17: Assessment ended

Time flowed like water, and soon the time for the assessment to end arrived.

At this moment, the Spirit Rice in the fields had all turned golden, the grains plump and distinct; they had entered the maturation period.

Senior Brother Cheng arrived at the assessment area again; this was his final inspection.

"Senior Brother Cheng, long time no see," Lin Yan said, cupping his hands.

Lin Yan noticed that Senior Brother Cheng had not come alone today; two people were following behind him.

"Haha, Junior Brother Lin, have you cultivated any new Mutated Rice these days?" Senior Brother Cheng asked with a smile.

"Being able to Cultivate two stalks of Crescent Rice is already a blessing from the heavens; three stalks? I wouldn't even dare to dream of that..." Lin Yan said with a laugh.

In fact, he had a total of four stalks of Mutated Rice.

"Junior Brother, you certainly know how to joke, haha..." Senior Brother Cheng did not suspect otherwise and continued:

"The assessment ends today. Follow me now; we will head to the Spirit Herb Hall later to process your entrance formalities."

"Very well, thank you for the trouble, Senior Brother Cheng," Lin Yan said.

"You are welcome. These two are the same as you; they are fellow Disciples who have passed the assessment this time. You will be fellow brothers in the future, so you can get to know each other..."

"Let me tell you, this Junior Brother Lin is no simple person. He cultivated two stalks of Crescent Rice this time..."

"What? Two stalks of Crescent Rice? Senior Brother Lin is amazing..."

"My name is Lu Zhengfeng. Please look after me in the future, Senior Brother Lin."

"My name is Hua Chenan. My spirit field is in the valley to the east of yours, Senior Brother Lin. Please look after me in the future."

Senior Brother Cheng was very experienced in handling interpersonal relations, and with a few words, he got the unfamiliar group to start a conversation.

Under his intentional guidance, Lin Yan vaguely became the leading Senior Brother of this batch of Outer Sect Disciples.

Next, Senior Brother Cheng took the three of them to pick up two more Disciples who had passed the assessment.

They had all cultivated Mutated Rice last month, some even earlier.

This month, no one had cultivated any Mutated Rice.

The closer the Spirit Rice was to maturity, the lower the frequency of mutation.

After everyone had gathered, Senior Brother Cheng waved his hand, and from thin air, he produced a small, fish-shaped flying boat.

The flying boat grew as it met the wind, rapidly expanding to over a zhang in length.

This display from Senior Brother Cheng left Lin Yan and the others full of shock.

"Follow me in," Senior Brother Cheng thought with secret satisfaction, feeling he had successfully shown off.

He explained: "This is a flying boat. It can carry people through the air, making it the most suitable tool for traveling."

The group filed in one by one.

The flying boat, over a zhang long, had a very spacious interior, more than enough to accommodate five or six people.

"Senior Brother, how many Spirit Stones would it take to buy such a flying boat?" Lu Zhengfeng asked curiously.

"flying boats are not expensive; they only cost three hundred Spirit Stones," Senior Brother Cheng replied. "However, when piloting the flying boat, you need to use Spirit Stones as assistance, which is no small expense."

"Three hundred Spirit Stones, plus consuming Spirit Stones while piloting... I can't afford it, I really can't afford it..."

"It's even more expensive than a Storage Pouch..."

"Even the most basic Storage Pouch costs one hundred Spirit Stones; we can't afford that either..."

Several Disciples were discouraged by the price.

They had four mu of spirit fields to Cultivate. One harvest was worth approximately four hundred Spirit Stones.

It looked like they could afford a flying boat, but in reality, that was not the case.

First of all, farming had costs; maintaining the spirit fields and purchasing spirit fertilizer and other supplies to Cultivate the Spirit Rice all required Spirit Stones.

Outer Sect Disciples would generally also hire one or two Utility Disciples as helpers.

Secondly, daily cultivation, purchasing Medicinal Pills, Cultivation Techniques, and Spiritual Artifacts also required Spirit Stones.

Finally, for every mu of spirit field cultivated, an Outer Sect Disciple had to turn in one stalk of Mutated Spirit Rice annually as a spirit field tax.

