No Trouble in the Assessment, but Humiliation Backfires (Part 1)

Three months passed in the blink of an eye.

The Spirit Fields welcomed their third-quarter assessment.

As long as the yield from each mu of Grade-One Spirit Field reached or exceeded one thousand jin,

they could become formal disciples and officially join the Dongting Immortal Sect.

Everyone rose early in the morning.

They stood upon the field ridges, waiting.

Zhang Er, who was overseeing the assessment, had yet to arrive.

Xu Changqing sat cross-legged and tried to cultivate.

Over the past two months, with the powerful effects of the third layer of the Evergreen Formula,

the spiritual power within his body had increased to five strands, distributed throughout his limbs and lumbar spine.

The effects this brought were obvious.

He no longer needed to touch each spirit plant individually to inspect its condition.

He only needed to release his spiritual power,

and it could cover an area within five meters.

He could easily grasp the condition of the spirit plants,

and even predict their changes over the next three days.

Unfortunately, during the harvesting stage, the wood spiritual energy was exceedingly sparse.

After trying several times, he found it far too slow and could only give up in the end.

"Fortunately, spiritual power isn't the focus this time." Xu Changqing then looked toward the Spirit Fields ahead.

Over these three months, under his meticulous care,

the Spirit Rice had grown exceptionally well.

Every grain was especially plump.

The golden ears of rice swayed in the wind, ripples spreading in circles.

The sight lifted his spirits, and the corners of his lips unconsciously curved upward.

"The assessors are here!"

"Senior Brothers Zhang Er and Li Sancai are both here!"

"The third one is unfamiliar, though!"

Before long, Zhang Er, Li Sancai, and a newly arrived formal disciple appeared before the crowd.

"Everyone, this is Senior Brother Luo from Beast Spirit Valley!" Zhang Er introduced him while sweeping his gaze over the crowd.

It quickly settled on Xu Changqing.

He had expected the other man to be nervous.

Yet he discovered instead

that compared to everyone else, this fellow was remarkably calm.

Had he accepted his fate?

"Senior Brother Luo!" Xu Changqing and the others respectfully cupped their hands in salute.

Luo Bucheng said blandly, "Junior Brothers, I will be weighing everyone's spirit rice this time."

With a casual flick of his hand, a circular ring flew from his sleeve.

It spun several times through the air with a whirring sound.

The next moment, a streak of gold shot out from within.

Then, as it fell, it rapidly expanded.

With a bang, a gigantic Golden Toad appeared on the field ridge.

Its entire body gleamed with golden light, while round golden pearls dotted its back.

"A spirit beast!" Like the people around him, Xu Changqing instinctively took a step back.

Luo Bucheng explained, "Harvest on your own. Once you're done, call out. Lord Jin will automatically swallow the Spirit Rice you've cut into its belly, and then we'll know how many jin of spirit rice you produced."

"Understood!" Everyone nodded in amazement.

Xu Changqing felt a hint of relief inwardly.

Because the assessor last time had been a Metal Spiritual Root disciple.

No one had even needed to lift a hand; with a casual wave, he had finished everything in mere moments.

If it had still been that person, Xu Changqing would have had no way to harvest lifespan this time.

Zhang Er could not be bothered to waste words and impatiently urged, "Begin."

At once, all the outer sect disciples taking the assessment picked up their sickles.

They began to work one after another.

Xu Changqing was even the most diligent among them.

[Harvested 1 "High-Quality Spirit Rice," lifespan +3 days]

[Harvested 1 "High-Quality Spirit Rice," lifespan +3 days]

[Harvested 1 "High-Quality Spirit Rice," lifespan +3 days]

x9

x99

x999

...

Each time the notification sounded, Xu Changqing grew excited.

If he had not been worried about arousing suspicion,

he would have harvested all the Spirit Rice without stopping to rest.

But in order to keep a low profile, he kept pace with those around him.

Zhang Er asked with a half-smile, "Fellow Daoist Luo, how many people do you think will become formal disciples this time?"

