Li Xiang bought a total of seventy-two rice-paddy fish fry, matching the number of Earthly Fiends. He rode a tricycle to the edge of the rice paddy and carefully released the small fry into the mid-season rice field.

He had no idea how many would survive.

The late-season rice had not yet been planted. If the fish were not big enough by the time the mid-season rice was harvested, he would move them to the adjacent late-season rice paddy to continue raising them.

He was not counting on eating these fish; it was purely for fun and to record a short video. Perhaps it was a form of nostalgia for his life last year.

When he got home, he saw that there was not much firewood left in the woodshed, so Li Xiang decided to chop some in advance.

He had previously gone to Myanmar and Thailand, where he had cut down a good deal of timber while he was at it. He naturally set aside the extremely precious types, like Burmese teak, rosewood, Golden Camphor Wood, and Dipterocarpus, while the rest could be used as firewood. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

If he ran out, he could just go cut more.

He glanced around. Seeing no one, Li Xiang used Creation Out of Thin Air. A thick oak log appeared in the yard. He swung the High-Density Blade. KACHA KACHA! Although oak is hard and this trunk was as thick as a large bowl, it was no match for Li Xiang. Nearly every strike sliced cleanly through, as effortless as cutting tofu.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! With just a few swings, the log was cut into sections over a meter long. Li Xiang then chopped them into smaller pieces, about thirty centimeters in length. He stood each piece on end and split it down the middle. He gave the thicker pieces a few extra chops and the thinner ones a few less, cutting them to a suitable size for the stove. Precision was not necessary; a rough estimate was good enough.

Oak is actually a very versatile wood. For example, a European might use it for winemaking—oak barrels and corks are quite famous. In the flooring market, there are also many oak floors that sell for incredibly high prices. For Li Xiang, however, it was just firewood.

He used it for daily cooking and winter heating, enjoying its unique oaky aroma as it burned.

Oak is one of the best types of firewood, as it burns slowly and provides lasting heat. Its only drawback is that it requires a long time to dry.

’This High-Density Blade feels a bit light... No, that’s not right. My Sword Skill has gotten worse... No, that’s not it either. It must be that my control hasn’t kept up with my increase in strength.’

Although Li Xiang appeared to be swinging the Chopping Knife swiftly, he was not just hacking away blindly. He was integrating elements of his Sword Skill, pondering the techniques involved. It did not take long for him to pinpoint the problem.

He prided himself on the great strides he had made in his Staff Technique, having developed Soft Strength to complement its raw power. However, the Profound Iron Mountain-Removal Rod weighed eight or nine hundred kilograms, whereas this Chopping Knife—forged from a "Rock-Breaking Rolling Blade"—weighed only thirty. It was almost thirty times lighter, so his handling of it lacked "meticulous precision."

Li Xiang paused for a moment, closed his eyes, and silently contemplated some of the Martial Arts he had previously redeemed. Seven or eight minutes later, he had an epiphany. He opened his eyes and began swinging the blade again.

CRACK CRACK CRACK CRACK~

Gradually, his Sword Skill transformed. He became more adept, his application of force more refined.

He stood a log section as thick as a bowl on its end and struck it four times vertically, splitting it into eight segments. But these eight segments did not fall over as they had before; they remained standing, still looking like a complete log.

CRACK, CRACK~ Li Xiang struck twice more, splitting it even finer. It still did not fall.

He kept striking until he had made sixteen cuts. When he made the seventeenth, the "log" finally collapsed with a crash, scattering into thirty-two pieces of firewood across the ground.

After a few more attempts, Li Xiang could make eighty-one cuts without the "log" falling. He stopped practicing then, because chopping it that fine was not ideal for burning.

’Applying great force is no problem, but using less is quite difficult. I need to keep practicing.’ Li Xiang decided to buy a few blocks of tofu tomorrow to practice carving.

Just imagine: with his strength of twenty to thirty thousand jin, if he could carve designs on tofu—controlling his Power down to a 0.001-gram level while still performing various intricate patterns—that would truly be meticulous precision.

Of course, in physics, the unit of force is the newton, but using "newtons" is not very intuitive, so Li Xiang found it easier to think in terms of grams.

Li Xiang’s wood-chopping speed was incredible, even more efficient than a specialized machine. When he truly set his mind to it, it took him less than twenty minutes to stack a full "wall of firewood." Every piece was about the same size. Piled under the eaves, it created a picturesque scene.

Then, he chopped some other types of wood as well, like pine, Birch Wood, and other kinds of oak, because the first batch needed a long time to dry and he might not be able to wait.

On another side of the yard, the gourds he had planted in the spring had now begun to flower.

The wall was covered in white gourd blossoms. They were light and graceful, their forms elegant. The petals had a texture like silk gauze and were quite beautiful. Gourd blossoms are also known as "evening glories."

Li Xiang counted the blossoms: a full three hundred and twenty-six. That did not even include the many small buds yet to open. If they bloomed in succession, there would surely be five or six hundred in total.

’Looks like they’ll produce at least two or three hundred gourds?’ He was a little surprised. ’Are gourds really this prolific?’

Gourd plants have both male and female flowers. The male flowers provide the Pollen. When insects like bees and butterflies gather nectar, they transfer Pollen from the male flowers to the female ones, which allows the female flowers to bear fruit.

In fact, as long as they have enough water, sunlight, and fertilizer, gourds are indeed that prolific. A single vine can produce over a hundred gourds, and Li Xiang had planted more than just one.

Flowers are the reproductive organs of plants. The flowers of some plants are hermaphroditic, also called bisexual flowers.