Chapter 49: On the List

"Donglai! Your name is on this list!"

Ding Zhen's exclamation drew the attention of the crowd.

Lin Donglai felt his scalp tingle. Looking at the list, he saw that under the section for female disciples, the name listed as first in spiritual planting was indeed his own.

However, on the male disciples' list, the first place for spiritual planting was held by someone named Nie Caixia.

Just as he was about to cover Ding Zhen's mouth, a bearded outer disciple approached. "Are you Lin Donglai?"

The man's cultivation had reached the third level of Qi Refinement, one level higher than Lin Donglai.

"The matter of the outer disciple reception for the Spiritual Planting Hall is likely a matter of individual ability! The land at Tianquan Village isn't something you can just monopolize for yourself!"

"Even if the Fifth Elder's lineage recommended you, the Spiritual Planting Hall isn't run by them. I am determined to take first place in spiritual planting!"

Lin Donglai:?

He understood instantly. Liu Jinyang must have praised him extensively upon his return, and Liu Jinyang must have been the one to bring up the Tianquan Village matter, claiming it was left behind by an outer deacon who had gone out to establish a cultivation clan. It seemed there was some maneuvering behind the scenes.

As for Huang Yue recommending him to take over her position as the outer disciple receptionist, that was likely purely because she thought highly of him and wanted to win his favor.

This position likely came with certain benefits, which is why others were eyeing it, automatically labeling Lin Donglai as a member of the Fifth Elder's lineage in the Spiritual Planting Hall.

Combined with the fact that the rewards for first place in the Immortal Seed Examination were bountiful, those interested in the position would inevitably view him as a thorn in their side.

"Are you Nie Caixia?" Having figured out the situation, Lin Donglai decided not to back down. He absolutely needed the Azure Essence Fruit, not to mention the set of five mid-grade spiritual planting artifacts.

"That's right. I know your Sprouting Gestation Technique has reached Great Perfection, but my Spirit-Casting Earth-Shaking Technique has also reached Great Perfection. You might not necessarily beat me!"

Lin Donglai felt amused. Fortunately, he had spent the ten merit points earned from growing the Summer Life Flowers to exchange for the Sweet Dew Rain Spell.

Although he lacked the support of a Heavenly Wood Spirit Leaf, he had still practiced it to the level of Minor Completion.

With Lin Donglai's level, displaying a Sprouting Gestation Technique at the Perfection stage would be too heaven-defying, but learning an additional spell and reaching Minor Completion was no problem at all.

Furthermore, the spiritual planting assessment wasn't solely about spells; it also involved various types of spiritual plant knowledge. Ever since he started farming, Lin Donglai had frequently visited the outer library of the Spiritual Planting Hall to borrow books on the subject. Sometimes he would ask Huang Yue questions; if she couldn't answer, she would tell him to come back in a few days, which usually meant she was going to seek help from her senior brothers or her master.

Through this process, Huang Yue had come to feel that Lin Donglai's talent in the Way of Spiritual Planting was extraordinary, surpassing her own. She could even use the questions he raised to indirectly compensate for her own deficiencies.

"Mere words are useless," Lin Donglai said calmly. "Farming is about practice. I have grown two types of low-grade first-tier spiritual herbs, five types of non-grade spiritual herbs, and five types of low-grade first-tier spiritual grains in the Spirit Field Valley. Across my twenty-odd acres of land, I have never seen your figure appearing in the Spirit Field Valley."

"It seems Senior Brother Nie holds a high position elsewhere, nurtured by a famous master. But as for your actual level and who takes first place, that will depend on ability!"

"Since I entered the sect, I have been honest and upright, taking one step at a time, as everyone can see. I have walked a straight path and sat upright, tilling the spiritual fields bit by bit to achieve this tiny bit of success in the Way of Spiritual Planting. It is all thanks to the sect's cultivation and training. I have no idea what you mean by the Fifth Elder or the Sixth Elder."

"Moreover, my hard work in the Way of Spiritual Planting is solely to better complete the sect's tasks, earn more merit, and exchange for cultivation resources to avoid wasting my life. This Azure Essence Fruit is helpful to me, so I will certainly fight for it. I will not retreat because of your intimidation."

