Tens of Thousands of EXP, Entering the Spirit Planter Hall

Although Zhang Wan wasn't the most famous or highest-cultivated among his peers, he was the most skilled at cultivating spirit plants.

He wasn't just well-known among his fellow students but also had a certain reputation among the martial masters who taught at the academy.

By selling pseudo spirit plants every year, Zhang Wan had woven quite a network of connections within the academy.

This was especially true with the martial masters.

Many of them had been classmates with fellow disciples in the Spirit Planter Hall.

Through them, Zhang Wan had gotten to know some of the senior disciples in the Spirit Planter Hall even before graduating.

From these senior disciples, Zhang Wan gained a deeper understanding of the inner workings of the Spirit Planter Hall.

He also learned that it was possible to join the Spirit Planter Hall early, even before graduating.

The rules of the Spirit Planter Hall were simple: as long as a disciple passed the Spirit Planter Hall's assessment, they could become a member.

And the assessment to join the Spirit Planter Hall wasn't difficult.

For Zhang Wan, who had already memorized and mastered the entire Extreme Spirit Planter inheritance, it was as easy as lifting a finger.

Being able to join the Spirit Planter Hall early and secure a logistical position within the sect was something Zhang Wan couldn't be happier about.

This would prevent any unforeseen circumstances from affecting his plan for stable development.

Finding an opportune moment, Zhang Wan requested three days of leave and boarded a rune carriage heading to the sect.

On the way, Zhang Wan opened his status panel.

Host: Zhang Wan (Thirteen years old)
Realm: Postnatal Second Level (107/120)
Realm Bottleneck: None
Cultivation Techniques & Martial Skills: Bronze Iron Body Postnatal Sixth Level Cultivation Technique (30/114, Postnatal Second Level cultivation technique comprehended), Stacked Force Palm (49/155), Bone Piercing Finger (103/103, 14/46), Nine Step Movement Technique (51/127), Incomplete Vitality Catalysis Technique (89/89, 11/11)+, Incomplete Extreme Growth Technique (83/83, 10/10)+, Spirit Plant Knowledge (20/20)+
Available EXP:

"Over ten thousand EXP, it's quite a pleasing sight. Unfortunately, it's still far from my current target," Zhang Wan's eyes flickered. In his heart, there was a specific number. Once his EXP reached that amount, it would be time for him to spend it freely.

Before then, spending EXP recklessly wasn't impossible, but the uncontrollability it brought was too high, and Zhang Wan didn't want to take the risk.

He would develop low-key first, accumulate enough EXP, and then rise powerfully in a short period, catching everyone off guard.

This was much safer than recklessly spending EXP from the start and earning the reputation of a genius.

Zhang Wan didn't care much about being a genius. Countless geniuses died before they could even grow, like fish in a river. Zhang Wan had no desire to be one of those fallen geniuses.

Lost in thought, Zhang Wan arrived at the Jade Bone Sect's mountain gate once more.

Without entering the main gate, Zhang Wan found an unoccupied house in the outer disciple living area to use as a temporary lodging. Afterward, he went to the Dust Bone Branch.

These branches of the Spirit Planter Hall, like the Dust Bone Branch, held regular assessments, which all disciples wishing to join the Spirit Planter Hall could participate in.

Zhang Wan inquired, and just as the senior disciples of the Spirit Planter Hall had said, the next assessment was scheduled for tomorrow.

That evening, Zhang Wan rested and recuperated. The next day, he went to the Dust Bone Branch to participate in the assessment.

The assessment was simple. The branch members randomly selected several spirit plants that the sect cultivated the most but had issues with. They then tasked the participating disciples with writing down solutions or completely resolving the problems with one of the spirit plants.

For example, if it was malnutrition, they had to formulate appropriate fertilizer.

If there were insect pests, they had to kill the pests infesting the spirit plants.

If there were other diseases, they had to resolve the spirit plant's ailments.

The former primarily tested the participants' memorized spirit plant knowledge, while the latter tested practical skills.

Neither was difficult for Zhang Wan.

He had cultivated the most common Postnatal low-grade spirit plants in the Jade Bone Sect, so he was very familiar with their habits and the problems encountered during cultivation.

After careful observation, Zhang Wan took paper and pen and listed the problems and solutions for each spirit plant.

He was among the first batch to submit his answers, along with several others.

Clearly, Zhang Wan wasn't the only one with expertise in spirit planting.

However, Zhang Wan was the youngest among the group who submitted their answers the fastest.

This attracted quite a bit of attention.

The answers were reviewed on the spot by the branch members. After confirming their accuracy, they reconfirmed with Zhang Wan if he wished to join the Spirit Planter Hall. Upon receiving an affirmative answer, his name was added to the Spirit Planter Hall's roster.

However, since Zhang Wan had not yet graduated from the academy, the Spirit Planter Hall would not assign him any tasks before his graduation.

It was different for others; as soon as their names were added to the roster, they were immediately assigned cultivation tasks.

Joining the Spirit Planter Hall, becoming a member, and enjoying its benefits also meant shouldering the responsibility of cultivating spirit plants for the sect.

Seeing the Spirit Planter Hall's mark added to his disciple token, Zhang Wan smiled. With this, he could develop safely in the rear for at least another decade after graduating from the academy.

After completing the assessment, Zhang Wan went to visit the senior disciples of the Spirit Planter Hall he knew to strengthen their bonds.

These senior brothers and sisters had been in the Spirit Planter Hall for over a decade or two, with cultivation levels at the fifth or sixth stage of Postnatal. Although they had no hope of breaking through to Prenatal, they were all veterans of the Spirit Planter Hall and were quite familiar with the various situations within it.

Their experience was very valuable to Zhang Wan.

It would allow him to avoid many detours in the Spirit Planter Hall.

Of course, there weren't no unsavory characters in the Spirit Planter Hall, but Zhang Wan wasn't truly naive. While he might not be able to discern someone's true nature without prolonged contact, he could easily tell if their actions or words were trying to trick him.

With this safety net, even if someone hid their true colors, they wouldn't be able to swindle him.

Among the senior brothers and sisters he befriended, Zhang Wan felt closest to two of them.

They were Li Sanjian and Wan Xing'er.

Although there was a considerable age gap between them, these two were young at heart, and Zhang Wan, despite his youth, was not lacking in spirit. They kept in touch frequently, and their relationship had developed quite well.

Zhang Wan had a very good impression of these two.

They were both excellent people who had guided him in many aspects of spirit planting knowledge and had also informed him of some unwritten rules within the Spirit Planter Hall.

Although Zhang Wan didn't believe everything they said and planned to verify it all later, if they were willing to tell him these things, and if it was later proven that they weren't lies, Zhang Wan would be willing to acknowledge this favor.

After chatting with Li Sanjian and Wan Xing'er near the spirit fields for an entire day and strengthening their bond, Zhang Wan took a rune carriage back to the academy on the third day.

As soon as he returned to the academy, Zhang Wan heard unexpected news.

Elder Wu of the sect, who was at the Prenatal realm, had passed away several days ago.