Cultivation Assessment About to Begin

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

Over those three days, Han Yuan completely polished off all his pills.

His luck was decent. He rolled a six once, two fives, and two fours. The spiritual energy in his Dantian had reached roughly half-full.

During that time, he also delivered the straw to the outer peak of Spirit Beast Peak. However, he did not see Senior Sister Liu; a cute female cultivator accepted it on her behalf.

And at the end of it, he received a copy of the Flame Hound Awakening Guide from Senior Sister Liu in return. He secretly thought this senior sister was far too generous.

The book was not expensive, but if he really had to buy it himself, Han Yuan's heart would ache. It cost a full five Spirit Stones—five times more than Wangcai himself!

He deeply suspected that Senior Sister Liu was hoping he would raise a Blazing Hound, then slaughter it for meat...

That day, Han Yuan arrived at the Scripture Repository.

"Hm?"

In a corner of the first floor sat an old man with purple hair. When he saw Han Yuan, he gave a soft sound of surprise and smiled. "You look a little familiar. Did you come here once before the New Year?"

"Yes, Senior!" Han Yuan cupped his hands in salute. "I previously exchanged for a Spirit Rain Technique!"

The purple-haired old man suddenly recalled him. "I remember now. You're that reckless fellow who planned to grow Spirit Rice after barely more than a year of Entry Level training, aren't you?"

Han Yuan scratched his head awkwardly. "Well... I grew it successfully!"

The purple-haired old man was surprised. "You grew it successfully?"

"Yes!" Han Yuan coughed and nodded.

"You really do have some talent as a Spirit Planter!" the old man said in realization. "So you've sold off your spirit rice and come to buy another spell?"

"That's right. I wish to purchase the Yellow Grade Low-Rank Spell, the Azure Spirit Technique!" Han Yuan hurriedly said.

The purple-haired old man nodded. "The Azure Spirit Technique is a Wood Attribute spell. It can increase the growth rate of spiritual plants, and once cultivated to a profound level, it may even enhance their effects. One hundred Spirit Stones. Did you bring them?"

"They're all here!" Han Yuan reluctantly took out a small pile of Spirit Stones from his Storage Pouch.

The purple-haired old man accepted his Spirit Stones, then walked to a bookshelf and handed him a jade slip.

"This is the one."

"Alright. Many thanks, Senior!"

Han Yuan was delighted and hurried away.

His reason for choosing this spell was simple. He still intended to plow deeply along the path of farming, then use the Spirit Stones earned from farming to purchase the items needed for cultivation. This was the stage of early accumulation; he was not foolish enough to choose an Attack Spell.

He had long observed the income of Qi Refining Mid-Stage disciples. Going out to complete missions earned at most four or five hundred Spirit Stones a year. But if his farming skills improved, he could earn the same amount—or even more—with virtually no danger!

Stockpile grain far and wide; claim the throne slowly!

Keeping a low profile was the kingly path!

Steadiness was the proper road.

Over the next few days, he became so engrossed in comprehending the spell that he nearly forgot about the annual Cultivation Assessment.

Courtyard D-17.

Han Yuan hurried into the courtyard.

At a glance, he saw Hu Yifan gathered with several disciples.

When Hu Yifan saw Han Yuan approach, he sighed mournfully at the others. "Alas, what a pity. You senior brothers were only a hair's breadth away from breaking through to the Qi Refining Third Layer!"

The several Outer Sect Disciples were also deeply frustrated.

"Especially Senior Brother Zhao Donglai. He's only one Spirit Gathering Pill away from the Qi Refining Third Layer. If he had Spirit Stones right now to urgently buy a Spirit Gathering Pill and take it, he might be able to break through before the assessment!" Hu Yifan said bitterly. "What a shame—I have no Spirit Stones left!"

Zhao Donglai's face was also dark.

Han Yuan narrowed his eyes. This brat was digging another pit for him to jump into. What an eyesore. Sooner or later, he would hit him hard enough to shut that foul mouth.

