Chapter 88

Early the next morning, Mu Huiyue went to the competition site that Han Ruoyun had mentioned.

The preliminary duels between the families were held at a location outside the Harvest Festival grounds.

Although the flyer didn’t mention this event, it seemed like the locals were well aware of the excitement, as a large crowd had gathered early in the morning to watch.

The viewing area was situated in the center of the duel site, an open area of land after the harvest, with a simple platform set up for announcements.

Surrounding the open space were vast golden wheat fields, with plump ears of wheat hanging from the golden stalks. When the wind blew, a heavy sound echoed, and the air seemed to carry the sweet scent of the wheat.

Though it was called a duel site, it felt more like a cleared patch within the wheat field, accommodating the large crowd of spectators.

Mu Huiyue walked toward the platform and saw the competition details written on it.

This year’s preliminary duels between the families in Xizhou had the theme of the “Wheat Field Harvesting Competition.”

Participants were required to use their own tools to harvest, with the winner being the one who achieved the highest efficiency in a given time.

Mu Huiyue was silent. A family duel, sounding so high-end, she had expected it to be a beast-taming battle, but instead, they were competing in wheat harvesting. It felt a bit too down-to-earth…

However, this also reflected the way the Xizhou families passed down their traditions. Besides the blacksmithing family, there were many other families in Xizhou skilled in smelting, breeding, and talent development.

Even the blacksmithing family wasn’t just Han Ruoyun’s family.

Holding the wheat field harvest competition might showcase these family traditions more effectively than simply having a battle.

The crowd watching the competition was growing, and the event was about to begin. Mu Huiyue saw several heirs of family legacies who would be competing.

The harvesting tools they brought were all quite varied.

There were ordinary-looking sickles, oddly shaped flat devices, giant wooden beast companions with eight vines growing from them, and even beast tamers who controlled large groups of insect-type beasts to assist in the harvesting.

“Huiyue!“

A clear voice called out. Mu Huiyue turned towards the sound and saw Han Ruoyun standing at the edge of the wheat field, waving at her.

She smiled faintly and walked over.

“I thought the preliminary duels would be beast battles,” Mu Huiyue said to Han Ruoyun. “If it’s a wheat harvesting contest, I’m afraid I won’t be much help.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. Just finding the blacksmith’s hammer has already been a big help,” Han Ruoyun said, casually waving her hand.

She was still wearing work pants and sturdy thick-soled boots, with protective goggles hanging around her neck. Her long hair was tied back, giving her an altogether sharp and capable appearance.

A heavy snicker came from the nearby wheat field.

Mu Huiyue turned her head to look and saw a young man who looked about half like Han Ruoyun. His partner beast was a mid-tier Steel-type warrior, the Smelting Steel Ring.

It seemed this was the person who had stolen the blacksmith’s hammer yesterday—Han Qi.

Han Qi’s gaze toward Mu Huiyue was also far from friendly. It was all because of this suddenly appearing woman who had ruined his carefully laid plans.

Stealing the hammer might seem like a brainless move, but it was actually the best way to restrict Han Ruoyun.

Directly harming her or her beasts would attract trouble from the older generations in the family. But stealing the hammer, which was a harmless act, would only make the little blacksmith soldier seem incompetent in the eyes of others.

He hadn’t expected that a stranger participating in the Harvest Festival, and especially a beast tamer with dark-type beasts, would ruin his plan.

Mu Huiyue’s pitch-black eyes looked straight at him, showing no intention of avoiding his gaze.

Making these petty moves before the duel was nothing more than Han Qi thinking he couldn’t match up to Han Ruoyun.

“Someone who doesn’t even have the courage for a direct confrontation—what makes him think he can inherit the blacksmith family’s centuries-old legacy?”

That clear gaze seemed to carry the sharpness of a blade, and Han Qi couldn’t help but freeze for a moment. He instinctively averted his eyes.

“Just wait and see, Han Ruoyun,” he said, turning to his extraordinarily talented cousin, forcing out his harsh words.

“I will definitely win this duel.”

Han Qi gritted his teeth. In a formal battle, it would be hard for him to defeat Han Ruoyun and her blacksmith soldier, but this was the wheat field harvesting competition.

If it came to forging tools, his Smelting Steel Ring would never lose!

Soon after, the organizers announced the official start of the Wheat Field Harvesting Competition.

“Smelting Steel Ring, use Smelting!” Han Qi commanded his beast.

The circular steel ring floating around him began to glow intensely, its shape stretching and shifting within the light.

This was the Smelting Steel Ring’s core skill, Smelting. Unlike the blacksmith soldier’s Imaginary Alchemy, Smelting works on the user itself.

When the light faded, the Smelting Steel Ring had transformed into a massive scythe-like shape, its edges incredibly sharp.

It should now be called Smelting Steel Scythe.

Han Qi continued, “Use the Flying Disc!”

