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Chapter 182: Primordial Instant, Blood Essence Fruit, and Heartworm Grass!
🕑 Added 2024-10-30 16:52:57 +0000 UTCLord Lingde's question was not without reason.
The tasks assigned to Military Shennong by the military realm mainly fall into two categories: basic tasks, also known as main tasks, and common tasks, also known as advanced tasks.
Basic tasks have a monthly limit.
Completing a basic task is already quite challenging because it's divided into two levels.
The first level is the main job.
This involves providing the army with the food and energy supplements needed for the month.
The court grants Eighth and Ninth Rank officials a salary, but they must complete a certain amount of work.
If you do well, it’s your duty; if you do poorly, your salary will be docked, or you may even be demoted.
This first level is part of the main job, and there's not much battle merit to be earned. Of course, if the frontlines win a battle, you might earn a small portion of the team’s merit.
Too difficult? Don’t want to do it? There's always someone else willing to take the job!
Take a Seventh-Rank official, for example. Completing the first level of the basic task may yield, at most, 10,000 battle merit points in a month.
The main requirement is to ensure the army’s basic food supply.
If you can’t even do that, why be a Military Shennong? Better go back to the rear and practice more.
The second level of basic tasks, besides satisfying the army’s food needs, also requires fulfilling several additional conditions:
Supplying herbs for physicians, materials for the crafting division, fabric for the weaving division, and incense materials for the priests.
These requirements are comprehensive, and the basic quotas are doubled.
For example, if the Shenwei Army needs 100,000 stones of Third-Rank supplies in a given month, that would be the first level. For the second level, it would be 200,000 stones.
This main task also has a limit—if you complete it three or five times, you won't earn any additional battle merits.
Normally, a Seventh-Rank Military Shennong can barely fulfill the needs of all the divisions.
Completing the full basic task is already quite difficult.
The court isn’t running a charity. A small salary increase is fine, but battle merits lead to land grants and titles, and flooding the battlefield with merit points is not beneficial for the country.
Moreover, Emperor Jing has set a very high standard for earning battle merit.
The battlefield is constantly changing, and no one knows what unexpected situations might arise.
They also have to consider enemy ambushes, weather conditions, and terrain advantages.
Zhao Xing had stored part of the loot in the internal warehouse to ensure that City No. 92 could complete its basic tasks in case of emergencies.
If someone could fully complete the basic battle merit tasks, they would already be an outstanding Military Shennong.
Advanced tasks, however, are even more difficult.
The basic tasks provide for the needs of one’s own military division and aren’t considered “challenges.”
The army’s requirements are planned years in advance, and the seeds and seedlings are readily available.
Advanced tasks, on the other hand, involve providing for the entire pacification army.
The battle merits for completing such tasks are naturally higher.
Advanced tasks are designed to allow talented individuals to stand out.
In this context, Zhao Xing submitting one advanced task every two hours and earning 10,000 battle merit points within four hours was naturally surprising to Lord Lingde.
A regular Seventh-Rank official like Chen Lu had only accumulated a little over 30,000 battle merit points since the start of the pacification campaign.
Even top-tier talents like Wang Ji and Han Bing, after more than 20 days of hard work, had only earned 50,000 to 60,000 points.
Even Lord Lingde found Zhao Xing’s speed exaggerated.
Even a Sixth-Rank Military Shennong might not be this efficient!
"That kid spent the longest time at the Original Dao Field. Could it be that he’s had a breakthrough with a Self School technique?" Lord Tianyan speculated. "Self School’s advanced techniques are extremely rare among the Seventh-Rank."
Mastery of high-level techniques at the Seventh-Rank, whether they involve time or space manipulation, wouldn’t surprise any of the three lords.
Figures like Guan Junyang and Cao Shuang had already mastered advanced techniques over a year ago with the Fourth Transformation of their consciousness.
Yet none of the geniuses from Ten Sun Cave-Heaven had been able to comprehend any high-level techniques so far.
"Among the nearly 200,000 Seventh-Rank Military Shennongs across the five great Cave Heavens, fewer than 50 have mastered Self School’s advanced techniques, most of them being older, experienced individuals who spent years researching," Lord Lingde remarked. "If Zhao Xing has truly achieved this, his future prospects are limitless."
The techniques of the Self School are notoriously difficult to cultivate, and it is said that reaching the Fifth Rank is only the beginning of the path.
"No need to keep guessing," Lord Luohou said. "Let’s summon Lu Bang and ask him directly."
