Chapter 27

She went to open the door for Fang Chuyun and exclaimed in delighted surprise, "You've drawn Starlight into your body!"

Fang Chuyun gave a restrained smile and said, "Mm, I just opened my first Star Aperture this morning."

Li Yang knew how hard she had been working lately and offered her heartfelt congratulations. "Congratulations!"

Fang Chuyun quickly put away her smile. "I still have a long way to go. I need to keep working hard."

Li Yang: "..." Faced with this empress of the grind, she didn't know what to say.

Ding. Li Yang's phone rang.

As soon as Li Yang answered, she heard Yu Hongyuan's voice. "I'm downstairs. Give me access to come up, will you?"

Although Zhongdu Military Academy had separate dormitory buildings for women and men, the rooms were actually single-occupancy apartments. Visitors could go upstairs as long as a resident granted them access, regardless of gender.

Only fourth-class dormitories were divided into men's and women's buildings. Third-class dormitories and above weren't separated-there were simply too few rooms to divide up. The rule was simple: if you had money, you could stay; if you didn't, you could leave.

Li Yang granted Yu Hongyuan access, and he soon appeared before them.

Yu Hongyuan still hadn't opened a Star Aperture, but he was full of energy. Beaming, he said, "The opening ceremony is tomorrow, and we have to choose our departments the day after. Have you two decided where you want to go?"

Fang Chuyun didn't want to speak, and before Li Yang could say anything, Yu Hongyuan hurried on, "I spent fifty thousand and read just about every forum post on choosing a department, then put together a guide to filling out your choices! But... ahem, Li Yang, you don't need a guide. You're the provincial champion, so you get priority when choosing a department... Man, you're amazing!"

He turned to Fang Chuyun and said smugly, "You want to join the Star Magic Department, right? Then you'd better fill out your choices carefully. With your ranking, you could easily be reassigned!"

Fang Chuyun said, "Don't trouble yourself."

Li Yang really hadn't known any of this. Curious, she asked, "Priority when choosing a department?"

Yu Hongyuan nodded. "That's right. All the top students who placed in the provincial practical exam's top ten get priority. Of course, if too many people choose the same department, those with lower rankings will still be reassigned. But you're the provincial champion. Whatever you choose, you're guaranteed to get in!"

"That's not all. Provincial champions can even choose their mentors! Good heavens, you might not know what that means. Each of the three most popular combat departments has a Sixth Grade Peak powerhouse holding down the fort, and they only take one or two students a year... But you have a chance to become one of their disciples!"

As he spoke, Yu Hongyuan was almost crying with envy. "My goal is Professor Chen from the Star Support Department. She's at the Fifth Grade Initial Stage, which is already incredible... But I might not be chosen! Sigh, I'll most likely be reassigned to a Fourth Grade mentor..."

Fang Chuyun couldn't be bothered listening to Yu Hongyuan's nonsense. She looked at Li Yang and asked, "Have you decided which department you want to join? I heard my older sister say that some of the Sixth Grade Peak experts in Star Combat and Star Magic might already have students lined up, but over in the Spirit Department, they should..."

Before she could finish, Li Yang shook her head. "I'm not joining any of the three combat departments."

Both of them froze.

Yu Hongyuan stared at her in shock. "You're actually joining the Star Support Department?!" You blew a cultist apart with one punch, and you still want to join our peaceful, friendly Star Support Department?

Fang Chuyun was surprised too. "Are you joining the Star Support Department?"

Li Yang shook her head again. "Not the Star Support Department either."

Now the two of them were even more bewildered.

Yu Hongyuan blinked. "No way, you're going to study pills? Um, don't let Fang Chuyun fool you. Her sister only minors in pills. Once we advance to Second Grade, we can all choose a second minor. You don't need to rush into it now..."

Fang Chuyun was also afraid she had misled Li Yang and hurriedly said, "You don't need to rush to make money. Once you've chosen a mentor, they'll usually provide you with the most basic cultivation resources..."

Li Yang: "..." There's a perk like that? Still, she couldn't help feeling that the Agronomy Department was a little too modest, and Dean Si didn't look wealthy either. He might not be able to support her.

But it didn't matter. Even if a mentor from another combat department gave her ten Star-Attracting Pills, they couldn't compare to that golden wheat field!

Li Yang said, "Not the Pill Department."

Yu Hongyuan: "???"

Fang Chuyun: "???"

Neither of them could make sense of it. For a moment, they couldn't even remember what other departments there were.

There seemed to be weaponsmithing and beast taming too?

Li Yang glanced at the time. "I have a task to do, and it's almost time. I'll get going."

"Wait!" Yu Hongyuan grew anxious. "Which department are you joining, anyway?"

Li Yang had already walked away. She casually tossed three words over her shoulder: "The Agronomy Department."

What agronomy? What department?

In the hallway, the pair of sworn enemies from Huangcheng stared at each other.

At that moment, Yu Hongyuan didn't even find Fang Chuyun annoying, because Fang Congming, who called him an idiot every day, now had an idiotic look on her own face!

Chapter 27

7:57 a.m.

