After the little interruption, Zhao Xing continued planting rice seedlings. Before sunset, he finished sowing the last mu of public farmland assigned to him.
Basic and beginner spells leveled up quickly in the early stages. The proficiency of the beginner spell Flourishing Growth had already accumulated to 200 points.
Looking at the neatly arranged, lush green fields, Zhao Xing straightened up and clapped his hands in satisfaction.
When he finished work, he habitually glanced at his panel.
Name: Zhao Xing Realm: Unranked Fate: Derivation One Spells: Basic Cultivation (Max Level) Flourishing Growth: Beginner (201/9999) Cloudcalling: Beginner (352/9999) Essence Gathering: Level One (58/100)
Since he had not changed professions, the panel data was rather bare-bones.
After obtaining a profession and when versions changed, these details would change accordingly. Yet even from this scant data, Zhao Xing recalled plenty of additional information.
After the Great Zhou Emperor unified the Nineteen Provinces, he made a grand vow: "All the talented people under heaven shall enter my urn. My law shall be the law for all ages."
He unified the cultivation realms and established the "Nine Ranks Thirty Levels."
Below the fourth rank, there were principal, subordinate, upper, and lower grades. Above the fourth rank, there were only principal and subordinate grades.
Then, using immense divine power, he bound the dynasty's fate and established a rule: those who were not citizens of the Zhou Dynasty could not cultivate.
He also built temples throughout the Nineteen Provinces and spread countless methods.
This system remained in use until the Revival Version, or until players broke through the level cap and it could finally be updated.
In the early days, players often mocked this system on the forums: Damn it, this is worse than "half-step peak grand completion"!
Since he had yet to change professions, his realm was Unranked.
The fate system, meanwhile, had forty-nine levels.
It drew upon the meaning of "Derivation is fifty, while Heaven derives forty-nine."
Derivation One fate was basically the standard for countless commoners.
It also affected the effectiveness and success rates of certain spells. For example, the Cloudcalling spell he had just cast had something called a "great success." That was purely a matter of luck.
The three spells were techniques, while Essence Gathering was a cultivation method.
All the common people could practice Essence Gathering, strengthening their bodies, extending their lives, and increasing their blessings. This was another achievement of the Great Zhou Emperor.
Before spiritual energy underwent a large-scale revival, civil and military officials could use the weaker yuan energy to wield spells of tremendous power.
Cultivation is like building a towering structure. Great Zhou's dynasty fate can help one lay the foundations and add bricks and tiles. A single imperial decree can send someone soaring through the ranks, extend their lifespan, alter their fate, and propel them straight to the first rank.
Without becoming an official, one would be limited by aptitude and stuck at bottlenecks until old age and death, while others soared upward. With this official-centered cultivation system, the unified Dynasty of Fate truly ensured that all the talented people under heaven entered its urn.
However, the drawbacks were equally obvious. The same imperial decree could also cast someone into the abyss, strip away their cultivation along with everything else, and return their fate to the dynasty.
I remember there's a way to eat the sugar coating and fire the cannonball back... but it's too early to be thinking about that.
In this era, Great Zhou is basically playing on invincible mode. This is the era of the Emperor Jing. After the Wu Emperor, the invincible Great Zhou will begin to decline. By then, this Dynasty of Fate system will reveal more and more flaws...
Thinking of this, Zhao Xing could not help shaking his head with a smile. It was not because he regretted Great Zhou's fate, but because he was laughing at himself.
Damn it, he did not even know whether he would survive until the Wu Emperor's era. Right now, he had not even received a profession-change quest.
The Gu City Zhao Family was a prominent household in Nanyang County, renowned for its virtue.
Every few years, they funded the imperial Benevolent Orphanage. They even sent clan members to personally adopt orphans displaced by natural disasters. Zhao Xing was one such example.
The Zhao Family's businesses covered clothing, food, housing, travel, mechanisms, forging, and other highly profitable industries.
As a great family, donating money to other government offices could easily invite accusations of collusion between officials and merchants.
But doing charity work drew far less criticism.
Zhao Xing's adoptive father was Zhao Ruide, from the East Lake branch. In his early years, he traveled with merchant caravans, handling escort and guard work, and lived quite comfortably.
Unexpectedly, at the age of forty-five, he lost his only child. His wife and son fell into the water and drowned during a boat trip.
The hidden injuries he had accumulated from traveling far and wide made it difficult for him to have more children, according to the physicians. Thus, under his family's arrangements and persuasion, Zhao Ruide brought six-year-old Zhao Xing back from the Benevolent Orphanage and adopted him as his son.
At first, he doted on Zhao Xing quite a bit. But in recent years, things had changed.
Six years after Zhao Ruide adopted his son, the concubine he had taken actually bore him a boy!
Overjoyed at having a child late in life, Zhao Ruide immediately elevated the concubine to the position of wife and poured all his affection into his biological son. Over the past few years, he had gradually grown distant from Zhao Xing.
Looking at the Zhao Family residence before him and recalling everything the original owner had experienced, Zhao Xing sighed softly before pushing open the door and entering.
Zhao Ruide was enjoying the shade beneath a willow tree, fanning the child dozing on a cool mat. When he saw Zhao Xing enter, he quickly made a silencing gesture, then merely pointed toward the kitchen and told him to eat by himself.
Zhao Xing did not mind that the family had not waited for him before eating. He cupped his hands in greeting and headed for the kitchen.
