Unwilling to be Bound

Yuan Ruoshan further emphasized the government's management of martial artists. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Special Affairs Administration, known externally as the SA, was established. It had several departmental-level subordinate units responsible for domestic and international affairs.

However, due to the freedom and dangerous nature of martial artists, as well as other issues, the SA was merely an official organization. It used various regulations to restrain martial artists from attacking ordinary people and to mediate disputes between them. Nevertheless, the SA's actual influence over martial artists in China was relatively small. As long as they didn't break the law or cross the red line, no one would interfere.

Yuan Ruoshan was a member of the SA's Second Department. She worked as a police officer in her daily life and became an SA member when needed. The reason she explained so much to Chen Mo was that she had seen him unfamiliar with martial artist gestures that day and guessed he was a rogue cultivator. Although he had an inheritance, he was unaware of the martial arts world's affairs. Therefore, she wanted to recruit him on behalf of the SA.

It was quite difficult for the SA to recruit martial artists now. Not only were martial artists generally unwilling to be constrained, but cultivators also possessed arrogant temperaments and were reluctant to serve the imperial court. This resulted in a shortage of martial artists in the SA. Besides cultivating their own, there were no other methods. Furthermore, they had to engage in combat with special individuals from abroad, creating a significant manpower gap.

This was also why Yuan Ruoshan wanted to recruit Chen Mo. After their brief encounter that day, she understood that Chen Mo's cultivation level was similar to hers, possibly between Houtian Layer One and Layer Two. Naturally, she wanted to recruit him. To do so, she even explained some of the SA's rights and obligations.

"Aren't you from the Yuan Family of Jianghai? How did you join the SA?" Chen Mo asked.

"Our Yuan family has always been inseparable from the nation. Many of our family disciples hold positions in government functional departments," Yuan Ruoshan replied.

Chen Mo pouted. He had no intention of taking a position. Firstly, he was still a novice cultivator. If people knew his cultivation method was different, he wouldn't know how he died. Secondly, if he joined the SA, he would be bound by many things, which was probably something most martial artists were wary of. To handle their affairs, their cultivation time would be occupied. It would be better to drink tea and bask in the sun during his spare cultivation time.

"Let's forget about it. I'm just a little rookie, not even Houtian Layer Two yet. Let's forget it." Chen Mo said "forget it" twice, rejecting Yuan Ruoshan's offer. Moreover, he was somewhat curious about cultivation methods for body cultivation. He definitely wanted to find a cultivation method to study as a reference when he had the chance in the future.

Yuan Ruoshan was not surprised that Chen Mo refused. Martial artists were all proud; why would they want to be constrained? Although joining the SA offered great power, it also came with equal obligations. Therefore, she could only ask Chen Mo to consider it further and discuss it again when there was an opportunity. Besides, although the SA was currently short of martial artists and eager to recruit them to serve the country, a Houtian Layer One martial artist was considered a "chicken rib" to them, not worth much attention.

The first meeting between them was neither good nor bad. After obtaining the information they wanted, they parted ways. After separating, Chen Mo felt a bit regretful. Why did their meeting only involve serious matters? Why didn't he think of flirting with the girl? With such a beautiful girl chatting with him, he deserved to be a single dog!

However, he thought about the consequences if he flirted with this girl. Recalling the punch she gave him when he got off the car that day, she was like a female tiger! If he flirted inappropriately and she directly subdued him, it would be quite unpleasant. His current strength might not be enough to defeat the female tiger!

Chen Mo changed Yuan Ruoshan's contact name to "Female Tiger" and smiled, considering it a souvenir.

Upon returning to his residence, he didn't have many thoughts. He had gained a preliminary understanding of the martial arts world. In the end, his own strength was the most important thing. As long as he had strength, he could do anything without restraint. But if his strength was low, the greater the control he would be subjected to. This was very realistic.

He took out some vegetables from the Universe Bead and mixed them with the purchased meat to make a delicious meal, which he ate with contentment. He had no appetite for the vegetables outside now; only the vegetables from the Universe Bead were palatable. Also, the meat bought from outside wasn't very good. The main issue was the lack of options now. When he returned home, he must use the Universe Bead to raise some livestock to meet his requirements.

Chen Mo smiled, feeling like he was developing into a foodie. However, the vegetables grown in the Universe Bead were too delicious. If he raised livestock through the Universe Bead, they would surely be delicious too.