The massive scythe flew out with a swish, cutting down the wheat stalks in swathes as it passed, achieving top-tier harvesting efficiency.

The Smelting Steel Ring completed a full circle and returned to the Beastmaster’s hand. Looking at the large patch of cleared wheat field, Han Qi revealed a confident smile, certain of his victory.

Mu Huiyue couldn’t help but glance at the scythe a few more times.

The C-class attack skill, Flying Disc, was one of the commonly used skills for ring-shaped beasts like the Smelting Steel Ring. It cleverly combined the beast’s characteristics, transforming it into a convenient harvesting tool. This young man, born into a blacksmith family, certainly had some ideas.

“However…

Mu Huiyue looked ahead at the fields of wheat stalks that had been cut down in large patches. The content of the competition was [harvesting] the wheat field. No matter how fast Han Qi cut during the competition, it still relied on manual labor to slowly [collect] it back, which seemed a bit backwards.

She couldn’t help but feel curious about Han Ruoyun and wondered what kind of harvesting tools she would bring out.

Han Ruoyun hadn’t paid any attention to Han Qi’s performance, but she didn’t miss the look of anticipation from Mu Huiyue. She gave a slight smile to the girl beside her and snapped her fingers.

The hammer-wielding soldier appeared in response to the summoning array of triple protective seals.

“Let’s go, little servant, use hypothetical alchemy.”

The hammer-wielding soldier swung the delicate hammer in place, and tiny sparks of light gradually gathered in mid-air. Under the sunlight, it seemed as though sparkling, fragmented gems were shimmering.”

“A lead-gray gleam flashed in Han Ruoyun’s eyes, and a uniquely designed hammer appeared in her hand. The lines were smooth, adorned with mechanical patterns of unclear function.

The Beastmaster family’s inherited talent: Projection!

The starlike specks of light formed a translucent arc-shaped shield in the air. In a daze, Mu Huiyue seemed to see countless blueprints and cost estimation tables appearing inside it, intertwining and merging with the fragmented light.

The hammer-wielding soldier swung the large hammer and struck forcefully at the arc-shaped shield.

Han Ruoyun also swung her hammer, keeping the same distance as the hammer-wielding soldier, striking the translucent energy shield with each blow.

The flying diagrams inside grew more and more, becoming increasingly complex. With each strike from the person and the beast, they fused together, gradually outlining a large and intricate shape.

The hammer strikes grew faster and faster. With a loud “bang,” the hammer-wielding soldier smashed the hammer into the arc-shaped shield in mid-air, and the translucent energy layer shattered in response.”

“Mu Huiyue stared at the massive machine that appeared before her after the arc shield shattered, her eyes slightly widening.

It was a gigantic harvester, standing two to three meters tall, with a streamlined design exuding a sense of power. The alloy body was indestructible, and the wheels, with a diameter of over one meter, firmly pressed against the ground, capable of conquering even the most rugged fields with ease.

The most critical part, the cutting head, was at the front, resembling the sharp teeth of a fierce beast. On either side, flexible and powerful mechanical arms extended, revealing the position of the central cockpit.

Rather than a harvester, the colossal machine before her exuded the aura of a war chariot.

Han Ruoyun skillfully jumped into the cockpit, pulling down the protective goggles on her head, and then extended her hand to Mu Huiyue.

“Come on up, Huiyue.”

Mu Huiyue dazedly climbed aboard. The surrounding crowd was captivated by this war-chariot-like harvester, and more and more spectators gathered around, with gasps of amazement ringing out among them.

Han Ruoyun paid no attention to them. She floored the accelerator, and the harvester let out a thunderous roar as it steadily moved forward.

The hammer-wielding soldier happily swung its hammer, constantly hitting various buttons inside the cockpit, ensuring the harvester operated smoothly.

“Is this the ‘harvesting tool’ you made…?” Mu Huiyue couldn’t help but ask.

“Yep, this thing works way better than a scythe, right?” Han Ruoyun chuckled as she patted the control stick.

“Ku-wawa!” The hammer-wielding soldier wholeheartedly agreed.”

“The blades on the harvesting device spun rapidly, and large patches of wheat stalks fell before the cutting head, being collected by the reaping wheels and sent into the threshing drum inside the harvester. After being cleaned by the blowing wind, they were stored in the warehouse.

Mu Huiyue looked to the back of the harvester, where the threshed wheat spikes formed a golden sea, pouring toward the connected warehouse.

All the tools used in the wheat field harvesting competition lost their power in front of this steel war machine.

This was the perfect combination of human industrial invention and Beastmaster abilities.

“That’s incredible…” Mu Huiyue exclaimed.

She had ridden in all sorts of vehicles, even high-level beast companions, but this was her first time experiencing a large agricultural harvester.

This harvester was forged by Han Ruoyun and the hammer-wielding soldier together.

