Chapter 31 (continued)

Seeing that she remained silent and dazed, Si Kui was not impatient. Instead, she explained further, "You are different from Feng Lüxia and the other two. You have good talent and are suitable for the Agronomy Department. Perhaps you can become my 'personal disciple'. A personal disciple is different from an ordinary disciple. I will have higher expectations for you, and you will also bear my karma."

Li Yang calmed down instantly.

She wasn't blinded by the [lifespan limit +400] and [lifespan +400 years]... Si Kui almost killed her right away, and she was an innocent and upright good student, not some treacherous villain. Although she wasn't actually injured, she still suffered some mental damage, and this world values "spirit" very much.

Besides, Si Kui is not as simple as her senior brothers and sisters down the mountain. After all, she is Half-Step Supreme. To reach this position, she must have made many enemies and grudges. Otherwise, she wouldn't have tested her right away.

The benefits of becoming Si Kui's apprentice are obvious:

Her strength is beyond doubt; she might even be one of the top students at the Zhongdu Military Academy. Her resources should also be plentiful; even a tiny bit of such Half-Step Supreme figure, just a step away from becoming a supreme being, would be enough to overwhelm Li Yang.

The downsides are also not to be ignored:

This so-called personal disciple is essentially a sworn sister to Si Kui; from now on, she's bound to her. Therefore, Si Kui's enemies are also her enemies, and an enemy of Half-Step Supreme... is probably at least Ninth Grade- rank.

Can she bear such a huge karmic burden?

Li Yang had no parents in her past life, and she is an orphan in this life as well. She has long been used to being alone and has adapted to the life of being able to eat her fill while the rest of the family is not hungry.

Si Kui can give her a lot, but she also has to give a lot in return.

Is it worth it?

With a splash, a small, fiery red flower suddenly emerged from the crystal-clear pool beside them.

Let's just call it a flower for now. It looks quite ferocious, with its blood-red petals covered in countless bumps. But because it's shrunk to the size of a fist, you can't make out that these are actually little eyes.

That rare Fifth Grade plant!

Li Yang tensed up and couldn't help but take a few steps back.

Si Kui said calmly, "With me here, what's there to be afraid of?"

Li Yang: "..."

The Fifth Grade exotic plant, like a lapdog, gurgled and rolled around in the water, practically wagging its tail at Si Kui.

Li Yang couldn't calm down. The terrifying memories from before came flooding back—the despair of having no way out and only waiting to die, the helplessness of being at the mercy of others because she was too weak... all of these turned into heavy hammer blows to her heart.

This world is dangerous.

And she has become the Star Wielders.

If we don't become stronger, we will one day face that helplessness and despair again.

Si Kui had already shown her through her actions that a person in a superior position could drive an unarmed student into a corner without any evidence.

Li Yang knew very clearly that even if Si Kui accidentally killed her, it wouldn't cause any sensation.

No one will question Si Kui, no one will even blame her, and before long, probably no one will remember that a student named Li Yang ever existed.

Both Fang Chuyun and Zhong Kun had reminded her of this.

Choosing a major is important, but choosing a mentor is even more crucial. She has repeatedly stated her position: I have no ambition, I don't want to get involved in those things, I just want to live a peaceful life.

In fact, from the moment she stepped into the Zhongdu Military Academy, she was already in the vortex.

This seemingly laid-back Agronomy Department also harbors turbulent undercurrents.

There is no pure land in the world of the Star Wielders, and she has long been deeply trapped in it.

She was faced with only two options: become stronger or become a lamb to the slaughter.

The answer is already clear.

Si Kui may not be a good person, but at least she will take responsibility for her actions.

She has her bottom line.

Li Yang performed a traditional apprenticeship ceremony, saying, "Student Li Yang greets teacher."

Si Kui's cold expression softened slightly as she looked at her and said, "Have you thought it through? I have quite a few enemies."

Li Yang looked up at her and asked in return, "Teacher, don't the other Half-Step Supreme have any enemies?"

Si Kui didn't answer the question, but waved her hand and said, "Go harvest the wheat, and come find me in half a month."

When Li Yang heard her mention wheat, his heart skipped a beat, but he didn't say anything more, only bowing his head respectfully and saying, "This student understands."

-

Down the mountain, Yu Hongyuan ran breathlessly to the Agronomy Department. His face was flushed, and he kept muttering to himself as he ran, holding his phone and tapping away.

Li Yang bumped into him as soon as she came down the mountain.

"At..."

"Li Yang!!!"

Li Yang asked, "What's wrong with you?"

Yu Hongyuan was almost in tears, saying, "Please, please talk to the professor in the Agronomy Department and beg her to approve my application!"

Li Yang asked in confusion, "What kind of review?"

"My application process."

"What?" Li Yang was stunned. "You want to study Agronomy Department?"

Yu Hongyuan: "That's right!"

"Aren't you going to the Star Support Department?" She remembered Yu Hongyuan saying that he really admired the Star Support Department's fighting style—standing in the back and being protected by others.