In other words, after Lin Yan and the others entered the Sect, they had to submit four stalks of Mutated Rice to the Spirit Herb Hall every year.

If the quantity was insufficient, they would have to spend Spirit Stones to purchase enough to make up the difference before turning it in.

Wanting to save up three hundred Spirit Stones to buy a flying boat was not an easy task for Disciples who had just entered the Spirit Herb Hall.

They could only wait until their cultivation level improved and their skills in cultivating Mutated Rice increased before they could have more disposable income.

And by that time, it would be about time to prepare Foundation Establishment Pills and other spiritual items to break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm.

Everywhere required Spirit Stones.

Although Cultivators of the Sword Pavilion all had ways to earn Spirit Stones, there were still few Cultivators who truly had savings.

Cultivating immortality emphasizes wealth, companions, techniques, and locations; wealth ranks first.

Under Senior Brother Cheng's control, the flying boat soared into the air, like a giant bird, rapidly darting into the mountains to the north.

The interior of the flying boat was an enclosed space; sitting inside, one could not feel the airflow fluctuations at all, which was very comfortable.

The core of the Sword Pavilion was located in the middle of the Jian Ge Mountain Range, with various branch halls scattered around the mountains.

The Spirit Herb Hall was located in the southern part of the Jian Ge Mountain Range, where the terrain was relatively flat, suitable for farming.

The further north one went, the steeper and more towering the mountains became, with layer upon layer of peaks.

Soon, the group arrived at the Mountain Gate of the Spirit Herb Hall.

This was a complex of palaces situated on the mountainside; every building was antique and very elegant.

flying boats came and went in the sky from time to time, and there were also Cultivators flying on swords, their bodies exuding powerful auras, coming and going like the wind, which made Lin Yan and the others feel great yearning.

This was the atmosphere that a Cultivator should have!

In a sense, this was the real Spirit Herb Hall.

The spirit fields outside were all properties of the Spirit Herb Hall.

Senior Brother Cheng led the group into one of the large halls.

At the entrance, Lin Yan encountered his old acquaintance, Zhao Qiyang.

He had also come to process his entrance formalities and was waiting here for Senior Brother Cheng in advance.

The entrance formalities were very simple. After registering personal identity, spirit field location, and other information, the group soon received the Waist Token representing their identity as Outer Sect Disciples of the Sword Pavilion.

The Waist Token was square, engraved with simple decorative patterns.

Its texture was neither jade nor gold, and it felt heavy.

On the front, the two characters for "Sword Pavilion" were written vertically, with the three smaller characters for "Spirit Herb Hall" written on the side; the back was engraved with their own names.

"You must keep this Waist Token safe. It will record your basic information, including your Sect merits," Senior Brother Cheng reminded the group seriously. "In the future, when you go to the Merit Hall to accept tasks, or go to the Scripture Pavilion or Treasure Pavilion to exchange for treasures, you will need to use this Waist Token."

"Many thanks for the guidance, Senior Brother!"

"This is the reward issued by the Spirit Herb Hall for passing the assessment. It contains ten Spirit Stones and some mandatory reading books. Keep them safe."

As Senior Brother Cheng spoke, he took several packages out of his Storage Pouch and distributed them to everyone.

"I will only lead you to here; the path ahead is one you must walk yourselves," Senior Brother Cheng said to the group. "You can walk back to enjoy the scenery of the Mountain Gate, or you can spend one Spirit Stone to take the Sect's public flying boat... From now on, you are fellow brothers. I hope you will focus your hearts on the Dao, and may your immortal paths be boundless! We shall meet again another day!"

"Farewell, Senior Brother!" the group said in unison.

After Senior Brother Cheng finished explaining the precautions to the group, he piloted the flying boat away.

"Fellow Senior Brothers, what are your plans for what comes next?" Lu Zhengfeng asked.

"My Spirit Rice hasn't been fully harvested yet; I want to go back and continue harvesting."

"I want to go see the Scripture Pavilion."

"I'm going too. I've long wanted to practice a Sword Technique; flying on a sword is my life's dream!"

"Flying on a sword? You need Foundation Establishment cultivation for that. Stop dreaming; talk about it in thirty years."