Chapter 1: The Fifteenth Year of Jingxin

The fifteenth year of Jingxin, end of May, eastern suburbs of Gucheng.

The sun was scorching, sweat poured like rain, and Zhao Xing bent his waist to plant rice seedlings into the paddy field.

With every seedling he planted, rows of small numbers popped up beside him.

[Successfully planted a rice seedling, Basic Cultivation proficiency +1]

[Successfully planted a rice seedling, Basic Cultivation proficiency +1]

[Successfully planted a rice seedling, Basic Cultivation proficiency +1]

……

[Basic Cultivation has reached max level, you have comprehended the low-level spell "Thriving Growth"]

[Thriving Growth: Low-level spell]

[Progress: (1/9999)]

[Effect: Accelerates nutrient absorption, shortens the time for plants to reach maturity.]

After planting for another two quarter-hours, Zhao Xing was drenched in sweat, so he went to the field ridge to replenish his fluids.

However, the sun was vicious, and the burning restlessness in his heart could not be quelled.

So, he pointed a finger at the sky.

"Hum~"

A golden light emerged from his fingertip, dissipating about three or four meters above his head.

Immediately after, a mass of grayish-white mist appeared, hovering above his head.

[You cast the spell "Cloud Walking," this casting triggered a blessing of Qi Luck, performance doubled, Cloud Walking range ten meters.]

[Low-level spell "Cloud Walking" proficiency +2]

"Phew, that's much more comfortable."

The mist blocked the sunlight, like a parasol, shrouding Zhao Xing in shadow.

As Zhao Xing walked, the cloud above his head moved along with him.

The eastern suburbs of Gucheng were public fields belonging to the government, managed by the Office of Agriculture; a portion of the officials' food, clothing, and expenses came from here.

Approaching the Grain in Ear solar term, there were small agricultural officials like Zhao Xing everywhere in the eastern suburbs.

Because if you don't plant during Grain in Ear, planting later is useless.

Furthermore, the harvest from the public fields not only concerned their food but also determined whether they could be promoted this year, from unranked petty officials to official agricultural officers; the treatment for the two was worlds apart.

Since transmigrating here a year ago, he had discovered that he seemed to be in an early version of that mysterious game—in his past life, it had appeared abruptly on Earth, without a name, only an entrance, and inside it felt like a real world; its ultra-high freedom and realism caused a massive sensation.

This was the era of Emperor Jing of the Great Zhou, the version where the dynasty was at its peak; the general environment was relatively stable, and compared to later versions, the safety factor could almost be said to be the highest.

The benefit was that spiritual energy had not yet fully recovered, combat power values were not ridiculously high, and there wouldn't be situations where some great power could slaughter a city with a wave of their hand.

After all, he was no longer a player, and the panel didn't say he could respawn.

The downside was that it was too stable, and his initial status was average; finding opportunities from the early stable social order as an NPC was relatively difficult.

"In my past life, I could change jobs in two or three days. Now I've spent half a year and still haven't seen any hope."

"The initial status given was also average, starting as an orphan in a charitable institution, later adopted into a wealthy family, but the situation is just so-so."

"I heard that in my past life, some players were lucky, starting off born into families of princes, nobles, generals, and ministers..."

"Stop thinking about it, rest for a moment and then put in more effort; whether I can complete the job change mission this year mostly depends on the performance of this plot of land."

Zhao Xing found a haystack, gathered some rice straw, and prepared to rest, waiting for his vitality to recover.

But he ran into a young man in a standard single-layer garment with a straw hat on his head, waving at him from a haystack ahead: "Brother Zhao, come over here."

Zhao Xing turned and walked quickly toward the other person: "Ziyu, are you here to rest too?"

Chen Ziyu was also one of the petty officials in the Office of Agriculture; in the year since he transmigrated, Zhao Xing was most familiar with him.

Their relationship was both as colleagues and classmates, because at this stage the focus wasn't on working, but more on learning, striving to get ashore early so they wouldn't have to do this muddy leg work anymore.

Lying next to him was a teenager named Qian Dong, also an acquaintance.