Luo Bucheng considered it. "Three hundred people are taking the assessment this time. It would be good enough if ten became formal disciples."

"What about you, Fellow Daoist Li?" Zhang Er turned toward the resident guard of the Spirit Fields.

Li Sancai replied, "Four or five, perhaps."

Zhang Er only came by occasionally.

Luo Bucheng came only during assessments.

Compared to the other two, Li Sancai understood the Spirit Fields best.

He often patrolled them in private, so he naturally knew who might pass and who had no chance.

"Who?" Zhang Er was quite curious.

"Lin An counts as one." Li Sancai shrugged.

Zhang Er raised a brow. "I remember that fellow. He only has one assessment chance left.

I heard that some time ago, he actually found Earth Spirit Root and Water Spirit Root disciples to work with?"

One had to know that the Spirit Fields were far from both the Earth Vein and the Water-Control Pavilion.

And even if one went to seek them out, they still had to endure the other party's attitude.

Zhang Er had originally set his sights on Lin An as well.

He had tested him privately several times.

He had thought Lin An would agree and become a tenant farmer.

Who would have expected him to find another path, one that could even be called an extreme road?

"Correct." Li Sancai nodded slightly.

Zhang Er asked again, "Who else?"

"Also..." Li Sancai's gaze had already settled on Xu Changqing, but he seemed to recall something. After glancing at the sharp-eyed Zhang Er beside him, he shook his head. "Let's wait for the final results."

He knew perfectly well what Zhang Er had been doing in private.

In truth, every formal disciple assigned an assessment task did the same.

This kind of exploitation had practically become an unspoken rule in the Spirit Fields, tacitly accepted by all.

Time flowed swiftly by.

Those who finished harvesting called for the Golden Toad one after another.

"Xu Yuan, seven hundred jin of spirit rice. Assessment failed!"

"Zhang Bensan, eight hundred jin of spirit rice. Assessment failed!"

"Zhao Ziyao, one thousand jin of spirit rice. Assessment successful!"

The assessment of three hundred people lasted from sunrise until dusk.

As the sky grew late, only three people finally remained.

Xu Changqing and Lin An were among them.

The harvesting had actually ended long ago.

Most of the time had been wasted waiting in line.

"My turn." Watching the Golden Toad draw closer and closer, Lin An's breathing became rapid.

Zhang Er teased with a half-smile, "Junior Brother Lin, you went through all that trouble to find Earth Spirit Root and Water Spirit Root disciples to help you. Passing the assessment should be as certain as a nail driven into a plank, shouldn't it?"

"Uh..." Lin An's expression changed slightly at those words, and he lowered his head, not daring to look at him.

At that moment, the Golden Toad had already approached.

It swiftly extended its golden tongue and, with a swoosh, rolled the Spirit Rice into its mouth.

Before long, the golden pearls on its back bulged one after another.

They continued until the eleventh pearl before stopping.

Luo Bucheng announced loudly, "Eleven golden pearls represent one thousand one hundred jin of spirit rice. Assessment successful!"

"Finally... sob, sob, sob!" Lin An dropped to his knees at once, crying so hard he could not speak.

In order to become a formal disciple,

he had given up fifty percent of his future harvest.

If he had failed, the consequences would have been too dreadful to contemplate.

Fortunately, he had succeeded.

"Congratulations." Xu Changqing understood the feeling deeply.

"The next one is..." Zhang Er looked at the two remaining people.

"My turn!" At that moment, the other person stepped forward first.

"Zhao Ying, right?" Zhang Er remembered him because they had spoken privately before.

Zhao Ying said meaningfully, "Senior Brother Zhang, I agreed."

"We'll talk about it later." Yet Zhang Er did not make his stance too obvious.

At that moment, the Golden Toad rolled the Spirit Rice before it into its mouth with its tongue.

The golden pearls on its back began to bulge.

One rose after another, but when the ninth pearl appeared, they stopped.

This meant Zhao Ying had only grown nine hundred jin of spirit rice.

Less than one thousand jin meant the assessment had failed.

And that meant he could not become a formal disciple!