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Chapter 135: The Gambler’s Strategy Pays Off
🕑 Added 2024-10-20 06:48:11 +0000 UTCXia Jing had lost his voice, but his body could still move. After recovering slightly, he wiped his tears, stood up, and cupped his hands toward Zhao Xing in the sky, bowing in respect.
Even though he couldn’t speak, the message was clear: "I admit defeat!"
Xia Jing was truly beaten into submission.
First, it was the three-tiered Horse Fish Fruit, then the four-tiered Fire Brilliance Cactus. The combination of numbness, fishiness, and spiciness was simply unbearable.
Chen Fang, Hu Bing, and Zhang Jie were right: there were still twenty-seven days left in the mandatory training! If this kept up, even if his body could endure, his mind would certainly break.
Even without anyone telling him, Xia Jing had no intention of being stubborn any longer.
Seeing this proud heir of a noble house bow his head, Zhao Xing finally felt satisfied. He cupped his hands in return and said, "Brothers, you overpraise me. I, Zhao Xing, am inexperienced, and the selection of crops over these past three days has not been ideal. In the future, I will carefully choose better plants to aid you in your Devouring Technique training."
With these words, Zhao Xing was indicating that he wouldn’t continue making things difficult for them, signaling the end of his dispute with Xia Jing.
It wasn’t really a big deal to begin with.
Zhang Jie, Chen Fang, and Hu Bing all smiled in relief and hurriedly cupped their hands. "Thank you, Brother Zhao!"
After all, training the Devouring Technique was still training. If Zhao Xing, as the military Shennong, thoughtfully selected the food, they could train the technique while suffering less.
Take the Horse Fish Fruit, for example. The terrible fishy smell had no real benefit for training, only causing discomfort.
Zhao Xing could easily choose a different supply that would provide the same training results without the unnecessary suffering.
Hearing Zhao Xing’s words, Xia Jing also felt a huge sense of relief.
To be honest, he would rather face Fu Ying in a life-or-death battle than ever smell that fishy stench again.
As for admitting defeat to Zhao Xing, the noble heir now realized it wasn’t shameful at all. After all, they were in different professions—one was a Shennong, the other a warrior. There was no point in competing.
Zhao Xing had shown remarkable skills by producing three different types of supplies over three days, each with both quantity and quality. Xia Jing genuinely admired him.
With this perspective shift, everything suddenly made sense to Xia Jing.
"I won’t disrupt your training any further. Farewell."
As Zhao Xing departed, Liu Yongli resumed organizing the training. Zhou Ming, amused by the scene, chuckled as he headed back as well.
Up high, on the Yunyu Tower Boat.
Lu Bang watched the scene unfold through his Earth Mirror and couldn’t help but laugh.
"Hahaha! Xia Jing finally gave in."
"I thought he would keep being stubborn."
Zuo Zizhi set down his Earth Mirror and smiled too. "If he had kept being stubborn, Zhao Xing definitely wouldn’t have let him off. Zhao Xing’s Hawk Eye likely picked up that Xia Jing didn’t like heavy flavors. If he kept targeting him, Xia Jing would eventually develop a psychological scar. It’s better that he surrendered sooner rather than later."
"He didn’t give in early enough," Lu Bang said. "If he were smart, he should’ve conceded when he started eating the Horse Fish Fruit. Not everything is worth fighting over."
"Well, he’s the heir to a noble house," Zuo Zizhi said with a smile. "Lord Xia has many sons. Xia Jing was chosen as the heir, so how could he not be competitive?"
"True." Lu Bang nodded. "Considering that, he’s actually able to handle defeat well. His temperament isn’t bad."
"With the third day about to end, the rankings for the Shennong Four Academies’ talents should be out, right?"
"It’s becoming clearer." Zuo Zizhi pointed to the Earth Mirror. "Among the top twenty-one, seventeen spots are held by upper-grade talents."
"There are four who’ve been overtaken."
"The Shenwei Army’s Han Bing and Feng Qiu, both of whom were originally middle-grade, have risen in the ranks."
"The other two are your student Cai Jin, and another one not from the Four Academies—Li Feng."
Being rated as middle-grade or upper-grade wasn’t too different. After a few months in the academy, some people discovered new talents or breakthroughs in techniques, allowing them to surpass others.
"Cai Jin has been earnestly studying the techniques of our school. The first three days weren’t too harsh, so the demands on the Heaven and Earth techniques weren’t high. It’s no surprise he rose in the ranks," Lu Bang said, commenting on his student.
"As for Li Feng, he joined the Wanchun Academy and found himself a good teacher. He was already quite capable in the Hujiao Army, so this just puts him back on track."
"The gap between the top competitors is still quite small. Only the top three have a noticeable lead," Zuo Zizhi noted. "Shi Yong remains in first place with a two-hundred-twenty point lead over second place, Zhuang Ziqing."
