An hour after Uncle-Master Liao and the others descended upon the council hall, the news gradually spread.
At the Thirteenth Training Ground of Xiaguang Peak in the Outer Sect, a young man in a purple robe slowly opened his eyes. He was plain-looking and gave off an honest, simplehearted impression, but glints of sharp light flashed through his eyes from time to time, making no one dare underestimate him.
After opening his eyes, the purple-robed young man took a jade-green Sound Transmission Bamboo from his robes. A voice came from within it. "Senior Brother Chen, I just received word that three Martial Uncles from the Inner Sect will be coming down to oversee the Spirit Rice harvest. The date has been set for ten days from now."
The purple-robed young man's expression remained calm. "I understand. Pass down the order: everything proceeds as usual."
"Alright. I'll personally make a trip to Nineteen Peaks and explain the arrangements."
"You've worked hard."
The person on the other end of the Sound Transmission Bamboo repeatedly said, "It's only my duty."
The purple-robed young man ignored him no further. With a flip of his hand, he took something from his Storage Bag and muttered to himself, "Harvest day has come again. Just in time—I'm a little short on spirit crystals..."
Two days later, Yang Chen received word that the Spirit Rice harvest had been set for eight days later. At that time, he would need to await orders and assist with the harvest. In addition, a group of people from Area 8 would be temporarily transferred over to help.
Yang Chen felt nothing about this and remained immersed in his diligent cultivation.
That afternoon, after completing his duties, Yang Chen headed to the dining hall. Once he had eaten, he went to the square as usual to check the Rankings Board.
[First Place: Zhang Zhixian, cultivation: Qi Martial Seventh Level, assigned area: Area 1] [Second Place: Gu You, cultivation: Qi Martial Seventh Level, assigned area: Area 5] [Third Place: Huang Tianyu, cultivation: Qi Martial Seventh Level, assigned area: Area 8] [...] [Seventy-Fifth Place: Xu Qingqing, cultivation: Qi Martial Fifth Level, assigned area: Area 8] [Ninety-Eighth Place: Meng Shijun, cultivation: Qi Martial Fourth Level, assigned area: Area 8] [...]
More than ten days had passed. The changes on the Rankings Board were neither particularly great nor particularly small.
The top three remained unchanged, but Gu You and Huang Tianyu had both caught up to the Qi Martial Seventh Level. After those three, all the way down to twenty-third place, everyone was at the Qi Martial Sixth Level.
Competition in this section was especially fierce, with names changing almost every day. Further down, it was a uniform stretch of Qi Martial Fifth Level cultivators.
Xu Qingqing had improved, rising seven places. Then there was Meng Shijun, who had exchanged sharp words with Yang Chen; he had come from behind and broken into the top hundred.
As Yang Chen looked at the rankings, all manner of thoughts flashed through his mind.
Ever since the Rankings Board had opened, nearly every disciple with the means had been cultivating desperately. To be honest, he very much hoped that his own name could appear on the board as well.
But he knew it was impossible for him to make the board this month. He was not the only one progressing at breakneck speed, and behind such exaggerated cultivation speed lay the consumption of massive amounts of spirit crystals.
Rather than a contest of talent, it was better described as a contest of resources.
He was not worried. There would always be differences between people. Not everyone could maintain this pace, because not every force behind them could supply resources without end.
This month was when the competition would be fiercest. Once next month arrived, some people would find themselves stretched thin, robbing Peter to pay Paul. That would be the time for him to launch his assault on the cultivation Rankings Board.
He watched for a while longer, suppressed his urge to give it a try, and strode away.
After a night passed, Yang Chen headed straight for the spirit field area after eating, beginning his routine inspection.
"Environment shapes everything. That holds true in any world."
Walking along the ridges between the fields and looking at the dazzling golden Spirit Rice, Yang Chen felt something stir within him.
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Take the Spirit Rice under his care, for example. Nearly all of it could yield thirty thousand kilograms per mu. Who in his previous life would have dared imagine such a thing?
