Chapter 144: Second Mandatory Training Rankings and Gains

Boom!

A team of martial artists, training nearby, suddenly felt the ground shake and stopped what they were doing.

"What's going on? An earthquake?"

"The ground is cracking? Could it be Steward Zhao?"

"Huh, why are saplings growing out of nowhere here?"

"The ice, a foot thick, has completely cracked open. Look over there!" Chen Fang pointed east, a look of surprise on his face. "That spot was flat just a moment ago, but now there's a thirty-meter-high mound there."

Everyone immediately looked over. Sure enough, a small mound had appeared five hundred meters to the east. The mound was entirely composed of solidified earth chunks piled up, with the two largest layers looking as if they had been squeezed together by immense force, rising upwards to form an inverted 'V' shape.

"A huge crack has appeared in the direction of the airship!" Hu Bing jumped in place, then scanned the surroundings. After landing, his eyes showed astonishment. "That large crack is ten meters wide and bottomless, and there are eight more such large cracks around, with hundreds of smaller ones... How was this done?"

"Is the earth's energy here so fragile?" Zhang Jie also looked around in surprise.

Xia Jing shook his head. In the dark night, a strange glint flashed in his eyes. "It's not that the earth's energy is fragile; it's that Zhao Xing's Earth Cleaving technique is too powerful."

"Look, the ice and snow are already melting. He must have used a Fire-element Earth Cleaving technique, causing the earth's internal fire to rise here."

"It really is," everyone marveled.

But Xia Jing was actually mistaken, because Zhao Xing had not used a single Earth Cleaving technique, but rather the Five Elements Earth Cleaving technique! However, without specialized knowledge, Xia Jing only recognized it as an Earth Cleaving technique.

"Who told you to stop?!" Liu Yongli ran over and scolded them. "I brought you here to train in different environments so you could adapt to various changes. Now you've all interrupted your training, everyone loses 10 points!!"

Liu Yongli's gaze fell on Xia Jing. "Xia Jing, as the head of the Azure Dragon Martial Office, and the first to stop, you lose twenty points!"

"Yes, this subordinate admits fault." Xia Jing accepted the penalty; twenty points were insignificant to him.

"Continue training, no stopping!" Liu Yongli snapped. "Even if the sky falls, you must remain unfazed! Understand?"

"Understood!"

The ten martial artists resumed their training.

The middle-aged physician plucked a flower from a chunk of ice and let out a soft "hmm?" "How did a Tier 2 Ice Lotus seedling grow here?"

Liu Yongli turned to look. "What do you mean?"

The middle-aged physician bit into the snow lotus. "It's too complicated for you to understand, but just know this: that kid's spell was incredibly powerful, unexpectedly so."

Liu Yongli was puzzled: How strong could an Eighth-Rank Steward Zhao be, for a Sixth-Rank physician to say such a thing?

*You cast the spell 'Five Elements Earth Cleaving.' This spell triggered a 'Tier 3' fortune enhancement. The 'Earth element' efficiency is additionally doubled, cleaving the earth for hundreds of feet.*

*You cast the spell 'Five Elements Earth Cleaving.' This spell triggered a 'Tier 3' fortune enhancement. The 'Fire element' efficiency is additionally doubled, causing earthfire to surge.*

*You cast the spell 'Five Elements Earth Cleaving.' This spell triggered a 'Tier 3' fortune enhancement. The 'Wood element' efficiency is additionally tripled, causing life force to flourish.*

*You cast the spell 'Five Elements Earth Cleaving'…*

Zhao Xing watched as the panel scrolled with messages, a smile immediately appearing on his face.

He had just cast 'Five Elements Earth Cleaving' forty-five times consecutively around the planting area. Among them, the number of times it triggered a 'great success' for fortune was as high as thirty-four! As a result, the current explosive situation occurred.

"Earthfire surging, life flourishing... the 'Gambler's Battle Tactic' is incredibly effective!"

In his previous life, Zhao Xing had little interest in this tactic, mainly because his fortune level was low back then. He rarely used it, whether for farming or fighting, because it was too unpredictable. No one wanted to gamble on luck in battle; one loss could mean losing their life.

By the time his fortune improved, the Gambler's Battle Tactic had already been phased out.

But in this life, he had already reached a 'Tier 3' fortune level early on, and casting it felt completely different.

One word: exhilarating!

Whoosh!

Zhao Xing descended from the sky, landing on the airship.