Lu Bang, one of the judges at Taicang Academy, would undoubtedly know the details.
Lord Luohou took out his Earth Mirror and tossed it into the sky.
"Humm~" The Earth Mirror spun several times, emitting a faint azure light and projecting a three-dimensional image of Lu Bang.
"Greetings to Lord Luohou, Lord Lingde, and Lord Tianyan," Lu Bang respectfully bowed to the three lords.
"There's no need for such formalities, Lord Lu Bang," Lord Lingde said.
Lu Bang was a Fifth-Rank official with real power and a promising future, being relatively young compared to others in similar positions.
"What brings you to summon me, Lord Luohou?" Lu Bang asked, puzzled. He knew these three lords held lofty positions and were involved in the pacification campaign. The fifteen overseers of the campaign were all high-ranking nobles.
"Lu Bang," Lord Luohou inquired, "Do you know if Zhao Xing has mastered any advanced Self School techniques while at the Original Dao Field?"
Zhao Xing? Lu Bang was momentarily taken aback.
"Yes."
Lu Bang nodded.
"The reason Zhao Xing was twenty days late to the battlefield was that he was comprehending techniques at the Original Dao Field."
"However, I can only confirm that he has mastered an advanced technique, though I’m not sure which one exactly."
"I see, that’s all we needed to know," Lord Luohou nodded. "You may go now."
"Yes, my lords." Lu Bang bowed again and cut the connection.
Lord Tianyan grinned, "Lord Luohou, it seems you can start preparing that Seventh-Rank Divine Weapon for me."
Lord Lingde chuckled as well. He was merely a spectator in this bet, not having placed any wagers himself.
With Zhao Xing mastering an advanced Self School technique, unless something catastrophic happened, he was almost certain to be among the first to be conferred the title of a second-class Martial Marquis.
"It’s still too early, Lord Tianyan," Lord Luohou grumbled. "Zhao Xing alone isn’t enough; Xia Jing must also be in the first batch."
"Besides, the Shenwei Army is about to reach the Fire Demon Tribe’s territory, where the environment is harsh. Even the logistics forces will need to advance. Zhao Xing may not be able to maintain such rapid progress."
"Hahaha, Lord Luohou," Lord Tianyan chuckled, knowing Lord Luohou’s competitive nature. "You’re probably right, but don't start acting like Cheng Qingming and Ge Jinsong from Ten Sun Cave-Heaven. They had some very convincing analyses back then as well."
Lord Luohou: "…"
Meanwhile, at Taicang Academy, Lu Bang was chatting with Zuo Zizhi, Lord Tian, and Liu Tianning.
Lu Bang’s sudden departure earlier had left the three somewhat puzzled.
"Lu Bang, what did Lord Luohou want with you?" Zuo Zizhi asked. "I didn't know you were on such good terms with him."
"Lord Luohou is famous for being cold and distant," Lord Tian laughed. "I never imagined you had this kind of connection."
Liu Tianning quietly sipped his wine, staring into the distance, seemingly ignoring their conversation.
Lu Bang shook his head, "I’m not on good terms with Lord Luohou at all. I haven’t seen him in over a decade. His sudden summons caught me off guard."
"I was terrified I’d done something wrong and he’d found out about it."
"Hahaha, that's the guilty conscience of a thief," Zuo Zizhi laughed.
Lu Bang sat down and grabbed the wine jug from Liu Tianning’s hand, "I haven’t done anything wrong aside from having a drink every now and then. Lord Luohou wouldn't bother with such minor matters."
"He summoned me because of Zhao Xing."
"Hmm?" Lord Tian’s expression changed slightly, "What happened? Why has Lord Luohou taken an interest in him?"
Even Liu Tianning returned his gaze to Lu Bang.
"I don’t know," Lu Bang replied. "Lord Luohou just asked if Zhao Xing had mastered an advanced technique. I assume it's not because of any wrongdoing, but the exact reason is unclear."
"His merit points are rising too quickly," Liu Tianning suddenly spoke. "Look at the Earth Mirror; Zhao Xing is now ranked 4,321 among the Seventh-Rank."
"If I were Lord Luohou, I’d also take notice of such an anomaly."
"However, there’s no need to worry. Zhao Xing’s merits can withstand scrutiny."
Lord Tian visibly relaxed, but he still gave Liu Tianning a curious look. His mind was unusually quick. Also, why was he paying so much attention to Zhao Xing?