Yet that was simply how this world was. As for the claim that Spirit Rice itself was extraordinary, he did not quite agree. He believed that environment was what determined every change in all things.
People were the same. He did not believe that the people of this world were inherently nobler than those of his previous life. Whether they were newcomers to the path of martial arts, those who had already achieved something upon that path, or even the giants whose might cowed the world, the reason they had reached such heights ultimately lay in their environment.
This world possessed spiritual energy and martial arts. That was why they could reach such heights.
Lost in wild thoughts, Yang Chen completed his first inspection of the day. Standing at the edge of the spirit fields, he took out his token and opened a corner of the formation.
Suddenly, his expression changed slightly. "Something's wrong. Why has the spiritual energy concentration dropped so much?"
He had been inspecting the spirit fields for over a month. He had a clear sense of the scale of the spiritual energy that would rush out in a mad scramble each time the formation was opened.
Yet when he opened the formation just now, almost no spiritual energy had spilled out. That was clearly abnormal.
He firmly believed that where something was abnormal, there had to be something sinister at work. He immediately put away the token and carefully inspected every inch of the hundred mu of spirit fields under his care.
More than half an hour later, Yang Chen stood by the roadside with a grim expression. He had found nothing wrong.
But the spiritual energy had undeniably decreased. He naturally did not believe that nothing had changed.
Over the past month or so, he had not done nothing. At the very least, he had gained some understanding of the duties he was responsible for.
Before the Spirit Rice matured, there should be no situation in which the spiritual energy decreased.
"Could there be a problem with the formation?"
With that question in mind, Yang Chen returned to his wooden cabin. Whether the formation was the problem or not, he would have his answer during the afternoon inspection.
He suppressed the distracting thoughts in his heart, assumed a stance, and began cultivating.
Afternoon soon arrived. Yang Chen locked the wooden cabin door and walked onto the field ridges. After making one inspection round, he once again opened a corner of the formation.
A great mass of spiritual energy became a gale that battered against him. Doubts surged through Yang Chen's heart. This was the normal concentration of spiritual energy, so why had it decreased so much in the morning?
The Spirit Rice was of tremendous importance. It was what guaranteed him ample time to cultivate, and he would not allow any accident to occur.
Heavy-hearted, he returned to the residential area. After dinner, he went back into his room and suddenly thought of someone. He immediately took out his Sound Transmission Bamboo. "Senior Brother Wang, would it be convenient for you to bring over two bottles of Qi Strength Pills?"
A moment later, Wang Feng's laughter came from the Sound Transmission Bamboo.
"Listen to you—aren't you being a little too formal? We're as close as brothers. What could possibly be inconvenient? Don't even mention that I'm free right now. Even if I were busy, I'd still put Junior Brother Yang's matter first."
"Wait there. I'll bring them over right away."
Yang Chen put away the Sound Transmission Bamboo and waited patiently for Wang Feng to arrive.
About a quarter of an hour later, someone knocked on the door. He immediately opened it and, sure enough, saw Wang Feng standing outside with a smile. He opened the door wider and invited him in.
"Junior Brother Yang, here are the Qi Strength Pills you wanted. Six spirit crystals, please."
The moment he entered the room, Wang Feng took out the two bottles of Qi Strength Pills.
Yang Chen had already made quite a few transactions with him. Without even looking, he put away the Qi Strength Pills and handed over six spirit crystals.
After receiving the spirit crystals, Wang Feng beamed. "Thank you for Junior Brother Yang's continued support. When I one day advance into the Outer Sect, just watch how I perform."
"Then I'll congratulate Senior Brother Wang in advance on your rise."
"Hahaha!" Wang Feng laughed heartily. "Junior Brother, those words sound wonderful to me. I'm sure that one day, the two of us will be able to work hand in hand in the Outer Sect as well."
Yang Chen smiled. "Senior Brother overpraises me. This junior's cultivation is shallow. Even the Blood Martial Realm is still a distant prospect, let alone the True Martial Realm."
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