Scholar

After the New Year, everyone became busy again. The spirit fields were opened up near the manor. The original garden within the courtyard was also converted into a spirit field by Zhao Siqi.

These areas were closer to the spiritual eye, making it easier to absorb spiritual energy. The second point was their proximity to the manor, which facilitated patrols and protection.

The houses outside were also being planned and built. The dozen or so farmers who originally lived in the manor had also moved out. The town was planned with a protective high wall. The west side was left empty for now, with construction primarily focused on the east, followed by the north and south sides.

Strong troops and horses are the capital for standing firm.

Ming Shu, along with Zhao Siqi and Ren Yuan, went to the northern valley to visit the Butcher and the Hunter, bringing them some gifts.

They also joined them for a day of hunting in the mountains, treating it as a form of recreation and relaxation.

Then, they plunged back into day and night experiments. Ming Shu, dragging Chong Li along, took up residence right beside the spirit fields.

After recording the traits, shapes, precautions, and experience methods related to the spirit rice, a prompt indeed appeared in the Fate Book.

Having not cultivated spirit crops for a long time, the surrounding mundane energy was too strong. The first harvest wouldn't be very good.

There might even be some unexpected diseases midway.

Ming Shu asked Old Lu about this. Old Lu said it was possible. However, it didn't matter; they used to just cultivate for several years. As long as there was a spiritual eye nearby to provide spiritual energy, this area would eventually be transformed.

However, for Ming Shu, this was too costly and came with too high a price. He couldn't afford such a loss, so he continued to search for answers in the Fate Book.

He could go into the mountains to dig up some wild spirit grasses to plant, and collect some fallen leaves and rotten fruits from wild spirit fruit trees to improve the soil.

He could even dig up some soil from near spirit trees.

Then there was daily cultivation nearby to accelerate the flow of spiritual energy.

The most important thing was the meticulous care of the spirit planter.

Ming Shu lived on the outer spirit fields, while Zhao Siqi was responsible for tending to the spirit fields in the courtyard. The two of them looked after their respective spirit fields, while Old Lu, the spirit planter, had to shuttle between them.

The situation in the inner courtyard was actually much better. The spiritual energy there was more abundant than outside, and it was less disturbed by mundane and blood energies.

Later, Ming Shu devised a new ritual. On the night of each full moon, by offering a large quantity of mortal fruits, a small amount of moonlight could be obtained to improve the overall condition of the spirit fields.

After nearly a month of Ming Shu's efforts, the effects finally became visible. The turbid energy in the spirit fields was decreasing.

His own realm also advanced by leaps and bounds, and he was on the verge of seeing the threshold of the third stage of a Sorcerer, the [Star Condensation Realm].

At this moment, a family came from Qing Shui County to seek refuge with him.

Xiao Shiyi, twenty-six years old, a second-stage Scholar [Scholar Realm], arrived with his parents, younger brother, and younger sister – his entire family.

He also brought a letter from Li Jixu, the magistrate of Qing Shui County.

The family had experienced several misfortunes in recent years and no longer owned any land. After the New Year, they even sold their last ancestral home, exchanged it for money and goods, and traveled all the way from Qing Shui County to Baishi Village, northeast of Donghai Prefecture.

Ming Shu, of course, welcomed their arrival very warmly.

He immediately hired Xiao Shiyi as his clerk. He would first assist Old Zhao in compiling a household registration book and an account book for receipts and disbursements, and then he would be assigned other tasks.

It would be a probationary period.

At the same time, he gifted the entire family a house to live in and provisions. As for the land, it would have to wait until after the spring thaw for redistribution and reclamation.

Ming Shu was still waiting for the pirates to return. He wasn't in a hurry to reclaim land. What if he reclaimed it, and they came back to destroy it?

He was willing to wait a few more days. Wait until the weather warmed up a bit.

Xiao Shiyi was merely a student of the county school, and could be considered a student of Li Jixu.

In the Great Jin Immortal Dynasty's examination system, the highest level was the Imperial Academy, followed by the prefectural schools in each province, which were mainly responsible for the management and review of examinations, but did not have specific duties of teaching students.

The county schools and prefectural schools below that, however, had students to teach. Each locality had its own quota limits, and they were assessed annually on their educational achievements.

This was also one of the most important assessment criteria for their performance.

Other criteria included people's livelihood, criminal law, and taxation. Public security was the joint responsibility of the provincial governors' offices and the stationed troops in various locations. The yamen runners were only responsible for a very small part of public security.

Xiao Shiyi appeared refined and scholarly, but his hands bore calluses from farm work. He had decent strength and didn't look like a frail scholar.

The reason for his refined demeanor was still his studies; after studying and obtaining a degree, he gained power, which changed his temperament.

In the Academy's scholar system, promotion required passing examinations. First, the [Academy] had to recognize his qualifications, and then he had to obtain a degree to be officially promoted.

Only then could he borrow the corresponding power.

The degree was also their realm's name. The first stage of a scholar was Student, the second was Scholar, the third was Juren, the fourth was Scholar, the fifth was Hanlin, the sixth was Grand Scholar, the seventh was Great Confucian, the eighth was Half-Saint, the ninth was Sub-Sage, and the tenth was Sage of Literature.

Although the Great Jin Immortal Dynasty's examinations were ostensibly led by the Immortal Dynasty, in reality, they were still subject to internal power struggles within the Academy.

Even though the academies in various regions were fiercely competitive, it was only because the quotas were extremely scarce. Everyone wanted to advance, so naturally, most people would be eliminated.

Each faction was quite protective of its own, which naturally made the competition appear fierce, even involving real combat.

Although the Academy did not have living Sages of Literature or Sub-Sages presiding over it, there were still several Half-Saints in existence. However, after the Sages of Literature and Sub-Sages died, they left behind powerful forces within the Academy.

Their will continued to influence the Academy. Unless a stunningly talented individual emerged in later generations to break the established rules, the Academy's system would only become increasingly rigid and pedantic.

In the world, the two factions with the largest number of cultivators were actually the Academy and the Daoist Sect.

The Academy had a low entry barrier, while the Daoist Sect had a high growth ceiling with no significant limitations.

As long as various families were willing to invest resources, even clan members with ordinary aptitude could be cultivated to the fifth stage.

Moreover, after the Daoist Sect split, they were in a state of mutual obstruction, completely unable to control the outflow of cultivation techniques. Basic cultivation methods were also passed down within the major families.

What restricted their advancement was their own aptitude.

Ming Shu's Baishi Village now had people from almost every major cultivation system, although at a very low level, the variety was complete.

Sorcerers from the Sky-Toppling Observatory, like himself and Chong Li; people from the Martial Artist system, like Old Zhao, Ren Yuan, and others; scholars like Xiao Shiyi from the Academy; Zhao Siqi, who cultivated Daoist Sect techniques; and pirates from Qunwa Island, who possessed Demon Beast Spirits, which was a new beast-taming system developed by the Northern Daoist Sect for the Barbarians.

Once Zhao Siqi and the others advanced to the Foundation Establishment Realm, they would also be able to control ghosts, while Ming Shu, Chong Li, Ren Yuan, and the Butcher could all control Demonic Spirits.