Then he saw Zhou Ming staring at him with a strange look.

"Did I break any rules?" Zhao Xing asked cautiously.

"No."

"Then did I go out of bounds?"

"No."

Why are you staring at me then?

Zhao Xing sat down at the table and began to eat.

Stewards had a separate meal preparation, so Zhao Xing ate whatever Zhou Ming ate.

Having expended a lot of his vital energy just now, Zhao Xing didn't bother with pleasantries. He cupped his hands toward Zhou Ming, then sat at the table and devoured his food.

Let the earth's energy lines be chaotic for a while.

"How did you do that?" Zhou Ming also sat down at the table and poured Zhao Xing a cup of wine.

Zhou Ming was a Sixth-Rank Master of Agriculture. Although he belonged to the Heavenly Timing Institute, it didn't mean he didn't practice Earth Advantage spells.

Zhao Xing's Earth Cleaving technique utterly astonished Zhou Ming.

Forty-five spells, thirty-four major successes—what does that even mean?

Three out of every four times, it triggered an extra effect!

If such a success rate could be guaranteed, the power of the Five Elements Earth Cleaving technique could easily rival high-tier spell arts! Even Zhou Ming, a Sixth-Rank, couldn't help but be envious!

"Luck."

Zhou Ming's eyes widened. He lightly raised a finger, and the poured wine returned to the wine pot.

Seeing this, Zhao Xing couldn't help but say, "I'm not being dismissive, it really is just luck."

"You also know that the Five Elements Earth Cleaving technique essentially disrupts the earth's energy lines in an area."

"It's like hitting five closely packed stone balls with one stone ball. There are six holes nearby. Whether those five balls fall into the holes or bounce away after being hit is uncontrollable."

"What else could it be but luck?"

Zhou Ming refilled the wine, then sat down thoughtfully. "Your example is a bit strange. Why six holes? Shouldn't there be seven, considering the Five Elements, Wind, and Thunder?"

"Slip of the tongue." Zhao Xing, fearing Zhou Ming might take the wine back, quickly took a sip of the Purple Jade Nectar.

"You hit the ball into a hole three out of every four times. Is that truly just luck?" Zhou Ming asked. "Haven't you developed some method yourself?"

Zhao Xing chuckled upon hearing this. "If I had that ability, it wouldn't be hard to become a missionary master at the Li Fire Daoist Academy. Inventing high-tier spells myself? You really overestimate me."

Zhou Ming nodded. It seemed he had overthought things. In the end, he could only believe Zhao Xing's words.

Luck couldn't be learned.

Although Great Zhou was a dynasty of fortune, it had no methods for cultivating fortune, nor for observing fortune levels, nor even for classifying them. Tier 1, Tier 2 were purely sectarian terms.

It was like how the almanac only issued versions to ward off evil, not versions to attract good fortune.

When Great Zhou's Grand Ancestor established the empire, he severely cut down professions related to 'fate,' 'fortune,' and 'feng shui'—a direct blow to their vital arteries. Otherwise, everyone would just go to fortune tellers, seek out powerful patrons, and what would be the point of cultivating spells?

So the conversation could only end there.

Zhao Xing quickly finished his meal, recovered his vital energy, then descended from the airship again to regulate the earth's energy lines.

Drip-drop, drip-drop.

At this point, the earth's internal fire had risen several times over, and the accumulated snow had begun to melt.

Zhao Xing began to sort out the earth's energy lines using the Earth Vein Synthesis, Earth Repository Restoration, and Boundless Earth Palace techniques.

This made Zhou Ming look at him with even greater respect.

Earth Vein Synthesis and Earth Repository Restoration, which regulate earth veins according to the Five Elements' mutual generation and overcoming, were conventional methods. But to also use the Earth Palace technique for regulation—that was definitely an experienced old steward!

"He's pressing the Boundless Earth Palace onto the water veins, using the Earth Palace technique to control the Five Elements' water, thereby supporting the earth's wood element."

"The wood element supports the fire element, and he forcefully raised the originally weak fire element to the same strength as the water element."

"Hmm? Is this the Divine Movement Guardian?"

Zhou Ming stopped eating, jumped to the ground, and began to sense Zhao Xing's actions underground.

At this point, besides the Boundless Earth Palace underground, there was also an octagonal-cage-like earth palace, moving back and forth underground. It was like plowing the land, directing the overly abundant water element earth veins towards Songxue Lake.