Chen Ziyu, chewing on a blade of grass, greeted him enthusiastically: "Just arrived a while ago, Brother, just borrow this cloud of mine to cool off, no need to waste another portion of vitality."

"That works too."

Nodding, he dispersed the cloud above his head and Zhao Xing lay down beside Chen Ziyu.

Just after lying down, he heard the other person complain: "It's clearly only the beginning of summer, yet the weather in Gucheng is so hot, and even the larger trees in the eastern suburbs have been cut down by the lords of the Office of Agriculture; if you want to cool off, you have to use your own spells."

Zhao Xing laughed: "This is also a form of training."

"If you want to be cool, it's not simple, watch me." Qian Dong threw away the straw hat he was using to fan himself and gestured obliquely at the sky with a pretentious air: "Wind, come!"

Chen Ziyu was somewhat astonished: "Brother Qian, have you already learned 'Wind Rising'?"

Qian Dong wore a mischievous smile, picked up the straw hat again, and fanned it toward Chen Ziyu: "Look, isn't it here now?"

Only then did he realize he had been fooled by this guy, so he grabbed a handful of withered grass and scratched at Qian Dong's neck:

"Good for you, Qian Dong, you actually dared to lie to me; if you don't fan me for a quarter-hour, I'm not done with you!"

"Ouch, don't scratch, Ziyu, calm down, I'll fan you, okay."

"……"

As the two laughed and played, the cloud above their heads swayed along with them; watching this scene, Zhao Xing couldn't help but feel speechless.

Can you two not be so ambiguous on such a hot day?

Just as he was about to speak, Qian Dong spoke first: "Alright, if you don't stop, Brother Zhao will have to scold us again for not studying properly and having no sense of propriety."

Zhao Xing said lazily: "Don't stop, you two continue. It's best if you fight, fight until both sides are injured, then there will be fewer people competing with me for the position of agricultural official, and my chances of getting ashore this year will be even greater."

"Brother is being sarcastic again..."

After resting for a quarter-hour, Zhao Xing felt his vitality gradually recovering and planned to nap for a while longer before continuing his grand plan for changing jobs.

However, at this moment, the cloud above his head suddenly dispersed, and the blinding light shone fiercely on his eyelids.

"What's wrong, Ziyu, you didn't even say a word before withdrawing the cloud..." Qian Dong was still complaining. Zhao Xing, however, propped himself up on his elbows, eyes slightly narrowed, looking ahead.

A dark cloud spanning nearly a thousand meters slowly rolled over from the front, and on the haystack beneath that cloud, a tall figure stood.

The [Cloud Walking] spell had exclusivity; it was this person who had bumped into and absorbed Chen Ziyu's [Cloud Walking].

Suddenly interrupted while casting, Chen Ziyu's body trembled slightly because he had suffered a backlash, and his vitality was slightly damaged.

"It's that hypocrite Li Chengfeng again! Damn him!" Chen Ziyu stared angrily at the figure on the haystack ahead.

Why call him a hypocrite?

Because Li Chengfeng's voice spread to the surroundings with the help of the [Wind Rising] spell.

"Fellow colleagues, you may come and rest under my mist; in a moment, there will be a light rain to wash away the dust for everyone."

It wasn't just Chen Ziyu's spell that was bumped away; many others were also affected.

But he had united most of the people, helping them save vitality, and many people applauded and praised Li Chengfeng for having the demeanor of a gentleman.

"This person pulls one up and steps on another, it's truly disgusting! He likes to show off himself on weekdays, completely disregarding others' feelings; I once tried to reason with him, and others would say I was small-minded and jealous of his gentlemanly reputation... Me, jealous of him? Pfft!" Chen Ziyu said bitterly.

Qian Dong also shook his head: "If he were truly a gentleman, that would be fine, but he comes from a great clan, yet he only associates with children of wealthy families, acting one way in front of people and another behind their backs. He hasn't even become an official agricultural officer yet, but his posture is like that of a superior, which is truly nauseating; if he becomes our direct superior next year, who knows how he will torment those below, sigh..."

Zhao Xing also agreed with their views, but could only pat their shoulders to comfort them: "I don't like him either, but complaining is useless; strength is the foundation. Just work hard, and sooner or later there will be a day to slap his face."