CHAPTER 273: CHAPTER 264: STARTING A FIRE_1

Jin Tong initially nodded in agreement. But after a while, he suddenly realized something. Did Dark Saint just insult him too??!!! Dammit!!!

The Golden Dragon Beastman suddenly burst into a brilliant golden radiance! Just as the slow-to-react Jin Tong was about to challenge Dark Saint, he discovered that the brat had already fled.

「The third day of the Wise Ones’ competition had arrived.」

This time, they didn’t want to eat the Golden Dragon clan’s slightly odd-tasting food again. Worried about being politely pressured into eating it, they simply brought their own. The Wise Ones had all packed their own provisions, especially those from Water City, Wild City, and White Tiger City. Si Yan had also prepared some snacks to satisfy her cravings—dried sweet potatoes—but nothing else. After all, her lunch would be taken care of by her Beast Husband.

Si Yan opened the lid of the vat for the sweet potato starch. She saw the thick sweet potato starch sediment at the bottom of the vat.

She smiled and said, "Good, it’s settled nicely."

Jin Tong walked over, his eyes wide with curiosity. "Wow, what’s this? Did it work? What do we do next?"

Si Yan stepped back with a smile. "Tai Seng, Jin Tong, you two pour out the water from the vat but leave the sediment behind."

Although Tai Seng and Jin Tong didn’t understand Si Yan’s plan, they followed her instructions, pouring out the water and leaving only the sweet potato starch behind.

Tai Seng asked curiously, "Is this what we need?"

Si Yan replied, "Yes. We’ll take the starch out, spread it, and let it dry in the sun."

Si Yan looked up at the sky. Fortunately, although it was the light rainy season, the weather had been good for the past few days; the skies were clear.

So, Tai Seng and Jin Tong took out the sweet potato starch and spread it on a large wooden board to dry.

While the starch was drying, Si Yan checked the other charcoal kilns.

"The charcoal is also nearly ready."

Drawing on their experience, Tai Seng and Jin Tong broke open all the charcoal kilns, retrieving a large pile of charcoal, which they stacked together.

Many Beastmen held their breath, watching Si Yan intently, because what she was making was indeed quite unusual.

Si Yan announced, "First, we’ll use mud to build a stove."

She took the lead, and Jin Tong immediately assisted her. Soon, a small stove was constructed.

"Next, we need to burn the charcoal."

An onlooking Beastman asked excitedly, "Is Wise One Si Yan going to start a fire?"

"Start a fire? What’s that? Aren’t flames usually brought back from Myriad Beasts City?"

"It means to create fire from nothing—a very powerful ability!"

"Like the Special Abilities of those male Beastmen who possess them?"

"Impressive! Does Wise One Si Yan’s Beast Husband possess the Special Ability to create fire?"

She Wang stood silently. He knew he could create fire, and Si Yan could also borrow his Special Ability to do so. It all depended on which method she chose to use today.

Si Yan looked around. Originally, she had indeed intended to take the easy route and directly use her Lightning Special Ability to start the fire. But after hearing the Beastmen’s comments, she changed her mind. The Beastmen of this world did not yet know how to start fires. Their fire, apart from that created by the few Beastmen with fire-starting Special Abilities, was typically ’heavenly fire’—that is, embers left after lightning struck forests. Starting a fire was still too mysterious for the inhabitants of the Beast World.

Si Yan turned to face the gathered Beastmen, her lips rosy and teeth white, her bright eyes curving into a smile.

So that’s how it is. She realized that the Wan Cheng Gathering was an excellent opportunity to spread knowledge. Thus, the Beast God had established the Wan Cheng Gathering, where the Wise Ones, Witch Doctors, Warriors, and Priests from powerful tribes could showcase their talents. The tribe that truly secured first place would make the greatest contribution to cultural dissemination. This achievement would, in turn, grant them the opportunity to access the Beast God’s legacy. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement.

And she, having already reaped the benefits of the legacy even before the Wan Cheng Gathering, now felt an obligation. She resolved to contribute to the Beast World by teaching them some of this precious knowledge.

