay?” the emperor asked in a deep voice.

Feeling the weight of the giant hand on his shoulder, Jiang Lin couldn’t help but think to himself, Is this what it’s like to be an ancient being?

He squirmed a little, and it seemed the original Jiang didn’t enjoy this either. The emperor wasn’t surprised, letting him go with a smile. “Jiang is still so shy,” he chuckled.

Jiang Lin stood still and seriously said, “Father, that person just now was a spy from the Tu Su tribe.”

Upon hearing the serious matter, the Yan Emperor also collected himself, the smile fading from his face. He nodded, indicating that he was already aware. “I sensed the power of the Frost God in the place where he disappeared.”

He frowned. “What did he come to you for?”

Jiang Lin replied, “He approached me on purpose. It’s been some time now.”

He then recounted the events of his interactions with Zi Qi over the past period, including the questions Zi Qi had subtly and overtly tried to probe into. He only omitted the part about Jiang developing feelings for Zi Qi.

Finally, Jiang Lin said, “Father, the Tu Su tribe already knows that I’ve inherited the power of the Agricultural God.”

If the Yan Emperor had remained calm while listening to Jiang Lin earlier, upon hearing that last sentence, his face suddenly darkened, and the surrounding atmosphere grew heavy.

Standing before this angered Sun God, Jiang Lin could only feel one thing—heat. It was as if a small sun was burning beside him.

Likewise, all the citizens of the Shen Nong tribe could feel this unusual heat. They stepped out of their homes, looking up at the sun, which seemed much more intense and dazzling than usual, and wondered aloud, “Who could have angered His Majesty the Yan Emperor?”

How could the Yan Emperor not be furious? Jiang was the child he had longed for for tens of thousands of years. When he was born, he was particularly weak, and the Yan Emperor initially thought Jiang might be an ordinary child without divine power. Feeling guilty, he cared for him even more meticulously than his other children.

When Jiang was three years old, the power of the Agricultural God awakened within his bloodline, bringing the Yan Emperor both immense joy and deep concern. He was thrilled that the Agricultural God’s bloodline finally had a successor but worried because his youngest son seemed physically frail and not very strong in combat.

The importance of the Agricultural God’s bloodline to the Shen Nong tribe was evident to anyone with a brain. The Yan Emperor feared that those with ill intentions might target Jiang. After discussing with Jiang’s mother, Yuan Nu, they decided to keep Jiang’s inheritance of the Agricultural God’s power a secret, at least until he grew up, became an adult, and had the ability to protect himself.

Apart from Jiang’s older siblings and a few close confidants of the Shen Nong clan, no one else should have known about this. As a ruler, the Yan Emperor thought far ahead: this situation suggested that the Tu Su tribe had already infiltrated deep into the Shen Nong tribe. And the deliberate approach to Jiang…

A trace of murderous intent flashed in his eyes: Jiang’s significance to the Shen Nong tribe was unparalleled, and he could not help but suspect a conspiracy.

“Father?”

The Yan Emperor returned to his senses, seeing his youngest son looking at him with concern. He smiled, reaching out with his large hand to ruffle Jiang Lin’s head, turning his smooth black hair into a messy mop before laughing heartily, “Don’t worry. Your father has everything under control.”

Jiang Lin suddenly remembered something and quickly reminded him, “Father, when I was with Zi Qi, he seemed to mention the Eastern Sea Domain.”

“The Eastern Sea Domain?” The Yan Emperor frowned deeply. “The Eastern Sea Domain is far away and has always stayed out of the continent’s conflicts. Could the Tu Su tribe have dealings with them too?”

Jiang Lin played the role of a well-behaved young prince, obediently shaking his head. “I don’t know.”

The Yan Emperor pondered for a moment and said, “I will have this matter thoroughly investigated. In the meantime, stay close to home and spend more time with your mother.”

Jiang Lin nodded obediently, then suddenly widened his eyes, looking at the Yan Emperor with eager anticipation. “Father, could you teach me how to cultivate and use the power of the Agricultural God?”

The Yan Emperor was taken aback for a moment. He looked at his youngest son and asked, “Weren’t you not fond of this…?”

Jiang Lin quickly shifted the blame onto Zi Qi. He candidly said, “I was just immature before. I used to think that because I didn’t have the bloodline of the Sun God, I wasn’t strong enough. But now I understand that everything in this world has its purpose. The bloodline of the Agricultural God may be weaker in battle, but it is equally powerful in other ways.”

After listening to Jiang Lin’s explanation, the Yan Emperor suddenly asked, “Did that Zi Qi say something to you?”

Otherwise, how could his youngest son have changed so much all of a sudden?

Jiang Lin thought it was fortunate that he had Zi Qi as an excuse; he could just blame everything on him. He responded indignantly, “He wanted to harm me. He said that as long as I died, there would be no successor to the Agricultural God’s bloodline in the Shen Nong tribe. After that, the Tu Su tribe wouldn’t even need to lift a hand; our Shen Nong tribe would fall into chaos due to a lack of food.”

This was exactly what had happened after Jiang’s death. Jiang Lin looked up at the Yan Emperor with wide eyes, filled with determination. “I realize now how important I am. Father, I promise I won’t be willful anymore. I’ll study hard to master the power of Shen Nong, to help you and our tribe cultivate more land and discover more edible crops!”

The beautiful and delicate young prince had bright, sparkling eyes, like stars hidden within them. The Yan Emperor was deeply moved by these words, and he couldn’t help but hug Jiang Lin again, patting him forcefully several times. “Good! You truly are your father’s son!”

Feeling the heavy affection on his back, Jiang Lin thought, “…”

He followed the Yan Emperor back to the core residence of the Shen Nong tribe. The Yan Emperor’s dwelling was a grand and ancient palace built from towering stones, simple yet imposing.

Before they even entered, four youthful figures emerged to greet them.

“Father has returned.”

“Is Jiang okay?”

“I heard the Tu Su tribe tried to harm our little brother? Hmph, I knew they never had good intentions!”

These four were the Yan Emperor’s other children—Jiang’s older siblings: eldest sister Lang, second brother Yun, third brother Ji, and youngest sister Huan.

With just one look, Jiang Lin understood why the original Jiang had grown up feeling both dissatisfied and insecure. All of his siblings had inherited the Sun God’s bloodline, exuding a strong and vibrant aura. Standing at 1.8 meters tall, Jiang Lin was notably shorter than the average height when surrounded by them.

No wonder this child had felt a sense of imbalance.

However, it was clear that this group was completely oblivious to this fact. They all adored their beautiful younger brother. Jiang Lin was passed around in hugs for a good fifteen minutes before he finally managed to extricate himself from their enthusiastic embraces.

“Hey,” Jiang Lin said, feeling a bit overwhelmed. He straightened his tousled hair and sternly declared, “From now on, no more random hugging, and absolutely no ruffling my hair!”

After all, he had been a king of demons several times; didn’t he deserve some dignity?

Huaiyin and Qingluo had already laughed several times in the space!

The delicate young prince, with a serious expression, insisted that they not hug or ruffle his hair.

Huan burst out laughing. “Oh, Jiang is just too cute!”

Second brother chimed in, “Yes, yes! Little brother says no hugging, but that just makes me want to hug him even more.”

The eldest sister, being more composed, simply smiled at her siblings, secretly thinking, “I want to have a little prince with the bloodline of the Agricultural God too!”