"He's using the Boundless Earth Palace as a city wall, blocking the spread of Songxue Lake's water element power to the shore... And he's using the Cloud Swallowing technique to prevent heavy snow from falling, absorbing water vapor, then dumping it back into Songxue Lake. If this cycle continues, it will likely take less than a day for this barren land to become fertile soil."

"Not only is this young man highly skilled in Earth Advantage techniques, but his understanding of the Five Elements is also profound. I even feel like I'm learning something." Zhou Ming exclaimed with emotion.

As a judge, observing Zhao Xing was originally just his duty, but as he watched, he actually felt he was learning something.

Although he was a Master of Agriculture from the Heavenly Timing Institute, he was a Sixth-Rank official. He was also well-versed in Earth Advantage spells. For him to feel like he was learning something?

"Bah! Ge Jinsong and Cheng Qingming of the Heavenly Timing Institute are simply holding their positions without doing any work, utterly blind!"

"Exhausted."

After Zhao Xing jumped back onto the airship, he immediately lay sprawled on the deck, not wanting to move an inch.

If one word were to summarize the characteristics of each school's spells: the Heavenly Timing School is elegant and unrestrained, the Ego School is strange and bizarre, and the Earth Advantage School is all about hard work.

That's how it is with the Earth Advantage School; there's never a small amount of work.

Hearing Zhao Xing complain, Zhou Ming casually offered some 'chicken soup for the soul': "Only by enduring hardship can one have a future."

"As long as you are willing to endure hardship, there will be endless hardship to endure."

Zhou Ming let out a wry chuckle.

Zhao Xing got up and rushed to the table to gorge himself.

Seeing how hungry he was, Zhou Ming poured Zhao Xing another bowl of Purple Jade Nectar. After he gulped it down, Zhou Ming asked with a smile, "Cultivating at the Earth Advantage Institute is very tough, isn't it? Have you considered changing places? Look, the Heavenly Timing Institute is very comfortable."

"Comfortable in what way?" Zhao Xing asked casually.

"When opening up the Ten Yang Grotto-Heaven, the rough and heavy work is handled by the Earth Advantage Institute, while the miscellaneous and meticulous tasks are done by the Grand Granary Institute and the Pinghuai Institute."

"Our Heavenly Timing Institute just needs to go and stabilize the weather, and who knows, we might still get the lion's share of the credit. Wouldn't you say that's comfortable?"

Zhao Xing looked up and blinked. "Are you allowed to say that?"

Zhou Ming chuckled, taking a sip of wine. "Whether it's allowed or not, that's just how it is."

Full and content, Zhao Xing didn't go down to work anymore. The seeds were already planted; all he had to do was wait for them to mature.

Seeing how approachable Zhou Ming was, Zhao Xing casually asked about the Ten Yang Grotto-Heaven's situation: "I heard that less than thirty percent of the Ten Yang Grotto-Heaven has been developed so far?"

Zhou Ming shook his head. "The overall scope hasn't even been fully explored, let alone thirty percent developed?"

Zhao Xing asked, "Could you tell me where the boundary markers have reached?"

"North to the Sea of Eternal Night, East to Mount Daofeng, West to Pengli Marsh, South to Scarlet Lake."

"The Sea of Eternal Night is perpetually dark, utterly cold, and without light. Songxue Lake, where we are now, is about five thousand li north of its border."

"Mount Daofeng, the place Fan Nongzheng recently developed, has many mountains hanging upside down in the sky, like floating islands. That's because the Earth element's energy lines are reversed, forming a natural inverted palace. We don't yet know how far its influence extends."

"Pengli Marsh is shrouded in thick, persistent miasma, teeming with monstrous beasts. Most of the monstrous beasts in the Xuan Earth Prison were captured there by the nine garrison forces."

"Scarlet Lake is named for its crimson color, caused by volcanic earthfire eruptions spewing large amounts of magma. This area produces the native 'Earthfire Lotus,' which aids in cultivating Earth Fiend energy and is the best supplementary cultivation material for Seventh-Rank cultivators."

Zhao Xing poured Zhou Ming a cup of wine.

After drinking, Zhou Ming spoke eloquently: "Currently, the Earth Advantage Institute's main focus is on Mount Daofeng and the Scarlet Lake region, while the Heavenly Timing Institute primarily focuses on Pengli Marsh and the Sea of Eternal Night."