"Zhuang Ziqing leads Zhao Xing by one hundred-eighty points, and Zhao Xing is ahead of fourth place Feng Qiu by one hundred-twenty."
"Beyond that, the differences in points are all less than a hundred. Shi Yong may be powerful, but he hasn’t pulled too far ahead yet."
A difference of a few hundred points wasn’t much—one thousand pounds of second-tier supplies would give a full hundred points.
"The environment of the first three days capped Shi Yong’s score," Lu Bang noted. "This isn’t about his ability; the environment itself has limits. He’s already condensed twenty-four Seasonal Qi Command, but we don’t know their strength yet."
"No matter how strong his Seasonal Qi Command are, the real chance to widen the gap is in the next ten days," Zuo Zizhi said with a smile. "After that, it’ll be tough to extend the lead."
"Exactly." Lu Bang nodded. "Condensing twenty-four Seasonal Qi Command is fairly simple. In about a year, most people can manage it."
"Before entering the Ten Suns Heavenly Realm, almost everyone studied the 'Seasonal Qi Command.' However, this group of kids will soon realize that while their 'Seasonal Qi Command' are powerful in the outside world, they can’t influence the time and weather inside this small world."
"Over the next ten days, they’ll probably just have to watch helplessly. Hahaha."
...
On the third day, just before midnight.
Liu Yongli and the military physician, along with the ten warriors, boarded the airship to head to the next location.
The ten warriors entered the cabin.
As for Liu Yongli and the physician, they soon stepped out again.
"Why don’t you stay inside? It’ll take a while," Zhou Ming asked.
"Why do you think?" the physician complained, holding his nose. "Cast a Wind Technique for me."
"Alright." Zhou Ming glanced at Zhao Xing and cast a wind spell to create a filter for the physician.
The physician took a deep, relieved breath.
As for Zhao Xing, before the warriors even boarded, he had already encased himself in a wind barrier, funneling fresh air directly to a half-meter area around him.
He had no choice—the warriors all smelled like rotting fish.
It was unbearable to get too close.
"Hey, Zhou, don’t forget me!" Liu Yongli shouted, desperate for clean air after holding his breath the whole time.
"Fine, fine." Zhou Ming waved his hand and sealed the cabin door with a wall of wind.
"Ah, much better," Liu Yongli said, greedily inhaling the fresh air.
Half an hour into the flight, Zhao Xing noticed the air had turned much colder. Looking ahead, he saw three bright moons hanging in the sky.
"Wonder where we’ve ended up," Zhao Xing thought to himself.
"We’re here!" Zhou Ming called out, piloting the airship down for landing.
Zhao Xing jumped out of the ship, hearing the crunch of snow beneath his feet. Looking down, he realized it was indeed snow.
Taking out his calendar, it showed 【Minor Cold】.
The second training environment was a frozen tundra.
"Disembark!" Liu Yongli shouted at the warriors inside.
The ten warriors quickly stepped out.
"A snowy environment?"
Cold winds blew as soon as they disembarked, causing the warriors to instinctively rub their shoulders to fend off the chill.
Their clothing was thin compared to Zhao Xing’s protective cloak.
"We’re near Pine Snow Lake," Zhou Ming explained. "The cold level here is three. Your energy consumption will double, and the training will be tougher."
He then turned to Zhao Xing, saying, "Your planting zone covers five li around here. The southern side has no boundary markers, so you can draw water from the frozen Pine Snow Lake if you manage. Check out the environment yourself."
"Understood." Zhao Xing nodded and immediately flew up to survey the area.
High in the sky, the wind and snow intensified, and the fog thickened, reducing visibility. Even with his Insight Technique, Zhao Xing’s range of vision was greatly diminished. It took him a full hour just to inspect the five li around the landing zone.
"Phew."
Zhao Xing returned to the airship, intending to investigate the underground energy veins. But first, he had to clear the ice.
"Hoo~"
A tornado formed, drilling into the ice and flinging chunks away.
"One foot of ice before reaching the ground?"
"This training is getting tougher," Zhao Xing thought.
"Mysterious Earth Guard!"
With the Mysterious Earth Guard technique at seven-transformations and above, Zhao Xing could travel underground through any energy flow—be it metal, wood, water, fire, earth, wind, or lightning.
With his Divine Travel Guard at eight transformation, it was no surprise that his Mysterious Earth Guard had also reached eight transformation.
"Traveling through the frozen ground is slower than usual. The water energy here is transformed into 'frost energy.'"
"If my Mysterious Earth Guard were below seven-transformations, I wouldn’t even be able to move underground," Zhao Xing noted.
Without advanced mastery of Earth techniques, a Shennong would struggle to inspect the energy flows in this terrain.
