Giving extra lessons and private coaching could be justified as cherishing talent.
But using a fourth-tier 'Dao Painting' to help Zhao Xing pass his exam was purely for personal gain.
This was the Old Agricultural Officer's first time abusing his position for personal reasons, and he was still a bit reserved, eating in silence the entire meal and sending Zhao Xing away as soon as they finished.
Zhao Xing also tacitly avoided the topic, cupped his hands in farewell, and headed home.
With the Old Agricultural Officer's help, his beginner Spells had grown robustly and reached max level.
While observing the replica of the Myriad Growth Painting, he coincidentally comprehended an intermediate Spell, 【Savage Growth】.
Agricultural Spells are only divided into 'practical' and 'super practical'.
This intermediate Spell belonged to the 'super practical' category.
【Savage Growth: Intermediate Spell】
【Progress: 0 / 9999】
【Effect: After casting, it possesses destructive power that exceeds the environment's capacity to bear, and affects the survival of other species.】
The proficiency of intermediate Spells still progresses in 1000-point increments, and the cap is the same, but the difficulty of advancement increases accordingly.
Why is Savage Growth considered super practical? Because it is a strong confrontational Spell!
During the process of shortening the plant's maturation cycle, it will frantically extract nutrients from the surroundings, exceeding the environment's carrying capacity with a highly destructive trend.
Most importantly, it will squeeze out the living space of other plant life, even drawing out their vitality as nutrients.
The subsequent advancement path of this Spell, after its transformation in the Revival version, has an incredibly awesome name — 'Only I Am the Dao!'
It is also hailed by Agricultural Officer players as a 'civil war divine skill' — if my plants live, yours cannot; it is extremely overbearing!
As for the other beginner Spell obtained from the replica of the Myriad Growth Painting, it is also very practical.
【Earth Vein Synthesis: Beginner Spell】
【Progress: 0 / 9999】
【Effect: Draws upon the power of the Earth Vein to synthesize Earth Vein Origin Qi.】
Earth Veins are the Foundation of the world; every single one connects to the Spiritual Veins deep underground, differing only in strength.
Earth Vein Synthesis is an auxiliary Spell that can extract Earth Vein Origin Qi to make a certain area of land fertile.
With 【Earth Vein Synthesis】 as the basis, the ultimate goal is to advance to 【Five Elements Blessed Land】.
This is a Spell of the Geomancy faction, and this series of Spells has the nickname 'Origin Stealing Spells'.
Unlike 【Savage Growth】, it is not easily detectable and has high concealment.
Many old tricksters like to level this Spell to a very high degree, then sneakily cast it next to other people's blessed lands to fatten themselves up.
What's stealing vegetables? I'm directly stealing the Earth Vein Origin Qi!
"My nature is hard to change... why do all the Spells I comprehend turn out to be these trickster Spells?" Everyone comprehends different things from observing the Myriad Growth Painting, just like the randomness of Spell transmission in temples. Zhao Xing guessed he must have been a trickster too many times in his past life.
It was already dark when he got home, but not too late.
Zhao Xing planned to go to his own vegetable garden and practice the two newly acquired Spells.
Not long after he entered the vegetable garden, his younger brother excitedly ran over with a lantern.
"Big Brother, Big Brother, what are you doing? Are you making a late-night snack?"
Zhao Xing was a bit speechless: "Didn't your mother feed you dinner? It's just gotten dark, and you're already thinking about a late-night snack."
"I ate, hehe, but it's not as delicious as what Big Brother makes." Zhao Zheng seemed to remember something and slurped.
Although his Big Brother liked to beat him, he also had his good points; he cooked delicious food and always managed to concoct tasty dried fruits and candied treats.
"Big Brother, I'll hold the lamp for you! And I'll stoke the fire when you cook later."
"Go, go, go, get out of here." Zhao Xing was a bit disgusted. "There's still a box of snacks under my bedside table; go find it and eat it yourself, don't bother me here."