That’s my student!
At City No. 92, in the fields.
"The transport ship is ready to depart, delivering supplies to the frontlines. Liao Rulong has already led his troops out of Machang City, advancing southeast."
"This time, City No. 92 has emptied seventy percent of its supply inventory for June, leaving only thirty percent as reserves."
Han Bing stood in the fields, reporting to Zhao Xing.
"Southeast?"
Zhao Xing, squatting in front of a patch of seedlings, opened his map as he listened.
"The Wolf God Tribe has retreated. If Machang City pushes southeast and breaks through two more defensive lines, they’ll face the Fire Demon Tribe under the Golden Feather Court."
"Is Liao Rulong planning to attack the Fire Demon Tribe?" Han Bing asked.
"Hard to say," Zhao Xing shook his head. "We’ll put that question aside for now. Where did Liao Rulong request the transport ship to rendezvous?"
"Zhiyou City."
"Hmm." Zhao Xing didn’t recognize the name, which meant it likely wasn’t a particularly dangerous location. "With Long Xiao on board, there shouldn’t be any issues. On the return trip, have them travel through the wind layer."
Foreign tribes typically didn’t ambush in the wind layer; the requirements for that were too high. Without a Sixth-Rank expert, fighting in the wind layer was nearly impossible.
Traveling through the wind layer would just consume more resources to power the array core.
But now that Liao Rulong’s troops had advanced six thousand miles into the Southern Wilderness, Zhiyou City was already off the original safe route.
Safety was the priority, so Zhao Xing decided to have the transport team fly through the wind layer.
Han Bing nodded and continued to report, "Following your instructions, the Shennong Office has adjusted the planting focus. The main crops now are the thorn species ‘Beast Mint,’ the herbaceous ‘Tianxin Grass,’ and the tree species ‘Blood Essence Fruit Tree.’"
"These three major categories of crops include a total of 149 species, all Third and Fourth-Rank."
"The seeds and seedlings for these were already in the inventory. Expanding the scale of the Third-Rank crops is easy, but the Fourth-Rank ones are more difficult, requiring the efforts of the Seventh-Rank Military Shennongs."
Zhao Xing replied, "Activate the Earth Return Array and have the Ninth-Rank Military Shennongs join in."
Han Bing hesitated, "These crops aren’t currently part of the military realm's tasks. While we had some leeway to plant other things before, now you're asking to completely shift focus and activate the Earth Return Array. This will significantly affect the speed at which others earn battle merits."
To be honest, if it weren’t Zhao Xing making the request, Han Bing would have slapped him already.
This was clearly reckless decision-making.
"Are you worried I’ll be cursed at?" Zhao Xing asked.
"It’s not a possibility—it’s a certainty," Han Bing replied.
Zhao Xing laughed, "Let them curse me, but make sure the task gets done. This is the military, not a merchant guild."
Han Bing thought for a moment and said, "Fine, I'll take the blame and say it was my suggestion."
Zhao Xing waved his hand, "No need for that. We’ll eventually expand the city, and I’ll probably move with the main force. You might end up staying in City No. 92."
"Besides, they may curse me now, but they’ll probably thank me later."
"Alright, I'll get it done."
Just as Han Bing flew away, the priest Song Fang arrived.
"Master Zhao."
Song Fang, a Seventh-Rank priest, was the head priest of City No. 92. Though he was already sixty years old and well-established in the army, he was still extremely respectful toward Zhao Xing.
"Master Song," Zhao Xing greeted him in return. "In recent days, you’ve been working closely with the Shennong Office. Assign all priests who can call upon the Shennong gods to assist the Shennong Office fully."
"As for the remaining priests, have them assist Wang Ji’s crafting division with expanding the outer city."
In supply cities, priests also performed logistical duties.
Of course, if the city was attacked by humans or ghosts, the priests would defend the city.
One benefit of being a priest was that even if you did nothing, as long as the city wasn’t breached, you would earn merit for defending it.
Not just anyone could be a priest, but those who could were very well compensated.
As long as the city wasn’t breached, a priest would earn 800 battle merit points daily.
Song Fang bowed, "Master Zhao, should we also recall the ghostly sentinels patrolling outside the city?"
Zhao Xing nodded, "Yes."
"Won't that make it easier for enemies to approach without being detected?"
Zhao Xing said calmly, "As long as I’m here, you have nothing to worry about. Just do as I say."
"Understood," Song Fang quickly replied.