"Senior Brother Nie, you treat the resources the sect provides to motivate us as if they were already in your pocket. Instead of competing through ability, you speak of the Fifth Elder's lineage and the Sixth Elder's lineage. Such behavior is beneath me."

The outer elders who had just been maintaining order and announcing the examination rules had mentioned that the nine inner peaks and several inner elders were watching.

Lin Donglai naturally would not be provoked by a slight provocation; instead, he treated it as an opportunity to showcase himself.

With fifty acres at Tianquan Village—forty acres of mid-grade and ten acres of high-grade land—there were certainly many people watching. If he appeared to be an easy target, he would never be able to secure that land.

Lin Donglai, who had once been a simple hunter boy, would likely not have thought of such rhetoric, but after entering the path of cultivation and reading many books, he had gained wisdom.

The Heavenly Wood Spirit Root, with every breath, felt like a gentle breeze, further clearing his mind.

Nie Caixia had been struck by a "soft knife"—he couldn't spit it out, nor could he swallow it. He pointed at Lin Donglai's nose, "You, you, you!"

He was so angry and anxious that a thousand words of rebuttal were stuck in his throat; he couldn't think of anything better to say!

Lin Donglai simply shook his head and ignored him.

Once Lin Donglai walked away, Nie Caixia was finally able to speak, though he was trembling with rage. "Am I not taking one step at a time? Is someone going to walk for me? Am I not working one hoe-full at a time, having plowed two hundred acres over two years, working as hard as an ox?"

His voice carried a sense of grievance, sounding like a wailing yak that would make listeners weep and feel sorrow.

However, the crowd of onlookers only grew larger.

Fortunately, Lin Donglai had already left.

"Donglai! You are amazing!" Ding Zhen felt that those words had spoken directly to her heart. She was the same with blacksmithing; she hated those who used their status to oppress others most of all.

Lin Donglai sighed. "I originally wanted to secretly take first place and let them guess, but somehow I ended up on the list early. I don't know who leaked my information."

Lin Donglai didn't believe that a newly entered Qi Refinement disciple could perform divination. It must have been deduced through checking records and conducting secret investigations to gather intelligence.

Fortunately, the status of the Heavenly Wood was extremely high. Even if a True Immortal descended to the mortal realm, they could not divine its location. As long as Lin Donglai did not actively expose himself or speak of it aloud, he would be safe.

"Although I haven't practiced much and rely mostly on the autonomous breathing of the Wood Spirit Root, during this time, my Tendon-Strengthening and Marrow-Washing Stance has reached Perfection. I eat a large pot of Blood Marrow Rice every day. Not only is my spiritual power increasing daily—reaching 220 strands—but I have also built a foundation for body tempering, which counts as a deep foundation."

"After this Immortal Seed Examination, if I consume the Azure Essence Fruit, showing strength at the third level of Qi Refinement should not be a problem. After all, this is a second-tier spiritual fruit capable of purifying spiritual root aptitude."

Lin Donglai had also inquired about the origin of the Azure Essence Fruit. The tree was purchased from the Natural Alliance and was a branch of the fourth-tier Five Elements Fruit Tree.

The fruits produced by the Five Elements Fruit Tree were Five Elements Core Formation medicinal ingredients, making them extraordinarily precious.

The Azure Essence Fruit tree was evolved from the Wood element branch; the sect also possessed the other four elements: the Kun Yuan, Chi Yuan, Qian Yuan, and Xuan Yuan fruit trees.

This tree could only survive on a second-tier spiritual vein. It took twenty years to flower, twenty years to bear fruit, and twenty years to mature. It only reached full maturity once every sixty years, producing five fruits per cycle. It was one of the medicinal materials used by the sect to refine the Five Elements Foundation Establishment medicine.

Using it to purify spiritual roots was considered slightly wasteful, but to motivate the disciples of the Spiritual Planting Hall to work hard and support the sect, one fruit was released every five years.

After all, compared to a single fruit, the long-term prosperity and stability of the sect were more important.