Unwilling to Be Bound

Yuan Ruoshan went on to emphasize the state's management of people in the martial arts world. After the founding of the nation, the Special Affairs Administration was established, publicly known as the Special Affairs Administration. It had several department-level divisions responsible for domestic and foreign affairs respectively.

However, because Martial Artists were free-spirited and dangerous, among other issues, the Special Affairs Administration was merely an official body. It used certain regulations to restrain Martial Artists from attacking Ordinary People and coordinated disputes between Martial Artists. But the Special Affairs Administration had relatively little authority over Chinese Martial Artists. As long as they did not break the law or cross any red lines, no one would interfere with them.

Yuan Ruoshan was a member of the Special Affairs Administration's Second Division. Normally, she worked as police; when needed, she served as a member of the Special Affairs Administration. As for why she had told Chen Mo so much, it was because she had noticed that he did not understand the Martial Artist hand gesture that day. She had guessed that he was a Rogue Cultivator. Though he had an inheritance, he did not understand the matters of the martial arts world, so she wanted to recruit him on behalf of the Special Affairs Administration.

The Special Affairs Administration found it difficult to recruit Martial Artists now. Not only were Martial Artists generally unwilling to be bound, but cultivators were also proud by nature and unwilling to leave the mountains to work for the Imperial Court. As a result, the Special Affairs Administration had very few Martial Artists. Other than training their own, they had no other options. They also had to fight certain special individuals from abroad, leaving them with a massive manpower shortage.

That was also why Yuan Ruoshan had wanted to recruit Chen Mo. They had exchanged only one move that day, yet she had realized that Chen Mo's Cultivation Level was about the same as hers, perhaps somewhere between the Houtian First Layer and Houtian Layer Two. Naturally, she had wanted to recruit him. To that end, she had even explained some of the Special Affairs Administration's rights and obligations.

"You're from the Yuan Family of Jianghai. Why did you join the Special Affairs Administration?" Chen Mo asked.

"Our Yuan Family has always been inseparable from the nation. Many of the family's disciples hold positions in government departments," Yuan Ruoshan said.

Chen Mo curled his lips. He would never take such a position. First, he was still a complete cultivation newbie. If people learned that his Cultivation Method was different, he might not even know how he died. Besides, once he joined the Special Affairs Administration, countless matters would bind him down. That was probably what most Martial Artists in the martial arts world found objectionable. Working for them would take up his cultivation time. He would rather drink tea and bask in the sun when he was not cultivating.

"I'd better pass. I'm just a little newbie. I haven't even reached Houtian Layer Two yet, so forget it." Chen Mo said "forget it" twice, rejecting Yuan Ruoshan's proposal. Deep down, he was also curious about the Cultivation Method for Body Cultivation. When he had the chance in the future, he would definitely get hold of one to study as a reference.

Yuan Ruoshan was not surprised that Chen Mo refused. Martial Artists were all proud; why would they want to be bound? Joining the Special Affairs Administration came with great authority, but it also carried corresponding obligations. She could only let Chen Mo think it over and bring it up again when there was another chance. Besides, while the Special Affairs Administration lacked Martial Artists and wanted to recruit some to serve the nation, a Martial Artist at the Houtian First Layer was little more than a tasteless morsel to them. They did not value one that highly.

Their first meeting had been neither good nor bad. After obtaining the information they wanted, they went their separate ways. Once they parted, Chen Mo felt a little regretful. Why had their meeting been all business? Why had he not thought to flirt with the girl a little? Such a beautiful girl had been chatting with him right in front of him, yet he had acted like this. He deserved to be single!

But when he thought about flirting with that girl, he also had to consider the consequences. Thinking of the punch she had given him when he got off the car that day, she was practically a Female Tiger! If he flirted badly and she came straight at him and knocked him flat, that would be quite a painful thrill. His current strength might not even be enough to beat that Female Tiger!

Chen Mo changed Yuan Ruoshan's contact name in his phone to Female Tiger and grinned. He would treat it as a memento.

After returning to his place, he did not have many thoughts. He had gained a preliminary understanding of the martial arts world. In the end, what mattered most was still his own strength. As long as he had strength, he would not be bound no matter what he did. But if he was weak, he would be subject to greater control. That was simply reality.

He took some vegetables out from Inside Universe Bead and mixed them with the meat he had bought to make a delicious meal. He ate with great satisfaction. He did not want to eat vegetables from outside anymore. Only the vegetables from Inside Universe Bead were appetizing to him. The meat bought outside was not particularly good either, but he had no choice for now. Once he returned home, he would definitely use the Universe Bead to raise some livestock. Only then could he meet his own standards.

Chen Mo smiled, feeling as though he had the potential to become a foodie. But the vegetables grown Inside Universe Bead were simply too delicious. If he raised livestock through the Universe Bead, they would surely taste excellent too.