Yu Hongyuan: "I've changed my mind; I now deeply love the Agronomy Department."

Li Yang found it absurd and asked, "Why?"

Yu Hongyuan countered with, "Then why did you come to the Agronomy Department?"

"I..."

Yu Hongyuan quickly replied, "Why you ask is why I ask!"

Li Yang: "..."Big brother, that's not how it works. Don't blindly follow the crowd. I have a Longevity System that allows me to cultivate by harvesting wheat. Do you have one?

Li Yang had a lot of complaints but nowhere to vent them, so he could only say earnestly, "Student Yu, we're from the same hometown, so take my advice. Since the professors in the Agronomy Department have rejected you, it means you're not suited for the Agronomy Department, so why don't you..."

Yu Hongyuan cried, "It's no use, Li Yang, I have no way out. Look at the time..."

Li Yang then realized that it was already afternoon.

She went up the mountain this morning, how come... Oh, she was unconscious for a while, I didn't expect so much time to have passed.

Yu Hongyuan said with tears in his eyes, "I applied to the Agronomy Department first thing this morning. Unlike you, I don't have priority in choosing a department, so my application was automatically approved. I waited and waited until the afternoon before I finally received a notification. I thought I had been approved, but I was rejected!"

"I was so anxious, I quickly applied again, but was rejected again, applied again, and was rejected again, so I came here..."

Li Yang pictured the teacher with that cold, aloof expression, clicking "decline" repeatedly... Hmm, that's something only she would do.

Yu Hongyuan revealed his pain. "At this time, the Star Support Department, the Pill Department, and even the Weapon Forging Department are almost full. I either have to go to the Agronomy Department or be assigned to the Beast Taming Department... Li Yang, for the sake of us being from the same hometown, please let me have some decency!"

Li Yang: "..."

She was overwhelmed by what she heard. To say she disliked Yu Hongyuan wouldn't be an exaggeration, but to say she was particularly close to him wouldn't be an exaggeration either.

However... Yu Hongyuan's mother is a very kind person. Principal Sun later secretly told Li Yang that her 100,000 yuan scholarship and that small apartment were donated by Ms. Yu Zhiying.

For the sake of this 100,000 yuan and her new home, she couldn't bear to see Ms. Yu Zhiying's only son become a disgrace.

"Um..." Li Yang said, "I'll go ask the teacher, but she might not be able to..."

No sooner had he finished speaking Yu Hongyuan exclaimed, "My God, it's approved! It's finally approved!"

Li Yang: "?"

She looked up at the small courtyard halfway up the mountain, Si Kui's voice already appeared in her Spirit Sea: "I don't know how to teach students, so you'll teach Yu."

Li Yang: "..."

Si Kui added, "Just teach casually; the Agronomy Department has no shortage of holdouts."

Li Yang was speechless, silently complaining to himself, "This time I've really gotten myself on a sinking ship!"

-

The following days were peaceful and uneventful.

Si Kui never showed up, Yu Hongyuan had never even met his teacher.

Li Yang didn't need to teach him anything, because Feng Yiqiao loved being a teacher. He took the initiative to take on the task, determined to help Yu Hongyuan draw the star into his body within a month.

Hmm... Li Yang is already preparing to break through to the Second Grade Realm, while Yu Hongyuan hasn't yet drawn the star into his body.

Two days ago, Li Yang was busy harvesting wheat. After her lifespan reached 820 years... all the ripe wheat had been harvested.

Li Yang quickly asked her senior classmates and learned that there would be another batch of wheat in a week, which relieved her.

She soon realized a serious problem: the wheat couldn't just be harvested; it also needed to be properly planted.

Mutant wheat differs from ordinary wheat in that it doesn't have such strict seasonal requirements, but it requires some skill to plant, consumes a certain amount of Starlight, and then needs to be watered and fertilized at just the right time—a waste product from failed Pill Department.

Lü Shunshun and Xia Putao stepped forward and said, "Junior sister, don't worry, we've already planted them, and the subsequent watering and fertilization are our responsibility!"

Li Yang said, "Then I'll just be responsible for harvesting?"

Lü Shunshun and Xia Putao nodded vigorously. "Yes, yes."

Li Yang was deeply moved and murmured to herself, "Senior sister and senior brother are such kind people."

Lü Shunshun and Xia Putao were also deeply moved, murmuring to themselves, "Junior Sister is worth ten people by herself; she's taken care of all the hardest work!"

Planting wheat is much easier than harvesting it.

Wheat seedlings are delicate and easily bullied, unlike mature wheat which is as hard as iron.

Lü Shunshun and Xia Putao were already used to planting wheat, and their skill level was unquestionable; they could probably operate the machine even more nimbly and quickly than a seed planter.

A week later, the new batch of wheat ripened, Xia Putao breathed a sigh of relief, saying, "Once this wheat harvest is finished, we can rest for four months!"