That night, Zhang Wan thoroughly enjoyed the spiritual energy at the mountain gate from his residence.
His cultivation efficiency was quite a bit higher than at the academy.
Early the next morning, he went to the Dust Bone Fourth Branch.
Now that he was an internal member of the branch, and the branch specialized in growing spirit plants, he naturally had to find a way to get some spirit plants for his own courtyard through the branch.
Not to mention getting them for free—even the internal price would definitely be affordable!
Sure enough, they were much cheaper than when he had bought seeds and spirit fertilizer to take back to the academy.
For three low-grade spirit stones, he obtained a small packet containing more than a hundred Postnatal low-grade spirit plant seeds, along with a large bag of spirit fertilizer.
It was half the previous price!
The internal price was truly satisfying!
After putting the seeds and spirit fertilizer into his storage bag, Zhang Wan left the branch gate. He activated the Nine Step Movement Technique, covering twenty or thirty meters with every step as he sped toward the spirit field under his charge.
Along the way, he saw quite a few figures likewise hurrying toward the Fourth Spirit Plant Garden at breakneck speed.
Clearly, they were all members of the same branch.
Zhang Wan also saw Li Sanjian and Wan Xing'er. He made arrangements with them on the way to look for them later.
The spirit fields under Li Sanjian and Wan Xing'er's charge were much larger than Zhang Wan's.
By the time Zhang Wan finished tending his spirit field, the two of them would probably only have completed half their work.
When he reached the spirit field, Zhang Wan took out the spirit fertilizer and scattered it over the two mu of spirit fields.
Then he performed the Vitality Catalysis Technique, stimulating the vitality of the Water Fragrance Rice so that it could sprout faster and grow more robustly.
As for the Extreme Growth Technique, Zhang Wan decided not to use it after some consideration.
He would observe the situation first, then decide whether to fully reveal his abilities as an Extreme Spirit Planter.
After clearing the weeds from the spirit field, Zhang Wan went to look for Li Sanjian and Wan Xing'er.
The spirit fields under their charge were not far apart. After finding them, Zhang Wan chatted with Wan Xing'er for a while before going to find Li Sanjian.
The spirit fields these two were responsible for were each around six or seven mu, much larger than Zhang Wan's.
That was only natural. Zhang Wan had just joined the Dust Bone Fourth Branch and had merely taken over some spirit fields in the spirit plant garden. Without confirming his cultivation ability, the Dust Bone Fourth Branch could not possibly entrust too much spirit land to him.
The spirit fields under Li Sanjian and Wan Xing'er's charge also contained quite a lot of Water Fragrance Rice.
But besides Water Fragrance Rice, they had planted many other varieties of spirit plants as well.
There was even a small section of spirit field that the two of them used to grow other spirit plants.
Only after asking did Zhang Wan learn that experienced workers like them were permitted by the sect to set aside one-tenth of the spirit fields assigned to them and use it to grow whatever spirit plants they wanted.
As long as the output of the spirit plants grown in the remaining nine-tenths did not decline, neither the sect nor the branch would interfere.
Zhang Wan watched with envy in his heart.
If he had a spirit field where he could quickly grow whatever he wanted, he could plant large quantities of Dwarf Jade Bamboo, Dew-Gathering Fruit, and Spider Silk Grass—or grow other spirit plants he desired.
Unfortunately, he did not yet have that qualification and could only plant things in his courtyard.
At that moment, Li Sanjian brought up the Extreme Spirit Planter inheritance Zhang Wan was learning.
"I remember you were learning the Extreme Spirit Planter inheritance, right? That inheritance isn't easy to master. In our Spirit Planter Hall, there aren't many people who know it."
"Indeed, this inheritance isn't easy to master. I've only just touched the edges of those two techniques." Zhang Wan lied through his teeth with his eyes wide open.
"If that's the case, why not try buying another spirit planter inheritance and studying a different school? Perhaps you'd be better suited to another school." Li Sanjian offered his advice while keeping busy with his own work.
"Another spirit planter inheritance? We'll see. If I truly can't master the Extreme Spirit Planter inheritance, I'll consider another one."
Zhang Wan and Li Sanjian chatted fitfully, and their relationship slowly deepened amid all that idle chatter.
Zhang Wan did not stay there long before hurrying back and busying himself in his small courtyard.
"I can plant some things in the courtyard, but if I'm going to use the Extreme Cultivation Method for now, it would be better to move them into the bedroom or meditation room."
Although the small formation at the residence could both raise an alarm and block prying eyes, its effect was quite limited.
Anyone with even a little ability could easily see through that layer of concealment.
While Zhang Wan was busy there, people in the Dust Bone Branch were also discussing him.
The Dust Bone Branch's vice minister, Wang Yue, and Li Guannian held a jade tablet recording all of Zhang Wan's information as they discussed him.
"How rare. He actually passed the examination for the Spirit Planter Hall before graduating. There have always been very few disciples like that."
"The key point is that he actually entered the Spirit Planter Hall while still at the academy and cultivated to the Third Level Postnatal!"
"Tsk, tsk. Disciples with both spirit planter talent and cultivation talent like this are truly rare."
"Indeed. In all these years at the Spirit Planter Hall, you could count on two hands the people who possessed both talents."
"Mm. His background is clean, and his talent isn't poor. We can consider giving him priority for development."
"If that's the case, leave this person to me. As long as he can be nurtured properly, he'll definitely become a mainstay of the Dust Bone Branch of the Spirit Planter Hall in the future!"
"Ahem! Old Wang, don't fight me over this one. When it comes to nurturing disciples, I'm better than you."
"Better than me? Old Li, when did you start lying even to yourself?"
Wang Yue and Li Guannian glared at each other, neither willing to yield. Neither wanted to hand over such an outstanding disciple to the other.
In the end, neither managed to convince the other.
They decided to rely on their own abilities.
However, they reached an agreement on one matter: both decided to have Zhang Wan switch to a different spirit planter school.
That night, after planting spirit plant seeds in the courtyard and growing some in clay jars in the meditation room and bedroom, Zhang Wan lay down to rest.
But as he lay there, he suddenly sprang up from the reclining chair, his face filled with uncertainty and suspicion.
He recalled what Li Sanjian had said that morning.
There weren't many people in the Spirit Planter Hall who knew the Extreme Spirit Planter inheritance!
But how was that possible?
It was true that the Extreme Spirit Planter inheritance was difficult. Even the incomplete version of the technique, which could only cultivate Postnatal low-grade spirit plants, required nearly a hundred experience points to master. It was not easy to learn.
But compared to the inheritance of Talisman Masters, Alchemists, and Artifact Refiners, it was at most comparable in difficulty to those cultivation arts.
To master a Fire Talisman inheritance that only reached Postnatal high-grade required eight hundred and ninety-one experience points—almost nine hundred experience points!
Could the Extreme Spirit Planter inheritance really be that much more difficult than the Talisman Master inheritance?
Was that possible?
If so, why were there so few people in the Spirit Planter Hall who had mastered the Extreme Spirit Planter inheritance?
It couldn't possibly be that the martial artists in the Spirit Planter Hall had little spirit planter talent, could it?
That was obviously impossible when one thought about it.
Moreover, the strengths and weaknesses of the Extreme Spirit Planter were clear. Its advantages could completely overshadow its shortcomings. There absolutely had to be a large number of spirit planters willing to spend vast amounts of time and energy studying this inheritance!
Perhaps not many had completely mastered the entire inheritance, but there absolutely should not be few who had achieved something in it!
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