Logically speaking, an adoptive father and son should not have been so distant. But Zhao Xing had come in halfway through. He had not experienced the years when Zhao Ruide loved the original owner most. Maintaining surface-level respect was simply the most comfortable way for him to get along with the man.
As for Zhao Ruide, his thoughts were not on Zhao Xing either. They had previously disagreed over Zhao Xing's career—he wanted Zhao Xing to learn martial arts or go into business, but Zhao Xing insisted on joining the Ministry of Agriculture.
How much money could an Agriculture Official make? How much of a future could he have?
In the end, Zhao Ruide could only grudgingly accept it, but their relationship became even more distant.
If his relationship with his adoptive father was distant, then his relationship with Madam Cai, his adoptive father's second wife, was cold.
The moment Zhao Xing entered the kitchen, he heard a shrill voice from outside.
"Is his nose a dog's or something? It's really sharp! The moment the family stews meat, he comes home. Did the smell of the stew drift all the way to the Ministry of Agriculture?"
"Shh, say less. Zheng'er just fell asleep after tiring himself out... Eating a few pieces of meat won't cost us anything. It's not as if our family can't afford it."
"It's not that I begrudge him the meat. But he's already eighteen or nineteen and doesn't contribute a single bit to the household. Which child from another family doesn't know to show filial respect?"
"My lord, you raised him to adulthood, yet he won't even listen to you about what work he does. He insisted on joining that Ministry of Agriculture. Fine, let that be, but it's been nearly a year and he still hasn't entered the ranks. Who knows whether he'll come fight Zheng'er for the family property in the future..."
"Are you done or not? Why are you saying this? I'm not dead yet!"
"Wuwu..."
"Crying again. You're driving me to death. Look, you woke Zheng'er..."
Then came the child's crying, along with the woman's wailing.
Madam Cai, Madam Cai, I've already made it clear that I won't take Zheng'er's inheritance in the future. Why won't you believe me? You're crying so hard that I'm starting to feel guilty.
Zhao Xing thought this, but his body was very honest. He whipped open the pot lid and began wolfing down the food.
Zhao Ruide had some savings and was also a martial artist. Of the four large pots on the kitchen stove, three were filled with meat dishes.
The Ministry of Agriculture did not provide breakfast or dinner. Minor clerks had no salary to speak of, only some allowances.
To increase the proficiency of the Essence Gathering Technique, he had to find every possible way to absorb the yuan energy of heaven and earth, strengthening his vitality and blood. His food could not be too poor in the first place.
A son eating his father's food was only natural! Even if he was adopted!
Ministry of Agriculture players were all pragmatists. They shamelessly freeloaded whenever they could, so Zhao Xing had to freeload first!
The louder the crying outside became, the faster Zhao Xing ate.
By the time the noise gradually died down, he was full.
Seeing that the progress under Essence Gathering had risen by another 3 points, Zhao Xing wiped his mouth and left the kitchen in satisfaction.
With the person in question coming out, Madam Cai stopped making a fuss. After all, she still had to give her husband some face.
Zhao Xing was used to it as well. He cupped his hands toward them. "Greetings, Adoptive Father. Greetings, Madam. I'll return to my room to rest first."
Zhao Ruide nodded lightly, signaling Zhao Xing to leave quickly. He wanted some peace and quiet.
But Madam Cai began muttering again, "Every time he comes home, he eats and sleeps. He doesn't even know to play with Zheng'er for a while. Does the Ministry of Agriculture only recruit good-for-nothings..."
"..."
Zhao Xing had truly been wronged.
He was returning to his room not because he intended to sleep.
After closing the door, he lit three incense candles and ground special materials into ink.
Beside the desk sat a wastepaper basket filled with crumpled balls of Yellow Paper.
What Zhao Xing needed to do now was obtain a secondary profession—a Talism Maker.
Fortunately, in this era, cultivation methods are complete, materials are cheap, and there are many ways to obtain them. It won't take much effort.
Zhao Xing dipped his brush in ink and began drawing a talisman on the Yellow Paper.
Perhaps because he had tried so many times, or perhaps because his yuan energy had been steadily increasing, this attempt went exceptionally smoothly.
Just as the final stroke was about to close, Essence Gathering activated. A flash of radiant light passed from his fingertips to the brush handle and spread onto the Yellow Paper. The entire sheet gave off a faint glow, which soon withdrew back into it.
You have successfully comprehended the Way of Talismans and created a Guiding Talisman You have obtained the secondary profession "Talism Maker" Basic Guiding Talisman (1/1000): Attach it to the body to accelerate the absorption of heaven and earth yuan energy
"There are over five hundred people in the Ministry of Agriculture, yet fewer than five regular positions open each year. Scions of great families like Li Chengfeng have plenty of money. If I want to compete with them, I'll need to overtake them on a curve."
Would becoming a Talism Maker let him make a fortune and help him secure a regular position?
Obviously not. Zhao Xing believed that if he tried selling talismans at his current level, customers would flip his stall over. He simply could not compete with other Talism Makers.
So his real goal was not the secondary profession at all.
While his hand still felt good, Zhao Xing began attempting to draw a second talisman.
Soon, he obtained a second type of basic talisman.
You have successfully comprehended the Way of Talismans and created a Soul-Soothing Talisman Soul-Soothing Talisman: Calms the soul and steadies the mind
"It worked!"
Zhao Xing attached the Guiding Talisman to his abdomen and the Soul-Soothing Talisman to his forehead. He lay on the bed, curling himself into a strange posture as he muttered:
"Student Zhao Xing respectfully petitions Great Dream Academy to open the gate of learning."
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