Chapter 35

A white-haired scholar said solemnly, "Even before Returning Wind City 'died,' the Verdant Dwelling Grass was difficult to grow. Now that Returning Wind City's soil and water are gone, it will probably be even more difficult to grow it."

Those around him echoed, "It's indeed difficult to grow. Does the director have any other methods?"

The jade box was passed to Shan Heyuan.

He reached inside and, with his keen senses, took out the three seeds with the most Spiritual Power. He held them lightly in his palm, then passed the jade box to the next person, all the while listening to the dean's conversation.

Huai Liu said in a deep voice, "The Verdant Dwelling Grass is indeed difficult to cultivate, which is why we need to trouble you all. You are among the top planters on our continent; with our collective wisdom and efforts, we might be able to cultivate it successfully."

Before anyone else could speak, Huai Liu took out a booklet. "I have Grandmaster Jiulu's notes on cultivating the Verdant Dwelling Grass. I'll print them out and distribute them to everyone later for your reference."

Someone in the crowd asked, "Director, could I take the seeds home to plant? They'd be easier to care for."

Huai Liu: "Of course. Only one Verdant Dwelling Grass is needed in the courtyard. If you manage to grow them all, you can keep the other two. In addition, the courtyard will give you fifty contribution points as a reward if you can grow Verdant Dwelling Grass that can be used in medicine."

Fifty contribution points!

Shan Heyuan's eyes suddenly lit up.

Contribution points from the Sword Reverence Academy are valuable; they can be exchanged for spirit swords, Spirit Artifact, materials, and ancient texts.

A moderately famous spirit sword costs between thirty and eighty contribution points. The fact that the academy is offering so many contribution points this time is almost equivalent to the price of a treasure.

This sincerity is truly commendable.

Not only junior teaching assistants like Shan Heyuan, but also the teachers in the academy with Nascent Soul and Core Formation cultivation levels showed interest upon hearing about the reward.

It is clear that a generous reward will surely attract brave men.

Huai Liu looked at everyone and waved wearily, "I entrust the lives of my disciples to you all."

One of the teachers said, "Dean, rest assured, we will certainly live up to your expectations!"

Chapter 35

Regarding the disciple's injury, not only did Dean Huai Liu hold a meeting with them, but the leaders of the Lan school also convened a short meeting with the Master and teaching assistants.

Shan Heyuan sat at the back of the conference room, covered his mouth with his hand, yawned silently, and wiped away the tears that welled up in his eyes.

Jiang Zhi on the left, caught from his yawn, also yawned.

Seeing their reaction, Li Jian on the right smiled silently, then quickly covered his mouth with his hand.

The leader at the head of the table continued, "... Everyone should strive to be the first and try to plant it before the teachers and teaching assistants of the Mei, Zhu, and Tao generations..."

Shan Heyuan sighed silently.

As expected, all leaders follow the same pattern. Even though he transmigrated from Earth to the cultivation world, he couldn't escape the torment of meetings.

The leaders probably wanted to make the most of the rare opportunity to hold a meeting.

After discussing the issue of Verdant Dwelling Grass, the leaders moved on to a new topic: how to improve teaching quality.

The Shan Heyuan was familiar with was Tong Liangji.

Tong Liangji was always approachable, but this time he also talked for quite a while while holding the Jade Slip, becoming one of the annoying leaders.

After a long and arduous meeting, everyone was listless, standing up like ghosts and walking out.

Shan Heyuan followed the crowd out.

Tong Liangji called out to him from behind, "Heyuan."

The others all looked over at Shan Heyuan, and when they saw that it was him who had been called out, they all showed expressions of understanding.

Everyone knew they were from the same hometown, Tong Liangji even helped Shan Heyuan treat everyone in the courtyard to drinks to build rapport with his colleagues.

It's not surprising that Shan Heyuan was stopped by Tong Liangji.

Shan Heyuan stood still. "Senior Tong."

Tong Liangji strode forward, smiling as he walked alongside him out, "You've been here for a while now, are you used to it?"

Shan Heyuan: "Yes, everyone is treating me very well, and I've already gotten the hang of the job."

Tong Liangji: "I saw it. Goodness, the two Spirit Plant gardens you manage have zero losses. I was just telling those old guys a few days ago that it's been a long time since I've seen a planter with such strong planting talent."

