"Not the same," Fang Wu shook his head, "The rules are different. If the Minister of Agriculture Supervision counted the number of knockdowns, with the damage Zhao Xing caused, he would definitely rank among the top... After this, our military department must go back and train those arrogant guys well."
"Enjoyed it, enjoyed it so much!" Cao Shuang’s hands were both broken. As he accepted treatment from the doctor, he grinned in pain but still looked excited, "Finally released some pent-up anger!"
"Hahaha, I got knocked down by Fu Ying three times, each time he broke my ribs. This time, I finally broke one of his bones." Jiang Tianming’s face was swollen like a pig’s head, yet he laughed heartily at this moment.
The injured from the Minister of Agriculture Supervision were the first to be teleported out. At this moment, Zhao Xing, Zhuang Ziqing, Shi Yong, Han Bing, Feng Qiu, and Guan Junyang, almost all the geniuses who made it past the fourth stage, were eliminated and were being treated here.
But the atmosphere was quite high; the reason was simple, satisfaction!
"Zhao Xing, you’re amazing, daring to be the first to charge!" Cao Shuang looked at the figure lying on a mat not far away, wrapped in bandages, "I, old Cao, admire you!"
"Zhao Xing is indeed fierce," Jiang Tianming laughed, "His Kui Niu Thunder Roar caused significant trouble for the opponents. Without him, our charge might not have had such a big impact."
"Zhao Xing, are you dead? Say something! Everyone’s praising you," Zhuang Ziqing laughed.
"Not dead. Even if you, Zhuang Ziqing, died, I wouldn’t die, tsk..." Zhao Xing’s voice came from within the bandages.
The chubby old man beside him glanced over: "Still showing off, aren’t you? Shut up quickly, or I won’t treat you."
"Hahahaha." A burst of laughter came from beside them.
After this, Zhao Xing’s name began to spread within the Minister of Agriculture Supervision. The military department also knew that there was someone named ’Zhao Xing’ in the Minister of Agriculture Supervision, from the Divine Might Army, who almost knocked all the martial artists down during the [untrainable] period, causing the genius from Azure Dragon Martial Arts Institute, Fu Ying, to rank at the bottom in this battle.
On May 20th, Zhao Xing pushed open the gate of the Eighteen Locust and Willow Courtyard, ready to participate in Taicang Institute’s [Selection Training].
Although his ranking had dropped once, as long as he didn’t drop three times in a row, he wouldn’t be demoted.
Zhao Xing wasn’t afraid of being targeted later. The initiative was in his hands. Whether to fight or hide, with the Nine Revolutions’ [Disrupted Sound Technique] sound blade, sound spike, and Seventh Transition’s [Kui Niu Thunder Roar], he had choices.
"Zhao Xing, where are you going?"
"Mr. Zhao, are you recovered?"
"Brother Zhao, want to join us for some contemplation?"
Walking along the road, many people greeted Zhao Xing.
Even though he didn’t know many of them, they all knew Zhao Xing.
Seeing the people greeting him along the way, Zhao Xing smiled in response.
"The fight wasn’t in vain. After this, I’ve gotten to know the geniuses from the Four Institutes quite well, and I’ve deepened my relationship with some of the geniuses from the Geography Institute," Zhao Xing thought to himself.
"Since we’re all stationed in the same Cave Heaven, if I take office in the future, having some connections with the peers from the same batch could be very useful."
Zhao Xing took out the Earth Mirror and looked at it: "For the first required training lesson, I now feel no pressure. Next, I’ll follow the selection training courses to improve myself."
"Let’s go take a look at Taicang Institute first."
At Taicang Institute, on a plot of fertile and flat land.
Lu Bang landed in low air with a Cloud Flying Boat.
At this moment, many Minister of Agriculture officers were already waiting below.
They were here to attend Lu Bang’s training course.
"My selection training is very simple."
Lu Bang pointed to the land ahead: "This whole area is a cultivation zone that has been specially treated. The earth power is extremely fertile, and you can freely use spells."
"The heavenly time here has also been adjusted to suit a two-day farming cycle."