"Thank you, Big Brother!!!" His younger brother hung the lamp on the nearby fence and ran off.
After tinkering for about two hours, Zhao Xing saw that both Spells had reached the first-tier level, so he didn't continue grinding.
Tomorrow is the Start of Autumn exam, so he still needed to conserve his energy.
The next morning, Zhao Xing got up, washed, and prepared to go out. His adoptive father, Zhao Ruide, was already practicing tai chi in the courtyard; his movements were slow, a form of health-preserving boxing.
"Adoptive Father, I'm going to work." Zhao Xing greeted him.
Seeing Zhao Xing empty-handed, Zhao Ruide asked, "Why aren't you carrying a lamp? Our family isn't short on your expenses."
"I can already see at night." Zhao Xing's mind stirred, and in the darkness, his pupils immediately turned yellowish-green.
"Oh?" Zhao Ruide glanced at him, then nodded slightly: "Then before you go, help me wake up Zheng'er."
"Okay." Zhao Xing ran to another room and, without ceremony, kicked the door open.
Since last year, Zhao Zheng had been sleeping separately from Madam Cai; this was forced by Zhao Xing, otherwise, the doting Madam Cai would probably have kept sleeping with her baby for a few more years.
"Who the hell dares to disturb this young master..." His eyelids hadn't even opened, and he was already cursing, but after opening them, he immediately swallowed his words.
"Get up! Put on your clothes." Zhao Xing yanked off the thin blanket and lifted Zhao Zheng. The boy was actually sleeping while hugging a jar of candied treats.
"Big Brother, Big Brother, what's wrong?" Zhao Zheng looked bewildered but still obediently put on his clothes.
"Go out and practice martial arts."
"Ah?" Zhao Zheng frowned, "The chickens haven't even crowed yet..."
"Hmm?"
"Yes, Big Brother! I'm dressed!" Zhao Zheng cowered quickly. Anyway, Big Brother would be leaving soon, and resisting would only get him beaten, but if he went out to practice martial arts, he could later cuddle with his father and mother and go back to sleep.
After waking Zhao Zheng, Zhao Xing left for the Agricultural Bureau.
Madam Cai woke up shortly after, hearing her child's cries of hunger.
She quickly got up and ran to the vegetable garden, only to find it lush and overgrown, and couldn't help but exclaim: "Ah! How could my seedlings from a few days ago already be..."
...The Start of Autumn minor exam will be held in the Hundred Herbs Garden."
"It begins at the Si hour on August 6th and ends at the Xu hour on August 9th."
He had barely approached a kilometer from the Agricultural Bureau when he heard a voice circling in his ears—it was Chen Shijie's voice.
"The sound carried by the wind, spanning several li, with clear audibility. A Ninth-Rank Agricultural Officer's strength is indeed extraordinary," Zhao Xing thought.
This was an advanced application of the 【Wind Rise】 Spell; his control over Origin Qi was far beyond what a minor official could achieve.
However, there were even more exaggerated cases, such as County Lord Li Wenzheng of Gucheng County, who once demonstrated the ability of 【Golden Sound and Jade Resonance, Voice Carried for a Hundred Li】 during the promulgation of a 'Recruitment Order,' though that also relied on some external forces.
Zhao Xing listened carefully for a while, and by the time he arrived at the Agricultural Bureau, he had mostly understood the rules.
From the Si hour on August 6th to the Xu hour on August 9th, it was approximately four days and three nights.
Each official could choose any number of seeds or seedlings from the 'Seedling Area' in the Hundred Herbs Garden. Then they would proceed to the 【Cultivation Area】 for nurturing.
Officials could enter the arena at any time during these three days, but once inside, they could not withdraw.
The exam would officially end at the Xu hour on August 9th, with personnel dispatched by the county yamen witnessing, tallying scores, and archiving records.
There were three criteria for judgment: as of the Xu hour on August 9th, first, the quality of the seeds or seedlings chosen by the official; second, the number of surviving plants chosen; and third, the condition of the surviving plants.