Looking at the title effect, Lin Yi couldn't help but shake his head. There didn't seem to be any substantial benefits, at least the Little Farmer title could improve the quality and yield of the crops.
Suddenly, he looked down and noticed that he had missed the portion of text within the brackets: (Animals cared for long-term have a 3% chance of awakening their ancestral bloodline).
Lin Yi was stunned. The chance of awakening an ancestral bloodline? That seemed like a big deal. Who didn't have some illustrious ancestors like those in Huaxia on Earth, where there's no 'bloodline theory' because no matter the surname, all ancestors would surely carry a bit of noble or even royal genes.
And in the Cultivation World, the possibilities were even greater. Perhaps the chickens he was raising carried the bloodline of a Phoenix, however faint it might be.
Of course, 'ancestors' might just refer to the animal's forebears rather than ancient bloodlines. It wouldn't be too bad if the ancestors of these chickens were Spiritual Chickens.
However, a 3% chance seemed too small. He didn't believe that if he raised a hundred chickens, three would awaken. Naturally, the awakening rate for all animals would be 3%.
Among all the titles he had acquired, this one had the smallest effect value-wise, but also the greatest growth potential. Who knows, he might end up raising an animal with an awakened spirit beast or even immortal beast bloodline in the future.
Lin Yi hurried to the chicken coop, patted a chick's head, and encouraged: "Little chicks, eat well. All I ask is that you awaken the spiritual chicken bloodline."
If they really awakened a phoenix bloodline, he would be worried. He might get hunted down by high-level cultivators to the death, or be confined just to raise animals.
While he was patting the chicks and giving his blessings, he suddenly heard a dog barking from next door. The dog's savage howling made the chickens in their coop restless.
Lin Yi was confused. His neighbor was a young cultivator surnamed Peng who rented five acres of land. After taking care of his Spiritual Field, he usually wasn't around. They hardly ever crossed paths, and he had never raised any animals, so why would there be dog barking?
"Little Lin, Little Lin, are you back?" Old Huang's voice called from outside.
Lin Yi realized that something must have happened, so he opened the door, "Old Huang, what's up?"
Huang De Sheng walked in, closed the door, and looked up and down at Lin Yi, before saying slyly, "You look a bit pale. Did you spend the night at Xun Fang Pavilion? How was it? Did the old man trick you?"
"It was really nice, Old Huang, you really are my life mentor." Lin Yi joked, then asked: "But, you wouldn't have come over this early just to talk about this, would you?"
Just then, another frantic bark came from next door. Huang De Sheng frowned slightly and said quietly, "You heard the dog barking, didn't you? Last night, I planned to call you over to go to Qing Yun City together. But you had already left….."
"Just when I was about to leave, I saw your other neighbour, the young man surnamed Peng, cheerfully sending Manager Zhang off, then packed up and left. Soon after, a middle-aged man moved in with two large dogs. They were barking fiercely at everyone and looked quite harsh."
Lin Yi's face darkened. He didn't expect that Manager Zhang would not give up until he was driven away.
"I think this might be targeted at you. Be careful." Seeing Lin Yi's silence, Huang De Sheng reminded him. Having farmed in the Liu Yun Sect's Outer Sect for thirty years, he had long grown familiar with the shady behind-the-scenes dealings of the stewards.
Before, he thought Lin Yi was too rigid and seemed hard to approach, so he didn't bother to remind him about such matters.
But in the past two months, it felt like this lad had finally gotten it, and they'd become friends, so Huang De Sheng came to warn him.
"Old Huang, thanks for the reminder. But, I think this is probably just a normal move-in." Lin Yi pretended to be nonchalant.
"Hahaha, as long as you get it, that's what counts. I'll leave now." Huang De Sheng wasn't surprised by Lin Yi's reaction. Someone who gave up an opportunity to enter the Inner Sect certainly wasn't a fool.
Lin Yi saw Huang De Sheng to the door, listening to the continuous barking of the dogs next door. It was really rather annoying. The blind date didn't work out, and now that Zhang Yuan Cheng had brought over two mean dogs, was he trying to disrupt his cultivation routine?
During cultivation, a quiet environment was usually needed. These two dogs' occasional savage barks could disrupt one's tranquility, making it impossible to cultivate with a calm mind. He really was resorting to all sorts of low-level tactics to annoy him.
Just then, he remembered that he had just received the [Junior Dung Cleaner] title. Isn't this professional matchmaking? He could use this title to win over the two mean dogs.
However, he dodged this underhanded tactic this time, but Zhang Yuan Cheng's tricks might continue to escalate. He walked into his room, reached under his bed for a parcel, and pulled out six lustrous jade stones. They emanated spiritual energy and were obviously not ordinary items.
These were Spirit Stones, the main resource in the Cultivation World. After buying materials for talisman making, his entire fortune was these six lower-grade Spirit Stones.
Lin Yi thought for a while and took out three Spirit Stones. Now that he had the Golden Finger of the titles, as long as he cultivated steadily, his future was promising. However, Zhang Yuan Cheng wouldn't resort to radical means. These underhanded tactics were only to prevent him from cultivating calmly.
He decided to use half of his fortune to smooth things over, to see if he could resolve the issue. According to the experiences of the 'Little Survivor', this should be considered a survival strategy.
Lin Yi put the remaining Spirit Stones back into the hole, then headed towards Zhang Yuan Cheng's house. Upon stepping out of his house, he saw a middle-aged man sitting in front of the neighbour's house, holding two large dogs. Both of them were brown-black, looked like wolves, and bore a ferocious demeanor.
When they saw Lin Yi passing by, the dogs' barking became more frantic as they lunged at him. Lin Yi didn't hesitate in squeezing his Geng Metal Finger, making a point that surviving and letting people bully you was not the same thing, not to mention that right now, it was just two dogs.
The middle-aged man forcefully pulled the rope, and in an instant, the two fierce dogs were yanked back. With a mocking expression, he said, "Brother, just walk your path. Don't look around, or you'll get bitten by the dog."
"Indeed, I nearly got bitten by some dogs." Lin Yi replied indifferently and then proceeded to leave the area.
Upon arriving at Manager Zhang's house, not even the time it took to drink a cup of tea had passed before he came out with a gloomy face. The three lower-grade Spirit Stones, for a cultivator at the initial stage of Qi Refining, would be a considerable fortune. Yet they were rejected by Manager Zhang, who self-righteously advised him to concentrate on farming and not engage in deviant practices.
"[Little Survivor] Experience +5." A pop-up suddenly appeared in front of Lin Yi's dark face, making him laugh unexpectedly. He hadn't thought that even a failure could increase his Survival Path Experience.