"As for the known territories, such as the Myriad Thunder Pond, Earthfire Plains, Gale Mountain Range, and Heavenly Fire Path, there are still plenty of points-based missions to be earned."

"Of course, for Fifth-Rank cultivators, those are mere trifles, not worth bothering to search for. It's much more comfortable to get a billion points at once, like Fan Nongzheng did at Mount Daofeng."

Zhao Xing thought for a moment and asked, "I heard that when a single sun hangs in the sky, it always creates a wondrous natural phenomenon, but when ten suns appear, it brings about world-destroying devastation that even Fifth-Rank cultivators can't withstand. How many times have these two phenomena appeared? When was the last time?"

Zhou Ming recalled: "A single sun appeared once in the third month of Jingxin's eleventh year, and ten suns appeared once in the tenth month. However, their scope wasn't large, and they didn't affect Yang City. Why do you ask?"

"I've never seen such terrifying phenomena, just curious."

"You might still get to see a single sun in the sky, but you'll never have the chance to see ten suns."

"Why?"

"Because it can't appear again. With the continuous efforts of the Steward's Office to transform the weather and terrain within the Ten Yang Grotto-Heaven, the ten suns phenomenon no longer exists," Zhou Ming said. "Look at the sky above Yang City; its weather is consistently stable, with fewer than three suns year-round."

Zhao Xing nodded, but he knew that the Ten Yang Grotto-Heaven would experience the 'ten suns' phenomenon again, seven years after its first appearance. That is, in the eighteenth year of Jingxin.

The second time ten suns appeared, it was world-destroying, with a wider range and greater power, bringing severe disaster that claimed the lives of many powerful cultivators. This was because before its appearance, a large-scale natural wonder had been brewing. This led to a misjudgment by the Steward's Office, which thought they had completely succeeded in transforming the grotto-heaven into a blessed land.

"It's June of Jingxin's sixteenth year now. There are still two years left. I haven't heard of Old Chen. Could it be that he died in the disaster of Jingxin's eighteenth year?"

"There's still time; I can make some changes then," Zhao Xing thought to himself.

Military Steward training usually takes a year and a half, possibly longer, but never shorter. This means he would stay at least until the latter half of Jingxin's seventeenth year. If the Divine Might Army had an external assignment at that time, he would leave, though the duration would be uncertain. If not, he would remain at this grotto-heaven outpost.

Regardless, Zhao Xing couldn't just stand by. After all, he had now joined the Divine Might Army, and he couldn't just watch Old Chen die.

Buzz!

Just then, the Earth Mirror vibrated, interrupting Zhao Xing's thoughts.

He pulled out the Earth Mirror and saw a ranking list, showing the points of over ten thousand people from the Steward's Office.

"The point tally for the first three days is out," Zhou Ming also took out his Earth Mirror. "Not bad, kid, you're ranked third."

"Third?" Zhao Xing opened the list to see.

First Place: Shi Yong, Training Points: 35550Second Place: Zhuang Ziqing, Training Points: 35330Third Place: Zhao Xing, Training Points: 35150Fourth Place: Feng Qiu, Training Points: 35030Fifth Place: Cao Shuang, Training Points: 34980Sixth Place: Jiang Tianming, Training Points: 34920Seventh Place: Han Bing, Training Points: 34850Eighth Place: Guan Junyang, Training Points: 34770Twenty-first Place: Meng Song, Training Points: 33280

"Shi Yong is four hundred points ahead of me, and Zhuang Ziqing is also one hundred eighty points ahead," Zhao Xing observed the rankings. Although the gap wasn't large, it was still a reflection of skill. It showed that there was still a gap in everyone's ability to maximize environmental utilization.

"Cao Shuang and Jiang Tianming from the same institute had performance issues. Han Bing from Tier A actually reached seventh place, and Feng Qiu is even more exaggerated, getting to fourth?"

Zhao Xing was a bit surprised. Feng Qiu was from the Heavenly Timing Institute and only had Tier A resources, yet he had climbed to fourth this time. Besides those two, Li Feng and Cai Jin also appeared in the top twenty-one.

"The gaps within the top twenty-one aren't very large; only the top three have a difference over a hundred points. The point gaps for the rest are all under a hundred."

"The environment for the first three days certainly made it easy to get high scores," Zhao Xing thought to himself.

Tier 2 supplies, one thousand jin, 100 points.Tier 3 supplies, one thousand jin, 1000 points.Tier 4 supplies, one thousand jin, 10000 points.