The three people squatting at the edge of the field had already given up hope. Feng Yiqiao said, "She's not coming. Let's get ready and start working..." There was no need to post another task. Word had probably already spread on the forum, and they wouldn't be able to fool a second cutie into coming.

Xia Putao said, his face mournful, "Wait... let's wait a little longer..."

Lü Shunshun was no longer sleepy. Her gaze blazed as she stared into the distance. "A woman's intuition tells me she'll come."

The moment the words left her mouth, she sprang to her feet.

Feng Yiqiao and Xia Putao hurriedly stood up too. All three concentrated the power of Starlight in their eyes, slightly broadening their field of vision.

Xia Putao jumped three feet into the air. "She's here! She's here!"

Lü Shunshun wore a smug expression that said, Leave it to me.

Feng Yiqiao said, "...Well, would you look at that." She really came?!

7:59 a.m.

Li Yang finally arrived at the Agronomy Department, right on the dot.

She ran over, panting, and greeted each member of the trio when she saw them. "Hello, teacher. Hello, senior sister. Hello, senior brother."

The three of them, who had been waiting for her all morning, immediately felt wonderful. Every pore seemed to ooze joy.

"You're here," Feng Yiqiao said, trying to sound solemn.

Embarrassed, Li Yang said, "I got up a little late this morning. Last night, I slept..."

Before she could finish, Feng Yiqiao said, "You got tired out yesterday, didn't you? Did you sleep poorly? It's all right. You can come at nine."

Li Yang: "..." Huh? She had actually wanted to say she had slept very well.

Xia Putao murmured, "It's good that you came, good that you came!"

Lü Shunshun got straight to the point. "You haven't had breakfast yet, have you?"

Li Yang said, "...No."

Lü Shunshun immediately said, "Junior... junior brother, ahem, are there any steamed buns left? Let her have some breakfast."

She had almost called him senior brother, but then she remembered that their senior brother was pretending to be a teacher and changed it to junior brother at the last second.

Xia Putao blinked. "I'm not in charge of the steamed buns..."

Feng Yiqiao shot him a glare. "Go get them!"

Li Yang didn't notice these little exchanges. Her mind was full of one thought: Senior sister is so nice. She found me food as soon as I got here.

These mutated steamed buns were miraculous. They probably hadn't just been steamed, but as soon as they were taken out of the steamer, they were soft and fluffy, with a rich aroma of wheat.

The sight made Li Yang hungry. "Then I'll eat something first."

Feng Yiqiao's gaze was positively fatherly. "Go on, eat."

Li Yang was too embarrassed to eat much. After polishing off a modest five steamed buns, she said, "I'm full! I'll go work now!"

With that, she wasted no time picking up a sickle and heading into the wheat field.

The trio watched her stride away, each smiling like a proud parent.

"This child is wonderful."

"This child is so endearing."

"This child doesn't seem to have eaten her fill again..."

Li Yang rubbed her fists, eager to take on the wheat. With yesterday afternoon's experience behind her, she was even more efficient this morning.

It wasn't just her experience. After improving her physique, she was stronger too.

It had originally taken her three strokes to bring down a stalk of wheat. Now Li Yang swung her sickle, and with a snap, cut it down.

[Lifespan +1 year]

The corners of Li Yang's mouth curved up as she got briskly to work.

Harvesting wheat was wonderful. Not only could she accumulate lifespan, she could also strengthen her body.

Last night, she had increased her physique by 100 points and her spirit by 100 points in one go, and she was still a little unaccustomed to it. After harvesting for two hours, the discomfort vanished, and she gained a clear understanding of the physical capabilities that came with 300 physique points!

Li Yang had gained 100 years yesterday afternoon, and her harvest was even greater this morning: a full 150 years.

Li Yang's current lifespan limit was 500 years, and she still had a long way to go before filling it.

At noon, Xia Putao came to call her. "Junior sister, come have lunch!"

Li Yang wiped the light sweat from her forehead. "All right!"

The more Xia Putao saw of Li Yang, the more he liked her. Of course, it wasn't romantic; he was far older than her. It was the kind of affection one felt for a child, especially one so dependable and capable, who helped him shoulder the heavy work.

Although Li Yang had been busy all morning, she didn't feel tired in the slightest. She had hardly broken a sweat, and after simply washing her face and hands, she felt fresh all over.

Tired? How could she be tired? Every time [Lifespan +1 year] popped up before her eyes, Li Yang was recharged, bursting with energy.

Feng Yiqiao brought out an enormous steamer, filled with dozens of white, soft, fragrant, sweet mutated steamed buns.

Li Yang's little heart pounded at the sight.

Feng Yiqiao smiled. "Eat as much as you like, until you're full!"

Li Yang said honestly, "Teacher, I might eat a little too much."

Xia Putao said, "Don't worry, there are plenty of steamed buns!"

Li Yang did want to eat more. She hadn't used up much physical strength, but the power in her Star Aperture had been almost completely drained.

These mutated steamed buns were just the thing to replenish her Star Aperture's power and help her continue harvesting wheat efficiently that afternoon.

"Then I won't hold back." Li Yang dug in.

Inspired by Li Yang, the trio found a new flavor in the mutated steamed buns they had grown tired of. They tasted especially sweet and delicious.