"Heavenly Time and Earth Advantage, both aspects have been optimized to the best, and everyone’s initial conditions are the same."
"You can freely choose from the seed bags, seedlings, and the lowest is third rank, the highest is fourth rank, in the cultivation zone."
"You can choose any plants to grow."
"I have only one requirement for you—speed!"
"Whether it’s seedlings or seeds, you have to find a way to make them mature, flower, and bear fruit as quickly as possible."
"To get a passing C-grade score from me, you must choose third rank seeds or seedlings and complete the flowering and fruiting process within six hours, entering the mature stage. For the fourth rank, the time is extended to twelve hours."
"To get a B-grade score from me, you must let third rank seeds or seedlings enter the mature stage within three hours. For the fourth rank, it’s six hours."
"To get an A-grade score, third rank seeds or seedlings must enter the mature stage within one hour, and for fourth rank, it’s two hours."
After Lu Bang finished speaking with a smile, he changed his tone: "Don’t even think about cheating. If I find any cheating, no matter what level of genius you are, you’ll be disqualified."
"You have one year to complete this training course. You only need to pass within a year."
"If you want a good score, visit the Taicang Institute often to comprehend the All Things Growth Map, or diligently practice the Yin Yang Self Scripture, or go to the Primordial Dojo for contemplation."
Zhao Xing stood below, listened to Lu Bang’s requirements, and then ran to the cultivation area to select seedlings or seeds.
"The soil is indeed fertile, and since this is training, there’s no need for competition."
"There’s no need to fight for resources."
Lu Bang is a figure in the Self Sect, which has excluded the factors of Heavenly Time and Earth Advantage. Now, the Ministers of Agriculture only need to use the methods of the Self Sect to cultivate these seeds and seedlings."
"It’s just about speed. With limitless fertile earth power, this tests the Military Minister of Agriculture Officer’s ability to produce military provisions."
"When the military advances and fights, logistics and supplies are big issues. With the Military Minister of Agriculture Officer, the burden of supplies is greatly reduced, as they only need to carry a small number of seeds or seedlings and plant wherever they fight."
"If plants can mature very quickly, without considering the factors of Earth Advantage and Heavenly Time, the army won’t starve wherever they go."
Of course, training is training, and in reality, you still need to consider factors like Heavenly Time and Earth Advantage.
The Great Zhou is expanding outward. During the campaign, there’s no need to worry about exhausting the land because it’s not even theirs yet. First, conquer the land and then consider turning it into mature farmland.
"To get an A-grade score, third rank plants or seedlings must mature within one hour. That’s too difficult."
Zhao Xing tried it, and indeed Earth Vein Comprehensive Element couldn’t make the earth power any more fertile.
The only Self Sect magic left to use was [Savage Growth].
The initial level of Robust Growth had no significant effect.
"Savage Growth had reached the intermediate stage of Nine Revolutions, but it still couldn’t mature within one hour."
"With only one spell, I can only achieve a B score in Lu Bang’s required training course."
Although a B-grade score was already excellent, it wasn’t enough for Zhao Xing.
Because he was being trained with resources at the A-grade level, his selection training required an A score.
"Well, let’s learn this Self Sect magic first."
The power of the Self Sect in this era wasn’t prominent, but that was Zhao Xing’s conclusion from comparing it across the whole school and different periods.
At his current level, the magic of the Self Sect was still very effective, so he needed to learn some spells for protection.
"If a group has a Military Minister of Agriculture Officer skilled in Self Sect spells, they won’t starve no matter what. Even if besieged or surrounded, they could last longer."
"Self Sect spells can make plants themselves stronger, and can even be applied in extreme environments, like growing food in lava."
During the [untrainable] interval, there weren’t many selection training courses.
Lu Bang’s training course was relatively simple, involving only one type of magic, so he didn’t want to miss the selection training score.
"I have two free entry opportunities to the Primordial Dojo at Taicang Institute. I wonder if I can comprehend the wonder of the Self Sect magic," Zhao Xing recalled some past experiences, "If I can comprehend this wonder early on, it would greatly help my future development, possibly even allowing me to condense Pure Essence Soil ahead of time!"