Zhao Xing planted five thousand jin of Tier 3 Hempfish Fruit, one thousand five hundred jin of Tier 2 supplies, and three thousand jin of Blazing Azure Gold, earning 35150 points. He estimated there was no gap between himself and Shi Yong in Tier 3 and Tier 4. Those four hundred points were likely due to the quantity of Tier 2 supplies.

"For maximum supply, Shi Yong and Zhuang Ziqing were more extreme," Zhao Xing thought. "In over two months, everyone has made progress, and some have caught up."

"I need to work harder too."

Putting away the Earth Mirror, Zhao Xing jumped off the airship and began to focus on supply training.

June 26th, fourth day of supply training, 7:00 AM.

The sky over Songxue Lake was still hazy, with three bright moons still hanging in the sky. This was because of its proximity to the Sea of Eternal Night, where light always remained at a low level.

Zhao Xing arrived at Songxue Lake at 11:00 PM. Using the Gambler's Battle Tactic, he only managed to stabilize the environmental conditions by 3:45 AM. He sowed seeds at 4:00 AM, casting Savage Growth and Wilderness Condensation every fifteen minutes. By 8:45 AM, the Tier 3 supplies were ready. A total of ten thousand jin, earning 10,000 points.

At 9:00 AM sharp, Zhao Xing delivered the Tier 3 supplies. Liu Yongli also called a halt to the training.

Xia Jing, Chen Fang, Hu Bing, and Zhang Jie were speechless upon seeing the ten thousand jin of Tier 3 supplies. They hadn't even finished yesterday's Blazing Azure Gold, and now another ten thousand jin had arrived.

"Can't finish it, simply can't finish it..." Zhang Jie mumbled. "This month, we'll probably have to spend it constantly full."

"You should be content that it's not Hempfish Fruit or Blazing Azure Gold," Xia Jing said. "What more could you ask for?"

"You're right, being a bit stuffed is better than..." Hu Bing glanced at the military doctor's expression. "At least we don't have to endure extra torture."

Zhao Xing put down the supplies and hastily departed. The martial artists began to eat, and indeed, this time the supplies were much more normal.

June 27th, fifth day of supply training.

Zhao Xing again cultivated Tier 3 supplies, yielding five thousand jin and earning 5000 points.

June 28th, sixth day of supply training.

Tier 4 supplies, four thousand five hundred jin, earning 45,000 points.

June 29th, everyone proceeded to a new location. Around 6:00 AM, the points ranking changed.

First Place: Shi Yong, Training Points: 95450Second Place: Zhao Xing, Training Points: 95150Third Place: Zhuang Ziqing, Training Points: 85330Fourth Place: Feng Qiu, Training Points: 80200

"I got a total of 60,000 points from the Songxue Lake area, bringing my total to 95150." Zhao Xing was quite pleased. "The gap with Shi Yong has narrowed, and I've overtaken Zhuang Ziqing."

The Gambler's Battle Tactic proved its worth; otherwise, he wouldn't have earned so many points in this second location.

"Starting from the second location, the disparities are gradually becoming apparent, with points now differing by tens of thousands," Zhao Xing mused.

Meanwhile, Zhuo Le was also looking at the rankings.

"How did he get 60,000 points so quickly?!"

"His total score is over ninety thousand, while I only have sixty thousand."

"Is the gap between us really that wide?"

Zhuo Le's hand, clutching the Earth Mirror, was turning pale.

"I've reached thirteenth place, climbing five spots," Li Feng thought to himself. He was eighteenth on the first list. "But the gap with those ahead of me is still widening."

"Shi Yong, Zhuang Ziqing, and Zhao Xing, have all improved their scores so much?"

"This Zhao Xing, he's actually climbed to second place, and he's almost ten thousand points ahead of Zhuang Ziqing!"

Seeing that glaring name, Li Feng's face turned sour.

"For the third location, I need to work even harder and try to surpass them all!"

Zhuang Ziqing was also holding his Earth Mirror, looking at the rankings.

"In the second location, I got 50,000 points, Shi Yong got 59,900 points, and this Zhao Xing actually got 60,000 points?" Zhuang Ziqing looked at the rankings, a bit surprised.

"He got an extra ten thousand points compared to me in the second location?"

"Where was the difference?"

Zhuang Ziqing pondered. Since everyone's environment was the same, if Zhao Xing was at Songxue Lake, then others must have been there too. The area was simply large enough that they didn't encounter each other.