The night passed without incident. He spent it cultivating according to his usual routine. The next day, he went to the police station early to settle his case, sign, and confirm. He also learned some things from the police. After signing, there were no more restrictions on him.

As he was leaving the police station, he heard a group of people causing trouble at the station. They were all relatives of the person named Ji Hai. When Chen Mo passed by them, they didn't recognize him, and the police officer who saw him off didn't inform them, allowing him to leave calmly. He heard them demanding a retrial, accusing the police of fabricating cases, wrongly convicting someone, and that the verdict lacked basis. In short, it was everyone else's fault, and Ji Hai was blameless. Not only was he severely injured, but he was also basically crippled after recovering. Of course, they were unwilling.

To these people, Chen Mo could only offer them one sentence: "I bought a watch last year!"

After returning to his rental room, he holed up again, continuing his repetitive cultivation and experiments with things inside the Universe Bead.

Cultivation had become a habit for Chen Mo now. And after learning about martial artists, he also felt a sense of crisis, so he had to work hard. The Qi Refining Layer One stage was indeed too low. His physical strength and physique were inferior to Yuan Ruoshan's, and he couldn't even match the physical quality of a Houtian Layer One martial artist.

Chen Mo originally planned to go home after his case was settled. However, he had planted several types of vegetables in the small courtyard, and they were growing well. The tomatoes he planted had already started to climb the trellises, and the chili peppers had grown to over ten centimeters. He wanted to observe for another week to see the growth rate of the plants within that period. This way, he would have a better understanding, and it would be more cost-effective than doing experiments after returning home. As for the fruits of these plants, he didn't have time to wait.

He was confident that the fruits from plants grown outdoors, as long as they were soaked, would have a taste superior to ordinary vegetables. He had some confidence in this.

He also had some vegetable plants that he watered with stream water from the Universe Bead. He thought about soaking all the seeds in stream water, but some were only watered with ordinary tap water, and some with stream water, to see the difference.

The stream water did not disappoint Chen Mo. The vegetables watered with it grew much faster than those watered with ordinary tap water, and the plants were more robust and resistant to diseases.

However, because of watering with stream water, the weeds grew lush, not to mention that they also attracted insects. Many insects and crawling creatures directly came to the vegetation watered by the stream water to settle down. This allowed Chen Mo to witness some other drawbacks of stream water; things that are too good even attract small animals.

Through Chen Mo's observations over several weeks, if the seeds of outdoor vegetable plants were soaked in stream water and continuously watered with stream water, they could normally be harvested within a month. If the seeds were only soaked and planted, and then not watered with stream water during the later growth stages, only ordinary tap water was used, the vegetables would take two months to harvest. The calculations were not too problematic; he himself was in biology, so the data was naturally based on evidence. Moreover, the difference between the two types of vegetables was not only in the growth period but also in taste.

Also, after several weeks, the three seeds within the Universe Bead had grown differently. Although it was impossible to tell what kind of plants they were, one of them, which might resemble rice, had begun to sprout. However, Chen Mo could not be sure yet. This was because rice needed to be planted in paddy fields, and if it was upland rice, it didn't look very similar. So, he let it grow for now and would see after some more time. The other two plants were still quite small, only about the size of a palm. This also made Chen Mo realize that these two plants might be higher-level plants; otherwise, they would not have grown so slowly within the Universe Bead.

The vegetables in the yard that were watered with stream water and those that were not had both been harvested, and after he tasted them, he had made different records. The vegetables that were not watered with stream water, besides growing quickly, also had a much better taste than ordinary vegetables of the same kind. For example, the cucumbers were fresh, tender, delicious, and crisp, with a faint melon fragrance, making them very refreshing to eat. But that was all; there were no other differences. As for the vegetables watered with stream water, besides growing quickly, their taste was even better. Not only did they make people unable to stop eating them, but after eating them, there was also a faint spiritual energy that nourished the body. However, this nourishment was far less than that from the vegetables within the Universe Bead.

Although the two types of vegetables planted in the yard were not as good as the vegetables within the Universe Bead, in other aspects, these vegetables could bring Chen Mo economic benefits. If he used the vegetables from the Universe Bead, they were good, but if the spiritual energy within them was detected by others, he might face a lot of trouble, especially when he was still very weak. "There are always wicked commoners trying to harm me," was a worry he always had, which was utterly speechless.

Finally, Chen Mo summarized the differences in planting the two types of vegetables in the yard, reaching a certain conclusion. Outside, stream water could be used to speed up plant growth and improve taste, and there was no danger of being exposed.