The night passed without incident. He spent it cultivating as usual. The next morning, he went to the Police Station early, closed his case, and signed the confirmation. He also learned some things from the police. Once he had signed, he would no longer face any restrictions.

As he was leaving the Police Station, he heard a group of people coming to make trouble. They were all relatives of that Ji Hai. When Chen Mo walked past them, they did not recognize him, and the police seeing him off did not identify him either, allowing him to leave calmly. He heard them demanding a retrial, claiming that the police had fabricated a wrongful case, framed an innocent person, and issued a judgment without sufficient basis. In short, everything was someone else's fault; Ji Hai had done nothing wrong. Not only had he suffered such serious injuries, but after recovering, he was basically crippled. Of course they were unwilling to accept it.

Chen Mo could only offer those people one sentence: "I bought a watch last year!"

After returning to the rental room, he settled in again and began his endless cycle of cultivation and experiments with certain things inside the Universe Bead.

Cultivation had become a habit for Chen Mo. And after learning about Martial Artists, he had also felt a sense of crisis. He had no choice but to work hard. Qi Refining Layer One was simply too low. In terms of physical strength and constitution, he was inferior to Yuan Ruoshan. He could not even match the physical qualities of a Houtian First Layer Martial Artist.

Chen Mo had originally planned to return home once the case was over, but he had planted several kinds of vegetables in the little courtyard, and they were growing well. The Tomatoes he had planted had begun climbing their trellis, while the Chili Peppers and others had grown over ten centimeters tall. So he wanted to observe them for another week and see how much the plants grew over a given period, giving himself a clear idea of the results. Otherwise, he would have to conduct experiments again after returning home, which would not be worth it. As for the fruits after those plants matured, he did not have time to wait for them.

He was certain that as long as fruits grown in the Outside World had been soaked, their flavor would definitely surpass ordinary vegetables. He was fairly confident about that.

There were also some vegetable plants that he watered with Stream Water from Inside Universe Bead. He wanted to see the difference between seeds that had all been soaked in Stream Water, but where some were watered only with ordinary tap water while others were watered with Stream Water.

The Stream Water did not disappoint Chen Mo. The vegetables grew much faster than plants watered with ordinary tap water, and their hardiness and disease resistance were also extremely high.

However, because of the Stream Water, weeds not only grew profusely, but it also easily attracted insects. Many insects and crawling creatures directly settled among the vegetation watered with Stream Water. Chen Mo thus witnessed another drawback of the Stream Water: when something was too good, even Small Animals coveted it.

After several weeks of observation, Chen Mo found that if outdoor vegetable seeds were soaked in Stream Water and then continuously watered with Stream Water, they could normally be harvested in one month. If the seeds were merely soaked before planting, then watered only with ordinary tap water during their later stage of growth, the vegetables would take two months to harvest. There were no major issues with his calculations. He worked in biology, after all, so his data naturally had a basis. The difference between the two kinds of vegetables was not merely their growth time; their flavor was different as well.

After several weeks, the three seeds inside the Universe Bead had each grown differently. Though he could not tell what plants they were, one of them looked very much like rice and had already begun to head. Chen Mo still could not be certain, however. Rice needed to be planted in paddy fields, and it did not quite resemble Upland Rice either. So he let it keep growing and planned to check again after some time. The other two were still quite small, only palm-length. This also told Chen Mo that these two plants might be rather high-grade specimens. Otherwise, they could not possibly grow so slowly inside the Universe Bead.

The vegetables in the courtyard, both those watered with Stream Water and those not watered with it, had already been harvested. After tasting them, he had recorded their differences. The vegetables not watered with Stream Water grew quickly and also tasted far better than ordinary vegetables of the same kind. The Cucumbers, for example, were fresh, tender, crisp, and carried a faint melon fragrance that made them extremely pleasant to eat. But that was all; there were no other differences. The vegetables watered with Stream Water, meanwhile, grew quickly and tasted even better. Not only were they irresistibly delicious, but after entering the stomach, they also released a faint Spiritual Energy that nourished the body. Still, that nourishment was far weaker than that of vegetables from Inside Universe Bead.

Although neither type of vegetables grown in the courtyard was as good as those from Inside Universe Bead, these vegetables could bring Chen Mo economic benefits in other ways. The vegetables from Inside Universe Bead were excellent, but if someone sensed the Spiritual Energy within them, he might face a great deal of trouble, especially while he was still so weak. There were always Wicked Commoners trying to harm the emperor. It was a worry that had always lingered in his heart, absurd as it was.

Finally, Chen Mo summarized the differences between the two types of vegetables grown in the courtyard and reached a preliminary conclusion. Outside, he could use Stream Water to accelerate plant growth and improve flavor without much risk of exposure.