Becoming an Entry-Level Spirit Planter, Making Preparations

Lu Qing accepted the small tip as well.

After twisting and turning through several paths, they arrived outside a grand hall. The hall was understated yet imposing, and the six glowing characters—"Spirit Plant Academy Registration Office"—shone brilliantly.

Lu Qing spotted it from far away.

"This is the place. Senior Brother has business to attend to, so Junior Brother won't disturb you any further."

Having brought him there, Xu Qing left early with a beaming smile.

"Thank you, Junior Brother."

"Don't mention it, don't mention it."

"This Junior Brother, what have you come here for?"

Two disciples stood at the entrance, dressed in emerald-green robes, their expressions mostly cold and indifferent.

Lu Qing couldn't make out the aura emanating from them.

"Two Senior Brothers, I've come to register as a Spirit Planter."

As he spoke, he casually revealed a trace of Qingling aura. Cultivators who nurtured Spirit Plants often carried a faint trace of Qingling energy.

Lu Qing had spent nearly two months surrounded by Spirit Plants, so he naturally possessed that Qingling aura.

"Oh, you're here to register."

The disciple on the left eased his expression slightly. "Come in with me."

The interior of the hall was even more spacious. An enormous screen hung down from the vaulted ceiling.

Quite a few people stood before it.

Some had their eyes closed in contemplation, some were racking their brains, and some were frowning...

Beside the screen stood a table. Behind it sat a slightly plump cultivator with a cheerful face, presumably the Luo Steward Xu Qing had mentioned.

"You're here to register? What Spirit Plant rank are you preparing to test for?"

The disciple on the left had just brought Lu Qing over when Luo Steward spoke without waiting for him to say anything.

"Martial Uncle, I'll take my leave first."

Lu Qing looked at the jade slips on the table. Their soft glow displayed several ranks: entry-level, beginner, intermediate, and advanced.

"Reporting to Senior, I'd like to register for the entry-level rank."

"Good. Let me examine the aura around you."

Luo Steward nodded slightly. His smile remained unchanged, but his eyes lifted a little as he swept a glance over Lu Qing.

Only then did Lu Qing notice that a layer of white light was slowly circulating within the smiling Luo Steward's pupils.

Lu Qing gathered his mind and held himself in check.

In the span of a second, white light flashed in Luo Steward's eyes. Surprise rose in his heart. This disciple looked like he belonged to the newly admitted batch, yet his foundation was already so solid. It looked like he was about to reach Foundation Establishment.

With a turn of thought, he withdrew the white glow from his eyes and didn't continue looking. The gap in cultivation was simply too great—at a glance, he could see through the cultivation of disciples from this batch.

This disciple appeared to be a genius. Though he didn't know why the boy had come to the Spirit Plant Academy, how could he possibly let him slip away?

The smile on his face deepened, so much so that Lu Qing had the illusion that Luo Steward before him was being a little too friendly.

"Not bad. You can register for the entry-level rank."

"Take out your token and place it on this jade slip."

The registration process was incredibly fast, like linking a jade token with a jade slip before imprinting the information.

"Mm, this is your Spirit Plant Academy token."

As he spoke, apparently remembering something, Luo Steward flipped his hand and produced an emerald-green token. "What's your name?"

"This disciple is called Lu Qing."

"Mm, that's done." Luo Steward took out a seal and stamped it down. The two characters Lu Qing appeared on the surface of the emerald-green token.

"Thank you, Senior," Lu Qing said.

"Don't call me Senior. Just call me Martial Uncle Luo."

Lu Qing couldn't help muttering to himself. Xu Qing had said Luo Steward was easygoing. No wonder he spoke this way.

"Thank you, Martial Uncle Luo."

The process had gone so smoothly it was almost unbelievable.

A trace of gratitude appeared on Lu Qing's face. He didn't reject making connections, but he preferred to focus on himself.

Only after Lu Qing left did Luo Steward slowly rein in his overly exaggerated friendly smile.

A disciple assisting nearby saw this and felt envious of the departing Lu Qing.

How could they not know that Luo Steward might be easygoing, but he didn't think highly of just any disciple?

Luo Steward leaned back in his chair. "Tsk, tsk. This batch of disciples is simply teeming with monsters."

He cultivated a Pupil Technique and hadn't deliberately examined Lu Qing's actual condition.

But before him, Lu Qing's realm aura had been difficult to conceal.

And now that three months had passed and the other party was already about to reach Foundation Establishment, he was either of high-grade aptitude or Earth-Grade Aptitude.

At the thought that he had registered a genius—and one from their Spirit Plant Academy at that—Luo Steward's mood became even brighter.

Having finished his business, Lu Qing had no idea that Luo Steward had mistakenly taken him for an Earth-grade Genius.

Yet compared with those possessing Earth-Grade Aptitude, his cultivation speed hadn't slowed in the slightest.

Ninth Layer of Foundation Establishment, complete.

The next step was Foundation Establishment.

That was Lu Qing's cultivation speed.

While farming, he hadn't neglected his own cultivation. In fact, his speed had already surpassed that of the vast majority of disciples.

Before this, most of the Top Ten Outer Academy Prodigies produced by the Outer Academy had already entered Foundation Establishment.

Apart from Heaven-Grade Aptitude monsters, Lu Qing's speed was among the very best even compared with those of Earth-Grade Aptitude.

He was simply far too low-key. In the daily updates from the arena, he was like disciples with ordinary or low-grade aptitude, submerged in the vast sea of people without drawing the slightest attention.

Only during today's registration had Luo Steward happened to encounter him. Otherwise, no one would have even thought to ask who Lu Qing was.

Luo Steward had left an impression of this new disciple in his mind.

Meanwhile, Lu Qing went with the flow and accepted a task specifically provided for those within the Spirit Plant Academy.

"I've accepted a supply task. That should be enough for now."

The stone weighing on Lu Qing's heart still hadn't fallen.

From registering his name to choosing a supply task, as the name implied, it meant supplying Spirit Plants to disciples of other academies. He could choose plants he was familiar with, but without familiarity with Spirit Plants, he couldn't be too free in his choices.

Lu Qing felt that his talent, Calamity Avoidance, might have brought some additional effects as well.

Because the Moonblade Spirit Rice he had just planted happened to be among the high-demand orders.

It had to be said, his luck had been good again and again.

By coincidence, Lu Qing hadn't sold this batch of spirit rice yet, and it was promptly purchased by the disciple from the Spirit Plant Academy's task hall.

"Junior Brother, your spirit rice is of good quality. Take this order."

With a swish of his hand, the disciple behind the counter sent a flowing-light jade slip flying over.

The entire process wasn't impossibly fast, but it still fell within Lu Qing's estimated timeframe.

Only after accepting this task did that sense of crisis finally retreat from behind him.