“Can the hammer-wielding soldier’s skills really achieve this?” She thought back to the process of activating [Hypothetical Alchemy], and the harvester seemed to have appeared out of thin air.

“[Hypothetical Alchemy] is just that kind of skill.”

Han Ruoyun looked ahead, smiling as she replied, “Saying it appeared out of nowhere isn’t quite accurate. I can sketch out the detailed structure of this harvester, every part and every section, even with my eyes closed.”

“The hammer-wielding soldier can forge all the tools. The limit of this skill depends on my learning ability and imagination as a Beastmaster.”

“The blacksmiths of the past could only imagine cold weapons, so farming tools were things like sickles and hoes. Harvesters are the kind of farming tools we should have in this era.”

Mu Huiyue paused for a moment, then smiled.

Han Ruoyun was right—this was the kind of [harvesting tool] a modern-day blacksmith could create.

The limit of a skill depends on the Beastmaster’s imagination…

She couldn’t help but recall the legendary fantasy creature, Ruomeng, she had encountered in that cyber dream.

In that brief experience, she had also felt how a skill, limited only by imagination, could achieve such unbelievable results.

I wonder how Little Dream is doing now?

After it left that dream, she had no idea where it had gone.

“According to Ruomeng’s habits, it probably entered another dream, freely moving between the dreams of different people.

It would be nice to see it again…

Seeing Mu Huiyue’s expression of awe and sentiment, Han Ruoyun inexplicably felt like she had oversold it. She scratched her cheek and said,

“Well, that’s true, but it’s not like I can forge any invincible skill just by thinking about it. If the tool exceeds the hammer-wielding soldier’s energy limit, no matter how familiar we are, we still can’t forge it through [Hypothetical Alchemy].”

She rested one hand on the steering wheel and glanced at the black-haired girl beside her. “That’s why I decided to participate in the contract trial. Whether I can contract a new beast or not doesn’t really matter. After all, my main job is as a blacksmith. As long as I have the hammer-wielding soldier’s help, that’s enough.”

“After the contract trial ends, the Withered Glory Spirit Deer will appear to give a blessing of abundant harvest. It’s not a large-scale protective skill like the one that shields the earth, but more like a natural enhancement brought about by its awakening.”

“In its secret realm, ‘Fenghe Basin,’ beasts that bathe in the blessing of abundant harvest will significantly enhance their internal hidden energy, promoting their evolution.”

This was something Mu Huiyue didn’t know, so she asked, “Does it apply to all types of beasts?”

Han Ruoyun nodded. “That’s right. My little hammer-wielding soldier is already at growth stage nine, and after another bath in the blessing of abundant harvest, there’s a high probability it will evolve. That’s the reason I’m participating in the contract trial.”

Mu Huiyue’s Ellen and White Fang had also reached the high stages of their growth phase. If they bathed in the blessing of abundant harvest together, perhaps their chances of evolution would improve as well.

She was becoming more and more excited about the contract trial.

Han Ruoyun drove the harvester, rumbling across the farmland, as countless wheat spikes were cut and harvested. The golden wheat waves surged continuously, creating a magnificent scene.

Mu Huiyue summoned White Fang, glancing at the shadow beneath her feet, hoping to share this grand harvest sight with her beast companions.

She picked up the white-furred puppy, and as the harvester slowly moved through the golden waves of wheat, Mu Huiyue comfortably squinted her eyes in the warm breeze.

The preliminary competition ended, and Han Ruoyun’s harvester easily took first place, successfully entering the harvest festival contract trial, which would be held the following day.

As a reward for winning, the organizers also gifted freshly made malt sugar made from local wheat.

It certainly tasted sweeter and more aromatic than regular malt sugar. White Fang loved it, so Mu Huiyue bought some more to take home and gave it to Ellen to use in cooking.

“After the competition ended, she took the opportunity to visit more wheat processing factories, and ended the day with a local specialty meal hosted by Han Ruoyun.

Having spent a fulfilling day, she returned to the reserved hotel late in the evening and tied a bundle of plump golden wheat stalks to the head of the bed.

This was a custom of the Westzhou Harvest Festival, filled with the blessings of the land, wishing for everything to go smoothly in the coming year.

Mu Huiyue sat on the bed, gently fiddling with the soft, cute wheat grains and smiled faintly.

It seemed that tonight, she would have a dream filled with the scent of wheat.

…

In the still of the night, the bundle of wheat tied to Mu Huiyue’s bedhead gently swayed.

The movement was like a faint breeze, unnoticed by either the sleeping human girl and the small cloud dog on the pillow or the shadowy soldier hiding in the corner.

A nearly transparent, oval-shaped outline, hidden under the [Invisibility] skill of the mind domain, flickered past the edge of the wheat stalks.

It then paused, turned around, and curiously sniffed at the wheat’s scent.

A happy expression was reflected in the faint transparent outline.

“…Mm?”