Shan Heyuan didn't know who those "old guys" were, but they were probably all important figures in the institute.

He didn't know how to respond, so he smiled at Tong Liangji.

Tong Liangji lowered his voice. "Are you confident in cultivating the Emerald Verdant Dwelling Grass? It's not easy to grow, but if it's you, there might be some hope. If you can grow it, try your best to succeed. Many seniors are paying attention to this now. Once you've successfully grown it, you can have it recorded in your file, and you won't have to worry about it anymore."

Shan Heyuan didn't know where Tong Liangji got his confidence from; he wasn't sure he could successfully grow the Verdant Dwelling Grass.

However, since his superior had already spoken, he had no choice but to agree, "Thank you for the advice, senior. I'll go back and give it a try."

Tong Liangji patted him on the shoulder. "Plant well, this time it's up to you young people."

Today was too chaotic for Shan Heyuan to stay in the academy any longer. He went back to the garden to check on the Spirit Plant he was managing. Seeing that everything was alright, he summoned a cat in the academy and rode it home.

It was already evening when he got home.

The winter sunset slanted in and fell on the courtyard. Apart from the occasional rustling sound of the leaves of the Spirit Plant being blown by the wind, there was no other sound.

Exhausted, Shan Heyuan returned home. He had intended to tell Shen Duheng about what had happened that day, but upon opening the door, he realized that Shen Duheng had gone out and his return date was uncertain.

He stood in the hall for quite a while.

The neighbors should all be back by now; he could hear hushed conversations and subtle noises.

Only their courtyard was deserted and quiet.

Shan Heyuan channeled a burst of Spiritual Power into the wooden talisman for heating that was pasted on the wall.

The wooden talisman steadily emitted heat, gradually warming the chilly room.

Shan Heyuan plopped down in the soft cloth chair and took out the seeds of the Verdant Dwelling Grass from his storage ring to examine them.

The seeds of the Verdant Dwelling Grass are somewhat like jade, a vibrant green that looks very smooth and lustrous.

The shell is quite thick, so it will probably be difficult for it to germinate.

After observing for a while, Shan Heyuan took out the "Grandmaster Jiulu's Planting Notes" distributed by the academy and finally decided to plant two seeds first.

One seed was soaked in the elixir and placed in a warm place to grow, while the other was planted directly in the yard and allowed to grow naturally.

Keep the last one, just in case.

When the seeds of Spirit Plant are first planted, they don't show anything special. They only reveal their extraordinary characteristics after they have completed their dormancy period.

The same was true for the seeds of the Verdant Dwelling Grass. After observing for a while and finding nothing, Shan Heyuan took another piece of grass and covered the spirit grass with it to keep it warm.

The following day, Shan Heyuan went to work as usual.

After tending to the Spirit Plant in the two Spirit Plant gardens and preparing the Spirit Plant his disciples would use in class, he headed to his office.

It was cold and dry outside, but inside the office it felt like springtime, filled with warm, moist air, and even a bit like being enveloped in mist.

He looked closely and saw that each of the teachers had a steaming teacup in their hand, and the room was filled with Spiritual Qi and moisture emanating from these teacups, making the entire office look like a fairyland.

Shan Heyuan smiled, walked to his table, and put down the Spirit Plant branch he was holding.

Before he could even settle in, Jiang Zhi, bracing himself against the chair with his feet, stumbled backward, leaning against him. "Brother Shan, how's your Verdant Dwelling Grass going?"

Seeing his curious expression, Shan Heyuan casually asked, "It hasn't sprouted yet. How are your planting going?"

Jiang Zhi: "Your Verdant Dwelling Grass hasn't sprouted either?"

Shan Heyuan asked in surprise, "No, could it be that your Verdant Dwelling Grass has sprouted?"

Jiang Zhi shook his head sharply. "Of course not. We thought your Verdant Dwelling Grass was more likely to sprout, so we wanted to come and ask you."

As they were chatting, the other teachers dragged their chairs over and gathered around them, asking each other what methods they used for planting and how the results were.

Li Jian: "Like Brother Shan, I planted one seed in the open air, used spiritual liquid to nurture another, and kept the third in the ground, but none of them sprouted."