Zhuang Ziqing thought he could shake off Zhao Xing, but unexpectedly, in the second location, he was instead outdistanced by Zhao Xing.

"Interesting, Zhao Xing actually got ten thousand more points than me." A flicker of flame ignited in Zhuang Ziqing's eyes. "Hmph, in this third location, I'll overtake him!"

"How is it? Still first?" Fu Ying asked his friend.

"Didn't look." Shi Yong squatted on the ground, a current of wind from his fingertips turning over the soil as he observed it carefully.

"Didn't look?" Fu Ying said, "You really don't pay any attention?"

"I only compete against myself," Shi Yong said calmly, without raising his head. "And there's no need to look."

"Haha, you're quite confident," Fu Ying said. "You say you compete against yourself, but you actually believe no one can catch up to you?"

"You should go train."

June 29th, two suns in the sky.

Zhao Xing disembarked from the airship and saw seven mountain peaks surrounding a basin, which was their training area. The almanac indicated the Minor Heat solar term. Zhao Xing went underground for a look and was speechless.

"Well, well." Zhao Xing exclaimed.

Because in this area's earth veins, the Five Elements, Wind, and Thunder were extremely stable. The seven mountain peaks completely suppressed the earth veins. In other words, the natural advantages here could not be altered. It was a textbook 'anti-Gambler's Battle Tactic' terrain.

"Playing favorites, are we?" Zhao Xing muttered. He had just enjoyed the effectiveness of the Gambler's Battle Tactic, and three days later, he was being penalized. However, Zhao Xing only complained inwardly. There was no way the authorities would change the training location just for him, meaning the Seven Peaks Basin was a pre-set location.

"To minimize the influence of Earth Advantage spells, it's time to rely on Ego School and Heavenly Timing School spells."

After understanding the terrain, Zhao Xing cast a Heavenly Timing spell, using the 'Start of Summer' solar term command to override the Seven Peaks Basin's weather. Then he selected suitable seeds for planting. During his three days in the Seven Peaks Basin, Zhao Xing earned 50,000 points.

July 3rd, tenth day of training.

The points ranking updated. Zhao Xing took out his Earth Mirror to look.

First Place: Shi Yong, Training Points: 155450Second Place: Zhao Xing, Training Points: 145150Third Place: Zhuang Ziqing, Training Points: 140330Fourth Place: Feng Qiu, Training Points: 120200

"The gap with Shi Yong has widened to ten thousand points," Zhao Xing summarized. "In the Seven Peaks Basin, I only got 50,000 points, but Shi Yong got 60,000."

"Zhuang Ziqing even got 55,000, which should stem from the difference in our cultivation of the Solar Term Command."

Wilderness Condensation reached its seventh transformation, Savage Growth was perfected. Zhao Xing had a slight advantage in the Ego School. However, with the diminished influence of Earth Advantage factors and without the Gambler's Battle Tactic, the gap in his Solar Term Command cultivation became more apparent. This was because Zhuang Ziqing and Shi Yong had both entered the military early and served as military stewards for several years, cultivating the Solar Term Command for a few extra years. He, however, had only started cultivating it after entering the Ten Yang Grotto-Heaven. The influence of Heavenly Timing techniques was still very significant in supply production, and mainstream schools were not to be trifled with.

Zhao Xing quickly summarized, then focused on the present.

July 3rd to 13th.

During this period, they changed to three different training locations. The weather and terrain also changed accordingly. There was the extremely hot 'three suns in the sky' phenomenon, and the incessant roar of fierce winds. There were arid desert regions with scarce water, and even monstrous beasts interfering with planting.

Over ten days, he and Zhuang Ziqing alternately rose in rank, sometimes second, sometimes third. But Zhao Xing no longer paid attention to the rankings; instead, he immersed himself in the various environments of the Ten Yang Grotto-Heaven. Supply training allowed him to understand which direction to strive in, how to reasonably combine his spells, and thus make corrections and adjustments to his own cultivation. His spell cultivation over the previous two months had been theoretical, whereas this supply training was practical application. In this competitive atmosphere and varied training environments, Zhao Xing was also rapidly growing.

July 14th, training difficulty surged.

The 'Solar Term Command' had become completely ineffective, as the lowest level of weather was the 'three suns in the sky' phenomenon. Heavenly Timing techniques were greatly discounted, and so were Earth Advantage techniques. This was because the three locations for the last ten days of supply training, from July 14th to 24th, were the outskirts of the Gale Mountain Range, the outskirts of the Earthfire Plains, and the outskirts of the Myriad Thunder Pond.