"Oh? Junior Brother Han, you came too?" Hu Yifan exclaimed in surprise, as if he had only just noticed Han Yuan.

When Zhao Donglai saw Han Yuan, he seemed to think of something. He quickly stepped forward and cupped his hands. "Junior Brother Han, I am Zhao Donglai!"

Han Yuan nodded. "Senior Brother Zhao, I know what you mean, but I've spent all my Spirit Stones too!"

Zhao Donglai gave Han Yuan a deep look. "Then forgive the disturbance!"

The corner of Hu Yifan's mouth curled upward. At this point, as long as he proved that Han Yuan had Spirit Stones, Han Yuan would surely end up on Zhao Donglai's blacklist. He had already asked around. Han Yuan had traded spirit rice for more than a hundred Spirit Stones and only spent one hundred and eight of them on a bottle of Spirit Gathering Pills. He definitely still had Spirit Stones on him.

He kept looking Han Yuan over. When he spotted the Storage Pouch at Han Yuan's waist, his eyes lit up, and he could not help muttering, "No Spirit Stones? You can afford a Storage Pouch worth ten Spirit Stones, yet you're short of Spirit Stones? At worst, you could sell it and scrape together enough!"

Although Zhao Donglai could hear the attempt to sow discord in Hu Yifan's words, he could not help thinking the same thing. His impression of Han Yuan grew even worse.

Meanwhile, not far away, quite a few people around Qin Feng were flattering him.

"Senior Brother Qin truly possesses astonishing talent. You successfully broke through to the Qi Refining Third Layer!"

"Hahaha, Courtyard D-17 can finally hold its head high among the surrounding courtyards!"

"What a pity. Senior Brother Qin will move up to another courtyard next year. We won't get to see you anymore."

Qin Feng stood with one hand behind his back. "No need to worry, junior brothers. If anything comes up in the future, you may all come find me. We met by fate; it is all destiny!"

Many people were overjoyed and clustered even closer around Qin Feng.

There was no one around Han Yuan. He stood alone, looking somewhat desolate.

Han Yuan remained calm about it. Once he tested as being at the Qi Refining Third Layer, these people would surely turn around and try to curry favor with him too. Strength was what mattered most.

Before long, You Muxiong arrived. He glanced at everyone and said, "Everyone, follow me. We will head to the Outer Sect Plaza together for the assessment!"

"Yes!"

Twenty people followed You Muxiong out of the courtyard.

At this time, people were also emerging from the surrounding courtyards, each group led by a steward and numbering around twenty people.

Some disciples who had reached the Qi Refining Third Layer were brimming with confidence, their gazes upon the other disciples carrying a faint air of looking down from above.

Han Yuan walked amid the crowd, utterly inconspicuous.

Before long, everyone arrived at the Outer Sect Plaza. At a rough glance, there were at least four or five hundred Outer Sect Disciples—just from the same intake.

On the viewing stands surrounding the plaza, some Outer Sect Disciples from previous intakes had come to watch.

The yearly Cultivation Assessment was considered quite an event, drawing many spectators.

On the stands, a group of Outer Sect Disciples from Spirit Beast Peak had gathered together, and Liu Sisi was among them.

Liu Sisi said to her fellow peak disciples, "Everyone, take a good look at whether there are any promising seedlings among Class 58. If you know anyone, find an opportunity to persuade them to join Spirit Beast Peak! This is an order from the Outer Peak Master, so don't neglect it!"

At Spirit Planting Peak, Di Qing was chatting with several fellow disciples and observing the disciples awaiting assessment with interest. Suddenly, he saw a familiar figure and recalled something. "I was planning to find an opportunity to invite Junior Brother Han Yuan to join Spirit Planting Peak, but I got busy and forgot."

No matter. I'll go ask him after the assessment, Di Qing muttered inwardly, then turned his attention to the other geniuses.