"Oh my gods, did you see that? Wise One Si Yan smiled at me!!!"

"You’re delusional! She clearly smiled at me! My heart—oh no, it’s stopped beating!"

"Beast God above, I’ve been utterly enchanted by Wise One Si Yan! Wise One Si Yan, I wish to be your Guardian Beast!!! Please allow me to worship at your feet!!"

Their mother had only smiled ordinarily, yet chaos erupted among the Beastmen in the arena. Dongchi, Nan Mo, Xi Qing, and Bei Ji all retreated slightly.

Although they had always known their mother was truly beautiful, but...

Gods! That scumbag dad’s indiscriminate cold aura could scare someone to death!

Si Yan smiled warmly at Tai Seng. "Tai Seng, I might need you to work hard in a moment."

Tai Seng’s eyes sparkled, completely focused on Si Yan. His ear tips turned slightly red as he chuckled sheepishly. "It’s no trouble. What do I need to do?"

In front of Tai Seng lay a piece of wood with a small hole carved in the middle, filled with fine wood shavings. In his hand, he held a small wooden stick. Then, Tai Seng quickly began to drill the stick into the hole.

Wise One Grey Parrot, spotting something interesting, hurried over as if Si Yan’s station was his own territory. He asked, "Wise One Si Yan, what is this for?"

Si Yan explained, "This is fire-making by friction, or drilling wood for fire."

Jin Yao heard this and muttered softly, "Fourth Brother can start a fire with just a few tries. Why bother with such a troublesome method? It’s so primitive."

But just then, Jin Si Sha stood up, curiously watching Si Yan’s demonstration. Not just Jin Yang, but the other Wise Ones and the onlooking Beastmen all turned their attention to Si Yan.

Si Yan said, "This fire-starting method is time-consuming and laborious, but its advantage is that it only requires a few dry sticks, and the males possess the strength to drill the wood." She smiled. "Of course, I have another, simpler way of making fire."

Wise One Grey Parrot was very curious. "What is it?" he asked.

「Outside the competition area, the four cubs, who had been pushed back by their father, were excited.」

Bei Ji jumped up. "I know, I know! You can use flint!"

Xi Qing chimed in, "And a magnifying glass! But only Mother has one, and she probably wouldn’t teach everyone to use a magnifying glass right now."

Dongchi and Nan Mo nodded in agreement. The four cubs excitedly watched their mother, who seemed to radiate magnificence!

Indeed, Si Yan said, "Flint."

Wise One Grey Parrot was curious. "Flint?"

Si Yan called Jin Tong over. He held two stones, and beneath them were some fine wood shavings.

Si Yan smiled. "Jin Tong, just rub the stones together over the wood shavings."

Jin Tong also smiled. "Okay." With that, he earnestly began the task Si Yan had given him.

As Jin Tong rubbed the flints together, sparks flew from their surfaces, startling Wise One Grey Parrot.

"This, this..."

Si Yan just smiled. "It will be ready soon."

Before long, the sparks ignited the wood shavings. As they caught fire, Si Yan quickly fed the nascent flame with thin, dry wood chips to make it grow.

"It lit! Oh my gods, it really lit!"

"Did you all see that? Rubbing two stones together can start a fire?"

"No, I didn’t see clearly; it’s too far away."

"I regret so much not being a Wise One! I really want to see how to control fire."

"This is so great! It’s truly so great!"

"Previously, only powerful Beastmen knew how to start fires. But now, if we master Wise One Si Yan’s method, all of us Beastmen can use fire!"

"Look, look! Over there, the Silver Wolf Beastman has done it too!"

Everyone quickly looked over. Indeed, the wood shavings in front of Tai Seng had also caught fire! He swiftly added thin, dry wood chips to stabilize the flames.

"Oh Beast God, oh Beast God! This is a miracle! This is the wisdom of the Beast God!"

"Making fire by rubbing wood—that’s fantastic! Flames aren’t as scary as we thought! Starting a fire is so simple!"

"My heart is racing so fast! Can you feel my excitement right now?"

"Magnificent! This is truly magnificent!!!"