In the outskirts of the Gale Mountain Range, the difficulty of planting wasn't very high, but the challenge lay in protecting what was planted. This was because the winds in the Gale Mountain Range blew not only from the surface but also surged up from underground. Twelve continuous hours, a comprehensive 'wind disaster' coverage. All stewards had to stay awake for every moment, fighting for the survival of their planted crops.

Relying on his Lesser Nine Heavens Gale Wind and Yin Wind techniques, Zhao Xing diligently defended against the wind disaster, ultimately earning 20,000 points in the Gale Mountain Range.

In the outskirts of the Earthfire Plains, the Gambler's Battle Tactic failed again. Because fire is Yang, tending to rise, and water is Yin, tending to descend. While the Gambler's Battle Tactic could be powerful and suitable for hindering or killing enemies, it was not suited for farming in this area. In the end, Zhao Xing only gained ten thousand points.

The Myriad Thunder Pond presented an even tougher situation. Neither the weather nor the terrain could be altered. Zhao Xing could only try his luck, planting all the seeds from his Bamboo Box. Ultimately, only two types of seeds survived. He barely managed to get three thousand points.

As the last day of supply training concluded, Zhao Xing's group began their journey back. The accompanying martial artist team lay inside the airship cabin, completely disinclined to speak. For an entire month, everyone had lost count of how many times they had eaten until they vomited.

After the fourth day, Zhao Xing wasn't deliberately tormenting them, but he couldn't help but produce massive quantities! There was just too much to eat, absolutely impossible to finish. From the fourth to the seventeenth day, for the ten martial artists, the first thing each of them did upon waking was eat. After eating, they practiced the Gluttony Technique, then engaged in exercise and consulted the military physician for digestion.

They finally endured until the eighteenth day. With the environment becoming increasingly harsh, everyone expected Zhao Xing's output to decrease. It did decrease, but even the reduced output was still an unbearable burden for everyone. In the last nine days across three training locations, Zhao Xing still earned 20,000, 10,000, and 3,000 points respectively. Furthermore, towards the end, Zhao Xing himself had no choice, and some strange, bizarre foods began to reappear...

When everyone saw the city walls of Yang City again, someone in the cabin finally couldn't help but speak up.

"It's finally over, wuwuwu," Wang Meng sobbed, his face streaked with tears as he peered out the window.

"I've never found Yang City so lovely; it's practically my second home!" a martial artist exclaimed.

"The amount of food I ate this month is more than I eat in two years," a short martial artist sniffed his hand. "I don't think I'll eat fish again this year."

"Ugh!" Xia Jing, standing nearby, immediately reacted.

"Shut up right now! Don't mention that word!" Xia Jing grabbed the short martial artist. "Say it again and I'll chop you down!"

"Hiccup!" The martial artist he was grabbing hiccuped, releasing an unpleasant odor.

"Ugh!" Now, not only Xia Jing, but everyone in the cabin started to feel nauseous.

Liu Yongli, standing by the cabin door, looked at them with a sympathetic gaze. Even as an observer, he felt this group was quite pitiful, having encountered such a crazy steward as Zhao Xing.

"The Earthfire Plains and Myriad Thunder Pond—are those places suitable for growing food? For a whole month, they didn't get a single moment of rest, doing nothing but practicing the Gluttony Technique... What a torment!"

The Flowing Cloud Airship returned to the Steward's Office.

Zhao Xing jumped off the Flowing Cloud Airship and waved to the ten martial artists inside the cabin.

"Brothers, come visit often!"

"Farewell!"

Whoosh! The Flowing Cloud Airship zipped away.

"Why are they running so fast? Couldn't they stay for a cup of tea?" Zhao Xing actually missed these ten people, especially Xia Jing; that guy was incredibly good at eating. Most of what he cultivated ended up in Xia Jing's stomach. The other nine combined didn't eat as much as Xia Jing alone.

"In these last three training locations, I still couldn't grow much, and there wasn't much variety in taste either. Well, no wonder they ran off so quickly." Zhao Xing shook his head and walked into the Earth Advantage Institute.

As soon as he stepped through the entrance, his Earth Mirror vibrated. Zhao Xing took it out and saw that the final rankings for the second mandatory training session had been released.