He hadn’t known or heard much about Zhao Xing before.
But Zhao Xing had made quite an impression when he first took charge.
The impact of the Nether Flame Warship Zhao Xing had captured was astounding.
Anyone who could seize such a valuable prize clearly wasn’t ordinary. It seemed likely that Zhao Xing would be promoted to Sixth-Rank soon.
Now that Zhao Xing had both high battle merit and great strength, and with the support of Wang Ji and Han Bing, Song Fang didn’t dare oppose anything Zhao Xing said.
As for the head of the martial division, Gao Li, there was even less to worry about.
Gao Li had been a subordinate of Long Xiao, and since Long Xiao and Zhao Xing were on brotherly terms, Gao Li certainly wouldn’t dare defy Zhao Xing.
There was also a strategist named Yang Da in the city, but in a supply city like this, Yang Da had little authority because the city’s ranking officials only numbered five.
When there was a battle, strategists had a role, but for routine logistics, they were useless.
How could they earn battle merit? They could only get a few points each day for defending the city, and even then, they had little to do.
"Right now, I only command a city of 5,000 people. The workload isn’t too heavy…"
"But when I command an army of a million, I’ll have much more to consider."
"I need to master the Self Straw Puppet technique as soon as possible," Zhao Xing thought to himself.
For now, all the divisions were cooperating well, but that might not always be the case.
And this was only one city—what about managing three cities, or ten?
At that point, the Self Straw Puppet technique would be indispensable.
"But the Self Straw Puppet technique is an advanced spell involving the Five Elements and the mysteries of Yin and Yang. Mastering it might be even harder than comprehending Primordial Instant."
Zhao Xing glanced down at the grassy field.
Primordial Instant was the advanced spell he had comprehended at the Original Dao Field.
It belonged to the high-level "Essence Breaking Techniques" and could shatter the growth limits of living beings.
It was precisely because of this spell that Zhao Xing was able to complete an advanced task so quickly.
At the moment, Zhao Xing was working on a plot of land on the left, planting Fourth-Rank Heartworm Grass, the main ingredient for the Heart-Protecting Pill.
To the right was a shrub called the Blood Essence Tree, which could produce Fourth-Rank Blood Essence Fruits, used for rapid blood regeneration in martial artists.
"The appearance of Heartworm Grass and Blood Essence Fruit on the military realm’s advanced task list…"
"It’s probably because the Pacification Army is encountering more and more Worm Shamans and Blood Shamans."
Zhao Xing crouched down to inspect the seedlings and saplings.
"With Great Zhou’s resources, as soon as tasks like these are released, countless talented Military Shennongs will rush to plant these treasures."
"With widespread planting, tasks related to these plants will likely decrease in value or even be canceled."
"Better hurry and earn more battle merit while I can."
Zhao Xing began casting spells over the field.
Advanced tasks are always time-sensitive. Once the opportunity passes, it's gone.
It might last a month, or perhaps even shorter, before the rewards for these tasks decrease, or the task is canceled entirely.
Whoosh!
Zhao Xing pointed his finger, and golden spell light fell upon the Heartworm Grass.
"Heartworm Grass is a Fourth-Rank herb, but it’s extremely difficult to grow it to Fourth-Rank middle grade."
"Most Military Shennongs can only cultivate it to Fourth-Rank lower grade."
"The military realm’s advanced task, however, requires Fourth-Rank upper grade or even Fourth-Rank supreme grade Heartworm Grass."
"The same goes for Blood Essence Fruit. One tree may produce fifty to sixty Blood Essence Fruits, but none might reach Fourth-Rank middle grade."
Using Five Elements Observation, Zhao Xing focused on the Heartworm Grass.
Under his microscopic view, the Heartworm Grass grew rapidly. Two hours later, the grass had already matured and was ready for harvest.
"I’ve altered the time of this land, and I’ve used Earth Vein Consolidation, Wild Growth, Nine Dragons Compression, and Wasteland Essence Convergence to cultivate it."
"Even so, only one percent of the Heartworm Grass has reached Fourth-Rank middle grade."
"The limits of life are truly difficult to break. Unless it's grown in a cave-heaven or blessed land, the costs would be even higher."
If the military realm planted these on a large scale in cave-heavens or blessed lands, the farming costs would increase, as would the transportation costs, and the exercise would lose its training value.
As the harvesting time approached, Zhao Xing had no choice but to use an advanced spell.