After half an hour of exploration, Zhao Xing surfaced.
"The fire energy is buried deep, and the water energy is dominant, but it’s transformed into frost energy."
"Metal and earth are below normal levels, and wood energy is significantly suppressed."
"This is much harsher than the previous rocky terrain," Zhao Xing assessed.
Having fully understood the environment, he turned to his planting supplies.
"In a water-dominant area, the best choice is a water-based plant."
"But with the intense cold, there aren’t many options."
Zhao Xing searched through his supplies but couldn’t find any suitable candidates.
Planting a three- or four-tiered crop here would be difficult.
"I’ll have to change the environment."
"Otherwise, even if the plants survive, the yield won’t be enough."
Zhao Xing contemplated the 24 Solar Terms.
At this point, six of the Seasonal Qi Command were formed in his dantian.
Before the second mandatory training began, he had spent four hours daily studying the Seasonal Diagram at the Tianshi Academy.
In half a month, he had managed to condense six Seasonal Qi Command!
Normally, it would take a year to condense all 24 tokens after starting the "Seasonal Qi Command" technique.
But Zhao Xing had managed to condense six in just half a month, thanks to the modifications from the Dao Embryo Pill, his strong comprehension ability, and the Seasonal Diagram at the Tianshi Academy.
Now, the six tokens in his dantian were for 【Start of Spring】【Start of Summer】【Start of Autumn】【Start of Winter】【Rainwater】【Clear and Bright】.
"Each of these Seasonal Qi Command is at least at the first-transformation of the Profound Realm."
"The 'Start of Spring' and 'Start of Summer' have reached the second-transformation of the Profound Realm."
"In this situation, jumping directly to the 'Start of Summer' is too difficult. Let’s see if I can at least establish 'Spring.'"
"Heavenly Mandate, manifest!"
Zhao Xing extended his finger, causing the 【Start of Spring】 Seasonal Qi Command in his dantian to lightly tremble. A golden light emerged from his fingertip, forming a small, pointed, wide-headed token.
Upon closer inspection, a miniature scene of budding green branches could be seen inside the token, depicting an early spring landscape.
The golden command ascended into the sky and began to spread, merging into the void.
But after only a quarter-hour, it started to tremble.
Zhao Xing gritted his teeth and persisted, but after another quarter-hour, the golden command shattered.
"I can’t establish it."
"The power of the celestial forces is too strong. In the outside world, this would’ve been easy, but this is the Ten Suns Heavenly Realm," Zhao Xing muttered, shaking his head.
If he couldn’t establish the "Start of Spring," the other Solar Terms were even more hopeless since the changes required were even more drastic.
Watching Zhao Xing shake his head, Zhou Ming chuckled. If it were easy for the Shennongs to manipulate the celestial weather, the training wouldn’t be as effective.
"You still need more practice with your Heavenly Mandates," Zhou Ming said as he sat down to warm his wine.
However, Zhao Xing wasn’t discouraged.
If Heavenly techniques didn’t work, he would simply switch to Earth techniques.
"I can’t use Mysterious Earth Guard to its full potential here. The only option left is the gambler’s strategy."
After some thought, Zhao Xing decided to use a risky technique: the Five Elements Earth Splitting technique.
"With the water energy dominating, fire buried deep, and metal, earth, and wood suppressed, I’ll use the gambler’s strategy to reshuffle the elements here."
"No matter how bad it gets, it won’t be worse than it is now. Once things change, I can use the Earth’s Origin technique to stabilize the environment."
Zhao Xing rode a gale into the sky.
"Five Elements Earth Splitting! Activate!"
Zzzzzzzzz~
Golden light shot into the ground as Zhao Xing unleashed a barrage of strikes.
The Five Elements Earth Splitting technique had random, unpredictable effects. Right now, Zhao Xing was like a desperate gambler, furiously pounding the table in hopes of a lucky break.
"Crack, crack, crack~" Zhou Ming watched the ice cracks spread across the ground, puzzled. "Is that the Water Element Earth Splitting technique?"
"No, wait... Is it the Wood Element?" Zhou Ming saw a tender shoot emerge from the cracked ground, changing his guess.
"Rumble, rumble~"
The airship began to shake as the ground split apart.
Caught off guard, Zhou Ming nearly lost his balance, spilling his freshly warmed wine.
"Huh? That’s the Five Elements Earth Splitting technique?!"
Seeing the airship about to fall into a widening fissure, Zhou Ming quickly ascended with the ship, pulling it out of danger.
"Crack, crack, crack~"
The ice surface split from the center, with cracks spreading out in all directions. Soon, the cracks grew wider, and the ground itself began to tremble.
"What the hell? How is his Five Elements Earth Splitting technique this powerful?!" Zhou Ming, soaked in wine, stared wide-eyed at the scene below.
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