Mecha Era, Punch the Stars

After the Youchao clan developed the first color-coded script, which was used to record key experiences and dates.

They gradually discovered the four seasons and various solar terms, as well as methods for calculating them.

Originally, this was a so-called 'supreme divine art' that only the high priest possessed, but as the calendar was perfected, this technique gradually spread.

But this did not hinder the high priest's authority in any way.

Within the tribe, the high priest was instead held in even greater respect.

The reason is that although a calendar exists, it is not yet perfect.

The high priest, however, could use almost instinctive intuition to determine when it was the rainy season and when it was winter, and then provide corresponding adjustments for the tribe.

His children also made greater contributions and gradually gained a greater reputation within the tribe.

In the blink of an eye, another ten years have passed.

The average lifespan of dog people has increased again to 30 years.

During this period, the third generation of dog people also gradually grew up.

Jiang, Cang, Chai, and Zhi, the four children, also started their own families and developed their own small plots of land.

The total population of the tribe has exceeded one thousand.

The entire mountain, from its steep slopes to its smooth, wooded base, is dotted with the dog-men's tree nests.

After pioneering, they discovered a beautiful, huge lake in the eastern region. The surrounding mudflats could not support large creatures, but were suitable for the small canines like them to live in.

The Donghu area is basically occupied by the young and middle-aged people and their descendants who were brought out by Jiang.

They found two ways to reliably obtain food from East Lake.

One method is to plant a food called rice on the tidal flats. It can be sown in spring and harvested in autumn. With thousands of acres of land, the crop can be rotated to solve most of their winter food problem.

The rice plant was discovered by the son of ginger.

Rice has long followed ginger in learning how to find suitable medicines and foods among plants.

The Donghu plot is covered with rice, which is easy to grow.

Peeling back the husk reveals that while the grains inside taste bitter, they have a subtle sweetness after chewing.

He also discovered that a type of rice with short stems produces rice with a richer sweetness.

So they tried to remove other types of rice from the mudflats, leaving only this short-stemmed variety. Over the years, they not only solved the problem of food abundance, but also became significantly stronger than the dogs who ate only one type of rice. They also accumulated a lot of experience in cultivating short-stemmed rice.

Secondly, they can catch fish in East Lake, where the catch is relatively stable, which can solve their meat problem most of the time.

Of course, East Lake is vast and stretches as far as the eye can see, with strong undercurrents, so fishing with their slender bodies is quite risky.

They initially figured out the waterways near the lake only after several young men had died, been injured, or drowned.

In addition, giant lake monsters occasionally appear, so although they have developed quite well in East Lake, they have not been able to expand to their maximum extent.

The group consists of 700 people on the other side of the mountain and 300 people on the other side of East Lake.

Nevertheless, they are the most developed tribe in the surrounding area.

However, to break through the population bottleneck and develop a more prosperous dog-human civilization, it is still necessary to solve larger-scale production and preservation methods.

The reason they wanted a larger population was because they discovered that the more people there were, the easier it would be to defend against various natural disasters and attacks from wild animals.

This world is not safe; large creatures, some tens of meters tall, are everywhere.

In other words, they relied on tree nests and flint, had mountains behind them, and made use of the unique environment of the mudflats to avoid being attacked by large creatures.

Despite this, a significant number of canines die each year while hunting. Their current only options are to eat more, grow taller and stronger, forge more lethal weapons, and set traps to create an overwhelming human advantage in an attempt to kill any large creatures that intrude into their territory.

Outside their tribe, there are also some small tribes of dog people living, but survival is very difficult, and they are all gradually seeking refuge with their tribe.

This is another reason why their population doubled during this period.

As food preservation technology gradually improved and experience was passed down in an orderly manner, Youchaoshi had become a dominant force in the surrounding area.

On this day, the high priest, feeling old and frail, summoned his trusted confidants and recalled his children and powerful confidants who were working away from home.

At this moment, the high priest sat in front of the temple seat, quietly waiting for the crowd to gather.

Inside the lavishly decorated temple, there was a tree-shaped, human-faced deity, the Nest God fabricated by the high priest.

The face of this nest god was deliberately sculpted to be majestic, with a square face, vertical pupils, a wide mouth, and a prominent nose.

It resembles both a snake and a giant elephant.

This is the image of the Nest God that the High Priest decided upon after much deliberation.

The reason for combining the faces of three creatures is that the snake is mysterious, the elephant is powerful, and both fit the dog-man's imagination of gods.

As the high priest waited silently, he felt both a longing for the infinite future and a deep reminiscence of his many past achievements.

Finally, his thoughts settled on one question:

Should I tell them that the Nest God was just a fabrication of mine, created to make them obey me, and that I was deceiving them?

He originally intended to keep this secret for the rest of his life.

But as death approached, coupled with the weakness caused by the decay of his physical body, he increasingly doubted whether God truly existed.

If God really exists, will He punish Him after His death?

When people are young, they are often fearless because they are physically strong.

The weaker one's body, the more prone one is to overthinking.

At that moment, as if sensing something, he turned around and glanced at the statue of the Nest God. Suddenly, he felt as if the Nest God's eyes had come to life, which startled him.

His frail, old heart was still pounding, causing him great anxiety.

"I must be mistaken. How could a god I made up possibly look like a living being?"

"Perhaps this is the Nest God reminding me that I should continue to cover up this lie."

Amidst this turbulent state of mind, the eldest son, Jiang, clad in rattan armor, entered the temple amidst a rapid rustling sound of rattan. Full of vigor, he stared blankly for a long time upon seeing the high priest, whose face was visibly weak and whose hair was completely white.

Behind Jiang was his young and strong grandson, Dao, who bowed respectfully.

"Meet the high priest."

Afterwards, the second son, Cang, and Chai, each brought their young sons to the temple.

Without exception, they all noticed the high priest's unbelievable old age. They weren't young and inexperienced back then; they all knew what such a appearance meant, and for a moment, they all felt a pang of sadness.

"Father!"

The high priest smiled:
"Today I dreamt that the Nest God appeared to me in my dream. He told me that my mission of preaching in the world has been completed. Now, I just need to wait for my body to grow old, and my soul will ascend to heaven to enjoy blessings."

"Don't be sad for me."

"Next, I will teach you the supreme divine arts that the Nest God taught me. All of you, listen carefully." (End of Chapter)