In the microscopic world inside the Heartworm Grass, wisps of grey energy existed.
These wisps twisted into chains, seemingly locking the life structure of the Heartworm Grass.
If it weren't for the fact that Zhao Xing had cultivated the Yin-Yang Self Technique to the second level, he wouldn’t have even noticed them.
"Primordial Instant!"
Golden light dots appeared at his fingertips, then fell upon the Heartworm Grass.
Whoosh!
From an external perspective, the golden light dots entered the Heartworm Grass, resembling a comet with a long, golden tail that plunged into the internal world of the plant.
Boom!
A golden comet smashed into one of the grey chains.
Every time it shattered a grey chain, the golden light also dissipated.
But soon, the grey energy would re-form into a new chain.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The golden comet continued crashing down.
In the microscopic world, it was as if a great battle had erupted.
After shattering over a billion chains of grey energy…
Finally—
Humm~
A surge of abundant energy exploded from within the Heartworm Grass, flourishing through the cracks in the grey chains.
It absorbed nutrients once more and entered a new growth phase!
This time, it grew even more vigorously, like the opening of heaven and earth, unstoppable.
Whew~
Zhao Xing stopped using Five Elements Observation and returned to observing the Heartworm Grass with his naked eyes.
By now, a large portion of the Heartworm Grass had advanced from Fourth-Rank lower grade to Fourth-Rank middle grade.
"Fifty percent are Fourth-Rank middle grade, thirty percent are Fourth-Rank upper grade, and ten percent are Fourth-Rank supreme grade."
"Less than ten percent remain at Fourth-Rank lower grade."
Zhao Xing smiled with satisfaction.
Primordial Instant allowed mature plants to return to their growth phase in an instant.
It absorbed nutrients for a second time!
This was the effect of Essence Breaking Techniques.
Of course, the mid-level Essence Breaking Technique wasn’t this powerful.
The issue with the Heartworm Grass wasn’t a lack of nutrients.
Thanks to Zhao Xing’s spell, the nutrients in this land were more than abundant.
The issue was that the plant’s life potential was capped, making it difficult to reach Fourth-Rank supreme grade.
Primordial Instant shattered that limit in an instant, allowing the Heartworm Grass to continue growing.
"Essence Breaking Techniques are among the most profound spells of the Self School."
"Unfortunately, they currently only work on plants."
"If it could be used on people… I wonder where Mi Fu is now."
Zhao Xing had always kept an eye out for Mi Fu, a prodigy of the Self School.
By some twist of fate, Mi Fu had created the Xuanhuang Essence Breaking Technique, which had only moderate effects on plants but was incredibly powerful when used on people.
It could even allow a person to prematurely condense Pure Essence Soil.
"I’ve sent people out to search, but no one has found any trace of Mi Fu."
"If Mi Fu were in Pinghai Prefecture, I would have found him by now."
"Unless he’s not a Fifth-Rank yet, or he is but has gone into a secret cave-heaven world," Zhao Xing thought to himself.
Some of the cave-heaven worlds within Great Zhou were highly secretive and not open to the public.
The things inside those cave-heaven worlds were classified, and even the people who entered them would have their records sealed.
Usually, only Fifth-Rank officials were allowed to enter.
But since Fifth-Rank officials couldn’t be subjected to memory-erasing techniques like the Forgetfulness Spell, their confidentiality measures had to be strengthened.
"Forget it. During Emperor Jing’s reign, I’ll at least reach the Fifth-Rank, and Mi Fu is bound to reappear during the transition between the two reigns. I can search for him then."
Zhao Xing used his wind technique to harvest the Heartworm Grass, then planted a new batch.
Afterward, he moved to the Blood Essence Trees.
By now, the Blood Essence Trees had also reached maturity, producing bright red Blood Essence Fruits.
Once again, Zhao Xing cast Primordial Instant.
The Blood Essence Fruits began their second growth phase.
"There aren’t as many Fourth-Rank middle grade Blood Essence Fruits as there were Heartworm Grass."
"The difference between herbs and trees is clear. Trees are more complex and profound."
"It’s much harder for Primordial Instant to break through the hidden limits in trees," Zhao Xing thought to himself.
"Still, my spells have improved. This is only the second transformation of the advanced technique."
"Once I reach the fourth transformation, Primordial Instant’s power will increase significantly."
"Time to submit the task and see how many battle merit points I earned."
With the harvest complete, Zhao Xing rode the clouds toward the temple.
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